Chapter 20: White Porridge and Roast Chicken]
Chen Fenghe stood up and opened the door. A servant from the inn said, "Sir, the porridge you requested is here. Also, the hot water is boiling and will be brought to you shortly."
Shen Fenghe nodded, took the tray, and closed the door again.
There was a casserole on the tray, which was obviously just taken out of the pot. When the lid was opened, the white porridge inside was still boiling.
"Wow! White porridge! Sister, I've been hungry for a long time!" Shen Qingxing said happily.
"Mom, sister-in-law! Hao'er is hungry too." Xiao Yunhao also said.
Chen Fenghe smiled and said, "Don't worry, it's not too late to drink it after it cools down."
When Qin Mengyue saw the white porridge steaming with heat, her stomach subconsciously growled.
Although I drank a lot of fish soup at noon, I had walked for half an hour and had digested it long ago. Now, even if I just see the white porridge, my saliva starts to water!
This was naturally arranged by Shen Fenghe. Qin Mengyue looked at her gratefully.
If it weren't for her, she and Hao'er would have suffered so much.
Chen Fenghe said, "Mom, I'm going out for a while and will be back soon."
Having said that, he closed the door and went out.
After a while, she came back, holding something wrapped in lotus leaves and tied with straw ropes.
"Brother, I really want to smell the aroma of roast chicken!" Shen Qingxing sniffed and said.
Xiao Yunhao was about half a year younger than them. Upon hearing this, he immediately said, "Hao'er...Hao'er smelled it too!"
Shen Yichuan also smelled it, but he thought it must be an illusion: "Don't be silly. Where can I get roast chicken on this road of exile? Wait a minute, I'll fall asleep and it might as well be a dream!"
Shen Qingxing and Xiao Yunhao couldn't help but feel disappointed after hearing this: "Oh..."
Chen Fenghe couldn't help but laugh, "You little noses are quite sharp!"
As he spoke, he placed the lotus leaf bag in his hand on the table.
The three little ones and Qin Mengyue were all stunned.
This time, even Qin Mengyue could smell the fragrance coming towards her!
"Feng He...Is this really...?"
Chen Fenghe raised her index finger to her lips, signaling them not to make any noise. Then, as she peeled off the lotus leaf package, she lowered her voice and said, "I secretly paid the store owner for this. But, everyone, please don't tell anyone. If anyone knew we were eating so well in exile, they would definitely be jealous."
In fact, this was what she took out from the space. It was the signature beggar chicken of the Beijing Yingke Tower. It was still hot when she put it into the space. Now when she took it out, it was no different from freshly baked!
The lotus leaf wrapping was opened layer by layer, and inside was indeed a roast chicken with golden and juicy skin!
The two big and three small children's eyes were all wide open.
Chen Fenghe served everyone a bowl of hot porridge and said with a smile, "Let's eat. If you're not full, how can you walk tomorrow?"
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone was really hungry and no longer had any concerns. They all pulled the chicken off and started to gobble it up with the white porridge.
Soon, only lotus leaves and chicken bones were left on the table. The three little guys were all holding their stomachs with satisfaction.
Chen Fenghe packed up the bones and lotus leaves, took them outside, and put them into the space with a wave of his hand, waiting to find an opportunity to deal with them tomorrow.
Then he opened the window to let the fragrance out of the room.
After a while, there was another knock on the door.
"Sir, the hot water you requested has been brought to you." The inn servant said again.
Chen Fenghe nodded and asked the servant to bring in hot water.
I saw a large wooden barrel filled with steaming water, and two empty small wooden basins and a gourd ladle for scooping water.
One of the servants carrying water subconsciously sniffed and asked, "Why is there the smell of roast chicken in this room?"
However, he soon couldn't help laughing at his own stupidity.
These exiled prisoners were able to pay extra to stay in a single room only because Brother Chen Wu was a righteous man.
A roast chicken in their shop costs fifty coins! Not to mention these exiled prisoners, he couldn't even bear to buy it!
After the servants left, Qin Mengyue looked at the hot water and couldn't help but wonder: "There's still hot water here?"
After walking all day, everyone had blisters on their feet and every step was excruciatingly painful.
If I could soak my feet in hot water, I would feel much better before traveling again tomorrow.
Chen Fenghe nodded and said, "It's only because I paid a little extra that the inn provided it. In the current situation, it might be inconvenient to take a shower, but washing my face and soaking my feet is also good."
Qin Mengyue nodded and said, "That's right!"
Immediately, Shen Fenghe called Shen Yichuan, Shen Qingxing and Xiao Yunhao to sit in a row, scooped hot water into a small wooden basin, asked them to wash their hands and faces first, and then took off their shoes and soaked their feet.
The three little guys walked by themselves all day long. Only when they really couldn't walk anymore, Chen Fenghe and Qin Mengyue would carry them for a while. It can be said that they were quite sensible.
So when they took off their shoes, I saw that their six little feet were covered with blisters, which was so heartbreaking to see.
Shen Fenghe felt a little regretful and didn't know whether it was right to bring Shen Yichuan and Shen Qingxing out.
The hardships of this exile were much more severe than she had imagined.
Seeing Shen Fenghe's expression, Shen Yichuan quickly said sensibly, "Sister, this little bubble is nothing! It doesn't hurt at all!"
After hearing this, Xiao Yunhao and Shen Qingxing immediately said:
"Yes! Sister-in-law, mother! I don't feel any pain either!"
"Sister, Xing'er doesn't feel any pain either!"
Seeing how sensible they were, Chen Fenghe was deeply moved. She sighed, mentally scolding the indifferent dog emperor. She patted their heads and said, "Don't act tough in front of me. Just say it hurts."
The three little guys looked at each other and grimaced in pain.
Chen Fenghe took out some red flowers from her bag and threw them into the hot water.
Qin Mengyue saw it and asked, "Is this a medicinal herb? Fenghe, why do you have this on you?"
Chen Fenghe still evaded the question, "Just like the copper coins, I thought it was inevitable that we would get injured or sick on the way, so I prepared some common Chinese herbal medicine. This is safflower, which can promote blood circulation and remove blood stasis. Soaking your feet in safflower should help relieve the pain in your feet."
Qin Mengyue nodded and said, "Feng He, I was thinking about it during the day. You can catch fish, clean them, and know about medicinal herbs. How did you learn all these?"
Chen Fenghe smiled and said, "This is all thanks to my biased father. He left me on a farm when I was little. There were only mountains and fields over there. I followed the farm nanny and learned a lot of farm work, cooking and other household chores. Occasionally, I would go up the mountain to collect herbs. Over time, I memorized them."
Qin Mengyue sighed when she heard this and said, "Feng He, your mother passed away early. It's really hard for you these years."
Her mother, Gu Shiqing, is the legitimate daughter of the Gu family and has been raised in seclusion since childhood. If she were still alive, how could she let her daughter learn so many tasks that should have been done by servants?
However, thinking of this, Qin Mengyue couldn't help but sneer in her heart. Isn't she also a servant now? She has been exiled, and they are still talking about the work of servants? In the future, she must learn to do these jobs.
After a while, the three little guys finished soaking their feet.
Chen Fenghe and Qin Mengyue also washed up and went to bed.
On the other side, the Qin family members sleeping in the barn were almost suffocated by the smell of horses, cows and donkeys.
Moreover, the floor of the barn was hard and only covered with some hay, which made my bones ache no matter how I slept.
The Qin family members were blaming each other again, asking who told them not to take out the money earlier, causing them to be unable to sleep in the same bed even though they had money!
Qin Huanhuan was sulking because Chen Fenghe discovered that she was wearing a silver hairpin during the day, and the hairpin was taken away by her mother.
In addition, she had just gone to the bathroom and accidentally found out that Chen Fenghe and the others had actually moved into a single room, which made her feel even more angry and unbalanced.
Why can that little bitch live in a single room, but she can only live in a barn?
It was obviously Xiao Yunshuo's rebellion that caused her to lose her wealth and glory!
Why did Chen Fenghe, who married Xiao Yunshuo, and Xiao Yunshuo's biological mother live better than her!
Qin Huanhuan became angrier and angrier as she thought about it. She was so tired from walking all the way today that her bones were about to fall apart. When she thought about having to live a life worse than pigs and dogs for the next few months, she felt desperate.
Suddenly, an idea came to her mind.
Take advantage of this moment and escape!
She had five hundred taels of silver notes sewn into her clothes, and even her own parents didn't know about it!
As long as she can escape, she can live a comfortable life with the money!
Once this thought arises, it can no longer be suppressed.
Qin Huanhuan's heart was pounding. She waited patiently until the second half of the night. When she heard the snoring of her family members, she got up on tiptoe and walked out of the barn.
However, before he had walked out for long, he was stopped by someone.
"What are you doing? Trying to escape?"
It turned out that an official was sent to watch over the Qin family to prevent them from escaping.
The officer's name was Li Yong. He was angry because he had been chosen by lot to guard the barns.
Qin Huanhuan was so frightened that she trembled all over and stammered, "I...I didn't, I just wanted to...I wanted to pee..."
Li Yong looked at her. Although it was dark, Qin Huanhuan was still quite pretty, which made Li Yong become lustful.
However, Chen Wu was strict with his brothers, so Li Yong quickly suppressed this idea as soon as it came to his mind.
If the boss knew about this, wouldn't he whip him?
Qin Huanhuan looked at the way Li Yong looked at him, but suddenly his heart moved.
Thinking back to how the officers took care of Shen Fenghe during the day, wasn’t it because Shen Fenghe was pretty and seductive?
She can stay in a single room tonight, maybe because she offered herself to some official, which is why she gets such special treatment?
If Chen Fenghe can do it, why can't she?
She might not be able to escape now, but as long as she can get close to the officials, will she still be afraid of suffering on the road ahead?
Thinking of this, Qin Huanhuan suddenly looked at Li Yong with a charming look and said, "Master, I...I saw you standing alone in this cold wind and was afraid that you must be freezing, so I wanted to bring you some clothes to keep you warm."
As she spoke, she looked at Li Yong with moist eyes while unbuttoning her coat.
Such an obvious hint, and Li Yong, a man full of blood and passion, how could he resist? He immediately dragged Qin Huanhuan to a corner...
I don’t know how long it took, but Qin Huanhuan’s waist was almost falling apart.
She pushed Li Yong and said softly, "Brother Li, can you... do me a favor?"
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