Chapter 26 26. Buying Water

A bowl of water cost two cents, and although it was served in a large bowl, the turbid water made everyone hesitate.

Looking at the strong men standing in two circles, each holding a sword in his hand, no one dared to bargain.

The gangster boss didn't care when he saw these people only looking but not buying, "Don't look at the turbid water, it's because the bottom is almost reached.

Take the water back and leave it for half an hour, then the dirt will sink to the bottom and won't affect everyone's drinking.

Hurry up if you want it, otherwise the water at the back will be scooped out and you will have to wait another day or two."

Gu Wenheng tiptoed to take a look. Although he couldn't see the bottom of the water, this red muddy water was a chance for many people to survive.

The people of Kaoshan Village were still hesitating, but Gu Wenheng didn't want to waste time with them. He grabbed his two bamboo tubes and said, "Please help me fill these two up. I'll see how much you need and then I'll settle the bill with you."

The black boss looked him up and down and said, "You speak very politely, you are a scholar, right?"

Gu Wenheng performed a Jianghu courtesy, "I have studied with the teacher for several years, but I dare not call myself a scholar."

"You scholars are so modest. I don't like this most. Why don't you just say what you want to say? You have to guess and I guess." The black boss looked disgusted. "But since you are quite sensible, Big Cat, fill the water up a little more. Don't let this scholar feel at a disadvantage and start making sarcastic remarks again."

The people around burst into laughter, making the villagers who were originally standing nearby even more nervous.

Gu Wenheng didn't care about these things. Instead, he calmly handed the bamboo tube to the big cat who responded earlier, "Thank you for your help, little brother."

The big cat glanced at him, took the bowl and gently pushed away the floating objects on the surface, then scooped up a full bowl and carefully poured it into the bamboo tube.

One bowl, two bowls, the third bowl was only half full. Gu Wenheng quickly changed for another bamboo tube and filled four buckets of water before stopping.

Gu Wenheng counted out twenty copper coins and carefully placed them on the table beside him. "Thank you, little brother."

"You have good sense," the black boss tapped the table, "Big Cat, you really played the sailor well this time. Otherwise, I would have poured you three bowls of wine for your little bamboo tube."

Gu Wenheng held the bamboo tube in his arms, thanked him for his hard work again, and then walked into the crowd, waiting for everyone to go back together.

Once someone took the lead, the people behind him also gritted their teeth and bought more or less.

"Boss, the water has reached the bottom. Are we calling it a day?" Seeing that everyone had left, the brothers below became more active.

The gangster glared at him, "Call it a day? What are you thinking? Everyone stay here for the next few days. This is our cash cow. If anyone dares to slack off, I'll kick him out."

"Yes, yes, yes," the people below saw the pile of copper coins beside the table, their eyes sparkling.

The gangster saw through their thoughts at a glance, and did not make things difficult for them. "Okay, if you keep staring, your eyeballs will fall out. Xiaoshan, count these copper coins and distribute them today."

Xiaoshan responded happily and paddled quickly with his little hands.

The black boss walked over to Big Cat and squatted down, "Big Cat, how is the scholar today?"

"The boss wants to recruit him into the gang."

"Why is it called Big Cat? You guessed it." The black boss looked ahead. "It takes a long time to count a few coins on a small mountain. If there is someone who can write and count, it will be much easier for us brothers."

Big Cat shook his head, "Let's just look for someone else slowly! We can't subdue that guy."

Seeing the black boss looking over, Big Cat didn't explain to him. He patted his shoulder and stood up. "I guess our business won't last long. We should make plans early!"

The confused gangster boss grabbed his share of copper coins and walked towards the village behind him.

&

Gu Wenheng didn't know what was happening next. He was holding a clay pot and carefully pouring the water from the bamboo bucket into it.

"Are you going to travel at night like this in the future?" Jin Qianqian added a few pieces of dry firewood to the bottom of the jar, and did not forget to cover her mouth and yawn.

Gu Wenheng was also very troubled. This meant that they had to be more careful when doing small things in the future.

Seeing that everyone was preparing dry food, even if they were pretending, they couldn't act too different.

"It's possible that during the day it's too sunny and we lose water easily when we travel. On the contrary, at night it's cooler and we sweat less. So we can save a lot of water."

Jin Qianqian is not so optimistic. "But many things are unpredictable at night, and I don't have the energy to go out and look for water and wild vegetables during the day."

Gu Wenheng saw that the water was boiling, so he grabbed two handfuls of chaff and threw in a few grass heads. As for the taste of this thing, none of them had the courage to try it. "No matter what you choose, there are pros and cons."

This thing that they think is difficult to eat is a life-saving straw to many elderly people.

In their words, if they were really in a desperate situation, many people would have no choice but to dig the ground to fill their stomachs. This kind of thing that they had seen in history books was happening right next to them. It took Gu Wenheng and Jin Qianqian several days to accept it.

With the help of Gu Wenheng's cover, Jin Qianqian quickly transferred the dark food in the earthen jar to the empty basin in the space. When the earthen jar was in Gu Wenheng's hands, it was filled with steaming white rice porridge.

This is the safest thing now, but there are still those with a sensitive nose who look around, trying to see which restaurant has such good food that even has the aroma of white rice.

However, no one would doubt the young couple squatting in the corner, because in the entire team, they were the most transparent in what they brought. Apart from the rice bran they had previously supplemented, there were also grass roots picked up from the roadside.

&

Gu Wenheng had just fallen asleep when he was awakened by a quarrel. He opened his eyes dazedly and saw Jin Qianqian sitting up. "What's going on?"

We have been walking for a whole day and night, aren't you tired? And you still have the energy to argue.

Jin Qianqian looked ahead worriedly, "I vaguely heard someone say there was a thief."

"Not really?" Gu Wenheng didn't react for a moment. Who else would steal from these refugees?

"Wait a minute, don't sleep too deeply," Gu Yuantu, who happened to be on guard duty today, walked over and said, "Some people's belongings were stolen in the front, and they are crying now."

"No way? Isn't there someone guarding it?" Hong Daya asked everyone's question.

"I traveled all night last night and probably couldn't hold on, so I fell asleep. There's a commotion over there now, and they said the guards are responsible." Gu Yuantu felt a little uneasy, so he came over to remind everyone.

Nowadays, several familiar families work together to look after each other. Now that something like this has happened, I don’t know if there will be any other changes in the future.

If a family always needs someone to keep an eye on them, it will take a lot of mental and physical energy.

(End of this chapter)