Chapter 23
The first thing I wanted to do, of course, was to ask the woman for a quilt and a brazier.
This way no one will catch a cold at night.
Secondly, she also wanted to buy some necessary utensils from the woman, such as bamboo tubes, wooden bowls, etc.
According to the original owner's experience in the first half of his exile, they stayed in the village tonight and would pass by the county town tomorrow. In order to hurry on their way, the escort officer would not take them into the city, so it was impossible to go to Sui County to buy things.
It just so happened that the woman in this family had done business with them, so they might as well just do business with her. This also saved them the tip they would have to pay to the official who had made a special trip to the county town to help them buy the goods.
"Quilt? Forget it. I don't even have a quilt at home. Where can I find one for you?" The woman shook her head. "At most, I can get you a brazier to warm yourself."
"Aren't there any other houses?"
"Other families? In our village, even the richest village chief's family can't afford a quilt, so they just use kudzu and reed fluff."
Okay, Gu Ran gave up and had to find a woman to rent a brazier to burn charcoal for a fire. The rental fee was two cents per person, and the extra charcoal was also two cents, which meant another four cents per person.
Gu Ran looked around and saw that everyone was wearing thick cotton-padded clothes or jackets under their prison uniforms, but he was the only one wearing a layer of clothes under his prison uniform, so he was the thinnest one.
"Sister-in-law, can you find me a jacket..." Gu Ran wanted to ask the woman to buy a jacket, but when he remembered that even the richest village chief in Xiaogou Village couldn't afford a quilt, he probably thought jackets were rare. So he changed the subject and asked, "Sister-in-law, I want to buy you a thicker piece of clothing. Is that okay?"
Trekking in the snow outside, although you won’t be afraid of the cold if you keep walking, it will be troublesome at night. If one day you find yourself in a remote corner with no village in front and no land behind and have to camp in the snowy forest, you can’t always dig a snow cave, right?
Firstly, you may not be able to borrow tools, and secondly, the place where you camp may not be suitable for digging a snow cave.
So it’s better to find a few more clothes and take them out to use as a blanket at night to be safe.
Although buying clothes from this woman is not cheap, compared with the damage to the body after catching a cold and the discomfort of having nowhere to see a doctor after getting sick with a cold, it is worthwhile to spend this money at this time, so Gu Ran doesn't mind paying some more money.
"Thick clothes? We don't have any extra clothes for you at home."
"Then, can you help me ask other families in the village?" Gu Ran reminded, "Like, the village chief's family, isn't there any?"
"Going to the village chief's house? It's snowing heavily and it's so cold outside!" The woman glanced at Gu Ran reluctantly, "Young lady, how can you bear to let me, the master of the house, go out and suffer?"
Well, she just wants money! Isn't it okay for her to give it to her?
"I'll give you ten cents as a fee, if you'd like to take the trouble to run this trip, okay?"
"Okay, I'll give you a run, even if it's difficult for me."
So, Gu Ran spent more than 100 coins in Xiaogou Village that day and got the following items:
A linen shirt that was 60% new cost eighty coins.
A bamboo tube for holding water, five cents.
A wooden bowl and a pair of chopsticks cost twelve cents.
A bag of broken charcoal: fifteen cents.
In fact, she had some charcoal, but she took it secretly at the post station and put it in the workshop. It was not easy to use, so she planned to give this bag of charcoal to Aunt Mai and the others to check it out. When they had to sleep outside in the future, they could use it to warm themselves by the fire without making them suspicious about where it came from.
I originally wanted to ask the woman for some other dry food that tasted decent, but she said that during the winter, there was not much food stored at home, and there was still some time until spring, so I had to keep it for myself and not sell it, so I had to give up.
After this day, Gu Ran's possessions increased a bit. Including the things in the workshop, in addition to the fire basket and broken charcoal, some ropes, and some food that Dou Pozi gave her before she left. However, she ate a lot of it, so there was not much left.
After all, it is winter and the body needs to eat more, so in the second half of the night these days, after making sure that the other three were asleep, Gu Ran secretly entered the workshop to give himself a snack, and ate all the buns and steamed corn bread.
So as of today, there are only a few pickles and a small bag of salt left in the workshop.
But there was also Gu Ran’s largest ration.
The rabbit found in the wild.
I never had the chance to cook it after picking it up that day. Roasting a rabbit is not as troublesome as roasting snake meat. Besides peeling the skin and bones, you also have to use cooking utensils to serve it. The fire basket is too small and the charcoal is not enough. It won’t be cooked even if you use branches to roast it.
So since the whole night, Gu Ran could only sigh and wait for an excuse to roast and eat the rabbit in broad daylight under everyone's eyes.
After the woman brought the brazier over and closed the door, the room gradually became warmer.
Gu Ran hung her wet cotton shoes and socks over the brazier to dry. The brazier was surrounded by their cotton shoes and socks. Then she covered herself with her new linen clothes and was about to lie down to sleep. She saw Aunt Mai getting up and shutting the window tightly. She quickly reminded her, "Aunt Mai, you can't shut it completely. You have to leave at least a crack."
"Why?"
Aunt Mai was puzzled, and Pei Liuniang also looked at her.
Gu Ran looked at the brazier and said, "We are burning charcoal, and the doors and windows are closed. There is no ventilation, and it is easy for something to happen."
"What could possibly happen? The fire isn't big enough to burn down the house."
"It's not a matter of burning the house." Gu Ran naturally couldn't explain that the house was airtight for fear of carbon dioxide poisoning. "Just leave a crack and wait for fresh air from outside to flow in. Then the house will be safe."
"The only air flowing in is cold air. How can there be any fresh or stale air?" Aunt Mai didn't believe it.
"Aunt Mai, I...I always sleep with a gap like this at home. My mother taught me that. Can you please just pretend that I'm used to it and accommodate me?" Gu Ran pleaded, "I feel uncomfortable sleeping without leaving even a gap."
"Okay, okay," Aunt Mai said, and she actually opened the window a little. "Is this okay?"
Gu Ran nodded.
"You've been spoiled. You have all these bad habits that come from a rich family." Aunt Mai kept mumbling, then she returned to the bed and lay down next to Mai Xiang.
Aunt Mai was sleeping in the innermost room, with Mai Xiang leaning next to her, and next to Mai Xiang was Gu Ran.
Pei Liuniang slept on the outermost bed, facing the door.
In this way, the two people sleeping in the middle should be the warmest, but Gu Ran has experience. Although Pei Liuniang is thin and looks fragile, she is actually in very good health and has plenty of energy. So sleeping next to Pei Liuniang is like having a heater next to you, which is very good.
Fortunately, Aunt Mai and her daughter were wary of Pei Liuniang, otherwise, if they discovered such a secret, Pei Liuniang might have been welcomed by them.
So when Gu Ran lay down, he deliberately moved towards Pei Liuniang, so that he could be closer to the heat source and sleep more comfortably.
Perhaps due to the fatigue brought about by a full night of hiking, Gu Ran slept very well that night and naturally did not notice. In the middle of the night, he looked at Pei Liuniang, who was almost hugging his arm, with a gloomy expression on her face.
Ever since he found Feng Duojin's body and cleared his suspicion, he no longer had the urgency he had at first to silence her. He was too easy to get along with Gu Er Niang, and after a few days, he had completely lost any sense of boundaries between them.
Judging from her attitude, she didn't seem like an accomplice who was intimidated by force, but more and more like sisters who were traveling together.
You know, after clearing her of suspicion, if she is killed, no one in the world will know that Feng Duojin died at her hands. She should be even more afraid.
Is it because you think you won't do it yourself?
Pei Liuniang sniffed the scent coming from her body and closed her eyes happily.
Well, it's rare to meet an accomplice who will really cover up for you, so I have a good impression of her.
Besides, he has to lie low before he can successfully reach his destination. It is better to have less trouble than more. It is not impossible to let her live a little longer before he finds his target.
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