"The porridge has no side dishes, it doesn't taste good." Xiao Rui only took one sip before pushing away the porridge that Shen Lu was feeding him.
Old Hu had a much easier time feeding Xiao Chen and Xiao Xi. The two children were used to hardship—having porridge at all was already a blessing, so they had no chance to be picky.
Xiao Rui refused to eat the moment he said so, and ran off toward Qi Nian again. "Mother, I want porridge with vegetables."
This kid sure was quick to call her "mother." She looked at the porridge Shen Lu was holding as he chased after Xiao Rui, then glanced at the many people nearby gnawing on dry rations. The coarse grain porridge might not taste great, but compared to those dark, unappetizing dry rations, it instantly seemed far superior, right?
"Mother…"
I really can't be your mother! Qi Nian resisted being called "mother," but considering he was just a child, she gave him plenty of patience. "Xiao Rui, there are no wild vegetables today. This porridge is very fragrant too. Eat up quickly, or you'll go hungry."
"Then… I want Mother to feed me."
"Alright, fine."
Qi Nian set Da Bai aside and took the porridge Shen Lu handed over.
"Mother can't hold Xiao Chen either. Mother can only hold me."
Child, I'm not really your mother. Xiao Chen is my actual son. Is it really okay for you to compete for affection so openly? If Qi Nian agreed, it would break Xiao Chen's heart. But seeing Xiao Rui's watery eyes, so similar to Xiao Chen's, she couldn't bear to refuse either.
"I'll hold you, and I'll hold Xiao Chen too. You're both the same, okay?"
The child thought it over and gave an "mm" of agreement—as long as he wasn't ranked below Xiao Chen, it was fine.
Human children were so hard to take care of! Xiao Chen and Xiao Xi were her responsibility and she couldn't escape it, but she hadn't expected to pick up another one along the way. Qi Nian felt like she'd been tricked, but she had no proof.
Yao Chengyi was completely ignored by his own son, and he couldn't stand it. However, Xiao Rui had a point about one thing—the porridge really wasn't good.
"If you're going to play the part, play it properly. In every household, it's the woman who cooks. From now on, you'll be the one to pick wild vegetables and cook!"
He wanted good food but came up with such a refined excuse?
It wasn't entirely out of the question—especially since Xiao Chen and Xiao Xi urgently needed nutrition. Qi Nian wasn't afraid of Yao Chengyi suspecting anything. Let him suspect if he wanted. Wild vegetables that appeared once could appear twice or three times with no problem at all.
"Fine, I can cook. But we don't interfere with each other. You don't pry into my affairs, and you pretend you didn't see my secrets."
"Very well. I just want Rui'er to eat well, nothing more." It definitely wasn't because he himself wanted to eat well.
But this conversation between Qi Nian and Yao Chengyi allowed the two to reach a certain understanding, even though they still couldn't stand each other.
When it came time for the day's rest, Yao Chengyi announced to Old Hu and Shen Lu, "From now on, along this journey, all matters big and small will be decided by the lady. Understood?"
How could they not understand? Old Hu and Shen Lu quickly expressed their agreement.
"We agreed there's no acting when there are no outsiders around. Also, I can't make decisions for you." Troublesome matters—Qi Nian firmly refused.
Yao Chengyi wore an expression that said "that's just how it is." When he said something, there was no room for argument.
Qi Nian had a similar attitude. You say what you want—whether I agree or do it is up to me.
This was when Old Hu played his role. "Along the way, it's just matters of food and drink, and guarding against robbers. That wouldn't require the lady's involvement anyway. With just one word from you, Shen Lu and I can handle it."
"Is that so?"
"That's right. They're all small matters. Don't worry."
Qi Nian felt like she'd been played, but on second thought, it seemed to be exactly as Old Hu said. She didn't want to think about such troublesome matters anymore. She had work to do—she needed to prepare meals for seven people total.
After washing the coarse grain and putting it in the pot, Qi Nian had Shen Lu help with starting and watching the fire while she went to look for wild vegetables. She went to a place where no one could see her, slipped into the Secret Realm, picked some, and came back out.
She cut the wild vegetables into pieces. Once the porridge was done, she tossed the vegetables into the pot, stirred them a few times, and added salt. Even with just that, it was already incredibly fragrant and delicious.
"The porridge is so tasty! Mother, when we're no longer fleeing, will we still have porridge to eat?"
"Yes. When we're no longer fleeing, Mother will make you even better food. Xiao Xi will never have to suffer again."
"Mother, I want to eat meat."
"Alright, Xiao Chen will have meat with every meal."
Xiao Chen even showed off a little to Xiao Rui beside him. Young as he was, he knew that once they stopped fleeing, they wouldn't be traveling together anymore, and the meat his mother cooked wouldn't be for them.
Xiao Chen and Xiao Xi smiled with their eyes curving like crescents, gulping down the porridge in their bowls.
Qi Nian watched the two children growing more spirited by the day. No wonder it came from the Immortal Realm Secret Realm—even the wild vegetables were that good. If it were medicinal herbs, the effects would be even more remarkable. Thinking of the valley of herbs she'd planted during her boring days as an immortal, she felt like she wouldn't need to struggle for the rest of this life—selling medicine alone would be enough for her to coast through.
Xiao Rui let out a humph and looked at Qi Nian with longing eyes. "Mother, will you not cook for me anymore in the future?"
"Silly child, I'm not really your mother. Of course, as long as you call me mother, I'll cook for you every day. What they have, you'll have too."
This wasn't lying to the child, was it? The days Xiao Rui would call her mother were just one stretch of the road—about twenty-something more days. Qi Nian didn't want to deceive the child against her conscience. Indeed, as long as he called her mother, he'd get to eat her cooking every day.
Qi Nian had underestimated how sensitive Xiao Rui was. The boy simply threw down his bowl, let out a huff, turned around, and refused to eat.
Yao Chengyi shot Qi Nian a fierce glare and got up to go soothe their son, but before he could take two steps, Chief Zhao's son, Zhao Youcai, came running over in a panic.
"Third Master, a large group of people are heading our way. The sentries overheard them saying they've come to seize our grain."
Ever since Chief Zhao and his people had decided to follow Yao Chengyi's family, Yao Chengyi had required them to assign a few men to stand guard while the others rested, just in case of emergencies. And now, here one was.
But this time, Yao Chengyi actually chose to wash his hands of it, not caring if he lost face. "From now on, if anything comes up, go to my wife. She's in charge!"
"This…" Zhao Youcai was stunned for a good long moment before he snapped out of it. Right, even though everyone here was a refugee, the woman of Third Master's household was different. A capable woman taking charge was perfectly acceptable.
"Madam Qi, those people are about to attack. What should we do?"
"Is there even a question? Fight them back."
Qi Nian knew that Zhao Youcai had come to ask precisely because he had his eye on the two experts here. Since Yao Chengyi had said she was in charge, fine, she wouldn't stand on ceremony. After all, it was just a matter of talking.
She had Old Hu go with Zhao Youcai. Not wanting to face Yao Chengyi's scowling face, Qi Nian handed the two children over to Shen Lu's care and took the little wolf along to watch the excitement.
On Chief Zhao's side, he had gathered every able-bodied man who could fight, and they had already clashed with the raiders. Even with Old Hu joining in, they still couldn't completely overwhelm the attackers.
Those people had nothing to eat or drink—either way, they were dead men. So the other side were desperate madmen fighting with everything they had.
No need to describe how terrifying desperate fighters could be. Before long, people on both sides were severely wounded and collapsing to the ground.
At this rate, neither side would come out ahead.
It could only be said that in times of disaster, everyone was just fighting to survive.
"We're all just trying to stay alive. Are you willing to be beaten to death like this? There's water in the valley five li ahead. If you have the strength, you'd be better off hurrying over there to grab more water."
Who? Who said there was water?
Many people turned to look at Qi Nian. Her face was smeared with soot and ash, unrecognizable, but her eyes were clear and bright, and her voice carried a strange power that made people believe her.
Could there really be water in the valley ahead?