Chapter 124 - Preparations

When Qin Anming was packing his luggage, Ruyi and the others sat around the table and asked Xiaoguo what else she needed to prepare. Did she need money? They reminded her to wear more clothes on the way and to let Zhuang Zhuang do the same. They were overwhelming Xiaoguo with all their concern.

Xiaoguo was deeply touched and nodded as she responded accordingly to everyone.

Once Qin Anming came out, Xiaoguo quickly walked to the door with him.

After bidding farewell to everyone, Xiaoguo and Qin Anming sat on the donkey cart and listed out the things they had to prepare.

If Xiaoguo missed anything, Qin Anming would add it to her list.

The two of them started shopping from the first item on the list. By the time they completed everything on the list, it was afternoon. As there were a few items that were not available in the county, the two of them had to buy them in another village after getting tips from the shop owner. As they were not familiar with the place, they took a few wrong turns.

After going back and forth, it was afternoon when they returned home.

Xiaoguo still had to prepare the luggages for herself and Zhuang Zhuang. Xiaoguo took out all the money from the cupboard. She didn’t know if anything would happen along the way, so she felt more at ease with more money in her pocket.

But there was so much money. Xiaoguo counted and found that there were probably a few hundred taels of silver. If she were to carry all the money with her, wouldn’t she be a walking money bag?

Xiaoguo took out the silver from her bag. It seemed that it was more suitable to keep it in a hidden place.

In a flash, she arrived in the space. It was safer to leave the silver there.

Xiaoguo put most of the money into the space, leaving only some loose silver behind. Then, she continued packing.

She still had to prepare Qin Anming’s food later.

Qin Anming wasn’t good at cooking. Xiaoguo placed the sausages on the table and took out some intestines from the fridge. She washed them and placed them in a basin. They would last a day or two without spoiling in this weather.

Xiaoguo knew that he loved intestines, but she didn’t put too much in. She was afraid that they would spoil if he couldn’t finish them.

She filled up the rice and flour in their respective jars. Fortunately, Xiaoguo had milled two bags of wheat and ground them into flour. Otherwise, Qin Anming would not have replenished the empty jars.

Xiaoguo filled up all the grain jars in the house. Seeing that there was nothing else to prepare, she left the kitchen.

Before the sky turned dark, Xiaoguo knocked on Mrs. Yang’s door with two sausages.

“Sister-in-law!”

Xiaoguo called out to Mrs. Yang. After a while, Mrs. Yang opened the door and came out. Seeing that it was Xiaoguo, she tried to pull her into the house.

Xiaoguo did not go in. “Sister-in-law, I still have to go back and cook. I am not going in.”

As Xiaoguo spoke, she handed the sausages to Mrs. Yang. “Mrs. Yang, I have a favor to ask of you today.”

Mrs. Yang took the sausages and was curiously studying it when she heard Xiaoguo’s request. She looked up and asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Do you know that we are shifting the graves to the capital tomorrow? My brother will be at home, but he’s a man. I’m worried about him cooking for himself, so I hope that you could take the time to visit him. You don’t have to go every day, just occasionally. I’ve prepared a lot of easy meals for him, so you don’t have to go every day.”

Mrs. Yang handed the sausages to Xiaoguo. “Is that all? It’s a small matter. Take this back. Our friendship doesn’t work this way.”

Xiaoguo pushed it back happily. “These are sausages. I made them myself. One is spicy and the other is not. I specially brought it over for your family to eat. I didn’t come here just for this!”

Xiaoguo pushed the sausages back and took two steps back. As she ran off, she said, “You can steam or stir-fry them.”

Before Mrs. Yang could chase after her, Xiaoguo had already run home.

Mrs. Yang looked at the receding figure and laughed helplessly. This child!

Earlier on, the village chief had called for a meeting with some men from a few families. Yang Feng was one of them. When he entered the house and told Mrs. Yang, she immediately thought of Xiaoguo. She wanted to ask Xiaoguo if she could handle Zhuang Zhuang by herself. Otherwise, she would ask Yang Feng and Yang Jia to go with her. And her house would be empty, so what would become of the animals? Would she need help?

Just as she was about to leave the house to look for Xiaoguo, Xiaoguo was already knocking on the door. Before Mrs. Yang could pull her into the house to talk, she had run off.

Forget it, Xiaoguo had arranged it well! She had really grown up!

Mrs. Yang smiled and shook her head before going back into the house.

In Mrs. Yang’s eyes, Xiaoguo was still the helpless, pregnant little girl who had just married into the Jiang family. Time passed so quickly…

The little girl whose eyes turned red whenever she was in trouble had become a capable mother.

The next morning, Xiaoguo woke up early and went to the kitchen to cook.

The Si hour means nine o’clock in the morning. Xiaoguo leaned out of the window and looked up at the sky. It was probably around seven o’clock. There was still time.

This was Xiaoguo’s first time doing this. She was really a little nervous, but according to the county magistrate, Xiaoguo didn’t need to take care of anything. He would be taking care of everything along the way, and there would be someone to pick her up when she arrives in the capital.

She was a little curious. Why were there so many people involved in the relocation of a grave? What status did the Jiang family have in the capital?

Xiaoguo brought the porridge to the table and placed the bowls and chopsticks down. She then went to the kitchen to bring over the side dishes and eggs.

When breakfast was served, there was some movement in Qin Anming’s room. Xiaoguo knew that he had woken up. The only person still sleeping was Zhuang Zhuang.

Xiaoguo went into the room and looked at Zhuang Zhuang, who was wrapped under the covers. His head was hidden under the blanket, and the shape of his little body looked like a bulge from her view.

“Zhuang Zhuang? Zhuang Zhuang?”

Xiaoguo reached under the blanket and found his head. She rubbed it gently, trying to wake him.

“Yeah…”

A kiddish voice sounded. Then, he rolled around under the blanket and twisted the blanket into a ball before slowly sticking his head out.

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“Mother?”

“Yes, the food is ready. Get up and have your breakfast.”

Xiaoguo gently held onto Zhuang Zhuang’s arm and tugged on it. Before you wake someone up, you have to first wake their body.

After tugging on his arms a few times, Zhuang Zhuang’s sleepy look had long disappeared. He was chuckling at Xiaoguo’s actions.

“Alright, get up!”

Xiaoguo lifted the blanket and got Zhuang Zhuang to get dressed. She then left the room.

“Brother?”

When Xiaoguo came out, she thought that she would see Qin Anming at the table. To her surprise, he was nowhere to be seen. The door to his room was also open. Where did he go?

“Brother? It’s time to eat!”

Xiaoguo shouted at Qin Anming in the courtyard. As soon as she finished speaking, Qin Anming’s voice was heard.

“Right away!”

Hearing where Qin Anming’s voice was coming from, Xiaoguo guessed that he was washing up.

Knowing what Qin Anming was doing, Xiaoguo felt relieved and continued filling the bowl with porridge. Once Qin Anming and Zhuang Zhuang were done washing up, the porridge would be just nice for eating.

Zhuang Zhuang sat down with Qin Anming. After peeling the eggs, Xiaoguo gave Zhuang Zhuang and Qin Anming an egg each. An egg a day would keep their health in good shape.

After breakfast, Xiaoguo put on the mourning clothes on Zhuang Zhuang. According to traditions, Xiaoguo and Zhuang Zhuang had to be dressed in mourning attire during the journey to the capital.

Luckily Qin Anming had reminded her about this. Otherwise, Xiaoguo would have forgotten to buy the mourning clothes yesterday.