Sitting in the carriage, Liu Sisi took out the map of Xisuo Snow Mountain again.
From Jinshan County, you'll pass Guanghui County, Lingxi City, Huaibei City, Changbai City, and Xueshan City. After that, there's a long stretch of flat road. Once you finish the flat road, you'll reach Xisuo Snow Mountain.
It's quite far; even if everything goes smoothly, it will take at least half a year to travel back and forth.
When she arrived in Guanghui County by carriage, she asked the driver to buy her a horse so she could ride on her own and send the driver back.
She no longer needs to sleep in inns by herself; when she's tired, she can find a secluded spot, put away her horse, and sleep directly in her spatial storage.
If someone at the inn takes a liking to her, a young girl, and gets malicious intent, she'll have to spend time dealing with it, delaying her journey.
Ten days have passed since we passed Guanghui County.
Today we have finally arrived at the territory of Lingxi City. The people here are doing relatively well; even the poorest can survive by digging for wild grass.
Lingxi City looked deserted, and there were hardly any people in the market. Liu Sisi crossed Lingxi City and arrived at a place called Jicun.
The area is vast, but it looks like it has been drought-stricken for a long time; the land is very dry and looks like it will crack soon.
An old woman in the village saw Liu Sisi dressed richly and riding a horse, but she didn't see any of her elders.
"Little girl, where are you going? How can you be out alone at such a young age? It's dangerous! Go find your elders! This village is not safe, you should leave quickly!"
"Grandma, this place looks so desolate. Has it been dry for a long time?" Liu Sisi asked.
"Yes! It hasn't rained for a year. If this continues, I'm afraid none of us will survive."
"How could this be? There's a drought in the north, and no local officials have reported it to the capital?" Liu Sisi asked, puzzled.
"Why would those officials care about our lives? The government has taken control of a major river in Liuxian County, preventing us ordinary people from fetching water."
“Our village’s well is almost dry, young lady, you should hurry up! If the villagers find you, they’ll definitely kill your horse and steal your things,” the old woman kindly reminded Liu Sisi.
Grandma Yin only has herself and her granddaughter left at home. A few days ago, her granddaughter was also taken away by the village chief to exchange water and food for the villagers.
"Grandma, don't worry about me. Can you tell me about the situation in Lingxi City?"
"Girl, come inside with me quickly, so no one can see you." The old woman looked around. Fortunately, no one was around in the village at the moment, as everyone was minimizing their physical activity to avoid getting hungry.
Liu Sisi followed Grandma Yin into her house, which was just a mud-brick house located at the very edge of Ji Village, some distance away from the village.
When Liu Sisi went inside, she found only a dilapidated earthen bed, two wooden chairs, and a wooden table that was half broken.
“Girl, I’ve only been to the village a few times. I only know that since the second half of last year, there has been no rain, and the grain harvest has been reduced by half. This year, the soil is so dry and hard that it’s difficult to dig, and we can’t grow any grain at all.”
"The water in the village wells gradually decreased, and later the clan chief forbade us from drawing water at will. Each family was only allowed to draw one small bucket of water per day."
"Later, a man from the village came back and said that there was a big river in Liuxian County, but it was controlled by the government."
"The government also has grain, but if you want to buy grain to exchange for water, you have to exchange it with girls from the village who are over twelve years old. They say that this is the only hobby of the prefect. If you offer a girl to him, you can go to Liu County to fetch a lot of water and also buy grain."
Liu Sisi cursed inwardly after hearing this. "Damn it, the prefect and the magistrate, aren't they just two old perverts!"
"As expected, this place is far from the emperor's reach. When there is a drought, instead of reporting it for relief, they prey on the people and act as local tyrants."
"I understand, Grandma. Take these and hide them well so you can eat them slowly without anyone stealing them. I'm leaving now." Liu Sisi got up and went to get the horse.
Liu Sisi placed twenty pancakes and five water bags on Grandma Yin's table.
Gu Lingchen prepared all of this for him; she had a lot.
"Girl, what are you going to do with all of this if you give it to me!" Granny Yin wanted to catch up with Liu Sisi to return it to him, but found that she had already gone far away.
After riding to a secluded spot, Liu Sisi slipped into her spatial dimension, taking her horse with her and tying it to a tree by the grass.
"Xiyu, I want to help the people here."
Xi Yu raised the snake's head and said, "You can't make it rain, so how can you help?"
“I may not be able to make it rain, but the people still have water to drink here, don’t they? Those two corrupt officials are inhuman; they actually want to exchange girls for water and grain. I’m going to the magistrate’s office in Liuxian County and the prefect’s office in Lingxi City.”
"That scared those two old perverts to death! Tell them to treat the people better, to bring out water and food so the people can get through this drought," Liu Sisi said indignantly.
"Alright! So you need me to play the Snake Fairy?" Xi Yu said.
“Yes, let’s go to Liuxian County tonight and find out where the county magistrate’s office is.” Liu Sisi left her spatial dimension, mounted her horse, and rode back the way she had come.
When they arrived in Liu County, it was already early afternoon. Liu Sisi first put the horse into her spatial storage outside the city, and then cooked a bowl of noodles to eat.
She changed into simple clothes and entered Liuxian County. At first, many people saw that she was a young girl and wanted to take advantage of her, so they took her to the county to exchange for water and food.
After Liu Sisi forcefully broke the arms of the two thugs, no one dared to approach.
She didn't want to be switched in like that; there would be too many people there, and it would be difficult to move around at night. She wanted to sneak in by herself.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
