Chapter 16: Encountering an Acquaintance Again

Wang Li couldn’t sleep last night. She insisted on keeping watch herself, sitting there thinking about the tangled emotions of her past life, about returning to the 1940s, and how she’d woken up only to immediately flee from famine. Her thoughts wandered until she looked up.

The morning sun was just rising, casting its light through the forest. Though the autumn wind carried a hint of chill, it still held some warmth.

Sitting quietly in the morning light, Wang Li felt as if she had lived through a different lifetime. After staying up all night, her mind was foggy—she wasn’t even sure if she was still in the 21st century or back in the 1940s.

She got up and poured a little water into the washbasin, wetting her hands and pressing them to her face to wake herself up. After a half-hearted attempt at brushing her teeth, she realized the tooth powder she’d gotten was terrible—it had a strange taste and made her gag. She rinsed her mouth and decided to skip brushing altogether.

She planned to make some porridge. After a night in this place, she figured no one was around, so lighting a fire shouldn’t be a problem.

By the time Wang Li finished cooking the porridge, Han Ya had just woken up. She felt a bit guilty for dozing off again.

Wang Li said, “Girl, go wash your face and brush your teeth. It’s time to eat. I even steamed the cornbread today.”

Wang Minghao came over too. “Jie, I want to wash up too.”

Last night, Wang Minghao had made up his mind—he was already at an age where falling for someone didn’t happen easily. He decided to just follow his heart. From now on, he’d shamelessly cling to her, no matter how others laughed at him.

Wang Li thought to herself, Why are people these days so quick to act familiar?

“I’ll see if I have an extra toothbrush,” she had just said when—

Han Ya chimed in, “Auntie, there’s one in the cloth bundle at the bottom of the small basket. It’s from Uncle Sanniu’s son—he asked me to carry it for him. Looks like we lucked out, hehe. There’s more stuff in there too. He thought I was dumb, so he gave me everything to carry, and in the end, he got separated from us—so now it’s all ours.”

Wang Li replied, “You little money-grubber. Go find it for him so he can eat. Once we’ve eaten, we need to hit the road.”

She added, “That young man, go wash up. After breakfast, I’ll do your makeup and help you change. The clothes you’re wearing now make it obvious what kind of person you are. Don’t drag us down with you.”

Wang Minghao grinned. “Got it, Jie. I’ll do whatever you say—just point and I’ll charge.”

Wang Li scoffed, “Such a smooth talker. Eat up.”

Han Ya giggled, “Uncle, who are you going to charge at?”

Wang Li laughed. This child…

Wang Minghao chuckled too and picked up a bowl of thick porridge. Sitting cross-legged on a mat, he quickly finished the whole bowl. When he saw there were still corn cakes in the steamer, he asked Han Ya to hand him two more. Finally full today, he thought. It had been three days since he jumped out of the train window, and he’d only eaten two eggs—eggs that Liuzi had slipped him.

Big Sis is really my savior. From now on, I’m clinging to her for dear life.

Seeing that everyone had finished eating, Wang Li asked Han Ya to wash the dishes and pack everything into the basket.

She grabbed a bundle and pretended to dig through it for clothes—though in truth, she was pulling them from her hidden space. She took out a set of thin gray cotton clothes and handed them to Wang Minghao, telling him to change in the nearby brush. Once he was done, she darkened his brows with makeup and began carefully sticking fake beard pieces—bit by bit—above his lips.

Wang Minghao felt like he was dying. His heart was racing, his breath caught in his throat, his face flushed red, and his ears burned. At this distance, I just want to hold her and kiss her.

Before he could make a move, Wang Li had finished and stepped back to inspect from afar. Then she had Han Ya take a look too.

Han Ya asked, “Auntie, why are you dressing Uncle up like an old man?”

Wang Li nearly choked from laughter. “If we look like we’re traveling with an old man, bad people won’t dare mess with us.”

“Let’s hurry. We’ve already wasted too much time.” After they finished packing up, she looked at Wang Minghao. “Why the long face? I dressed you up like this to protect you. Hand me your suitcase—I’ll carry it.”

“It’s too heavy,” Wang Minghao said.

Wang Li wasn’t in the mood to argue. She grabbed it and tossed it into the basket, then pulled him along.

That suitcase of yours is too heavy—it has to be a radio transmitter. If someone spots it, we’ll all be in trouble. Better to stash it in the space; there’s no safer place.

The three of them trudged along all morning, managing only about ten li. Luckily, they found a small pond fed by mountain spring water.

Wang Li spotted a large rock nearby, put down her basket, took a big oilcloth from Han Ya, and spread it out. The three of them sat down to drink some water and rest before cooking lunch.

As soon as Wang Minghao sat down, he said, “Jie, my legs hurt a bit. Do you have any medicine?” A man in his thirties was on the verge of tears.

Wang Li sighed, “You really are something. Yes, I do—hold on a moment.”

“Han Ya, bring the bamboo tube of water over. And take this too.” She reached into her clothes pocket—actually drawing from her space—and pulled out a packet of anti-inflammatory medicine, handing it all to Han Ya to give to Wang Minghao.

Wang Minghao thought, What’s wrong with me? Why do I feel so wronged just seeing Big Sis? Even more than when I used to act spoiled with my own Mother. Back then, even a little cold would make me whine to her.
I shouldn’t think about this anymore—feels like I’m really not doing well.

Wang Li simmered rice in a small pot, then pulled out a potato, peeled it, and sliced it into thin pieces. She wasn’t great at cutting shredded potatoes with this body, so she opted for stir-fried slices instead. Once the potatoes were done, she scooped out the rice and put it into the steamer for a final cook. That way, they’d have both food and something warm to drink.

Just as Wang Li was about to call the others for the meal, gunshots rang out in the distance, startling her. She quickly told Han Ya to help her move the food behind the large rock. Then she rushed to help Wang Minghao hide there as well.

“Fire! Fire!” Wang Minghao exclaimed.

Wang Li snapped, “What fire? Are you sick?”
She was annoyed—Just finished cooking and now gunshots? Don’t tell me we’ve run into Japanese soldiers.

Seeing that she was angry, Wang Minghao looked pitiful and said, “If someone comes by and sees the fire, they’ll know someone’s here.” As he spoke, he propped himself up with a stick and went over to put out the fire.

Wang Li felt both angry and amused. Ah, what a hard life. She went over as well, covered the fire pit with dirt, and then scattered some bits of dry grass on top.

The three of them hid behind the large rock for quite a while before they finally heard footsteps approaching. None of them dared to breathe too loudly.

Wang Li peeked out and thought, Why does that guy look like the son of that old man who tried to rob us the other day?

Before she could be sure, Han Ya had already run out, calling, “Uncle, is that you? You’re not here to rob us again, are you?”

Everyone was stunned.

Wang Li rushed out after her. “It’s you! What are you doing on this road too? Where’s your donkey? Where’s your father?”

Before the man could answer, Wang Minghao chimed in, “Liu Juntao? What are you doing here?”

Liu Juntao looked completely confused and asked, “Who are you?”

Wang Minghao replied, “What, are you sleepwalking? I’m Wang Minghao! It’s only been a month—how do you not recognize me?”

Wang Li noticed them all standing and, worried that Wang Minghao’s leg couldn’t take it, said, “Since you know each other, why not sit down? His leg’s hurt—standing too long isn’t good.”

Once everyone was seated, Wang Li spread out the oilcloth again and asked Han Ya to bring over the food. “Since we know each other, let’s eat together. Last time I saw you, you were with your father—don’t you remember?”

Liu Juntao responded, “Now I do. I remembered you were with a large group back then, so I didn’t recognize you just now.”

On this side, Wang Minghao added that he’d been disguised. If even people who knew him couldn’t recognize him, strangers definitely wouldn’t be able to.

They all sat down and began eating. Han Ya, however, was visibly unhappy—why did everyone always end up eating their food?

Wang Li noticed her pouting and pulled her aside. “What’s wrong, girl? You seem a little upset.”

Han Ya said, “Auntie, they’re all eating our food. What if we don’t have enough later?”

Wang Li found it both funny and heartwarming. This child sure knows how to guard her food. But she’s always worried I won’t eat well or get enough—she’s really been sweet the whole way.

Wang Li said, “It’s fine, girl. They’re all our people, and they won’t eat that much. If we run out, we’ll just buy more. Auntie still has money.”

Han Ya said, “Auntie, I have money too. When my Father was still alive, he sewed it into my clothes. I’ll give it to you.”

Wang Li replied, “No need. If Auntie runs out of money one day, I’ll come ask you. Let’s go eat now.”