The group got out of the car and sat down to eat.
When Song Ning handed over the steamed buns and pickled vegetables, both Granny Jiang and Madam Sun shed tears, and the men of the Jiang family all lowered their heads.
They have nothing now, and they'll probably have to rely on the Song family for food along the way.
Song Ning knew they were embarrassed, so he didn't say much. After the meal, he took two bags of grain and threw them onto the Jiang family's car.
"Sister-in-law, please eat this food first, and we'll talk about it if you need more."
"Er Ya, we can't accept this. We can just dig up some wild vegetables along the way. It's alright." Sun Shi quickly hugged the grain and tried to return it to Song Ning.
"Take it. Besides, I'm not giving it to you for nothing." Song Ning laughed, "Consider the grain as your wages today. You'll have to work for me from now on."
Song Ning doesn't do unprofitable deals; this can be considered an advance exchange of equal value.
Consider the food she brought along the way as her advance payment. Since they can't eat white flour and rice, letting the Jiang family eat wild vegetables will make them feel a little better.
After the meal, the group continued their journey. As they climbed a hillside, they looked back and saw thick smoke billowing from the town, with flames rising everywhere.
They walked slowly, and after most of the day, they still hadn't left the jurisdiction of Shanhe Town. They could still hear shouts from the town as the wind blew in.
Standing on the slope, both the Li Daniu family and the Jiang family were relieved that they had followed Er Ya.
If Shanhe Town is in this state, the village is even less likely to survive.
"I wonder if everyone in the village has left yet..." Aunt Zhao muttered to herself.
"Let's hurry up, it's not far from town, don't chase after us," Song Ning reminded him.
Upon hearing this, everyone stopped looking and hurried to catch the carriage and move forward.
After walking for almost half a day, we crossed a ridge and could no longer see Shanhe Town.
There's no turning back now that Shanhe Town is completely out of sight, and the people's earlier melancholy has vanished.
Many people came out of the town, but they all went in different directions. After passing this mountain pass, there were basically no more people traveling the same way as Song Ning and his group. The main road was not safe now, so they chose a small path, which was not easy to walk but had a higher safety factor.
As it grew darker, Song Ning and the others stopped.
The men lit torches, and the women were in charge of cooking.
Song Ning took out some millet and ate porridge and cakes that evening.
Although it was evening, the heat hadn't lessened at all, and there were still many mosquitoes. Song Ning was bitten several times in no time.
However, she had bought a lot of mosquito repellent herbs beforehand, which she wrapped in cloth and carried on her body, and they were somewhat effective.
The children, unaware of their current predicament, were playing happily on the side. Song Dahai, Li Daniu, and Jiang Yongshou and his son came over and sat down around Song Ning.
"Er Ya, we've been walking all day now, where should we go next?" Jiang Yongshou asked.
"We still have to keep going. We've traveled all day and we haven't even left the territory of Shanhe Town yet. Just in case, we need to leave as soon as possible."
I just don't know what's going on ahead.
"Don't many people from our village go up the mountain? Have you ever come up here before?"
The group looked at each other and shook their heads.
“My generation rarely comes up here, but my father used to,” Li Daniu said.
Song Ning immediately looked at Li Daniu, signaling him to continue.
“My dad told me that there are very few people in these mountains, and there are hardly any houses. It’s mostly just large areas of forest and wasteland. Some smugglers occasionally come here.”
However, my dad said there used to be wolves and bandits on the mountain in front of us, but I don't know if there are any now.
Upon hearing Li Daniu's words, the group's hearts sank.
If you keep going, there might be wolves and bandits. If you encounter them, you're sure to die. But further on, there are even more wolves and tigers. If you're captured and forced into labor, you're guaranteed to never return.
It was even more impossible for them to stay where they were; there was nothing around them, and they would have to endure the elements.
Song Ning was completely distraught after hearing the whole thing.
With wolves in front and tigers behind, nowhere feels safe.
But I couldn't really stay put, so after thinking about it, I decided to keep moving forward.
If we're really going to go back, why bother with all this trouble?
"Let's keep going and get over this mountain first."
They had just finished talking when the meal was ready. Everyone gathered around to eat, then quickly packed up and set off on their journey through the night.
Song Ning slept too much during the day and couldn't sleep at night, so he asked Liu Yuelan to get in the carriage and take a nap. The driver's body definitely couldn't take the whole night, so the men discussed taking turns driving the carriage.
However, the ancient roads were too difficult to walk on. Song Ning was walking alongside the mule cart, but after walking for a short while, his legs and feet ached.
The shoes they were wearing now had thin soles that hurt terribly on the soles of their feet, causing Song Ning to grit his teeth in pain.
This road is much more difficult to travel than the one in Nanshan Village.
Everyone was quietly conserving their energy, and Song Ning was too embarrassed to speak.
Song Dahai slowed down and sat on the edge of the car, saying, "Er Ya, why don't you get in the car and rest for a while?"
Song Ning shook her head: "It's okay, I can still walk."
"If you can't walk anymore, be sure to tell your father."
"Don't worry, just focus on driving. If you get sleepy, just switch with Second Brother Jiang."
It's true what they say, fortunes change. In her past life, she loved going hiking during her holidays. She found hiking stress-relieving, and the sense of accomplishment from climbing from the foot of the mountain to the top, along with the view from the summit, truly healed her.
Unfortunately, I was too busy with work before and never had the chance to go hiking. Before coming here, I dreamed of hiking.
Now she has indeed achieved that wish.
But she never wants to climb mountains again in her life.
Looking at the people following behind her, all of whom remained silent and insisted, Song Ning couldn't bring herself to say anything.
After walking for an unknown amount of time, Song Xiu'e patted Song Ning on the shoulder and pulled her to the oxcart: "Er Ya, go up and rest for a while."
Song Ning wanted to refuse, but Song Xiu'e pushed her up: "Listen to your aunt, wait until I'm tired before you come down."
Song Ning didn't refuse this time because her feet were so painful she could barely feel them.
As soon as she got in the car, Song Ning hugged her feet and rubbed them, feeling as if she had come back to life.
Besides the goods, Xiaomei and Zhaodi were also on the oxcart. Since they couldn't lie down, Song Ning could only lean against the two of them on the cart.
Before long, my eyelids started to droop, and I drifted off to sleep without realizing it.
When I woke up again, the sky was already turning white.
The mule cart ahead had stopped; as agreed yesterday, they would stop and rest after crossing this mountain.
Song Ning got out of the car, ran to the front, and saw the place Li Daniu had mentioned yesterday.
Looking out from here, there is an endless wasteland. At the end of the wasteland is a high mountain, which looks much taller than the two mountains they have crossed.
They are truly in the middle of nowhere, and if they want to go forward, they have to go down the mountain first. Hopefully, there will be a place for them to rest at the foot of the mountain.
Also, I hope the road will be easier to walk on; her legs are almost useless.
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