Chapter 145 The yamen runners arrive!
Liu Yan returned with her hands behind her back, looking pleased, and said, "Of course I bought it. Do you think I would run up the mountain to hunt it back?"
Shen Yuanjing looked at the large iron pot of white soup bubbling in the middle of the courtyard, and his mouth watered.
In order to save money these days, the family has been eating cornbread and only cabbage and pickled vegetables. Those who do not go out only have two meals a day, while the men who go out to chop firewood can eat three meals.
In addition, men who practice martial arts and chop wood receive an extra egg each time. If they neither chop wood nor practice martial arts, they eat two meals a day like at home and do not receive an egg.
Although Shen Yuanjing eats eggs every day and has three meals a day, he is at the age where he is growing and cannot survive without some oil and fat. In addition, he also craves meat.
"Big sister..." Shen Yuanjing led his family and ran quickly to Shen Lanxi's courtyard.
Qiu Shuang raised her hand to block the doorway.
"Silence! The young master is practicing martial arts!"
Shen Lanxi always dressed as a man, and the two maids had gotten used to calling her that, and not wanting to cause any trouble for the people of Hongliutun to hear, they didn't change their way of addressing her.
Shen Yuanjing quickly shut his mouth.
The courtyard was filled with howling winds. Shen Yuanjing and the others wanted to peek, but were afraid of disturbing the others, so they could only endure it and keep tiptoeing in the hope of getting a clear look at the figure on the other side of the wall.
Unfortunately, this stone house has the highest courtyard wall of all the stone houses.
"Come in!"
Shen Lanxi had already heard their commotion, so she casually placed a stick in the yard and called for help.
"Big sister, I hunted a rabbit in the mountains. The corporal said we're not stationed troops, so we don't need to hand it over!"
Shen Lanxi smiled as she looked at her younger brother showing off his prey.
"Well done!"
The group chuckled, feeling a little embarrassed by the praise.
"Big sister, this rabbit is for you!"
Shen Lanxi didn't take it, and laughed, "If you give me the rabbit, will your family know?"
They hadn't gone home yet; Zhang Liao released them, and they rushed here.
"Judging from your expressions, your family must not know!"
Shen Yuanjing and the others looked away somewhat.
"Big sister, you've helped the family so much. If we give you a rabbit, they definitely won't say anything!" Shen Yuanjing said confidently, but she wasn't sure in her heart.
Shen Lanxi raised an eyebrow: "Why don't you go back and ask your family?"
Shen Yuanjing insisted, "No need to ask, I hunted this rabbit. I said I'd give it to you, and I meant it. If you hadn't protected us along the way, we might have been gone as soon as we left the capital!"
"Yes, big sister, please accept it. I'll hunt rabbits for you in the future!"
"I also hunt..."
Shen Lanxi smiled slightly: "Alright, I appreciate your kind gesture. Please stay for dinner tonight!"
As Shen Yuanjing and the others thought of the large pot in the neighboring courtyard, their stomachs rumbled involuntarily.
"Big sister, we'll have dinner at home, so we won't come over tonight!" Shen Yuanjing said, though her heart wavered.
"Big sister, I'm not coming either, there's food at home!" Shen Yuanqing's voice was barely louder than the sound of the wind!
Looking at the men and women who were saying one thing and meaning another, Shen Lanxi said in a light tone, "Alright, you've all done your best today. Go find Chunxue and get the pastries!"
After Shen Yuanjing and the others left the courtyard, their enthusiasm vanished, and they all became listless.
"Brother, I want to eat meat!"
"I want to eat meat too!"
"There are two big pots of meat; they definitely can't finish them. Why don't you let us take some, big sister?"
"Shut up, don't say things like that again. Those things don't belong to Big Sister alone. Big Sister has already helped us so much!"
"But they all listen to their eldest sister, don't they?"
"If you say that again, I won't take you to martial arts practice tomorrow!"
...
After nightfall, some young men and women tossed and turned incessantly.
"Big brother, I want to eat meat!"
"Sister, I want to eat meat!"
"Are you coming to the outhouse?"
"I'm not going, it's too cold outside!"
"If you're not going, I'll go myself. Don't regret it if you don't go!"
About half an hour later, figures appeared outside the courtyard where Shen Lanxi was.
"Brother Yuanxu, what brings you all here?"
"Shh, keep your voice down~"
The courtyard gate was open, and the group quietly went inside.
Chunxue carried basins of large bones, glanced speechlessly in their direction, and pushed open the door to go inside.
"Wow, there's still more! It's still hot. I knew our big sister was thinking of us!"
Why does that voice sound so familiar?
Shen Yuanxu and the others pushed open the door and saw... wow!
"Yuan Jing, Yuan Jun, Yuan Qing, how come it's you?"
Footsteps sounded behind them, and the group turned around to look.
Goodness, everyone who said they weren't going to eat this afternoon has come!
The heavy snow continued for five days, and in places where no one was clearing the snow, the snow was almost higher than the houses.
Every day, Zhang Liao would organize people to do the first snow, with men, women, and children all pitching in to pile all the snow outside Hongliu Village.
Hongliutun was surrounded by snow, making it impossible for outsiders to get in and for those inside to get out!
"When will this snow ever stop?!"
"Luckily we brought back a lot of firewood beforehand, otherwise we wouldn't have been able to make it through the month if we only burned charcoal!"
"Use the charcoal sparingly. After the snow stops, we need to find a way to collect more firewood!"
This is the sentiment of all exiled prisoners.
Unexpectedly, in this kind of weather, another group of exiled prisoners arrived at Hongliutun at noon!
The yamen runners kept cursing and swearing along the way, but things calmed down a bit after they entered Hongliu Village.
Zhang Liao knew the constable, so he quickly invited him to his home to warm himself by the fire.
"Old Liu, did you offend someone? With this much snow, you're still being asked to deliver people out?"
Old Liu shivered, put his hands in the brazier to warm them for a while, and then spoke.
"I almost froze into an icicle!"
Zhang Liao chuckled.
"The new magistrate has his own people. As soon as they arrived, they targeted us, assigning us the tedious task of sending people to exile. They said anyone who doesn't do it is fired!" Old Liu said helplessly.
Zhang Liao patted him on the shoulder and took two sweet potatoes out of the basin.
“My wife buried this this morning. Here, have some.”
Old Liu was deeply moved. He knew that Zhang Liao's life wasn't easy either, but his stomach was as cold as ice, and he really needed something warm to comfort him.
"Thanks, brother. I'll definitely think of you if anything good happens in the future!"
Zhang Liao said in a straightforward tone, "We're all brothers, so let's not stand on ceremony!"
No sooner had she finished speaking than Liu Yan entered the room carrying a basket.
"Brother Zhang, we smoked some meat at home yesterday, I'll bring you a few pieces!" Liu Yan lifted the cloth on the basket, revealing three strips of meat and four or five bones with meat hanging from them.
Wang glanced at Old Liu, somewhat reluctant to part with him.
Zhang Liao was also reluctant to part with it. Thinking that he might need Lao Liu in the future, he took a bone from the basket and handed it to Lao Liu with a heavy heart.
"Let's grill some meat, it's so juicy!"
Old Liu glanced at Liu Yan, then at the bones with plenty of meat hanging from them, hesitated for a moment, but still couldn't resist.
After receiving it, he immediately thanked Liu Yan and Zhang Liao.
Liu Yanhui took the opportunity to move a small stool and sit down, reaching out to warm her hands by the fire.
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