The vendor's heart pounded wildly. He took a step to the right to block Yunling's view, fearing that even the fragrant drinks would be gone. He quickly explained:
"Judging from the young lady's accent, she doesn't seem to be from around here. Could she be from Shucheng or Pingcheng?"
"uh-huh."
The vendor rubbed his hands together and continued:
"When our Qingcheng magistrate heard the news of Pingcheng's fall, he immediately fled with his entire family. Without its leader, the city is just a disorganized mess. Those bandits who used to be restless are now like horses with their reins loose, wandering around the city and villages every few days."
"Once they were freed from their shackles, they engaged in arson, murder, looting, and all sorts of evil deeds. They even targeted the He family's cotton workshop, which angered Master He to death. The He family didn't even have time to hold a funeral for Master He before they hurriedly fled back to Jiangnan."
"With the cotton workshops lost in Qingcheng, other businesses and trades naturally couldn't continue either. The people were crying out in misery and rushing to flee. I only have this worthless life, and I was just thinking of taking advantage of this critical moment to make some money for myself."
Yunling felt very uncomfortable when she heard about the He family's situation. Her "Zhaoyeqing" business was eventually built up through transactions with He Da. Now that the cotton workshop was gone, how could she feel good?
"I'll pay you back double the price of the buns we ate. I don't owe you anything, and don't try to cheat me. Once you take the money, don't set up your stall anymore. If you run into refugees, they might even skin you alive when they're starving."
When the vendor saw that Yunling was willing to give him the money, his heart was finally a little less pained. Although he couldn't make a fortune, at least he wouldn't have worked for nothing.
"Thank you for your consideration, young lady."
"Don't use official jargon. I'm asking you, which direction did the people of Qingcheng flee in?"
"Of course it's Yuecheng. Qingcheng doesn't have a dock. If you want to go somewhere else, you can only depart from the dock in Yuecheng."
Yunling untied the small pouch from her waist, stroked the copper coins inside, and asked:
Will many people choose to settle in Yuecheng?
"I don't know about that. But Yuecheng is close to Qingcheng, and there are quite a few bandits in Yuecheng. I guess they won't stay long. Oh dear, the boatmen will make a fortune. Oh dear, why didn't I think of that?"
The vendor hurriedly packed up his stall, muttering:
"No, no, I have to get to Yuecheng right away. Even if I can't have the first hot meal, I can at least have some porridge."
The vendor's sudden change caught Yunling off guard. She didn't know what was wrong with him, but she didn't care about anything else. She paid for the buns and bought all his fragrant drinks before thinking about anything else.
Wen Siqing took the fragrant drink and said:
"Let's not go to Qingcheng for now. Let's stick to what we agreed on when we came and choose to travel along the mountain path. I'm familiar with this area, so I'll lead the way."
Yunling nodded and said only:
"Okay, Auntie, you can take the people and go first. I have a bit of an upset stomach, I'll be there shortly."
"I also have an upset stomach. Damn it, I don't even know if these buns are fresh."
Gangzi quickly covered his stomach, and under Yun Ruoxia's questioning gaze, he covered his buttocks as well.
After the crowd left, Gangzi slowly released his hand and asked with a grin:
"Boss, what are you going to Qingcheng for? Didn't that thief say that Qingcheng is a ghost town now? We won't get anything out of it if we go."
"I want to find a big pot."
Gangzi hadn't expected Yunling to have such a bizarre idea, but a big pot would be wonderful, absolutely wonderful! There were so many of them, and the two small pots that Sister-in-law Fan had were no longer enough for them. If they could have a big pot, oh my god, he could almost smell the aroma of Zhang's cooking!
"Boss, just finding a big pot isn't enough. If we could also have rice and meat, that would be real enjoyment."
"Get out of here! You're far from home now, we don't even have a home, and you're still thinking about having rice and meat? Don't be so ridiculous. At least add some vegetables, otherwise your stomach will get too hot and you'll easily get constipated."
Gangzi immediately gave Yunling a thumbs up and praised her:
"Brilliant, absolutely brilliant! Boss is indeed exceptionally intelligent."
The two ran directly towards the Qingcheng City Gate. The city was indeed desolate. There wasn't a single person in sight, not even a mouse. The shops on both sides of the street had been smashed, and the scattered items had made the once clean and tidy streets messy and chaotic.
There were still many dried bloodstains on the ground, and flies swarmed around them. Under the scorching sun, a foul stench emanated from the ground, making Yunling and Gangzi feel nauseous. They applied the herbs that Yun Chu had given them to their philtrum and then slowly moved forward.
"Boss, this place looks like a wealthy family's home; there should be something inside."
"I don't think so. You know this is a wealthy family, but don't those bandits know it?"
Gangzi gave Yunling a thumbs-up again and said:
"Boss, you're right. Hey, let's look for those small, unassuming places. They usually hide things well and they're not easy for people to find."
"You said it's not easy to be discovered, so how could we possibly discover it? Besides, they'll take it with them on the road, everyone needs to eat."
Gangzi was a little troubled. He picked up a passable straw hat and put it on Yunling's head, saying:
"Boss, where are we going to look for something?"
"Lu Family Trading Company".
"Lu...Lu...Lu Family Business Company???"
Gangzi was extremely surprised. Even though the Lu family business had a branch in Qingcheng, all of its shops in Qingcheng had been smashed by the bandits. What could possibly be left inside?
"Boss, did Young Master Lu leave you some kind of treasure in the trading company?"
"No, how would he know I came to Qingcheng?"
"Then you said..."
Yunling shrugged and sighed:
"I'm just guessing. With so many goods coming in and going out of the Lu family business every day, there simply wasn't enough time to distribute everything during that period. So there must be something in the warehouse in Qingcheng."
Gangzi felt a surge of joy, but it quickly subsided.
"Boss, the Lu Family Trading Company sells such a wide variety of things, I wonder if there's anything edible."
"That's why we need to go and take a look. The people of Qingcheng are also fleeing now, and they'll probably strip the mountains bare along the way. We'll probably be in trouble then too. Let's go, and whether we can find anything is up to fate."
Gangzi readily agreed, and he followed Yunling, searching all the way to the warehouse of the Lu family's trading company.
The warehouse door had been kicked down, all the boxes inside had been opened, and the contents of the sacks had fallen to the ground. At a glance, there was nothing to eat.
"Boss, this..."
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