Chapter 10: Dead End or Alive
After the rain stopped, people rushed out again, gathered in groups of three or five, and made fires to keep warm.
The temperature in the mountains is low. If I don’t dry my wet clothes quickly, I’m afraid I won’t survive the night and will fall ill.
No one dares to gamble his life at this time.
At first, the Shen family hid in a secluded corner to rest, but as soon as they felt sleepy, they were immediately driven away by the smoke.
Although wet firewood can be ignited, it easily produces black smoke.
Outside, I saw a cluster of red dots, two clusters of red dots, three clusters of red dots...the moonlight was dyed black.
There was no way I could sleep, so I just got up and warmed myself by the fire.
When most of the cave was empty, Diao took out the half-wet quilt and signaled Yang Yi to hold a corner.
The two adults held up the quilt to cover the children so that they could hide behind it and change into dry clothes.
Then switch positions.
Supported by Shen Chunxing and Shen Mingqiu.
One of them was tall, and the other short. The taller one was just a bean sprout. When it was Yang Yishi's turn, he had to sit on the ground with a wronged look on his face.
Shen Mingqiu tilted his head and looked for a while, then cautiously warned Shen Chunxing: "Don't peek."
Chen Chunxing… rolled his eyes.
If the wet quilt wasn't too heavy and required both hands to hold, she really wanted to knock the brat's head open to see what was inside.
I kept on doing this until the sky started to light up.
Everyone got up listlessly and hurried on.
Not only did the prisoners not sleep all night, but the officers too. Even the best-tempered ones had sullen faces, as if they would explode at any moment.
No one dared to bring bad luck at this time, so they had to keep their heads down and walk on.
Around noon, the group finally arrived outside Yuanxi Town.
The woman urged the driver to go into the city to find a doctor without even saying hello.
Although Wei Da was unhappy, he thought of the man's identity, so he told his men to set up camp and took two people to chase after him.
"God bless me, please make sure I am cured." Diao watched the nobleman's carriage leave, looking worried.
"I'm afraid whether the treatment is successful or not, we will be in trouble." Chen Chunxing spread the quilt on the cart to expose it to the sun, and he was not very optimistic when he heard this.
The situation is uncertain at the moment, and the woman didn't think about her own home for the time being. As long as she recovers, she will definitely not let him go easily.
Although the cave was dark, it did not prevent her from observing people. After taking a look at the man's face, she could already conclude that this was another short-lived person.
It was fate that even if she hadn't appeared yesterday, the horse would still be frightened, not to mention the other party's injuries... I'm afraid it's not that simple.
Diao's expression changed, and she murmured, "Then why don't you just not come back?"
The three little ones turned their heads and looked at her.
Diao's face flushed. She knew that what she said was not nice, so she packed up her luggage and said, "Well, if my clothes are wet, it's fine. Don't ruin my cakes..."
The outside of the flour bag containing dry food was slightly moist. When I opened it, I found that fortunately nothing had seeped in.
But if you just leave it like this, it will get moldy sooner or later.
However, there are too many people here and it is not convenient to take it out and dry it directly.
Feeling the prying eyes around her, Diao gritted her teeth and said fiercely, "Since I can't keep it, I might as well eat it all."
Of course it’s not just one meal. The original rations for half a month may have to be changed to three to five days.
Thinking about the future, thinking about Yang Yi's appetite...
Diao, who was praying just now, immediately changed her expression: "Damn God, you really won't leave anyone a way out!"
"Huwu!"
Chen Yandong clenched his fist and gestured towards the sky.
I guess I didn't understand at all.
No one slept a wink last night, except him, who slept like a pig, not even a sound sleep. Even his clothes were changed by Shen Mingqiu in a hurry.
"Since there is no way to survive, why not run away?"
After a simple cleanup, Diao gave each person half a pancake. While they were chewing on it, she suddenly said this, which stunned everyone.
This is the second time it has been brought up.
Diao rolled her eyes.
She had never thought of escaping before, but now that she had offended an important person, it would be troublesome whether she stayed or left.
In that case, why not give it a try?
But turn around and look.
Shen Chunxing didn't even raise his head and ignored Shen Mingqiu's suggestion.
Diao then understood that this thing would not work.
She threw away those messy thoughts, finished a few bites of the bread, and holding two blood-stained old clothes, she planned to go to the officials to plead for mercy and see if she could find some water to wash.
The Shen family is not so extravagant as to throw things away casually. Besides, weren’t the benefits of having too many clothes already evident yesterday?
If they hadn't brought enough, they would probably be sneezing like those people right now.
When leaving, Diao Shi did not forget to poke Shen Mingqiu with a finger, "Behave yourself. If you cause trouble for the family, I will not forgive you!"
But the person who really caused the trouble had an egg stuffed into his hand.
Thanks to Diao's great ability, she wrapped all the eggs saved at home in straw and rags and carried them all the way without breaking them.
The eggs are slightly cool to the touch.
It was probably cooked while roasting fire last night. Chen Chunxing didn't mind, peeled the eggshell, took a bite himself, and stuffed the rest into Xiao Laosi's mouth.
Diao has always been partial, so she has to endure this favor.
Therefore, I never argue with her, but how she treats the little ones is her own business.
When he looked up, he found that Shen Mingqiu was still staring at him. Shen Chunxing joked, "I'll leave the eggs for you tomorrow. Look at them now. If you show them to our little fourth brother, he'll choke."
Shen Yandong immediately covered her mouth.
It seems like he is afraid that the third brother will come to snatch it away.
Shen Mingqiu…is indeed a silly child.
He shook his head, glanced into the distance, and lowered his voice: "Since we left Lin'an City, the further north we went, the poorer the land became. There are so many refugees outside Yuanxi Town. I'm afraid there must be a disaster somewhere."
Chen Chunxing raised his eyebrows slightly but said nothing.
When everyone arrived at Yuanxi Town, they were outside the East City Gate, but it turned out that the area had already been occupied by refugees.
As they had just arrived, in order to avoid causing unnecessary trouble, they deliberately took a detour and set up camp in the south of the city.
Now Wei Da is bringing people into the city, partly to fulfill his promise and partly to find out the situation.
"No matter what kind of disaster it is, there will always be people fleeing famine. If our family blends in with the refugees... even without a travel permit, we won't be able to hold out for long."
Shen Mingqiu pointed at Yang Yi.
"When the storm has died down, at worst we can do what he did and find a village to become a citizen. We can just say we are fleeing from famine. When they see that we are honest people, it shouldn't be difficult to get our way."
Fish in troubled waters.
The world is in chaos, so naturally there are loopholes everywhere.
When the Shen family kept Yang Yi, they used the excuse that he was a distant relative. In fact, everyone in the village knew what was going on, but no one cared.
At that time, the Earl's Mansion was still famous, and no one would cause trouble for an insignificant farmer. Now that they were all on the road to exile, they didn't need to care about their previous identities.
"I'm very curious," Chen Chunxing said, whetting his appetite. Seeing Chen Mingqiu's nervous and expectant expression, he sighed, "How did you say the words 'dutiful' without blushing or breathing heavily?"
Shen Mingqiu: “…”
Visible depression appeared on the delicate little face.
Chen Chunxing stood up and patted his shoulder. "Remember this. No matter if it's a dead end or a life-or-death path, you have to crawl to Chiling."
There are many roads, but she always chooses the shortest one.
The north is a blessed land for the Shen family.
Yu Chenmingqiu is even worse.
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