The faces of the people opposite flickered between joy and bitterness.
They knew full well that Han Laoda was definitely not joking!
Why would men who dared to kill mountain bandits be afraid of a few refugees with no skills to their names?
From the bottom of their hearts, they wanted the horses—who wouldn’t want a free horse? But if they had to trade their remaining possessions for one, they had to think twice.
“Third Brother, our family really has no money left. We don’t want the horse anymore.”
A frail, thin man immediately backed out.
Seeing people withdraw one after another, the Han family showed no signs of hurry.
Trading for some money and grain was ideal, but if not, keeping the horses for meat would be just as good!
“We’ll take two!”
The leading man huddled with several families, whispering and discussing for a long while before gritting their teeth and pooling their grain and silver together to trade for two horses.
Han Laoda was no fool. After taking their belongings and inspecting them carefully, he picked out two of the smaller horses and handed them over.
“You…!”
Holding the reins and looking at the remaining two tall steeds, the man was both furious and aggrieved.
The Liu family father and son stepped forward, knives raised. “What of it?!”
“…”
In the , the man dared not say anything, silently leading the horses away with his head lowered.
The two horses were traded for five taels of silver, twenty catties of millet, thirty catties of sorghum, ten catties of white flour, as well as some sweet potatoes and wild herbs.
Han Er’er and Liu Wansheng exchanged a glance, both pleasantly surprised!
These people had likely avoided heavy plundering by bandits, and having set out late, they still had quite a bit of supplies left!
Thus, the remaining two horses were split: one for the Han family, and one for the Liu family.
As for the traded supplies, Old Madame Han advocated dividing them equally, but the Liu family adamantly refused.
Mrs. Chen said in panic, “Auntie, our family barely put in any effort. Getting a horse is already more than enough; how could we have the cheek to take so much more?”
“Don’t be so modest. Take what we give you! If your family hadn’t stepped up to help, things wouldn’t have gone so smoothly for us!”
“Auntie, this won’t do. It’s not proper!” Liu Wansheng chimed in to decline as well.
Han Er’er threw an arm around his shoulders. “What’s all this talk of proper or not? From now on, we’re sworn brothers!”
Hearing this, Liu Wansheng laughed too.
After much back-and-forth, Old Madame Han still pressed two taels of silver, five catties of millet, ten catties of sorghum, three catties of white flour, and some sweet potatoes and wild herbs into their hands.
Everyone brought the supplies back to the cave, then searched the four dead mountain bandits, pocketing all the loose change and belongings found on them.
Without hesitation, they threw the corpses behind the mountain and covered the traces of the fight with dirt.
By the time they finished, dawn had broken.
Old Madame Han wiped her sweat, straightened her back, and called out, “Pack up quickly, we need to hurry on our way!”
They not only needed to make good time, but also had to stay vigilant against other mountain bandits giving chase!
After packing their belongings, the two families gathered outside.
Han Er’er asked, “Brother Liu, where are you headed next? Would you like to travel together with us so we can look out for each other?”
Liu Wansheng and Mrs. Chen exchanged a look, both sorely tempted.
However, after some thought, he shook his head.
“Better not; it’s safer to split up. Two families traveling together with horses makes too big of a target. It would be terrible if we drew the attention of mountain bandits!”
“That’s true.”
Seeing the disappointment on Han Er’er’s face, Liu Wansheng smiled warmly. “We are heading to Lotus Village at the foot of Jingzhou to seek refuge with relatives. In the future, if you haven’t found a place to settle down, just come to Lotus Village and look for us!”
The Han family nodded, though they still could not help feeling regretful.
Lin Yueru felt a touch of pity as well.
The Liu family was generous and honest, making them truly great companions for fleeing famine together.
After bidding their farewells, the two families were about to part ways.
After hesitating time and again, Liu Huaijing finally plucked up the courage and trotted up to Han Yanqing.
“Uncle Yanqing, if we ever meet again in the future, could you teach me martial arts?”
By the time Mrs. Chen tried to call him back, it was too late.
For a moment, all eyes converged on Han Yanqing.
Clearly startled, Han Yanqing subconsciously gripped Lin Yueru’s hand tightly.
Lin Yueru guided him gently, “Yanqing, Huaijing is asking you a question. Would you be willing to?”
Han Yanqing merely shook his head, holding Lin Yueru’s hand without saying a word.
Thinking he was unwilling, Liu Huaijing was deeply crushed. Hurt, he hung his head and turned to run back to his mother.
“Huaijing.”
Just as he turned around, Lin Yueru called out to him.
She smiled and said, “Don’t be sad. Yanqing’s head was injured, and he’s like a child right now. It’s not that he doesn’t want to teach you—it’s that he can’t remember and doesn’t know how to teach.”
Liu Huaijing looked up at Han Yanqing in confusion.
Han Yanqing’s eyes were filled entirely with Lin Yueru.
My wife is so smart! Even without me saying anything, she knew what I was thinking!
After observing him for a moment, Liu Huaijing nodded with a mix of regret and understanding.
“Then I hope by the next time we meet, Uncle Yanqing will be all better!”
Lin Yueru smiled and nodded. “Let’s hope so.”
Having finished their goodbyes, the two families officially parted ways at the crossroads.
With a tall steed, Han Laoda harnessed the handcart straight to the horse.
After tidying up the handcart, he let Sanbao, Sibao, and Old Madame Han sit on it.
Old Madame Han was stubborn and proud; after sitting for a while, she would get down to walk for a bit, letting the younger generation take turns resting.
Although the three Han brothers had not suffered severe injuries during the fight with the mountain bandits, scraped skin and bruises were inevitable.
If not for the horse pulling the handcart, their pace would surely have slowed down.
After the entire morning, everyone came to appreciate the blessing of having a horse. Han Yanqing, in particular, could not stop stroking the horse, reluctant to let go.
When they stopped for a rest at noon, Han Yanqing took the initiative to offer to look for fodder for the horse.
Having obtained quite a bit of grain that morning, Old Madame Han was in a great mood. She waved her hand with a smile and let him go.
“Ru, keep an eye on Han Si. Don’t let him wander too far!”
This suited Lin Yueru perfectly; she had been looking for a chance to retrieve a few things from her Space.
Han Yanqing was wholeheartedly focused on finding fodder for the horse, but even the tree bark nearby had been stripped clean by others. Where could there be anything edible?
Moreover, it was already autumn; even if there was grass, it would already be yellow and withered.
Following behind him, Lin Yueru rummaged through her Space while pondering.
There were quite a few chickens, ducks, and geese in the Space, along with a sizable hoard of eggs. Such things were extremely scarce on the road while fleeing famine.
Besides, the men of the Han family were all slightly injured; eating some meat and drinking some broth to nourish their bodies would be wonderful.
While Han Yanqing was not paying attention, she picked a fat chicken from the Space, gathered ten eggs, and tossed them behind a tree.
Looking at Han Yanqing’s anxious yet earnest back, she thought for a moment, retrieved a large patch of fresh grass with soil attached from the Space, and placed it on the open ground nearby.
Sure enough, Han Yanqing’s voice immediately turned cheerful.
“Wife, there’s grass here! Quick, look! So much of it—this will definitely be enough for the horse!”
“Alright! Dig up more grass to bring back then.”
Delighted, Han Yanqing began digging up the grass, stripping the large patch Lin Yueru had brought out completely clean.
Only someone like him could be fooled like this; if anyone else had seen such an abrupt patch of lush green grass, they would have found it suspicious.
After waiting patiently for Han Yanqing to finish digging, she quickly released the chicken she had picked from the Space.
The plump chicken, which had been raised well in the Space, had been foraging behind the flock when it was suddenly thrown out. Terrified, it flapped its wings and clucked frantically.
“Oh! Yanqing, there’s a pheasant here!”
Han Yanqing had already turned around alertly at the sound of the clucking. His eyes lit up. “A pheasant!”
Before the poor fat chicken could figure out how it had ed up in such a godforsaken place, Han Yanqing lunged forward and pinned it beneath him!
Grinning from ear to ear, Han Yanqing ran back toward her with the plump chicken in his arms, his eyes crinkling into narrow crescents. “Wife, look! It really is a chicken! It’s even fatter than the ones at home!”
“Good job, Yanqing!” Lin Yueru gave him a thumbs-up.
“Let’s look around a bit more. Since there’s a chicken here, maybe there are eggs too.”
As Lin Yueru spoke, she took the lead and walked behind the tree.
Before long, she came out cradling the ten eggs she had placed there earlier.
Han Yanqing’s eyes sparkled. “Wife, you’re so smart! You even managed to find this!”
Blushing at his praise, Lin Yueru smiled. “Let’s head back to find Mother.”