Chapter 91: Journey to the Northern Frontier 2.0

The little one was very restless sleeping at night, perhaps due to the sleeping environment.

"Mother, give the little brother to me; you all go to sleep first."

With Zhang Ping'an's current physique, going three or five days without sleep was no big deal, but his parents couldn't manage that; the main thing was that the little one's fussing would disturb others.

"Alright then, I'll swap with you in a while."

Usually, as long as the little one fussed until he was in Zhang Ping'an's arms, he would settle down; this was why Dong Dani agreed, as she didn't want their family to disturb others' rest.

"Okay."

Zhang Ping'an did not object, and Zhang Xile indeed became much quieter once in his arms. Zhang Ping'an turned his back to the others and coaxed him gently, but in reality, he had already sent his little brother to the bed in the Thatched Cottage within his space, while what he held in his arms was merely a bundle of clothes.

Without Zhang Xile's fussing, the carriage compartment soon quieted down, and snoring could be heard from everyone.

Half an hour later, Zhang Ping'an brought the little one out; he had already slept for over eight hours in the space, so he woke up shortly after being brought out.

In the time it took for Zhang Xile to come out and yawn, a pacifier was already in his mouth. Having slept and eaten his fill, the little one didn't fuss; smelling a familiar scent, he quietly nuzzled into Zhang Ping'an's arms.

Zhang Ping'an was also amused by the little one and patted his little bottom; the brothers stayed like that until the sky began to brighten.

Dong Dani slept exceptionally soundly, and when she opened her eyes, it was already bright; Zhang Laohan was much the same. The two woke up one after the other, and Zhang Ping'an had already returned from taking the little one to relieve himself.

"Father, Mother, you're awake."

"Mm, Ping'an, you didn't sleep all night?"

"How could that be? The little one was very well-behaved; I slept until dawn. You two should hurry and wipe your faces and eat something."

"Okay."

The middle-aged man gave Zhang Ping'an a meaningful look; he hadn't slept all night, so he naturally knew Zhang Ping'an hadn't slept either. He whispered something to the old man beside him and went to sleep.

After the middle-aged man woke up from his nap in the evening, he looked at the old man, who shook his head slightly.

For two days in a row, when Zhang Ping'an's parents went out, the middle-aged man finally couldn't hold back.

"Little brother, staying up like this isn't good; the burden on your body is too great."

"Uncle, I do sleep. Don't look at me coaxing the child at night; I'm actually asleep then. I can maintain a day's worth of energy with just an hour or two of deep sleep."

Zhang Ping'an naturally knew that this uncle hadn't slept at night either, and he knew he meant well, so he could only offer a white lie.

"Impressive, it's good to be young." The middle-aged man had seen many capable and extraordinary people when he was young, and he took Zhang Ping'an's words at face value.

"You flatter me, Uncle. If you were ten years younger, your stamina wouldn't be any worse than mine."

"Hahaha."

"Haha—cough, cough, cough."

The old man was also amused by Zhang Ping'an's words, followed by a violent coughing fit, as if he were trying to cough out his lungs.

"Father!"

"Uncle, please help me hold my little brother; I know a bit of medicine."

"Good, good, good, little brother, please take a look quickly."

Zhang Ping'an scanned with his space and found that it was no exaggeration to say the old man's body was riddled with holes, especially his lungs, which still had shrapnel fragments.

However, the top priority was to let the old man cough out this old phlegm. Zhang Ping'an kept pressing relevant acupoints, and before long, the old man coughed out a mouthful of brown, aged phlegm, followed by strands of yellow, strip-like matter.

"Father, how do you feel?"

"Whew—it's been a long time since I felt this relaxed; it's much easier after coughing that out."

"Old sir, your body cannot withstand such a long journey."

"No matter, I've been through great storms and waves; I can endure this minor injury. Little brother's technique is extraordinary; I fear you must have studied under a famous master."

"No, no, I only know those two tricks."

"I am Mu Santai, from Sijiucheng. This is my son, Mu Baoguo; we live in the compound. You can come find me if you have anything in the future." Seeing that Zhang Ping'an didn't want to say more, the old man didn't press further.

Just now, he had indeed almost lost his breath; Zhang Ping'an could be considered his savior.

"Done. My name is Zhang Ping'an, also from Sijiucheng. I won't stand on ceremony with you if I have trouble."

When the old man said his surname was Mu, Zhang Ping'an realized that these two were likely related to Mu Yingnan's family; that middle-aged man might even be her biological father.

"Hahaha, good." Zhang Ping'an's unpretentious temperament was very much to his liking.

With this contact, everyone became familiar, and the journey for the next two days was exceptionally easy.

Zhang Ping'an's family separated from the Mu family upon reaching the destination, and they saw someone holding a sign from afar.

"Comrade, hello, I am Zhang Laizhong."

"Hello, hello."

The two briefly confirmed their identities and set off, soon arriving at a large courtyard.

"Brother Zhang, this is our Transport Team; conditions are a bit tough. We will be on the road for over a week. Let's rest here tonight and set off tomorrow morning."

"Done."

Zhang Ping'an heard this too. When people of this era said "tough," it meant it was very hard. It seemed the next week would be a trial; he had to get a good rest tonight, as he had barely closed his eyes for four days.

"Ping'an, get a good rest tonight; your little brother will be left to you for the time ahead."

"Okay."

It wasn't that Zhang Laohan and his wife hadn't thought about taking over for their son during these four days, but the little one would fuss as soon as he was in their hands, so they had no choice but to let Zhang Ping'an suffer.

The little one wasn't stupid; he knew he could only get a good night's sleep with his older brother, so for now, he only clung to Zhang Ping'an at night.

They hadn't washed up much in these four days, so the family could finally have a good wash. After drinking a bowl of Lamb Soup at seven in the evening, Zhang Ping'an washed up and went to sleep.

One room, two beds, and the beds weren't small; they usually slept four people.

The next morning at five, Zhang Ping'an woke up. He didn't know when the little one had been placed on his bed; no wonder he always felt like he was being pressed by something while sleeping. He gently placed the little one on the bed before Zhang Ping'an went out to do some simple exercises.

After some stretching, his bones cracked and popped all over; Zhang Ping'an felt refreshed, and the fatigue of four days without sleep was swept away.

"Ping'an, up so early?"

"Uncle Sun, I'm used to it."

Uncle Sun, Sun Jianmin, captain of the Transport Team, a veteran of the armed forces.

"That works too, let's go, I'll take you to eat something good."

Sun Jianmin led Zhang Ping'an out of the courtyard, winding through several turns until they found a stall where a large pot was bubbling and steaming, the aroma hitting their noses.

"How about it, smells good, right?"

"Indeed, it smells very good."

"Come on, let's go have a taste."

The stall was not large, but it was occupied by quite a few people, all of them burly men; it seemed the drivers who frequently ran this route all knew this hole-in-the-wall eatery was a hidden gem.

"Boss, two bowls of Lamb Soup, two jin of hand-grabbed lamb."

"Coming right up, friend."

Although it was summer, drinking this Lamb Soup was still satisfying, especially at an old shop like this; the taste was excellent.

"Hoo~ refreshing."

"Hahaha, right? Let's go, let's head back."

"Uncle Sun, you go ahead first, I'll pack a portion for my father and mother."

"Alright, you remember the way, right?"

"Yes, I remember it all."

Zhang Ping'an also went out for a trip, and upon returning, he took out four lunch boxes and signaled for the boss to pack them.

"Alright, friend."

"Give me another five jin of lamb, and some flatbread."

"Friend, you're generous," the boss said, speaking in broken Mandarin while giving a thumbs up.

Returning to the courtyard, Zhang Ping'an took out an aluminum box and two flatbreads; his parents had also gotten up and washed.

"Father, Mother, I bought some Lamb Soup and some flatbread, you two eat some in a bit."

"Good."