Xu Hui pulled open the curtain of the carriage and saw Xu Yu standing outside the carriage with Ruigol in her arms.
The Ruigol passed a wooden hairpin to Xu Hui and said, "Sister, we made this for you personally. We will give you your birthday present. When I have the ability, we will definitely buy you the best jade hairpin." They had carved this hairpin for a long time, but because of the war, they could not give it to Xu Hui personally. When Xu Hui came back, he was busy talking to Xu Jingan and the others, and it was only then that Xu Rui found the time to give it to him.
Xu Hui took it over and saw that it was a Celestial Feather Peach Blossom hairpin. It was polished very smoothly. If the Ruigol did not say anything, Xu Hui would not have thought that these were handmade by the boys. Remembering that it had taken so much effort for this hairpin, Xu Hui felt sad and warm at the same time. For the sake of her brothers, she had to find a way to disqualify the Xu family. At their age, they should be sitting in the academy studying quietly.
The ox-cart set off slowly. Fortunately, the official road of the West Thousand City Institution was quite flat. Although it was rather shaky, the interior of the carriage was made up of mattresses, so the carriage didn't feel uncomfortable.
Gou Sheng's mother saw that Xu Hui's expression was not good and hurriedly pulled Er Wa, Niu Niu and the other children over to his side, saying, "Dazong's daughter-in-law, you should lie down and rest. You didn't sleep last night, your eyes are already red."
Xu Hui smiled and thanked Gou Sheng's mother for his kindness. She distributed the cakes and eggs given by Zhou's to the rest and used the bag of clothes she wrapped around his head as a pillow. She lay down and closed his eyes to rest.
As the car shook, Xu Hui gradually fell asleep. Gou Sheng and were coaxing the children to not disturb Xu Hui's sleep.
He woke up in a daze and felt his body shaking. Xu Hui realized that she was on the way and hurriedly asked Gou Sheng's mother, "Aunt, what time is it?"
Gou Sheng's mother stuck his head out and said, "I think it's just noon."
Seeing Gou Sheng's mother laughing as he hugged Er Wa, Xu Hui hurriedly asked, "Aunt, what are we going to eat at noon? Why don't you make dumplings? "
What? On the way, he even packed dumplings. Besides, he had already eaten cake and eggs, so why would he eat lunch?
Xu Hui was so amused by Gou Sheng's mother that he wanted to laugh. She understood that Gou Sheng's way of thinking was simple and arduous.
However, Xu Hui had never thought that they would be able to travel together like this.
Xu Hui stuck her head out and looked at Xiao Dazong who was sitting on the front of the carriage wrapped in a sheepskin coat. She said to Xiao Dazong, "Master, bring me a packet of dumpling stuffing. Shall we have some dumplings for lunch?"
"Will the pot be poured over the stove? Xiao Dayong had never tried cooking food on the road before as well. He was afraid that Xu Hui would be in trouble if she were to cook for him out of the kindness of her heart.
Xu Hui smiled and said, "No, it's a specially bought two eared pot. It can be stuck on top of the charcoal stove, and it's plugged in with a stick. As long as the car isn't shaking too much, it's fine." This cauldron was something that Xu Hui had entrusted Wang Changwang to spend one or two silver coins to buy. It was one or two silver coins, but it was only half a pig's money. However, with this stove and cooking pot, they would not have to worry about food and drinks on the way here. Furthermore, if Wang Changwang had not been busy driving around, and was more familiar with these things, Xu Hui would not have been able to buy them herself.
Hearing Xu Hui's explanation, Xiao Dayong was relieved. He handed a bag of dumpling stuffing to Xu Hui, who took it and went back into the carriage.
He put the charcoal stove outside the carriage and lit it up. He took out the basin from the box at the back of the carriage and poured the noodles into the three sides. He poured water from the water bag and poured the noodles into the three sides.
"Sister-in-law, is this really hot?" "What's going on? There's a stove in the car, what's under the pot? It looks like it's locked up?"
This is a charcoal stove and pot for the people driving the big carts. There are people who are going to drive the big carts to distant places, and they will be on their way for a few months, and they can't just leave without eating and drinking. Some craftsmen have made this kind of fixed charcoal stove and pot, so they can cook and eat while they're on their way.
"Aiyo, Amitabha, thank god for having such a hot meal when you were out here. If not for the things Dazong's daughter-in-law prepared for you, I would not have known that there would be such a nimble thing in this world."
Xu Hui smiled. She had almost woken up, and the dumplings' stuffing had almost been defrosted. She quickly poured the dumplings' stuffing into a big bowl and everyone started to wrap the dumplings.
The bus started off fresh, but it became boring after a while. The kids who had been riding for the whole morning were all bored. They looked at Xu Hui and the others who were wrapping dumplings, and they were all eager to try them out.
Gou Sheng's mother was afraid that the children would waste their food, but Xu Hui was unwilling to hold the children tightly. Other than Er Wa, who was too small, Niu Niu and Gou Sheng's sister Plum Blossom had made them try to wrap the dumplings, which had made the two girls extremely happy.
Xiao Xiuer wrapped dumplings around herself as she looked at Er Wa. Inside the car, there was a charcoal stove burning and it was not cold at all. Xiao Xiuer was extremely worried about leaving home all of a sudden, but now she had calmed down. His mother was right, she would definitely be able to live a good life with her sister-in-law.
Xiao Da Yong laughed and waved his whip at Gou Sheng, who was driving the ox-cart behind. Gou Sheng also heard the liveliness from the carriage in front and could not help but burst into laughter.
Not long ago, he was bitterly laughing as he drove the ox-cart, watching his mother and siblings freeze and feel heartbroken. Now, not only did his mother and sister have a warm cart to sit on, they also had hot food to eat, especially with his fiancée inside, what could be more comfortable than this. Even if he went to Kepin, he wouldn't have to worry about it no matter how tired he was.
The chubby dumplings that were like little ingots got out of the pot, and after a while, they started to boil. The more people in the pot, the smaller the pots with points.
After serving the dumplings, Xu Hui told Xiao Da Yong and Gou Sheng to stop and rest for a while, and then eat the dumplings before hurrying on their way.
The hot, fragrant meat dumplings were eaten by everyone. Er Wa and the little kid had eaten almost twenty dumplings, not to mention Xiao Da Yong and Gou Sheng, who already had something to eat, had only made Xu Hui's and Gou Sheng's arms hurt.
After he ate and drank to his heart's content, he continued his journey. After Xu Hui had slept enough, he called for Gou Sheng and to lie down and rest. He took out the book that Xu Jingyao had given Xiao Da Yong to enlighten him and taught the children to read.
Hearing the childish voices and Xu Hui's gentle explanation, Xiao Da Yong and Gou Sheng couldn't help but smile. As if feeling the joy of their master, Xiao Da Yong and Gou Sheng started to walk quickly and steadily.
It was hard to travel, but it was even harder to travel through the ancient times. Although Xu Hui felt that she had made adequate preparations, she found it difficult to endure until nightfall.
Xiao Da Yong and Gou Sheng found an empty land to stop for the night and rest during the night.
After cutting some firewood and mixing it with the dry firewood he had brought from home, Xu Hui wanted to let the children, who had been riding on the carriage for the whole day, out to get some fresh air, but the moment he opened the curtain, the bone-piercing cold wind made her teeth tremble. It was good to have the sun during the day, but it was too cold at night.
Moreover, he didn't know if it was her misconception, but it seemed to be colder here than Xiao Jia Village.
After asking Xiao Da Yong, Xu Hui knew that it was not her misconception. Going to the Kepin was like walking towards the north, and naturally got colder, and in the wilderness, it was already colder than the village. Luckily, there was no snow right now, and if it snowed, not only would it be hard to walk on the road, it would also be colder.
Xu Hui hurriedly asked Xiao Da Yong how long it would take them to get to Kepin, but she received depressing news. They had only walked about fifty miles in a single day, and the farther they walked, the slower they would be. They would be able to reach there in about four or five days.
Xu Hui thought about it and felt that it made sense. When they had been exiled from Jiang Prefecture to Ming Prefecture, they had gone from spring to autumn. It had only been four or five days and they still had a ride.
Excited, Xu Hui stewed a pot of brown sugar that had been placed in a pot of ginger soup and poured a big bowl for Xiao Da Yong and Gou Sheng. Dinner was relatively simple, it was very hot, accompanied by the meat sauce and Chinese cabbage with spicy sauce s that were prepared before the departure, and also a meal with some Red Sugar Ginger Soup.
The number of people eating increased as well, about twenty to thirty dishes in one meal. Xu Hui had initially thought that she had brought too much with him, but now she was very glad that she had brought all of them. With these people eating three meals a day, she would be able to finish most of the dishes.
After eating, everyone got out of the car to exercise for a bit before getting back in.
Xu Hui and Gou Sheng's mother placed a small mattress on top of a box at the back of the carriage so Niu Niu and Er Wa could sleep on it. The four of them squeezed into the rest of the carriage to sleep.
As for Xiao Dazong and Gou Sheng, these two thick-skinned fellows, they could only sleep beside the bonfire outside for a while. The road was desolate, so he had to be more vigilant at night than during the day. It was not about guarding against humans or wolves. The weather was cold and wolves would go down the mountain to look for food if they encountered something.
Xu Hui cut a piece of meat and put it into the charcoal stove. She also filled a water bag with a pot of scalded wine, instructed Xiao Da Yong and Gou Sheng to drink and eat some meat. Then, she went back to the carriage to rest with the rest.
With the meat and wine on the fire, Xiao Da Yong and Gou Sheng's night was not that difficult to pass.
Xu Hui watched as they headed north. The kids were getting bored, especially Erwa and Niu Niu. They could not sit still anymore, but it was too cold outside to let them out. After thinking about it, she came up with an idea. Using stories as bait, so that the children could read and read within the allotted time. As for stories, they had already been plagiarized and Xu Hui's face had also been trained, so she racked her brains to recall the contents of the《 Divine Seal Decree》 and told them.
Other than a group of people who had never heard of any drama before, they had never heard of such a story. Xu Hui's pieced together stories from her memories had also captivated them. Even Mother Gou Sheng was asking about it. "Why did Mother Nuwa send Daji to confuse King Zhou?" Is it true that she eats people's hearts? " Xu Hui was left confused by these questions.
With a story to listen to, the children have spirit, reading and reading also has motivation. After walking for four days, even the youngest Er Wa would recite the words "at the beginning of a person's life, a person's nature was good", which only made Gou Sheng extremely happy. She felt that listening to Gou Sheng's words and coming to Kepin was the right decision to make. Look, even though she was well-fed and dressed, she could still read and read. She even found such a good daughter-in-law for Gou Sheng.
Just as they were about fifteen kilometers from Kepin, snow started to fall from the sky. Everyone was a little worried.
Xiao Da Yong comforted her: "Don't worry, let's hurry up on our journey today. We just need to enter the Guest House!"
Xu Hui prayed silently that the snow would not get too heavy and they would be able to reach the Kepin as soon as possible.
However, by noon, the snow had started to fall heavily. Not only did it snow, but it also caused the wind to blow, wrapping the people who saw it so tightly that they couldn't even open their eyes.
Xu Hui looked at Xiao Da Yong's body which was covered in a layer of snow, his lips were purple, and his heart ached. They were sitting in the carriage and couldn't get hungry, but Xiao Da Yong and Gou Sheng, who were driving the carriage, had suffered greatly.
The snow was getting heavier, but what was to be done?