Chapter 112 - Hurry to the County

“Mother, why are you so slow?”

Zhuang Zhuang anxiously urged Xiaoguo to quickly place her order.

From the minute Xiaoguo left the house, she had been driving the donkey cart at a leisurely pace. Occasionally, she would come down to walk the donkey. No matter how Zhuang Zhuang urged her, she remained unmoved.

The little boy got up anxiously from Xiaoguo’s arms.

As soon as he left her arms, Xiaoguo got down and walked with the donkey again.

“Zhuang Zhuang, don’t be anxious. Look at the time. It’s still dark. We can take our time.”

It was still early. If they headed to the county at normal speed, they would probably arrive at dawn.

No matter how Zhuang Zhuang hurried her, Xiaoguo continued to take her time. She drove the donkey cart slowly towards the county.

After dawn broke, it took a while more before they saw the county gate. When they entered the county, Xiaoguo did not follow Zhuang Zhuang’s request to visit Qin Anming first. Instead, she found a wonton stall and ordered two bowls of wontons.

Xiaoguo had woken up before dawn and had traveled quite a distance. Now that the warm wontons were in her stomach, it felt really wonderful.

“Mother…”

Zhuang Zhuang was eating the wonton that Xiaoguo had handed to him. Afraid that he would be scalded by the dumpling, she blew on it before giving it to him.

“Let’s eat. We’ll go after we are done.”

Xiaoguo knew what Zhuang Zhuang was going to say. She promised to bring him to Qin Anming after their meal.

Zhuang Zhuang nodded and ate the wontons that Xiaoguo had managed to cool down.

Although Xiaoguo had already cooled the wontons, they had been taken fresh out of the hot soup. As much as Xiaoguo had tried to cool them, they were still rather hot. No matter how anxious Zhuang Zhuang was, he still had to blow on the wontons before eating.

Xiaoguo looked at Zhuang Zhuang, who was blowing hard at his food, and secretly laughed. This was the reason why she brought him to eat wontons. The wontons came with hot soup, so naturally it would take some time to finish them.

By the time they reach the restaurant, Qin Anming would be free to talk to Zhuang Zhuang.

Xiaoguo put down her bowl and gulped down the last bit of soup. She sighed. It felt so good. Her body was feeling warm all over. The morning chill had been chased away by the hot wonton soup.

After Zhuang Zhuang was done eating, Xiaoguo called for the boss to settle the bill. She put down the six copper coins and left. She should eat more of such delicious food in future.

Now it was time to get going.

Zhuang Zhuang couldn’t wait to get on the donkey cart. Xiaoguo told him to sit tight and started driving.

Xiaoguo had barely come to a stop at the entrance of the restaurant when Zhuang Zhuang jumped off the donkey cart. Xiaoguo was shocked and wanted to give him a piece of her mind. However, when she turned around, she saw him running away.

Sigh…

Xiaoguo tied up the donkey cart before walking in.

As soon as she entered, he saw Zhuang Zhuang holding Qin Anming’s hand and walking towards the backyard.

Xiaoguo’s timing was just right. Ruyi and the others were resting.

“Sister Xiaoguo.”

Ruyi waved for Xiaoguo to sit down. Xiaoguo nodded and sat down.

“What is up with Zhuang Zhuang Zhuang?”

Ruyi asked Xiaoguo curiously. As soon as Zhuang Zhuang entered the house, he pulled Qin Anming into the house anxiously.

When Xiaoguo heard Ruyi’s question, she shook her head helplessly and told her what had happened.

Ruyi knew that Xiaoguo’s man had died on the battlefield. Zhuang Zhuang had never seen his father since he was born. Upon hearing Xiaoguo’s words, she felt empathy for the boy and her heart ached for him.

“Hey, what do you think we should do?”

It was rare for Xiaoguo to be troubled. She really did not know how to untie the knot in Zhuang Zhuang’s heart.

When Ruyi heard this, she felt a little down as well. “Zhuang Zhuang is in the same situation as me when I was young. Back then, I would always ask to see my mother.”

Ruyi held her face in her left hand and traveled back to her memories.

“At that time, I was still young and often played with the children from the surrounding shops until the sky turned dark. At that time, the kids’ mothers would come and call them home for dinner. Unlike them, I only had my father. At that time, I couldn’t understand what was going on. I felt very aggrieved, so I kept asking my father to bring my mother back. Every time I said that, my father would cry. At that time, I didn’t understand. When I grew up and knew what was going on, I stopped looking for my mother. I felt that having a father was enough for me.”

Xiaoguo listened to her quietly. “I see…”

“Sister Xiaoguo, don’t worry too much. The boy is still young. Of course he will want his parents. Now that the men from your village are back, Zhuang Zhuang will feel uncomfortable when he sees them. Things will get better when he grows up.”

After hearing what Ruyi had said, Xiaoguo just nodded and said nothing.

People would always put things off and let time take its course. But was this really the right thing to do?

Xiaoguo looked at the silence in Ruyi’s eyes and realized something. Things had only faded when she grew up, they were not forgotten.

Feeling that the atmosphere was a little gloomy, Xiaoguo changed the subject. “By the way, how have you been? Are you tired?”

Ruyi was woken up by Xiaoguo’s voice and quickly regained her senses.

“Not bad. I go through the same routine every day.”

Ruyi was the happiest when it came to business. She immediately pushed aside her feelings of melancholy.

“Sister Xiaoguo, do you know which meatball is sold the most?”

Ruyi looked at Xiaoguo mysteriously.

The most? Xiaoguo shook her head, indicating that she had no idea.

“It’s pork balls with gravy!”

Once she mentioned it, Xiaoguo nodded in understanding. “So that was it.”

“The diners responded by saying that it was delicious and that there was soup oozing into their mouths.”

Ruyi rattled on happily while Xiaoguo listened attentively. Feedback from customers is very important.

When Xiaoguo heard this, she couldn’t help but sigh. Ruyi and the others could make very good meatballs, but it would be wonderful if there were cuttlefish sausages. Thinking about the crisp texture made her mouth water. She wondered if there were any cuttlefish or seafood available here.

Seeing Xiaoguo sigh, Ruyi thought that something was up. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s fine. It would be great if there were cuttlefish.”

Xiaoguo told Ruyi what was on her mind. Perhaps Ruyi would know what she was thinking about.

Xiaoguo looked at Ruyi expectantly, hoping she would say that she knew.

“Cuttlefish? What is it?”

“A fish with ink? That is so strange.”

“I knew it. They don’t know what cuttlefish is…”

Xiaoguo looked at Ruyi helplessly. But, she went on. “It’s seafood. Something from the sea.”

“Don’t people ever go to sea here? It shouldn’t be the case.”

“…” Ruyi shook her head.

“There are people who go out to sea in small fishing villages. They go fishing in the sea and will bring back their catch to eat or sell,”

Qin Anming suddenly said from behind them.

Xiaoguo turned around in surprise. Zhuang Zhuang was happily hugging Qin Anming’s neck and waving at her. Qin Anming looked like he had settled the problem.

Xiaoguo raised her eyebrows. No way. Qin Anming really remembered what Jiang Danhe looked like. That was great!

When Ruyi heard this, she tilted her head. “I didn’t know that they were sold in the county.”

Qin Anming put Zhuang Zhuang down and got him to look for Xiaoguo.

“It should be sold directly to the capital. Not many people from the county would eat this. I heard that it’s quite expensive.”

Qin Anming was just guessing. He wasn’t too sure about the main reason. He had only heard that the food from the sea was more expensive, so most people in Yonghai County couldn’t afford it. Seafood was usually transported directly to the capital or to a larger city. There were more rich people there, and they enjoyed trying interesting food since they had more money.

Ruyi nodded. “I see.”

Xiaoguo wasn’t surprised. Yonghai County was indeed a small place. Its population was less than half of its neighboring county, so the consumption rate was low. Seafood was also sold at several times the price of pork, so people would rather eat pork. Pork was more affordable and delicious. Therefore, who would want to eat seafood that was not as substantial?