“It’s strange, why do strange things keep happening in Xinzhou?” Zhang Xiu’e said as she walked.
"What good things could come from this desolate place? Don't overthink it. As long as our family is safe and sound, that's more important than anything else." Qin Xiaoniang was preoccupied with going back to see her child, so she didn't take the events of the day to heart.
"You really have to believe it. How could so many fish suddenly die in this perfectly good river? It's one thing for the fish to die, but this is a poor and desolate place, so how come there are still wealthy merchants' ships coming and going? It's truly an eye-opener."
Qin Xiaoniang scoffed, "How can you be so sure that's a wealthy merchant's ship?"
“I’m telling you, you’ve lived in the General’s Mansion for so many years, how come your knowledge is still so shallow? If it were a fishing boat, why would it have so much luggage on it? If it were an official boat, it would definitely have a flag indicating that it has passed through the official channels. This is obviously not an official boat, so it’s impossible for it to be a private boat. Not to mention they wouldn’t come to a place like this, even if they wanted to, they wouldn’t have the guts.”
Upon hearing this, Qin Xiaoniang seemed to find some merit in it, so she nodded in agreement, "Yes, that's right."
Song He'er listened for a long time, but her thoughts had already wandered off somewhere else...
The martial arts master who severely injured someone in the woods that day, and the dark figure I vaguely saw last night...
These rumors aren't unfounded; perhaps they really were his covert assistance...
"He'er, what are you thinking about?" Zhang Xiu'e asked.
"It's nothing, Third Aunt. Why don't you go in and check on Third Uncle? Let my mother and I make breakfast."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Xiue's face immediately turned ugly again, and she stormed into her tent.
Song Xiaoyu and Li Qiang couldn't sleep inside at night. They simply built a makeshift shelter next to the tent using haystacks. Although it could temporarily keep them warm, it would surely collapse under the weight of the snow when it snowed, making it uninhabitable.
After dressing the children, Chunrao took them outside to play.
Li Qiang and his wife went to gather firewood nearby. Although the area was desolate, there were many unknown trees that had died of drought in the summer and naturally became a necessity for people to keep warm in the winter.
“Mother, I see that the houses those women live in are made of adobe. Let’s make some adobe and build a couple of sheltered houses. We haven’t figured out how to make money yet, so we can’t afford any better houses. But the most important thing we need to solve right now is the problem of keeping warm. We can’t let some people sleep outside and freeze all the time, can we?”
As Qin Xiaoniang added water to the pot, she replied, "Of course, but it's winter now, and the ground is hard. Without the soft soil, it might not be easy to open."
"Then let's boil some water, since water's free..."
Qin Xiaoniang smiled and affectionately tucked a stray strand of hair from Song He'er's forehead behind her ear.
"I really did give birth to an exceptionally intelligent daughter. If your maternal grandfather were alive today, he would be very happy to know how sensible you are."
Song He'er smiled too, but didn't say anything.
She can't reveal that she's found the "Business Secrets" yet, since their lives are still unstable and they can't do business with nothing.
In short, life should be lived slowly and steadily; we can't rush things...
While Qin Xiaoniang was cooking, Song He'er sent her aside to gather firewood, then quickly took out the glucose she had previously stored in the refrigerator from her own space and poured it into the pot.
This stuff is colorless and odorless, and you can't detect it when you pour it in; at most, it just tastes a little sweeter.
Today's meal was still wild mushroom soup, because there was nowhere to buy rice, so we had to make do with this.
During the meal, Li Qiang's wife was the first to notice something was off about the taste: "Hmm, why does this soup taste a little sweet?"
Zhang Xiu'e eats quickly, so she doesn't usually savor the food. After all, this isn't some delicacy from the General's Mansion; it's just a simple meal, or even less.
If this were in a general's mansion, even the servants wouldn't eat it.
"Sweet? Isn't it just the taste of ordinary soup?"
Li Qiang's wife shook her head, "No...it's just sweet..."
Li Qiang picked up the bowl speechlessly, brought it to his lips, and tasted it again and again. "It doesn't taste special at all. You should eat it! I think you're just imagining things!"
"Yes, Madam Tian, you should eat it. If you keep smelling it, it'll get cold," Qin Xiaoniang advised.
Although Qin Xiaoniang also noticed that the taste was off, she assumed it was because she hadn't prepared it properly, so she quickly covered it up and didn't say anything.
Another day has passed in a daze.
At night, the cold wind howled outside, and the entire tent swayed in the cold wind.
Zhang Xiu'e held up a kerosene lamp, wanting to go out and check the weather.
But she had only been gone a short while when she returned.
"Something strange has happened again. It's so windy outside, yet people are still out for a stroll."
Qin Xiaoniang put on her clothes and sat up straight. "A prisoner, huh? Turn off the lights and go to sleep. Don't talk too much."
Zhang Xiue shook her head helplessly and went to sleep.
Song He'er had a bad feeling, vaguely sensing that the person was suspicious, and these suspicious things happened to be related to her.
After much deliberation, she could no longer contain herself. She sat up and said to Qin Xiaoniang beside her, "Mother, my stomach is upset. I need to go out to relieve myself."
Have you had an upset stomach these past few days?
"No, you go to sleep, I'll be back soon."
"It's too cold, and the wind is blowing outside. Let me go with you and light the lamp for you."
"No need! I'll run there. What if Huan-ge wakes up if you move?"
Qin Xiaoniang lowered her head, looked at the child sleeping soundly in her arms, and gave up the idea of going out with Song He'er.
"Then be careful."
"Um."
After saying that, Song He'er put on a thick coat, got up and walked out of the tent.
As soon as I stepped outside, I indeed saw a faint light not far ahead.
Song He'er walked towards the source of the light...
Because of the strong wind, her messy hair blocked half of her vision, making it impossible for her to see the faces of the two people in front of her.
However, it is not difficult to tell from their agile figures that they are not hunched and frail prisoners. On the contrary, they look like high-ranking officials and nobles, wearing brocade robes and with their hair tied up high, showing no sign of being down on their luck.
As Song He'er drew closer, the two people in front became more alert and turned to look in their direction...
In just a moment, Song He'er saw his face clearly...
......
My darlings, I'm not feeling well today, so I can only post one update. See you tomorrow!
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