Chapter 97: Farewell. Entering the mountains.
The cold wind made it impossible for people to open their eyes.
Qiu Xuan nodded blankly, "Mom, Erlang just left."
After all, the grandmother came out late, and she originally wanted to see her off.
"Let's go back, Mother."
Seeing that the clan mother wanted to chase her out, Qiu Yun quickly spoke up and kept her.
Zong Xiao had told her not to go to the official road, as there were many people there and it might not be a good thing to go there.
The clan mother glanced outside several times, then sighed softly, "Never mind, Erlang will be back in a month."
Qiu Xuan helped the person back to the yard. After being blown by the cold wind, Qiu Xuan was no longer sleepy.
She hesitated for a moment, but finally chose to go to the backyard.
There are still a lot of rabbits over there. Even if Zong Xiao is not at home for a month, he can't forget about it.
Selling rabbits has high returns and huge profits. Qiu Xuan and her friends made a lot of money this year by selling rabbits.
Besides, rabbits are fertile and can produce several rabbits in a litter. If they are properly cared for, most of them can survive.
Zong Xiao treasures them very much and takes good care of them.
Qiu Xuan didn't light a lamp, she put hay into the rabbit hive in the dark.
Perhaps it was because of the loud noise that Siqi in the side room next door was awakened.
The child came quietly behind her with a wooden stick in his hand. If Qiu Xuan hadn't turned her head, the stick would have almost hit her.
"...Shopkeeper." After Siqi saw who it was, he quickly put away the wooden stick.
He really didn't expect the shopkeeper to come to the backyard at this hour...
"Did I wake you up?" Qiu Xuan saw that he wasn't even wearing a coat, so he must have run out after hearing the noise.
"No...no." Siqi didn't dare to say that he was woken up.
"It's getting cold. I'll put some hay in the rabbit hutch." Qiu Yu was almost done. She waved her hand and said, "Go back to your room and get some sleep. It's still dark."
Siqi is only fifteen, which is the right age for obedience.
He listened to whatever Qiu Xuan said.
Now he was asked to go back to the house, although he was a little reluctant, but he still went back obediently.
Qiu Xuan finished building the rabbit nest and went back to the house.
With one person gone, the room suddenly felt emptier. Qiu Xuan told herself not to think about it, but who could control such a thing?
Unable to do anything, she lay down again, hugging the pillow and dozing off.
On the other side, Zong Xiao walked out of the house with his bag on his back and headed towards the official road.
He was close to the official road and went there early. When he arrived there, there was only one man.
Zong Xiao had seen him before. This person was the one who was with the Fushun brothers that day, named Zheng Shi.
"Have you eaten, brother?" Zheng Shi was eating a meat bun with relish. Seeing him approaching, he couldn't help but ask a few questions.
He bought a lot, and if Zong Xiao didn't eat, he wouldn't mind giving him two.
"I've eaten." Before leaving home, Zong Xiao had a bowl of hot noodle soup, which Qiu Xuan had made herself and even put an egg in it.
After eating the hot noodles, he felt warm all over.
Zheng Shi finished the meat bun in a few bites and then started chatting with him.
During the conversation, Zong Xiao found out that this recruitment was actually organized by Zheng Shi. His brother worked in the escort agency and was short of manpower, so he asked him to find a strong and healthy man.
Someone like Zong Xiao, who has scars on his face and can scare people, is more suitable.
"Brother, Fushun probably didn't tell you in detail that day, but going north this time is actually dangerous."
Zheng Shi saw that he had a scarf around his neck, so he thought he came from a well-off family.
People like this actually don't need to take risks.
"Brother Zheng, I know about this."
"You know?"
"Being able to offer that price, this time is definitely not as easy as I imagined." Zong Xiao said in a normal tone.
Zheng Shijing thought he was a man, and since they had arrived early and there was no one else around, Zheng Shijing said a few more words to him.
"This time we won't take the official road, we still have to cross two mountains."
This is why this journey is dangerous. The mountains are treacherous and there may be wild animals besides bandits.
Zong Xiao hadn't really thought of this. He frowned and asked suspiciously, "Things can't be transported via the official road?"
Zheng Shi looked around and nodded slightly.
"I don't know anything else. Remember not to ask questions you shouldn't ask. If this trip can be delivered safely, you'll definitely get paid."
From what he said, if the person could survive, the money would at least double.
Of course, there are definitely more dangers than he initially thought, but he is not afraid.
After a while, everyone finally arrived. Including the three of them, there were three more people on this trip.
Those three were all hunters, and they all looked good at going into the mountains.
Zong Xiao took a look and instantly understood that it was not because the escort agency did not have enough people, but because they needed experienced hunters to go into the mountains.
The six people got on the carriage and quickly became familiar with each other.
The trip will last for a month, and we will be eating and living together during these days, which makes it easier to get to know each other.
Five days passed in the blink of an eye. I tried not to think about Zong Xiao these days.
Qiu Xuan returned to the shop and continued to sell buns as usual, but she stayed in the shop longer than before.
"Boss, are there any buns left tonight?"
A head popped in from the window. Qiu Yun knew him. He was a scholar from the academy across the street and came to buy buns almost every day.
"Yes, but we only have the ones with leek and meat filling left."
The buns are all made fresh, so what is left depends on which one has more fillings.
The scholar hesitated for a moment and asked, "Do you have noodle soup?"
"Yes." The noodle soup is simple, and Qiu Xuan can cook him a bowl right away.
The scholar smiled, took out copper coins from his sleeve, counted them one by one and put them into the pottery jar.
"Boss, please leave me a bowl of noodles so I can learn from you later."
"become."
As soon as the scholar left, Yuan Gu, who was helping in the shop, walked forward in confusion.
"Boss, can you reserve some for them in advance?" Yuan Gu had only come to the bun shop to help out in the past few days. The woman hadn't come since the plague.
The New Year was approaching, and Qiu Xuan didn't think of hiring anyone, so she borrowed Yuan Gu.
Fortunately, the restaurant was not busy, and with Sanshui and the others there, they were able to handle it.
"They are all regular customers, it's no problem." Qiu Xuan put the buns into the steamer and turned around to start kneading the dough.
She has been doing a lot of work these days, and it seems that she has no time to think about Zong Xiao when she is working.
The clan mother saw it, but there was nothing she could do.
I can only ask Yuan Gu to help more.
"Boss, please go over there and take a rest. I can handle the small job of kneading the dough."
Qiu Xuan has indeed been feeling a little tired recently. She rubbed her waist, stood up and moved to a bamboo chair beside her.
The bun shop business is still booming, with many students coming to buy.
Although the plague has had a great impact on the people in the town, life must go on as usual, and those who survive must live well.
In the evening, the scholar who had paid the money early in the morning walked into the shop with a child.
The child pouted and looked unhappy.
"You asked me to come here, but I didn't come here voluntarily." The child shouted, afraid that people around him couldn't hear him.
"Okay, okay, I forced you to come here. Sit down quickly and don't block others." The scholar pressed the child onto the stool and motioned him to sit still.
Qiu Xuan looked at the fat boy in front of her and for a moment thought of the fat grandson of the third branch of the Zong family.
They are all so disobedient.
"Try this noodles and buns, they are really delicious." The scholar ordered another bowl of noodles and three meat buns.
The child looked around with disdain, "What good food can there be in this little place? Can it be better than what we cook at home? Mom asked you to go home, but you stayed at the academy and suffered."
The scholar smiled and rubbed the child's head, saying earnestly, "Don't talk nonsense. How can studying in a college be considered hardship? Besides, the noodles here are delicious. You'll know if you try them."
Those words entered Qiu Xuan's ears without missing a word.
I don’t know if it was to prove that her noodles were delicious, but Qiu Xuan added some extra things to the noodles.
It was clearly a bowl of noodles with meat sauce, but Qiu Xuan garnished it with a few slices of sausage.
"Today is the first snow, and this sausage is a gift." Qiu Xuan said.
"Thank you, boss." The scholar was stunned, but quickly recovered his composure.
He placed the noodles in front of the child and handed him the chopsticks, "Try it."
The child was probably hungry. Although he still had a look of disgust on his face, he picked up the chopsticks.
Instead of stirring the noodles, he ate the sausage on top first.
This is a sausage made carefully by Qiu Xuan, so it naturally tastes good.
The child's expression changed after taking a bite, but he still said stubbornly, "That's it."
"You kid." The scholar smiled helplessly.
Qiu Xuan didn't continue to eavesdrop on their conversation. As more people came into the shop, she went downstairs to get busy.
When she came out again, there was no one at the table, but there were a few copper coins next to the empty bowl.
"Boss, look at this." Yuan Gu didn't know what to do for a moment.
"Take it." I guess he noticed that he had given them extra things, and he felt bad about it, so he secretly kept the copper coin.
The two of them were busy until late at night, and only when Zong Anji arrived in a mule cart did they close their stall.
Siqi was driving in the front, and Zong Anji was sitting opposite Qiu Xuan. He said with a serious expression, "Second sister-in-law, you can't do this. It's too late."
"It's just a little late today." Qiu Yu argued cunningly.
"I didn't get home early the past few days! You can't be so tired when your second brother is not around." Zong Anji relied on Zong Xiao's instructions and was not afraid of Qiu Xuan at all.
As soon as she forgot the time, Zong Anji would keep buzzing.
The noise gave Qiu Xuan a headache.
"Okay, okay, I'll listen to you and not stay so late tomorrow."
Having said that, no one can stop business when it comes.
Especially in winter, eating a bowl of hot noodle soup in a sheltered place is simply happiness for a scholar.
Qiu Xuan wanted to leave early but couldn't, and in the end, Zong Anji's restaurant closed first.
A group of people came to the bun shop to help.
As the days get busy, time flies by.
Half a month passed in a flash, and I don’t know whether Zong Xiao and the others reached the north during this half month.
Before we left, we agreed to stay for a month, so I should be on my way back now.
Qiu Xuan counted the days, hoping that he would return safely.
But the reality was completely opposite to what Qiu Xuan had imagined.
Not to mention that Zong Xiao and his group have not returned, they haven't even delivered the things yet.
"We can't go any further. The snow is up to our calves. We can't go on this road." An old hunter stopped the escorts and explained the reason to them.
"No, if we don't go now, we will miss the day." The leader looked at the white snow in front of him and had already made a decision in his mind.
"Then you guys go ahead. I'm not leaving anyway." The hunter slumped down in the car. "We haven't even reached the deepest part yet. There might be wild beasts ahead. With snow this thick, there's no way we can outrun them."
This hunter is the oldest and most experienced of the group, so he knows what the situation is like in the mountains on a day like this.
He came here to make money, but he didn't really want to die.
After hearing this, everyone became hesitant. It was definitely impossible to go down the mountain by the official road now, but if they continued to go forward, it would be a dead end.
"How about this, we split into two groups, one group changes the route and the other group continues to go into the mountains." The hunter came up with an idea.
But as soon as these words were spoken, everyone started arguing again.
Everyone wanted to change the route, and no one wanted to go into the mountains.
Finally, the leader raised the amount of silver to 150 taels, and among the hunters, only Fushun stood up.
He needs money, there's nothing he can do about it.
But this was far from enough. Finally, the leader found some branches and used the method of drawing them to decide the number of people.
Two more hunters will go into the mountains, and the escort agency will send out half of its staff.
In this way, Zong Xiao accidentally chose to go into the mountains.
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