"Alright, let's not waste any more time, let's go find the second and third brothers."
Grandma Zhu cried so hard she could barely breathe, wiping away the dirty tears from her face as she sobbed.
"Quickly, let's get moving!"
[So Grandma wasn't with Uncle; no wonder Xixi didn't see the other family members.]
With great interest, he rolled his dark eyes around, looking around, eager to find his uncle and aunt as soon as possible.
Uncle, where is Aunt? Could she have run into Zhu Yanyan?
This scoundrel is incorrigible; he even tried to collude with the county magistrate to arrest Xixi's family.
No, we must find a way to stop that wicked Zhu Yanyan. We absolutely cannot let her harm Xixi's family.
Xi Xi's muttering reached the ears of Old Lady Zhu, Madam Liu, and Madam Sun. The three of them were stunned for a moment, and their faces gradually turned pale.
They certainly understood that Zhu Yanyan had been arrested by the county magistrate.
Why would they cooperate with the county magistrate to hunt them down?
"mother."
Just as the three of them were stunned, they heard the voices of Zhu Chenfeng and Zhu Haotian.
The three looked over at the sound and saw Zhu Chenfeng and Zhu Haotian pushing a cart with three children sitting on it.
Chen Xiang, accompanied by the other escorts, walked on both sides, waving to them.
Seeing this, Old Lady Zhu hurriedly led her daughter-in-law toward them, looking around curiously.
"Chenfeng, why are you the only ones here? What about the village head and the children?"
"They separated from us and plan to find a new place to live."
Zhu Chenfeng was worried about Xixi's condition, so he stepped forward to Liu Shi, gently parted the swaddling clothes, and looked at his niece with concern.
"Sister-in-law, how is Xixi?"
The others followed behind Zhu Chenfeng, surrounding Liu Shi to check on Xixi's condition.
Seeing everyone's concern for her daughter, Madam Liu was deeply moved, and a smile appeared on her haggard face.
"Okay, it's alright now, your breathing has returned to normal."
Chen Xiang, who was standing behind the group, heard what Liu said and stepped forward to remind them.
"Since the little girl is alright, let's hurry up and buy the necessities and leave as soon as possible."
"It's not safe here. We just saw the officials patrolling the streets."
Grandma Zhu also thought Chen De's words made sense, her brows furrowed with unease, and she nodded repeatedly.
"I suggest that we don't need so many people to go shopping together. Lord Chen can take a group to buy rice and grains, while Haotian can buy fish and meat."
"I took my daughter-in-law to buy winter clothes and some herbs."
"Sure, but there are seven or eight prisoners resting in the woods right now. Do you also need to buy them winter clothes?"
Chen Xiang didn't have much to say about Grandma Zhu's suggestion, but other prisoners had clashed with her.
He was curious whether Old Lady Zhu would care about these people, especially since three of them were Zhu Borong's family members.
Old Mrs. Zhu no longer had much affection for these people, who had previously made a lot of money from picking medicinal herbs.
She'd rather buy the items and resell them to them; she couldn't possibly give things away for free to these people.
"Buy them together, and then have them pay for the rest when we get back."
Chen Xiang was surprised by Old Lady Zhu's decision. He had thought that the noblewoman, who was always very understanding and righteous, would take the initiative to prepare supplies for these people.
“Alright, Grandma Zhu, we’re all grown men and we don’t really know how to buy things. Please write down the exact quantity you need.”
Upon seeing this, Zhu Wen, who was standing behind Old Lady Zhu, took out a wolf-hair brush and Xuan paper from his pocket, put the brush tip in his mouth for a moment, and handed it to Old Lady Zhu.
Grandma Zhu took the pen and paper, knelt behind her son, and wrote down the quantity of rice and grain to be purchased.
Xiqi craned her neck curiously, wanting to see what was on Grandma's paper, worried that Grandma would buy some useless things.
Grandma wrote down the types of items to be purchased in detail on a piece of paper: five bags of rice, ten bags of brown rice, and ten bags of flour.
Fifty catties of lard, fifty catties of pork, ten bags of potatoes, ten bags of sweet potatoes, ten bags of radishes, and fifty dried fish.
One hundred eggs, ten cabbages, five jars of liquor, and some other ingredients.
After writing it down, she handed the paper to Chen Xiang and the others, saying, "This is about all we need. There won't be any towns for the next few thousand kilometers. Having extra supplies will prevent us from starving on the road. Oh, and buy two more water tanks and fill them with water."
After reviewing the list, Chen Xiang once again admired Grandma Zhu's wisdom, especially if winter were to arrive earlier than expected.
These foods will not spoil due to high temperatures or freeze due to blizzards, and if stored properly, they can last for a long time.
"However, two carts are not enough if we buy water tanks."
"Then let's buy a few horses and a few more carts, that will make the journey easier."
Zhu Haotian didn't consider the issue of money; he only thought that it would be very difficult to push the water vat by manpower, but it would be much easier to transport it by horse.
However, it was Zhu Haotian's words that made Chen Xiang raise an eyebrow and stare at the Zhu family members with suspicion.
"After buying all this food for one hundred taels, can I still buy a horse?"
Chen Xiang's words made Grandma Zhu's heart skip a beat. She quickly stepped forward, pulled her son behind her, and explained with a smile.
"He just made a suggestion, but the specific allocation still depends on the amount of money."
"What's the point of allocating them? A horse costs 80-90 taels, and 100 taels isn't enough to buy one."
Zhu Wen thought Zhu Haotian was talking nonsense; it would be good enough if he could even gather all the items with that little money.
Old Mrs. Zhu dared not reveal that she still possessed gold, so she could only smile and nod at Zhu Wen.
"Yes, you agree."
"Without horses, the water tank is so heavy that if the cart overturns on the road, we probably won't even have water to drink when we reach the desert."
Just as the guards were mocking Zhu Haowen's idea, Pei Sining lay on the cart with her legs crossed, leisurely offering a reminder.
"Moreover, Lord Chen and Lord Zhu have more than one hundred taels on them; they have enough money to buy ten horses."
"What nonsense are you spouting, brat? Believe me or not, I'll beat you up."
Upon hearing Pei Sining mention his private funds, Zhu Wen angrily raised his fist and charged towards Pei Sining.
However, Chen Xiang blocked his way, signaling him not to make any rash moves.
[Sigh! They're fighting amongst themselves at a time like this; who knows if they'll even survive to tomorrow!]
[You need to be alive to spend this money; you'll have to face more than just Zhu Yanyan next.]
[And there's also terrifying torrential rain, and freezing weather that could kill you. Ugh! I really don't understand human thinking.]
Xi Xi's words reminded Pei Sining, and he slowly got up from the cart, sat cross-legged, and looked at Chen Xiang.
"Lord Chen, a person must be alive to enjoy so much silver."
These words exploded in Chen Xiang's heart like a bomb. He looked worried, pondered for a moment, and then gestured for Zhu Wen and the others to leave.
"Let's go, hurry up and make the most of the time."
"Boss, you're not really going to listen to this kid and pay for his services, are you?"
Zhu Wen really couldn't understand what kind of magic this kid possessed that could make the boss submit time and time again.
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