Chapter 59 Settling in Xiaogang Village
After Yang Cong's explanation, Shen Yuexi finally understood the whole story.
The village where Yang Cong lives is called Xiaogang Village, which is half a day's journey from here.
Ever since Dayan built the border to block the Western Rong, the Western Rong became even more rampant, frequently raiding Dayan villages outside the border, with Xiaogang Village bearing the brunt of the attack.
Because the village was often plundered, food was scarce, and she had a huge appetite, eating as much as three ordinary people. Her parents felt that if this continued, the family would starve to death, so they cruelly drove their daughter out of the house and asked her to find a way to make a living in the interior.
Back when the border was not yet established, the Western Rong were afraid of the Yan army and did not dare to move so frequently. Now that the Western Rong were rampant, every household was short of food and rice, so Yang Cong did not blame her parents for being ruthless. However, her large appetite was innate, and she could not help it.
She planned to work as a maid in a wealthy family in the interior of the country. She heard that those wealthy families were particularly in need of strong and capable girls like her, and they would provide her with food and accommodation.
After walking for half a day, they happened to encounter Western Rong soldiers who came to plunder.
She thought her life was over and was feeling sorry for herself when Xiao Zhuo and Shen Yuexi appeared out of nowhere.
At this point, Yang Cong's eyes lit up, and he suddenly held Shen Yuexi's hand tightly:
"Or...or I'll just follow you from now on. I'm very strong and can help you with a lot of things."
Shen Yuexi felt her hand hurt. This girl was so strong. She also felt like she had misjudged someone. She was clearly sad just now, so how could she suddenly feel better?
She pulled her hand away and took two steps back, intending to stay away from Yang Cong.
Yang Cong didn't care at all. He ran over excitedly and asked, "Excuse me, after all this talk, I still don't know what your names are."
Shen Yuexi held her forehead with her hand, she was indeed a silly girl who was not wanted by her parents.
The changes are too fast.
But looking at Yang Cong's expectant eyes, she actually thought it would be a good idea to let Yang Cong follow her. What if he abandons her and is captured by Xirong again?
Moreover, she was born and raised here and was more familiar with the place than she and Xiao Zhuo. If there was anything that needed to be done, she could be asked to do it.
Although they have left the border, she and Xiao Zhuo's identities cannot be spread everywhere.
Shen Yuexi turned her head and glanced at Xiao Zhuo who was not far away. She wondered what Xiao Zhuo thought.
As if he had noticed Shen Yuexi's gaze, Xiao Zhuo just glanced at her indifferently and nodded slightly.
He must have heard the conversation between the two of them just now.
Knowing what Xiao Zhuo meant, Shen Yuexi said, "I agree. That's my husband, his last name is Pei, you can call me Madam Pei."
Still using the previous pseudonym.
Yang Cong was extremely surprised when he heard this and said to Shen Yuexi, "So you are already married. Your husband looks really... really..."
She wanted to describe Xiao Zhuo's handsomeness, but she had no words to express it.
Shen Yuexi looked at Xiao Zhuo a little embarrassedly and raised her hand to stop Yang Cong.
The next step was to find a place to stay. Shen Yuexi felt in his pockets and found only three taels of loose change.
This place is unlike the interior of the country. Everywhere you look, it's devastated. Even if you wanted to find an inn, there's nowhere to go. Even if you had money, you'd have nowhere to spend it.
Yang Cong was not in a hurry. He said to Shen Yuexi, "I am most familiar with the geography here. The nearest village is Xiaogang Village. I will take you there. We will probably arrive there by evening."
The three of them hastily buried the body, walked for half a day, and arrived at Xiaogang Village at night.
There are only about a hundred households here, and most of the houses in the village are empty. They are relatively simple and can only provide shelter from the wind. When it rains, the whole house will leak.
If Xiao Zhuo and Yang Cong hadn't followed her, she would really like to ask Daxiong to build a small wooden house, which would be absolutely clean and comfortable.
Unfortunately, there is one more person around me now, so the universal manufacturing machine cannot be used indiscriminately.
The three of them came to the village, and Yang Cong took them to a house that had long been uninhabited.
I lit the torch inside the house, and what came into view was a narrow adobe wall. The wind howled, slapping against the doors and windows, which had been torn in several places, making a clanging sound. The windows, which were not very strong to begin with, were swinging precariously back and forth. The straw mats in the house exuded a musty smell of rotting grass.
Shen Yuexi subconsciously waved her sleeves, walked out the door again, and went to the yard to look for cleaning things.
Yang Cong was quick and efficient, and without her having to tell him, she quickly cleared out all the moldy things inside. The two of them worked for an hour, finally cleaning up the uninhabited adobe house and making it barely habitable. There were exactly two rooms, one for Yang Cong and one for her and Xiao Zhuo.
While they were packing up, Xiao Zhuo disappeared somewhere and didn't come back until they had finished packing.
Shen Yuexi and Yang Cong were sitting opposite each other in the kitchen, staring blankly.
The narrow kitchen only had a stove and nothing else, let alone necessities such as pots and pans.
After a busy day, there was no food in sight, and Shen Yuexi's stomach had already been rumbling.
Xiao Zhuo entered the kitchen. Shen Yuexi looked up at him listlessly. Just as she was about to look away, she suddenly saw a hare and a chicken in his hands. She almost jumped for joy.
She had thought she would be hungry tonight, but she didn't expect Xiao Zhuo to bring them so many delicious foods.
It seems that in this strange world, having a helper with high fighting power can really help her solve many problems.
Shen Yuexi walked over with a smile, picked up the plump pheasant on the ground and asked him, "Did you go hunting? That's great, we'll have something to eat tonight."
After solving the accommodation problem, she finally didn't have to worry about going hungry.
Xiao Zhuo nodded and said, "I'll go out to check the surrounding situation and hunt these things."
Shen Yuexi didn't care about that. As long as she had food, she didn't have to worry. She pointed at the pheasants and rabbits on the ground and asked Yang Cong, "Do you know how to clean these?"
She didn't want to get involved at all in anything that Yang Cong could do, as killing chickens and sheep was not her strong point.
Yang Cong rolled up his sleeves and said, "I've been hunting with my father since I was a child, so collecting these is nothing."
After saying that, she carried the pheasant and rabbit out of the kitchen and went to the yard to clean them up.
Only Shen Yuexi and Xiao Zhuo were left in the room.
It was Shen Yuexi who spoke first. She asked, "Did you go out to check today? Is there anything wrong?"
She asked if this place was safe.
Since Xiaogang Village was often plundered, it must be not far from the Western Rong.
Xiao Zhuo's tall figure looked even taller in the moonlight. He was not sure what he was thinking about, but he came back to his senses after being interrupted by Shen Yuexi.
"We will be in trouble soon." Xiao Zhuo's cold voice seemed to be talking about something very ordinary.
Hearing Xiao Zhuo say this, Shen Yuexi felt that this place was actually no easier than the one in the interior of the country where the emperor was hunting them. However, facing the Western Rong, could it be that Xiao Zhuo went out to inspect the terrain today, like an ancient military strategist?
"I have contacted my subordinates and they will be here soon."
Xiao Zhuo seemed to notice Shen Yuexi's uneasiness, and he comforted her gently.
Shen Yuexi's eyebrows curved, and the corners of her mouth lifted high. It turned out that Xiao Zhuo had already made arrangements. As long as Xiao Zhuo's troops came, they would not be afraid of the enemies from the Western Rong coming to retaliate.
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