Chapter 142: Meeting at the Ruined Temple
Qin Heng and Qin Sheng planned to go outside to collect some firewood before it got completely dark. Qin Zhao did not go and stayed in the wild house to look after the women and children.
There is no completely dry firewood at this time. Most of the firewood is now partially buried in the snow, with only a part exposed outside.
But none of them were let go. They were all brought back by the Qin brothers and broken into two pieces. They used the dry parts themselves and put the wet parts aside to dry for future use.
The officers followed them out and were responsible for supervising them.
Qin Heng took advantage of the opportunity to pull Qin Sheng over and said, "Sheng, I wanted to ask you just now, when did you get so lucky as to be able to pick up things whenever you go out?"
Someone noticed the goose when it was being plucked, but it had some injuries on its body, so it didn't attract much attention.
Xiaoliu has always had good luck. When he was little, he would always find something when he went out. Everything flying in the sky or swimming in the water liked to jump to him. Can you imagine him picking up a big snake in the middle of winter?
Xiaoliu's good fortune shocked him and his father at the time. Later, he and his father helped to cover up for him.
It seems that such good luck only became less common when he was five or six years old and began to pick up things. After he got engaged at the age of ten, he gradually became like everyone else. Well, it's not that exaggerated, but Ah Sheng's luck is still better than that of ordinary people.
But it has been a long time since I saw him picking up things as soon as he went out.
In the wild house, after Qin's mother found the chipped pottery jar, she also found a broken wooden barrel.
Taking advantage of the opportunity to boil water and shelter in the dilapidated house, Lu Songli first went to say hello to Xu Zheng, and then she and Qin's mother Nie Yunniang took a piece of coarse cloth, went to the dilapidated house next door, and enclosed a small space in the corner.
The three of them helped each other clean up a little.
The children were also taken away one by one to be washed.
Xu Zheng didn't say anything.
But Zhao Long took a look and spat, saying, "You're so picky."
"Xu Yasi, is it time to handcuff them?" asked Zhao Long, who was full and satisfied.
Xu Zheng glanced at him and said, "Okay, go ahead and cuff them."
This kid, he was the one who ate the goose soup the most. He'd just finished eating the goose someone shared with him, and now he was thinking of messing with them. He had no problem with someone who would eat after picking up a bowl and then curse after putting it down.
The three Qin brothers didn't say much about having to put on handcuffs again.
At night they made two fires.
Their shoes were all a little wet, so they took them off and put them on the side to dry.
The officers took bedding from the carriage. Xu Zheng arranged for people to keep watch and then lay down. Some people even got into the carriage to sleep.
Qin Zhao and Nie Yunniang slept in the middle of the corner with the baby in their arms, while Qin Yu and Qin Zhen slept next to them.
Qin Sheng and Qin Heng slept on the outermost sides respectively, and Lu Songli slept on one side next to Qin Sheng.
Qin's mother and Qin Heng protected Qin Jia and Qin Han and slept on the other side.
The next morning, the weather was fine, with no snow. Xu Zheng gave himself 25 minutes to eat and take care of his daily needs, then set off on his journey.
Last night, after secretly discussing it, the three Qin brothers decided to assign someone to watch the night. Qin Zhao and Qin Sheng would watch the first half of the night, and the other would watch the second half. The night watchmen were not very deep sleepers, so they needed to add more firewood from time to time. They also had to take care of the simple earthen stove, which had some water sitting on top of it in a broken pottery pot. One or two large pieces of firewood were stuffed into the stove to ensure that the fire was always warm.
At this moment, they put the dry food that choked their throats into a clay pot and boiled it until it was soft and mushy, and then they shared it. Otherwise, the children couldn't chew the dry food at all, and Lu Songli's cheeks hurt from chewing it.
When they set off, Lu Songli felt much better and refused to let Qin Sheng carry her on his back.
Seeing that their young aunt was walking by herself, Qin Han and Qin Jia wanted to get down and walk by themselves, thinking that they would sit in the basket when they could no longer walk.
The younger Qin Yu and Qin Zhen saw their older brother and sister walking by themselves, so they followed suit and wanted to walk by themselves.
The children are also sensible. When they encounter misfortunes, they are very well behaved and don’t cry much.
The three Qin brothers let them go, knowing that the children couldn't walk for long and could just get on when they got tired.
That day, they actually walked over forty miles. By the end, Lu Songli felt her legs were mechanical and numb. Later, Qin Sheng offered to carry her, and she didn't refuse.
In the second half, the children were almost carried away.
On the way, Xu Zheng revealed that they would spend the night in a dilapidated temple.
At this time, a group of people had already moved into the dilapidated temple they were talking about.
Mo Bing stood on a high point, gazing towards Chang'an City. "Brother Liu, do you think our young lady and her husband can make it to this dilapidated temple today?"
Liu Erxi replied, "No problem. According to their pace, they should be here before tonight."
This dilapidated temple, not far from the official road, had always been the place where the bailiffs would stop when escorting prisoners to the northeast. With no village or shop in sight within a ten-mile radius, it was impossible for them not to come here.
At this time, Lu Mingzhi also walked out of the dilapidated temple.
Mo Bing saluted, "Second Young Master——"
Lu Mingzhi nodded and asked them, "How is it? Did you see anyone?"
"Brother Liu said that the young lady and her husband wouldn't arrive until after dusk."
"Okay, I'll come out later."
Lü Mingzhi had been kicked out by his father. As soon as the news of the Qin family's exile to Pingzhou spread, his father decided to have him accompany the men from Yang Wei's escort agency to secretly escort his sister to Pingzhou. He said that a few months ago, in order to broaden his horizons, he had to travel with the teacher to study, and now such a good opportunity, he couldn't waste it. What else could Lü Mingzhi say? He just obeyed.
At this time, they were all disguised, for example, their eyebrows were thicker, their faces were painted darker, and their hair styles were changed.
Mo Bing styled her hair like a woman and, together with Liu Erxi, played the role of a newlywed couple rushing to Lelang County to sell goods.
At this time, a young man from Yang Wei's escort agency came out and said, "Miss Mo Bing, our boss asked me to ask you, what are we having for dinner?"
"Cook up the bone porridge! Make two pots!"
"Okay!"
"Add more ginger slices and wine." It can drive away the cold.
The young man agreed, thinking that if he could just steam some more buns and some bacon, he would be all set. The food on their trip was truly excellent.
After the young man entered, he spoke to Chief Escort Yang Wei. Yang Wei glanced at him, waved his hand, and told him to go down and prepare. This kid is dishonest. The bone porridge must have been Miss Mo Bing's request, and the steamed buns are also reasonable. In this cold weather, a grown man would pee in two gulps just by drinking porridge. But this bacon, this kid must have been greedy and insisted on steaming it.
But that was nothing, he had brought sixteen of his brothers with him on their trip to Pingzhou. He had brought almost all the best fighters in their escort agency, leaving only a few to look after them.
They had prepared ten carriages alone! They were filled to the brim with supplies: rice, flour, grain, oil, and everything needed to keep warm. Even eight of them were provided by the Lu family, leaving only two for their escort agency, which was quite pitiful. But the Lu family didn't care about food, never skimping on it. They ate whatever they wanted, fine rice, noodles, meat, and other things, as long as they didn't waste anything. After two or three days, his men had already developed a good impression of the Qin and Lu families.
But at this moment, when Yang Wei thought about meeting the famous second daughter of the Lu family soon, to be honest, he was a little nervous.
The sky was gradually getting dark, and Lu Songli and the others were finally approaching the dilapidated temple that Xu Zheng had mentioned.
"Huh? Is there anyone in the ruined temple?" Xu Zheng stopped.
The officer next to him stood on tiptoe to take a look. "Yes, there are people. Look at the carriage tied up under the corridor. I guess there are quite a few people."
Hearing this, Lu Songli's eyes flashed.
"Brother Xu, can we get through now?"
"Go!" If they didn't go, they would have to sleep in the wilderness. And the dilapidated temple was ownerless, so why not go?
At this time, someone came out of the dilapidated temple.
As soon as Yang Wei emerged, he laughed heartily and said, "Hey, bro, you're Xu Zheng, the bailiff of Baoding Prefecture, right?" Travelers have good memories. Besides, Chang'an and Baoding weren't far apart, and he had indeed dealt with Xu Zheng once or twice.
Xu Zheng also thought the man looked familiar. "Are you Chief Escort Yang from the Yang Wei Escort Agency?"
"Yes, it's me, Brother Xu. Come on in!" Yang Wei invited warmly.
"Boss Yang, what are you doing?"
"Well, I'm escorting a caravan to Lelang County this time, and we're temporarily staying in a dilapidated temple tonight. Brother Xu, if you don't mind, can we all squeeze in tonight?"
Xu Zheng glanced at Lu Songli. Escorting a caravan to Lelang County would pass through Pingzhou. What a coincidence?
"Of course I don't mind." As I said, the dilapidated temple has no owner.
"This dilapidated temple is quite large. I brought many people and a lot of things with me, so I used the main hall. The side halls on both sides are still empty. If Brother Xu doesn't mind, you can choose any one."
"Okay, we'll make our own choice later. You've worked hard, Chief Escort Yang, and you have to go out and escort at this time."
Yang Wei still smiled cheerfully, "There's nothing we can do. Our employer wants us to leave at this time, so we have no choice but to comply. We're all trying to make a living. Xu Yasi, aren't you also going on a long journey during the New Year?"
Xu Zheng also looked helpless, "There's nothing I can do. I have to obey the orders from above."
Then, Xu Zheng and his friends just chose to spend the night in the side hall on the right.
Yang Wei came in from the side door. "Brother Xu, dinner is ready. If you don't mind, why don't you join us for dinner?"
"Isn't this a bad idea?" Xu Zhenglue declined.
"What's the big deal? We've traveled a lot here, so there's no need to be polite. Come on, officers, come together!" Yang Wei simply called the other officers.
Xu Zheng and others sat down reluctantly.
After they had eaten, Yang Wei and Xu Zheng discussed, "Brother Xu, we have extra rice porridge here and we can't finish it. Can we give some to them?" Yang Wei pointed at the Qin family.
At this time, Xu Zheng probably had an idea in mind.
Chief Escort Yang glared at the kitchen helper and said hypocritically, "In the end, it's all my kid's fault. He has big eyes but a small appetite. When he's cooking, he keeps putting food in the pot! There's so much food that we can't finish it all. Tomorrow the nobleman will ask for new food. Isn't that a waste?"
The young man who was scolded by him just smiled foolishly.
Xu Zheng said, "It doesn't matter. They are prisoners. If you want to give them some food, that's fine."
So, everyone in the Qin family was given a big bowl of hot and fragrant bone porridge, which was also very thick.
After thanking him, Lu Songli started eating. "Eat, it's okay. I've heard of Chief Escort Yang. He's a warm-hearted and righteous man."
As soon as she started, the three brothers of the Qin family knew in their hearts that this was also her man?
The three Qin brothers followed suit, and Mother Qin and the children knew that the bone porridge was fine, so they also started eating. This was the most comfortable meal they had eaten in the past two days.
After hearing Lu Songli's last words, Yang Wei said: ...I don't really want such praise.
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