After confirming the taste of the strawberries, Chi Xingyue left, completely unaware of the wonderful expression on Ling Jiheng's face.
He pulled out a toothbrush and tooth powder from the space and gestured for the other person to wash up. He didn't hesitate either, swallowing a mouthful of durian and then hiding away to brush his teeth.
After clearing the smell from their bodies, the two opened the package to check the supplies.
In addition to a dozen or so steamed buns made with unleavened dough, there was also a small jar of salt and a bag of brown sugar.
Chi Xingyue put the steamed buns into the space and hid two bags of mung bean cakes, a bag of raisins, and a few sour fruits on herself and Ling Jiheng.
He looked chubby and returned to the team in the dark.
Even though Gao Hongbin glanced at him, he was not panicked at all and fell asleep on the cart.
It was not until dawn that he woke up the Ling family members and stuffed the crushed cakes into their mouths.
On the morning of the seventeenth day of exile, the Ling family finally tasted delicious pastries again.
At that moment, they were so moved that tears filled their eyes.
The car was on the road again, and everyone in the Ling family was as excited as if they had eaten honey.
Although the road to exile was extremely dangerous, they had hope in their hearts.
Once you arrive in Youzhou, it will be a completely different world!
And so, two more days passed.
Every night, Chi Xingyue would find an opportunity to put something in the old lady's package.
Rong Fangqing found that her bag was getting heavier and heavier, but she didn't say anything. She looked at Chi Xingyue with a gentle look.
On the nineteenth day of Exile, the clouds in the sky were dark and seemed to be pressing down.
It was still hot and humid on the mountain. According to Gao Hongbin, we would be able to go down the mountain soon.
"Everyone, hold on a little longer. Once we reach the foot of the mountain, we'll change the route and avoid the fire!"
This is really not comforting at all.
A detour would only add a few days to their journey. Tired and sleepy, they preferred to return north.
But no one dared to contradict Gao Hongbin, for fear that he would lose control of his temper and draw his sword and whip.
So, just calm down.
In the afternoon, just after everyone finished their meal, they saw dark clouds rolling in the sky.
"Oh no, it's going to rain!" Gao Hongbin was shocked and quickly asked someone to wrap oil paper around the box.
The exiled prisoner was still confused and asked with a puzzled look on his face: "Why is it so bad? The land is so dry, and rain can cool it down!"
Ling Jiheng rolled his eyes at the other man and said coldly, "After a severe drought, there will be severe floods. This rain is probably extraordinary."
After saying that, he looked at Chi Xingyue worriedly, wondering why this was different from what the little fairy said.
On the eighth day of May, their property was confiscated and they were exiled. However, because of my intervention, the exile was brought forward by three days, just in time for the Dragon Boat Festival.
What about the heavy rain in the south of the Yangtze River? The fairy said it would happen a month after the house was confiscated. But now, on May 23rd, it’s almost half a month earlier.
It can't be his fault, he's just a nobody and he doesn't have that much ability.
Or maybe, it’s not the same rain?
Chi Xingyue was also dumbfounded when he saw the rolling clouds.
He hurriedly pulled Ling Jiheng and said, "Let's get out of here quickly. If there's a flash flood, we..."
Ling Jiheng knew how serious the matter was without her saying anything.
The two men spoke loudly, without avoiding others. The team panicked for a moment, but quickly calmed down.
The drought had lasted so long, and the rain wasn't going to come anytime soon. At worst, I could just hurry down the mountain and take shelter at a nearby post station.
Chi Xingyue explained: "After the fire, the surface rock and soil were exposed, and the gullies had poor water conservation capacity. As soon as it rained, the slopes would quickly collect water, forming overland runoff, and the first debris flow disaster would occur.
This may then trigger collapses and landslides, ultimately leading to multiple debris flow disasters."
The Ling family didn't quite understand, but Ling Jiheng did.
But we can't go down the mountain at this time. If a flash flood really breaks out, staying at the foot of the mountain would be almost like seeking death.
He looked around and pointed in a direction: "Let's go diagonally!"
Chi Xingyue used his limited theoretical knowledge to calculate and found that the direction he was looking for was the best choice.
If the rain hadn't come so quickly, they would have been able to leave safely and escape.
If the rain does come and forms a post-fire mudslide in a short period of time, they can also be located halfway up the mountain, away from the channel of flash floods.
The two reached a consensus in a very short time, but Gao Hongbin did not quite agree.
I thought it was just a rainstorm, no big deal. But a flash flood? I've never seen a flash flood in my life!
At the critical moment of life and death, Ling Jiheng did not bother to hide his edge and analyzed the current situation to Gao Hongbin.
"Master Gao, look, the ground beneath our feet is very soft and covered with ashes from wildfires and animal carcasses.
Once it rains, it is very easy for the water to roll down along the flow, rolling more and more, faster and faster.
If we stand at the foot of the mountain, what do you think will happen?"
After Ling Jiheng finished speaking, he took out the old lady's treasure - the earthenware jar filled with groundwater.
Not caring about wasting it, he poured the water on the ground.
Just as he said, the water flowed straight down, carrying the ash and pebbles on the surface, and it was flowing faster and faster.
The soil shell inside is exposed, not much moist.
"The long drought has hardened the soil into a lump. After the fire, it's almost like a crust."
Gao Hongbin looked at the water rolling farther and farther away, and never dared to underestimate Ling Jiheng again.
I listened to his analysis with a serious expression: "Look, the angle between the two mountains is long and narrow, and it is very likely to become a channel for mountain torrents to pass through.
Of course, this is just speculation. What we need to do now is to minimize the risk and move forward as smoothly as possible."
Gao Hongbin nodded and decided to adopt Ling Jiheng's opinion.
The most important thing is that you can walk smoothly to the post station in Suzhou in that direction, it’s just a little longer.
But it doesn't matter. When it comes to life, this little difficulty is nothing.
After hearing Ling Jiheng's analysis, the exiles nodded in agreement.
Although they were wealthy families in Jiangnan, they were not very well versed in astronomy and geography.
I've heard before that Young Master Ling likes to read miscellaneous books, and now I've finally broadened my horizons.
It turns out that in addition to the Four Books and Five Classics, works like "Classic of Mountains and Seas", "Notes on the Classic of Waterways", and "Dream Pool Essays" are quite useful.
The group set off again, with dark clouds rolling above their heads and flashes of silver light from time to time.
The rumbling sound struck everyone's heart, and Chi Xingyue whispered to Ling Jiheng to share his guess.
"It might be because of the wildfire, which caused enough condensation nuclei to gather in the atmosphere." He didn't explain it too clearly, for fear that Ling Jiheng wouldn't understand.
Little did she know that Ling Jiheng had guessed most of what she meant based on the context.
He nodded and quickened his pace, thinking that if they moved fast enough, they could escape this disaster.
Unexpectedly, Chi Xingyue sighed: "The real challenge has just begun. After the wildfire, there will be heavy rain, mudslides, plague, water pollution, and food shortages...
Each one should not be underestimated.”
Ling Jiheng raised his hand and rubbed Chi Xingyue's hair: "Don't worry, I'll take care of everything!"
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