Chapter 57: The Five-Person Group's Travels
Yu Wan was just about to go to sleep when she heard a very urgent knocking on the door. She thought it was an attack from Liang.
He Jing's expression was indifferent: "You're planning to go on a long trip with Jin Yifei? I want to come too."
Yu Wan looked at him in surprise. "Why?"
"I want to go, for no reason. Is that not allowed?" He Jing's tone was firm, as if afraid the other party would refuse.
Yu Wan was both amused and exasperated. Was this childish behavior because he was afraid of not being able to take him along?
"Didn't you say you didn't want to leave here?"
“I…” He Jing explained, “I do have something to take care of here, but it’s too dangerous for you to travel far alone.”
"If you come with me, what will happen to your affairs?" Yu Wan had long guessed that he had a reason for staying in Sui County, but since he didn't bring it up, she didn't feel comfortable asking.
“I’ll arrange everything.” He Jing looked directly at her. “So?”
Yu Wan was going out to conduct research, but in this era, the journey took too long, sometimes several months.
"As long as you're okay, just pack your things these next few days and wait for my notification."
He Jing pursed his lips. "We also need to bring Xue Xiujun along."
Yu Wan didn't understand, "Why?"
“He’s prone to causing trouble, so it’s better to keep him around,” He Jing explained.
Yu Wan had long noticed that he always disliked Xue Xiujun.
"He's a great guy, cheerful, popular, and gets along well with everyone. It would be wonderful if he stayed to help look after us."
“Even if you don’t take him with you, he’ll still secretly follow you.” He Jing said and left without giving anyone a chance to object.
Yu Wan murmured, "Are they conjoined twins?"
A few days later, the group of travelers gained another member.
The magistrate's wife never gave up the idea of sending her daughter to the south.
She wanted to take this opportunity to persuade Zhu Zhifeng to go to the south with her, saying that maybe once they got there, they wouldn't want to go home.
Zhu Zhifeng refused, but the county magistrate's wife was adamant that if she didn't go, she would be forced to marry someone else immediately.
She didn't want to get married, so she had no choice but to go out.
"You know, my mother is really something. Our county is developing better and better, why can't she let me stay here? She has to make me leave my hometown. Anyway, I've made up my mind. I'll just treat this as a trip with you, and I'll still come back."
That day, the five people sat together to discuss their travel route.
Xue Xiujun was the first to suggest, "How about we go to the capital first? That's the most prosperous place in Jin Kingdom, and I've never been there before."
Zhu Zhifeng chimed in, "Yes, yes, let's go to the capital first!"
He Jing glanced at Xue Xiujun and rejected his suggestion, saying, "The capital is the best place for the last stop."
"What's the reason for doing this?" Xue Xiujun protested.
He Jing said, "Since you said that the capital is the most prosperous place, then we should start from a small border town and naturally follow the route that gets more and more prosperous as we go. Are we going to go downhill?"
Xue Xiujun felt that his reasoning was far-fetched.
Jin Yifei drew a large circle on the map. "Young Master He's idea is good. We can travel through Jiangnan, then southeast, then north to the capital, and finally back north to Suixian. In Jiangnan, we can enjoy the flowers, and in the capital, we can enjoy the autumn scenery. The south has flowers to see all year round, but the autumn scenery in the capital is only available for a limited time. The two are different kinds of beauty."
Yu Wan made the decision: "Let's follow Young Master Jin's approach. He's experienced, and we can't go wrong by listening to him."
"Huh?" Zhu Zhifeng pouted and shook her arm pleadingly, "Awan, if my maternal grandparents want to keep me in Jiangnan, you must help me find a way. I also want to go to the capital with you, and I want to come back."
She agreed to go to the capital first in order to buy time, but now that she hasn't achieved her goal, she can only ask Yu Wan for help.
Xue Xiujun also looked regretful, "The capital city, that's a place I've longed to visit for a long time! I'll have to go later."
Yu Wan found it strange that even though the final result aligned with He Suzhi's expectations, he was still not very happy.
Never mind, the plan is set.
Once the departure date was set, we set off on that day.
Yu Wan and Zhu Zhifeng sat in the luxurious carriage, while Jin Yifei and He Jing took turns driving in front. Xue Xiujun, who didn't like riding in carriages, followed on horseback.
Everyone was in a good mood, chatting and laughing all the way. It was a rare moment of relaxation.
It would be even better if there were no displaced refugees or the wailing of orphans and widows on the road.
The further away from Sui County they went, the more horrific the scene became. Everyone couldn't help but look at Yu Wan; without the changes she had brought to Sui County, the people of Sui County probably wouldn't be much better off than these people before them.
"How come there are traces of war here? Our county is a small border town, and we were only slightly affected. The Liang Kingdom suddenly sent troops, catching us off guard. Later, General He took to the battlefield and forced the Liang army back to the border in just a few days. The Liang Kingdom shouldn't have been here. What happened?"
Jin Yifei sighed, "They're most likely bandits."
Zhu Zhifeng inherited her father's kindness. Upon seeing such a scene, she would take out some food or small change and distribute it to the refugees along the way.
With tears in her eyes, she said, "If Father saw this, he would surely be heartbroken. I had only heard him mention it before, but I had never seen it with my own eyes. Our small county town, although it used to be terrible, was still much better than these homeless people. Awan, thank goodness for you."
Yu Wan smiled bitterly, "How can this be changed by me alone? Without the support of the county magistrate and the joint efforts of everyone, what can I accomplish by myself? At most, I can only keep my own family from starving."
Jin Yifei couldn't help but sigh, "Yes, we can't really help much on our own. If we don't change the current situation, I'm afraid we'll see more than just this on the road."
Zhu Zhifeng asked, "What else is there?"
“Bones, so many skeletons.” Xue Xiujun said solemnly, “I’ve seen them.”
Jin Yifei warned, "A-Feng, you'd better not give them any more food or money."
"Why? They're so pitiful," Zhu Zhifeng said, wiping away her tears.
Half a day later, she received the answer.
They hadn't encountered many people along the way, so distributing a little food wasn't a big deal. But more and more people started gathering in their direction, even blocking their path and begging for food.
No matter how Zhu Zhifeng explained, the food in the carriage had already been distributed, but those people wouldn't listen or believe her. After their demands went unanswered, they even started cursing, saying that the rich didn't care about the lives of the poor and were trying to rush onto the carriage to steal it.
Fortunately, He Jing managed to drive the carriage out of the encirclement in time, otherwise the carriage would have been torn apart by those people.
Zhu Zhifeng, pale-faced after surviving the ordeal, said, "It was terrifying; they had lost their minds."
Yu Wan remained calm. She hadn't read many history books in her previous life, but she had watched a lot of movies and TV shows, so she was mentally prepared for this.
"Let's keep a low profile and not be too conspicuous along the way."
She sympathized with these poor people, but she knew her abilities were limited. She could distribute a few portions of food, but she couldn't provide an unlimited supply, as that was completely beyond her capabilities.
After the initial shock, Zhu Zhifeng realized she had been too naive. Simply sending them a meal couldn't change their plight.
"Oh, how awful."
They passed through four cities, and the situation was similar in all of them, but they could still sense that the prosperity of the cities was becoming increasingly different.
The further south you go, the larger the cities become.
They discovered that the situation was not as bad as they had imagined.
One day, while passing through a city, I heard some rumors and learned that after more than half a year of truce, the people had enjoyed a period of relative peace. Although the able-bodied men in the family had gone to the battlefield, the elderly, the weak, the sick, the disabled, and the women who stayed at home all took on heavy responsibilities and worked hard to make a living.
Life was poor, but not to the point of starvation.
Zhu Zhifeng said proudly, "After traveling all this way, our Sui County is still the best! Ah, it's only been a few days, but I'm already missing home terribly. Awan, I want to eat some barbecue skewers. The restaurants we've been eating at along the way haven't been good at all. I still prefer the food at your restaurant."
The waiter had just placed a few dishes on their table when he heard this and couldn't help but be curious.
"Where do you gentlemen come from?"
Zhu Zhifeng replied smugly, "We are from Sui County."
The waiter's eyes lit up, and he looked quite excited. "Sui County? Could it be the Sui County where Yu Family Restaurant is located?"
Zhu Zhifeng winked playfully at Yu Wan, then continued the conversation with the waiter.
"You know about Yu's Restaurant? That's right, it's in our county, their food is delicious."
The waiter looked on with envy, "A few days ago, some customers came and kept praising that restaurant. They made our mouths water and said that the county town was like a fairyland, so beautiful."
Zhu Zhifeng became even more smug, "Of course! You'll see when you go."
Yu Wan ate at restaurants all the way, and she started to miss the familiar flavors.
"Then let's go to the market to buy some ingredients before we set off tomorrow, and grill some skewers on the way."
They had brought tools with them when they left, but they kept encountering refugees along the way, so they didn't dare to use them, for fear of attracting too many people to come and rob them.
Yu Wan has a system that stores some emergency food supplies, but it can't handle the consumption of thousands or tens of thousands of refugees.
If people found out that she could produce ingredients out of thin air, wouldn't they think she was a monster?
They might even tear her apart, kidnap her, or threaten her to conjure up food.
She only has a system; she doesn't actually possess magic, nor does she have an inexhaustible supply of resources.
Therefore, she would never allow herself to fall into that situation.
"Great! I'm craving the boss lady's grilled skewers too!" Xue Xiujun said with a grin.
Zhu Zhifeng sneered, "If you were craving it, why didn't you say so? You waited for me to speak up, you're really cunning!"
Xue Xiujun retorted, "I can resist my cravings, unlike you who have such poor self-control. Although I benefited from your help, you were only there to offer your mouth when it came to eating. A pampered young lady like you can't help at all, so don't make fun of others."
"You! You're awful! Who said I can't help? If you can, so can I!" Zhu Zhifeng's face turned red with anger, and she glared at him fiercely.
Xue Xiujun snorted, "Yeah, yeah, you can help me eat!"
Yu Wan quickly told them to stop and not to overturn the table.
Jin Yifei looked at her with burning eyes, "Awan, make a list, and I'll go buy it first thing tomorrow morning. You guys sleep a little longer; the next city is a bit far, and the journey won't be very comfortable. We might even have to spend the night in the wilderness. Fortunately, we chose a route with fewer refugees, so there shouldn't be any danger."
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