"You know it yourself." Seeing Qingqing's agitation, Jiang Ming only said one sentence before leaving.
What she did was none of his business; if it weren't for the fact that they had grown up together, he wouldn't have needed to say anything.
What do I know? I know? I never understood why you were so cold to me. You smile so sweetly at everyone else, why is it so hard to smile at me?
We grew up together.
Little Qiqi came out hesitantly and asked worriedly, "Sister Qingqing, are you alright?"
Seeing his cowardly appearance, Qingqing wiped away her tears and said coldly, "It's none of your business."
After saying that, he got up and left.
The boy, looking dejected, was left standing there in a daze.
"What are you doing? Sleeping."
Jiang Yu dragged the person who was eavesdropping back to the room.
A new journey is about to begin. What will happen next?
Sitting in the carriage, Qi Nuan hummed a long-forgotten song from her memory, a song etched into her soul, even though she might never be able to return to that world.
Suddenly her voice stopped abruptly.
She was somewhat bewildered; had the famine already begun?
She suddenly realized that she wasn't prepared for the coming famine.
"Sir, please have some compassion and give us some food. My grandfather hasn't eaten for days..."
She looked at the people praying on the ground and felt a sense of unreality.
They had only traveled a thousand miles, yet they had already seen many people wandering in the wilderness, searching for food.
On the ground is a little girl of seven or eight years old, and next to her is an old man with gray hair. One is not yet able to work, and the other has lost the ability to work.
That autumn, the grain they grew wasn't even enough to cover the tax revenue.
In previous years, other villagers would sometimes help them out, but this year no one has any, and they even fight over a little food.
Earlier, she and her grandfather could find some food in the wild, but now there are many people out searching for food.
They simply couldn't compete with others.
Seeing Jiang Yu's carriage, she knew that only wealthy gentlemen could afford to ride in it, and she could only pray that they would show some kindness.
Qi Nuan looked at Jiang Yu, who remained silent. He had long known that the famine had quietly arrived.
Their horses were also obtained by bartering grain.
Everyone else watched the little girl's actions quietly, their eyes filled with longing.
Qi Nuan closed her eyes and leaned against Jiang Yu's chest. She would support whatever decision Jiang Yu made.
She was destined not to be a kind person; she had read too many novels where people put themselves and their teammates in danger because of their kindness.
She couldn't judge whether her actions would endanger them, so she left the decision to Jiang Yu.
"Walk."
Jiang Yu only said one word.
The others listened to Jiang Yu and rode off immediately, but Wang Er stopped and hesitated for a long time before finally throwing the bundle in his hand to the girl.
"Brother Yu?" Jiang Ming called out to Jiang Yu upon seeing Wang Er's behavior.
"Ignore him."
Just then, Wang Er shouted.
"What are you doing? This is for them."
It turned out that Wang Er had only driven the carriage a few steps when the others rushed towards the girl, all vying for the bundle.
Inside the bundle were the pancakes that Ahua had made when they set off.
The bundle was torn open, and the pancakes inside fell out, further enraging the people and causing them to fight.
Wang Er kicked the man away, picked up the pancake and handed it to the little girl. Seeing how fierce Wang Er was, the others immediately knelt down and begged.
"Please have mercy, sir, we are so hungry."
Wang Er was somewhat at a loss upon seeing this.
Walking to the carriage, he said to Ahua and the others inside, "Ahua, Qingqing, give them your pancakes."
Ahua didn't move, she just looked at him with a cold gaze, "Second Brother, what will we eat if we give it to them?"
“Isn’t there still grain?” Wang Er blurted out.
"Yes, but what if there are other people begging in the next place? Will you still give to them? And what if there are beggars begging in the place after that? Will you still give to them?"
Wang Er's expression was somewhat grim. He simply said, "We'll talk about it when we get to the next place. Let's give them some food first."
Ahua didn't move, but Qingqing said, "I'm starving myself! Let's hurry, we'll soon be out of sight of Jiang Ming and the others."
Xiao Xing looked at this and that, then handed her pancake to Wang Er, "Second Brother, you can give these to them."
Qingqing glared at Xiaoxing, who sat in the corner, too afraid to speak.
After a while, Wang Er returned without saying a word and drove off in his carriage. He didn't know why they had become so cold-blooded.
They used to survive thanks to the kindness of others, so why can't they help others now?
"Let's stop and rest for a while before continuing."
Jiang Yu called out, and everyone stopped, lit a fire, and sat together.
While eating his pancake, Zhang Liao gestured on the ground with a wooden stick.
Qi Nuan watched from the side as the map of the current country, the Great Zhou, was roughly the same as that of the Qin Dynasty.
Kyoto is located in Luoyang, while they are currently in the Yuyang area. If they were to secretly accumulate power in the Bashu and Dongting areas as Zhang Liao planned, it would take them at least three months to arrive.
When Jiang Yu learned from Qi Nuan that famine and war were imminent, he had other ideas.
There isn't much time right now to produce food and make money; what's important is having people and land.
Moreover, the famine was mainly in the north, while the southern regimes were stable. The time and cost required for these new forces to intervene and establish themselves were enormous.
What they need now is to have their own territory in a short period of time.
Jiang Yu took the wooden stick from Zhang Liao and pointed to the map, saying:
"Go here."
Shangjun.
The natural disasters are mainly concentrated in the northern region, and soon the refugees will spontaneously migrate south.
Shangjun enjoys an excellent geographical location, situated at the junction of north and south, making it both offensive and defensive.
In the south, supplies can be collected; in the north, refugees can be taken in.
Jiang Yu touched the military tally at his waist, feeling its patterns, his expression unreadable. He had thought he would never need to use it again.
Looking at Jiang Yu's face, Zhang Liao felt a sense of familiarity and then thought of his surname, Jiang. Considering that he had been exiled here, he suddenly realized something.
Of course, Jiang Yu had no idea what he was thinking, and even if he did, he wouldn't care.
Qi Nuan handed the water to Jiang Yu. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Qingqing glare at Xiao Xing and then share half of her pancake with Xiao Xing. Qi Nuan smiled slightly; she knew Qingqing was a girl with a sharp tongue but a soft heart.
Qi Nuan wasn't surprised that Xiao Xing liked her.
On the contrary, Wang Er was clearly still angry with them, and he ignored the food that Ahua gave him.
Of course, Ahua didn't indulge him. Seeing that he didn't want it, she withdrew her hand and sat down to eat.
Qi Nuan knew their personalities, but some things couldn't be changed just by talking.
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