Chapter 102: Well Aware
Gu Zhang quickly apologized to the shopkeeper and pulled the old lady out. "Mother, if you can’t bear to spend the money, then don’t eat. If you can’t stand watching us eat, then don’t look. We’re on the road, so please don’t go looking for trouble!"
The old lady pointed a trembling finger at Gu Zhang. "Me? Looking for trouble? You... you’re tired of me, aren’t you? Is this any way to spend silver?"
"Over one tael of silver for a single meal, and I’m not even allowed to say a word about it!"
"You wasteful lot! At this rate, you’ll eat us out of house and home!"
Just then, Little Cao looked at the old lady and said in her small, meek voice, "Grandma, don’t you like noodles?"
"The noodles were so yummy. You finished them all, and you even drank the broth. Why are you still angry?"
Gu Fei couldn’t help but turn away, stifling a giggle.
’Little Cao is priceless.’
The old lady stared at Little Cao, too furious to speak. She couldn’t very well argue with a three-year-old. If she did, she’d be considered senile whether she was or not.
Gu Zhang quickly signaled for Gu Qing to help the old lady onto the cart. His mother was giving him a massive headache. ’Sigh, I never should have taken on this hot potato.’
With an ashen face, the old lady was lifted onto the mule cart by Gu Qing and Er Lang. The group then hurried toward the East City Gate.
It wasn’t yet noon, and only the village chief’s family was waiting by the city gate.
When the mule cart from Gu Fei’s family arrived, the village chief’s family was eating white flour steamed buns.
Upon suddenly seeing Gu Zhang and Gu Fei, the village chief scrambled to hide the steamed bun in his clothes.
Gu Fei burst out laughing.
’I wonder if people in this era are just traumatized by poverty. They have money but can’t bear to spend it, and when they do eat something good, they’re afraid of being seen.’
Gu Zhang laughed too. "Village Chief, there’s no need to hide it. It’s just a white flour steamed bun; surely you’re not afraid of being seen eating that."
The village chief gave an awkward laugh. "I... It’s just... the kids were craving them. Couldn’t be helped, couldn’t be helped."
As they were speaking, the great-aunt’s family arrived as well.
Ju Hua and Tie Niu climbed down from their cart, their lips glistening with oil.
Aunt Liu teased, "Well, well. What fancy meal did you all have?"
Ju Hua laughed brightly. "Grandpa treated us to meat at a restaurant."
Aunt Liu just smiled and said nothing more.
’She had also suggested taking the children to a restaurant. After all, they had been roughing it day after day on the road. Now that they’d finally reached a city, they deserved a good meal.’
’But the old man had been too reluctant. After all her pleading, he had finally gritted his teeth and bought a few white flour steamed buns, giving each person half of one.’
Aunt Liu turned and shot the village chief a fierce glare. ’You old coot. Just had to be a cheapskate.’
Soon, the few remaining families arrived one by one. Uncle Ma also came over, a bundle on his back and a wineskin in his hand.
Gu Zhang was just starting to worry about why the Prefectural Governor’s son had yet to arrive when a horse-drawn carriage appeared in the distance. The driver was none other than Chen Hu.
The carriage stopped, and Gu Zhang announced vaguely to the group, "This is an acquaintance of mine. They’ll be traveling with us."
Chen Hu and Zhang Ze quickly jumped down from the carriage to greet everyone.
Su Chen remained in the carriage, merely lifting a corner of the curtain to glance briefly over the crowd.
Uncle Ma’s eyes glinted as he looked at the carriage curtain. He spoke meaningfully, "It’s no matter if they travel with us. But from here on, I’m afraid there will be no more inns. I just wonder if these gentlemen can endure such conditions."
Before Chen Hu and Zhang Ze could reply, Gu Zhang asked, "What do you mean? Are there no inns along the main road?"
Uncle Ma shook his head. "Normally, there are inns along the main road. But I’ve just gotten word that West Mountain County and Hedong County are in utter chaos. Most of the inns are too afraid to open. From now on, we’ll have to rest in the wild. We’ll have to find our own water, too. It’s going to be hard!"
He thought for a moment, then added, "The governmental post houses are available, of course, but we commoners aren’t qualified to stay in them."