At the beginning, the whole family fled from famine, and I used a milk bottle as a koi carp

Chapter 19 Wild Mint

Different groups of refugees passed by the water pool one after another. Without the bandits to stop them, the refugees who had recovered from the water would not stay here longer.

Old Man Zhai was more interested in the area near the water pool. Before the villagers left, he wanted to find some herbs with a basket on his back. The fact that there is still water in the pool and no one is thirsty shows that the place is rich in underground water resources and some plants that love moisture are particularly fond of this place.

An Ning Ning kept paying attention, and immediately took out her small basket and put it on her back, pulling Sanbao with her to follow Old Man Zhai, "Grandpa Zhai, Brother Sanbao and I will help you. We can dig wild vegetables."

Old man Zhai looked at the lovely little girl of the An family kindly, and touched her head, "Let's go! But don't cry."

Old Man Zhai used to be very popular with children in the village. He often gave snacks and candies to the children in the village, so it was not surprising that An Ningning and the others followed Old Man Zhai.

Boss An was worried about his daughter and went with him. Even if his daughter didn't follow, they didn't worry about Old Man Zhai going alone. Old Man Zhai was now a big treasure in the village.

Old Man Zhai didn't care anymore. He just followed if he wanted to. He didn't stop or agree. He just wanted to be casual, follow him or not.

When we arrived at the pool, there were still people fetching water here and there. This deep pool was very deep and felt like a natural huge stone pit. The water inside was also turquoise, turquoise. It looks very clean, and the homeless people passing by are also very conscious. No one jumps in to take a bath, they all bring water.

In today's dry weather, having a water source for everyone to survive is already a gift from God. It's hard to ask for so much.

The water pool may be large or small. The entire pit seems to be thirty or forty meters long, but the water level looks like an irregular sphere with a diameter of more than ten meters.

Old Man Zhai led An Ningning and others, and while walking, he unconsciously gave An Ningning and the others some science knowledge, "This is wild mint. The stems are upright, ridged, hairless or pubescent. Don't underestimate it. It has powerful effects." When grown, wild mint can be used as a medicinal or spice plant whose leaves have a bitter taste."

When Sanbao heard that it was ready to eat, he quickly pulled two leaves and put them into his mouth. As a result, he spit them out again with a "bah bah bah" sound.

"Hahaha, you stupid boy, why are you in such a hurry? This is soaked in water. How can you eat it directly? Soaking in water has the effect of relieving heat and thirst. It can also repel insects and fleas, refresh and relieve depression. Eliminate fatigue, calm the nerves, help sleep, cure colds and headaches, dispel wind and sweat, dissipate heat and detoxify, strengthen the stomach and eliminate bloating, antiseptic and fishy, ​​sterilize, and freshen the air.

In short, it has many functions, and you won’t be able to remember it even if you talk about it too much. Come, come, pick more, and make a medicine pack later to prevent mosquito bites. You can also apply it after being bitten by mosquitoes. "

An Ningning understood now. There was a patch of emerald green growing around the pool, and it was pleasant. How many of these patches were there?
  An Ningning and Sanbao started working together. Even those who were passing by to fetch water joined in the mint picking.

Mr. An is the main force in picking. People in the village have been bitten by mosquitoes recently. In order to hide from the bandits, the old, weak, women and children have gone into the mountains. Although they have been smoked with mugwort before, they can't withstand the mosquitoes! Adults and children alike were bitten a lot.

Old Man Zhai didn't care about them. He picked some wild mint and then went to pick others. An Ningning followed her, watching what he picked and asking questions.

Boss An couldn't stand it, "Ning Ning, you can't disturb Grandpa Zhai's collection of medicine."

Old Man Zhai looked at his cute big eyes that blinked for knowledge, and said in a rare defense: "Boss, you can't say that. It's normal for children to be curious and eager to learn! Don't be so serious, she will forget it in two days."

How can such a young child be certain? She can now quietly accompany them to collect medicines, which is already good.

An Ning Ning "." Can you say that? But if she wants to learn from others, she must not say depressing words.

"Grandpa Zhai, I must study hard. I will also learn to treat doctors from you in the future. You are so powerful when you do Zazaza." Sanbao asked doubtfully: "Ning Bao, what is Zazaza?"

Boss An patted his head and said, "Children, don't ask."

"Hahaha, that's not zhazaza, that's acupuncture, used to treat diseases and save lives. You're still young and don't understand much. You'll understand when you grow up."

An Ningning's head is full of black lines, okay! Now that I am a child, no one cares about anything I say.

Depressed, he went back with a group of people. As soon as Old Man Zhai returned, he started making anti-mosquito medicine packs and potions for mosquito bites.

An Ningning insisted on helping, but Old Man Zhai didn't stop him. The little baby was still young and it was time for curiosity, so he would probably forget about it after a while.

The belongings of the bandits in the cave were taken out and sorted by the villagers. Food was distributed to each family, and weapons were also distributed to the villagers of the limited security team. Others were also distributed to other people in the village.

After staying at the waterhole for a day, we started heading towards Anqing City. The refugees probably knew that there was a water source on this side of the path, and more and more people flocked to the path here.

There is no need for the villagers to stay too long, and they don’t want to conflict with other teams. The villagers are all dressed up in disgrace. Except for donkey carts, carriages and some household items, there are more people than other refugees. There are more people in their team, so Also normal.

The closer we got to Anqing City, the more people there were, and the queue became more tense, not to prevent people from robbing them, but to the pitiful, hungry, scrawny adults and children following behind. Those who were able to reach Anqing City had been in exile for a period of time. The Huainan King's territory did not provide disaster relief for the drought. Instead, due to the war between the princes and kings, taxes and military service were increased.

Everyone was disgraced, and the sadness on their faces seemed to let everyone know how difficult this journey was without opening their mouths.

People in the village became increasingly silent, with daughters and children surrounded in the middle. Security teams walked on all sides, trying to keep the line as short as possible and not come into contact with other people.

Not to mention people from the security team, even other people in the village occasionally saw desire in the wolf-like eyes of the refugees.

The group of people trembled until they arrived not far from the tower of Anqing City, but they couldn't squeeze through. More and more refugees gathered under Anqing City, and they were all crowded with people. The soldiers on the city wall did not take any measures. Seeing the situation, the team quickly stopped.

With so many refugees gathering, Anqing City did not take any disaster relief measures. They just closed the city gates and prevented people from outside the city from entering. In this way, there was no possibility of even passing through the city.

The village chief asked people to explore the road. They could not block the city gate. More and more refugees were gathering. According to the usual practice of officers and soldiers, they would probably come out to drive away the refugees at any time.

What remains unsaid is that in troubled times, many officers and soldiers captured refugees and sold them into slavery. These were many undisclosed secrets.

Even if the officers and soldiers could not withstand the pressure of the refugees gathering and would come out to clean up and drive them away, this would not be something ordinary refugees could bear.

It is too difficult for people to live in troubled times. The number of refugees is increasing, and it is far beyond the ability of Anqing City to save them. To prevent riots, there will inevitably be bloody suppression.

　Forgive me, I don’t want to write about the refugees being so miserable
  　　
  　
  (End of this chapter)