On the Difficulties of Escape in Ancient Times

Chapter 74 Inquiry
  The escorts didn't have any objections to the two extra mule carts at the back of the team.

This time there were eight mule carts of medicinal materials, and one cart for rice, flour and clothing. The only cart was occupied by Jiang Yu, and Hou Er drove the cart himself.

The other mule carts were driven part-time by bodyguards like them. The head of the bodyguard was exploring the road ahead, and no one had time to take care of the two extra mule carts behind them.

As long as you don't encounter bandits, there is no need for them to take extra care.

They can deal with ordinary bandits, but if they really encounter difficult bandits, they will definitely have to protect Jiang Yu, but they won't be able to take care of them.

However, after three hours, they found a suitable place to bury the pot for cooking, and a fragrant aroma soon came from the Xiao family.

It turned out that they had almost braised the pig's head in the morning, and now that it was heated, the smell of the meat made the bodyguard, Jiang Yuhou Er, and their five internal organs rebel, who were already hungry.

Boss Xiao came to greet them warmly: "My dear nephew, I've troubled you and everyone on this trip. We braised a pig's head. If you don't mind it, why don't you go over and eat some together?"

The escorts only get five or six taels of silver after being out for a month.

Although Jiang Yu paid for the food and accommodation, they made many trips along the way and knew that they would pass through the town in three days. They were not good at cooking, so they usually cooked rice with some prunes that could last for three to five days. Just a meal of vegetables and meat.

Moreover, they can eat white rice, and half of the pickled vegetables are oily pork belly, which is considered a very good meal for them.

If you usually eat at home, you won’t want to use so much oil when cooking.

But in front of the steaming braised pig head, I suddenly felt that the dried plums, vegetables and meat were no longer fragrant.

Hou Er was deeply afraid that Jiang Yu would not agree, and he did not care about his dignity. He couldn't help but pull Jiang Yu's sleeve behind him, telling him not to forget his lustful self.

Looking at the escorts with expectant eyes, Jiang Yu swallowed the words he wanted to refuse: "Then we would rather obey orders than be respectful."

Jiang Yu admired Boss Xiao in his heart. This wise nephew could shout so smoothly.

It made him regret a little. He drank too much yesterday, so he still called him Uncle Xiao.

After he passed by, he discovered that the girls of the Xiao family were eating dinner on the other side of the mule cart. After Xiao and her two daughters-in-law greeted them, they also went to the other side to have dinner without staying.

Without the female family members around, Jiang Yu would be much more natural.

Of course, it’s impossible to be too particular about eating outdoors.

Xiao Dalang and the others had cut some grass and tied it together to serve as stools.

In addition, the big pot was steaming, and Old Man Xiao had already begun to remove the pig's head.

Pig tongue, pig ears, and pig face are all sliced, and if it's not spicy enough, there's a big bowl of chili sauce on the side.

Most people in Yuzhang like to eat spicy food, so they all brought chili sauce with them when they fled.

When I went shopping in town, I didn’t forget to buy chili peppers just to make chili sauce.

The pork head meat in thick oily red sauce, paired with the white rice brought by the escorts, made the escorts particularly satisfied with this meal.

Even Jiang Yu ate a lot. He thought the pork face was too greasy, but the pork tongue and ears were just right.

Seeing that he didn't touch the pork cheek with his chopsticks, Boss Xiao thought of Hou Er saying that his young master likes to eat vegetarian food, so he shouted to the other side: "Lin Long, bring two plates of food."

Jiang Yu suddenly became alert.

Come, come, the Xiao family also wants to take the opportunity to let their daughter show her face in front of them.

He was already thinking about how he would get rid of them when he arrived in the county town the next day.

He soon realized that he was overthinking it. 'Linglong' was indeed a girl, but it was a pity that she was only in her teens.

She placed a plate of fried radish and a plate of shredded pork and celery in front of Jiang Yu: "Young Master, please use them."

After saying that, he went back to the female relatives. Jiang Yubai was nervous for a while, and felt that he was indeed too suspicious.

White radish and green celery are both pleasing to the eye and delicious to eat.

But he remembered one more thing: I heard that Boss Xiao has five daughters, but only three of them came to say thank you yesterday.

Is this disharmony between sisters? Or did something happen to the other two daughters?
  When the food was almost done, Boss Xiao took advantage of the situation and said that he had many female relatives, and from now on the team's three meals a day would be covered.

He even said modestly that his women could only cook some home-cooked meals, so I didn’t know if they would be to their liking.

If it's not to your liking, then everyone can do their own thing from now on.

The escorts did not expect such a good thing, and they all looked at Jiang Yu eagerly, hoping that he would agree.

They only brought prunes, vegetables and meat because they knew that their cooking skills were average and it would be good if they could cook the rice well.

Those who work as bodyguards also have the job of licking blood from the tip of their swords. Few of them are born into wealthy families, and they all cherish food.

Add some uncooked rice and add some water to cook it into porridge.

If it's burnt, then you have to throw away the burnt ones.

Even so, there will be a burnt smell in the rice.

Jiang Yu doesn't like to take the cook out, isn't it just a hardship for them?

If conditions permit, Jiang Yu is willing to eat something that suits his taste, so he doesn't refuse. He just says that the rice and noodles they eat are also from their side.

He also understood why the Xiao family bought some live chickens and ducks to bring with them. The book was prepared for them.

Thinking about it this way, he felt that the Xiao family had good character.

So, the next morning, everyone drank minced meat, corn paste, and corn tortillas.

At noon, we had pig's trotters, stewed radish with bones and fried shredded potatoes specially made for Jiang Yu.

In the afternoon, the men of the Xiao family gathered together with the escorts to chat.

Jiang Yu also subconsciously paid attention to the female members of the Xiao family and found that they all wore short jackets. Sometimes they would follow the mule cart for a while and shoot hares with bows and arrows when they saw them.

Anyway, nothing happened that he was worried about, and none of them were around him.

What surprised him even more was that he found that the girls had good archery skills, and they actually hunted a pheasant and two hares.

He asked Xiao Dalang, who was talking to Hou Er outside: "Have you all learned the art of archery?"

Xiao Dalang blurted out: "We are not as good as the eldest sister, second sister and third sister of the uncle's family. All three of them are very talented."

Jiang Yu heard the flaw in his words, and because he was talking about three girls, he asked insinuatingly, but Xiao Dalang didn't notice.

The main thing is that the Lin sisters are only the nominal daughters of their uncle.

In fact, they kept their original household registrations, and when they got to the place, they just said that the two girls were gone and it was over.

Therefore, Xiao Dalang did not regard them as his uncle's sisters, nor did he pay attention to the loopholes in his words.

After Jiang Yu found out the information he wanted, he changed the topic and talked about what he encountered while out.

Especially the road from Wuning County to Nancheng, they walk it once or twice a year. They know exactly where there are bandits and where repairs can be made.

(End of this chapter)