Chapter 34: Foreign Caravans Seek Protection
"Don't be alarmed, sir. I'm a merchant coming to the capital to sell goods. Please tell the superiors that it's not easy for us small merchants to earn our hard-earned money. Ahead, we cross the Songjiang River and reach Panlong Ridge. The terrain is high and the forests are dense, making it difficult to trade. We suffered a lot of losses there on our way here, and we didn't expect to meet you officials on the way back."
The steward pointed at the caravan behind him with a flattering look on his face, "Sir, please see if you can allow us to follow along."
After all, with so many police officers backing them up, the bandits in Panlongling shouldn't be too arrogant.
The yamen runner was delighted to have received a few taels of silver for free and said, "Come with me to the front."
"You are tired, sir."
The manager followed the yamen runner forward.
Gao Shanhe also wanted to follow, but the officer next to him stopped him and scolded him, "Where did you come from? Go away, stay away."
Dongzi was a little scared and shrank his neck. Gao Shanhe put down the handlebars and gave the other party some copper coins. It was definitely not as much as others, but free things would not bite the hand, so the official's face immediately improved.
Seeing the two baskets of straw sandals on the cart, he immediately smiled and said, "Are you here to sell straw sandals?"
"Your Majesty, it's clear."
"Go ahead, you've picked a good job."
Dongzi got off the carriage in amazement and followed Gao Shanhe, carrying a shoulder pole, towards the group of prisoners.
"Does anyone need a pair of sturdy straw sandals?" Gao Shanhe asked as he walked.
The prisoners had set out from Songjiang Town early in the morning and had walked all the way without stopping. They were so tired that they had difficulty breathing. When they heard the hawking sounds beside them, they didn't have the energy to call for help.
Gao Shanhe walked for a while and noticed this situation, so he slowed down and carefully observed who wanted it.
You know what, he actually sold five or six pairs.
Among the exiled prisoners, some were imprisoned in a hurry and their exile was arranged quickly. They wore the same clothes when they were captured as when they left. It was better for them to wear comfortable shoes quickly. As for some nobles before their exile, although their clothes were tattered after walking all the way, the quality was still there.
Straw sandals are not attractive, but what is the situation now?
The escorting officers were all crazy today and ran all the way.
I was delayed and rested for half the night last night, and the next day I was eager to make up for the lost distance. Even if I had to wear a pair of iron shoes, I would break them in!
The timing of selling straw sandals in Gaoshanhe is just right. Many people are afraid that the journey ahead will be so rough and their feet will be tired, so they quickly buy a pair of them as a backup.
Some people bought them and tied them around their waists, while others simply hung them around their necks using the hemp rope between the two straw sandals.
Just as he was selling it to a family, he saw a group of soldiers coming from behind, followed by a steward with a fawning smile on his face.
Xiong Jiushan heard from his subordinates that there was a caravan nearby and that they wanted to follow the caravan as long as they passed Panlong Ridge.
He asked someone to call him over for questioning, and only then did he realize that he hadn't passed by this place for a long time, and that there was actually a bandit camp in the wild forest of Panlongling.
No wonder Li Zhouquan labeled the troublemakers as bandits without saying a word and even happily took credit for it.
Li Zhouquan only dared to frame the bandits but did not dare to suppress them.
These gangsters are not ordinary.
Thinking of this, Xiong Jiushan did not refuse, but he wanted to check the goods in the caravan to avoid bringing in dirty things and causing trouble.
The person in charge naturally had no objection. He accompanied the officials sent by Xiong Jiushan to check the items on the car from beginning to end. They were indeed all things being transported north. After returning to report, the caravans followed closely behind the team.
Gao Shanhe was picking straw sandals for a mother and son. The people in front were dressed similarly and looked like a family. He looked at their feet and saw that they were either wearing black boots or cloth shoes. He thought to himself that this family must have been wealthy in the past.
He was about to pick up his basket and go peddle his wares when someone nearby hurled a sarcastic curse, "The Xie family is such a jinx! If it weren't for the commotion you caused in the city yesterday, so many people wouldn't have died. You even kept us going all day without a break."
Gao Shanhe was stunned. Xie family?
When he was delivering goods in the city, he seemed to hear the owner of Xinglong discussing this matter with his friends.
"The Xie family has fallen into such a state, why doesn't their Xie family deity show up?"
"I heard that he traded his status as a god for the lives of his entire family. Does anyone know if that's true?"
"However, my brother-in-law works in the government office. I heard that Lord Li is very respectful to General Xie."
"Is this really true?"
"Yes, anyway, he came back and said that the Lord treated him differently. As for this kind of thing, ordinary people like us would know nothing. Only officials like them who have connections in the court know the real inside story."
"That's true. If things don't go well, the gods will be fine."
Gao Shanhe suddenly recalled these conversations, and when he saw the way others looked at the Xie family, he felt both fear and resentment.
Are they the Xie family who are said to have a true god worshipped in their family?
Do the gods in their family care about the poor people who have suffered disasters?
Gao Shanhe did not act rashly. He still carried the straw sandals and went to sell them to the Xie family. While selling, he looked at the men of the Xie family, his eyes swept over them carefully, and when he turned around, he met a pair of slightly narrowed and intimidating black eyes.
I took a wrong step unconsciously.
Xie Yuchuan looked Gao Shanhe up and down with sharp eyes, then his expression softened and he raised his eyes slightly: "Hunter?"
Gao Shanhe shook his head, "Villagers often walk around in the mountains."
Xie Yuchuan nodded with an expression of "understanding".
Because a caravan was approaching and they were about to reach Songjiang River, the officer in front shouted Xiong Jiushan's orders.
"Rest here and eat."
Suddenly, a large group of people fell down -
Only when the command reached the back did everyone stop.
Xie Yuchuan also found an empty seat nearby to sit down and rest, watching the women in his family trading with the peddler selling straw sandals.
Xie Wuying came over and asked, "Sixth Brother, why are you always staring at that peddler?"
Xie Yuchuan retracted his gaze and handed the water bag to Xie Wuying, saying calmly, "Nothing."
After years of marching, they have become intuitively sensitive to any approach with ulterior motives.
After drinking the water, Xie Wuying muttered to himself, "I heard there's Songjiang River ahead. I'll try to fetch some water when I pass by. I wonder if the river water is clean. If not, I can just find a stream or a river and fill it up."
"What kind of water?"
Tu Huan's voice suddenly sounded in Xie Yuchuan's ears.
He said casually, "Water from Songjiang River."
Xie Wuying thought his sixth brother was talking to him, so he nodded and said, "Okay, then let's get water from the Songjiang River."
We will fight whatever Sixth Brother says.
Xie Yuchuan's eyes flashed, "Yeah."
No explanation either.
Tu Huan spent most of the night with Xie Yuchuan in the Songjiang government office, and then went back to her room and lay down. She was used to staying up all night, so she slept until the afternoon and was very hungry when she woke up.
After a simple meal, I let the system move my coordinates over.
When she woke up, it was almost three o'clock, when the exiled prisoners only had their meals.
As I walked around the crowd and came to Xie Yuchuan's side, I heard Xie Wuying mumbling about fetching some water.
The Xie family's water bags were almost used up, and it just so happened that Xie Wuying's water bag had not yet had the lid closed.
Tu Huan suddenly thought of something and unscrewed a bottle of mineral water from her backpack and poured it into the water bag in Xie Wuying's hand...
Xie Wuying felt his palm inexplicably sink.
Then I looked at the bottom of the water bag on the ground, and it suddenly swelled up as if it had seen a ghost!
Xie Wuying: ………
Suddenly realized something.
Xie Wuying: Ahhhhhhhhhh!
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