The night grew deeper. Apart from the firelight, everything around was pitch black, rendering the surroundings completely invisible.
Thus, Gu Qingcheng boldly used an old quilt as a base, covering her mother with the new quilt. If anyone approached, she would quickly hide the new one.
Ordinarily, people wouldn't come to inspect others' bedding in the dead of night unless they were asking for trouble.
After arranging for her mother, Gu Qingcheng retrieved a small packet of Buddha's Hand tea from the Cat Supermarket and, as if by magic, produced two exquisite ceramic mugs and a glass teapot.
Gu Zhaobei poured the tea leaves into the teapot and added boiling water. The fragrant aroma of the tea wafted out. Gu Qingcheng poured the tea into the two mugs, handing one to her father.
"Wow, it smells wonderful!"
Gu Zhaobei exclaimed with satisfaction.
Gu Qingcheng took a sip of the fine Buddha's Hand tea, a faint floral fragrance blooming in her mouth. It was pure bliss!
Gu Qingcheng squinted her eyes contentedly.
Just as she felt a surge of pleasure, the system awarded her two satisfaction points.
Having experienced this many times, Gu Qingcheng was no longer surprised.
She gratefully accepted the system's favor and then said to her father:
"The supermarket has coffee. Would you like some? If you do, you can have drip coffee tomorrow morning."
"No, that's alright. The taste is too unique. When we get to Jinsha City, we'll rent a house and have our own space, then we can talk about it."
Hearing about coffee, Gu Zhaobei's eyes lit up, but remembering the risk of exposure, he suppressed his desire.
"Okay." After finishing her tea, Gu Qingcheng put the teapot and cups back into the storage.
The bonfires were spaced about five meters apart, their flames flickering indistinctly. Only figures could be seen moving around the fires, but details were impossible to discern.
Even if someone were to notice Gu Zhaobei's group, they would only see a father and daughter seemingly drinking something, not the clear image of them holding mugs and sipping fragrant tea.
Gu Zhaobei's family was beginning to adapt and blend into their new life. Meanwhile, at Old Man Gu's place, Gu Dou, having been carried for a whole day, not only had his original pain unabated but also suffered from new aches in his buttocks and back.
Being carried all day, with the jolting up and down, how could he not be in pain?
Unable to turn over on the stretcher, he could only lie stiffly, which exacerbated the discomfort in his back and buttocks.
Upon arrival at the camp, after being set down, he started sobbing uncontrollably, muttering curses at Liu Dazhuang.
Liu Cui quickly covered his mouth and urged, "Son, please stop cursing. Liu the Butcher's family is very fierce; they threatened us with knives!"
Gu Dou sobbed, unable to vocalize his words. He wanted to tell his parents that the damned Gu Qingcheng was responsible for his plight and that they should seek revenge from her. But his mouth was unable to open, and the words wouldn't come out, so he could only stifle them.
Finally, he gave up the idea of speaking, as his wounds were becoming increasingly painful.
He vowed to settle scores with Gu Qingcheng once he recovered, to make that little shrew suffer the punishment she deserved.
Seeing how miserable he was, Liu Cui felt heartbroken.
At this moment, Old Man Gu, with a pained expression, took out some dried meat from the wooden chest he guarded. It was about the size of two adult palms, and he was reluctant to part with any more.
"Dad, can we have another piece? This little bit won't even make enough soup for half a bowl per person," Gu Laowu said greedily.
"Dried meat is for emergencies. Do you know how many kilometers are left to the south? It's still a full 800 li. We've only covered 200 li, and the group is already struggling. If it weren't for you all being so exhausted on the journey, I wouldn't have wanted to use this life-saving dried meat yet," Old Man Gu grumbled.
Hearing his father's words, Gu Laowu dared not speak further.
He had carried Gu Dou for half the day and his legs were sore and weak, his palms rubbed raw. He held out his hands to show everyone, saying, "Look, how tiring it is to carry Gu Dou. My hands are all rubbed raw. I want an extra bowl of meat soup tonight."
Gu Laosi and Gu Mi, hearing this, quickly chimed in, saying they had also carried Gu Dou and wanted an extra bowl of meat soup.
Liu Cui, seeing the three of them making such a fuss over a little bit of effort, became annoyed. "We're all traveling anyway, and you weren't made to walk extra. You just carried one person. No one else is complaining, only you two are so delicate."
Gu Laosi immediately retorted, "If we hadn't been carrying Gu Dou, we would have walked much faster. Our hands and feet wouldn't have been rubbed raw. Look, even our straw sandals are worn through. Sister-in-law, you have to compensate us, or our feet will be worn down tomorrow."
Gu Laosi lifted his right foot, revealing a hole worn through the sole of his straw sandal.
Liu Cui gasped. If she had to compensate them with new shoes, it would be too much of a loss.
To give each of them a pair of straw sandals, and an extra bowl of meat soup…
Liu Cui's mind was calculating furiously. Initially, she thought Gu Dou would recover quickly and wouldn't need their help tomorrow.
Now, seeing that Gu Dou wasn't improving and they would likely still need help tomorrow, she reluctantly said, "Alright, I'll give you each a pair of straw sandals. As for the meat soup, that's up to Dad."
Old Man Gu heard this and pondered for a moment before stating, "Carrying Douzi did require a lot of effort. Tonight, they will get half a bowl more meat soup."
Although a bit disappointed to receive half a bowl less than they expected, Gu Laosi, Gu Laowu, and Gu Mi had no choice. At least they still got more than others.
Two palm-sized pieces of dried meat were boiled in water, essentially just to impart flavor. Liu Cui added two more spoonfuls of river water.
If they wanted more soup, diluting it would ensure no one got an unfair advantage.
After the dried meat boiled, Old Man Gu threw in the wild vegetables washed by Zhang Manzhi. After simmering for a while longer, he announced, "The meat soup is ready. Eldest son, you can serve it."
Gu Laoda's spirits lifted. He quickly grabbed a bowl and served himself two heaping bowls, then began serving the others.
Unexpectedly, his second sister-in-law was displeased and angrily said, "Big brother, how can you serve yourself such a large bowl and then give us such thin broth? Not only is there no meat, but not much wild vegetables either."
Gu Laoda looked and indeed saw the situation. His face flushed red, and he said, "My hand trembled. I'll add a bit more for you."
He then added some wild vegetables and shredded meat to the second family's bowls.
Zhang Manzhi stopped complaining but still looked wary, her eyes fixed on the first family's bowls, seemingly convinced that their portion of meat and vegetables was more than hers.
Gu Laosi, Gu Laowu, and Gu Mi received their meat soup. Ignoring the heat, they quickly slurped it down, fearing that their extra half-bowl might disappear.
The three finished their soup in no time, blowing on it, and then, holding their bowls, said, "Big brother, another half bowl. It would be great if there was more meat."
Gu Laoda, with a reluctant expression, added a piece of shredded meat as thick as a finger.
Old Man Gu's family ate their first "rich" dinner with meat in a rather chaotic manner. After finishing, everyone went to the riverbank to gather plenty of dry firewood. They planned to build a larger bonfire, as it was incredibly cold otherwise.
They put on the padded jackets they had brought, but felt they offered no warmth and were freezing. Only by increasing the heat of the bonfire could they hope to endure the cold.