"Okay."
Rowan immediately put down what he was holding and said, "Dad, Sienna, wait here for a bit."
After speaking, he quickly ran to the state-owned restaurant to buy food. To save time, he just bought a few meat buns and came back.
When he returned, the educated youths were already gathered, and he heard some complaints as he approached.
"This ox cart is so dirty. How are we supposed to sit on it?"
"Yeah, couldn't they clean it up a little?"
Rowan walked straight over and handed the buns to the team leader. "Dad, have a bun first. You must be starving."
He also took out two buns and handed them to his wife. "Sienna, you eat too."
Then he turned to the educated youths and said, "Ha, you people really think highly of yourselves. With all your luggage, you're lucky the ox can even pull everything back. And you still want to ride? Keep dreaming."
He looked at the stuff loaded on the cart, then at the educated youths. Only one man and one woman had put their things on the cart. The rest hadn't even moved.
He didn't pamper them. "Dad, get on the cart and drive. Don't let them get used to their bad habits."
Before getting on, the team leader said, "Are you putting your luggage on or not? If not, I'm leaving."
His son and daughter-in-law had just returned. He was eager to go home. He understood that city kids were coming to the countryside for the first time, but they really caused too much trouble.
Seeing that the team leader had already gotten on the ox cart and really seemed ready to leave, everyone hurried to load their luggage. They had seen other villages that didn't even have an ox cart.
After leaving the county town, the team leader got off the cart and led the ox himself. He said to Rowan, "Carry Sienna up. I'll walk and guide the cart. The road is still long."
Sienna immediately refused. "Dad, I don't want to. You should sit. I'm fine, really. I've trained with Rowan and the others in the army."
"What did you say? That guy made you train? Is he trying to fly to heaven? Rowan, Sienna is your wife, not your soldier."
Rowan didn't explain and just said, "Dad, please get on the cart. Let's go home quickly."
"Alright."
The team leader got on the cart and continued driving. At the same time, he said, "Rowan, carry Sienna. Don't let her get too tired. If she's worn out when we get home, your mom will kill you."
"Okay, I understand."
Rowan felt a bit down. Was he a son or just a son-in-law? Didn't anyone worry about him getting tired?
"No need, Dad. I want to walk with Rowan."
"Fine, but if you get tired, let him carry you. Don't worry about him. He's strong. He won't get tired."
"Alright, I got it. Thanks, Dad."
The educated youths following behind had thought Rowan was the team leader's son-in-law. They felt sorry for the team leader's daughter who had to be carried like that.
Then they heard the team leader call Rowan by his last name and realized he was actually the team leader's son.
They were all kind of jealous of Sienna. Her in-laws clearly cared a lot about her. After walking for two hours, many people were too tired to go on.
"Team leader, can we take a break? We can't walk anymore."
Looking at their condition, Rowan's father said, "Alright, let's take a break."
After resting for about ten minutes, he stood up and said, "Let's go. Now you all take turns riding the cart."
Rowan's father got off the cart again to lead the ox. Rowan wanted to carry Sienna, but she refused. His father also didn't let him. So Rowan just went to guide the ox cart, so his dad could rest a bit.
They walked for four hours. By the time they arrived at the village, it was already evening. They could have arrived much earlier, but they walked slowly, stopping often, which wasted a lot of time.
"Rowan, you take Sienna home first. I'll bring the others to the youth settlement."
"Alright. Dad, be careful and come home early."
When Rowan reached the door, he knocked. Cuilan thought it was her husband coming back. "Why so late? Weren't you going to pick up the youths?"
When she opened the door and saw her son, she got excited. "Rowan, you're back! Are you on leave again or just passing by?"
"Mom, I'm on leave. I brought Sienna home for a visit."
As soon as Cuilan heard that Sienna was back, she quickly asked, "Where is Sienna?"
Sienna, who was standing behind Rowan, called out, "Mom."
Cuilan saw that her son was blocking Sienna, so she pushed him aside and rushed to grab Sienna's hand. "Sienna, you're finally back."
Then she kept talking to Sienna, while Rowan went to his room to tidy up.
Soon, Rowan's father came home. Seeing his wife chatting with their daughter-in-law, he said, "Cuilan, it's late. They've been on the bus all day and walked for hours. Let them rest. You can talk tomorrow."
"You're right. Sienna, go rest early."
"Okay. Dad, Mom, you rest early too."
After Sienna went back to the room, Cuilan said, "You two grown men with a cart—why did you let Sienna walk?"
"There was no choice. The cart was full of stuff. Everyone had to take turns riding."
"You should've let Rowan carry her. Sienna is so small. Do you want her to get exhausted? Don't you know how to care for your wife? Your brothers never treated their wives like this. And neither did you."
"She wanted to walk. Sienna felt bad for Rowan."
"Oh."
After hearing that, Cuilan stopped talking. Her husband ignored her and went out to fetch water to wash up.
In her heart, Cuilan thought, "No, this won't do. Tomorrow, I'll secretly teach that silly girl. A woman must know how to take care of herself. Rowan's a soldier. He trains every day. Of course, he can carry her."
When Sienna returned to the room, Rowan had already cleaned up. Seeing her come in, he quickly said, "Wife, I'll boil water so you can take a bath. You rest first."
Then he went out. As he walked outside, he saw his father washing up. After greeting him, Rowan went into the kitchen to boil water.
After everything was done, the two of them went to bed together.
The next day, since it was Rowan and Sienna's first day back, Rowan's parents didn't go to work.
After breakfast, Rowan took out the things he had bought and handed them to his mom. When she opened the bag, she saw new clothes and fabric.
Cuilan said with concern, "Your father and I already have clothes. Why are you buying more? Save it for Sienna. And why buy fabric too?"
"Sienna bought these for you and Dad. Not me."
Hearing that, Cuilan grabbed Sienna's hand and pulled her back into the room. She opened her money box, took out some money, and gave it to Sienna.
She said, "Silly girl, didn't I tell you not to use the bride price money? You should have kept it and not given it to Rowan. Why did you buy us clothes and fabric?"
"A woman should always keep some money for herself. What if Rowan bullies you one day? We live far away. You need to have enough money for a bus ticket to come home. Rowan hasn't even given you his full salary. Let me tell you, don't let him keep money. Just give him a few coins for spending."