Chapter 7: Profit or Loss
"The way of life depends on where you are."
"In the past, we were farmers. When we were hungry, we had food. When we were cold, we had clothes. That was enough. We lived on the same farm together. Even if you and I didn't want to have a deep friendship with someone, we had to maintain a superficial relationship."
"But now I'm on the road to exile. I'm in danger, so I have to keep moving forward."
Shen Chunxing muttered, and it was more like he was talking to himself than teaching Shen Mingqiu.
"I, your sister, am not a capable person. I often just muddle through. But now that God won't allow it, I have no choice but to fight against this world."
Through the dark forest, the little girl's sharp eyes seemed to be able to see into everyone's hearts.
Along the way, whether it is a human or a ghost, she will subdue them all.
Seeing his younger brother staring at him with bright eyes, which showed no fear but anticipation, Chen Chunxing touched his head with a smile.
"In a word, you have to shock people first before you can talk about kindness."
Today is only the first day of this thousand-mile exile. As long as one has never suffered or gone hungry, everything will be easy to deal with.
But the harder life becomes, the easier it is to breed evil thoughts and greed, especially when you are in desperate situation, you will inevitably turn into an evil ghost.
The Shen family has too little background and too bad luck, so it is very easy for them to get into trouble.
But now that I have met her, it is no longer possible for others to manipulate me.
Diao's cursing interrupted the conversation between the brother and sister.
"With the way you two are dawdling, you can't even eat... well... while the food is still hot!"
Chen Yandong quickly stuffed a piece of cake into Diao's mouth, just enough to stop her from swallowing the unappetizing words.
"Let's see who calls him stupid again!" Diao slapped Shen Yandong's head in annoyance.
It didn't take much effort.
Even after being beaten, the silly child still stubbornly stuffed the cake into Diao's mouth, and sang words one by one.
"eat!"
"Milk!"
"fragrant!"
The incoherent words are really funny.
Not far away.
The hungry prisoners who were lying under the tree felt sick and anxious when they saw this scene which could barely be considered warm.
Everyone looked miserable, except the Shen family, who looked like they were on a picnic!
He wanted to curse a few words, but was afraid of getting into trouble like Li, so he just turned over and pretended to ignore it.
The Shen family's commotion didn't last long.
After a day's journey, everyone was already exhausted. They used the clay pots they brought with them to boil some hot water, washed themselves briefly, ate some fried rice, and went to sleep in their clothes.
Although the quilt was not very heavy, it took up a lot of space. After packing it up again and again, Diao could only stuff one quilt into the bamboo basket.
Fortunately, the four children are still young, so covering them horizontally is enough.
The two adults could only make do with covering themselves with cotton coats.
The weather is still bearable now, but thinking about winter in two months... Diao fell asleep with a sigh.
Wait until the first ray of sunlight shines through the treetops in the early morning.
Chen Chunxing opened his eyes first.
She rarely got up so early when she was at home, but she got out of bed quietly without any hesitation.
Adapt to local conditions and adapt to the times.
But it's not just for the third brother to hear.
Yang was leaning against a tree trunk with his eyes half closed. When he heard a noise, he raised his eyelids slightly and saw Chen Chunxing tiptoeing to the back door of the post station, then closed his eyes again.
It was just dawn at this time.
The postman yawned as he opened the door. He saw a simple-dressed little girl standing outside. He felt unhappy at first, but when he looked up and saw the pretty face that was smiling before she spoke, his complaints about not being able to make money faded a little.
"What do you want?"
Chen Chunxing smiled shyly, raised the pottery jar in his hand awkwardly, and said, "Sir, I want to draw some well water..."
Although the ancients did not pay much attention to it, they knew that drinking river water could cause diarrhea.
There was a car in the escort convoy that was specifically used to store water. The prisoners were only allowed one bowl of water a day. If they wanted more, they had to buy it with money.
The postman was stunned.
If the exiles can store water themselves, how can the escort officers make money from it?
He wanted to help the girl in front of him, but was afraid of offending her.
As I was hesitating, a mellow voice came from behind me.
"Give it to her."
The postman then made way.
Inside the yard.
Wei Da was standing in front of the stable. He was used to feeding the horses before setting off, but he didn't expect to encounter such an interesting scene.
Yesterday it was this family that impressed the entire team, and today it was his girl who impressed everyone. I don’t know if she was brave or... too smart.
Wei Da glanced at the little girl meaningfully, then quickly looked away without saying anything more.
With the help of the postman, Chen Chunxing filled his bottle with water, took off the pearl flower he was wearing, and stuffed it into the postman's hand, saying "Thank you, sir" repeatedly.
The postman looked to be only about twenty years old and had never been treated with such respect before. Even though he had received many people yesterday, they all looked at him with their eyes fixed on the top of their heads and were confused.
At this moment, he felt proud, but was afraid that Wei Da would hear him, so he pretended to refuse: "Who am I to be an adult?..."
Before he could finish his words, another pair of earrings was stuffed into his hand.
"How can you say that? I have always admired those who work for the government. I believe you must be both brave and resourceful to be able to serve here."
Everyone likes to hear nice words, and the postman raised the corner of his mouth.
"I'm so shameless. I have an elderly grandmother and a three-year-old brother at home. It's hard for me to walk. I hope you will have mercy on me and trade that cart for me."
The postman looked in the direction of Chen Chunxing's finger and shook the weight in his hand.
This time he didn't look at Wei Da's expression and agreed immediately.
It was customary for exiles to exchange money for supplies, and even the accompanying officials could not block the post station from making money.
If the little girl's family was not poor, even a mule cart or an ox cart would be fine.
Chen Chunxing smiled and called out "Sir" several times.
She has a pretty face and looks young, giving people the likable feeling of a girl next door, without any dirty thoughts.
The postman was so happy that when Chen Chunxing was leaving, he threw a pumpkin onto the cart for the first time, which made Wei Da look at him several times.
"We grow it ourselves, so it's not worth much," the postman explained.
"That cart looks quite new." Wei Da left after leaving a puzzling remark.
Of course it’s not new. It’s only been a few days since I bought it. My father brought the pumpkin to me yesterday on that cart.
The postman weighed the object in his hand and finally began to feel confused.
Is it a profit or a loss?
He himself couldn't figure it out.
But there is one thing, if the people in the guest rooms want to take these things away, they will be dreaming without dozens of taels of silver!
Over at the camp.
Diao and his companions were awakened by the shouting of the officials. They were shocked to find that Chen Chunxing was not there. However, before they had time to look for him, they saw someone pushing a cart out of the post station.
"What are you doing..." Diao couldn't close her mouth.
"I went to the post station to ask for some well water, and I met a kind-hearted man. I shamelessly exchanged my hair flower for it." Chen Chunxing smiled, and his voice was neither too loud nor too soft, just loud enough for people around him to hear.
What kind-hearted adult, who exchanged it for a hair flower...was no longer acceptable to anyone at this moment.
Only the sentence "I went to the post station to ask for some well water" was chewed over and over by them, and the more they pondered it, the brighter their eyes became.
The hunger and thirst of yesterday are still vivid in my mind.
If the Shen family can get water from the well, why can't ours?
Regardless of whether they wanted it or wanted to exchange it, it was a reminder to everyone, and soon some people started walking towards the post station together.
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