Cheng Yao stood there with perfect composure, her tone languid. “I heard you were looking for me?”
“How do you walk so quietly? You nearly scared me to death.” Zhan Qingrou patted her chest. Only then did she belatedly point at Cheng Yao, then behind Zhan Haochen. “Weren’t you over here? How did you come out from that direction?”
Zhan Haochen guiltily rubbed the tip of his nose.
Cheng Yao arched a brow. “It’s not as though I don’t have legs. Can’t I walk around on my own?”
Zhan Qingrou stared at her suspiciously. After a moment, she asked, “Where’s my brother?”
Before Cheng Yao could answer, Zhan Qingrou rushed past her.
By the faint firelight filtering in from outside, she saw Zhan Haoting lying in the corner. A threadbare quilt lay beneath him. He was awake, his clothes clean, his eyes clear, and he looked to be in good spirits.
“How is he? Is your eldest brother completely unharmed? I didn’t do anything to him, did I?”
Hearing the sarcastic edge in Cheng Yao’s voice and seeing the chilly look in Zhan Haoting’s eyes, Zhan Qingrou felt guilty. “I—I was only worried about his injuries.”
Then she remembered something and hurriedly said, “Sister-in-law, you should go back quickly. We’ve run out of ginger, and half the people are still waiting in line for ginger soup. Hongxiu doesn’t know what to do.”
Of the more than eighty people in the exile party, some harbored grudges against Zhan Haoting, while others simply did not care for ginger soup. In the past, only a few people at a time would come to drink it. Even when it rained, there had never been more than twenty.
But now they had been drenched by the torrential rain for an entire day. Even people made of iron would fall ill under such conditions.
To survive, what did pride, principles, and grudges matter? They could all be discarded.
“Did they all offer something in exchange for the supplies?”
“Yes. Hongxiu refused anything too shabby and is waiting for you to decide.”
Cheng Yao acknowledged this and went over to retrieve a cloth bag from beside Zhan Haoting. It wasn’t tied tightly, and the faint scent of ginger drifted out from within.
Zhan Qingrou’s mouth fell slightly open.
Where had her sister-in-law gotten so much ginger this time? The bag was bulging. Could there even be brown sugar inside?
Cheng Yao reminded Zhan Haoting, “Get some proper rest. I might be back late.”
She had taken only two steps when she turned and called to Zhan Qingrou, “Come on. We’re going to help.”
“Huh?” Zhan Qingrou’s shoulders drooped as she dragged her feet. “Sister-in-law, my hands are so sore I can barely lift them.”
“Drink a bowl of ginger soup and you’ll be fine.” Cheng Yao took her hand. “Zhang Dapeng won’t let us light a fire, so we have to finish handing out the ginger soup before he comes back after eating and drinking his fill.”
Zhan Qingrou looked worried. “The ginger and charcoal smoke won’t be enough to hide it. He’ll come after us.”
“I have a plan.”
Cheng Yao dragged her along at a brisk pace.
“Wait, wait, Sister-in-law, slow down!”
“I can’t slow down even a little.”
Cheng Yao did not want to get into a confrontation with that runner.
Otherwise, she was afraid she wouldn’t be able to resist killing him!
After the two women left, Xiao Fu wiped the sweat from his forehead and let out a sigh of relief. “They’re finally gone.”
The young lady was willful, the madam mysterious—neither woman was easy to deal with.
Zhan Haochen felt exactly the same way. He crouched down and spoke to Zhan Haoting.
“Big brother, where did Sister-in-law take you?”
Zhan Haoting’s body suddenly stiffened. His narrow eyes grew turbulent with complicated emotions, then gradually settled into calm. Slowly, he uttered a few words:
“A safe place.”
Zhan Haochen and Xiao Fu exchanged a glance, and both saw the helplessness in the other’s eyes.
They knew it was safe, but where exactly was this “safe place”?
Besides, the two of them had clearly disappeared from one location. How had they suddenly reappeared here?
Zhan Haochen said, “Big brother, you should at least tell us how Sister-in-law got you out. That way, Uncle Xiao and I can cover for you in the future.”
The corners of Zhan Haoting’s lips lifted into a faint curve. “No need.”
No need for what?
Did he mean there was no need to tell them, or that he did not need them to cover for him?
Zhan Haochen wanted to ask a few more questions, but Zhan Haoting had already closed his eyes.
Xiao Fu shook his head at him, signaling that he should stop asking.
…
Hongxiu was sweating all over as she brewed soup pot after pot without daring to stop.
It was getting late, and the runners would soon come over to order them to rest, yet a long line of people still waited behind them.
Worse still, they had run out of ginger.
All she could do was say apologetically, “Everyone, we’re out of ginger. We’ll have to make more another day.”
However, these people had walked through the rain all day and then stood in line for so long that they were now dizzy and on the verge of collapsing. Upon hearing her words, they immediately broke down.
“If we’re out of ginger, why didn’t you say so earlier?”
“You made us wait for an hour or two for nothing! We’re cold, hungry, and can barely stand.”
“How could it run out so conveniently when it was our turn? You’re obviously lying. Beat her to death!”
“Call Cheng Yao out!”
Everyone was furious, the veins in their necks bulging as angry roars rumbled from their throats like the cries of trapped beasts.
Hongxiu looked anxiously outside and tried to calm them down. “Don’t act like this. If you attract the runners, none of us will get off lightly.”
One man shouted in anguish, “Good! Let them come. Let one of them stab me to death. I’ve had enough of living!”
“This wretched life of mine—anyone can trample on it now. It would be cleaner to die!”
Hongxiu kept glancing outside, her face turning pale.
These people had decided to throw caution to the wind. Weren’t they afraid of bringing disaster down on their entire families?
“If you want to die, then get the hell away from here and do it!” Cheng Yao appeared with a livid expression. “You’re still harming others right before you die. You’ll be thrown into a boiling-oil cauldron after death!”
For some reason, the moment they saw her, their anger subsided by more than half. When she took out fresh ginger and began washing it, the agitation and unease in their hearts were forcibly suppressed as well.
“I risk having the runners cut me open and disembowel me just to find ginger and make soup for you. Do you really think I’m after the paltry things you have? I’m doing this because I want to give everyone a hand, pull us together, and help us survive as one! If you don’t understand that, fine—but now you’re throwing a fit here. Do I owe you anything?”
Cheng Yao berated them without holding back. The people lowered their heads after being scolded. A few were still unconvinced, but none of them dared talk back, so they could only swallow their resentment.
Her voice was loud, but the sound of the pouring rain drowned it out. The runners were busy eating, drinking, and warming themselves by the fire, so they did not notice.
Seeing how much everyone feared and respected Cheng Yao, Shao Yutong quietly clenched her fists.
Feng Xianxian, however, did not possess such restraint. She came over to mediate. “All right, Yao Yao. Everyone has been waiting for an hour or two and can’t hold on any longer. Say a little less.”
Cheng Yao tossed the ginger in her hand aside and pointed at her. “Are you blind, or are you heartless? Did I make them unable to hold on?
“They could have sat down while they waited, so why did they insist on standing? They could at least take a break. My whole family has been working nonstop until now. It’s not that we’re merely too tired to stand—we can’t even lift our aching hands. Yet we haven’t heard a single word of thanks from any of you. Instead, you curse us like dogs. Why should we bother?”
After that tirade, even Feng Xianxian found it difficult to keep her composure.
“But you accepted things from everyone. This is an equal exchange—we each get what we need. What do you have to complain about?”
“An equal exchange, is that it?” Cheng Yao sneered. She dragged the basket containing everyone’s belongings over to Feng Xianxian’s feet. “I don’t want any of it. Here, take it all. You can make the ginger soup for everyone.”
Feng Xianxian’s face flushed.
Damn Cheng Yao. In the past, no matter who bullied her, she had been as meek and silent as a bottle. Now she was eloquent and sharp-tongued enough to leave anyone speechless.
She stammered, “You know perfectly well I don’t have any ginger.”
