Chapter 23 Departure

The group had only been talking inside for a short while when Uncle Lin returned, carrying a rather large and heavy cloth bag. Upon seeing the mother and daughter, he immediately smiled and placed the bag in front of them.

"Come on, daughter, I've sold the last two courtyards for you. I got them all in silver dollars. Look, I got two hundred dollars for each one. I have to apologize to you about the train tickets. They were impossible to buy, and there won't be any train tickets available for more than a month."

"Uncle, what are you saying? There's no apology at all. It's not your fault that the train tickets weren't sold. If there's no train, we can take a carriage. It's alright. Besides, it seems Butler Hu has already found us. We have to leave today. I don't want to get entangled with them anymore. I came here to tell you, Uncle." He Yuping knew perfectly well that her uncle had already done his best.

"Then I'll go find you a carriage." With that, the old man immediately stood up and prepared to run outside.

He Yuping quickly stopped him: "Uncle, wait, we can't call these carriage companies in the city. They've all done business with the Qu family, and many of them know me. We can't call them. I've already made plans. In a little while, I'll take the bus with my little one to the outskirts of the city. Aren't there several carriage companies there? I'll go find them then." He Yuping dared not go to these carriage companies in the city.

She grew up in this city and later married into the Qu family. For three or four years, she was favored and managed the household kitchen. She became very familiar with the people who delivered the gifts and was easily recognized.

"Hey, how could this old man forget about that? Well, let me find you something for self-defense. Be careful when you're out there. Send me a telegram when you get there, so your aunt and I can be at ease." Uncle Lin had also thought of this and was a little embarrassed.

"I know, Uncle. We're leaving soon. Please take care of yourselves. Has my brother Ping An come home recently? I haven't seen him at all." Lin Ping An is Uncle Lin's son. Years ago, he learned some skills in driving a horse-drawn carriage from his father and some accounting skills from his father. He was smooth and considerate, and quite popular outside. But later I heard that he left with the main force.

I wonder if he's back yet. She's come all these times but has never run into him.

"Hey, that little rascal came by, he came by, but then he left again. I heard he'll be coming back to us in a few months. Don't worry, we two old folks are still in good health, you don't need to worry about us. When you get there, please give my regards to your father and tell them that we old folks are doing fine here, don't worry about us." Old Man Lin said, a little sadly. He and his fellow old men had grown up together since childhood, but they hadn't seen each other since they separated a few years ago, and he didn't know if they would ever see each other again.

As he spoke, the old man pulled a dusty little cloth bag from the stove hole in his house. He took a sharp dagger out of the bag and handed it to He Yuping: "Girl, keep this with you just in case."

He Yuping and her daughter looked at the dagger, then at the old man's eyes filled with reluctance. Looking at the dagger, they understood that it must be a very important item, otherwise the old man wouldn't be so reluctant to part with it.

Even though he was reluctant to part with it, he still took it out, wanting to give it to the mother and daughter as a weapon for self-defense, which shows how much the old man cared for them.

He Caiwei took out a dagger from her personal space and secretly put it in her mother's hand, asking her to show it to the old man.

With tools in hand, the old man no longer needed to worry so much about the safety of the mother and daughter.

"Uncle Lin, I have one. My father got one for me back then, so don't worry about us. I'll send you a telegram as soon as I get there." He Yuping showed the old man the dagger in her hand, checked the time, and realized it was time to leave. If Butler Hu and the others realized that looking for him on the street would be troublesome.

"Wait, wait, Auntie made some pancakes for you to eat on the train. Things outside are so expensive these days, the price changes every day. Bringing some food from home will save you some money." Aunt Lin had just gone to the kitchen, but when she heard they were leaving, she quickly ran out of the kitchen, clutching a cloth bag in her hand.

"Thank you, Auntie. Please take good care of yourselves." He Yuping did not refuse the things Aunt Lin gave her. She took the cloth bag that Aunt Lin handed her, hugged Aunt Lin, and turned to leave.

She was afraid that if she stayed any longer, she would not be able to leave.

He Caiwei was truly moved by the elderly couple's affection for her mother. Before leaving, she took a cloth bag from her spatial storage and filled it with a piece of cured meat weighing about 5 jin (2.5 catties), a dried chicken, a dried duck, and a jar of ginseng wine.

His mother had told him that Uncle Lin's favorite drink was this, but his health was not as good as before, so Aunt Lin didn't dare let him drink too much.

He Caiwei also pasted a piece of paper on the wine jar, which read "Ginseng Wine, one should only drink one or two ounces a day, and it can improve one's health."

After the mother and daughter left, the elderly Lin couple were saddened for a while before Aunt Lin remembered that she had just gone to the market to buy some meat.

She quickly stood up, packed her things, and prepared to go out. Only then did she notice a cloth bag on the kang (a heated brick bed). When she opened it, she found a large bag full of meat and a jar containing something she didn't know. She took the jar out of the bag and handed it to her husband, asking him to see what was written on it.

"Old man, come and see what's written here?"

"What? Where did you get this?" The old man hadn't even recovered from his grief when his wife shoved something in his face, almost knocking out his teeth.

"It must have been left by the maid. Every time she brings something, she's afraid I won't accept it, so she secretly leaves it and runs away. She's a mother now, but she still hasn't changed this habit. Quick, take a look at what's written on it! I can't understand it at all." Aunt Lin was getting anxious. Why couldn't this old man grasp the important point?

"Okay, okay, I'll tell you. The girl said this is ginseng wine she brewed herself. She told me to only drink a small cup a day to improve my health. You can drink it too." The old man looked at the piece of paper next to the name of the wine and happily explained its meaning to the old woman.

"What? How can such a precious thing be wasted by an old woman like me?" As soon as Aunt Lin heard that it was ginseng wine, she immediately started to complain. She was almost buried in the ground, how could she waste such a precious thing?

"Why can't I drink? You old woman, our grandson isn't even grown up yet, how can you bear to leave so soon?" Old Master Lin looked at his silly wife and teased her with a smile.

"I can't bear to part with him, I can't bear to part with him. It's all that brat Ping An's fault. Why hasn't he come back yet? My grandson is suffering out there." The old lady couldn't bear to part with her grandson whenever she thought of him.

She had been waiting for her grandson for so long, and he was only ten years old. She wanted to live a long time so she could see him get married and start a family.

"That's it then. Let's try Yuping's wine. Come on, old woman, didn't you say you were going to stew meat for me? Now that we have meat, let's have a drink at noon today." Old Master Lin took his wife's hand and walked towards the kitchen.

The elderly couple were enjoying themselves, preparing to add some dishes for lunch. Meanwhile, the mother and daughter left the Lin family home, happened to see a bus, and immediately boarded it, preparing to head out of the city to begin their new journey.