Chapter 93 Chapter 93 is here.
Two days later, the ship bound for the capital temporarily docked at Xingyang Ferry.
"We've arrived in Xingyang! We've arrived in Xingyang!"
The ship's guards were running and shouting outside the cabin.
Outside the window, the sun was setting in the west. On the shore, houses were lined up one after another, and the smoke from each family's dinner was rising straight up. Ji Xu and the others were busy carrying their bags and first harnessing the oxen to the cart.
Ji Feng led Ji Zhu to wait on the shore, while Ji Xu and the boatman slowly moved out the ten bags of dried fish and stacked them on the cart. This marked their arrival in Xingyang!
This means that we are already halfway through the journey, and in another 1,200 miles we will reach Youzhou!
Unlike Pengcheng, Xingyang was not a place where one could watch the tripod being salvaged from the shore and sell the bronze mirror. Ji Xu had just arrived and did not have the necessary formalities from the county court, so he could not sell anything for the time being.
She found a peddler, similar to the tooth dealers and middlemen of later generations, and handed the things to him. They were locals with many connections, and they would take a double profit from the sales.
The thief chewed the dried fish and realized, "He's from Pengcheng. Fine, let me take him. I'll sell him for you today."
It went smoothly. After deducting the shipping fee and the commission of the traffickers, she could still earn three taels of silver. Fortunately, the price of dried fish was lower than usual, otherwise this trip would not be cost-effective. Although it was not as much as she could earn from the bronze mirror, it was better than nothing.
They found an inn to rest for a while, and the next morning they would head north along the Guangyang Road in Handan, heading towards their last stop, Jixian County.
"You're going to take the Guangyang Road in Handan? There's a tiger plague on that stretch of road to Handan. There are tigers that are attacking people! Even the crossbowmen sent by the government couldn't capture them. If you go this way, you'll become a tiger's meal!"
Before setting out, Ji Xu would usually ask people about the road conditions. This time, he heard that the southern section of the Handan Guangyang Road was infested with tigers because of the lush mountains, forests and grass, and that there were packs of tigers that would bite travelers.
"Even the postman's fast horse can have its neck bitten by a tiger. Can you, a cow, really outrun a tiger?"
"So, we can only take a detour?"
Ji Feng heard about the tiger plague at night and asked.
Ji Xu said, "We can only walk a hundred miles longer and bypass that section of the post road."
Even if they protect each other, their safety cannot be guaranteed. They don't have an off-road vehicle that can pass through the tiger pack. If they go like this, no matter how many people there are, they are just flesh and blood and cannot resist the tiger. Therefore, taking a detour is the safest way.
"That's okay. We've come this far, it's only another hundred miles. We can definitely make it!"
Walking a long distance is tiring, but Ji Xu has a good attitude.
"Thank goodness my sister made inquiries in advance. The farther it is, the better. It would be the best if the three of us can find mother safely." Ji Feng said. The closer he got to Ji County, the greater his hope became.
For several days, the sun shone brightly on the ground.
Ji Xu and the others were sitting in the car, wearing straw hats woven with green leaves, their eyes narrowed into slits due to the sun.
Feng and Zhu are both as dark as if they had just come out of a coal mine. Ji Xu inherited Tian's family heritage, so he can never get tanned and just keeps looking red.
The oxen pulling the cart in front also didn't forget to weave a green straw hat and wear it, but it was all wilted by the sun.
"Roar, roar, go."
The cow kicked its heels in place and refused to move no matter how the reins were pulled.
"What's wrong with it? Why won't it move?"
Jizhu leaned forward to touch it and said, "Sister, it's so hot."
Ji Xu also noticed at this moment that not only was his body hot, but his mouth was also wet and drooling. Based on his experience of interacting with horses in the equestrian club in his previous life, this should be heatstroke.
In the hottest days of summer, even people sitting in a cart cannot stand the sun, let alone the ox pulling the cart. This yellow ox has a gentle temperament and has been concentrating on walking all the way. It must be very uncomfortable now, so it stopped here.
"Fengmei, Xiaozhu, you two come down first."
Ji Xu said, while removing the yoke to lighten the burden on the oxen's back, oxen are just like humans, and severe heatstroke can be fatal if not relieved in time,
"The yellow cattle has suffered from heatstroke. I took it to the shade of a tree to relieve itself."
It seemed to understand what people said, and followed Ji Xu to the big catalpa tree by the roadside and lay in the shade.
Fengzhu and the other person jumped out of the car in time and worked together to pull the car and luggage over.
Ji Xu took the wooden barrel from the cart. There was not much water left in it, so he poured it all into a broken bamboo tube that was standing upright and fed it to the ox.
Ji Zhu also took a handful of fodder and said, "Cow, eat, eat something."
But the cow didn't eat. It just lay there, its stomach rumbling.
"Feng Mei, take Xiao Zhu and wait for me here. I'll go get some water."
Ji Xu gave the order. Fortunately, not far into the mountains, there was the sound of a trickling stream. When he heard it, he immediately ran over, brought back a bucket, and poured it on the yellow cattle to cool it down.
After repeating this twice, the cow's body temperature dropped a little, but there was still gurgling noise in its stomach, and it didn't have the strength to stand up.
At this time, I couldn't help but think, it would be great if I had a bottle of Huoxiang Zhengqi water to pour into it.
She could only try to find a kind of detoxifying and gas-relieving wild grass called water wormwood by the stream in the valley. It had long, pointed green leaves and should have small purple flowers in this season. Sure enough, she found two. She also found two deer wormwood plants in an inconspicuous place by the stream. She smashed them with stones and stuffed them into the cow's mouth. She applied the remaining ones next to its horns.
"It sounds like there's no noise!" Ji Zhu said while leaning against the cow's belly.
This means it's working and it no longer drools.
"Bull, bull, you have to get better."
Ji Xu couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, and went to fetch another bucket of water, and finally poured it on the plant. He also picked three water lilies and three deer vines to prepare, as they might be useful in the future.
They started at noon and then slowly fed the cattle until dusk, and they knew they had eaten.
"It's good that you can eat. This shows that you're getting better." Ji Feng said, and gave the fodder very generously.
The cow really suffered a lot while following them on this journey. After walking more than a thousand miles, it became thinner than when it was at home.
The sisters also sliced some ham, put it in naan and ate it to fill their stomachs, and then continued on their way. If they delayed any longer, they would have to spend the night in the wilderness. Not to mention that they might meet some unruly people at night, even the mountains on both sides made them worry about wild animals causing trouble, so they could not delay any longer.
Fortunately, this yellow cow got up as soon as it was pulled, as if it knew it was time to move on.
However, the heat was still blowing at this time, so Ji Xu didn't force it to pull the cart anymore, and let Ji Zhu lead it away.
He held the two shafts of the cart and pulled it forward, while Ji Feng helped push it from behind.
I was delayed for half a day on the road and couldn't make it to the original post station to spend the night. Before the sun completely set, I walked to a house near someone's house.
There were only three or four acres of wheat fields in front of the door, with only bare wheat stubble left, looking shaggy in the afterglow.
An old couple was busy in front of the thatched cottage, and the cut wheat ears were drying in the open space.
The old man was pulling a roller, which had two short axles and a heavy round roller in the middle. He dragged it and rolled it over the ears of wheat, crushing the grains so that they fell off the ears.
Feng and Zhu grew up in the south of the Yangtze River and Huai River. They had never seen such wheat fields, let alone such tools. They used to thresh rice with threshing buckets, so they watched in amazement for a while.
"Uncle, what are you doing?" Ji Feng asked.
The old man was speechless, and the old woman beside him said, "He's using a roller to crush the wheat."
The old woman was holding a bamboo pole with a rotatable shaft on it. Four three-foot-long wooden strips were woven on the shaft. As she raised and lowered her hand, the wooden strips hit the wheat ears, and the grains fell off. Seeing that Ji Xu and his group were outsiders, she stopped in surprise.
When Ji Feng asked her what she was holding, she smiled and said, "A flail, used for threshing wheat."
The accent sounded unfamiliar, so he asked, "Where are you from?"
"I'm from Kuaiji, going to Youzhou to look for my mother. This is my brother, and that is my sister."
When the old woman heard this, she smacked her lips and said, "It's far away," "I've never been there."
Her old man was a dull person, and he could hardly say more than three words a day. Now that someone was talking to him, he asked them:
"What's wrong with this cow? It won't pull the cart."
Ji Feng started chatting with her, and Ji Xu stopped for a moment, looked at the sky, and saw that the sun was about to set. From what he heard, the old couple seemed kind, so he asked shamelessly if he could stay for one night.
The old man had a stern face and was not very happy, but the old woman was kind-hearted, "Poor thing, you have come such a long way, please stay here."
Ji Xu and the others were very happy to have a place to stay. In fact, Ji Xu had already made up her mind that if the old couple was not able to take them in, they could just make a tent with oilcloth next to his house and spend the night there. It would be safer to be near other people, and it would be best if they could be taken in.
There were three rooms in this house. The old woman, regardless of the old man's expression, cleaned up the west room for them and said:
"I don't know his name, but he looks about the same age as my son Sanlang."
Feng and Zhu were moving luggage in the courtyard. Ji Feng followed and assisted the old woman, saying:
"The old lady can just call me Xu Lang. The two outside are Er Feng and Xiao Zhu."
After chatting, I learned that this family had three sons. The eldest son died in the battlefield, the second son was eaten by a wolf, and the third son was serving in the army and has not returned yet.
"It was a one-year service. His term was due to end at this time last year. There has been no news from him since then. I wonder what happened to him outside." The old woman tucked her eyes as she spoke of this.
Ji Xu said:
"What's the old lady's Sanlang's name? If I see him outside, tell him to come home quickly. His family is missing him."
The old woman held her hands and thanked her profusely, and told her Sanlang's name and what he looked like.
"Bring everyone home and don't even ask them to eat dinner."
The old man carried the roller on his back and placed it in the corner, speaking in a harsh tone.
The old woman said, "I see. I'll make it for you right away. He's just like that. Xu Lang, don't pay any attention to him. I'll go make wheat rice and you and your sister can eat it together."
Ji Xu hurriedly said no, "We came out with some dry food and have just eaten. You don't need to cook for us. I can help you light the fire. It's really a bother for you to live here like this."
She also understood the old man's rejection. It was natural for him to be wary of strangers, let alone someone who was living in his home. The old woman was kind-hearted and, thinking of her own Sanlang, took them in for the night. She was very grateful.
The old woman didn't listen and went to plant rice. She thought that Sanlang ate a lot when he was at home. They had just harvested the wheat and planted five liters of rice.
Ji Xu then lit the fire for her under the stove, and Fengzhu and the other two were not idle either, helping the old man carry wheat stalks and harvest wheat outside.
The old man went out despite the old woman calling him to eat, and when he came back he was holding a lively crucian carp.
"Is it the net we cast this morning? It's just right to cook it for the little ones. The house hasn't been so lively for a long time." The old woman cooked the fish as well, and then served a full bowl of wheat rice and invited the sisters to eat. They told them what had happened along the way, and the old woman couldn't help laughing as she listened.
When they left the next morning, Ji Xu put two hundred coins under the mat. Staying in the post station also cost money, and there was no such human warmth. They harnessed the cart and continued on their journey, walking for a while and then taking it easy, and the cow did not suffer from heatstroke again.
In early July, we saw stretches of wheat fields and a stone tablet by the side of the road with the words "Jixian" engraved on it. We were both very happy. We had finally arrived!
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