"No matter what you say, there's no possibility between us. There are thousands of women in the world, and you don't need to fixate on me."
"This is the money I owe you. From now on, we are quits," Qin Junyao said, taking out bank notes from her bundle, or rather, from her spatial dimension, and placing them on the table, pushing them towards Zhao Liangcai.
Zhao Liangcai looked at the bank notes and was furious. Giving back money again.
How could they still have so much money after staying in Northwest City for so long? How did Qin Junyao earn it? Did she find any heavenly treasures?
He was so angry that he put his hands on his hips, stretching his injured back.
Zhao Liangcai suddenly thought of something. He stopped being angry and sat back on the stool.
"How can we be quits? You don't mind that I hugged you, but you saw me. You need to be responsible for me."
Qin Junyao looked at Zhao Liangcai in disbelief. The plot from a novel was playing out in real life, which was truly speechless.
"Zhao Liangcai, don't be a scoundrel here. This doesn't suit your identity as a general."
"What's the use of being a general if I can't marry the person I love?"
"Are you done? Get out now."
"I'm not leaving. The soldiers outside haven't retreated..."
Grandma Qin yawned loudly outside the door, then listened at the door before nodding and returning to her room.
Xiao Chuizi (Zhao Liangcai's nickname) was quite resourceful. Arguing was better than silence.
Her granddaughter had been a different person since her personality changed, saying less than ten sentences a day. It was good that she could now exchange words with Xiao Chuizi.
The next day, Qin Junyao woke up in bed.
She sat up and looked around. The sky was already bright outside, and Zhao Liangcai had long since disappeared from the room.
Qin Junyao pulled the quilt over her head and lay back down. She kicked and thrashed under the covers.
How could she have fallen asleep? How could she have fallen asleep?
Qin Junyao was tired from arguing with Zhao Liangcai last night. She then sat on the stool and ignored him. She didn't remember how she fell asleep or how she ended up in bed.
"Yaoyao, come down for breakfast, then we'll hire a carriage to buy grain," Grandma Qin called out, knocking on Qin Junyao's door.
"Got it, coming down now." Qin Junyao agreed, then went into her spatial dimension to change into the patched cotton clothes she had worn, wrapped up the newly bought clothes, and went downstairs.
The change in their attire naturally drew sideways glances from the innkeeper and the waiter. However, there was no other choice, as their clothes couldn't be worn back in the village.
When pawning clothes at the pawnshop, Qin Junyao had insisted on keeping Grandma Qin's purple headscarf.
Purple fabric was very expensive, and Qin Junyao hadn't seen any in Yan County. Grandma Qin looked quite good in purple, and keeping the headscarf didn't matter.
As they sat in the carriage returning to the town, Qin Junyao examined the hand warmer sent by Ling Manshuang. It contained burning charcoal, yet the hand warmer was at a moderate temperature and didn't burn her hand. It was truly magical.
They had departed before dawn that morning, but Ling Manshuang and Bai Qing were waiting at the city gate to see her off.
Besides the delicate hand warmer, Ling Manshuang also gave her a large bag of silver charcoal. Bai Qing had given her food.
Grandma Qin lowered the carriage curtain and said to Qin Junyao, who was looking at the hand warmer all around, "It's snowing outside." Su Dan Xiao Shuo Wang
"It's snowing?" Qin Junyao put down the hand warmer and lifted the curtain.
Tiny snowflakes drifted down, blanketing the yellow earth on both sides of the road with a white carpet. It was beautiful.
Accompanied by the snow, the Qin grandmother and granddaughter returned home.
As the New Year approached, Yan County was filled with a festive atmosphere. Grandma Qin and her granddaughter visited Dr. Sheng in Yan County and then rented an ox cart to return to Yangshu Village.
Upon entering the village, the festive atmosphere was not as strong as in Yan County.
This was because more than half of the villagers' grain, which could be exchanged for money, had been seized by the Northwest Army. The remaining villagers who had money and grain also did not dare to overtly prepare for the New Year.
After being away for over a month, Qin Junyao actually missed this home, where they hadn't spent much time together.
"San Niu, Xiao Yu." Before reaching their doorstep, Qin Junyao saw her younger siblings playing in the courtyard with Huang Goubu (the dog).
"Sister? Third Brother, our sister and our Grandma are back. Mom, my sister and Grandma are back!" Qin Xiaoyu chirped, running towards the house. She then wanted to run towards the ox cart.
When she saw Qin Mu coming out of the room, she finally ran towards the ox cart.
"Be careful. You're almost at the door, and you're still trying to run up," Qin Junyao grabbed Qin Xiaoyu's arm and helped her onto the ox cart.
"Hehe, Sister, Grandma, did you buy meat? We're out of meat at home," Qin Xiaoyu asked her grandmother and sister, looking at the things on the ox cart.
"Oh, you eat quite quickly. You're living a comfortable life while I'm not home to manage you," Grandma Qin said, forcefully swatting away Qin Xiaoyu's busy little hands.
Qin Xiaoyu touched her sore right hand and complained to Grandma Qin with some grievance, "Grandma, you hit me as soon as you got back. That meat wasn't eaten by me. Sun Pozi took it all away."
"What did you say? What Sun Pozi?"
"It's Sun Pozi, from Axe's family. She brought people and took the sheep and rabbits sent by the Zhou family, as well as the cured meat my mother made. So much meat."
Grandma Qin didn't quite understand the two sentences Qin Xiaoyu said. She raised her hand to hit her, but Qin Junyao stopped her. "Grandma, Xiao Yu is still young."
"Young what? At her age, she can get married and be a child bride. She can't even explain things properly. She's chattering all day like a boy. Look at her neck, did you get into a fight with someone again?"
Qin Xiaoyu broke free from Qin Junyao's hand. The ox cart stopped, and she quickly got off.
From a distance from the ox cart, she shouted at Grandma Qin,
"I fight because I learned from you, Grandma. You're not like other grandmas; you're also a chattering old lady." After shouting, Qin Xiaoyu ran away.
"You little brat, a few days without discipline and you're getting bold as heaven. Come back here!" Grandma Qin, furious, cursed as she got off the ox cart.
Qin Junyao held Grandma Qin's arm, stopping her from chasing. Although Qin Xiaoyu was young, she was fast. Grandma Qin was getting old, and she might fall if she chased.
The Hou family heard the commotion and came to help unload the ox cart.
Grandma Qin had bought a lot of grain in Northwest City. She remembered the money and would repay Qin Junyao when she earned money in the future.
It was the same saying: she could take advantage of anyone's kindness, but not that of a Bodhisattva.
Grandma Qin gave half of the grain on the cart to the Hou family.
"Sister Fang, the potatoes that Junyao helped hide are enough for us to eat." Old Man Hou didn't want the grain.
Currently, only Yingfeng Grain Store in Yan County sold grain. The coarse grains were sold at higher prices than the previous fine grains, and they were also limited.
"Enough for what? I don't know your family. Twenty-some mouths eat a lot of grain every day. Plus, three are working at the salt lake. Even if you eat a little less, you still need to feed them."
"Your Shanzha, Shancha, as well as Xingwang and Xingsheng's wives, are all young. If their bodies are weakened by hunger, you'll regret it as a grandfather. Find time to take them to Yan County to see Dr. Sheng."
"No more than that, just five hundred jin of millet. Remember to give me the money. Not a single copper coin less," Grandma Qin said, then entered the house with a large bag of silver charcoal.
The wife of Hou Neng, who helped unload the cart, secretly wiped away tears. Shanzha and Shancha were both her daughters, one thirteen and the other eleven.
They were already well-behaved and obedient children. During the drought, there wasn't enough food at home, and they saved their own portions to give to their parents. Now that things had stabilized, the children were still not eating enough. It was hard for their in-laws to find suitable matches for them.
Hou Jing's wife also secretly thanked Grandma Qin. Xingwang and Xingsheng were her sons.
Xingwang's wife gave birth at the beginning of the drought year. The family helped raise the child. However, Xingsheng's wife had been married for over a year and had not yet conceived. She knew it was due to hunger.
If, in the past, when they were in the village or during the early days of fleeing famine, the Hou family's wives had been dissatisfied and resentful towards the Qin family, they were now filled with gratitude.
In the latter half of their flight from famine, without the Qin family, the Hou family would not have all survived.