Early in the morning, before the sky had even lightened, after greeting grandpa and grandma and having some food, Hua Jin teased a few of the big ones, who gave him reluctant looks as he left the valley.
Meanwhile, after almost a night of traveling, Liu Gouzi appeared at the crossroads outside Hua Village, pushing a cart that had become significantly lighter.
Throughout this scorching journey, even the three little ones sitting in the cart looked as if they had been pulled out of water, drenched in sweat.
The bamboo tube holding their water had long been emptied, despite having stopped several times to boil more along the way. It was their routine of late, taking breaks to boil water to rest their feet, otherwise, they couldn't endure the journey.
"Gouzi, if I'm not mistaken, Hua Village should be just ahead, right?" Big Liu exhaled in relief, staring at the three-way junction, particularly at one road surrounded by forest with an irregular boulder beside it.
