Chapter 23: Chapter 23: I’ll Pull His Beard Out

“Really?”

Qi Manman’s big eyes widened while her little face was full of joy.

Gold Star Taibai nodded and, from his wide sleeves, fished out and produced a small black stone the size of a fingernail.

Qi Manman looked at the little stone, tilted her head, blinked her eyes, and suspiciously asked, “Is this the space?”

“Yes, inside there’s space and also a Spiritual Spring.”

Gold Star Taibai chuckled, looking just like a strange old man trying to lead little children astray.

Qi Manman still couldn’t believe it, poking the stone with her chubby fingers, “You’re not lying to me, are you?”

“How could I lie to you? Take it quickly! Go back and give it to your mother; she knows what to do with it.”

Gold Star Taibai placed the little stone in Qi Manman’s palm, let her clasp it, then waved his horsetail whisk: “Go back now! If you stay too long, your family will worry.”

Qi Manman only felt a flash of white in front of her eyes, and when she opened them again, she found herself lying in her house, with sunlight streaming through the window paper.

There were voices outside; she recognized it as her grandmother’s voice.

“Oldest, stop fooling around and quickly take your wife back to her mother’s house. Hurry up and be back before dark.”

“Second brother, you too, third brother, you stop fooling around as well, take your wives back quickly.”

Mrs. Qi chattered on, urging, “None of you eat at your in-laws’, finish the tasks and hurry back, try not to travel in the dark, understand?”

Qi Dafu, Qi Ercai, and Qi Sangui were named and promptly agreed.

Qi Quanyin just came back carrying water. As soon as he entered the courtyard without even putting down the shoulder pole, he heard his mother urging, “Fifth boy, what are you dawdling for? Hurry and accompany your wife back to her mom’s house!”

There were six sons in the family; five were married. Now that it’s time to flee famine, they naturally had to notify each of the in-laws.

Though there were no daughters in the family, Mrs. Qi wasn’t a heartless mother-in-law who wouldn’t care for her daughters-in-law.

All the daughters-in-law had red eyes at this moment, each carrying a small basket, following their husbands out the door.

Mrs. Qi looked toward Yi Meng, who was coming out of the kitchen, and said, “Meng Niang, you…”

“Mom, I don’t need to go back and forth. Later let Brother Quan and my sixth brother accompany you back to your mother’s house, I will take care of the chores here. Anything unfinished, we can handle when the sisters-in-law return.”

Yi Meng had a smile on her face, very gentle, without a hint of displeasure.

She had no family of origin, and at times like these, even if she wanted to visit, she wouldn’t know where to go.

Mrs. Qi felt a lump in her throat, walked a few steps to Yi Meng, took her hand, and gently patted it: “Good child, don’t be afraid, this is your home. If the fourth son dares to treat you badly in the future, I won’t acknowledge him, you’ll be my daughter.”

“Alright.”

Yi Meng’s heart warmed: “Okay, mom, we’ll have plenty of time to talk in the future, for now hurry up and visit your family!”

Mrs. Qi also had a family of origin, though no longer parents, only brothers; the sisters had long married far away, with many years without contact.

Mrs. Qi intended to say more but knew this was not the time for chatting, so she urged Qi Quanjin and Qi Quanli to accompany her out.

Qi Zheng was also supposed to go with them, but Mrs. Qi didn’t allow it.

There wasn’t a single man in the house, only male grandchildren, which made her uneasy.

Standing at the doorway watching the family’s figures fade away, Yi Meng sighed, turned, and entered the courtyard, closed the door, and began preparing for the upcoming journey.

Qi Zheng didn’t follow his wife back to her family but didn’t intend to stay home either. He set about directly with the grandsons, making wooden carts.

A plank of wood, its surface polished smooth to avoid splinters hurting the hands.

Under the board, two triangular frameworks were nailed, then a round, thicker wooden board with a hole in the middle was inserted with a wooden stick, placed into the triangular frameworks, and finally, wooden blocks were nailed on each end of the stick, extending out a bit from the stick.

This way, when pushing the wooden cart, the wheels wouldn’t easily fall off.

The rectangular board was treated on both front and rear sides.

One end had handles made from two pieces of wood, for pushing the cart.

The other end had two holes bored through ropes, so it could be pulled from the front.

Such a wooden cart was not as good as those made by carpenters, but it could still manage.

On the road fleeing famine, there were many things to take, and they had no beasts of burden to pull the carts, so having such wooden carts was better than carrying everything on their backs.

Grandparent and grandchildren worked busily, even the younger lads helped out on the side.

“Mom! Mom!”

Qi Manman’s voice echoed from the fourth room.

Yi Meng heard it, quickly put down her work, and wiped her hands on her apron as she hurried into the room.

“Manbao’s awake? Come here; mom will dress you.”

As Yi Meng entered the room, she saw her daughter sitting on the kang, hair tangled like a bird’s nest, shouting for her.

As soon as Qi Manman saw Yi Meng, she grinned broadly, mischievously beckoning with her chubby fingers: “Mom, come over quickly!”

“What is it, child?”

Yi Meng was puzzled but still came over.

Qi Manman crawled toward her mother, and when she reached her, she presented her small hand as if a treasure.

In her pale palm lay a black stone the size of a fingernail.

Yi Meng frowned immediately upon seeing it: “Where did you pick up this stone, child? I didn’t see it when giving you a bath yesterday!”

“Mom, it’s not a stone; it’s space!”

Qi Manman whispered, “Gold Star Taibai gave me space! There’s also that Spiritual Spring you talked about!”

“What?”

Yi Meng was bewildered: “You kid, how come you’re talking nonsense first thing in the morning?”

Saying this, Yi Meng reached out to check her daughter’s forehead, thinking she might be sick.

Qi Manman shook her head unhappily, dodged her mother’s hand, then decisively placed the stone in her hand: “Mom, put it away. Gold Star Taibai said you know what to do with it. Mom, try it out and see if there’s really space and springs! If not, I’ll pull Gold Star Taibai’s beard!”

Seeing the little girl’s earnest face, Yi Meng’s heart softened: “Alright, alright, mom will keep it, but don’t think about pulling anyone’s beard, understand?”

“If he doesn’t give me the real thing, if he tricks me, I’ll pull his beard!”

Qi Manman stood with hands on hips, angrily: “Anyway, I will pull it!”

“Sweetie, mom will keep the stone, or space, but first let me dress and comb your hair.”

Yi Meng thought the little girl was still focused on what she said last night and was speaking nonsense because she wasn’t fully awake.

Afraid of making the little girl mad, which would then require time to soothe her, she quickly placated her now.

There was lots of work to be done at home, time was tight, best not to delay.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep