Chapter 30: Sending Them Some Food

Xia Mo turned back. “Granny, I’m making noodles. My fifth brother wants to eat noodles.”

“Oh? You two brothers came from the north. Have you heard how the war is going over there? Is it really like they say, that when the Rong barbarians invaded, they ate people on sight?”

Xia Mo couldn’t help but laugh and cry at the same time. Who was spreading such absurd rumors?

Cannibalism had indeed existed in history, but it was usually a last resort when there was absolutely no food left.

Even if it did happen, it was never as horrifying as eating people on sight.

“No, Granny,” Xia Mo explained. “The Rong barbarians have cattle and sheep for meat, and they drink cow’s milk and mare’s milk. They haven’t reached the point where they have to eat human flesh to survive.”

“Oh, but they do rob food, don’t they?”

Xia Mo’s hands paused for a moment before she nodded lightly. “Yes. Wherever they pass through, they take all the grain from the villages.”

“Aiya! Then, young man, don’t give us too much food. If we can’t finish it and the Rong barbarians come to rob us, won’t they be well-fed and then turn around to fight our own people?”

“They won’t attack so soon. I still have more in my bundle. I’ll give you some extra so you can fill up your other jar too.”

Hearing this, the old woman became anxious and waved her hands. “That absolutely won’t do! We two old bones, if we die, we die. Having such fine white flour to eat even once or twice is already a blessing. Eating too much would be a waste—it should be left for young people like you. You still have a long life ahead of you.”

Xia Mo kneaded the dough as she smiled. “Granny, we have plenty of flour. And you shouldn’t just think about living one more day at a time. You have to try to survive too. Your son might not really be dead.”

The old woman froze. “Not dead?”

“You only heard about it, right? Have you actually seen his body?”

The old woman shook her head. “No, I haven’t. But I heard that the Rong barbarians eat people, so I thought my son must have been eaten.”

Xia Mo was speechless. Who on earth was spreading such heartless nonsense?

“General Yun’s army may have suffered a defeat, but he and his troops are only missing for now—they haven’t all perished. Granny, your son might still be alive. You must stay alive, too. When the war is over, he may come back. If he returns and can’t find you, how sad would that be?”

People needed hope to keep living.

Once someone lost hope and had nothing to hold on to, even the strongest person wouldn’t last long.

Xia Mo’s words deeply moved the old woman, and she burst into tears.

She probably believed her, though not entirely.

“If my son is alive, then I’ll wait for him to come back. Yes, I’ll wait for the war to end and for him to return.”

Xia Mo felt a lump in her throat. She didn’t know what else to say, so she simply prepared to leave as much for them as she could.

After kneading the dough, she tore off small pieces and rolled them into thin strips.

She tried her best to make them even, but they weren’t perfectly uniform.

After all, this was her first time making noodles. It was good enough that they even looked like noodles.

Granny helped her light the stove. When the water boiled, Xia Mo added salt and the noodles. In no time, they were ready to be served.

“Granny, the noodles are done!”

“Alright, I’ll call my old man in.”

The old woman went outside to fetch her husband, who was weaving straw sandals. Meanwhile, Xia Mo headed to the bedroom to find Xiao Jingyuan.

He was tending to his wound, but when he saw her enter, he quickly put his clothes back on.

“Let me see.” Without hesitation, Xia Mo lifted his shirt again.

“Not bad. That wound needed more than ten stitches, and it’s already healing. Kid, you’re recovering fast.”

“It’s thanks to the medicine from Guanyin Bodhisattva.”

Uh…

Haha, I’ll take that as a compliment.

“Hurry up and get dressed. The noodles are ready.”

“Thank you.”

Xia Mo was about to enter the convenience store for condiments when she froze in shock.

This kid… just said thank you?

That was rare.

“Xia Wu, starting today, you’re thirteen years old. Happy birthday.”

“Birthday?”

“Yes, happy birthday.”

Plain noodles weren’t very appealing on their own. Xia Mo grabbed oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and mushroom sauce from the convenience store. Ham was a must-have too.

As she browsed the shelves, she suddenly noticed a row of neatly packed store-bought noodles. She was dumbfounded.

Oh right—weren’t there already ready-made noodles? Why did she even bother making them by hand?

Back then, she had been so focused on using flour that she completely forgot the convenience store stocked instant noodles.

How dumb.

“Sigh, my brain sometimes…” she muttered, giving herself a light smack on the forehead.

Xiao Jingyuan glanced at her from the side. He often felt like Xia Mo acted strangely, as if she had some kind of condition.

“Help me carry these.”

She had taken quite a lot of things, and one person couldn’t carry them all.

Xiao Jingyuan looked at the pile of seasonings and frowned. “Are you sure it’s appropriate to bring all this out?”

“I noticed they have a lot of small clay jars in their kitchen. I’ll pour everything into those and only leave behind the contents. Once it’s eaten, it’s gone—no problem at all.”

“Fine. If you say it’s okay, then it’s okay.”

With a big bowl of noodles each, and plenty of condiments added, even though the noodles weren’t visually appealing, their taste made up for it.

The four of them ate until they were full, finishing even the soup.

“You know, young man, this is the best bowl of noodles I’ve ever had,” the old man said.

“Old man, me too.” Granny spoke loudly into his ear, and he chuckled in response.

Xia Mo smiled. “Sir, I’ve left the flour and seasonings for you. You can make more later.”

“Huh? What did you say?”

Xia Mo: “….”

Granny tugged on his ear and shouted, “The young man said he’s leaving these things for us so we can make our own!”

Now he heard her. “Oh! That won’t do! We only have so much time left—eating such fine food would be a waste. You should keep it for yourselves.”

He had the same mindset as Granny earlier—having lost their son, they had no will to live and simply took each day as it came.

Granny loudly reminded him, “The young man said we must stay alive! Our son is still out there—we have to wait for him to come back!”

Xiao Jingyuan looked at Xia Mo in surprise.

Xia Mo kept her head down and continued sipping her soup.

The old man gasped. “Our son is alive?”

“Yes. These two came from the north. I believe what they say.”

Tears streamed down the elderly couple’s faces.

It was as if they had suddenly regained the will to live. They kept thanking Xia Mo and Xiao Jingyuan over and over again.

The old man even insisted on making them a new pair of straw sandals.

Xia Mo knew that at his age, weaving a single pair of sandals wasn’t easy.

But it was a gesture of gratitude, and if she refused, he wouldn’t be at ease.

Even though she didn’t need straw sandals, she still accepted the offer—if only to bring the old man some peace of mind.

So, that night, under the dim glow of an oil lamp, the old man started weaving a new pair of sandals.