Chapter 282 The Tranquility of the Night Before the Snowstorm
The group of people quickly got in to take shelter from the wind and snow. The officials were afraid that the horses and donkeys would freeze to death, so they drove them in and placed them in the corner on the right.
There just happened to be a big hole on the roof at that location, and a lot of wood and bricks fell down, which made it convenient for them to make a fire to keep warm at night.
Without an axe, the officials sitting together simply set up a whole stick and lit it. Although the process was a bit slow, the entire dilapidated temple began to become warm after it was lit.
It would have been even better if there hadn't been cold winds and blizzards blowing in through the big holes in the roof!
The families have reached a tacit understanding. Once they arrive at the resting place, the men quickly set up tents, while the women pick up things that can be burned and start a fire to cook dinner.
The Shang family and the Li family have become strangers because of the last incident. Li Si also realized that she was being used as a gun, so she has been trying to please the officials intentionally or unintentionally in the past few days, trying to determine whether she will really be beheaded...
But no matter how she confirmed it, the conclusion she came to was that the person was definitely dead. After all, Xuan'er saw it with her own eyes when she pushed the person down, and she also pointed him out.
This group of officials owed Ran Qingxuan a favor. Later, Ran Qingxuan learned through intentional or unintentional inquiries that even if Li Si's case could be spared the death penalty, he could not escape punishment of life.
From Gu Yanchen's explanation, we learned that the place of exile was relatively close to Yigui, and the soldiers guarding it were working hard. The women in the surrounding counties and towns who had committed capital crimes basically had only two options.
The best outcome is to be sentenced to beheading, to put an end to it all, or... to become a military prostitute...
This was something Ran Qingxuan had not expected. Li Si's father had worked in the Ministry of War so he knew something about it, but even so, their family was helpless.
Li Si just cried and was in a daze all the way, as if she had already anticipated her own ending.
But no one felt sorry for her. She had done it herself and couldn't blame anyone!
Several families now cook their own meals. Before, whenever the girls from the Xiao and Chen families arrived at a place, they would ask Ran Qingxuan, who was out purchasing, to help sell the beautiful brocade handkerchief purses.
Xiao Hongyi also followed Chen Chengping and picked a lot of herbs along the way and sold them to the pharmacies along the way. After accumulating a little bit, the two families have saved more than 20 taels of silver, which means they have completely got rid of their previous predicament.
In fact, what Ran Qingxuan didn’t say was that not all of those beautiful handkerchief purses were sold to the shops.
If the price is reasonable, Ran Qingxuan will make a move. If the price is ridiculously low, she will just put it on the tablet and sell it. Sometimes the price on the tablet is several times higher than outside.
The reason why she didn't sell all of them in the flat-panel shop was because every time she went out to purchase supplies, there were officials following her, so she had to create some illusion.
In short, everyone worked together, and the difficult days of exile are now much easier.
While they were having dinner, the wind and snow outside suddenly stopped. While several families were still discussing that tomorrow would be a good day, Bu Wei, with a serious expression, looked into the distance and paced back and forth.
Gu Yanchen stood up and stood at the door, took a few glances, and when he came back he looked as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.
Ran Qingxuan handed the food in his hand to him and glanced in the direction of Bu Wei curiously, who was talking to his men at the moment.
"What do you see?"
"Tonight may not be peaceful." Before he could speak, Gu Yanzong, who was sitting next to him, spoke.
Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at him.
"Husband, what could possibly happen in this remote place?"
Gu Yanzong shook his head upon hearing this: "That little wave of snow and wind just now was just child's play. I'm afraid there will be a bigger one waiting for us. If we are not careful, we may be blown away from here."
When the women of the Gu family heard this, they immediately looked panicked. Ran Qingxuan realized the seriousness of the situation. He glanced at the fallen Buddha statues around the temple and immediately began to think.
"Mom, sisters-in-law, if there is a heavy snowstorm tonight as my eldest brother said, this dilapidated temple will probably be blown away, and we will be in trouble if we live inside.
I took a look and found that these Buddha statues fell down because the wood of the base was old and could not support the statue. There is a distance of two meters between each Buddha statue.
If all else fails, we can set up the tent between the two Buddha statues tonight. I believe that with the Buddha’s blessing, we will be able to turn danger into safety! ”
Although Ran Qingxuan did not believe in these things, he still had some awe. In addition, as an elderly person he believed in Buddhism, so he said this to seek peace of mind.
After all, no one can predict how strong the snow and wind will be. To be on the safe side, it is safest to sleep among the Buddha statues at night.
Upon hearing this, Old Madam Gu whispered "Amitabha" and signaled Gu Yanchen to go and remind the Xiao and Chen families.
Ran Qingxuan thought about it, and after finishing his meal, he stood up and walked to where the officials were resting.
"Ran, what do you want?"
"Boss Bu Cha, I saw you looked outside just now, and you should have seen that there was a heavy snowstorm approaching..." He pointed to a dozen or so collapsed Buddha statues nearby.
"It's better for you to set up the tent between the two Buddha statues at night. That way, even if the beams fall, they won't kill anyone."
When Bu Wei heard that this was a kind reminder, he nodded to her and thanked her.
The Shang family members, who were deliberately arranged by the officials to sit in front of the horses, sneered at this. Li Ping embroidered a handkerchief and mocked without even raising her head.
"Don't you see what a shabby place this is? It's full of broken Buddha statues, and you still want to ask for blessings? It's a joke!"
Ever since the Shang family revealed their ugly true colors, they stopped pretending and seemed to be very uncomfortable unless they had something to say to the Gu family every day.
Ran Qingxuan didn't want to waste time talking to this kind of person, so he went straight back to his team.
Several men moved the tent to the middle of the Buddha statue and the ropes were firmly fixed to the statue.
"I just don't believe that the wind can blow away a stone Buddha statue!"
Chen Zhao grabbed the rope to test its firmness and clapped his hands in satisfaction.
The officials also moved the tent according to Bu Wei's instructions, and propped up the temple door with fallen wood to prevent it from being blown open by the wind.
The air gradually became quiet, with only the crackling sound of burning wood.
When it was time to rest, several men decided to take turns to keep watch to prevent a sudden snowstorm from disrupting their formation.
Gu Yanchen took the initiative to watch the most dangerous second half of the night. When the rest of the people were going to rest, Xuan'er pointed at the innermost Buddha statue and cried.
"Mom, there are rats there!"
"Where is the mouse?" Fifth sister-in-law Fang Jin looked in the direction of Xuan'er's finger, and sure enough, she saw a tail as thick as a little finger flash by.
"Oh, there really is a mouse!"
Gu Yanchen walked to the altar made of stone bricks and found some broken stones and torn curtains to block the hole below.
After returning home, he comforted Xuan'er who was still sobbing: "Don't be afraid, Xuan'er, Uncle Liu has blocked the rat holes, so they won't come out to bite people at night."
Xuan'er poked her head out from her mother's arms, looked at the altar, and then stopped sobbing.
"Mice are bad, they will steal our food!"
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