Chapter 174
Fu Le certainly didn't want to sleep in the desert, but the woman beside him was already at her physical limit. So, to avoid her dying from overwork, he said, "Rest now, eat this." Fu Le handed the woman a palm-sized piece of jerky, "Eat it all, and don't hide any."
Luo's eyes darted around. How did Daidai know that?
Yes, Daidai is not the same Daidai she used to be, so it's normal for her to know that.
So eat, eat your fill, and then sleep. Sleep soundly with a full stomach.
Fu Le watched as the silly woman finished eating and lay down to sleep. She was also sleepy. She had forgotten that her body belonged to someone else. No wonder she was so tired.
After confirming that the woman was in a deep sleep, the woman and the monkey ate dried meat and fruit.
"Hiccup... I'm full." A fist-sized piece of jerky and a spiritual fruit were all she needed to feel full.
Fu Le felt bloated because he hadn't eaten so little in a long time.
Get up and take a few walks to digest your food. "Little Prince, you keep watch this night. You can sleep during the day tomorrow."
"Squeak, squeak, squeak!" The little prince grinned and patted his chest, "I'll take care of it!"
Fu Le lay down on the sand and fell asleep without worry.
Both the adult and the baby were in deep sleep.
In the first half of the night, the desert was deathly silent. The Little Prince squatted beside Fu Le, staring intently at the moon.
Time flies, the seasons change, and a glimmer of white light appears on the horizon; dawn is breaking.
The Little Prince looked to the north, and the monkey's tail suddenly stood straight up.
Help!
The little prince looked at Fu Le, who seemed to be still sleepy. Should he wake him up?
Its humans are so weak right now, they need to sleep~
Hmm, let the humans sleep. They're too tired, poor thing.
The entire Xiong family set off before dawn to avoid unnecessary disputes. Although they were numerous and not afraid, they preferred to minimize trouble.
As they walked, one of them said, "Mom, look ahead, aren't there two people lying down?"
Xiong Hai was the first to spot the two people in front of him, so he tugged at his elderly mother and asked her what was going on.
"My eyesight is bad, I can't see clearly. Okay, never mind, I guess it's someone camping and sleeping there."
"Oh, that's true."
The Xiong family consisted of eighteen people. Apart from six able-bodied men and four women, the rest were all teenagers, all boys, tall and strong. On their journey to escape famine, although there were some fools, they were all easily dealt with. After all, they had a large number of people and the men were strong, so no one would dare to make trouble for themselves.
As the Xiong family members got closer, they could see clearly that it was a woman and a child, both very thin and looking as if they were dead.
The mother bear was frowning and looked rather pitiful. Should we go and take a look?
Seeing that Xiong Ma was staring at her, the daughters-in-law knew what she meant. "Mom, I'll go," said Xiao Hui, the eldest daughter-in-law, as she walked over.
"Hmm, go check if she's fainted. If she has, give her some water. Anyway, the city isn't far away, so we can manage if we're careful."
"Okay, Mother, I understand."
Xiao Hui turned and walked forward.
The Little Prince: !!
What are you doing over there?! Don't come any closer! If you do, the monkey will attack!
Just as the little monkey bared its teeth, ready to make a move, it was stopped by a small hand.
“Little Prince, she meant no harm.” Fu Le had actually woken up when they appeared, but he was too lazy to move and thought he would get up after they passed by.
I didn't expect them to come and see.
As Xiao Hui approached, she noticed the child had sat up on his own and couldn't help but smile slightly. "Child, you're awake. Are you alright?"
Fu Le nodded and reached out to push Luo Shi, who was standing to the side, only to find that she was burning hot.
I'm sick...
Seeing Fu Le's peek, Xiao Hui squatted down and asked, "Is he sick? It's easy to get heatstroke in this weather, let me check."
Fu Le didn't speak, letting Xiao Hui do as she pleased. She touched Luo Shi's forehead and said, "Oh, she really is sick. Well, we have some medicine for heatstroke. Would you like to let your mother try it?"
Fu Le shook his head, then took out a red Qi-Nourishing Pill from his pocket and stuffed it into Luo Shi's mouth.
Xiao Hui, who witnessed everything, was surprised. "This is a pill?"
"Xiao Hui, come back." The old woman who had witnessed the whole thing called out. She could tell that the mother and daughter didn't need their help.
"Oh, okay, Mother."
"Thanks."
...
About half an hour later, Luo woke up covered in sweat.
"Ugh, it's so hot..."
"Eat something and get going."
Huangyan City.
A city built in the desert.
According to Luo, this is a small, unknown country in the south, which is currently experiencing a drought. The entire northern part of the country is suffering from drought, so everyone is heading south to find a way to survive.
The city walls of Huangyan City are made of huge piles of rocks, and the exterior is the color of yellow sand. The city gates are made of bronze and are very heavy, requiring more than ten soldiers to push and pull them.
Fu Le stood with Luo Shi at the city gate, looking up at the huge city gate that was more than ten meters high. He had only one feeling: he was like a weak ant.
It was a little past noon, and the temperature was extremely high. The people queuing to enter the city all looked miserable, their faces dark and oily. The women had their faces covered with veils, but their tightly furrowed brows showed that they were also suffering from the heat.
"Daidai, let's go line up. Give me the pass." Luo whispered to Fu Le, pointing to the long queue.
A travel permit? Fu Le remembered and took out a palm-sized folding booklet from the shuttle. Her name was on it: Yin Daidai.
Fu Le: ...
What kind of name is this?!
"They all seem to have paid copper coins." And it was collected per person, five copper coins per person.
"It's alright, Auntie has some." After whispering to Fu Le, Luo reached into her armpits, dug around on both sides, and pulled out ten copper coins.
Fu Le: ...
A copper coin with a smell.
"Hehe, isn't Auntie amazing?" Luo said with a grin, eager to claim credit.
Fu Le: Well, it's a complicated situation that's hard to explain.
This young woman was completely different from the young women she knew; she was flexible, adaptable, and extremely resilient.
After waiting in line for more than an hour, Ms. Luo asked Fu Le several times if she wanted some water, but Fu Le refused, saying, "I'm not thirsty, you drink it yourself."
"It's alright, Auntie isn't thirsty either." Luo swallowed, afraid that if she finished drinking, and Daidai got thirsty, there wouldn't be any water to buy inside.
She was saved by Daidai, and from then on, Daidai was her life.
"Young lady, do you have any water? Could I have a sip? I'll pay you back when we get to town, after I buy some more." An old voice interrupted.
Luo: ...
He didn't even turn his head, pretending he didn't understand.
Fu Le turned his head and saw a mother and son supporting each other, dressed in rags and exhausted, but the shrewdness in the old woman's eyes could not be hidden.
Seeing Fu Le looking over, the old woman immediately smiled. "Little one, Grandma is so thirsty. Could your mother share some water with Grandma? Thank you so much."
I thought the child would ask his mother, but to my surprise, she turned her head away and acted as if she hadn't heard anything, just like her mother.
Woman: ...
The smile on his face froze, and just as he was about to say something, it was Luo's turn.
The resentment in her eyes was undisguised. The man beside her glared at Luo Shi and said, "Mother, go inside and deal with them."
"Alright, two sluts, go in and sell them for money." Thinking of the two sources of income at once, the old woman stared at the two figures ahead, one big and one small, as if a pile of copper coins was already beckoning to her. "Hurry, hurry, keep up."
"Hey, hey, hey, don't cut in line, don't cut in line." Just as she was about to cut in line, she was blocked by the man in front of her.
The mother and daughter were about to lash out, but when they saw that there were five or six people on the other side, they held back and waited anxiously, their eyes never leaving the figures of the big and small.
Upon entering the city, Fu Le did not see the quaint and picturesque streets depicted in the TV series. Instead, he found paved sandy streets, with low shacks on both sides of the three-meter-wide street. Some of these shacks were supported by only four thick wooden beams, covered with cloth curtains to form small shops. The water sellers sat by the roadside, each with a wooden bucket in front of them, the water inside murky and bottomless.
"Want some water? It's cheap, twenty coins can fill a whole water bag." Seeing people looking over, the water vendor immediately asked with a hopeful expression.
"Madam, our water is cheap, only eighteen coins a full jug." Someone was trying to steal a customer.
Soon after, other water vendors started competing to lower their prices, leaving the refugees somewhat bewildered. They simply stood aside and waited for the vendors to finish arguing before deciding which one to buy from.
"Let's go, Daidai." Seeing this, Luo quickly pulled Fu Le away.
After walking a short distance, Fu Le grabbed Luo Shi and slipped a golden peanut into her hand. Luo Shi initially thought it was a child's toy stone, but when she looked down, she saw it was a bright orange-yellow peanut. Startled, she nearly dropped it. "Ouch!" she cried out softly. Luo Shi quickly grabbed it and stuffed it into her armpit pocket, glancing around as if afraid someone would see it.
Once she was sure no one was watching, Luo breathed a sigh of relief and whispered, "Daidai, don't flaunt your wealth. Are you stupid? Let's go."
Fu Le: ...
They looked so shifty and sneaky, it was unbearable to look at.
"Daidai, let's find a place to rest for a day. Tomorrow we'll go buy some supplies. I'll go out and find out how far it is from here to the south."
Fu Le nodded, without refusing.
It doesn't matter where I go; in the end, I'll just be staying put.
There might be some good things in the South, so I can go and take a look. This Huangyan City is no different from the previous Doomsday Sand Hell. She has encountered desert worlds several times already, and this time, she has come to an ancient plane, which is also a desert.
How far is it from here to the imperial city?
“The capital? That’s far away, in the far south. It’s said that there’s an abundance of rice and flour there, and the land is full of birdsong and fragrant flowers all year round. It’s a place of outstanding people and beautiful scenery. I’m from the north. If it weren’t for the famine, I would never have left the north in my life,” Luo said softly.
"Are there any carriages available for purchase? I don't want to walk anymore."
"Yes, but they're expensive. One of your golden peanuts isn't enough." A carriage—she could only dream of riding in one. A look of longing appeared on Luo's face.
Fu Le didn't speak. The two walked for about half an hour before the surroundings were no longer all shacks. There was a two-story wooden building with a courtyard.
"Daidai, let's go in and ask the inn how much it costs for a night." Although she was reluctant, Daidai wanted to stay comfortably. The golden peanut was hers, and she had the final say.
Fu Le was incredibly well-behaved, and the little prince would occasionally squeak a little, but Fu Le ignored him.
"Boss, how much is it per night? Can I take a shower? How many meals are included?" Luo asked loudly as soon as she entered the room. Her loud voice attracted the attention of the customers who were eating. When they saw that the two were dirty refugees, they all turned away in disgust.
The disliked Ms. Luo seemed completely oblivious to the disapproving looks around her, single-mindedly focused on getting an answer.
Fortunately, the shopkeeper wasn't one to judge by appearances. "It's a large dormitory, thirty coins per bed, hot water included, meals not included."
"Ah, well..." Luo was about to pay and make a reservation when the price seemed reasonable, but then a childish voice came from behind her sleeve, "I want a single room, not to share with anyone."
Upon hearing this, the innkeeper leaned over and looked down, meeting a pair of calm, expressionless black eyes that showed no trace of childishness. "Little one, a single room costs eighty coins a night."
The reason for quoting a price to a child was just a spur-of-the-moment decision by the innkeeper. Who knew, "Then let's have a single room, innkeeper, how about a single room with meals included?"
"Yes, just one meal, dinner." The innkeeper looked over in surprise, not expecting that the woman held a golden peanut. He took it and weighed it in his hand; the weight was acceptable. Then he gave her back a few pieces of silver and a handful of copper coins.
Luo counted them to confirm the quantity before finally putting them in his pocket with satisfaction, this time not under his armpit.
"Shopkeeper, are there any clothing stores around here?"
"Turn right after you go out, it's the third house."
"Alright, thank you, shopkeeper. Come on, Daidai, let's go buy clothes and some food while we're at it." Luo took the room key from the shopkeeper and left.
When choosing clothes, Luo always went for the cheapest options. She picked out a set for herself, both inner and outer garments, all the cheapest available, which cost her eighty-five coins. She winced at the expense. When choosing clothes for Fu Le, she bought three sets, both inner and outer, as well as three pairs of finely stitched cloth shoes, which cost her three qian of silver without a second thought.
Seeing that Luo was about to leave after paying, Fu Le stopped her, "Pick two more sets of clothes to change into, and three pairs of shoes, the same as mine."
"No need, these shoes will last me a long time, they're very durable. I don't need any clothes either, one set is enough."
Fu Le looked at Luo Shi's feet, which were showing her big toes, and said speechlessly, "Hurry up and choose. You're not changing your clothes. They smell bad, and your shoes are dirty and smelly too."
The rejected Mrs. Luo: ...
Finally, another two qian of silver were spent, which made Luo Shi feel very distressed.
“Daidai, after deducting yours, Auntie only has thirty coins left. We just spent almost all of it. At this rate, we won't make it to the southern regions. We can't waste money…”
The rest of his rambling was swallowed back the moment Fu Le stuffed three golden peanuts into Luo's hand.
"Spend it like crazy. If it's not enough, ask me for more." Fu Le didn't care what Luo Shi thought anymore and was too lazy to waste any more time talking about money.
What do you do with money? Spend it, of course!
Luo stretched her neck and went on a shopping spree, buying two roast chickens and a variety of pastries. She originally wanted to buy candy, but Fu Le stopped her, as she had no interest in candy whatsoever.
"Alright." Mrs. Luo was a little disappointed, but her daughter had always been like this, so steady that she didn't seem like a child. She didn't know how old her soul was, but it shouldn't be very old.
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