Chapter 88 Chapter 88 Arrival at the post station.
A total of ten liters of glutinous rice were dried, and she fried ten more dough cakes. It was not easy to fry too many, as there is a lot of moisture in spring and summer, and they would easily become damp if not eaten.
In addition, I brought 20 liters of pounded rice, which is the staple food.
They also bought a small stove with a low fire and a small iron pot that could be held in the palm of their hands. If they could pick up some firewood on the way, they could also eat freshly cooked food. Therefore, they brought the burning stones for the fire and the bowls and chopsticks for the three sisters.
Although we had staple food and simple cooking utensils, we still lacked vegetables that were easy to preserve. So we picked all the vegetables we could at home, including spring leeks, cabbage, and sunflower greens. We dried them into preserved vegetables while the sun was good. We also collected preserved mushrooms and bamboo shoots that we had collected in the spring and put them in cloth bags. We soaked them in water before eating.
Now that she had the vegetables, she walked around the house, took down the two big hams from the beam in the west room, wrapped them up and took them with her. The bacon was all eaten, and this ham was the only meat in the house that was easy to carry. She had only eaten it once, so it only caused some minor skin injuries.
"Sister, do you want to bring a few more eggs?" Ji Feng asked, and then she packed up the remaining eggs at home, half of which were cooked and the other half were fresh, and put them all in her luggage.
The food we have is definitely not enough to carry us for a journey of three thousand miles, but we can eat it in an emergency. We can also buy fresh supplies at the market while walking.
According to Chen Youren, some rural pavilions have spontaneously formed pavilion markets due to the large number of passing merchants. The night curfew in the countryside is not as strict as in the county town, and you can even buy things at night. If you come across it, you can buy some food and daily necessities.
Now that we have food, we need to prepare clothes. It is the end of May, and it is a bit chilly in Chuyue in the morning and evening. By noon, the sun is so bright that even light clothes are too hot.
Youzhou is in the north, and she looked at Ji County, where they were going, on the map. The map that she had memorized so hard as a liberal arts student in her previous life actually came in handy.
After comparing them in my mind, I realized that it was probably because of the latitude of Beijing in later generations that the temperature was a few degrees lower than theirs. However, it would not arrive until June at the earliest, and it would be very hot by then.
Therefore, Ji Xu prepared two sets of single jackets for his sisters, not to mention a change of underwear.
As for her own, she no longer wore the clothes she had before, so she went to the cloth shop and said to the shopkeeper:
"I want to buy two sets of clothes for my brother. He is the same size as me. Can you see if there are any suitable sizes? I will try them on and if they fit, I can buy them for him."
After a while, she came out from the inner room of the cloth shop and saw a man dressed in a bronze mirror.
He wore a short jacket made of coarse cloth, trousers with crotch, and a white cloth belt tied diagonally from the ankles to below the knees, which made his movements lighter and more agile.
As for her hair, she no longer tied it up in a bun like most girls do. Instead, she tied it all up and wrapped her head with a scarf, forming the shape of an ox heart.
She deliberately wore a high-necked middle-length shirt under her brown dress, covering half of her neck, making it look like her Adam's apple was also covered.
As for height, at that time, men were usually between 7 feet 2 and 7 feet 3 inches tall, so her 7 feet 2 inches wasn't out of place. If she lowered her voice a bit when she spoke, she would be about the same height as the men outside.
Finally, I bought two sets of brown clothes. It would be more convenient for men to dress when traveling.
In addition, considering the large temperature difference between morning and evening, I also prepared a quilt.
I also thought that if the things in the car rained, they would need to be covered and waterproof, so I bought a large tarpaulin.
This oilcloth has another function. She fixed four hollow bamboo joints on the four corners of the ox cart, inserted a small circle of bamboo sticks into them, propped up and tied the oilcloth, and it became a simple tent.
However, this was an emergency measure when there was no other way. They still tried their best to find a place to stay in a post station, an inn, or a village pavilion. It had to be safe and secure. After all, this was not the concrete world of later generations. Not to mention thieves, even tigers, wolves, and bears in the mountains had to be guarded against when going out.
There are also pine torches for lighting, bamboo hats, straw raincoats and wooden clogs for rainy days.
And some daily small items are no problem.
In total, three large cloth bags and two small cloth bags were packed and placed on the ox cart.
As for the five most important silver cakes, Ji Xu placed one inside his lapel, sewed two inside his trouser legs for final use, and stuffed the remaining two deep into his cloth pockets.
There were some five-zhu coins from a purse in his cuffs, a total of five hundred of them. Unlike silver, five hundred of them were very heavy, equivalent to the weight of dried eggs bought in a supermarket and stuffed into his sleeves.
Feng and Zhu each carried fifty on their bodies as emergency supplies, and they agreed that if any of them got separated, the sisters would wait where they were and Ji Xu would go to look for them.
Their luggage was gradually packed, and eight days later, the "order" for their trip was also completed. During this period, there was still no news from Tian, so they set out as planned on the second day of June.
At nine o'clock after the cockcrow, the sky was covered with misty dust, and several families from Benguli came to see them off.
"Be careful on the road, and come back as soon as you find your mother."
The eldest mother of the Chen family prepared some rice cakes for them. They were made of rice flour and water. They were still warm when she held them and she stuffed them into their car.
"Take it and eat it on the way."
There were also the chickens stuffed in by the Cao family, the preserved beans from the Deng family, and the cabbage from the Liu family...
"That's enough."
Ji Xu couldn't hold it all, so he held it full. In the blink of an eye, the ox cart was filled with a lot of food.
A few families who were close to each other, as well as some neighbors who came to watch the fun, formed a huge crowd and went straight to the valley entrance.
"He's dressed like a boy, quite handsome. Walk slower, be careful not to damage your car with the rocks on the road." They said from behind.
Chen Sui'er was reluctant to leave Ji Zhu, so she kept holding her hand beside the car and followed her, saying:
"Who will play child's play with me from now on?"
Just then, the Gan family's carriage was about to come in. Princess Gan got out of the carriage and took Ji Feng's hand to talk for a long time. The two little girls said goodbye reluctantly and exchanged the handkerchiefs in their sleeves.
"I'll wait for you to come back." said Princess Gan.
"I'll come back and we'll go pick water chestnuts." Ji Feng said, "You're not walking well, so why are you out here? Go back quickly, or you'll get your legs hurt by the dew."
Ah Nai came with me and prepared some meat jerky and five liters of rations, which was also a kind of dry food. He explained the items one by one:
"The meat jerky belongs to old man Wang Dianji, and I made this snack. I grind rice, wild rice, sesame, and dried dates into crumbs, roast them, and mix them with water before eating."
"Alright, alright, it's time to finish your business. I still have to offer sacrifices to my ancestors here."
The ancestral god was the god of the road at that time. People would offer sacrifices to him before traveling to ensure a safe journey.
Wang Dianji had set up a small earthen altar by the roadside, with a fire burning on it. He urged Ji Xu to come and pay his respects. He himself walked along the edge of the altar, offering wine to the ground, muttering to himself:
"Now that we are on our way, the road is open. The God of Wind and the God of Rain, the center of the wine road..."
The ox cart creaked away gradually. The sun began to rise. Ji Xu looked back and could only see a black dot in the distance of the people who were seeing him off.
"Sister, Xiaozhu, look, the road ahead is so wide!"
They walked for dozens of miles along the bumpy road in the village, and saw a wide and flat road in front of them. The mountains on both sides were cut open, and a road appeared in the mountains.
"Who built this? It can even split mountains!" Ji Feng exclaimed in surprise.
"This is a highway. Only the imperial court can advocate for its repair, and a great deal of manpower has been invested in its restoration."
Accustomed to walking on bumpy roads, this highway seemed like a "highway" to Ji Xu. After all, it was thirty meters wide, divided into three lanes, and was flat.
However, the three-meter-long road in the middle is not for ordinary people to drive on. It is a special road for the emperor's carriage, also called the "Emperor's Road".
Ordinary officials and civilians walked on both sides. If they walked on the "Emperor's Road" without permission, their vehicles would be confiscated.
For Ji Xu, it was also good to be able to walk on the side roads on both sides, which was much better than the small road. For an ox cart without shock absorption, no bumps was the best kindness to the buttocks and lumbar spine. She waved the whip and drove the ox cart onto the side road.
When the sun sets in the west, it is nice to be able to hide in the shade on this hilltop.
As they travelled at a leisurely pace, they occasionally saw carriages and horses carrying documents from various places passing by on the road, which surprised Feng and Zhu immensely.
"Look at that big red horse! You don't see one in the countryside. No wonder it's so useful."
Ji Zhu asked curiously, "Is our transmission also done this way?"
Ji Xu smiled and said yes, and then he saw that she suddenly understood, as if she understood the operating system of this world, and he didn't know what was going on in her little head.
At dusk, they walked about a hundred miles and arrived at the post station that the postman Chen had mentioned as scheduled.
This post station is a higher-level postal station than the post office. The postmen of the post office deliver mail on foot, while the postmen of this post station deliver mail on horseback.
In the yard, one could see the postman dismounting and striding into the shed, followed by a stable boy taking the horse to water and feed.
In addition to these public officials, the post stations also received people who were traveling outside the city and charged them according to the quality of their guesthouses.
Ji Xu jumped out of the car and led Niu inside. Feng and Zhu came back to the place and looked around from the car.
"This is the post station."
"Clean."
They said.
"stop!"
Suddenly, a shout was heard from the upper tower. A small official leaned forward and pointed at them and said,
"The post station is not accepting outside guests today!"
Ji Xu said, "I don't know why, but we've come this far, and the only place to stay is thirty miles away. I'm afraid we won't make it before dark."
The clerk spoke condescendingly, "The Inspector will be staying at the post station tomorrow. Look how clean this place is inside and out. Wouldn't it be filthy if you stayed here?"
"We will sweep the ground wherever we go, without any further trouble."
After the clerk finished speaking, he waved his hand and drove them away. No matter how Ren Jixu tried to persuade them softly, they refused to give in.
"A dog can't spit out ivory, and there's no dirt on us, so how can we be filthy? He's the bastard son of the Inspector General, and he's flattering me like that, but I won't let him stay here."
After walking out of the courtyard, Ji Feng cursed for a while, looked at the sky and said,
"Sister, the sun has set. Should we continue walking?"
Ji Xu looked around and said, "Let's not leave. This corner is sheltered from the wind. We can use the popularity of the post station to tie up the oilcloth and stay here for the night."
They acted as soon as they spoke. They erected poles at the four corners and the three sisters worked together to pull the oilcloth open. The tall Ji Xu was responsible for tying the hemp ropes at the four corners at the higher part, while the shorter Ji Feng was responsible for tying the ropes at the lower part. Ji Zhu was responsible for helping to pass things.
The three of them worked together, and quickly a square tent was set up on the ox cart.
Ji Feng clapped her hands and said, "Sister is the one who has the idea. You little bastard, if you don't let us in, we'll have no place to live!"
He put his hands on his hips and shouted towards the watchtower.
Jizhu also imitated her, stamped her feet and cursed.
Ji Xu took out the small warm stove and iron pot. In order to hurry on their way, they ate cooked eggs and some dry food porridge mixed with cold water.
Now, while it's still light, let's make some hot food. With a la la sound, the golden yellow eggs were beaten into the small pot and fried until they were crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. When water was added, the soup turned milky white.
They brought a small wooden barrel with them. When they came across a stream on the way, they filled half of the barrel with water for supplies, which came in handy now.
Boil the dough inside until it is soft, scoop in some of the pre-prepared ingredients, and add three cabbages given by the Liu family.
The three of them held their bowls and began to eat with satisfaction. They saw the setting sun in the distance, and they were in a good mood while eating and enjoying it.
The clerk on the watchtower felt an overbearing fragrance rising up. He sniffed it a few times and his stomach growled.
He leaned over and looked, and saw that the young man he had driven away, along with his two sisters, were eating their afternoon meal facing the setting sun, talking and laughing, and they did not look worried at all.
Poor guy, he was so greedy that he kept sucking his teeth and could only take a bite of the dry and tasteless naan in his hand.
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