Chapter 173: Things in the Baggage]

Therefore, Chen Wu planned to rest here for another half a day and then leave the city early the next morning to continue his journey.

There was an inn in the city specifically for accommodation of exiled prisoners. The officials had separate rooms, two people in a room, and the prisoners naturally slept in a large dormitory.

However, due to the special care of Lord Wu, the post station specially arranged a separate room for Chen Fenghe, Qin Mengyue and the three little ones.

As for Xiao Yunshuo and Yuan Xu, they stayed in an inn near the post station.

After settling down, Chen Fenghe said, "I'll go take a look at the street outside and buy some food. I'll also buy some things we'll need on the road."

Having said that, he went out.

Staying in a post station is naturally less convenient than staying in an inn, but Chen Wu and Yuan Xun were still accommodating. They had already greeted the people in the post station, and it was Yuan Xun who took everyone out to purchase.

Chen Fenghe bought some sesame cakes and meat buns. There was a mutton soup shop, so she used the insulated porcelain container she brought with her to fill a large jar with hot mutton soup. She also bought a white radish, a large cabbage, and a piece of tofu. When she passed by a butcher's shop, she bought some spare ribs. She also saw some freshly slaughtered mutton, so she bought a large leg of lamb.

Finally, he didn't forget to buy a bundle of hay for the lamb.

The other prisoners looked on with envy.

But the money that Madam Shen had on her was all earned from killing wolves last time, and they had no other way to get the money, so they could only watch with envy.

In addition to food, Chen Fenghe went to the pharmacy to buy some medicinal herbs.

She bought a wide variety of things, but not much of each item, mainly to make it convenient to take things out of the space later without arousing suspicion.

Coming out of the medicine shop, Chen Fenghe clearly felt a thorn in her back. She looked around calmly and found that there were indeed two people looking at her stealthily.

Chen Fenghe recognized that it was the person who had secretly hidden the package under Xiao Yunshuo's carriage at the city gate.

She ignored it and bought some wheat, millet, beans, etc., and then returned to the post station with the others.

Chen Fenghe served out the sesame pancakes and mutton soup and ate them with Qin Mengyue and the three little ones.

As soon as they finished their meal, Shen Yichuan, Shen Qingxing and Xiao Yunhao clamored to feed the lambs.

Chen Fenghe didn't stop them. She mixed the hay she bought with some of the finest grass from her space and let them feed it. Qin Mengyue was also feeding the sheep for the first time. She was very curious and followed them.

Chen Fenghe just had the opportunity to take out the bundle in the space. When he opened it, he saw two things wrapped in cloth. When he opened it again, he saw that they were large and small pieces of salt.

In ancient times, most salt was mined, and purification methods were relatively backward. Consequently, salt was often in blocks, laden with impurities, and often tasted somewhat bitter and astringent. Only the rich and powerful could afford refined salt; the poorer the population, the more bitter and astringent it tasted.

These salt blocks look like they are of medium purity and should be suitable for ordinary household consumption.

In ancient times, salt taxes were heavy, so private salt was rampant.

It seems that those people are smuggling salt.

Chen Fenghe weighed the two bags of coarse salt blocks, which were about six pounds.

According to the normal price, one ounce is ten coins, and one catty is one hundred coins. So these four catties can only be sold for six hundred coins.

Even if the price of salt has doubled now, it is still only one or two qian of silver. Would they take such a risk?

Moreover, seeing as they were still following him, he seemed to want to ask for it back.

Chen Fenghe naturally didn't take a tael of silver seriously.

However, when they saw the soldiers guarding the city checking them, they secretly hid the baggage under Xiao Yunshuo's carriage, which was a bit too much.

If she hadn't been quick enough to catch the package and put it into the space the moment it fell, it would have been a small matter for Xiao Yunshuo and the others to be questioned. But if their true identities were discovered, wouldn't they have put them in great harm?

If we return this bag to them too easily, it would be too easy for them!

Chen Fenghe pondered for a moment and put the package back into the space.

Just as it was taken back, Qin Mengyue and the three little guys came back.

"Sister-in-law! Yangyang just bit my finger! I even touched its head!" Xiao Yunhao rushed in excitedly and said.

He grew up in the palace and had never seen a living sheep, so he was very curious.

Shen Yichuan and Shen Qingxing grew up on the farm, so naturally they had seen each other before.

Shen Yichuan laughed and said, "What's the big deal! When this sheep grows up a little bit, it can give birth to lambs and produce goat milk!"

"Really? When will the sheep grow up? When will it give birth to lambs?" Xiao Yunhao asked even more excitedly after hearing this.

This question really stumped Shen Yichuan.

He also heard it from the nanny and grandfather in the village, so how could he know how long it would take for the lamb to grow up?

"Anyway... it will be very soon! As long as we feed it well, it will grow up quickly!"

"Then...if we feed it today, will it grow up tomorrow?" Xiao Yunhao continued to ask persistently.

Chen Fenghe couldn't help but smile and patted his head, saying, "Not so fast. Well... by next spring, it will probably be big enough. As for having lambs, they will probably be there by next winter."

This lamb has been weaned. It will take about three or four months for it to grow into a mature sheep. It will take another half a year for it to become pregnant and give birth to lambs, which will be next winter.

Xiao Yunhao was disappointed when he heard this: "Ah! We still have to wait for such a long time!"

Qin Mengyue smiled and said, "Didn't mother tell you to be patient when doing things? Nothing in this world can be accomplished overnight. You three have to feed it well and let it grow up quickly!"

After hearing this, Xiao Yunhao quickly adjusted his mentality, nodded, and said, "Mom, Hao'er understands! Hao'er will definitely feed it well!"

In the afternoon, he stayed at the post station to rest. Chen Fenghe borrowed the kitchen of the post station, chopped the pork ribs into small pieces and stewed them in a casserole.

He spent another fifty cents to borrow a stove and some firewood, set up an iron grid, cut the meat from the lamb leg into thick slices, and roasted it.

The barbecue ingredients are salt, cumin and chili powder. The mutton with mutton fat is sizzling on the iron net. Use a small brush to brush the barbecue ingredients on it. The aroma is so delicious that it makes people cry.

Chen Fenghe was grilling meat under the eaves. Soon, officials such as Chen Wu and Yuan Xun, other prisoners, and even people from the post station were attracted over.

Chen Fenghe generously invited Chen Wu and the people from the post station to come and eat roasted lamb together. As for the other prisoners, she only bought one lamb leg, which was not enough to share, so she didn't order any.

Everyone ate and chatted. The people at the post station had received instructions from Lord Wu and knew that Chen Fenghe was the former deposed Crown Princess, so they were polite to her.

The postmaster's mouth was greasy as he ate, and he couldn't help asking, "Mrs. Shen, how come the sauce on your roasted lamb is so delicious? The salt is not bitter at all!"

After he said this, the other postmen also noticed it and nodded, saying, "It's true! Boss, if you hadn't told me, I wouldn't have known what was different. This salt really doesn't taste bitter!"

Chen Fenghe was moved when he mentioned this, and smiled as she said, "This seasoning method is commonly used in the capital. For example, this spice called cumin was introduced from Dayuan in the Western Regions and is a very popular seasoning in the capital. As for the salt that the officials mentioned, it is the salt I brought from the capital, and it is nothing special. Why? Could it be that the salt from Hejian Prefecture is bitter?"

When the postmaster heard this, he said with envy:

"Isn't it? We don't have salt mines in Hejian Prefecture, so all the salt we need has to be shipped in from other prefectures. And the salt that's shipped in is always bitter and astringent coarse salt. And the shipping costs and salt taxes mean that by the time it reaches Hejian Prefecture, the price is already several times higher than in other prefectures. For example, in the past few months, because of the Northern Rong's southward advance, the salt supply has never returned to normal. Now, the price of salt has risen to one hundred coins per ounce, more expensive than meat! Even those of us who receive salaries can only afford the lowest-grade coarse salt to get by. Ordinary people probably wouldn't even be able to afford coarse salt. Alas, the capital is still the best place. Even salt is so delicious, right here at the foot of the emperor..."

After hearing this, Shen Fenghe couldn't help but feel secretly shocked.

She originally thought that the price of salt would at most double, but she didn't expect it to increase tenfold?

If calculated in this way, one catty of salt would be one tael of silver. Even though private salt is cheaper than official salt, it is still worth six or seven hundred coins. Six catties of salt blocks would be three taels and six coins.

Although it was not much for her, for ordinary people, three taels of silver might be their income for half a year.

The profit from smuggling something into the city is so huge, no wonder those people take the risk.

"So there's a reason for this. But... when I passed through Hedong Prefecture earlier, I heard a salt mine had been discovered nearby. If they start mining and producing salt, the price of salt here will probably drop a bit, right?"

Upon hearing this, a postman immediately scoffed, "Well... I'm afraid we won't be able to eat salt from that salt mine until our beards turn white!"

Shen Fenghe was stunned for a moment: "What does this mean?"

The postman bit a mouthful of mutton angrily and said, "As for the salt mine, it's officially an official salt mine, but it's actually controlled by the Second Prince. How could he give away cheap salt..."

Before he could finish his words, the postmaster quickly scolded him, "Little Sanzi! You've only eaten a few mouthfuls of mutton and haven't drunk any yellow soup, so why are you talking nonsense? Are we of our status allowed to discuss matters of higher-ups without permission? Shut up right now!"

After hearing this, Shen Fenghe couldn't help but narrow her eyes slightly.

Speaking of which, Hejian Prefecture is not the territory of the second prince Xiao Yuncong.

After Qin Mengyue's father, brother, and nephew died in battle, Qu Wenmin was recommended by Xiao Yuncong and promoted to General Wei, and was appointed to guard Hejian Prefecture.

As for Lord Wu, I have never heard of who he belongs to. It must be that the dog emperor knows all the little thoughts of his second son, so he specially sent an irrelevant person to be the prefect to check the development of the second prince's power.

After secretly going over the relationship in his mind, Chen Fenghe did not ask any further questions and took the initiative to change the subject.

Walls have ears. If anyone talks about the current prince's affairs and is overheard by someone with ulterior motives, it is a capital crime. Chen Fenghe did not want these people to get into trouble because of revealing these things to her.

"Speaking of which, Hejian Prefecture has been snowing quite heavily recently. Those Northern Rong soldiers should have calmed down a lot. They won't attack, right?"

The postmaster shook his head and said, "It's hard to say. In normal years, as winter wears on, the Northern Rong pastures run out of forage and food, and they tend to move south to plunder our city's food and fodder. However, this year, because... because our Dayu army won a great victory a few months ago, the Northern Rong army suffered many casualties, so they may not attack in large numbers this year. However... we can't rule out the possibility that a small group of troops will come and plunder and leave. Miss Shen, Master Chen, you must be extremely cautious on your way north."

After hearing this, Chen Wu quickly thanked him, "Thank you, Wang Yicheng, for reminding us. We will be careful."

Everyone ate for a while longer, and only the big bones of the lamb leg were left before they dispersed.

Chen Fenghe went back to her room and took a nap, while Qin Mengyue did some needlework, and went to the kitchen from time to time to see how the pork rib soup was doing.

Chen Fenghe slept until the evening before waking up. The pork ribs and radish soup had been cooked until it was soft and tasty. Each family member had a bowl of it and dipped the sesame cakes they bought at noon into the hot pork rib soup to drink. It was considered a simple meal.

She still scooped out some extra food, and made a stir-fried dish of tofu, pork and cabbage stew, some white rice, and the medicine that Xiao Yunshuo was going to take, and put them all in the lunch box.

This time I stayed at the post station, which made travel inconvenient.

Of course, the more important reason was what happened in the carriage at the ferry outside Qingzhou City last time, so Chen Fenghe always felt a little uncomfortable. She secretly told Yuan Xu during the day that she would not go over tonight if Yuan Xu came to get the medicine.

After waiting for a while, I heard the sound of knocking on the window and door.