Not long after leaving the city, the group saw several corpses lying scattered on the road. Judging from their clothes, they were women who had escaped from brothels and the city lord's mansion.
There were still many refugees who had escaped along the roadside, watching them intently, but seeing the large number of people, they dared not make a move.
As soon as they left the city, Lin Yinan lay down to sleep in the carriage. She was awakened by the noise of the villagers.
Lin Xiaomei sat next to her, peeking out. When she turned around, her gaze met Lin Yinan's cool eyes. She smiled and said, "Sister Yinan, you're awake!"
"Where are we?" Lin Yinan asked, propping herself up as she sat up.
Looking around, one could see Old Mrs. Zhao, along with her mother and Chunni's mother, busy setting up a pot and boiling water.
Zhang and Qianxia went to the Yun family's place to cook for the guards.
"We're thirty miles from Luochu City. Young Master Yun has asked everyone to rest here tonight," Lin Xiaomei said in a clear and articulate voice.
The surrounding villagers grinned, excitedly discussing something.
Lin Shuo and Lin Yiheng each returned carrying a bag, their faces beaming with smiles.
Lin Yinan got out of the car, stretched, and walked over to ask, "Uncle, what did you bring?"
Lin Shuo was very strong. He picked up the bag, waved it at her, and grinned, saying, "This is the grain that the Yun family gave us."
Lin Yiheng leaned closer and whispered, "The Yun family also gave us two hundred taels of silver. You killed that city lord and made a great contribution."
"What about the other villagers?"
Those who contributed labor received 20 catties of grain and 30 taels of silver, while those who did not contribute labor received only 5 catties of grain and 10 taels of silver.
No wonder everyone was so happy.
Qianwu, Lin Yirong, Lin Chunni, Liu Yu and others walked towards her carrying small baskets on their backs.
The wounds on Lin Chunni's face had begun to scab over, and they looked rather shocking.
"Girl, let's go dig for wild vegetables, do you want to come?" Qianwu asked.
“Go.” Lin Yinan nodded. With the old lady and her mother there, she didn’t need to help with boiling water or cooking.
"Sister Anan, here's a basket for you." Liu Yu handed her a small basket.
The closer we got to Dingshan City, the faster the temperature rose. Looking at the villagers coming and going, some had already taken off their padded jackets and were wearing only light clothing.
Lin Yinan was vaguely worried; her belly was getting bigger every day, and it would be impossible to hide it once she took off her coat.
However, worrying too much is useless. She is not the kind of person who looks ahead and behind; she just faces problems head-on.
To avoid being stopped and checked by government officials on the main road, Wu Xingshi led them to take a shortcut through a small path. There were no villages near the mountain forest where they were now resting.
Looking up, one sees a lush green landscape, with colorful wildflowers blooming among the weeds on the ground.
Many women and children in the village came with baskets to dig for wild vegetables.
"Sister Anan, come over here quickly!"
Huang Qingqing stood behind the bushes and waved to Lin Yinan and the others.
Lin Yinan led them towards her. Huang Qingqing and her two siblings, along with their maid Xiangyu, carried a large basket on their backs. The basket contained a lot of wild vegetables, mostly common ones such as shepherd's purse, sunflower, cudweed, wheatgrass, gray grass, and some dandelions.
"Wow, you've picked so much!" Lin Yinan exclaimed in surprise.
It's hard to believe that Huang Qingqing used to be a rich young lady. But after Huang Guichang abandoned her and her three children, she didn't complain or blame others. Instead, she shouldered the burden of the family and took on the responsibility of caring for her mother and younger siblings.
As more and more villagers came this way, Huang Qingqing had something she wanted to say to Lin Yinan, but she didn't want anyone else to hear.
So she said, "Sister Anan, Xiangyu just found a big bunch of shepherd's purse over there. Let's go pick some."
The group walked further in, passing through dense bushes, until they reached a clearing about the size of a basketball court, where tender green shepherd's purse grew everywhere.
Lin Chunrong and the others quickly put down their baskets, picked up sharpened wooden sticks, squatted down, and began digging.
The group dispersed around the area and began digging towards the center of the open space.
Huang Qingqing and Xiangyu followed beside Lin Yinan. The two of them worked quickly and efficiently, putting the wild vegetables they had dug up into Lin Yinan's basket.
"You've put the wrong vegetables in the basket," Lin Yinan exclaimed in surprise as she saw the basket filled with more and more wild vegetables.
She could tell that Huang Qingqing had something to say to her, but since Huang Qingqing didn't speak up, she didn't press the issue.
“That’s right.” Huang Qingqing smiled, her eyes crinkling, revealing a small dimple at the corner of her mouth. She continued, “Sister Anan, I want to discuss something with you.”
"What is it? Tell me," Lin Yinan said, looking at her.
Huang Qingqing hesitated for a moment, "Sister Anan, you know my family's situation. There's no man in the family who can take care of things. We just received five jin of grain, but this little bit won't last us until we reach the south. So I'd like to exchange some grain with your family. I wonder if that's possible?"
"Okay, I'll go back and tell Ayou."
Huang Qingqing's eyes welled up with tears of emotion, but she stubbornly refused to let them fall.
"Thank you, Sister Anan!"
Lin Yinan frowned slightly, pondered for a moment, and then said, "If we go any further ahead, we'll reach Dingshan City. Wu Xingwang is a merchant in Dingshan City. I'll go back and discuss it with my brother. Once we get to Dingshan City, we'll see if we can ask Mr. Wu to help us purchase some grain. If so, you can buy some."
"Great!" Huang Qingqing was overjoyed; her mother had saved quite a bit of money.
Lin Yinan squatted for a while, then stood up and moved her slightly numb legs.
“Your brother is 11 years old this year. It will be several more years before he grows up. If you don’t want to live off our savings, go to the village or the Yun family’s place more often, lend a hand, and help them out. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. When they need something, they will think of you first.”
Like Lin Tiezhuang's sister-in-law, who had five children to support, she still found time to mend clothes for the Yun family's guards. Although the pay wasn't much, it was enough to fill her stomach. As a result, Lin Tiezhuang also became quite clever.
Opportunities are created by yourself!
Huang Qingqing was clever; she immediately realized something and thanked Lin Yinan gratefully again and again.
When Lin Yinan and the others returned, the tents were set up and dinner was ready.
She told Lin Yiheng about wanting to entrust Wu Xingwang to buy grain, and Lin Yiheng immediately went to discuss it with the village chief and clan chief without even eating.
After discussing it, the group decided that it was feasible, so they went to the Yun brothers for help and asked them to act as intermediaries with Boss Wu.
Upon hearing that he could arrive in Dingshan City as early as tomorrow afternoon, Wu Xingwang was not in a difficult situation. He was willing to do the Yun family a favor, so he readily agreed.
After the meal, the village chief banged a gong to gather the villagers and register the names of those who needed to buy grain.
Finally arriving safely at Dingshan City, Wu Xingwang finally relaxed.
"Master, we're finally back alive!"
Having lived in fear and trepidation the whole way, the concubine held Wu Xingwang's hand and wept with joy.
Wu Xingwang slumped unceremoniously on the carriage, exclaiming, "Yes! We're back alive!"
The Yun brothers had already discussed it, and to prevent Wu Xingwang from denying his promise, Yun Mo would lead a small team to escort Wu Xingwang and his sons into the city.
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