Chapter 21 Severe Drought!
"Lanxi, the journey is long and arduous, so please be careful with your money!" The Shen family has fallen into such a state that their daughter must not have taken much money with her when she left the Prince's mansion. After spending one tael of silver to buy a bag of water yesterday, Shen Congwen truly understood that even a hero can be brought down by a penny!
These words should have been spoken by his wife. Now that his wife is sick and his daughter has never managed the household affairs while living a life of luxury at home, he is worried that if his daughter continues to spend money extravagantly as before, there might not be enough money for such a large family as the Shen family.
Shen Lanxi understood her father's meaning.
"Father, on this trip from the capital, I bought a lot of the latest trendy goods. I think I can make a good profit selling them in the next town. I plan to buy a batch of goods in each place I visit and then take them to the next town to sell, which will increase my income!"
Shen Congwen gleaned from his daughter's words that she had some money, but not much. She needed to start a small business to ensure her future livelihood.
“I will give your grandmother and the others a warning. Go ahead, the constables have already looked this way several times!” Shen Congwen said with a worried expression.
Shen Lanxi nodded and turned to leave.
Shen Congwen immediately began to admonish his children: "You must always remember how good your eldest sister is. She used to be such a proud person, but now she's compromising herself to take care of us..."
Shen Lanxi walked up to Liu Laohu, clasped her hands in greeting, and said, "Brother Liu, shouldn't we be setting off?"
Liu Laohu thought to himself, "If it weren't for your eldest son delivering the food, we would have set off long ago."
"Yes, it's time to go!"
After speaking with Shen Lanxi, he immediately ordered the constables to set off. Taking advantage of Shen Lanxi's distance, he secretly glanced back. Even now, he still couldn't imagine a slender, refined young man wielding a blood-stained stick and wreaking havoc.
Recalling the scene from last night, Liu Laohu shuddered and quickly cracked his whip to drive the prisoners away.
Because of the banging in the morning, when the woman ran to Shen Yuantang and kowtowed for food, Shen Yuantang refused to give her any, which made the woman throw a tantrum and curse loudly, causing Shen Yuantang to cry.
After finally managing to drive the woman away, halfway there, she was suddenly bumped into by a child who appeared out of nowhere, causing her to fall to the ground, twisting her ankle and bruising her hand. The three brothers from the eldest son's side had no choice but to take turns carrying her on their backs.
The men in the other rooms were unhappy. With fewer people taking turns carrying the old master and old lady, they had to carry them for longer periods. If it weren't for Shen Lanxi hanging them up, they would have quit long ago.
"Miss, there's a village ahead!" Chunxue reported.
Shen Lanxi lifted the carriage curtain and glanced into the distance. Smoke was rising from the village chimneys; it was an inhabited village!
"Go to the village later and exchange some for something useful on the road!"
"yes!"
There were guards at the village entrance, preventing exiled prisoners from entering. It was still early, so Liu Laohu planned to ask for some water and food before continuing his journey!
Shen Lanxi and the others were also stopped by a dark-faced man who looked at them warily.
"Who are you? What are you doing in our village?"
Chunxue: "Brother, we are merchants. We're transporting some rare items to sell in big towns. We're passing through here and would like to exchange them for some food and supplies!"
Seeing that Chunxue spoke politely and was just a young girl, the dark-faced man lowered his guard.
"As long as you're not refugees from the north, what's in your vehicle?"
Shen Lanxi always remembered every piece of information that others had told her while she was in a coma, including the severe drought in the north.
Before Chunxue could speak, Shen Lanxi asked, "Does Big Brother need any silk, porcelain, rouge, or face powder?"
A look of disdain flashed in the dark-faced man's eyes. "We can't even afford to eat, who wants that stuff?"
"If we don't need it, we can buy it with money!"
The dark-faced man shouted into the village, and someone came to take his place and keep watch.
"Are you sending someone with me to buy it, or are you all going?"
Shen Lanxi: "Chunxue, tell Li Mama and her son to come with you!"
"yes!"
They were heading north the whole way; they needed to discuss the matter of the refugees with Liu Laohu!
"Brother Liu, I heard some news from the villagers!"
Liu Laohu also heard about it.
"The road north is probably not easy to travel!"
Shen Lanxi looked ahead and said, "We must prepare as soon as possible!"
Since Shen Lanxi received the news and reminded him, he decided to reciprocate by reminding her as well.
"Your horse-drawn carriage and oxcart are too conspicuous!"
Shen Lanxi smiled: "Thank you for the reminder, Brother Liu!"
If the horse-drawn carriage is in danger of moving too fast, it can be sped up, but the oxcart must be replaced!
Chunxue, Li's mother, and the others bought a lot of eggs, dried vegetables, and dried meat products from the village. They also bought several live chickens and ducks, as well as pickled products. Everyone was covered in bags and trinkets, and they filled all the water bags in the car with water before setting off.
The exile procession had already gone five or six hundred meters.
"Young master, the household registration you asked me to buy is done!" As soon as they left the village, Chunxue immediately took out the things from her bosom and handed them to Shen Lanxi.
There were seven cards in total. One was given to her, one to each of the two maids, and the remaining four were given to the four adults in Li Mama's family. The two children were too young to be registered!
"Send it to the others!" She pulled out her own, for the convenience of the journey in the future. From today onwards, Chunxue Qiushuang will change into men's clothing and buy a male household registration!
The next stop is Yongcheng, a relatively large town in the vicinity. We expect to arrive there tomorrow afternoon.
The road grew hotter and hotter, and more and more people arrived, many of them traveling in mule carts with their families towards the capital.
Even without being informed, exiled prisoners could sense that something was amiss.
"Everyone is heading towards the capital, but we're heading north. Has something happened in the north?"
"I don't know. I'll ask someone passing by when we stop to rest."
So many people are going in the same direction, but they are going in the opposite direction. I feel uneasy!
“Master, something seems amiss. Should we ask the young master?” the old servant of the Shen family stepped forward and asked.
Shen Congwen considered a possibility: was there a war in the north?
"If something happens, the yamen runners will definitely be notified. Don't ask the young master yet." It costs money to have a yamen runner deliver a message.
The old servant of the Shen family looked worriedly at the group of people who looked like refugees from famine, and hesitated before saying, "Master, they look like refugees from famine!"
Shen Yuanjing was carrying his mother on his back at the moment, and he was walking with great difficulty.
"Really? I haven't heard of any disasters anywhere."
Shen Yuanjun: "Yeah, butler, aren't you overthinking this?"
Just as the butler was about to speak, the sound of a whip cracking rang out.
"Hurry up and leave, or you'll get whipped!"
At first, the prisoners were only suspicious, but then some prisoners couldn't resist and took out money to buy water, but the yamen runners refused to sell it to them!
The prisoners then truly began to panic!
"We can't go any further. There's a severe drought ahead. If we keep going, we'll all die!"
(End of this chapter)
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