Su Miaomiao saw their difficulty in cleaning and said, "Find a water source nearby? Washing with water would be much faster than this."
As she spoke, she looked around and saw several plants that liked to grow by water, which, even after the rain, appeared exceptionally vigorous.
Distinguishing plants requires extremely keen eyesight and immense attention to detail.
Su Miaomiao often went camping with Cheng Hao, so she had more experience.
By observing the growth trends of the plants, she successfully pointed them in a direction, "Head northwest; there should be a water source not far away. Can you look for it?"
Su Miaomiao said this, otherwise, she would have gone herself if not for Cheng Hao's instructions.
The servants obeyed their master's orders implicitly. Although the person in front of them was a young girl, she was the wife their young master had just married, their young madam. Upon hearing this, two people immediately went.
Su Miaomiao was also surprised by their obedience, then happily told them to be careful, and she still stood on a stone stool by the roadside to watch, worried.
She told them to remember the route, lest they get lost and it would be troublesome.
The two lads agreed.
Then they walked towards the northwest, parting the grass and branches, their figures gradually disappearing.
Su Miaomiao stood on the stone stool and did not come down, just stood there watching.
The caravan stopped by the roadside to rest, with sloping mountain walls far on both sides of the road.
Ji Bo first found a tree by the roadside and spread out the oilcloth, tying it to the tree at four corners to prop it up, blocking out the light rain so they could cook.
Finding firewood in the mountains during the rain was difficult.
Fortunately, among the clan members, this child named Cheng Xiaoxi had borrowed a mule cart when he went to a banquet, carrying a cartload of firewood to sell after the feast. But by chance, they did not lack firewood for the time being.
Last night, when they were in the dilapidated temple, no one remembered this.
It was only when they were taking stock of their supplies in the morning that they discovered this mule cart had not been lost either.
The servants busied themselves propping up the oilcloth, and the clan members were not idle either. Cheng Dali, the two brothers, and Cheng Xiaoxi were all doing what they could.
For example, finding stones to build a temporary stove. With the oilcloth propped high, there was no fear of igniting it.
Cheng Hao was also helping, and by the way, getting to know these three distant relatives. He also told Ji Bo not to just cook porridge and pancakes. "Staple foods are filling. Ask if anyone knows how to make dough drops; they are soft and filling when cooked."
He also said that some porridge could be cooked appropriately for those who were carsick and couldn't eat.
The others couldn't just drink porridge water; they would go hungry halfway.
It would be troublesome to stop again then.
Ji Bo heard this and immediately said there was no problem, and hurried to inquire.
However, the maids and nannies left behind were those who served their masters closely and had rarely entered the kitchen. They could only cook simple food. For everyone's food, they all said they couldn't do it well, like those unpalatable plain flour pancakes. Apart from these, some soupy dishes were acceptable.
Among the servants, there were hardly any who knew how to cook more refined dishes.
Finally, they remembered the wives of Cheng Kaichun and Cheng Fengtai. These two must know how to cook, as they spent all their time at home with the children.
The two of them also said there was no problem. As long as the tools were complete, let alone making dough drops, they could even roll noodles or make steamed buns for them.
Cheng Hao looked at the sky and said, "I'm sorry to trouble the two aunts, but we can't delay. We've been running all morning and have just left the area of Wu Yue Mountain. We are not far from Fengcheng. After eating, we need to rest and then continue our journey."
Therefore.
He asked them to make some dough drop soup as he suggested, which would be the quickest. Everyone could rest their stomachs after eating, and they wouldn't have to rush off immediately after eating, which would only make everyone sick from the jolting.
The two women also quickly agreed, but Lady Xi was in a bad mood, still disturbed by the massacre, and her face bore finger marks, clearly having been disciplined by her husband, making people hesitant to speak.
Cheng Hao frowned when he saw it, but in the end, he only glanced a couple more times. He really couldn't interfere in other people's family affairs. Besides, interfering afterward was meaningless. If he had been present at the time, he might have been able to mediate.
And save her from disaster.
But in that situation, he was so shocked by the brutal enemy that he had no time to care about anything else. Not to mention that Lady Xi was screaming at the beginning, which would easily attract the attention of the enemy soldiers. It was not wrong to stop her then.
Lady Cai, the wife of Cheng Fengtai, was kind and approachable. Her temperament was more steady. She was accompanying Lady Xi at the moment, quietly persuading her to be more optimistic.
Lady Xi's mind was filled with her relatives and her homeland, and she was truly afraid that they would not be able to defend it.
Hearing Lady Cai comforting her, she couldn't even force a smile. But when she heard her suggest thinking about her children, she became slightly more lucid.
That's right.
She still had her children; her children must not be in any danger.
"Yes, let's cook first. Let's hurry and get the food done. Make dough drop soup?"
Lady Xi said this somewhat incoherently, pulling Lady Cai's arm forcefully, asking her to accompany her to cook. Having something to do would prevent her from overthinking.
Seeing her mental state, Lady Cai also sighed helplessly and nodded, "Yes, make dough drop soup. Let's do it together."
Lady Xi nodded, and the two supported each other to the shed where the stove was set up. They took the water prepared on the mule cart, got a basin, and then, with the small bag of flour brought by Ji Bo, began to make lunch.
Su Miaomiao, standing high up, could see far. Nothing that happened here escaped her eyes. She saw the lost look on Lady Xi's face.
If one were to judge by the standards of the time, Lady Xi's self-recommendation of her hometown earlier and her subsequent uncontrolled screaming were extremely unreasonable behaviors.
Many people were annoyed with her, worried that she would put everyone in danger.
But Su Miaomiao had her own perspective. Although Lady Xi's actions were immature, they were due to her extreme anxiety for her relatives. It was true that some people could abandon their families for their own safety, but one must also understand that some people could risk their own safety to ensure the safety of their loved ones.
Lady Xi was clearly the latter. When her relatives were in danger, she had no choice. Here she had her husband and children, and there she had her close kin. If her husband had been willing to go back, she would have immediately chosen to return.
Su Miaomiao could see that Lady Xi was not someone who just talked. Her eyes were on the verge of collapse, yet she was desperately trying to repair herself.
Seeing the red finger marks on her face, she quickly called out to the familiar Lai Fu, jumped down herself, and pushed him up to be a marker.
This was to prevent the two boys who went to explore for water from not returning. She then walked towards Lady Xi.
Only Lai Fu's innocent little face was left, utterly bewildered, not understanding what was happening. But the young madam had told him not to come down, so he really didn't dare. He was a bit afraid of heights, and looking at such a high vantage point, his legs were trembling...