Chapter 175: Dark Clouds Cover the Sky

Uncle Lin set up a small pot and prepared dinner.

He took out the bag of dry food that Wen Yan had prepared for them.

Scoop out half a bowl of seasoned fried rice noodles and two pieces of dried meat.

Pour rice noodles into half a pot of water, then tear the dried meat into pieces and put them in to cook together.

He took out four more meat pies, strung them together with wooden sticks, and hung them above the pot to heat them together with the steam.

After the rice porridge is cooked, add a handful of wild vegetables and onions.

A simple, delicious and nutritionally balanced dinner is ready.

Uncle Tian took a sip of rice porridge and said, "Back in the military camp, if we could have a meal like this, we would have been so happy."

Uncle Lin kept looking at the sky while eating: "When will the rain come?"

"Didn't the young lady say it would rain on the 20th? But the weather is clear and sunny, with no sign of rain at all."

"Do you think our young lady is good at fortune-telling? How did she know it would rain in this area on the 20th?"

"Those Taoist priests at the Imperial Observatory seem to be able to calculate this. I guess I asked them to calculate it through connections."

"I don't think the people from the Imperial Observatory are Taoist priests..."

"Anyway, the young lady must have her reasons for saying that. We just need to proceed according to the plan."

After looking at the sky, Uncle Lin took out a map from his arms and spread it on the ground.

The map depicts the detailed topography of Cangzhou.

There is a place on the map, circled by black charcoal.

Uncle Lin tapped the outer edge of the black circle with a chopstick made of a branch. "It's already eighteen today. The grain transport team will soon leave this area."

Uncle Tian frowned, carefully studying the map, and said, "Tonight, let's go give their animals some more food to slow them down."

Uncle Tian thought for a moment, then pointed to a place and said, "To be on the safe side, let's blow up this location first.

I was near here yesterday. There is a cliff here. Just a little bit of gunpowder can blow up the cliff, and the collapsed rocks can block their way.

It will probably take at least a day or two to clear this section of road wide enough for carts to pass through."

He patted a tightly wrapped bundle behind him and said, "The gunpowder that the young lady prepared specially for us cannot be wasted."

“Also, there is an abandoned post here, only a few miles away from the cliff.

After we block the road, they will definitely retreat back here to set up camp, so we should make some preparations here in advance!"

The two discussed the map for a while, and after finalizing the plan, they looked for a place to rest.

Only by conserving your energy can you complete the task beautifully.

Before dawn.

After getting up, they quietly sneaked into the grain transport team and added a small amount of croton powder to the feed of the three cows.

This amount is not fatal, but it can make the bulls diarrhea for half a day.

Then.

Uncle Lin and Uncle Tian split their forces into two groups.

One person continued to stare at the grain transport team.

One person went to blow up the cliff.

That afternoon.

"Boom—"

Suddenly, a dull roar was heard from the endless mountains.

The grain transport team that cured the cattle diarrhea had just set out on the road.

The leader of the escort team suddenly raised his hand, spread out his five fingers and then clenched them into a fist.

"Don't make any noise."

The team that was moving forward suddenly stopped, and everyone fell silent.

The escort leader dismounted, lay on the ground, put his ear to the ground, and listened carefully.

After a moment, he stood up and said to the steward, "There seems to be a road collapse ahead. It's estimated to be about twenty miles away."

The steward looked at him suspiciously: "You can hear a sound from twenty miles away?"

"I'm 100% sure, but I don't know the exact extent of the collapse, but it should be a serious accident.

Now it's up to you to decide.

Should we continue forward, reach the accident site, and then figure out a solution?"

The manager thought about the endless stones to be picked up on the new official road, the three-day journey back, and that he didn't quite believe what the escort leader said.

After a brief hesitation, he decided: "Keep going."

The slope of this section of road is very gentle, so even if it collapses, it won't collapse much.

They continued on their journey.

They kept on traveling until dark before finally reaching the landslide site.

Butler Niu looked at the blocked road, his face so dark that ink could drip out.

The leader of the escort team was right. There actually was a landslide.

The situation is still very serious.

He immediately asked the escort leader to check the situation.

After the escort leader dismounted, he quickly climbed to a high place to observe.

After a while, he returned to the steward and said, "The traffic jam is seven or eight meters long."

"If we clean it up, how long will it take?" The manager frowned so hard that he could pinch a fly to death.

"If all personnel are mobilized, it will take about two or three days. If it's just your personnel, it will probably take five or six days."

Compared to the time wasted in going back and taking the same route, two or three days is nothing.

He made a decision immediately: "Clear the road, you guys come too."

The escort frowned somewhat unhappily.

This was not the decision he wanted.

Clearing roads is tiring and dangerous work.

There may be a second landslide.

The escort leader did not move, but looked at the manager with a smile.

They are only responsible for cargo safety and clearing the roads, which is an additional price.

Manager: “…”

After some bargaining, the two men settled on a price of fifty taels.

As for the grain transport team, the manager remembered that there was an abandoned post station five or six miles back.

Although the house was dilapidated, it was at least a decent house and much better than sleeping in the open air.

All the actions of the grain transport team were planned by Uncle Lin and Uncle Tian.

The grain transport team worked tirelessly to clear the dirt and rubble. They had already cleared a third of the area.

In the afternoon of the 20th.

The sky, which was clear and bright just a second ago, was suddenly covered with dark clouds.

Next second.

The black clouds became so dense that it seemed as if they could crush and swallow the top of the mountain in the next second.

"Stop... stop working now. It's going to rain heavily soon! It's dangerous here, let's go back to the post station." The leader of the escorts called to his escorts and was about to go back.

The manager is not willing to do that.

He stopped them and said, "Isn't it just raining? It won't delay the clearing of the roadblocks."

I paid you, and you must stay here and continue cleaning up."

Before leaving, the eldest lady wrote to me to give me some instructions.

Tell him to deliver the grain to Jinyang Prefecture as soon as possible.

The longer it takes, the more food will come in and compete with them for customers.

He had already been delayed for several days on the road.

If I continue to delay, the young lady will definitely get angry and may even use this as an excuse to sell me out.

He worked with his head hanging on his belt and did not dare to be careless at all.

The escort leader waved him away, and the manager lost his balance and fell to the ground.

Escort leader: “What are you crazy about?

It's going to rain heavily soon.

After the rain, mudslides are already very likely to occur, and clearing the roadblocks is even more dangerous. You want to take the risk yourself, and you can't drag us along with you."

Snap——

A muffled thunder exploded above their heads.

Everyone shuddered with fear.

"You stay here and clean up by yourself. We won't accompany you."

If they are buried by a mudslide, their bodies will never be found.

If you are lucky enough to make money, you must also be lucky enough to spend it!