The soldiers, armed with swords, began searching everywhere. In no time, they found more than a dozen people in a tenant farmer's cellar.
"You filthy scum, how long do you think you're going to hide here? I'll beat you to death!"
"My lord, spare my life! I didn't mean to run away, but the rain was so heavy last night that I only wanted to survive, so I crawled into the cellar!"
"Still trying to deny it?"
The whip lashed out again and again, tearing the skin and flesh of those people.
Song He'er couldn't stand seeing these soldiers beating people at the drop of a hat. If she didn't teach them a lesson, they would become more and more arrogant!
Thinking of this, she lit a branch, quietly went outside the yard, and threw the branch into the haystack in the woodshed. Instantly, flames rose, startling the tenants inside who ran out.
"What's going on? How could there be a fire! Who started it!" The tenants turned their attention to the soldiers.
"You heartless bastard! We kindly took you in last night, and you burned down my house and stole the grain from my cellar! I'll beat you to death!" The tenants gathered together, picked up their hoes, and started hitting the soldiers.
In no time, the soldiers were beaten black and blue, and could no longer be proud of themselves. They had no choice but to accept their bad luck.
Aside from those poisoned on the mountain and those killed by the landslide, only four soldiers remained. After being severely beaten, they became much more obedient and continued leading the prisoners forward.
Once you leave the Huaihe River Mountains, you'll be completely cut off from the capital. You won't encounter any more prosperous villages or towns along the way; you'll only get poorer and poorer.
The town was still dozens of miles away from the next prefecture and county. The rain had washed away the remaining dry cakes, and everyone had nothing to eat except for picking some fruit to fill their stomachs.
"You'll be sleeping here tonight. As for food, you'll have to fend for yourselves. And all of you, behave yourselves. If you dare to try to escape, your whole family will suffer the consequences!"
After saying that, the soldiers began to limp towards the dilapidated village in the distance. If Song He'er wasn't mistaken, they were definitely going to the villagers' homes to freeload...
Zhang Xiue looked around, somewhat dejected: "This land is barren, there's not even a river. At least yesterday we had fish to eat, but today there's probably nothing left..."
Nianjie was squatting by the mud puddle playing, but the next moment, she sat on the ground and burst into tears.
Song He'er and Zhang Xiu'e rushed over and found a large insect climbing on the ground with two pincers on its head.
Song He'er jumped up from the ground excitedly!
It's true that heaven didn't forsake her!
Isn't this a rare delicacy, a crayfish?
Just thinking about the incredibly delicious spicy crayfish on the table made Song He'er's mouth water.
Qin Xiaoniang looked on in surprise and pulled her daughter in front of her, asking, "Why are you making such a fuss?"
"Mother, this is edible!"
Zhang Xiue's eyes widened: "These are bedbugs! You can't eat them!"
"Yes, you can eat it. This isn't a stink bug; it's a type of shrimp called lobster. It tastes amazing when cooked with chili peppers!"
"How did you know?" Zhang Xiue asked back.
"I... I learned it from a book."
Song He'er thought to herself that she had all kinds of ingredients in her space, but she couldn't just take them out directly. It would be better to scatter them in the forest for them to find, so that the things would come in a legitimate way.
Thinking of this, Song He'er stood up and said, "Third Aunt, you take care of catching shrimp, and I'll take care of gathering firewood."
Zhang Xiue was very straightforward; she rolled up her sleeves and got right to work!
Song He'er walked into the poplar grove alone, quietly scattered some chili peppers, ginger, scallions, garlic, fennel seeds, cinnamon, cardamom, star anise, bay leaves, and Sichuan peppercorns on the ground, and then turned back.
When Song He'er returned to the middle of the group, she saw the housekeepers' wives taking bird eggs.
When Li Qiang's wife saw her, she quickly came over and said happily, "Fifth Miss, thank you for helping us out of that predicament. These bird eggs are for you... please don't mind them..."
Song He'er was somewhat surprised. There was very little food available along the way; was she really willing to give it away?
Indeed, the world is not only filled with wicked women like Madam Da.
Song He'er thought for a moment and politely declined, "The journey has been difficult, and we don't even know what we'll eat tomorrow. Ladies, please keep it for yourselves."
After saying that, she walked to Chun Di's side and said, "Fourth Aunt, go into the woods and see if there's anything to eat. There are many merchants coming and going here; what if they leave something behind?"
Chun Di nodded and quickly pulled Chun Rao into the woods.
Zhang Xiue, who was standing next to her, rolled up her trousers and was catching crayfish in the mud. She had already caught more than half a basin of them, enough for five or six people to eat.
Qin Xiaoniang put Huan Ge'er on the ground to play, and then went down to catch crayfish herself. In less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, both basins of crayfish were caught alive and brought ashore.
The group poured out all the water they had brought with them and began cleaning the mud off the lobsters.
Before long, Chun Di and Chun Rao returned from searching for supplies, carrying all sorts of ingredients. "There really were some things on the way. Although I don't recognize them all, I know they're for the kitchen!"
Song He'er smiled and took the ingredients from their hands. "Fourth Aunt, there should be pheasants in the woods too. Why don't we go find some wild eggs to cook for the children..."
"Alright, let's go find it."
Song He'er successfully got rid of them all; now was the perfect opportunity for her to showcase her culinary skills.
Song He'er took out some rapeseed oil from her spatial storage, then put it into the oil pan and heated it. When the oil temperature rose, she first added scallions, ginger, and garlic, stir-fried them until fragrant, and then added other ingredients. When the aroma in the oil pan was overwhelming, Song He'er poured in the crayfish and started stir-frying.
Seeing that the crayfish had turned from black to an enticing red, Song He'er secretly took out some soy sauce and other seasonings from her spatial storage, poured them in, added water, and reduced the sauce over high heat...
In about half an incense stick's time, a delicious and flavorful spicy crayfish dish was ready.
Song He'er extinguished the fire, put the lid on the pot, and waited for the people who went out to find wild eggs to return.
"Fifth Sister, look what we found!!"
Song He'er looked back at the sound and saw Zhang Xiu'e and Nian Jie'er each carrying a wild pheasant, walking excitedly toward them.
Song He'er never imagined that this fat aunt was far more capable than she had thought; she could even catch pheasants!
It seems there are advantages to being overweight!
"He'er, I'll stew this pheasant into soup for your little mother. As long as she drinks it, I guarantee she'll produce milk!"
Qin Xiaoniang smiled and said, "Huan Ge'er will eventually have to learn to eat solid food. No matter how much breast milk I have, it won't be enough for him!"
Seeing that Chun Di and Chun Rao were not among the returning crowd, Song He'er felt a little strange: "Where are Fourth Aunt and Fifth Aunt? Why didn't you come back together?"
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