“How silly of me not to remember something so important.”

Who said that there was nothing to eat? Weren’t there sausages in the fridge? They have not finished the sausages that she made the last time. She still had a lot left in the fridge.

Moreover, there was meat in the fridge and a stove in the kitchen. The condiments were also ready-to-eat. She could just cook for Zhuang Zhuang.

Xiaoguo wanted to slap herself on the head. How could she have forgotten about the things in the space? She was really a fool!

With this thought in mind, Xiaoguo patted Zhuang Zhuang a little faster and started humming a lullaby.

Zhuang Zhuang fell asleep quickly. Xiaoguo patted him gently, and made sure that he was fast asleep. She got ready to put him down gently.

Xiaoguo had some hesitation. It wasn’t completely safe here. She was really worried about leaving him out here.

Xiaoguo stuck her head out and looked outside. There was still no movement from the group of people at the county gate. No one had entered the gates this whole time. She took a good look around and found nothing unusual. Everyone’s attention was drawn to the county gate, so no one was paying attention towards her direction.

Hence, Xiaoguo had a bold idea. She was going to bring Zhuang Zhuang into the space.

Anyway, Zhuang Zhuang was sleeping soundly. She just had to be quiet.

Hugging Zhuang Zhuang tightly in her arms, she entered the space in a flash. She placed Zhuang Zhuang on a clean table and covered his head with a box of kitchen towels.

Xiaoguo carefully walked away from him. After making sure that he had not woken up, Xiaoguo quickly opened the refrigerator and dug out a few sausages. She lit a fire, poured oil into the pot, and fried the sausages in one go.

Zhuang Zhuang moved a little when he caught a whiff of the fragrance. But he did not look like he was waking up. Xiaoguo felt at ease when she saw that, and resumed her cooking.

After finding a few skewers to thread through the sausages, Xiaoguo gently picked up Zhuang Zhuang and returned to the carriage.

Xiaoguo gently patted Zhuang Zhuang in an attempt to wake him up. However, Zhuang Zhuang was sound asleep. After a long while, he didn’t wake, but only turned over in his sleep.

Xiaoguo shifted her position and held a sausage under Zhuang Zhuang’s nose, trying to tempt him with the smell.

As expected, this method was very effective. Zhuang Zhuang’s little nose first twitched a few times, and then his little mouth moved. Very soon, saliva trickled from the corner of his mouth.

Xiaoguo burst out laughing.

When Zhuang Zhuang heard the sound, he woke up and saw the sausage.

As Xiaoguo had placed the sausage near Zhuang Zhuang’s nose, his eyes were crossed as he focused his attention on it.

Zhuang Zhuang wiped away his saliva and realized that the sausage was real. He thought that he was dreaming. The sausages that his mother had fried in his dream were real.

The hungry Zhuang Zhuang did not eat first even though he was feeling anxious. Xiaoguo stopped teasing him and handed him three sausages. “Go ahead and eat.”

Zhuang Zhuang chuckled and took the sausages. He nestled in Xiaoguo’s arms and started eating.

While eating, Xiaoguo lifted the curtain and looked out. Half a day had passed, but the crowd had yet to move and the carriage was still parked at the same spot. The sun was setting and the sky was gradually turning dark.

After Xiaoguo and Zhuang Zhuang had finished eating and thrown out the sticks, an official knocked on their sedan chair.

“We can’t get through the city gates. We’ve decided to set up camp here.”

Xiaoguo recognized the voice. It was the officer who had kindly offered her the grain bag today.

“Yes, yes, I understand.”

Xiaoguo spoke from across within the carriage. Whatever that she had thought about was coming true. They were going to spend the night out here. But it was okay, they will be leaving early in the morning and it would be just a night’s rest. But why couldn’t they enter the city after queuing for so long?

Not long after the official left, the carriage started moving.

Xiaoguo lifted the curtain and saw that they had moved away from the city gate. They stopped some distance away to set up camp and light the fire.

After a while, an official brought Xiaoguo an oil lamp to light up the sedan. He told her that he would bring food to her when it was ready and told her to wait patiently.

Xiaoguo smiled and nodded. After the official left, she got out of the carriage and walked in the direction of the city gate. The fire was still burning brightly on her side of the road. In comparison, the city gate looked rather sad.

Xiaoguo walked a little closer to the gate. In the darkness, some people were still huddled together, waiting to enter the city. All of them were wearing normal expressions on their faces, they didn’t seem affected by the shuttered gates. It was as if they were used to it.

Xiaoguo found this strange. How could a normal person not show any signs of frustration after waiting in line for so long? These people looked so calm that it was a little scary.

“Mother…”

Zhuang Zhuang’s voice distracted her from her thoughts. Xiaoguo turned around and took another look in that direction before returning to the carriage. She will be leaving tomorrow. She should just mind her own business.

“Mother, the food is here.”

Zhuang Zhuang was holding onto his plate. On it was some porridge and a piece of roasted meat.

It seemed that the officials had just brought this over. She was too focused on the city gate and did not notice anything on this side.

“Let’s eat.”

Zhuang Zhuang and Xiaoguo weren’t quite hungry, but they still finished the food that was given to them. It is a virtue to not waste food.

At night, everything was quiet. Other than the guards on night watch, everyone else fell asleep.

In order to let Zhuang Zhuang sleep more comfortably, Xiaoguo took out a few garments from her bag and laid them under his body. She then rolled some clothes into a small pillow and placed the bundle under Zhuang Zhuang’s head.

“Go to sleep.”

Xiaoguo patted Zhuang Zhuang’s back gently. The boy’s eyes fluttered and as the movements of his eyes slowed down, he finally fell asleep.

It was a little cold at night and even more so since they were outdoors. The sedan chair could not block out the coldness of the night.

Xiaoguo took out a piece of clothing from her bag and draped it over Zhuang Zhuang. She wrapped her arms around him and eventually felt sleepy herself.

In the middle of the night, Xiaoguo suddenly woke up. She shielded Zhuang Zhuang and listened quietly to the surroundings.

Xiaoguo breathed a sigh of relief when she didn’t hear any odd sounds. She must have been dreaming.

Xiaoguo got up gently and stretched her waist and shoulders. The carriage was really a bad place to sleep. Her entire body was aching all over after just a short nap.

As she listened to Zhuang Zhuang’s breathing, Xiaoguo decided to get off the carriage.

She wouldn’t be able to get back to sleep anyway. She might as well come out and stretch those muscles.

It was very quiet outside, except for the occasional sound of the officials talking and also from the burning wood. Xiaoguo looked around and didn’t dare to go far. She just stayed within a three-meters perimeter of the carriage and gave her arms and legs a good stretch.

At this moment, Xiaoguo was still curious about the situation at the city gate.

Hence, she took a few steps towards that direction. It was so dark that she could not see anything clearly. There was only a faint glow from the fire.

Xiaoguo could only squint her eyes to see what was going on. She could vaguely see that the city gates were wide open. A group of people draped in cloth came out from inside. There were also some officials carrying something out. The entire thing was wrapped in a sack, so it was impossible to see what it was.

The people who had been waiting indifferently at the city gate began to stir when they saw the gates open. Those who were draped in cloth slowly walked towards the people waiting at the gate and they left in groups of two or three. One man who was waiting at the gate began shouting when he saw what was being carried out, but it was too far away for Xiaoguo to hear. She could only tell that the person was in a state of hysteria.