Sanniang even leaned towards Qiao Xin tentatively, "Grandma, you eat it!"
Qiao Xin automatically ignored the small handprints on the buns, as the child had obviously left them for her.
Qiao Xin's heart softened, she picked her up and handed the bun to her mouth, "Grandma has eaten a long time ago, this is for Sanniang, you must be obedient in the future, Sanniang, you must eat the food that Grandma asks you to eat first. Do you understand?"
After saying that, he touched the heads of the other children and said, "You too, are not allowed to hide food. Only when you are full will you have the strength to travel. Tell me what you want to eat in the future." Qiao Xin repeated these words to his son and daughter-in-law, regardless of whether they believed it or not.
It was getting late and if we delayed any further we would miss our next destination.
Qiao Xin ordered, "Everyone get in the carriage first! Hurry up and get going. Divide the things in the carriage into two. The children will sit in my carriage, and the eldest and second daughters-in-law will sit in the one at the back."
The clothes were not heavy but took up a lot of space, so Qiao Xin had to ask everyone to take off their beggar clothes.
Seeing that Zhang was still putting old clothes into the package, he immediately stopped her and said, "Just leave it on the side of the road. Don't use it."
"Mom, this thing can still be made into a few pairs of shoes!" Zhang was reluctant to throw it away.
"No, we need to hurry, so we won't take anything unnecessary. If it's too heavy, the carriage won't be able to move fast! We'll be traveling through wind and rain all the way, and won't stay long in any place. How can we have time to wash your clothes?"
It’s not that it can’t be washed, but in Qiao Xin’s opinion, washing the clothes would be a waste of water, and they would become rags if rubbed. The reason why they didn’t get damaged was thanks to the black patina on them!
..........
Two carriages sped along the official road, heading south, until a prosperous town came into view at sunset.
The journey took more than three hours and both the men and the horses were exhausted. It was Qiao Xin's first time riding in a carriage, so she didn't feel any discomfort.
It was different for the children. They felt like they were riding a bouncing car, and as soon as they got off the car they felt sore all over and could not even stand steadily.
Both the big and the small ones were listless, and the eldest and third wives, who had poor physical constitutions, actually vomited.
Qiao Yunqing and his eldest brother were called away to inquire about the news, and now they came over to discuss it.
"We have only walked over a hundred miles. This place is called Qingshui Town. It is twice as big as Jing'an Town. It is still within the scope of Xitong Pass and is several hundred miles away from the next place.
There are several inns in the town where you can stay, so it looks like we have to stay here tonight."
"Then let's find a cleaner inn and let everyone take a break. The children can't hold on any longer. Don't be stingy with money. If someone gets sick on the way, the little you save won't be enough to cover the medical expenses."
Qiao Yunxin originally wanted to stay in the big bunk bed for one night. After hearing what Qiao Xin said, he subconsciously asked, "But mother, we need at least two rooms. Food and drink together will cost about 150 taels. It's not cheap."
It’s really not easy to go out, as everything is so expensive!
Qiao Xin didn't think so. The environment of the dormitory bed was too bad. The chicken coop at home was cleaner than it. At least only chickens slept in the chicken coop, but who knew who had slept on the dormitory bed in the past.
Anyway, if you care about hygiene, why would you sleep in a dormitory?
In this era, sanitary conditions were poor. If one was infected with any infectious disease, it could easily take one's life. If she was alone, she would have to sleep on a tree branch for a night, but the child could not.
"One and a half taels is one and a half taels. If the silver is gone, I can earn it again."
Qiao Yun had inquired about some information in the town early in the morning, and found a well-received inn, and then booked two upper rooms. The waiter was quite considerate and served them hot water and hot food.
The whole family took this opportunity to clean themselves up inside and out. The bath water was enough to fertilize three acres of land.
Bringing up buckets of hot water made the waiter work hard. Qiao Xin felt embarrassed and secretly gave him five cents as a reward before he was willing to help for half a day.
Most importantly, she discovered that her whole family had head lice. No wonder her scalp had been itching for the past two days. She thought it was because she didn't have time to wash her hair. She had been busy trying to get enough food these days and ignored other problems.
The daughters-in-law, Xu and Zhang, skillfully pulled a child and began to scratch their scalps. From time to time, they squeezed with their two fingernails, making a crackling sound, which made Qiao Xin's scalp numb!
Qiao Xin is not afraid of anything else, but she is particularly disgusted by these little things. They reproduce quickly, are difficult to clean, and are highly contagious!
If one person has it, within three days, no one in the family, young or old, male or female, will be able to escape.
She is too tired to complain about this miserable living environment!
She forced herself not to appreciate the scene of loving mother and filial son over there.
I have to buy anthelmintics tomorrow no matter what! I can’t stand this day any more!
Others are old masters, and they have everything they want, but she is an old master, and she has to earn everything herself! Even if there are three potential stocks around her, it will take time to study and transform them before they can become superior stocks.
Qiao Xin stayed awake until midnight, unable to sleep, her mind full of that little blood-sucking bug crawling around.
This bed is so uncomfortable that I can't even lie down. I've taken a shower, but I still feel itchy all over.
She grabbed her hair in annoyance, forced herself not to think about those uncomfortable scenes, and simply got up and went to the yard to get some fresh air.
I didn't expect that there were people staying here in the middle of the night.
The other side had a large lineup, more than a dozen people, young and old, and even government officials were accompanying them. Qiao Xin was lying on the railing as a bored spectator, but she didn't know that the other side was very sharp. When he looked up, he caught her gaze, and his beast-like eyes were full of scrutiny and vigilance.
Qiao Xin didn't want to cause trouble, so she looked away calmly, turned around and closed the door without hesitation!
The inn was bustling early in the morning. Qiao Xin kept her eyes open until dawn and got up early to go over what she needed to do in her mind.
It seemed like they still needed to add some things, "Tung oil, hemp rope, iron pot, candle, carriage..." Qiao Xin read them one by one, and Qiao Yunqing wrote them down one by one. Then the family discussed together which things must be bought and which things were not needed for the time being.
"And buy some cabbage. It's not good to just eat whole grains during the journey. We need to pair it with some vegetables."
The feeling of getting up in the morning and going to the toilet is really unbearable.
Not only was there no toilet paper, she also had to work very hard to empty her stomach. When she came out, her legs were shaking and she almost couldn't stand.
The more Qiao Xin thought about it, the more she felt that, with a poor family and a rich road ahead, no matter how much she prepared, it would never be enough.
Qiao Yunxin asked tentatively, "How about another ox cart?"
"That won't work!" Qiao Yunqing shook his head. "The oxcart is too slow and will delay our trip. The weather is getting colder and colder, and there's no telling what accidents might happen on the road! Apart from buying some food, we won't buy anything else until we get there.
How about this, Third Brother, you accompany A Niang for a while, and the others can go back to eat and pack their things, and set off at noon!"
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