Flame hadn't walked with its master for some days, and it was very happy at the moment.
He was drinking water with his head down.
The ducklings had never seen a horse of this color before, and they quacked as they swam over.
Some were even mischievous, trying to jump onto the flaming hooves.
The drought has caused the river level to drop significantly, but at least this area hasn't completely dried up.
The lives of the villagers were not greatly affected.
Li Chi ran over breathlessly, "Master, it's done."
“A farmer is willing to rent their yard to us.”
"Let's go eat!" Murong Yue threw the cornbread in her hand into the river, and the ducks swarmed around it, quacking as they began to snatch the food.
She likes to eat at the farm.
The food in the palace, the food in the city, and the food in the village each have three different flavors.
But she felt that eating in the village made her feel even better.
The village has only about seventy or eighty households, and they are all very curious when they hear that outsiders are coming.
Especially now that it's the busy farming season, and school attendance isn't mandatory, many children gathered around.
Wow, that horse is so tall!
"How majestic!"
"You're so pretty, sister!"
Fine, fine, Murong Yue felt that she had fallen from grace. The joy of others wishing her a long life was not as great as the joy of others praising her beauty.
She reached out and handed a bag of pretty candies to the children.
Upon arriving at this courtyard, we found it belonged to an elderly woman and her son.
The two men stood awkwardly at the entrance of the courtyard to greet the group.
After learning that these people looked formidable but were actually quite easy to talk to, the old woman finally relaxed.
"Girl, you are so beautiful."
"You must be tired. Take a rest."
"Da Niu, go boil some water."
The old woman kicked her son.
The young man looked to be about twenty-one or twenty-two years old. He was tanned dark from years of working and had a pair of big, innocent-looking eyes.
She went to boil water with a blush on her face.
Ah Hao stepped forward and stopped Da Niu with a smile, "Grandma, it's alright. I brought a lot of people with me, just let them do the work."
The first time she stayed in the village, it was just her, Qi Yuan, and Li Chi.
There's nothing we can do but let the homeowner do it themselves.
It's best to have your own people do the work now, it's safer that way.
Without saying a word, the two plainclothes imperial guards went into the kitchen, and soon smoke began to rise from the chimney.
The old woman kicked Da Niu again, "Go kill two chickens, and then go to the river to catch two fish."
"Um."
Da Niu's face turned red again.
The old woman picked a large basket of wild vegetables from the vegetable garden in front of her house.
With so many people, we need to cook more food.
When Li Chi came to the village looking for a place to stay, no one was willing to help him. It was the old woman who took the initiative to stand up for him.
"Back when the old man was still alive, he went to the south to work as a镖师 (bodyguard/escort), and he relied on others to lend him a hand when he was away from home."
"You poor child."
"Come stay at my house."
This year's drought has meant that food supplies are already limited. Although the water control order isn't strictly enforced here, with so many more people in the household, we can't afford to use water.
Others laughed at the old woman for being foolish.
Joke it is, Qi Yuan gave Li Chi ten taels of silver as payment for lodging.
But you can't give it to someone in front of others.
To avoid bringing unnecessary trouble to the host family.
That's why Li Chi just now slipped the silver to the old woman.
The old woman kept declining, saying, "It's not easy being away from home, and you're all still children."
"How much can they eat?"
Li Chi smiled and stuffed the silver into the old woman's hand, saying, "Auntie, please take it."
"There are many of us, so we really eat a lot."
"Da Niu hasn't found a wife yet, has he? He needs money everywhere, so please don't be shy."
The old woman then accepted the food and became even more attentive to finding food for Murong Yue and her group.
The accompanying imperial physician watched the old woman work, her left hand so stiff she could barely stretch it out, and she had to grit her teeth and endure the pain from time to time.
He took the initiative to go up and ask what happened.
"Oh dear, this is an old problem of mine."
"Then let me take a look at you. I am a doctor," the imperial physician said with a smile, taking out a hand pillow to take the old woman's pulse.
"I'm so old, it can't be that bad, it can't be that bad..."
As the old woman spoke, her hands, true to her word, rested on the armrest.
The imperial physician knew what was wrong just by taking your pulse. "You caught a chill when you were young. I'll prescribe a remedy for you."
"Go to town and get some medicine, take it for a few days and you'll be fine."
"Don't worry, it won't cost even half a cent."
The imperial physician was not unaware of the suffering of ordinary people; he knew that many commoners could not afford medical treatment, so he prescribed inexpensive medicines.
Although the medicine takes effect more slowly, it is cheaper.
"Thank you so much, you are such kind people."
Just then, a sharp shout rang out from the courtyard gate, "Li Daniu! Come out here right now!"
"I want to break off the engagement!"
Um?
Murong Yue craned her neck to look out; there was more excitement to be had, hehe.
Standing outside the door were a chubby girl wearing a floral top and an old lady.
The old lady put her hands on her hips and said, "In this year's climate, you still let outsiders eat in your house. I heard quite a few people do this. Won't they eat all their stored food in one day?"
What does this mean?
"Are you telling me to marry my daughter into this family so she'll starve?"
The old woman looked embarrassed and put down what she was doing. "You all have a seat first. I'll go out and take a look."
The old woman strode to the front door and said, "Zhang Cuihua, what do you mean by this? My family is poor, but we're not so poor that your daughter would go hungry."
"Your words are meaningless; show us your family's stored grain."
"...This year the imperial court ordered everyone to plant sweet potatoes, so where will we get any grain?" The old woman was speechless.
"Haha, you've given yourself away, haven't you? Didn't you say the bride price was ten shi of coarse grains, two shi of fine grains, and fifty jin of pork?"
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