Chapter 122
Chapter 122
“From here to Qiusha, even if we traveled without stopping to eat or drink, it would still take nearly half a month.”
He raised an eyebrow at Jiang Yunsui. “Do you think those mushrooms of yours can stay fresh that long?”
Jiang Yunsui wilted at once. Of course they couldn’t.
“Then I’ll ask Fat Chef to make them into mushroom sauce.”
Shen Qingzhu had no objection to that. He let the little one busy herself however she liked. They would be leaving first thing tomorrow morning, and after traveling for so long, Shen Qingzhu needed a proper rest too.
Jiang Yunsui went off to keep herself busy.
She packed up all the mushrooms she had dug out of the courtyard and sent them over to Fat Chef.
Then she dragged over a bamboo pole and marched off with great determination to knock down pomegranates.
It was not yet pomegranate season.
But Jiang Yunsui had secretly fed this pomegranate tree extra Imperial Flowing Essence.
Now there were more than twenty ripe, large pomegranates hanging from the tree, each one a full size bigger than an ordinary pomegranate.
She laboriously lifted the bamboo pole.
She did not hit a single pomegranate. The bamboo pole was too long, and she had overestimated her own strength. Once held upright, it was truly very heavy, wobbling this way and that in her hands until she could not control it at all.
And so, Jiang Yunsui successfully knocked herself flat.
Little Mushroom climbed back up from the ground, unconvinced.
She abandoned the bamboo pole, rolled up her sleeves, and began huffing and puffing her way up the tree.
The guard pair not far away: “…”
Guard A said, “Should we go help her?”
Guard B said, “Let’s go keep an eye on her. We can’t let her fall.”
The moment he finished speaking, Jiang Yunsui let out a miserable cry.
The two of them hurried over. When they looked up, they nearly burst out laughing.
Jiang Yunsui was currently hanging from the tree in a daze.
That was right: actually hanging. A branch had slipped into her clothes, leaving her suspended in midair.
“Woof, woof, woof…”
The three dogs below barked anxiously.
Jiang Yunsui flailed twice, then looked down at the guard pair with teary eyes.
“Wuuu… I can’t get down.”
She looked pitiful and hilarious all at once.
Guard A said, “Miss Jiang, please wait a moment.”
He tried hard not to laugh as he climbed the tree and got the little one down.
Once she landed, Jiang Yunsui tugged at her clothes.
“Can you help me pick all the ripe big pomegranates from the tree? After you’re done, I’ll give you one. But only one, okay?”
Sigh. She had originally thought that if she picked them herself, she could keep them all.
But… she had overestimated herself.
The two members of the guard were, of course, happy to help pick them.
All twenty-three large pomegranates were picked, and Jiang Yunsui handed one to them.
“You two split it yourselves.”
After saying that, she quickly slipped away.
The pomegranates were all in baskets carried in the dogs’ mouths.
After picking the pomegranates, Jiang Yunsui transformed into a little fairy delivering pomegranates.
She gave one to Fat Chef.
“This one is for Fat Grandpa. And these three, Fat Grandpa, please help give them to Grandpa Shen and the others, okay? Tell them there aren’t many ripe pomegranates right now, so they should share among themselves. When all the pomegranates are ripe, Suisui will give each of them one.”
The little one spoke in her soft, milky voice, giving her instructions with a very serious expression.
Fat Chef was practically melted by how adorable she was.
“All right, Fat Grandpa will remember.”
Then came Nanny Zhou, as well as the maids following Nanny Zhou.
After handing them out, twelve were left.
Jiang Yunsui put away the remaining pomegranates.
Then she ran off to check the luggage Nanny Zhou had packed for her.
“Nanny Zhou, did you pack my little mushroom pouch?”
“It’s packed.”
“And my little cat paw socks?”
Nanny Zhou answered her patiently.
Jiang Yunsui asked about everything she could think of. After making sure it had all been packed, she nodded her little head in satisfaction.
“Zuozuo Youyou, Heiwa, do you want to come along too?”
“Woof, woof…”
Of course they did.
All three dogs wagged their tails. After spending the whole day together, they had basically started following Jiang Yunsui wherever she went.
She was getting a little hungry.
Jiang Yunsui pulled around the little puppy backpack she had slung across her body, opened it, and took out the snacks inside.
She crunched away on little fried dough twists herself, then tossed a piece to each of the three dogs.
Their big mouths opened wide, and in just a few bites, the snacks were in their bellies.
The two chicks, meanwhile, were pecking around the yard for grass seeds.
“These stalks have gone to seed?”
She leaned in for a look, and they really had.
These were the mother plants that had been deliberately left to grow and set seed. Fat Chef and the others had said they wanted to see whether the grass grown from these seeds would be any different from ordinary grass.
Jiang Yunsui stuffed the last bit of fried dough twist into her mouth, found a handkerchief, spread it over the bluestone paving, and started gathering grass seeds.
“Diandian, Xiaoxiao, you’re not allowed to eat the seeds I picked. These are for Fat Grandpa.”
She pushed away the two little roosters trying to slack off and eat the seeds she had put on the handkerchief, then patted their heads as a warning.
“Go find your own food somewhere else.”
“Chirp, chirp…”
The two plump little roosters flapped their wings, then obediently wandered off.
After Jiang Yunsui finished picking the grass seeds, she ran off to find Fat Chef.
“Fat Grandpa, I’m here again~”
Day after day, little Jiang Yunsui seemed to have an endless list of things to do.
Early the next morning, Shen Qingzhu looked at everything Jiang Yunsui had brought and fell silent for two seconds. Fortunately, he had prepared in advance.
He had arranged for an extra carriage.
“Zuozuo Youyou are going too?”
Jiang Yunsui nodded. “Mm-hmm. They’re really amazing now. They can help too.”
Shen Qingzhu said, “Fine.”
When Jiang Yunsui saw Fat Chef appear fully equipped with a pot on his back, her eyes widened in delight.
“Fat Grandpa, are you coming with us to find Ji Yan’an too?”
Fat Chef burst out laughing. “That’s right. I’ll cook for you all on the road.”
Jiang Yunsui was overjoyed, hopping and bouncing in place.
When they reached the gates of Beizhen City, there was an even bigger surprise.
Old Shen and the others from the Cook Battalion had all come.
Jiang Yunsui shouted excitedly, “Grandpa Shen, Grandpa Liu…”
Several sturdy, energetic old men scooped her right up.
“Hahaha… What, you didn’t expect this, did you?”
Jiang Yunsui nodded. “Grandpa Shen, you’re coming too?”
“That’s right. It’s been ages since we stretched our legs. We may be old, but we can still hold a blade.”
“We brought your horse for you too.”
The familiar White Horse appeared before Jiang Yunsui.
Jiang Yunsui was so happy she could have burst.
That morning, she had still been a little sad about having to leave Fat Grandpa and the others behind. Now she was not sad at all.
Shen Qingzhu’s voice came over. “Time to go.”
Jiang Yunsui answered cheerfully.
“Mr. Shen, you take the carriage. Let the little one ride for a while.”
As he spoke, Fat Chef lifted her onto the horse’s back.
White Horse did not reject Jiang Yunsui at all.
“Hold tight. Don’t fall off.”
Unable to reach the stirrups, Jiang Yunsui could only grip the saddle while clamping her short little legs around the horse’s back with all her might.
“I’m ready!”
The carriages were not moving very fast, so Jiang Yunsui rode ahead on White Horse as it clip-clopped along.
The three dogs ran ahead in wild delight. When they got too far and saw the people had not caught up, they doubled back, then ran ahead again, full of energy.