Chapter 43: Supplies Go Bad
Two days' journey north from the official post station, the temperature gradually dropped. Even on the official roads, few merchants could be seen, only the generals and their companions. The frozen ground had hardened to a crisp, and every time they spoke, white steam would escape from their lips, teeth, mouth, and nose.
Qin Xiangnuan was wearing the padded jacket she wore when she left the capital, and she felt a little cold at the moment.
Qin Xiangning was still young, and being held by Zou and Liu took turns. His face was red from the cold, and he would occasionally sneeze, with two lines of snot escaping from the tip of his nose. "We need to think of something, change them all into some thicker clothes, otherwise they'll all fall ill before they can get to the next post station." Qin Xiangnuan pondered this, her expression heavy and complicated. She flipped through the map in her hand, thinking, but she couldn't find a suitable place to pick up the goods from the space.
Xu Jian got the benefit and kept the mission along the way, so he was naturally more polite to Qin Xiangnuan.
As escorting officials, their conditions were always better than those of the people in the general's mansion. Shouhouer and others took out a slightly thicker and windproof leather jacket, handed it to Qin Xiangnuan and said, "Miss San, if you don't mind, you can wear it. We are all thick-skinned and have been traveling back and forth between the capital and the border all year round. Our bodies have adapted to it. It's just a little cold..." Shouhouer handed over the leather jacket and patted his chest as if to prove that he was strong.
“Cough cough cough…”
It would have been fine if he hadn't clapped his hands, but after he did, the skinny monkey started coughing uncontrollably.
Qin Xiangnuan watched as his not-so-fair complexion, already red from coughing, crept crimson. She raised her hand, gripping his knuckles and pressing hard against the acupuncture point with her fingertips. The skinny monkey immediately jumped up in pain, but his coughing stopped. He scratched his head apologetically and ashamedly, "I'm sorry to have made a fool of myself."
"That's not a solution. Lord Xu, how many supplies are left from the official post?"
Qin Xiangnuan wanted to be prepared, so she followed Xu Jian to the side of several black horses and opened the sacks they were carrying.
"These are the food for the next few days, white flour steamed buns and cornmeal dumplings. There is also some dried meat to fill the stomach. If the old lady and the women in the mansion are tired, they can eat some to fill their stomachs." Xu Jian asked Qin Xiangnuan to check it herself. This behavior made him seem like a confidant of the general's mansion.
Qin Xiangnuan didn't bother to be polite with him. She wanted to know what was going on, so she started to count.
But soon, she noticed something was wrong. Even in an open place in the wilderness, Qin Xiangnuan could still smell a subtle smell of decay in the air. She frowned and reached deep into the sack, trying to dig out something buried at the bottom. But when her fingertips touched it, she felt a sticky, snot-like liquid lingering on her hands.
Qin Xiangnuan frowned tightly, took out her hand, and looked at the green, smelly juice on it.
"Hey, what's that smell?"
"This is even stinkier than the stinky tofu in Beijing! What good is this?"
Qin Feng ran over from behind, pinching his nose, and approached with curiosity on his face. But when he saw Qin Xiangnuan's fingers, his expression turned grim. "How could this be? Could the things we got from the official post be fake?"
"Why not?"
Qin Xiangnuan's face darkened. She hadn't considered it carefully enough.
The waiters at the official post station had sensed something was amiss with Ma Han and were able to covertly swap out the supplies. The cold weather during their exile had naturally necessitated a frugal diet. If she hadn't come to take inventory today, she might not have discovered the scheme for ten days or even half a month. The entire bag of food would have been contaminated by the spoiled food below, and they would have starved to death...
"Those guys deserve to die! The General's Mansion was slandered. Even if they were truly guilty and exiled, why would they be killed?" Qin Feng yelled, his voice causing everyone who was resting in the back to stand up and want to see what was going on. Old Madam Qin was worried, holding her dragon-headed cane. As soon as she took a step forward, Qin Xiangnuan pushed Qin Feng's waist, taking advantage of his unstable legs to push him forward.
Qin Feng looked at her in surprise, then supported the old lady with understanding, "Grandma, it's okay."
"My grandson just remembered what they did a few days ago and cursed them a few times to vent his anger."
Qin Feng helped Madam Qin sit down. He wasn't good at lying, and his expression showed his awkwardness. But Madam Qin had lived half her life, and she knew the young man didn't want to worry her. She didn't ask any further questions, but just looked at Qin Xiangnuan and said lovingly and gently, "Nuannuan, girl, no matter what happens, there is a solution. Don't worry, it's not good for your health."
"I understand, Grandma."
Qin Xiangnuan smiled faintly in response, then whispered to Xu Jian, "Sir, please find an open space and pour out all the things in here. Anything with even the slightest problem should be thrown away. Don't take it with you."
"This! Is everything okay?"
Skinny Monkey came from a poor family and had an instinctive fondness for food. "If Miss Third is worried about getting sick from eating it, just leave it to me. We're not afraid. This thing is just a little bit spoiled. It can be eaten after cleaning it up..." Qin Xiangnuan's face turned cold at his insistence. "Do you know that these rotten foods will ferment quickly and affect the good steamed buns that are placed with them?"
"If we don't clean up now, we won't be able to save these."
"Anything that's green or moldy should be thrown away!"
Qin Xiangnuan, without hesitation, led the way, carrying the sack to the open space. Once she dumped everything on the ground, she realized the severity of the situation. The waiter at the official post station was truly ruthless. A full seven-tenths of the sack was rotten and spoiled. The white flour buns had grown green hair and were completely shapeless. Anything touched would leave a mark.
"This...we have to go back and find them!"
Skinny Monkey had never seen such bullying. "In the past, when they escorted prisoners to exile, they would take 10% of the profit at most. What's going on now? Are they going to starve us to death as well?" He was so angry that he spoke without thinking. When he came to his senses, he was afraid that Qin Xiangnuan would be angry, so he stared at her nervously and cautiously. However, he never expected that Qin Xiangnuan didn't mind at all.
"The prisoners you exiled in the past were not generals who had offended the royal family, aroused the emperor's suspicion, or even wanted to assassinate the princes." Qin Xiangnuan sneered. Emperors have always been cold-hearted, but they didn't know that the hearts of those below them were even more unpredictable.
Whenever there is a breeze in the air, they will adapt to it.
"Let's see how much is left."
Qin Xiangnuan didn't have time to think about those things. She just wanted to think about how to get through the next two days of meals.
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