CHAPTER 135: CHAPTER 135: EXCHANGE OF DRY RATIONS

So, Zhao Zhitong happily said goodbye to Zhao Ya, holding her ’rations’, and followed her Eldest Brother and Second Brother out the door, bouncing with excitement.

The meeting place agreed upon by the children was at the bridgehead at the village entrance. When Zhao Zhitong arrived, Qiao Muchen, carrying his small bundle, was already waiting there with Shi Tou and Wei Shulan. Standing next to Wei Shulan was a young man in a servant’s uniform. This must be the highly capable servant, San, that Wei Shulan mentioned—the best fighter among her household staff.

Seeing Zhao Zhitong, Wei Shulan and Qiao Muchen’s eyes lit up, and they excitedly ran over to her. "Tongtong, you’re finally here!"

Zhao Zhitong hopped about happily. "Yeah, yeah!" she chirped, then looked around, puzzled. "Hey, where’s Zhao Yue? Hasn’t he arrived yet?"

Qiao Muchen shook his head. "Probably not. We haven’t seen him since we arrived."

Wei Shulan clutched Zhao Zhitong’s small hand. After exchanging greetings, she started to complain about Zhao Yue, "I knew it! That coward Zhao Yue must be scared. He still hasn’t shown up; I bet he chickened out."

She had barely finished speaking when Zhao Yue’s voice was heard.

"Wei Shulan, you’re badmouthing me again!" Zhao Yue ran over, panting. "I’m not a coward, hmph!"

Wei Shulan showed no embarrassment at being caught speaking ill of him. She reached out and poked Zhao Yue. "Hey, I wasn’t lying! What kept you dawdling at home? We’ve been waiting for you for ages!"

Qiao Muchen also chimed in, "That’s right, Zhao Yue, you’re so slow! We arrived a long time ago."

Zhao Yue caught his breath and then huffed, a bitter look on his face. "I was waiting for my mom to make rations." With that, he proudly opened his package. "My mom made me meat pies!"

Their family never lacked meat. When he got home last night, he’d pestered his mom to make meat pies so he could bring them today to share with Zhao Zhitong and the others.

"Wow, it smells so good," Zhao Zhitong leaned over and sniffed as a fragrant aroma wafted over.

At this, Zhao Yue was incredibly pleased and generously handed the bag of pies to Zhao Zhitong, "Here, take as many as you want!"

Zhao Zhitong wasn’t shy either. Grabbing a pie and taking a bite, she laughed, "Delicious, delicious!" Then she asked her Second Brother to open her parcel too, and a fragrant aroma immediately wafted out.

Zhao Zhitong was also overjoyed. "Look at mine! My mom’s handmade deep-fried dough sticks and chive dumplings are incredibly delicious!"

Back then, rural people rarely deep-fried food. Oil was too expensive, and most were reluctant to use it. However, Zhao Zhitong’s space contained over a hundred barrels of soybean oil, so their family had plenty. Consequently, Sun Mei often fried snacks.

At this, Qiao Muchen, Wei Shulan, and Zhao Yue were all drawn to these novel snacks and crowded around for a look. Zhao Zhitong was very generous, letting them eat as much as they wanted.

Wei Shulan took a bite of a chive dumpling, her eyes shining. "Mmm, so delicious! Tongtong’s mom is amazing; these chive dumplings are so good."

By now, Qiao Muchen had also opened his own package, inside which was a box of pastries. Wei Shulan, not to be outdone, also opened her package. It too contained pastries. However, hers were Walnut Crisps, unlike Qiao Muchen’s Guihua Cake.

Then the little ones exchanged food and squatted on the ground, eating happily. Although Zhao Zhitong had already eaten before leaving home, seeing how heartily they were eating made her join in too. Even Shi Tou and San got some of Zhao Zhitong’s deep-fried dough sticks. Zhao Zhitong also shared Wei Shulan and Qiao Muchen’s pastries with Zhao Cheng and Zhao Yu.

Zhao Yu and Zhao Cheng accepted the pastries. Zhao Zhitong pulled them down to squat on the ground and eat with the other children. However, they were still puzzled. What on earth did these children plan to do with all this food?

After everyone was full, the children packed up their things and prepared to set off. Since Zhao Zhitong had been to the county town most often, she acted as the guide, leading everyone in that direction.

Gradually, the sun rose. The gentle autumn morning sun shone down, its warmth pleasant on the ground, not hot. Zhao Zhitong was extremely excited. They were about to do something momentous, and her heart swelled with pride. She skipped as she walked, not feeling tired in the slightest.

As they journeyed further and further from their village and rounded a mountain pass, Zhao Cheng and Zhao Yu finally realized something was amiss. This... this isn’t the way to the county town, is it?!

So they *are* going to the county town!

Zhao Cheng and Zhao Yu were both startled. They immediately grabbed the little ones to stop them from going any further.

Zhao Cheng, unusually stern, demanded, "Isn’t this just fooling around? What are you all going to the county town for?"

Zhao Yu also adopted a rare serious tone. "Yeah, Little Sister, why are you going to the county town? It’s too dangerous for us children to go there! Come on, let’s go back now while we haven’t gone too far."

Zhao Zhitong stood in the middle of the road, looking up at her two older brothers. Her lips puckered, and she wore a wronged expression. "But we *want* to go to the county town!"

Zhao Cheng was instantly disarmed by her pitiful expression, and his stern face softened. He still tried to persuade her, "Little Sister, be good. We can’t go to the county town; it’s too far. Why don’t we go play somewhere else? How about we go up the mountain to pick fruit?"

Zhao Zhitong shook her little head. "No, no! I *want* to go to the county town." Then she pouted, placed her small hands on her hips, and declared, "Eldest Brother, we’re not going to play. We have important business to attend to!"

Qiao Muchen and the others nodded in agreement.

Zhao Cheng was puzzled. "What important business?"

Zhao Zhitong said proudly, "We’re going to deal with bad guys!"

Qiao Muchen added, "Right, we’re going to catch bad guys!"

The little ones all chimed in agreement, leaving Zhao Cheng and Zhao Yu completely baffled. "What bad guys are you trying to catch?"

Zhao Zhitong then explained their plan to Zhao Yu and Zhao Cheng, concluding with, "Landlord Qin is so evil. He’ll definitely come and cause trouble for our family again, right?"

Zhao Cheng and Zhao Yu nodded.

Zhao Zhitong continued, "So, we can’t just sit by and wait for disaster! We have to learn to fight back. Otherwise, that wicked landlord will think we’re easy targets and keep bullying us! That’s why we’re going to find the people Landlord Qin has bullied, write down their testimonies, and hand them to the judge in the county town. That way, the judge can bring down that wicked landlord, and we won’t be bullied anymore!"

Zhao Zhitong spoke with such an air of righteousness that Zhao Yu and Zhao Cheng were left dumbfounded. Although they felt they shouldn’t agree, they couldn’t find any reason to oppose her plan. In the end, they had no choice but to nod in agreement and go with them to the county town. However, they became much more alert on the road afterward.