Chapter 126 Zhaodi was sold
Jiang Yongkang's words made sense, and everyone nodded frequently.
Even Fang Xun and Xu Huiming couldn't help but glance at him.
Why didn’t I realize that this kid was so eloquent before?
Xu Qingying raised her eyebrows, suddenly realizing that Jiang Yongkang was quite secretive. He used to be a loner in the team, and she had thought he was a loner. Unexpectedly, he was both civil and military, and his impressive presentation showed that he had quite a quick wit.
Is this person really just a security guard in the Jiang Mansion?
Jiang Yongkang spoke eloquently, but Xu Qingying knew that this man was born rebellious and dared to think and act even more boldly than she did. Although he didn't say it, Xu Qingying knew that he was persuading her to rebel.
A person's ambition cannot be hidden.
Including this time, under the pretext of providing a place to stay to avoid bandits, he lured everyone to his side. It just so happened that she had some money in her hands, so should he persuade her to recruit soldiers next?
Xu Qingying really didn't know what she had done to deserve Jiang Yongkang's attention. Moreover, he had actively placed his bets on her so early on, as if he was sure that she could achieve something.
She is a woman.
According to common sense, as an ancient man, Jiang Yongkang would never put his chips on her.
Xu Qingying looked at Jiang Yongkang deeply. Jiang Yongkang's expression remained unchanged. He let her peek, as if he had everything planned out for him.
But Xu Qingying had to admit that Jiang Yongkang's method was the best solution at the moment.
Xu Qingying then summoned everyone in the exile team.
In addition to the more than 20 people who stayed in Ye County, there were also Zhao Bantou and others who left. Together with the casualties along the way, the number of people in the exile team dropped sharply to only more than 60 people.
Xu Qingying led them to avoid the crowd at the city gate and to a desolate and deserted place, where she told them all her thoughts.
She made several public announcements.
The first thing was the departure of Zhao Bantou and his men, and he told everyone in a firm tone that Zhao Bantou and his men might have encountered other bandits or dangers, and they might not come back.
The second thing is that the chieftain of Qianzhou seized the advantageous time and place and cut off the road from Jinzhou to Qianzhou, which also meant that they could not reach Qianzhou in a short time.
Many people in the team had heard other refugees talking about the rebellion of the chieftain of Qianzhou in front of the city gate. Now when they heard Xu Qingying talk about it, they really confirmed that they were now in a dilemma. They could not go to Qianzhou, nor could they return to Bianjing.
Compared with the second one, they didn't even care about Zhao Bantou's whereabouts.
Now that the roads to Qianzhou are closed, they are trapped in Jinzhou, without household registration, food, or clothing. What's the difference between them and refugees?!
Bad news comes one after another.
Everyone was silent.
After a while, someone finally spoke up: "Miss Xu, please tell me. Since we are already in this situation, we might as well listen to you. If it weren't for you, we would have died several times before. We believe you!"
After this man finished speaking, he attracted a wave of agreement.
Of course, someone reminded them, "The girl said, from now on, call her Master Xu! Xu Zhenying, I've remembered it all, don't let Miss Xu know!"
Xu Qingying raised her hand and continued, "I called everyone here to let everyone know that we are in a difficult situation. As for solutions, there are solutions. It depends on whether everyone can unite as one."
"Miss Xu, please speak!"
"Sir, we all listen to you!"
"Alright!" Xu Qingying shouted, her eyes sparkling. "My idea is that we're already exiled prisoners, and we'll be treated like slaves even in Qianzhou. So, why not take advantage of the chaos in Jinzhou and pretend to be refugees? Then, we can find a way to get into the city, get a new identity, and become good citizens again. From now on, farming, taking the imperial examinations, and doing business will all be easy!"
When everyone heard this, they were immediately excited. Why didn’t they think of this method?
This is a great idea, it kills two birds with one stone!
Without waiting for anyone to ask, Xu Qingying continued, "This method is good, but it will also test everyone. From now on, everyone must always remember that we are not exiled prisoners, we are just refugees encountered along the way. If anyone leaks the news and delays important matters, don't blame me, Xu Qingying, for being ruthless!"
Everyone was so happy that they wanted to swear to heaven.
"For those of you who have conflicts, I advise you to prioritize and not think about reporting someone's identity. Let me tell you, if you report him, he'll turn around and report all of us. So, I advise those with ulterior motives to not even think about it!"
"Young Master is right! Whoever dares to speak so much and delay the important matter of several generations, I will stab him to death!"
"That's right, we're all in this together. If you dare to take advantage of the chaos to fight, don't blame others for shaking you out too! It's best for you, me, and everyone else!"
Everyone patted their chests and promised that they would never do such a heartless thing.
"Finally, we have to find a way to get into town!"
Fang Xun said, "Sir, we have to hurry. Otherwise, the refugees will increase in number and it will be impossible for Lan County to open the city gates."
Someone else asked, "My dear, my mother is still in Ye County. When are we going to pick them up?"
Xu Qingying thought of Xu Meixiao and became anxious. "I've already sent people to look for them and told them to meet up in Lan County. I hope they're on their way."
Xu Qingying herself didn't quite believe this.
But if they don't find a place to stay quickly, taking them with them will just mean they will die together.
"In short, keep your mouth shut. Success or failure depends on this one. If you want to change your fate, follow me, Xu Qingying! Anyone who dares to hold our team back, in these dozens of miles of mountains and wilderness, even if one or two people die, no one will notice!"
This combination of sugar-coated bullets and threats made everyone obey.
Jiang Yongkang looked at Xu Qingying, and his thoughts became more determined.
At night, snowflakes began to fall again and the temperature dropped sharply. Xu Qingying was so cold that she almost fainted, but she managed to withstand it only by relying on her righteousness.
She felt that she had become stronger both physically and mentally since she arrived in the Great Zhou Dynasty.
Thousands of miles of barren land, countless refugees.
On the second day, 500 bowls of porridge were distributed again.
Xu Qingying didn't have the energy to snatch anything.
Zhao Bantou left behind two swords, one belonged to Liu Jieshi and the other to Huang Yazi. Both of them died at her hands, but the swords were left to her. It is really ironic.
She kept the dagger for herself and gave the two knives to Da Zhuang and Jiang Yongkang, the strongest members of the team.
Jiang Yongkang held a knife and no one dared to approach him. He fought his way through the crowd of refugees and snatched two bowls of porridge.
Jiang Yongkang gave one bowl to Xu Qingying and one bowl to Miao.
However, it is just a drop in the bucket.
The weather was so cold that the people had not eaten or drunk anything for two or three days. They were so hungry that they felt dizzy and could hardly stand.
Suddenly, a group of elegantly dressed people came on horseback, pinching their noses and announcing loudly: "My master is looking for a maid. She must be over thirteen and under eighteen, and if she has a pretty face, I will give her an extra bushel of rice."
Now, everyone who had a daughter came forward to ask.
A maid for a bushel of rice, this deal is a good deal no matter how you look at it.
So word spread from one person to ten, and from ten to a hundred, and soon people in front of the city gate knew that a wealthy family was looking for maids. Each maid was paid one dou of rice, and if she was beautiful, an extra dou of rice would be given.
A bushel of rice was not worth much in the past, but now it is more precious than ten thousand ounces of gold!
Aunt Hu hurriedly squeezed into the crowd to inquire, and when she came back, she urged Li Xiucai: "My dear, you have been hungry for three days, I am afraid you will not be able to survive for many more. Why not sell Zhao Di? One dou of rice, if we save it a little, can last the three of us for more than ten days."
Li Xiucai naturally refused. As a scholar, he had no intention of selling his children.
Aunt Hu wiped her tears and pretended to be pitiful. "My dear, do you think I want to be such a bad person? If Zhaodi follows us, she will just starve to death or freeze to death. I just made careful inquiries. Those people are all well-known wealthy families in the city. They have money and food. If Zhaodi goes into the city, she will have food and drink. Isn't it better than following us?"
Li Xiucai remained silent.
Aunt Hu took Cao Qin'er's hand again and tried to persuade her tearfully, "Sister, you are Zhaodi's mother. Yinzhang is gone. Do you want Zhaodi to starve to death with us? She will die anyway. It is better to sell her. Then everyone will have a chance to survive, and Dalang will have a chance to survive too. With this bag of rice, can't we go to Ye County to find Dalang? Sister, Dalang is the only descendant of the Li family. We can't let the roots of the old Li family be cut off here!"
Cao Qin'er was immediately persuaded, but still hesitated, "But we... don't have household registration... can we sell our children?"
Aunt Hu was immediately overjoyed, remembering that ever since Yinzhang's death, Li Zhaodi had hated them and their son. Now that she could finally get rid of her, she felt relieved.
"How many of these refugees have registered permanent residence? Besides, Zhao Bantou and the others are not here, so who knows our identities? If we don't eat now, the three of us will starve to death here!"
Cao Qin'er still couldn't make up her mind, "But Miss Xu said we'll be able to go into the city soon..."
Aunt Hu sneered, "It's better to rely on yourself than on others. Xu Qingying has made so much money from her soap business, how can she really care about us? By the time she figures out a way to get into the city, I'm afraid we'll all be reduced to bones."
Li Xiucai lowered his head, remembering the hatred Li Zhaodi had given him these past few days. He gritted his teeth and said, "Go call that human trafficker!"
Cao Qin'er wiped her tears, turned her head away and said nothing, which was considered as her agreement.
Aunt Hu was delighted and immediately went to bring Li Zhaodi over.
Cao Qin'er took Li Zhaodi's hand and said, "Zhaodi, mother has found a way for you to survive. I will make sure you don't suffer from hunger or cold anymore."
Li Zhaodi didn't know what Cao Qin'er was going to do, but when she saw her crying and thought of those families who were hurriedly dressing up their daughters, she understood everything.
As if she had already anticipated this outcome, Li Zhaodi didn't find it strange at all. She just felt empty inside, and then she smiled gently, "Mother is going to sell me?"
Cao Qiner kept wiping her tears and said in a sobbing voice, "Son, I don't have any other choice. We're going to die anyway. Only if you go to the city can our family survive. Only then can you survive too. Don't worry, I'll redeem you when I save up the money."
Li Zhaodi's eyes were dizzy from the forehead, and her cheeks were sunken. She was in the prime of her life, but she looked old.
She shook her head and smiled sadly, "Mother, you don't have to redeem me. Dad and Mom gave birth to me and raised me. Their kindness is as heavy as a mountain. I have no way to repay them. I can only sell my body to repay their kindness. Dad and Mom, don't worry about your daughter in the future. Just pretend that you never gave birth to me. I hope that Dad and Mom will end all ties with me now."
Cao Qiner's face turned pale instantly.
Li Xiucai raised his hand to slap the man, but he seemed to lack strength because he had not eaten or drunk anything for several days. "Evil creature! How could you resent your parents!"
Li Zhaodi had tears in her eyes, but she tucked the hair behind her ear and said, "Dad, if you hit my face, I'll lose a bushel of rice."
Li Xiucai glared.
Li Zhaodi looked at Cao Qin'er deeply again. Cao Qin'er felt a little guilty when she saw her clear eyes, but when she thought that this was the livelihood of the whole family, it was common for poor families to sell their children, so why couldn't they sell her, Li Zhaodi?
Cao Qiner puffed out her chest.
Li Zhaodi smiled. She wanted to ask Cao Qiner why she gave up her own flesh and blood for her brother. She wanted to curse Cao Qiner to be alone in her old age. She wanted to ask Cao Qiner if she would regret her choice today.
But her hatred seemed light at this moment.
People are starving to death, how much is her hatred worth?
In the end, after a thousand words, she only said one sentence: "Take care, mother."
Apart from that, he turned and left.
Cao Qiner shouted at her back: "Zhao Di, you've lived a good life. Don't hate me. If you want to blame someone, blame the world. I... can't do anything..."
The trafficker threw a bag of rice on the ground.
Cao Qiner picked it up happily, weighed it, and left contentedly.
Unexpectedly, as soon as Li Zhaodi left, the Li family was surrounded by people.
It turned out to be a group of hungry people, staring at the bag of rice in her hand with eager eyes.
Li Xiucai didn't care about anything else. He picked up a sharpened branch and pointed it at the refugees who were coveting their food, driving them away. "Get out! If you come any closer, I'll kill you!"
Seeing that they were getting more and more people, Aunt Hu had no choice but to say, "Let's go to Master Xu's place. Jiang Yongkang is a martial artist, they don't dare to provoke him!"
Li Xiucai and the others immediately headed towards Xu Qingying.
There were four or five thousand refugees in front of the city gate. Not only would they rob each other, but killing and setting fire to each other was normal.
But they didn't dare to offend the Xu family.
The Xu family is very united and rarely acts alone.
Secondly, the Xu family has weapons.
Don't be fooled by the leader's skinny appearance. When someone robbed food before, he used a dagger with superb skill and directly cut off the man's palm.
The boy drank the bowl of porridge with blood without blinking even though the boy was covered in blood.
So the refugees could only watch Li Xiucai and the others run into Xu Qingying's encirclement, and could only leave with hatred.
Xu Qingying was stunned when she saw Li Xiucai and the others running out of breath, and then saw the bag of rice in their hands.
Feng Er blurted out: "Where did you get the food?"
The three of them looked away, and Cao Qin'er said, "What does it have to do with you?!"
Miao immediately said, "You sold Zhaodi?!"
Xu Qingying came back to her senses and her eyes trembled.
Li Xiucai held the food in front of his chest and said, "Li Zhaodi has gone to live a good life. The man who bought her is a well-known wealthy family in Lan County. It's better than her starving and freezing with us!"
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