Strange noises reached the ears of the pirates, and soon one of them stood up and looked around.
"Hey bro, did you hear that strange noise?"
"What are you babbling about? What kind of noise could there be in the middle of the night? Even if there is, it's just a wild mouse. Don't make a fuss over nothing. You're less brave than a chicken."
Upon hearing the reprimand, the man squatted down on the ground, looking dejected, and continued to wait.
Song He'er wasn't entirely confident either. If these thieves discovered them, they would be doomed. To be on the safe side, Song He'er secretly took out the bow and arrows from her spatial storage and kept them by her side, in case of any unforeseen circumstances.
"ah!!!"
"What are you yelling for? Do you want to die?"
"Brother, I just saw a dark shadow float by!"
"I think you've lost your mind today!"
As soon as she finished speaking, Song He'er told Zhang Xiu'e to use a rope to lower herself to a tree, and then stuffed fireflies into her clothes. From a distance, she really looked like a green-faced female ghost floating in the sky.
"Brother, do you think it's that little wench we killed a few days ago coming back to haunt us?"
The man addressed as "Big Brother" raised his hand and slapped the other man across the face, yelling, "You worthless bastard! What nonsense are you spouting? That little wench is already dead, how could she come back and strangle you?"
Song He'er was slightly taken aback. A young woman? It seems they really do have quite a few murders on their hands!
Thinking this, Song He'er's lips curled up, and she slowly approached them, calling out in an ethereal voice: "Give me back my life!"
The sound echoed clearly in everyone's ears. One of the men turned around and saw Song He'er hanging in mid-air. He was so frightened that he fainted.
"Ah!! A ghost! There really is a ghost!"
"Retreat! Get out of here!"
A group of people fled in panic, like rats crossing the street.
Seeing that they had disappeared without a trace, Song He'er put down the rope and walked towards the riverbank with Zhang Xiu'e.
What should be done with this person?
"We can't leave him alive. What if he wakes up and tells his own troops?"
Zhang Xiue nodded. "Tie him up and throw him into the river. Let him harm people!"
After saying that, Zhang Xiu'e indeed tied the man up with a rope and dragged him toward the river.
With a thud, the person sank to the bottom.
Li Qiang's wife emerged from the bushes and waved in their direction, "Come here, I saw so many things!"
Zhang Xiue smiled and pulled Song He'er along as they walked towards the direction where Li Qiang's wife was standing.
"There are sweet potatoes, cucumbers, eggs, and most importantly, look what's here!" Li Qiang's wife happily pointed to the cage next to her.
"It's geese! Two of them!" Song He'er exclaimed happily.
"Shh, keep your voice down. I reckon they stole these things from some farmers. Luckily, we can use them. These things will last us seven or eight days!"
"Let's take it back quickly!"
"Um."
After saying that, the group began dragging the sacks toward the boat...
When they returned to the boat, the boatman was still fast asleep. Only Qin Xiaoniang and Su Yu's wife were waiting for them to come back in fear. They hadn't even lit a lamp.
Who is it?
"Young lady, it's me."
"He'er?"
"yes......"
Qin Xiaoniang lit the candles, and by the dim candlelight, she saw that Zhang Xiue and Li Qiang's wife were each dragging a large sack.
What is this?
Zhang Xiue smiled and said, "Good stuff, we have food for the road now."
Qin Xiaoniang was now quite astute and sensed something was amiss, so she asked again, "Didn't you see any river bandits lurking around here just now?"
"They're all gone; this is what they left behind."
"Oh, then hurry up and get some rest, or it'll be dawn soon."
Song He'er lit the mugwort leaves and then lay down in the shed. Perhaps because she was too tired, Song He'er quickly fell asleep. When she woke up the next day, the sun was already high in the sky.
Zhang Xiue had already prepared breakfast, including steamed sweet potatoes and millet porridge. However, the millet was bought from the boatman for twenty coins a dou, which was only enough for everyone to have one meal.
"He'er, have something to eat." Qin Xiaoniang brought over a bowl of millet porridge.
Song He'er looked at the vast expanse of white water, which seemed to be much wider than yesterday.
"Mother, where is the boatman saying we are?"
"They said we'll arrive in Shanyang this afternoon, then we can disembark."
Song He'er looked at the map. Shanyang was the last plain area on the way to exile. Beyond Shanyang lay endless grasslands, so they had to prepare emergency supplies after disembarking.
While combing Nianjie's hair, Zhang Xiue sang a song to Huange'er, "Don't you think Huange'er has gotten fatter again? How come he's gaining weight on the road to exile?"
Song He'er chuckled to herself. Of course Huan Ge'er would get fat. Whenever her mother lacked food or drink along the way, she would naturally raise Huan Ge'er to be plump and healthy.
Su Yu's wife sniffed her clothes and looked disgusted. "I forgot to wash my clothes last night because I was scared. Look, I have to travel all day covered in sweat."
Zhang Xiue breathed a sigh of relief. "Then how about we do some work at the next dock, and when we get to the county town, we can each get a set of clothes made, at least we'll have something to change into."
Everyone agreed to Zhang Xiue's suggestion, since Su Yu's wife and Li Qiang's wife were both quite strong and could earn some money to buy clothes by doing some work.
Time flies, and before they knew it, it was afternoon. After everyone disembarked, they put the things they had picked up the night before onto the cart and then temporarily stored the cart away.
Zhang Xiue and the others found work unloading goods at the dock and worked for three or four hours before returning.
As evening approached, Li Qiang's wife came over happily with ninety coins in her hand.
"Ninety coins are enough to buy five bushels of rice, and also enough to buy some cloth!"
Song He'er was somewhat helpless. The two mandarin fish sold for fifteen strings of cash with ease, while the three of them worked hard for several hours and only earned less than one percent of that.
Alas, in the traditional social hierarchy of scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants, although merchants are ranked last, they are indeed the ones who make the most money. It is undeniable that only those who know how to do business have the opportunity to get rich.
However, seeing how happy Li Qiang's wife was, Song He'er could only offer comfort, since she couldn't openly take out and use her money; it had to be done through proper channels.
“Things in Shanyang County shouldn’t be expensive. I think ninety coins should be enough to buy cloth, but if you need a tailor to make the clothes, you’ll have to pay for his labor…” Qin Xiaoniang reminded her from the side.
Su Yu's wife waved her hand, "I can make clothes, why waste money!"
"Does Madam Zhou know?"
"Yes, I used to do a lot of mending and sewing work at the General's Mansion."
"That's wonderful! Let's go to the county town now. With Zhou Niangzi's skillful hands, we'll soon have new clothes to wear!"
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