Mistress made a few dishes, very simple and humble.
“Sorry, children, you came back so suddenly that I didn’t prepare any meat. Let’s make do for today. Tomorrow, I’ll have your Master go hunting for you.”
All the dishes Mistress made were vegetarian, without a hint of meat or fish. Yet, even with such simple fare, Mistress managed to create a unique flavor with her touch.
“Is it tasty?” Mistress asked, her eyes full of undisguised anticipation.
“Mm, it’s delicious.” I nodded in agreement.
That was the truth—Mistress’s cooking really was delicious. Even with limited ingredients, she could make such tasty food. If she had more to work with, it would be even better.
Ever since we followed Old Man all the way here, because of his frugality, we never got to eat anything good. Together with Zhao Yun, whose family was poor, we swept the table clean in no time at all.
“Heh, when it comes to cooking, Mistress is pretty confident.” Mistress smiled proudly, watching us wolf down the food, her own happiness growing—so innocent, just like a child.
“Hurry up and eat. Once you’re done, come out with Yun’er and follow me to practice martial arts.” Because we had devoured everything so quickly, Old Man, who hadn’t eaten much, didn’t mind and just drank some soup, speaking indifferently.
“What are you doing?” Mistress looked at Old Man with a hint of reproach. She looked just like a doting mother dissatisfied with her strict husband, her face full of gentle complaint. “The children have just arrived after a long journey, already tired and weary. You have to give them time to adjust.”
“They’re already at this age. If we don’t seize the time now, we’ll miss the best opportunity.” Old Man disagreed, but seeing his wife’s angry little face, he immediately wilted. “Alright, forcing it isn’t good either. We’ll rest for a day and start tomorrow.”
“It’s already noon, and you still call that a whole day?”
“Then… rest for two days?” Old Man tried.
“Three days.”
“Fine, three days it is…”
Old Man sighed helplessly, shaking his head as he continued to drink his soup.
“Pfft.” Seeing Old Man like that, I couldn’t help but laugh out loud, only to be glared at by him right away.
This guy really does bully the weak and fear the strong.
“Heehee.” Mistress laughed triumphantly, then gently stroked Zhao Yun’s little face, reluctant to let go. “Come, Yun’er, call me Mistress.”
Zhao Yun’s face, already red from Mistress’s fussing, froze for a moment. She looked hesitantly at her mother.
“If Madam asks you to call her, then just do it.” Yun’s Mother said.
“Mm, M-Mistress.” With Yun’s Mother’s approval, Zhao Yun called out timidly, looking so pitiful that not only Mistress, but even I almost rushed over to hug her.
“Aaaahhhhhhh—” As expected, Mistress let out a joyful shriek and hugged Zhao Yun tightly. “So cute, so cute!”
“With such pampering, how can she achieve greatness…” Old Man shook his head, muttering helplessly.
“What did you just say?” Mistress, still rubbing Zhao Yun’s cheeks, turned to Old Man with a bright smile.
“I—I said, tomorrow I’ll go down the mountain to buy some food and such.”
Seeing Old Man’s completely henpecked attitude, nothing like the strictness he usually showed us, I couldn’t help but come to a conclusion.
Just like Caosong, completely under his wife’s thumb…
Old Man… your majestic image in my heart is plummeting, just like Caosong’s.
The next morning, while we were still sound asleep from the exhaustion of travel, Old Man mercilessly dragged us out of bed.
Rubbing my bleary eyes, I grumbled, “Didn’t we agree to rest for three days? Old Man, don’t tell me you’re going back on your word.”
Old Man just chuckled, “I did say three days of rest, and today you really don’t need to practice. All you have to do is accompany me to town to buy some things.”
“Ah, is that so…” Though still sleepy, I knew we needed to buy some household goods, so I agreed. “Then, where are we going?”
“The nearest town is about thirty li from here.”
“Oh, that’s not too far. If we ride, we’ll be there in half an hour.” I sighed in relief, thinking it would be much farther.
Old Man lowered his head and looked at me with a half-smile. “Where do you think you’ll find horses in these remote mountains?”
“……”
“……”
“No horses!? No horses!? Are you sure there are no horses!?” After a moment of silence, I glared and shouted. I had never objected to the lack of horses so strongly before…
Old Man nodded, making me want to strangle him. Ten-plus kilometers—enough to keep us walking for half a day! How is this any different from training! I’ve been tricked by this guy!
Though Mistress wanted to keep us kids close, she could only puff up her cheeks and glare at Old Man with a look of deep grievance. In the end, she couldn’t refuse him when he claimed it was to provide for the household, so she had to let us go.
Before we left, when telling us what to buy, Mistress secretly whispered something in Bing Qiao’s ear. After Bing Qiao nodded obediently, Mistress patted her little head in satisfaction.
Yun’s Mother told Zhao Yun to listen to Old Man and me, then watched us head down the mountain.
Zhao Yun, that little girl, had clearly never seen the world outside the mountains. As soon as we left, she kept peeking around curiously through her bangs, even though there was nothing much to see in these wild hills…
We walked for nearly half a day. Just as I was about to throw myself on the ground and refuse to go any further, we finally caught sight of a small town in the distance.
Once inside, we didn’t even get a break before Old Man tossed a few strings of coins at me, hitting me on the head. “The grain is heavy, so I’ll buy it myself. You take your junior sisters and buy some household goods. Mistress should have told you what to get.”
I picked up the coins from the ground and glared at Old Man. “You’re pretty bold, trusting a few kids to do the shopping?”
“With you there, I doubt anything stupid will happen.”
“What’s with this weird sense of trust? As you can see, I’m just a kid, you know.” My body is that of a cute, adorable little boy, after all.
Old Man ignored me and waved as he walked away.
I sighed. Whatever, it’s just buying some bedding and stuff…
Though I’d completely forgotten what we needed to buy, luckily our little maid sisters in the back were good at housework. I figured they’d remember everything.
With the three little lolis, we walked through the streets looking for what we needed to buy.
Bing Qiao and Leng Yu were alright, having at least grown up in the relatively prosperous Lingbi City. But little Zhao Yun was a complete wild child—she’d never even seen the countryside outside the city, let alone a place like this.
Along the way, Zhao Yun kept shrinking her petite body in fear of the crowds, yet couldn’t suppress her curiosity and kept looking around. In her distraction, she bumped into a man and immediately fell to the ground.
“Huh?” The man, having been bumped, looked down at Zhao Yun with annoyance. Under his fierce gaze, Zhao Yun began to tremble, unable to speak, only making meaningless sounds like “Uh, ah…”
“Sorry, sir, this child is a little timid. Please don’t scare her.” I quickly stepped in front of Zhao Yun and apologized with a smile.
The man didn’t want to make trouble for a few kids, so he just said, “Watch where you’re going next time,” and left.