"Aunt Fu, the supply shop is just ahead, we'll be there soon." Lu Chen blinked and turned back to look at Fu Xiaoxiao as he answered.
Fu Xiaoxiao nodded and gritted her teeth to persist.
After walking for about another thirty minutes...
"Are we not there yet?" Fu Xiaoxiao asked, panting.
"Very soon, it's just ahead, Aunt Fu, you come quickly." Lu Chen pointed forward to Fu Xiaoxiao, as if they would reach soon.
Fu Xiaoxiao took a deep breath, trying hard to keep up with their pace.
Her legs grew heavier, and Fu Xiaoxiao already felt her legs trembling as she looked at the two carefree little wolves ahead. She found a large rock and sat down.
"Let's rest for a moment, I can't walk any further." Fu Xiaoxiao felt she had walked for at least an hour and a half and thought they were finally reaching whenever Lu Chen said 'just ahead'.
Seeing Fu Xiaoxiao sit down, Lu Lin and Lu Chen blinked and sat down as well.
"Xiao Chen, tell me the truth, how much longer do we need to walk?" Fu Xiaoxiao looked at the two kids, who had no sweat on their foreheads, contrasting her trembling legs.
"Just ahead, we're almost there." Lu Chen blinked and pointed to the end of the road.
If not for his clear eyes, Fu Xiaoxiao would have wondered if the two kids were intentionally tricking her.
"We're almost there." Lu Lin glanced at her, giving a reassuring statement.
"Alright! Let's keep going!" Fu Xiaoxiao slapped her legs and stood up.
Damn legs, show some promise, start walking!
When she finally saw the large characters 'Supply Shop,' Fu Xiaoxiao was moved to tears, they had finally arrived.
Looking at her watch, she realized it had taken a full two hours.
The town's supply shop had only a few people buying things, with merely a few counters displaying some everyday goods.
Fu Xiaoxiao, with the two kids, headed straight to the fabric counter. The lady behind the counter was knitting a sweater, glanced at Fu Xiaoxiao, and then ignored her.
Being able to work at the supply shop gave some people a sense of pride. Fu Xiaoxiao paid no heed to her attitude but pointed at the gray fabric. "Comrade, give me some cotton fabric."
"Anything else? Say it all at once." The lady looked at her without stopping her actions.
"Oh, also, give me two pounds of white sugar, one toothpaste, two towels, and a bar of soap…" Fu Xiaoxiao smiled and quickly listed all the items she wanted to buy.
Before the lady could respond, Fu Xiaoxiao smiled, "Please hurry."
"Who's gonna remember when you say it that fast?" The lady was angered and said furiously, "Are you trying to bully people?"
"Aunt Fu wants two pounds of white sugar, one toothpaste, two towels…" Beside Fu Xiaoxiao, Lu Lin cast a glance at the lady and repeated the items she had listed, staring at the lady and asked, "Remember now?"
Fu Xiaoxiao looked at Lu Lin in surprise; she had deliberately reported the items quickly, yet the child remembered it all?
Was he just protecting her?
Not bad, points must be added.
"Humph!" The lady put down her sweater and started to get the fabric for Fu Xiaoxiao.
The other two shop clerks in the counter heard the commotion and packed the items from their counters, and Fu Xiaoxiao paid for them with cash and receipts one by one.
When the fabric was ready, Fu Xiaoxiao glanced at the sweater in the lady's hands. "Don't knit sweaters while working, otherwise you won't even know if you make a mistake."
"What mistake? Nonsense." The lady was stunned by Fu Xiaoxiao's words, looking at her sweater, and indeed found a mistake in the middle.
She had already knitted half of it, going back would be a waste of effort.
"Ah! My sweater!" The lady pulled in frustration, accidentally pulling the needle out as she picked it up, and tugged on the yarn, deforming the sweater.
"Haha, serves you right." Lu Chen couldn't help but laugh.
Fu Xiaoxiao's eyes filled with amusement as she grabbed the items with one hand and took Lu Chen's hand with the other, hurrying outside.
"Xiao Lin, let's go." Fu Xiaoxiao smiled and called Lu Lin.
Outside the supply shop, Fu Xiaoxiao smiled at the two kids.
"We've got everything we need, thank you so much! To thank you for guiding me, we'll eat out for lunch!" Fu Xiaoxiao saw a restaurant not far away and looked at the time; it's already past eleven, and if they headed back now, it would be one by the time they got home.
It would be better to have lunch outside and then go home.
"Don't go there, it's not good!" Lu Chen pulled Fu Xiaoxiao and shook his head.
"Eat buns." Lu Lin pointed to the bun shop.
Fu Xiaoxiao obliged and bought six meat buns, two for each person.
Seeing the kids so familiar with the town, Fu Xiaoxiao curiously asked, "You seem very familiar with the town, do you come often?"
Fu Xiaoxiao posed the question, and the two kids' actions of biting the buns paused.
Oh, this reaction shows she touched something sensitive.
"Xiao Lin?" Just as Lu Lin was about to speak, a voice from an elder sounded from behind.
Fu Xiaoxiao turned around to see an old man carrying a basket. Lu Lin stood up, and the coldness on his face disappeared upon seeing the old man.
"Grandpa Bai." Lu Lin and Lu Chen approached. Lu Lin skillfully took the basket from the old man, while Lu Chen went forward to support him.
"Who are you?" Mr. Bai looked at Fu Xiaoxiao, drawing the two kids behind him protectively.
"Hello, Grandpa, I'm the stepmother of these two children, Fu Xiaoxiao." Fu Xiaoxiao smiled as she explained to Mr. Bai. "The family lacked some things, so I asked them to guide me here to the supply shop."
Mr. Bai looked at Lu Lin and Lu Chen, and the two kids nodded.
"Grandpa Bai, she is Mr. Lu's new wife, she makes wonderful egg pancakes." Lu Chen answered with a smile.
Upon hearing Lu Chen, Mr. Bai's wariness dissipated, and he invited her to sit in his home.
Mr. Bai's house wasn't far, Fu Xiaoxiao watched Lu Lin and Lu Chen behave like children, obedient and sensible in front of him, curious about Mr. Bai.
Arriving at his home, the courtyard was filled with drying medicinal herbs, reminding Fu Xiaoxiao of the bee larvae at home, connecting some dots.
"Xiao Lin, gather the herbs in the courtyard, Xiao Chen, go to the kitchen and boil some water." Mr. Bai invited Fu Xiaoxiao inside, then turned and sent Lu Lin and Lu Chen off.
Fu Xiaoxiao knew Mr. Bai had something to discuss, waited for him to speak.
"Before Lu Feng adopted Xiao Lin and Xiao Chen, these two kids were wandering the streets with no one to care for them. I took them in for a few days." Mr. Bai pulled out his smoking pipe, tapped it, and looked at Fu Xiaoxiao.
Fu Xiaoxiao frowned. Lu Feng had roughly mentioned it but hadn't had a chance to elaborate.
"Then what about their mother? Did she just leave them like that?"
Learning the two kids were wandering the streets at such a young age? Fu Xiaoxiao felt incredulous.
"Their mother has a weak character, can't stand up for herself. After their father was killed in battle, her family demanded the compensation and took her back, then married her off again." Mr. Bai sighed deeply.
"And the children weren't taken along, just left uncared for?" Fu Xiaoxiao guessed the children were passed around like a ball, unwanted by both her family and their father's?