During the seven-day holiday, Jing Mingchen didn't even see Jiang Gubei. She went to see Nan Qiao, thinking that she might see him at Nan Qiao's house, but she didn't.
Nan Qiao took the initiative to mention him, saying that he had been very busy recently and she hadn't seen him for half a month. It must be business matters. The Jiang family was getting bigger and bigger, and he was getting busier and busier.
The more Jing Mingchen listened to Nan Qiao, the softer his heart became. Although he was so busy, he still found time to go to Leshan to see her. Who could have thought that Mr. Jiang, the boss of Jiang Industrial, who was so busy that he had no time to celebrate the New Year, actually helped her build a chicken coop, a pigpen, and reclaim farmland in Leshan?
It doesn't matter if they can't meet. He promised to go to Leshan to see her again in the spring when the crabapple blossoms bloom. She is waiting.
However, when the crabapple blossoms really bloomed, he didn't come.
His birthday was on the ninth day after the crabapple tree in the nursery blossomed. Jing Mingchen waited for him at the ferry early in the morning, but there was no sign of the boat until the sun was high in the sky. It was not until Shen Bei came to the river to find him that he realized he had died.
Shen Bei was panting, looking anxious: "Don't wait, Jiang Gubei won't come. I just got a call from Chongqing, something happened to him!"
Something happened to Jiang Gubei.
Gu Nanqiao called to say that some time ago, a batch of Jiang's goods had some problems on the Yunnan-Burma line, so Jiang Gubei took Ah Da to Yunnan to deal with it. He should have returned two days earlier, but when he came back after finishing the work, he encountered a Japanese plane bombing when crossing the Huitong Bridge. Ah Da escaped death, but was seriously injured and fought back to Chongqing to report the news, but Jiang Gubei...
A chill ran up his spine. Jing Mingchen's hands and feet became weak and he was sweating all over. His vision was blurry and his mouth was dry. This feeling was like heatstroke or food poisoning when he was a child. After a long while, he finally had the strength to speak: "I don't believe it. I want to go back to Chongqing to find out."
Shen Bei helped her pack her luggage with tears in her eyes. Seeing that she looked dazed, she was afraid that something might have happened to her, so she simply accompanied her on the boat back to Chongqing.
On the boat back to Chongqing, Jing Mingchen sat quietly on the bow looking ahead. It was a cloudy day, and the river was covered with fog. Halfway through the journey, it started to rain, and it was a drizzle. She did not hide from the rain, but just sat there, as if she had turned into a thousand-year-old stone.
Not far away, someone was singing a boatman's song, which vaguely sounded like the one she heard when Jiang Gubei sent her to Leshan that year.

The boat arrives at the beach - hi hi - the waterway is open.
King Bodhisattva - hi hi - wants money.
You want money - hey hey - I'll burn it for you.
Bless the boat—hi, hi—to get across the beach.

Jing Mingchen listened in a daze, and tears finally fell down.
As soon as he got off the boat, Jing Mingchen went straight to Gu Nanqiao's house. It was late at night, but the lights were still on in Gu Nanqiao's house. As soon as Jing Mingchen ran to the door of the first floor, he heard a quarrel coming from inside. He pushed open the door and saw Gu Nanqiao sitting on the sofa with difficulty, stroking her belly, crying and arguing with someone. The people she was arguing with were Mrs. Jiang and Mr. Song, Gu Nanqiao and Jiang Gubei's "stepmother" and "uncle".
Gu Nanqiao was so angry that she cried and cursed, "It's a pity, are you so anxious to get Jiang? Today is Xiaobei's birthday. If anyone buys those unlucky things, I will fight her to the death!"
Mrs. Jiang pretended to be aggrieved, but her voice was full of pride: "Oh, when someone dies, isn't it necessary to hold a funeral? Your parents are gone, and I can barely be considered your elder. If I don't take care of the funeral, who will?"
Seeing Jing Mingchen coming, Gu Nanqiao grabbed her arm and said, "Mingchen, please judge for yourself. Today is Xiaobei's birthday, but they insisted on bringing up the funeral. Is it intentional? They think I don't know, but they just want to get Jiang's hand as soon as possible!"
Seeing her like this, Jing Mingchen calmed down: "What kind of funeral? Is it necessary to hold a funeral if you are sure that someone is dead?"
Mr. Song argued: "The bomb was dropped like that, he was on the bridge, the bridge was blown to pieces, how could he survive? Ah Dadu said that he was dead."
Jing Mingchen asked back: "What about the body? If he's alive, we have to see him. If he's dead, we have to see his body. If we can't see his body, why do we say he's dead?"
Mr. Song said shamelessly: "The person died in Yunnan. If you want a living person or a corpse, go to Yunnan and ask for it."
Jing Mingchen sneered and said, "Okay, I'll go ask Yunnan for the person!"
As soon as she said this, everyone in the room was shocked.
Jing Mingchen said this because he was provoked. As soon as he said this, the idea became clear. Yes, Jiang Gubei was missing, so who says he is definitely dead? A Da was on the bridge with him, so didn’t A Da die?
She is going to Yunnan to find him!
After a long while, Mr. Song said, "Who are you? What is your relationship with the Jiang family? When will it be the turn of an outsider to speak here?"
Gu Nanqiao grabbed Jing Mingchen's hand and raised it up: "She is not an outsider, she is our Jing family's unmarried daughter-in-law and the mistress of the family. This bracelet was left to Xiaobei by my mother and is to be passed on to my daughter-in-law!"
Finally, Mrs. Jiang and Mr. Song, the two plague gods, were sent away. Gu Nanqiao could finally cry her heart out. After crying, she said to Jing Mingchen, "Thank you for your expedient measure just now. They happened to return to England when they bullied Richard. If it weren't for you, they would still be unwilling to leave."
Jing Mingchen was at a loss: "What stopgap measure? Do you mean going to Yunnan? I'm not kidding, I'm serious."
Gu Nanqiao looked at her for a while, then said, "But..."
Jing Mingchen held her hand and said, "It's nothing, Mr. Jiang has saved my life in Kaifeng, Wuhan and Yichang. It's just a trip to Yunnan, nothing big. But you are really smart, you can think of such a family heirloom bracelet."
Gu Nanqiao looked at her in surprise: "I didn't make this bracelet. This bracelet was indeed left by my mother to be passed on to her daughter-in-law. Why didn't Xiaobei tell you when she gave it to you?"
Jing Mingchen sat on the sofa in a daze for a long time, then he stroked the bracelet with his fingers and tears fell.
That night, Jing Mingchen slept at Gu Nanqiao's house. Before going to bed, he heard someone knocking on the door. When he opened the door, it turned out to be his mother and eldest sister. Jing Mingchen asked in surprise, "How did you know I was here?"
Her mother pulled her out without saying anything: "Your father's condition has suddenly worsened and he is anxious to see you. Come home with me!"
Before Jing Mingchen had time to say goodbye to Gu Nanqiao, he was stuffed into a car by his mother. The car drove all the way back to Jing's house. As soon as he got out of the car, Jing Mingchen shouted "Dad" and ran upstairs. Unexpectedly, his father was not in the room. Just as Jing Mingchen was about to turn around and ask his mother, he heard a "click" and the door was locked from the outside.
Jing Mingchen realized that she had fallen into a trap. She quickly figured out what was going on and pounded on the door, asking loudly, "Did Mrs. Jiang inform you?"
Mrs. Jing answered her loudly, "So what? Are you really planning to go to Yunnan by yourself? Forget it! What's the situation in Yunnan now? The Japanese are bombing roads and bridges every day. What do you want to do there? Go and die? Just stay at home and don't go back to the nursery."
Jing Mingchen slid to the ground in despair.
The clock on the wall ticked slowly, and Jing Mingchen sat on the floor for half the night. When she finally gathered some strength, she began to plan her escape. Mrs. Jing's imprisonment was hasty, leaving her with many loopholes to exploit. The bed was not made, the sheets were still there, and the window was not sealed, so she could jump out of the window and escape.
She was already an expert at escaping by jumping out of the window. While listening to the noise outside, she used her hands and teeth to tear the sheets and make a rope. After working for most of the day, she finally made a fairly strong rope.
He tied one end of the rope to the bed leg and opened the window. The night wind of Chongqing in March rushed in, bringing with it the bitter smell of brewing morning dew. Jing Mingchen let the rope down, grabbed the rope, carefully stretched out his legs, and climbed down along the rope.
This room was on the third floor. Jing Mingchen climbed down. When she reached the second floor, the rope swayed. She swayed like a leaf in the wind along with the rope. She suddenly remembered that year in Wuhan, when Jiang Gubei was standing on the second floor to meet her. A pair of strong arms reached out to hug her legs and carried her to the second floor... Tears flowed down her face. Jing Mingchen did not dare to cry out loud. She gritted her teeth and held the rope tightly.
The rope reached the end , but it was not long enough and was still two meters above the ground. Jing Mingchen gritted her teeth, closed her eyes, loosened the rope and jumped down. She stumbled and fell to the ground, which was full of gravel. Her stockings were scratched and blood oozed from the abrasions. There was no time to treat it. Jing Mingchen covered her wound and tiptoed over the wall to leave Jing Mansion.
She ran back to Gu Nanqiao's home, but was afraid that her mother would find out she had escaped and chase after her, so she did not dare to spend the night. She treated her wounds, asked for some money and some clean clothes, and left Gu Nanqiao's home at night. She stayed in a small hotel for the night, and left Chongqing after dawn.
Fortunately, you can take a plane from Chongqing to Yunnan. Jing Mingchen was afraid that his mother would follow him to the airport, so he disguised himself carefully. He didn't feel relieved until he got on the plane.
In the air, the plane encountered turbulence and the passengers were a little panicked. Jing Mingchen sat in his seat, holding the armrest tightly, and silently said in his heart: If I die, nothing will matter, but if I am alive, he must be alive.
The plane finally arrived safely. As soon as he got off the plane, Jing Mingchen squatted on the ground and vomited.
She squatted on the ground and vomited for a long time, as if she wanted to empty everything in her stomach.
After vomiting, she did not stand up immediately, but buried her face in her arms and continued squatting for a while. There were people coming and going around her, and the sound of people's breath mixed and fermented in the hot air. This was Kunming, 800 kilometers away from Chongqing, a place she had never been to.
She looked around blankly and stood up.
Jiang Gubei's accident happened on the Huitong Bridge. If he survived by chance, he should be in Longling and Shidian counties where the Huitong Bridge is located. Longling is still several hundred kilometers away from Kunming. She had to control her emotions and rest for a while in Kunming before taking a bus to Longling.
Kunming is a completely different world. The weather was very good that day, the sun was shining brightly, and the city was full of flowers. The streets were filled with the fragrance of flowers, which mixed with the smell of excrement left by passing animals on the streets, forming a subtle atmosphere of human life. Since the opening of the Burma Road, Kunming has become a lively place, where businessmen from all over the world gather. Yunnan is a place where many ethnic groups live together. There are both civilized gentlemen in suits and local residents wearing costumes of various ethnic groups such as Dai, Yi, and Bai walking on the streets. Mules and horses run parallel to cars, horns and bells resonate, the aroma of steamed chicken blends with the bitterness of coffee... This is a noisy and complex place.
Jing Mingchen sat down in a clean restaurant and ordered a bowl of rice noodles to fill his stomach.
While waiting for the rice noodles, someone soon came to chat with me. It was a middle-aged man in coarse linen clothes: "Miss, you just came to Kunming, right? Are you looking for someone or a relative? Do you have a place to stay in Kunming? I can recommend a hotel for you..."
Suddenly, a slow voice interrupted: "I say, Lao Zhang, you should also do some good deeds."
Jing Mingchen looked in the direction of the voice and saw a young man sitting by the window. He had a handsome face, wearing a white suit, and looked to be about her age, drinking tea leisurely.
The man he called Lao Zhang laughed: "I don't know what virtues I am doing. It's you, Le Ling, who I advise you to be more restrained. If Mrs. Xu finds out, she will skin you alive. Even if Mrs. Xu doesn't skin you alive, you and Mrs. Xu are still having an affair. Be careful that one day, Deputy Minister Xu will come to his senses and have someone shoot you. Girl, be careful of this man. Don't be fooled by his slicked-back face and look like a gentleman. In fact, he is not a good guy and only feeds on women!"
When his secrets were exposed, the man named Le Ling became furious and threw a plate of melon seeds at him. Lao Zhang then laughed and walked out of the restaurant.
Jing Mingchen pondered what Lao Zhang had just said, Mrs. Xu, Deputy Minister Xu... I wonder what the relationship is between them and the Deputy Minister Xu of the Ministry of Communications, Mr. Xu of the Central Bureau of Investigation, whom Jiang Gubei mentioned?
Le Ling spoke to Jing Mingchen again: "From your accent, you are from Leshan?"
Jing Mingchen was a little surprised. Did she unknowingly pick up the Leshan accent? She politely replied, "Yes."
Le Ling was very surprised: "Really? Did you know there is a nursery in Leshan? I have a cousin who works as a cook there. Her last name is Shen."
It turns out that he is Aunt Shen’s nephew!
After learning about this relationship, Le Ling became even more enthusiastic: "How many days are you going to stay in Kunming? I'll find a place for you to stay. Kunming is a mixed bag, and there are scammers everywhere. I'll take care of you and make sure you get out of Kunming safely."
Jing Mingchen thought about it and realized that there was no way a liar could know that there was a cook named Shen in the Leshan Nursery thousands of miles away. He had also heard Aunt Shen say that she had a nephew in Kunming, so he happily left the restaurant with Le Ling.
Le Ling took her to a hotel: "Don't worry, I own shares in this hotel."
Jing Mingchen stayed in the hotel. She told Le Ling that she was going to Longling. Le Ling readily agreed to get the train tickets for her. In the evening, the tickets were delivered.
Jing Mingchen took a short rest for one night and boarded a long-distance bus to Longling the next day.
The road was not peaceful. The car was broken down and had to stop and go. It took several days to finally reach Longling. On the way, they encountered bandits who stopped the car and robbed it. Fortunately, they were only after money. Jing Mingchen, like other passengers, had her money robbed. Fortunately, she listened to Le Ling's words when she was in Kunming and sewed some money into her collar to prevent any accidents.
Arriving at Longling County, Jing Mingchen did not even have time to rest, but went from inn to inn to ask if they had ever received a guest who looked like Jiang Gubei. After receiving a negative answer, he went to the streets to find people to listen to her description and drew a portrait of Jiang Gubei. He made dozens of copies and begged the owners of inns, restaurants and teahouses to post the portraits in their shops so that he could inquire about the news from people who came and went.
After doing all this, she stayed in the county town for one night and left the city the next morning.
If Jiang Gubei is not in Longling County, if he is still alive, he is most likely still along the Yunnan-Burma Highway from Huitong Bridge to Longling County or Shidian County. There are small villages along the highway with some border residents scattered around. Perhaps Jiang Gubei is in the home of one of the border residents.
It rains a lot in Longling in April. It had just rained, the weather was gloomy and the roads were muddy. Jing Mingchen walked along the road, one step deep and one step shallow. The air was hot and humid, and his heavy clothes were soaked with sweat, sticking to his back. Jing Mingchen smelled the smell emanating from his body, and felt like a rat that had just crawled out of a sewer.
She paid attention to the houses on both sides. When she saw smoke from cooking, she knew there were people living there. She would run over to ask for a drink of water and ask if they had ever seen the person in the portrait.
After walking for a whole day, her legs felt weak from exhaustion at dusk. She looked around and saw vast fields and low trees all around. It was almost time for dinner but there was no smoke from cooking. There were no residents living along this stretch of road, so she was afraid she would have to sleep outdoors tonight.
Suddenly, there was a rumbling sound in the distance. Jing Mingchen looked up and saw thick clouds quickly approaching the sky above her head. A cold wind seemed to suddenly emerge from the ground and surrounded her in an instant. Raindrops as big as beans came down with a "crackling" sound, hitting her body like hail. Jing Mingchen folded her arms and bent her body to walk forward against the wind, thinking that this was really "when it rains it pours".
Suddenly, she heard a strange "buzzing" sound approaching her from a distant valley. She stopped curiously and looked towards the source of the sound.
Then her eyes widened in horror.
Flood! It was a flood! The muddy yellow flood was rushing towards her with overwhelming force, sweeping up trees and rocks.
She had no time to run away, and in an instant, she became a prey of the flood.
Jing Mingchen struggled hopelessly in the flood. The dirty water mixed with mud and sand poured into her eyes, ears, mouth and nose without any explanation. Under the ruthless push of the flood, she collided violently with a tree that shared the same suffering as her. Her eyes went dark and she fainted.
She didn't know how much time had passed before she woke up to the sound of children laughing. She opened her eyes and saw a thatched roof. She sat up, her head still aching slightly.
Looking around, she saw that it was a thatched hut. She was lying on the only bed, covered with a blue printed homespun sheet. There was a strange smell of rotting grass and trees in the room, probably from the thatched roof and wooden furniture.
The blue cotton curtain was opened, and a sister-in-law came in with a child in her arms. She was dressed as a Bai. When she saw her get up, she quickly pushed her down and sat beside the bed, muttering, "You are so lucky that you didn't die even in the flood."
Jing Mingchen asked in surprise: "Can you speak Chinese?"
The eldest sister-in-law smiled and said, "I often trade with the Han people, so I know a little bit."
The eldest sister-in-law asked Jing Mingchen how she encountered the flood and whether she had any companions. When she heard that she was alone, she sighed and said, "This road is really not safe. People always get into accidents. Some time ago, my brother picked up a man who said he was bombed by an airplane at Huitong Bridge..."
Jing Mingchen's throat smelled bloody and her heart almost jumped out. She held her chest and asked with difficulty: "Where is your brother? Is the person he picked up still there? I came to Yunnan just to find him!"
By the thirteenth day of staying at Ada's house, thanks to his magic herbs, Jiang Gubei's legs were almost healed.
Today was market day, and Ada's family went to the market. Jiang Gubei had lunch and couldn't sleep, so he moved a rattan chair out and sat in front of the door to bask in the sun.
The spring sun was warm, and he soon fell into a dream while lying on a rattan chair. The dream was chaotic, with the scene of the bombing of Huitong Bridge, his sister, Jing Mingchen... Suddenly, for some reason, he seemed to have stepped into empty space, and he opened his eyes in shock.
The high temperature in the afternoon made the air hot. He squinted his eyes and looked ahead. Not far away, a figure was running towards him.
He rubbed his eyes.
When he opened his eyes again, he saw a familiar smiling yet tearful face.
Jing Mingchen stood in front of him and held out her hand to him. Her palm was open, and on it was a small wooden bookmark with a crabapple flower attached.
"I brought you the crabapple blossoms from Leshan in March."
Jiang Gubei and Jing Mingchen sat holding hands and smiling at each other. Jiang Gubei had lived in this Bai family for half a month, so he naturally wore a flowery Bai dress. Jing Mingchen was swept away by the flood and rescued by the people here, so they also changed her into a flowery Bai dress. The two fake Bai people felt that each other was so fresh and like a dream.
After a long while, Jiang Gubei reached out and tucked Jing Mingchen's hair behind his ears: "I am not dreaming, why are you here?"
As soon as he asked, Jing Mingchen's grievances instantly surged into her heart. She choked up and punched him with her fist: "You're still asking, why didn't you report to your family that you're safe if you're not dead?"
Jiang Gubei grabbed her wrist and held her tightly in his arms, comforting her: "I didn't mean to scare you... I did this for a purpose."
He slowly told Jing Mingchen the truth. It was true that he was attacked and injured on Huitong Bridge, but the news of his death was a good show performed by him and Ah Da.
"In the past six months, the company's business has gone wrong one after another. Although I was able to save it in the end, I suspected that there was a thief. I thought it was just my stepmother and uncle who were behind it. I was very curious about what they were trying to do. It happened that the accident happened on Huitong Bridge this time, so I thought that if they thought I was dead, they would definitely be exposed. So I asked Ah Da to go back by himself and lie that I was dead, and see what good they could do."
Jing Mingchen nodded, not quite understanding: "Can we go back and close the net now?"
Jiang Gubei shook his head: "No, I came to Yunnan, ostensibly to deal with business troubles, but actually there are other things. Haven't you seen Qianmo for a long time?"
Jing Mingchen thought about it and realized that it was true. After returning to Leshan after the Spring Festival, she never saw Jiang Qianmo again.
Jiang Gubei sneered, "Where do you think he went? He came to Yunnan and worked as a driver on the Burma Road. He even left me a letter, saying that he didn't want to live in an ivory tower in the face of national crisis, and wanted to work as a driver at the border to provide blood transfusion for Greater China. I came here mainly to find him, but I didn't expect to encounter bombings, which delayed my business until now."
Jing Mingchen put his hand on his knee: "Okay, I'll go with you to find him."
In the evening, Ada's family came back from the market, bringing back some vegetables and meat. Seeing that there were guests, they enthusiastically wanted to prepare a sumptuous dinner for them.
Jing Mingchen went to the kitchen to help, and Ada's wife spoke to her: "Are you Mr. Jiang's wife? You are so beautiful, you don't look like someone who has given birth to a child at all."
Jing Mingchen was confused. Giving birth to a child? What child?
Ada's wife looked at her in surprise: "Why? Mr. Jiang said it himself. My husband asked him why he ran so hard to Huitong Bridge. He said he had no choice. He had a wife and children at home. There were children all over the house. He couldn't support the family if he didn't work hard."
The children he was talking about were probably the ones in the nursery, and that wife... Jing Mingchen turned his head to glance at the outer room. Jiang Gubei was chatting with Ada. I don't know what they were talking about, but he patted Ada's shoulder and laughed heartily. His handsome features looked very vivid under the dim oil lamp.
They stayed at Ada's house for two more days before saying goodbye and leaving, continuing along the Burma Road, hoping to meet Jiang Qianmo on the road.
The day of departure was a sunny day, just after the rain, and the rain-washed grass and trees along the way looked green and lovely. Flowers bloomed in Yunnan in April. In the wilderness, there were endless wild flowers, stretching to the horizon, and the fragrance of flowers was refreshing. With Jiang Gubei around, Jing Mingchen felt very relieved, as if Jiang Gubei could withstand floods or beasts.
She broke off a branch and held it in her hand, walking in front of Jiang Gubei, teasing the passing butterflies and humming the Bai folk song she had just learned. Jiang Gubei followed behind her calmly, with his hands in his trouser pockets, smiling as he looked at her from behind.
Jing Mingchen turned around and said to him with a smile: "It's really strange. When I came here, I thought the whole road was filled with poor mountains and bad waters, but now I think it's really beautiful mountains and clear waters."
The flowers on the roadside were in full bloom, which reminded her of the ancient legend. She asked Jiang Gubei: "Have you heard the story of King Qian Liu of Wuyue and his wife?"
Princess Wu of Wuyue was born in a farming family. After becoming a princess, she still did not forget her hometown and would return to her parents' home every spring to serve her parents. Qian Liu and his wife were deeply in love and missed each other very much after not seeing each other for a long time. One day, Qian Liu saw that the West Lake embankment under Fenghuang Mountain was already full of colorful flowers in spring, so he could not help but write a letter to the princess. There was only one sentence in the letter, but it has been passed down to this day because of its deep love.
Jiang Gubei looked at Jing Mingchen, across a short path, and he smiled and opened his arms to her: "Mingchen, the flowers are blooming on the road, you can go home slowly."
After walking for a long time, Jing Mingchen's braids were loose again. Jiang Gubei pulled her to sit on the grass and re-braided her hair: "Your hair has grown a lot longer."
Her hair grew fast, and now it was almost shoulder-length. There were small yellow flowers on the roadside, and Jiang Gubei picked a handful of them and pinned them on her braids, from the temples to the ends of her hair. He said with some regret: "You were so willful that year. You kept your hair for so long, and you cut it off just like that."
Jing Mingchen suddenly remembered what Gu Nanqiao said. She turned her head and looked at Jiang Gubei, staring at him carefully for a long time: "Nanqiao said that the bracelet you gave me was originally yours. I bought the bracelet on consignment from a silver shop when I was staying at a relative's house in Shanghai more than ten years ago. Are you the seller who was short of money for my sister's surgery?"
Jiang Gubei smiled and sighed: "I wanted to tell you in person, but Nan Qiao got there first."
He admitted it and told everything that happened that year. Qian Yiru was missing and Nan Qiao was seriously ill and needed surgery. In order to raise the surgery fee, he had to consign his mother's belongings. Fortunately, she met Jing Mingchen and Nan Qiao was able to save her life. Coincidentally, the doctor who performed the surgery on Nan Qiao was Dr. Richard, which also made Nan Qiao and Richard's marriage possible.
The world is so wonderful that one can’t help but sigh.
Jing Mingchen felt a little sorry: "It's a pity that the bracelet was robbed on the way to Longling. I lost your mother's only relic. You won't blame me, right?"
Jiang Gubei said with a smile: "Since I already have someone, why do I need a bracelet?"
He stood up and stretched out his hand to pull Jing Mingchen up: "We have to hurry up and find an inn, otherwise we will have to sleep in the wilderness."
When it was almost dark, they finally saw a ray of light ahead. When they got closer, they saw a roadside shop that was also a hotel and restaurant. It was under the sign of a wine shop, which was quite ancient. Jiang Gubei asked for a room and explained to Jing Mingchen: "It's better not to separate when you go out, so that you can take care of each other."
The conditions in the inn were harsh. There was no electricity, let alone a bath. They had to use oil lamps for lighting. Jing Mingchen sat on the bed, and Jiang Gubei sat on the floor with a quilt in his arms. The two of them sat there in the dim light of the oil lamp, one high and one low. After a while, Jiang Gubei said, "Go to sleep. We have to get up early tomorrow to travel."
He shook off the quilt and lay down on the ground, with his back to Jing Mingchen. Jing Mingchen also lay down, also with his back to him.
Although she was lying down, she was conscious. Jing Mingchen couldn't sleep, so she grabbed the edge of the quilt with both hands and counted sheep silently in her mind to hypnotize herself. She counted sheep differently from others. Others counted one or two sheep, but she counted the list of children in the nursery: Liang Congwen, Shen Didi, Zhou Jiahua, Zhang Gu, Li Xiaohong...
As she counted, her eyelids really became heavy. Just when she was about to fall into a deep sleep, a strange sound suddenly came from next door, which immediately dispelled her sleepiness.
She pricked up her ears and gently called Jiang Gubei's name: "Listen, there is a noise next door. Is the place we live in a shady shop?"
Jiang Gubei was also not asleep. When he heard her say that, he got up quickly, lifted his long legs and climbed onto the bed, kneeling down by the wall to listen closely to the sounds next door. Jing Mingchen also put his ear to the wall, listening while looking at Jiang Gubei with wide eyes.