In the midst of their intimate moments, the two devised a plan. As for the words spoken in bed, they were not to be taken seriously. It was just something to amuse the woman!
Seeing Zhao Juhua waiting for him outside the post station, Qi Hu was also suspicious. Had something unexpected happened?
Zhao Juhua quickly stepped forward, making a move to lean against him. He flinched in disgust, saying, "Get to the point! Can't you see I'm on official business here?"
Seeing the fierceness in his eyes, Zhao Juhua gritted her teeth. With tears in her eyes, she recounted the events of the previous night, emphasizing how she had endured humiliation and traveled such a long distance just to warn him and prevent him from being deceived.
Hearing her say that she had even abandoned her own daughter, Qi Hu was actually a little moved. Thinking of the woman's graceful figure beneath him, he felt a pang of reluctance and quickly comforted her.
"Alright, stop crying. When you see Xing and the others later, just say you got separated from the group and plan to come south with us first, then transfer to Jiangzhou when you reach a suitable place."
Qi Hu never thought this deal was worthwhile, after all, he had never seen the silver in Qin San Niang's hands, and as for the people of Qiwu Village, they were a bunch of incompetent old, weak, sick and disabled people who couldn't even handle ordinary farmers! They even went up the mountain to become bandits, they were obviously unreliable!
Hearing that he had agreed to take her along, Zhao Juhua was overjoyed! She quickly tucked the stray hairs behind her ears and followed Qi Hu inside.
Xing Ge didn't recognize the woman in front of him, but finding out about the women of the Sima family was very important! Hearing that they had all escaped successfully brought him some comfort, after all, he was the guard escorting them, and deserting in the face of battle was certainly not the act of a gentleman. But he couldn't be blamed; he wasn't a gentleman, just a lowly soldier trying to save his own life.
He made a decision and continued south. It would be best if he could catch up with the women of the Sima family along the way, but if he couldn't, he still had to reach the southern border on time to report back!
As for this woman, since Qi Hu brought her here, let him make the arrangements! However, her food, clothing, lodging, and transportation cannot be paid into the public accounts! Besides, this woman doesn't seem like someone to be trifled with!
Zhao Juhua was secretly thrilled. Traveling with the official meant enduring hardships and sleeping outdoors, but at least they occasionally had lodgings. As for food? She had some on hand, and could ask Brother Hu for more later. She didn't have to support that brat Zhao Di. With her own abilities, she was sure she could make a name for herself in Jiangnan. "Qin San Niang, you wait, we'll meet again in the martial world!"
Qin San Niang was also thinking about Zhao Juhua, assuming she had definitely gone to follow Qi Hu. As for Qi Hu, he wasn't on their side, so she wasn't worried about running into him again. Even if they did meet, she wasn't afraid; settling old scores and new grudges all at once would save her a lot of trouble!
I don't know if it's because of the rain, or if the weather here is just naturally humid, but it's getting increasingly damp and cold.
Qin San Niang and her group had already put on cotton-padded clothes, and at night they would light hand warmers and put them in their quilts to keep warm!
Others were not so comfortable. Many women in Lujia Village had not yet had time to make cotton-padded clothes. They had to travel during the day and the moonlight was not bright enough at night, so they could only sew and mend during their daytime rest. They also had to build stoves and light fires. They were exhausted every day.
Since their last trip out of Guocheng, the silver they had was all earned by exchanging chestnuts and wolf pelts. Each household only received a few hundred coins, which they naturally had to use to buy food first. With some wild vegetables they foraged along the way, they were still able to make ends meet.
But getting a cotton-padded coat was impossible. Now that it's cold, everyone realized that the South wasn't as warm as people had heard. It was actually more damp and cold than the North. If you were to walk outside for ten days or half a month like this, you would either starve or freeze to death!
"Village head, do you think you could borrow some money from Madam Qin's house? We're all freezing to death here!" The speaker was Liu the Cripple, a bachelor in the village.
Liu the Cripple wasn't severely lame. He was born with a mole, meaning his feet came out first. It's estimated that the midwife used too much force, which is why Liu the Cripple had a slight disability in his leg.
Because of this, as the only son in three generations of the Liu family, his lame mother doted on him excessively, which fostered his unruly and reckless personality. He stole melons and dates as a child, and as he grew up, he became a petty thief, a complete scoundrel!
As Zhao Juhua's former lover, Liu the Cripple learned from her that Qin San Niang's family had grain and money, but he didn't have many opportunities to steal it along the way. The scarred man next to him was too ruthless, and Qin Niang herself was also very capable. Her wolf-killing skills alone made him break out in a cold sweat.
Since we can't steal it, how about we borrow some cigarettes?
Lu Dingtian glanced at everyone and realized that apart from Liu the Cripple, all the other clansmen were staring at him with wide eyes, as if this was their due!
"Yes, Uncle Village Head, we've done a good job. Those orphans and widows have it so tough. Those refugees only dared not approach us because there were so many of us!"
"That's right, even if we borrowed the money, it's not like we won't pay it back. Are they just going to watch us starve to death? If we starve to death, what will they do then! They'll steal all that money, grain, and carts!"
...
As he listened to the commotion, Lu Dingtian's face grew increasingly dark.
"Is that what you all think?"
Seeing everyone's hesitant expressions, what was there not to understand? At least, that was what most of them thought. This reminded him of a saying his late father, the former village head of Lujia Village, had once said: "A small favor is met with resentment, a large one with gratitude!"
Seeing his father's expression, the eldest son of the Lu family quickly helped him sit down.
Old Mrs. Chen couldn't sit still any longer. She stood up and cursed, "You ungrateful wretches! Don't you have any self-awareness? When has the Qin family ever used you? Did they use you to hunt wolves or pick chestnuts? If they hadn't led us out of the deep mountains and out of that bandit's den of Qijia Village, would you still be here bastards?! Even if we starved to death, their money, food, and carts wouldn't have fallen into the hands of the villains. Without us, they'd leave even faster! You're the real burden!"
After saying all this, Old Mrs. Chen felt exhausted. What kind of villagers were these?! Was it really worth it for the old man to lead everyone south so diligently?! If it were her, she would definitely have just left!
The eldest daughter-in-law of the Lu family quickly supported her mother-in-law, fearing that she might get seriously injured from the anger. In other families, there were many conflicts between mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law, but in her family, Old Mrs. Chen was the pillar of stability!
Seeing that the village chief was truly angry, no one dared to mention borrowing money anymore. However, they kept repeating that they had no warm clothes and their children were freezing to death.
Knowing there was nothing more to say to these people, and that once a demon took root in one's heart, the demonic influence would only grow stronger, Lu Dingtian realized that these were his people after all, and as the clan leader, he couldn't simply abandon them.
"Alright, you all go back first. I'll think of something else!"
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