Chapter 117: Secret
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
The mediocre-sized carriage was packed with three adults and four children. Now and then, someone could stretch their limbs, but most of the time, everyone consciously sat curled up.
Everyone except for Qiao Wenjuan. She dominated the entire back of the carriage by herself and sat comfortably. She would also flip open the curtain of the window to look outside frequently, joyful calls coming out of her mouth. “Look! We haven’t seen any of those monsters this whole journey, and the hillside is covered with lush green grass and fragrant flowers. I am certain that Xiangyang Town 1 ahead of us is fine.”
After the torment of this journey, Elderly Lady was already nodding off but was startled awake by Qiao Wenjuan’s flustering scream, and shock entered her face.
No one paid attention to her in the carriage. Qiao Mu was rendered speechless by this “extremely naive” aunt of hers.
Could it be that she was not fleeing for her life and was on a field trip instead? Her ignorant and cheerful persona was truly dumbfounding.
Qiao Wenjuan put down the curtain and looked at everyone, her curving brows knitted together, and she took a big sniff. “What’s that smell?”
“Auntie! Your body! Stinky!” Xiao Lin’er, who was curled up in her mother’s arms, had a deep frown on her face and was furiously fanning her chubby hand. She had nicely answered Qiao Wenjuan’s question.
Joy entered Qiao Mu’s heart, and she maintained her composure as she looked at Qiao Wenjuan, whose face had turned into the color of a pig’s liver.
After all, it was July and nearly noon, so the weather was a bit stuffy. Also, the rain shower earlier did not bring a fresh feeling to them and made people feel blistering hot afterward instead.
Moreover, the air inside the carriage was quite stagnant, and the carriage was packed with people, so they did not detect it earlier, but the smell became prominent after sitting for a while and the heat.
Qiao Wenjuan and Elderly Lady Qiao had rolled around in the wet ground previously and were also ‘visited’ by zombies, so the smell on them could not be any good. Xiao Lin’er’s honest words were quite comical though.
Qiao Mu inwardly clapped for her sister and sent a look to Shaoyao with her eyes.
Shaoyao immediately understood her and nodded and said, “Since it’s not raining now, this servant will roll up the curtain to ventilate the air.”
Ventilate! The! Air! Qiao Wenjuan was gritting her teeth. Was she that stinky? Did she need these people to open the curtain to ventilate the air? She harshly tossed down the curtain in her hand before resignedly shrinking into the corner and sulking by herself, her noisy voice finally receding.
The carriage finally stopped at the bottom of the hill. Second Uncle jumped down from the carriage and shouted, “Let’s rest for a bit and let the horses eat some grass before continuing.”
“Second Brother, you’ve worked hard.” Wei Ziqin got down from the carriage while holding a giant cloth sack. “Rest for a bit. I will go cook some simple noodles for everyone to eat.”
“Great, I will go collect some branches and start a fire.”
Qiao Hu carried the foodie and left the carriage. The children all sat down on the side and waited for food, and the little foodie’s eyes were glued to her mother’s every movement impatiently.
Wei Ziqin started working and pulled a pot and several bowls out of the sack.
Qiao Wenjuan followed over and looked at Wei Ziqin with suspicion. “Eldest Sister-in-Law, how did you make so many preparations in your haste to leave? You even brought pots, bowls, and cooking utensils?”
“Ah, yes, it’s my habit.” Wei Ziqin’s hand movement paused, and she randomly made up an excuse before turning around and busying herself with the noodles.
“Wait, how come we didn’t see this sack in the cabin earlier?” Qiao Wenjuan pursued.
Wei Ziqin did not answer and pushed away the figure blocking her sight. “Youngest Aunt, move to the side. Don’t be burned by the hot soup.”
She had cut the noodles beforehand and placed them into the storage talisman as individual bags. Now, she used the sack as a cover and took out a small bag of cut noodles from the talisman. This way, she could cook the noodles directly.