Chapter 99: Can they accept this thank-you gift?

Five miles away from Gaojia Village, there is a tea stall on the street.

The huge team, braving the rising sun, staggered out of Gaojia Village and rested beside what the villagers called a tea stall.

The tea shop was run by a middle-aged couple. They had been living on the road for many years and were used to seeing people coming and going. Before the exile team arrived, Min Zhong had already sent his men to the front to make arrangements.

When the officers escorted the team over, there was already some warm tea and water on the three square wooden tables.

Xiong Jiushan is not in the team at the moment. The second-in-command in charge of escorting the fugitives is a subordinate Xiong Jiushan brought from the capital. His name is Cheng Ye. He has followed Xiong Jiushan for many years and is the one he trusts the most.

Cheng Ye is young but of a higher generation in the Cheng family, so people below him often call him Uncle Cheng.

When the boss is away, Mr. Cheng takes charge.

The officers, soldiers and yamen runners all listened to him. The team did not move fast today and finally arrived at the tea stall. Xiong Jiushan had not brought his men back yet, so the people below came to ask Cheng Ye's opinion.

"Boss Cheng, are we going to wait here for Mr. Xiong to come back, or should we continue on our way?"

Cheng Ye sat at the table, drinking tea and resting. He watched the escorts around him settling the prisoners. He turned his head and looked behind him for a while, put down his empty bowl, and said, "The journey has been delayed for a long time. Leave one person here for a while, and the rest of you continue on your way. Let's get to the next post station as soon as possible and make plans."

"Alright! I'll go and greet them right away."

Cheng Ye nodded, and the empty bowl beside him had already been refilled by his subordinates.

After quenching his thirst, he finally had time to look around the tea stall.

The teahouse was simple, with only a few tables and only a few people sitting there. They were all well-known people among the escorts.

The owner of the tea stall was in his forties and was going in and out to add water for the adults passing by. With the reminder from the Min family, the couple were not scared when they saw so many people coming.

There were many prisoners on the run, and the couple only sold some clean water, but they made a lot of money and had happy faces. They looked at the prisoners lying all over the ground without being nervous. As long as anyone shouted, they would give them water.

Everyone can only take a short break here, without being picky about the place, just sit down anywhere to catch their breath.

Because they had a relatively good rest the night before, the prisoners looked good today, unlike the previous few days when they would sigh after walking a few steps. After a long time of torture, they will gradually get used to everything.

The women of the Xie family stood back to back, supporting each other and taking a short nap. They would continue walking only when they felt refreshed.

Xie Wuying, Xie Wenjie, and other men in the Xie family were half resting, half completely unable to sleep. For those who couldn't sleep, Xie Wenjie took the lead in checking everyone's wounds and changing the dressings in time.

This was the responsibility Xie Yuchuan gave him before he left. The Xie family now has a lot more supplies available than other families in the team. If there are any problems, they should be solved in a timely manner and not let them become big problems.

Xie Wenjie was a meticulous person, so Xie Yuchuan handed the matter over to him and reminded him that if he was unsure, he should ask Lord Zhang Dayi.

Xie Wenjie kept it in mind and tried his best to solve everyone's minor problems whenever he got the chance.

Zhang Dayi and his mother followed the Xie family. Seeing that Xie Yuchuan was not there and that the two young men, Xie Wuying and Xie Wenjie, were doing their jobs well, he nodded in his heart.

The Xie family has a good way of educating their children, and no matter whether they are legitimate or illegitimate children, they can easily raise good sons.

Everyone rested on the spot, but Xie Wuying couldn't sit still and stood there looking into the distance in the direction of Gaojia Village.

After walking so far, what can he see?

But he still looked at it again and again out of concern.

"Wu Ying, stop looking and sit down and rest for a while." Seeing him pacing on the spot, Zhou called out to him.

Xie Wuying turned around and replied, "Okay, auntie!"

He returned to the crowd and sat next to Xie Wenjie and Zhang Hanlin, looking worried.

"Is Sixth Brother okay? It's been so long and he still hasn't caught up."

Xie Wenjie was bending down to change the bandage on a guard's shoulder blade when he heard him mumbling. He pointed towards the tea stall in front and said, "Look over there. Their leader, Lord Xiong, hasn't returned yet. They're not in a hurry either. You don't have to worry. Sixth Brother is a man of good fortune. God will always be with him."

"That's what I said." I was still a little worried when I didn't see anyone coming back.

Zhang Dayi sat cross-legged with his eyes closed, resting. Xie Wuying wanted to chat with him, but seeing that Lord Zhang was resting, he felt embarrassed to disturb him, so he could only swallow the words that were on the tip of his tongue.

The guard's wound was bandaged and he felt much better.

"Thank you, Master Wenjie."

"No need to thank me, these are all rewards from the family gods. If you want to thank the gods, just thank them in your heart."

The guard smiled shyly, nodded seriously, stood up and moved to the side to silently thank the Xie family gods.

While others were resting, Xie Wenjie was busy. Xie Yuchuan was not there, and it seemed as if a lot more weight had been placed on his shoulders.

He was just writing something down in a booklet when guard Zhou Chuan suddenly came over and said, "Master Wenjie, Prince Chai came over and gave him a pack of tea."

Xie Wenjie looked up and was stunned.

"Tea?"

Zhou Chuan handed him the palm-sized tea bag in his hand, "Yes, tea. She said Madam Chai asked him to bring it."

Xie Wenjie was a little surprised. He took the paper bag, opened a corner, bent down and sniffed twice. It was indeed tea.

"The Chai family is so powerful, and even at this point, they still have tea?!"

Although he lowered his voice, Xie Wuying and Zhang Dayi who were standing nearby still heard it. Xie Wuying turned around and asked, "Why did Chai Jin give this to you?"

Zhang Dayi opened his eyes and looked over.

Seeing that he had woken up, Xie Wenjie remembered what Xie Yuchuan had said before he left, and asked, "Mr. Zhang, can you help me figure out what the Chai family meant by suddenly sending such a valuable gift?"

Xie Wenjie wanted to ask, can they accept this thing?

Zhang Dayi knew about the Xie family's gift of medicine to Madam Chai. He looked at the "valuable" package of tea in Xie Wenjie's hand, pondered for a moment, and nodded. "This should be a thank-you gift from the Chai family. I can accept it." He hesitated for a moment, then nodded again and confirmed, "It won't be a problem if I accept it. Maybe the Chai family will need something in the future, so they want to establish good relations with you in advance."

After he said that, Xie Wenjie was even more afraid to accept it.

Zhang Dayi saw that he looked worried, so he smiled and explained a few more words: "I guess the medicine that the Xie family gave to the Chai family is effective."

When he said this, Xie Wenjie immediately understood what Lord Zhang meant by "I will ask you for something later".

He looked down at the tea bag and muttered, "There are some things I wouldn't dare make the decision on without Sixth Brother around."

Zhang Dayi smiled and said, "If you don't dare, you can go and ask the old lady's opinion."

"Thank you for your guidance, sir." Xie Wenjie said gratefully.

"It's just a small matter, not worth mentioning."

Chai Jin took advantage of the time when the exile team was resting to come and give gifts to the Xie family. The elders were all resting, so he didn't want to disturb them, so he handed the thank-you gifts his mother asked him to give to the people of the Xie family.

When Chai Ji, the Marquis of Dongbo, saw his son coming back, he hurriedly asked, "How is it?"

"Give it to the Xie family's guards."

Chai Ji frowned, "Didn't you ask the Xie family a few more questions?"