Early the next morning, the two boiled a pot of rice porridge, ate the remaining steamed buns, packed their belongings, and set off once again.
As they left, she felt a bit reluctant—yesterday they'd had a cave to sleep in, but today they had no idea where they'd end up.
Emerging from the deep forest, they merged from the country path onto the main road, where they could see scattered groups of people fleeing famine with their families, as well as a few groups that appeared to be organized by village.
Drawing on yesterday's experience, the two smeared yellow earth on themselves and mussed up their hair. Even so, their appearance immediately drew attention from many, with greedy looks cast their way.
Gu Xiao paid it no mind—after all, in broad daylight, no one would be foolish enough to attempt robbery.
She casually fell in behind a nearby group, keeping a moderate distance.
At the end of the line was a household with two sturdy middle-aged men gripping hoes, eyeing them with curiosity. But it was clear the pair meant them no harm, nor did they drive them away.
"Elder Auntie, where are you folks from, and where are you planning to settle?" Gu Xiao approached and asked as she neared the woman at the back of the line.
Having grown up in a village with little news, the original owner of this body was quite isolated—she needed to take this opportunity to gather information. This group looked like they'd fled recently; every household carried luggage, and three or four even had oxcarts or donkey carts. The village wasn't large, but everything was orderly.
The elder woman gave the two a once-over. Seeing they were just two skinny lads with no adults around, she let down her guard and sighed. "We're from Liujia Village. Isn't there a war going on? Our Village Chief got word and told us to pack up and leave right away. Lucky we ran fast…"
As she spoke, she studied them, feeling they looked somewhat familiar but unable to place them. "Where are you two from? Why aren't there any adults with you? Did you get separated from your group?"
"Elder Auntie, we're from Gujia Cun. Our parents passed away, so now it's just the two of us depending on each other." Gu Xiao didn't mention the original owner's grandmother's family—to her, as someone who'd crossed over, that grandmother was a stranger, even less than a stranger, so there was no need to waste words on her.
"Oh dear, then why didn't you stay with your own village?" The elder woman's family all wore grave expressions upon hearing Gu Xiao's words. These two kids really had nerve, leaving their group at a time like this.
Seeing the genuine worry on the elder woman's face, Gu Xiao felt a warmth in her heart, and the smile on her face grew brighter.
"To be honest with you, Elder Auntie, we did leave with our village, but we got separated. Now we don't know where to go. Elder Auntie, where is your group headed? Do you have a map we could look at?" Gu Xiao cautiously asked the key question.
The elder woman's face showed hesitation, and a young man beside her said, "We don't have any map. We're just following our Village Chief. To be honest, we don't know where we're going either. You'd better go ask our Village Chief."
The young man had also found the two somewhat familiar, which was why he answered patiently. He pointed toward the front of the line, where an oxcart led the way—that was where Liujia Village's Village Chief was.
After thanking the elder woman's family, Gu Xiao walked toward the front of the group.
Halfway there, she suddenly heard a tentative call from behind: "Xiao girl… Wan girl…"
She turned to look. A sturdy, dark-skinned farmer with firm muscles was walking toward them.
Gu Wan recognized him at once and called out softly, "Big Uncle…"
Big Uncle?!
This was a perfect example of "you search high and low for something, only to find it without any effort." She'd asked for directions and ended up at her own relatives' doorstep.
"Ah, I said it was you two! I told your grandmother just now, but she didn't believe me." Liu Dong's dark face beamed with a loving smile as he patted Gu Wan's head.
"Come on, let's go let your grandmother see you." As he spoke, he reached out to take Gu Xiao's backpack.
Gu Xiao didn't let go, saying gently, "No need, Big Uncle, I can still carry it."
Noticing only the two of them, Liu Dong looked puzzled and furrowed his brow. "Why are you dressed like this? Where's your grandmother and the others?"
Gu Wan's smile faded, and she lowered her head, murmuring, "Grandma said she wouldn't take me and Big Sister… she… she sold me and Big Sister…"
"What!" Liu Dong's expression changed drastically, his face filled with rage. "That damned old woman! How did she promise us back then? Xiao'er, Wan'er, come with Big Uncle—Big Uncle will never abandon you."
With that, Liu Dong led the two through the crowd toward an old woman sitting on a cart.
Hearing Liu Dong's voice, the old woman reached out and felt for their hands, saying, "Is it really Xiao girl and Wan girl?"
"It's me, Grandma. Grandma, can you not see me anymore?"
Gu Xiao noticed that the old woman's eyes seemed unable to see clearly and was wondering what had caused it. Gu Wan had asked first, and it was clear the little girl was very close to her grandmother—the concern in her eyes couldn't be hidden at all.
"I can see, Grandma can see, it's just that my eyesight has gotten worse with age." Old Madam sighed and quickly comforted them, "Why are you two sisters here? Didn't you leave with your grandmother?"
Before the two could speak, Liu Dong chimed in from the side and recounted the whole story with embellishments, stirring up public outrage among the Liu family.
"What?! Those beasts actually sold Xiao'er and her sister?!" Old Madam was so furious that her heart raced, and she gripped Gu Xiao's hand even tighter. It was all her fault for crying herself blind—if she could see, she wouldn't have let the two girls be bullied.
"Those heartless bastards! It's only been a short while since Second Sister passed away, and they dare to do this…" Liu Dong, who had taken over the cart, cursed fiercely again.
But then he turned to the two with a kind expression, "Xiao'er, don't be afraid. From now on, you're part of the Liu family. No one will ever bully you again."
Tang-shi and Song-shi, both mothers themselves, couldn't help but look at the sisters with pity upon hearing this, wondering how the two had managed to escape from those clutches.
Gu Xiao couldn't help but reflect—her paternal grandmother's family had treated the two sisters differently because they were girls, regarding them as worthless as weeds and selling them off at will. Yet here at her maternal grandmother's house, the two had become treasured, and even both aunts-in-law showed them compassion.
For the sake of this family's bond of sharing hardships together, she was determined to take good care of them all.