Ji Changying looked at Ji Dahe who was picking at the corner of his clothes with his head down.
He is eleven years old this year. His family is not well off and he looks much thinner than other children of the same age.
I have been exiled again recently. I look like a walking skeleton with no flesh on my body.
Ji Changying felt very complicated when she saw him like this.
Although the family believed in the Taoist priest's words, Ji Changying was skeptical.
As for whether she was that 'one soul', she didn't know.
I just hope I can have the chance to meet that Taoist priest and ask him some questions.
Now she didn't know whether the original owner's death was related to Ji Dahe's last stone throwing.
But looking at the frail and anxious child in front of him, Ji Changying lowered her arms and looked at him seriously: "It's all in the past. Now you should think about how to live a good life."
In front of her was just an eleven-year-old child.
She could neither forgive him on behalf of the original person nor do anything for such a child.
The clan leader and Ji Fengyi were discussing countermeasures together.
"It's not a peaceful journey. I don't think these officials will let us go easily. They will have to squeeze some money out of us! Do you two have any ideas?" The old patriarch sighed.
These people were just barely able to get by.
I can't sleep at night just thinking about this.
Ji Xiuren's face was solemn. "Compared to other things, these are not a big deal. The further north you go, the colder it gets. I've definitely felt the temperature drop at night these past two days."
Ji Fengyi said, "Liangzhou is located on the border, with vast territory and sparse population. It's bitterly cold year-round. It must be freezing cold at this time of year. By the time we get there, it will be the coldest time of the year. With the clothes we have now, I'm afraid most of us will freeze to death before we even reach our destination."
The clan leader's hands trembled, and he looked at Ji Xiuren for help: "Is what Feng Yi said true?"
Ji Xiuren nodded gravely. "Not only that, but that place is adjacent to the Northern Rong and the Jurchens. Foreign tribes often come to rob food and people, and it's not a safe place. Even if we get there safely, it won't be easy to survive."
The farthest place the other people in the village have ever been to in their lives is the county town, let alone other places.
Only scholars are different. Even if they just read books, they know more than others.
Didn’t you see that during the exile, the people in the village were worried every day about what to eat and where to sleep at night.
I never thought about what Liangzhou was like or how to live there.
Hearing what the two said, the clan leader gritted his teeth and said, "It would be better to just chop off our heads!"
"Chief, be careful with your words!" Ji Fengyi said in a serious tone.
The old patriarch knew that he had spoken out of turn and fell silent.
Ji Fengyi said, "Things haven't gotten to the worst yet. No matter how careless these officials are about human life, they can't just sit there and watch us all die. Now we should think about how to survive these few days! When we get to the next town, we should buy some warm clothes."
Thinking too much is useless and only adds to your troubles.
The clan leader cheered up: "Right! Let's ask everyone what they can do tonight. We can help each other out when the time comes. With more people, we can definitely get through this."
Ji Changying squatted beside them and listened to them analyze the situation.
Hearing this, she suddenly said, "I know a lot of food and can take people to dig."
In fact, all the food in the village's homes is in her hands.
The clan leader was so frightened that he trembled, clutching his chest and looking at her: "It's so scary!"
The uncle looked at her helplessly: "Don't make trouble! The clan leader is old, what if he gets hurt by you?"
Ji Changying said honestly, "I think the clan leader is in good health. He will surely live a long life."
The clan leader's brows relaxed a little when he heard this: "I can't even think about living to be a hundred years old. I'd be lucky if I could live to Liangzhou. Alas!"
After saying this, they no longer cared about Ji Changying being beside them and continued to discuss how to proceed in the next few days so that everyone could get to their destination safely.
Ji Changying listened from the side and felt that this was a group of people with extremely strong clan concepts.
Now I can’t even protect myself, and I don’t even think about taking care of my own family. The life and death of others has nothing to do with me.
We kept discussing until our family came and called us for dinner.
In the evening, Mrs. Hu made stir-fried beans and meat, put the dish into everyone's bowl, and then ate it with pot stickers.
After dinner, Ji Fengyi asked Hu: "Please prepare our family's silver. We will need it when we get to the next town."
Mrs. Hu was stunned after hearing this: "Didn't you hide the silver?"
Ji Fengyi was shocked: "I thought you were hiding!"
The two looked at each other, their hearts growing colder.
"Boss! Second brother! Third brother! Come here!" Hu roared.
The three brothers who were packing their things shuddered at the same time.
I haven't heard my mother's voice so angry in years.
Hearing Hu's voice, Ji Fengshou and his family also came over, not knowing what had happened.
"Have you three seen our family's money?" Mrs. Hu looked heavy-hearted.
Without money to pave the road, there was no way that their family could reach Liangzhou.
The three brothers looked at each other, and Ji Mingxuan's heart sank: "Mom, we don't even know where the money is, how can we hide it?"
The last bit of hope in Hu's heart was gone.
He collapsed to the ground, his face pale.
Ji Fengshou said, "Sister-in-law, do you need money? I have some!"
After he said that, he turned his back, rummaged around on his body, and took out a ten-liang silver note.
Zhou glared at him, "Where did you get the money?!"
Ji Fengshou chuckled and said, "Isn't this the day when the house was raided? I went out for a while to collect my wages."
Every year during the autumn harvest, people in the town would open casinos there.
He is doing well, looking after the place there and earning one or two taels of silver a month!
Before leaving, he hurried over to ask his superiors for his wages.
When people heard that his family was exiled, they felt sorry for him and gave him the ten taels of silver.
Ji Fengyi was in a very bad mood and had no mood to care where his brother got the ten taels of silver from.
After he told them about the situation in Liangzhou, everyone fell silent.
Seeing everyone in the family looking worried, Zhou took the remains of her parents-in-law from the ground and dug around inside while muttering, "Mom and Dad, I want to take the money and use it. I don't need you to help me look after it."
The whole family watched in a daze as she hid the money in the bones of her elders, and took out the silver and banknotes given by her parents bit by bit.
Ji Changying also pretended to rummage in her small bag and took out the silver bills from her uncle's family and Ji Fengshou's private money.
Then handed it over.
Family: ???
Ji Fengshou looked at the silver that looked very familiar and couldn't help asking her, "Where did you get this money?"
"It's from home. I took it when I saw it." Ji Changying said as a matter of course.
Ji Fengshou trembled: "You...you didn't take it from under the third brick on the threshold of your mother's and mine, did you?"
"Daddy is so smart! How did you know?" Ji Changying asked excitedly.
Ji Fengshou swallowed and didn't dare to speak.
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