On the Difficulties of Escape in Ancient Times

Chapter 12 Lack of Everything

Xiaoxiao is a cold rainy night, miserable green and sad red, miserable wind and bitter rain.

The Xiao brothers took turns driving the mule cart, and even tied the ropes they had prepared to the mule cart so that those following behind could hold the rope and walk.

This way you don’t have to worry about falling or getting lost.

Xiao Xiao held the rope and walked forward with sore feet.

Fortunately, the original person often traveled back and forth between the town and her hometown, otherwise she would have been lying down long ago.

Wearing a raincoat, it was hot and heavy. It blocked the rain, but I was covered in sweat.

The soaked cloth shoes were stuck with wet mud and weighed more than twice as much?
  When I walked to the back, I could still feel blisters on the soles of my feet, which hurt every step I took.

Tired, in pain, and unable to sleep, she finally understood how hard it was for poor people to escape. It was simply not a human life.

When it got light, Xiao Youfu saw two pavilions on the roadside with firelight coming out. He wiped the rain off his face and drove the mule cart over: "Let's all take a rest first."

When Xiao Yougui saw that the person inside was the owner of the restaurant, he stepped forward and said hello, cupping his fists: "Shopkeeper Wu!"

It's hard not to be familiar with it. Fresh meat is delivered to the restaurant almost every day.

"Oh, it's expensive." Shopkeeper Wu was short, round and chubby, and looked kind-hearted. He glanced at the group of them with eyes, and greeted them warmly: "Come in and have a rest. I didn't expect that we still have time." It’s fate.”

Fortunately, remote land is not valuable nowadays, so the pavilion is big enough so that the two families will not be crowded.

Shopkeeper Wu's carriage and mule carriage were originally in the pavilion, but now they can only move them out first.

There was straw piled up in the pavilion. Xiao Youfu used local materials and pulled a lot of straw to lay on the ground, so that everyone in the family could sit down and have a rest.

Mrs. Liu was deeply afraid that her daughters would catch the cold, so she quickly took out the sheets and asked her sister-in-law to wrap them around her. She asked her daughters to change their clothes and shoes first, and when they were done, she and Mrs. Wu would change them.

Later it was the men's turn to change clothes.

Mr. Xiao brought a few stones from outside, and Mrs. Xiao set up the pot and started cooking rice porridge.

Xiao Xiao and the others did not grow food at home. They only grew some vegetables and fruits. They couldn't eat them all. They sent them to the town to sell when they were in season, and when they were out of season, they fed them to chickens, ducks and pigs.

Therefore, we buy grain, rice and noodles from our neighbors.

Xiao Yougui's family also bought them from villagers.

Therefore, the family did not have much food in stock. Later, food prices rose sharply, and they were reluctant to buy more.

Therefore, the two families now only have more than 60 kilograms of brown rice, more than 30 kilograms of flour, and some dried vegetables.

Now there are twelve people to eat at every meal, which really makes Mrs. Xiao worried.

If the family is allowed to eat freely, this will only be enough for six or seven days, right?
  After more than half an hour, the Wu family started eating first.

The Wu family is indeed a restaurant owner. They made a big pot of bacon and rice in a luxurious way early in the morning. The aroma is so delicious that it makes people drool.

When it was my turn to eat, it was brown rice porridge, which was stingy and not sticky at all.

Xiao Xiao suspected that her grandmother wanted everyone to have enough to eat.

She now misses the two sweet potato fields in her hometown that have not yet been dug, and she doesn't know who got the advantage.

Xiao Youfu also frowned: "Mom, didn't you boil eggs and duck eggs last night? Take them out and heat them up to eat. In such a hot day, they will go rancid if you keep them."

He spent money lavishly. Anyway, after Mrs. Liu came back with her daughters, he ate three meals a day in a small restaurant.

Nowadays, porridge with such clear soup and little water is really not enough to fill my stomach. Madam Xiao discussed with him in a good voice: "Boss, it's raining a lot outside and we won't be able to leave for a while. Can we eat eggs for lunch?"

If someone else asked for eggs, she would scold him back, but facing her eldest son, she felt a little scared.

Otherwise, according to her idea, half a bowl of porridge would be enough for the granddaughters.

Xiao Youfu also knew that there was not much food, and he didn't know where to buy food, so he didn't say anything.

Xiao Xiao also took the opportunity to get close to him and whispered: "Dad, sweet potatoes are usually dug at the end of August. Our sweet potatoes are not dug. If the people on the roadside also ran away, can we take the opportunity to dig sweet potatoes?" ?”

Xiao Youfu's eyes lit up after hearing this: "Xiao San, you are smart and your mind works very fast. Let's pay more attention."

After he finished speaking, he originally wanted to go out for a walk, but seeing that there were many people like Shopkeeper Wu and there were many men, he hesitated for a moment and went over to inquire: "Shopkeeper Wu, I would like to ask, where are you going?"

Shopkeeper Wu and his wife only took their two sons and one daughter with them on this trip, as well as two young servants, a mother-in-law and a maid.

They just looked at the crowd, but shopkeeper Wu knew in his heart that although his two sons were nineteen and sixteen years old, they only studied in the academy on weekdays and were not doing enough.

The two young boys are also seventeen or eighteen years old, but they usually just follow the sons and do errands in the academy.

They are all boys who have never been through anything, and they are also afraid that if something happens on the road, they will not be able to handle it.

Xiao Yougui is a pig butcher and has a lot of strength.

He was not familiar with this Xiao Youfu, but even though he had good features, he still had a bit of a gangster air, and he looked like he was not someone to be trifled with.

He also felt that if the two families could go on the road together, they could take care of each other.

At least they looked like they had a large number of people, so ordinary refugees would not dare to mess with them.

Therefore, he said kindly: "We are going to Jiangsu and Zhejiang to find my sister. Where are you going? If there is no destination, why don't we go together so that we can take care of her?"

More than ten years ago, his sister was taken as a concubine by the county magistrate.

It's a pity that the county magistrate has to change his post in three years, otherwise his family wouldn't be in such a mess.

Xiao Youfu took a closer look at the young man on their side and understood why Shopkeeper Wu showed his kindness: "Thank you very much, Shopkeeper Wu."

After chatting for a while and inquiring about some information, Xiao Youfu returned to his home and urged Mrs. Liu and the others to lie down inside and squint for a while, while he himself closed his eyes and began to sleep.

When Xiao Xiao woke up, she found that her two sisters on the side were still sleeping, her mother and father on the other side, and her second uncle's family on the other side.

Well, this can be regarded as a Datong bunk with the ground as its seat.

I didn't see my grandparents.

The family across the street was more particular and even used a cloth to cover it up.

But that was fine. She could tolerate her family sleeping on the straw, but she really couldn't tolerate strangers sitting across from her.

After walking for too long, her calves were sore and swollen. She sat up cross-legged and looked at the bottom of her feet. Sure enough, there were five foot bubbles.

There was a rustling sound on the straw. Mrs. Liu was very alert and woke up when she heard the movement. When she saw her little daughter looking at her feet with a frown on her face, she felt sad and whispered softly: "Little girl, mother will break it for you." , it will be fine soon."

Xiao Lian was also woken up, yawned, and said sadly: "I also have a few blisters on the soles of my feet. Mom, did you pop them for me?"

Xiao Xiu also opened her eyes when she heard the sound, and whispered: "Mom, do you have blisters too?"

Xiao Youfu, who was far away, also woke up. Hearing what his mother and daughter said, he felt very uncomfortable: It was difficult to go out, there was a lack of food, carriages and horses, what should I do?

(End of this chapter)