Meat for meat
Silence enveloped the entire forest. The trees swayed gently in the breeze, and the branches intertwined with each other made a rustling sound.
In such an environment, any unusual sound would seem particularly abrupt.
He Yingchun half leaned in the man's arms, her fingertips trembling with nervousness.
"Hush," a low voice sounded in my ear, "It's me."
When He Yingchun touched the hand, she found distinct joints and bulging veins. She relaxed for a moment, then asked him to listen.
"Did you hear that? A woman is crying?"
"I heard it. It's just ahead." Wen Jingzhao nodded and pointed into the woods.
"Really? It's late at night, is it a human or a ghost?" He Yingchun rubbed the goose bumps on his arms.
"Why don't we go and take a look? What if someone is trapped?" He Yingchun hesitated.
Wen Jingzhao originally wanted her to go back first, but after thinking for two seconds, he nodded and said, "Be gentle."
The two men bent over and walked around the tree. Slowly they could hear clearly that it was indeed a woman crying, and her voice sounded a bit like a kitten's cry.
The woman seemed to be crying but not crying, moaning in a restrained manner.
As they gradually saw more clearly, both of them stopped walking and stood there awkwardly.
The overlapping shadows of a man and a woman rose and fell. The moon hid behind the clouds and refused to come out. The grayness concealed the awkward expressions of the two of them.
Wen Jingzhao suddenly reached out and pushed her down, and they both hid behind a tree.
"Sir! I am yours now. When we get there, I will depend on you! I don't want to be a prostitute..." Her voice was so gentle that it made the man who hugged her feel numb on half of his body.
"Of course. I'll just give you a call and bring you out. Then you can follow me and enjoy delicious food and spicy drinks. How about a barbecue tonight?"
Wang Kui?!
I couldn't quite make out what he said after that. It was just that the meat was delicious, and that people would want more. I wanted to eat it, too, but it wasn't the same meat...
Listening to the noise, it's time for another big fight.
He Yingchun recognized the man's voice, her eyes widened, and she looked up to meet Wen Jingzhao's gaze. Wen Jingzhao gestured to her to leave, and the two of them slowly retreated from behind the tree.
"Did you hear that?"
"Yes, it's Wang Kui." He Yingchun nodded. She sighed and exchanged meat for meat. She had seen that woman on the road of exile. She was well-spoken and seemed to come from a prominent family. She had no choice but to give herself to a small yamen runner.
It was really sad. The two of them walked back quietly and fell into silence.
Wen Jingzhao was more concerned about the content of their conversation. The fact that this woman was planning to reach the place of exile meant that they were very likely not far from their destination, at least halfway through the journey.
And what they call prostitutes...
Wen Jingzhao held the beads in his hand, his expression solemn. "The wars between the cities are frequent, and the slave girls who were exiled there have to work during the day and stay in the brothel at night. I will find a chance to rescue you when the time comes, but before that..."
His expression was gloomy, and he said with great difficulty, "You must protect yourselves."
"Brothel? Yes... yes..." He Yingchun opened her mouth but couldn't say anything. She thought that being exiled to such a remote place was already a punishment. Brothel, just thinking of these two words, cold sweat broke out on her back.
She looked up into Wen Jingzhao's eyes and forced a smile, "Yes, I will protect myself."
Wen Jingzhao knew that he might not be able to comfort her at this moment, so he just touched her head and promised, "I will take you out."
The conversation didn't continue and the two returned to the tent. It was still dark, but it was difficult to fall asleep.
Wen Jingzhao closed his eyes and made plans, while He Yingchun refreshed his points page over and over again.
During this period, she cooked from time to time and earned a lot of points, which she exchanged for 4 bottles of spiritual spring water. She was not sure about the efficacy of the spiritual medicine yet, and planned to use it at a critical moment.
Suddenly the system sounded,
"Didi, you've reached 50 points, you can unlock three products!" Unlock products? This is a new thing. There are three new items in the product column, but they are all gray.
She tentatively clicked on one.
"Ding, it takes 5 points to unlock this product!" More points? She clicked on the next one.
"Ding ding, it takes 10 points to unlock this product!"
"Ding ding, it takes 15 points to unlock this product!"
Each one is more expensive than the other!!
He Yingchun was like a miser, looking at his 58 points but reluctant to spend any of them.
After tossing and turning for half the night, the sky brightened and everyone packed up and set off again. The sunlight was bright and warm on their bodies. He Yingchun put aside the things that had been bothering him for most of the night.
Now that it has happened, just accept it. There are many things going on in the world, and mediocre people worry about them themselves, but they can always find a way out.
We walked like this for a few days,
The noise in front of the team suddenly became louder. Groups of people gathered together to discuss something. The yamen runners were not as strict as before. They just asked the team to line up in an orderly manner. They held the whip in their hands and waved it absentmindedly, but their eyes could not help but glance forward.
Li Bin went to inquire about it, and when he came back, he told the others, "They say the next post station is not far away, in a place called Ba County. There are people living there, and the environment is better. If we stay overnight, we might be able to do some shopping."
"Okay, let's see if we can get some thick clothes. It gets colder the further north we go." Wen Jingzhao said as he glanced at Ba County, which was already showing some shadows. He Yingchun nodded. Her shoes were worn thin.
Xiaozhi has been having a low-grade fever and is not as active as at the beginning. "Buy Xiaozhi another hat."
After a few people discussed it, the team entered Ba County. Ba County was not a big place, and there were not many people on the streets due to the cold weather.
There are rows of houses on both sides of the street, with mottled tiles on the roofs, and some even covered with thatch. The exterior walls are also mottled and faded, with a sense of charm that has been sedimented by history.
The team walked slowly, and the bluestone slabs under their feet were irregular, which made them feel a bit uncomfortable to walk on.
There were scattered shops and small vendors on both sides of the street, and they seemed accustomed to seeing long lines of prisoners.
An old man was shouting to sell baked buns. He lifted a corner of the quilt, and inside was a crispy and delicious baked bun.
From time to time, he would take the rolled dough and put it inside the oven, then skillfully take out a lot of baked buns from the oven and put them under the quilt.
He Yingchun took a deep breath.
Smells so good!
No one asked to buy anything. The desire for food was bearable, but the cold wind was fatal.
The prisoners all bought some things, and the bailiffs turned a blind eye and let it go.
Wen Jingzhao and He Yingchun walked to a small stall selling clothes. The stall was not big. The owner was a middle-aged man who looked a bit shrewd. He was wearing a simple cotton-padded jacket with his hands tucked into his sleeves.
He stood up slowly and looked at the prison uniforms of the men with disdain.
"How much is a cotton coat?"
"This side is 500 wen, this side is 800 wen."
He Yingchun was shocked. The cheapest package for five people cost 2,500 Wen, which was more than 2 taels.
"Where are the cotton shoes?"
The stall owner said impatiently, "This one is 450 wen, and this one is 600 wen."
"How much is this hat?"
"Will you buy it or not? Don't interfere with my business and don't touch me! The cotton hat costs 100 coins!"
He Yingchun put down his hat and asked, "Can you make it cheaper?"
The stall owner frowned and started to chase the customer away. "No bargaining! Get lost!" He brushed the nonexistent dust off his hat and muttered, "What bad luck!"
"Hurry up, hurry up! What are you dawdling for?" The yamen runners began to urge them with whips, not allowing them to hesitate.
"Three cotton-padded jackets, a pair of cotton shoes, and a hat for us. How about two taels of silver?" Wen Jingzhao said.
The stall owner waved his hand impatiently, "Get away!"
He Yingchun quickly apologized with a smile and added, "You're so kind! Please, please, please be kind!!"
"It's cold, so if you sell more, you can go home earlier."
After much persuasion, they finally bought it. He Yingchun gave two taels of silver with great reluctance. This was the money they had hidden from the yamen runners, so the less they used, the less they had.
The stall owner made a fortune and reluctantly said, "You are lucky to have a kind heart like me. I took pity on you and sold it to you at a loss."
Wen Jingzhao handed the cotton shoes to He Yingchun and said, "Change into these shoes."
The remaining three people received one cotton-padded jacket each: Muma, Xiaozhi and He Yingchun, and the hat was given to Xiaozhi.
"There's not enough money, so we have to take turns wearing the clothes." Wen Jingzhao said this dryly when he was not so short of money. Li Bin was very considerate and didn't say anything more.
Xiaozhi looked at the hat and carefully put it on her head. She smiled and said, "It's really warm. Let's take turns wearing the hat."
The hat is navy blue and part of it covers the ears, making it very warm. Although the workmanship is a bit rough, Xiaozhi's skin is white, which makes her chin look pointed, giving her a somewhat fragile beauty.
Someone walked by and looked at her a few more times.
Mum and He Yingchun held the twig in the middle to block out the cold wind and some malicious gazes.
They rested at the post station at night because there were many shops in the county. Several yamen runners also bought some wine. The journey was long and bumpy, and they finally had a chance to rest. Zhao Wu did not detain them specifically, but just asked the yamen runners on guard not to touch the wine. Everyone else was drunk.
The noise from their drinking was so loud that He Yingchun covered her ears and didn't know how long it took before she fell asleep.
When she woke up, it was still dark outside, so she turned over and continued to sleep.
I touched to the side, but found nothing.
She felt a little less sleepy and opened her eyes to look around. Originally, their position was that of Mom, Xiaozhi, and she squeezed together, and Wen Jingzhao and Li Bin were together, but now there was space between her and Mom.
I looked around and there was no sign of Xiaozhi. Her beloved hat was also gone. She might have gone to the bathroom.
He Yingchun looked outside worriedly. The weather had been bad these past few days. It was cloudy and even the moon was invisible at night. Her right eyelid kept twitching. She gathered her clothes and went out to look for someone.
The toilet was a bit far away, and it had to go around a large yard. It was pitch black over there, and He Yingchun was a little scared.
After she walked for a while, she kicked something and rolled forward. She fumbled to pick it up and found it was a hat covered in dirt.
He Yingchun shook off the dirt and recognized it as Xiaozhi's hat. Her heart skipped a beat.
At this time, the moon came out and the moonlight shone on a corner of the yard.
She saw Xiaozhi, lying on the ground with his feet facing her, and her mind went blank for a moment.
She ran over quickly, trembling to see Xiaozhi's face, feeling a bit lucky.
I saw Xiaozhi lying on the ground, his newly bought cotton coat was wide open, revealing his blue and purple skin, his face facing this side, one eye open, and he seemed to be dead.
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