While loading things into the car, Song He'er replied, "I hid them well; those soldiers won't be able to find my things!"
Zhang Xiue pinched her nose: "You're such a clever little devil. How did your stepmother give birth to you? When Huan-ge grows up, he'll probably be just like you, a little rascal!"
"hey-hey!"
After they finished speaking, the two pushed the cart and began to return the way they came.
When they returned to the dilapidated temple, Qin Xiaoniang and the others were picking fruit from the trees, while Huan Ge'er and Nian Jie'er were playing under the trees.
"Mom, we're back from shopping!"
Hearing the noise, Qin Xiaoniang quickly jumped down from the tree.
"How was the journey? Are you tired?"
Song He'er shook her head: "It's all my third aunt pulling the cart, how could I be tired?"
"You, why don't you even help your third aunt out a little!"
Zhang Xiu'e shook her head dismissively and unloaded the fabric from the cart: "He'er is still young, how can we ask her to do chores?"
Qin Xiaoniang was genuinely grateful to this family. She had thought that no one in the General's Mansion would want to get along with her and her two children, but she never expected that since Li Shi was gone, their journey had been quite harmonious.
“Madam Zhang, in terms of seniority, you are younger than me, but I am a concubine and you are the principal wife. I am extremely grateful to see how you treat me now.”
Upon hearing this, Zhang Xiue suddenly laughed: "You're being too polite. If I don't help you, am I supposed to help that shrew? Our branch of the family has suffered a lot at Li's hands. My dear, you're a good person. It's the general who's been too lenient with Li. All the mistakes are his fault!"
Song He'er knew that her mother would become quite sad whenever the general was mentioned. It was better not to mention such a heartless old man.
Thinking about it, Song He'er changed the subject and interrupted their conversation, "When you bought the chicken, did you also buy any vegetables or anything like that?"
Zhang Xiue nodded. "Yes, but I didn't dare to buy too much. I only bought cabbage, celery, and green beans. But these vegetables are also very expensive. I heard from the vegetable shop owner that the farmers in the fields in front of us had a bad harvest this year due to drought, so the vegetable prices are higher."
Song He'er was puzzled. When they came to Shanyang City, they traveled by water. There was plenty of rain there, and they even encountered a mudslide. How come it was dry here after only a few dozen miles?
"Third Aunt, the Huai River isn't far from here. If it's a drought, we can just bring some water over. It wouldn't be this hard. Did that vendor deliberately cheat you to raise the vegetable prices?"
"That's what I thought at first too, but after asking several people, they all said the same thing: Shanyang City is at the border between the south and the north. The south has no water, so the magistrate in the north has no jurisdiction over it, and they are not allowed to use the Huai River to irrigate their land!"
As Song He'er listened, she became increasingly angry. It seemed that the magistrate of Shanyang County was in cahoots with that Boss Zou, living a shameless life by exploiting the people for huge profits.
"Alright, He'er, don't overthink it. We can't stay here any longer. It's the dog days of summer in June, and we must reach Xinzhou before the Lantern Festival. Otherwise, if the court blames us, we'll all be beheaded!" Qin Xiaoniang reminded her from the side.
Song He'er was certainly aware of the pros and cons involved, but she couldn't completely ignore these environmental factors. After all, this was their inevitable route, and if they didn't make plans in advance, they would definitely encounter a lot of trouble along the way.
“Little Aunt, Third Aunt, I’m worried that the drought here will affect the people’s quality of life. Think about it, those vegetables were grown with great difficulty, but now they’ve been requisitioned by the imperial court and sold at high prices in the county town. Then those old farmers in the countryside will definitely have nothing to eat. Under such circumstances of hunger, there might be a peasant uprising…”
Zhang Xiu'e found it somewhat unbelievable and did not believe Song He'er's analysis.
"I think it's unlikely. The county town is very quiet. If there were refugees, wouldn't those starving people be causing trouble at the county government office? But we haven't seen a single person today."
"Third Aunt, you're really honest! What county magistrate would allow those vagrants to cause trouble at the county government office? If the officials find out, they'll definitely be dismissed and their property confiscated!"
"That's true..."
Upon hearing this, Qin Xiaoniang began to worry again, "Then how can we escape the refugees?"
After thinking for a long time, Song He'er realized that it was impossible to avoid the refugees. The only solution was to leave while people were not on high alert or were resting.
"Let's leave tonight, quietly, without disturbing them. Once we're past this area, everyone can breathe a sigh of relief."
Zhang Xiu'e took stock of the supplies they carried, and then slowly said, "We still have half a bag of sweet potatoes, half a bag of cucumbers, about 20 catties of eggs, two geese, ten chickens, and the rest are vegetables that we just bought today. This is enough to last us for about seven days."
Qin Xiaoniang interrupted Zhang Xiue, "Chickens and geese should not be eaten unless absolutely necessary, and if these supplies are seen by those refugees, they won't even be enough to fill their teeth."
Song He'er remembered that when she used her spatial storage to store supplies, she also brought out some coarse flatbread that the servants in the kitchen ate. She thought it would be better to find a secluded place and give it to these refugees in advance, so that they wouldn't try to get anything else from her.
"Little Aunt, Third Aunt, let's hurry up and cook. We'll pack up and head on our way. Don't make these clothes yet; we can make them when we get to our next destination."
"good!"
After saying that, Zhang Xiue walked to the pot and started boiling water.
Steamed sweet potatoes are soft and glutinous, which the children love to eat. Zhang Xiue also stir-fried some cabbage, added some water, and stewed a pot of soup to drink.
Although it wasn't a feast, it was enough to fill me up.
After finishing their meal, the group didn't even rest before preparing to continue their journey.
Since there were too many supplies on the truck, they couldn't all be piled on top at once, so everyone divided them up and carried them on their backs, making it easier for the people pulling the truck.
Chunrao and Chundi carried some fabric, while Li Qiang's wife put the children on a cart and pushed it together with Su Yu's wife.
Zhang Xiue and Qin Xiaoniang each took some vegetables. After dividing the tasks, the group left the dilapidated temple and began to walk forward.
It was getting dark and foggy, and the forest was very quiet and deserted, making it hard not to feel scared when walking through it.
"Mrs. Tian, open up these fabrics and cover the children with them. I think it's chilly at night, and the children shouldn't catch a cold while sleeping in the carriage."
"Oh, okay."
As she spoke, Li Qiang's wife spread out a large piece of cloth and draped it over the children's bodies...
"Young lady, please walk slowly, I need to use the restroom."
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