Yunling felt a little embarrassed. She couldn't imagine what it would be like to carry a beehive and run around; it would be so ridiculous. She sighed.
"Auntie, I remember we scraped the honey out of the beehives a couple of days ago."
"It can be scraped off, but with so many of us, it won't last more than a few days."
Yunling thought that there were indeed a lot of people. Her family originally consisted of eight people, and with Tang Ling and the others, there were eighteen. The Fan family was also going to flee with them, making a total of about thirty people.
Moreover, the turmoil came too quickly, and they hadn't prepared much food. Yun Ruoxia's words made sense, but...
"Auntie, bees are just like people. They need to adapt to different environments. Sudden changes in the environment will make them nervous and afraid, preventing them from producing honey, and they may even die from excitement. Bringing them along won't be of much use to us."
"Weren't the bees supposed to be inside the box? How could they be..."
In this tense atmosphere, Yun Ling shouldn't have been able to laugh, but Yun Ruoxia's words made her burst out laughing.
“Auntie, the bees stay in the hive, but if they don’t go out to collect nectar, where will we get honey to eat? And frankly, the honeycomb in the hive is old and needs to be replaced.”
Yunling thought for a moment, then continued:
"If you really want to take it with you, you can cut off the comb and use it to fill your stomach when you can't find anything to eat."
Yun Ruoxia naturally agreed and quickly took the protective netting and went to cut down the nest.
Yunling quickly dug out the leftover new nest foundation and wrapped it in a clean cloth. She was grateful for Yun Ruoxia's persistence, otherwise she would have really thrown it away.
If the beehive is abandoned, it's fine. If there's a new foundation, she can raise the bees again. However, if the new foundation is abandoned, it will probably take a lot of effort to make it again.
Thinking of this, Yunling remembered the elephant grass seeds she had gone to great lengths to buy in Qimin. She quickly ran back to her room and dug them out. She couldn't throw these away; elephant grass was very useful.
However, she immediately thought of the round barrel for stirring elephant grass, but the barrel was too big. If she were to take it on the road, it would probably take even longer than taking the beehive. She couldn't help but regret that her father-in-law had also made those small and exquisite round barrels. Why didn't she take them?
Suddenly, Yunling's father-in-law's image flashed into her mind, and her heart immediately panicked. Yes, her father-in-law, he... he...
Yunling quickly turned to leave, wanting to find him, but before she could even step out the door, she was stopped by her father's voice.
"Alright, now that we've packed our things, let's get going..." Old Man Yun paused for a moment, then asked, "But where are we going to escape to?"
Yunling heard her father-in-law's words, "How long he can live is all up to fate," again. She thought that he was old and should not be tired from running around. Moreover, the bandits had only captured able-bodied men and young women, so they should not harm him in the slightest. Her heart gradually calmed down.
"Go to Bianjing, go to Jiangnan, go to the north, it's all fine. Those places of power and wealth are of great importance to the court, and rebels will not dare to attack them for a while."
Wen Siqing's words were accepted by everyone present, except for Yun Ling, who turned around and refused:
"First of all, we cannot go to the north. The north is cold, and our people, both large and small, are not used to it and will find it difficult to endure. Moreover, the north is close to neighboring countries, and we are often plagued by internal and external troubles. I fear that the border may become unstable."
"As for Bianjing and Jiangnan, many people will definitely go there. If we go with our current strength, we might be treated as refugees and blocked outside the city, or we might be bought by the powerful and wealthy in the city. Wouldn't that be an unnecessary disaster?"
Those present, perhaps overly nervous, immediately felt that Yunling's words made a lot of sense, and the winds immediately blew in Yunling's favor.
Wen Siqing nodded in agreement.
"So, Ling-jie, where do you think we should escape to?"
"Yuecheng".
"inappropriate!"
Wen Siqing immediately retorted:
"These rebels attacked and captured Shucheng. If they continue their advance, Qingcheng and Yuecheng will be their targets one by one. If we go to Yuecheng, won't we become sheep in a cage again?"
Yunling shook her head and explained:
"Yuecheng is a place plagued by miasma and teeming with insects and rats. Apart from the locals, few people are willing to stop and go there. When I was in the city just now, I saw those bandits. They didn't seem to be a regular group. Instead, they seemed to be there just to make up the numbers."
“People like that are content with enjoying themselves, but if it comes to risking their lives, they'll probably back down halfway. Besides, if we really manage to capture Yuecheng, which is by the sea, we can sail there by ship. That's the worst-case scenario.”
As Wen Siqing listened to Yun Ling's words, he nodded. Undeniably, for someone so young to be able to start a business and build such a large enterprise, she was quite clever and thoughtful, with a long-term vision. He then replied:
"Sister Ling is very thoughtful; Yuecheng is indeed a suitable place."
Seeing that Wen Siqing had no objections, and that the others also felt that what she said made sense, Yunling continued:
"It's already past midnight. I just heard those bandits say they'd be coming to loot the village at dawn. I just don't know if the roads around here have been guarded beforehand."
"The best course of action right now is to follow the mountain path. We can put the heavier things on the horses and donkeys. We'll divide into six groups of five people each."
“I’ve been running around in the mountains since I was a child. I can find my way even if I’m blindfolded. There are five tinderboxes here. You can divide them up and follow me in small groups. Don’t panic.”
Everyone responded with a "Yes" and quickly divided into teams. Everyone wanted to be in the same team as Yun Ling, but firstly, Yun Ling couldn't accommodate them all, and secondly, being in the same team as Yun Ling meant being at the forefront, which was fraught with danger, so they suppressed their desires.
Finally, Yun Ling, Gang Zi, Tang Ling, Yun Ruoxia, and Wen Siqing formed a team and led the way up the mountain.
It was the height of summer, and the mountain nights were slightly chilly. Every now and then, toads would leap about, stirring up the scattered leaves in a rather eerie way.
"Ling-jie, could there be a snake here?"
Yun Ruoxia was genuinely frightened. In terms of the number of times she had gone up the mountain, she hadn't gone less than Yun Ruochun, but she had always gone up in broad daylight to pick matsutake mushrooms. Moreover, she carried a large hoe, so if anything uncontrollable happened, she could just swat it down with the hoe.
Since she was with Yunling at the moment, there was no tinderbox to light her way, and it was pitch black. Her hearing was extremely sharp, and the slightest sound was like a thunderclap. How could she not be afraid?
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