Chapter 21
When they heard that Pei Liuniang was going to help Gu Ran make cotton shoes, Aunt Mai and her daughter were extremely surprised.
This Pei Liuniang, the extremely vicious Pei Liuniang, the female devil who wiped out the entire Pei family in Zhengzhou, actually knows needlework and doesn't charge for it?
When did you hear that Pei Liuniang was such an easy-going person?
Gu Ran was stunned for a long time, until Pei Liuniang asked again: "Don't you trust me?" She answered subconsciously: "No, I trust you."
"Then it's settled."
After saying this, Pei Liuniang turned around and returned to her seat, picked up her bag and started searching.
Gu Ran stared at her blankly for a long while, watching Pei Liuniang actually take out a sewing kit and a piece of rag from her bag, handing them to her. At the same time, she took out the needle stuck in the cotton cloth and said, "Measure the size of your shoe soles."
Gu Ran took it, picked up the cotton shoes, and used the cloth to show them to Pei Liuniang.
"The soles of the shoes should be thicker." Gu Ran reminded.
"Can."
After Pei Liuniang confirmed it, she inserted a few needles into the scrap of cloth to mark it, then sat against the wall to fix the size of the sole on the scrap of cloth.
Aunt Mai and her daughter came back to their senses. Aunt Mai couldn't help but ask in a low voice: "Gu Erniang, when did your relationship with Pei Liuniang become so close?" This devil was even willing to work for free!
"Is Miss Pei... Miss Pei Liu such a nice person?" Mai Xiang also came over and asked in a low voice.
"It's okay, don't worry, I know what I'm doing."
Why is Pei Liuniang so nice to me?
It was because after what happened yesterday, no one in the world except herself could accuse her of killing an official and committing a capital crime.
So I hope to improve my favorability, show some favors, and continue to consolidate the unbreakable alliance of accomplices!
Since she is willing to help and doesn't ask for money, I am happy to help her.
In order to convince her that she is a trustworthy accomplice, it is also necessary to continue to consolidate the unbreakable alliance of accomplices!
So if Pei Liuniang wanted to make shoes for her, then let her do it, it would save her some trouble.
Gu Ran sat next to Pei Liuniang, occasionally glancing at her and watching her sew the soles of shoes very quickly. He didn't expect that Pei Liuniang was so good at needlework.
It usually takes three days to make a pair of shoes, but judging by her skillful and quick movements, it would probably only take two days to make them.
So he stopped worrying and took some straw from the straw mat and started to twist the rope. When he felt sleepy, he warmed up the thin blanket and then lay down inside.
He didn't fall asleep immediately after getting into bed. Instead, he continued to rub his toes. After they were warm, he took some orange peel paste from the workshop and gently applied it to his hands and feet. Only then did he feel at ease and fall asleep.
Because an official was seriously injured, Li Jieguan's plan to set off as soon as possible was temporarily put on hold.
Now almost everyone in the post station knew what happened on the day they went to look for Feng Duojin.
Feng Duojin was killed and eaten by wolves.
The wolves that ate Feng Duojin met the searching officials and postmen.
Wolves hunted the officials and postmen.
Li Jie Guan killed the wolves with his own hands, bravely and fearlessly.
The next day after they returned to the post station, Li Jieguan brought another group of officials and, following the route map given by the injured officers, attacked the wolf's den directly, killed the remaining two wolves and brought them back.
He also brought back his official sword and pieces of his white clothes that had been torn to tatters by wolves.
Except for the controlled sword, Feng Duojin's body and clothes were buried in a wasteland not far from the post station, waiting to be moved in the future.
This incident became the hottest topic during the deserted New Year's Day at the post station, and completely eliminated the suspicion that Pei Liuniang and Gu Ran had killed Feng Duojin.
I don’t know how Pei Liuniang felt, but Gu Ran was completely relieved.
Judge Li Jie probably won't interrogate her about this matter anymore, which is a good thing.
So I was in a very good mood these two days, especially since Li Jieguan did not arrange any rotation work for me, so I could stay in the warm prison and not go out. I also saw Pei Liuniang who had finished sewing the soles and had started making the uppers. I thought that I would be able to do it soon, and I would have an extra pair of cotton shoes soon, so I wouldn't have to work so hard walking on the snow in the future, so I was particularly happy.
By the time the official from outside sent the message that they were to set off on the sixth day of the New Year, the new cotton shoes were already ready.
Gu Ran took the cotton shoes. The soles were made of two layers and were very thick. There was no need to worry about them getting wet by snow foam after walking on the snow for a while. The inner side of the upper and the back were made of cotton cloth, which felt soft to the touch. It was estimated that a lot of cotton was stuffed in it. The outer side was made of dark green linen, which was very strong. Looking at the stitches, they were densely packed and of uniform length, which showed that the shoemaker had put in a lot of effort.
After receiving it, Gu Ran immediately put it on and walked a few steps to try it out. She said that the new cotton shoes fit her feet very well and she liked them very much.
"I didn't realize you were such a skilled cook, Pei Liuniang."
Pei Liuniang restrained herself and acted very indifferent, trying hard to press the corners of her mouth downwards, but her peach blossom eyes were still obviously curved, and two dimples appeared on her cheeks, which were sweet and made her seem to smell the pleasant scent of oranges, so Gu Ran couldn't help but take a few more glances.
She didn't notice that Pei Liuniang's ears were secretly red. She turned around suddenly and pretended to put away the sewing kit and the remaining cloth in an orderly manner and stuffed them into her bag.
So Gu Ran also started packing his bags.
She had few and simple things, except for the thin quilt that Mrs. Dou had prepared for her and the pair of new shoes in her hands.
Without the baggage, the ropes she had twisted before came in handy: she tried to fold the thin quilt, roll it up, and tie it with the rice rope. Then she could tie the new cotton shoes with the rope as well. After tying them together, she could also roll up and tie up the straw mat she had been weaving recently. The extra ropes she had twisted were placed in the workshop for emergency use.
In this way, it is convenient whether you carry it on your back or put it on the donkey cart of the team.
But she planned to wear new cotton shoes tomorrow and take the old ones with her after drying them.
She wanted to bring the fire basket with her as well.
But prisoners are not allowed to roast by the fire. It's okay in the prison, but if they are outside, when they have more contact with all the prisoners, it is inevitable that someone will pay attention to the fire basket during a conflict. The charcoal fire is also a dangerous weapon. Officer Li Jie would never agree to let her carry it with her.
So Gu Ran could only give up the fire basket on the surface and take only the last few remaining pieces of charcoal.
It is not easy to make a fire to keep warm outside, so it is good to have these charcoal pieces as fire starters.
On the sixth day of the Lunar New Year, the four female prisoners were called to the kitchen to help for the last time, and Gu Ran was still responsible for burning firewood.
The official in charge of preparing food for the exiles started preparing dry rations for the journey yesterday, and this morning's batch was the last one to be prepared.
After finishing, they would be put away immediately and distributed to the prisoners at mealtime.
In the kitchen, he poked the stove with a fire poker and said to the official who was busy preparing food in a pretentious manner, "Sir, this firewood looks like it's all burned. Can you allow me to go to the firewood room next door and get some more?"
"Go ahead."
The officer was busy and just said it casually.
The woodshed was just across the wall, so they would know immediately if there was any movement. Besides, there was nothing but firewood and charcoal in it, so the prisoner wouldn't cause any trouble, so the officers were relieved.
But they didn't know that Gu Ran was going for the charcoal in the woodshed.
There was no one in the woodshed, so Gu Ran stole a lot of charcoal and firewood and hid them in the workshop. Then he gathered some dry firewood, returned to the kitchen, squatted beside the stove, and continued to burn firewood as if nothing had happened.
Soon, the last batch of rations was ready.
Breakfast was not originally provided, but before they set off again after the New Year holiday, Officer Li Jie gave each prisoner a dry steamed bun and then gathered everyone to prepare for departure.
Because the adjutant was dead and three other officers were seriously injured and unable to leave, there were only four officers left to escort the prisoners, but there were still eighteen prisoners. For safety reasons, Li Jieguan asked Tao Zhubu to select two postmen to help send them to Sui County. He planned to borrow two officers from the local county government in Sui County and send them to the provincial capital.
Li Jieguan was affiliated with the Criminal Department of Zhengzhou Prefecture, and his method of escorting this group of prisoners was short escort.
The so-called short escort means that the officials escorting the prisoners do not escort them from the place of punishment to the place of exile. Instead, after escorting the exiles from one state to the next, the local state officials will check the documents to make sure they are correct, and then accept all the prisoners. Then officials will be sent from the local state to continue escorting them to the next state, and this will continue until the last official of the receiving state sends the prisoners to their destination.
After completing the handover of the prisoner, the officer can resign and return home.
The Mai mother and daughter hurried out early, carrying their bags and bedding. Pei Liuniang also rolled up her bedding and bags. Gu Ran deliberately fell behind, and while they were not paying attention, he quickly put the fire basket with the extinguished charcoal fire into the workshop.
She also hoped to use the fire basket in the workshop to make charcoal barbecue and orange peel paste for her own cooking. As long as she avoided being seen, she would be fine. Of course, she couldn't throw away the fire basket before she found a stove.
When Gu Ran left the prison and walked to the entrance of the post station, he saw that all the male prisoners were lined up. The Mai family was at the end of the line, as was Pei Liuniang. He was the only one missing.
She hurriedly followed and, following the officer's instructions, stuffed her bedding into the donkey cart following behind. Then the officer handcuffed her hands with a pair of chains.
As a whistle sounded, Li Jieguan shouted loudly and slowly walked to the front of the team.
Gu Ran looked up at the cloudy sky and took the first step on the road to exile after coming to this world.
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