Seeing her expression turn somber, I realized she must have recalled some sad memories, so I interrupted her thoughts and said, "Let me go find some food. You can gather some firewood nearby for later use."
Upon hearing me say that, Yanran withdrew her thoughts and got up to gather firewood.
The place we were at was neither the mountains nor the forest but a meadow, with no prey to hunt nearby. I rode the horse for a couple of miles and came across a large farmland, where I dug up some sweet potatoes and yams, and plucked a few ears of young corn.
Lastly, I left some broken silver coins in the place where I dug the sweet potatoes, yams, and plucked the corn, considering it as payment for the people's goods.
When I returned, Nanny Zhang, the coachman, and Yanran's younger brother were already awake. Some were harnessing the carriage, others helping Yanran gather firewood, and the little boy was squatting by the creek watching fish.
