Exile at the beginning: I rule the world by drawing cards

Chapter 5
The mountains in Lingnan are lush and forested. On weekdays, villagers go to the mountains to collect herbs themselves if they have any ailments or pains. Those who know more about herbal medicines will collect them and sell them to medical clinics to earn a few scraps of money.

Qin Mengshang didn't understand medicine, but when he went to the countryside with his mentor during the summer vacation, he heard from the villagers that crushing mugwort and applying it on wounds can stop bleeding.

Zhou Lingqi suffered a stab wound, so it should be effective.

Walking along the field ridge, I found a patch of mugwort not far away.

Mugwort is very common in the countryside. She remembers that when she was a child, her grandmother would use this grass to cook rice. Every year at the beginning of spring, she would pick the tenderest shoot tips and cook the rice with peanuts, bacon, dried fragrant seeds and diced carrots. Not to mention how fragrant it was.

However, the summer mugwort is old and not suitable for cooking. Besides, there is no rice at home, so today's dinner is still a problem.

Qin Mengshang squatted on the ridge of the field to pick mugwort, and several men in raincoats passed by carrying hoes.

"It's been raining for a month now, and if we don't see the sun again, this year's rice will be white again."

"Yes, we have dug ditches, but the rain seems to be endless. The rice is soaked in water and it is already June and has not yet headed. This year's harvest may be [-]% lower than last year."

"My family's grain harvest is almost at the bottom. If this continues, how will we survive the winter?"

The sound gradually faded away, and Qin Mengshang did not hear what was said behind it.

In ancient times, there was no hybrid rice, and grain yields were low. Most of the people in the village came from the north and had no experience in drainage and flood resistance.

If we use the method of digging ditches that she mentioned earlier, we may be able to solve the problem of water accumulation in the rice fields, but if we want to implement it, we must obtain the consent of Rimasa.

Qin Mengshang picked a large handful of mugwort and threw it into his basket. He got up and walked to Zheng's house, intending to borrow some food.

From last night to now, she hadn't eaten a grain of rice. If it weren't for the sip of water, she would have fainted from hunger. Zhou Lingqi was seriously injured and had to eat.

Li Zheng's family is in the center of the village. There are three sons in the family, all of whom are married. Plus a few grandchildren, there are a total of fifteen people. Therefore, this house is much more spacious than other houses in the village. Not only does the front room have a vegetable plot , there is a fence around the back to raise chickens and ducks.

It was raining at the moment, and everyone in the Chen family was there.

Seeing Qin Meng Shang come to the door, Chen San's daughter-in-law immediately became energetic and said to her little daughter who was squatting by the basin playing with water: "There is someone in the family. Go and call your father out."

The little girl glanced this way and ran into the house with her short legs: "Grandpa, grandpa! That beautiful exiled sister is here."

Qin Mengshang: "."

Can't we remove the word "exile prisoner"?
"Children are ignorant, don't mind."

Chen San's wife smiled, but she was not apologetic at all, and her eyes even contained a little contempt.

The female prisoners who can make it to Sanjiang Village alive these days are either like Widow Zhang, who slept with the officials all the way, or they are like the girls from the Su family, who spent their money and escaped. But looking at this face, it seems that there is only the first type. It's possible.

Chen San's wife's malicious look made Qin Mengshang feel uncomfortable, and he turned slightly to avoid her sight.

"Why are you standing outside? Come in quickly, don't get wet." Chen Li was calling her into the house.

Qin Mengshang took off his raincoat and put it at the door, and directly stated his intention: "Uncle, I would like to borrow some food from your family. Is it convenient for you?"

Upon hearing this, the faces of the Chen family immediately fell.

Last year, the water in the Xunjiang River rose, and most of the rice fields were washed away. The harvest was five to six hundred kilograms less than in previous years. Later, taxes were paid, and there was not much left.It has rained continuously recently. If there is another flood this year, the whole family will be relying on last year's harvested grain to support themselves. How can there be any spare grain to lend to others?

Old Mrs. Chen was not happy. The old man was soft-hearted. No matter who needed help, he would help. If everyone came to their house to borrow food, they might as well let a few girls in the family starve to death!
Chen Lizheng turned a blind eye to the family's reluctance and said, "How much do you want to borrow? I'll ask your aunt to get it."

Qin Mengshang noticed that Mrs. Chen was unhappy, so he didn't borrow too much, but borrowed five kilograms of corn.

In ancient times, rice was expensive, and poor people could only eat bean paste, rice and corn. Chen Li was kind-hearted, but if she asked to borrow five kilograms of rice, Mrs. Chen would probably kick her out.Besides, she would go to the river embankment to do work tomorrow, so she didn't have to eat at home. Five kilograms of corn would be enough for Zhou Lingqi to eat for several days.

Mrs. Chen felt a little relieved when she heard that she only borrowed five kilograms of corn.

But thinking that Qin Mengshang would follow her to help on the river embankment tomorrow, the hand scooping rice shook uncontrollably, and the final five kilograms turned into four and a half kilograms.

"Five kilograms of corn, remember to return it when the time comes."

Qin Mengshang couldn't weigh it, so he took it directly and put it into his backpack, "Thank you, Auntie, I will return it as soon as possible."

Chen Lizheng could tell at a glance that the old lady from his hometown was short of money. Due to the difficulty of showing off his face, he turned around and went to the room, grabbed two radishes and stuffed them into Qin Mengshang's basket.

"Uncle, what are you doing?"

Qin Mengshang wanted to take out the radish, but she didn't dare to take it when she was not sure whether it was free or paid.

"Take it!"

Chen Lizheng stubbornly stuffed it back. It was her fault that the old woman was stingy. He was already old, how could he take advantage of the younger generation?If this gets out, there will be no place for his old face.

Mrs. Chen was so angry that her eyebrows stood up. How could this bad old man go against her?Only half a pound of corn was missing, and those two radishes were at least a pound less!
This prodigal man.

Qin Meng Shang couldn't resist, so he had to accept it.

She didn't like to owe people anything and planned to pay more food next time, but the most important thing right now was to find a way to get some money.

After leaving Chen's house, the rain became heavier.

The gravel left over from the government's construction of the river embankment a few years ago was picked up by the villagers to pave the road, but there was only such a stretch of road that was easy to walk. Near the end of the village was a muddy road, and a mud pit was created with one step. I know if I can pull my foot out again.

Qin Mengshang simply took off her shoes, held them in her hands, and ran home barefoot. After all, she only had this pair of shoes, and she couldn't change them if they were dirty.

By the time we got home, it was completely dark.

Zhou Lingqi was still unconscious, his eyebrows were furrowed, and he was talking vaguely.

Qin Mengshang reached out and touched his forehead. The temperature was normal and there was no sign of fever. It seemed that the old doctor had treated the wound carefully last night and there was no infection.

He took out mugwort and mashed it, untied his belt, tore a piece of cloth from his clothes and wet it, cleaned up the blood around the wound, and then covered it with mugwort.

Originally, he wanted General Meng to give him medicine, but Zhou Lingqi woke up once. If he woke up and found someone else there, it would be difficult to explain.

Qin Mengshang's movements were very gentle, but Zhou Lingqi was still woken up by the pain.

He opened his eyes drowsily and saw his princess applying medicine to him. The memories of the two lives overlapped, and her misty eyes slowly turned cold.

That's how she lied to him for ten years with a gentle and harmless face!

If he remembered correctly, the assassination last night was planned by his second emperor brother in order to rescue the Qin family.

But now he is seriously injured and cannot recover, but his princess has not left and is even giving him medicine.

The oil lamp on the wooden table was clearly extinguished. Zhou Lingqi pursed his lips and said nothing. The light shining into his eyes seemed to merge into the boundless darkness, reflecting no brilliance.

The queen mother died with hatred, the entire Xuan family was destroyed, and the Qin family bullied him and hated him all his life. The past was still vivid in his mind, and he closed his eyes coldly. In this life, he would never believe a word of her again.

(End of this chapter)