HLnovel Chapter 127 Meeting an old acquaintance
Chapter 127 Meeting an old acquaintance
The rainy February passed quietly, and the colorful March arrived.
On the first day of March, six months had passed since they left Muyang Village for Chongzhou City.
The high temperature at night dropped to the same level as before on the third day after they left Yongquanzhou, which was a few days earlier than Liang Pei had expected!
That day, they arrived at a place called Meixian, and had only walked half of the long journey of more than 3,000 miles to make a living.
Meixian is famous for its abundant bayberry production!
Every year, countless bayberries are produced in Meixian and shipped to various places.
The people of Meixian also live a prosperous life by selling bayberries!
Lu Qingqing originally wanted to stop in Meixian to buy some big, round bayberries for everyone to try!
However, the magistrate of Mei County issued a clear decree that they were not allowed to enter the city. If anyone forced their way in, they would be beheaded on the spot!
I heard that a few days ago, a group of disaster victims tried to break into Meixian to take a look, but the guards guarding the city drove them away twice in vain.
In the end, the archers shot and killed several people with one arrow, and they dared not to break in again.
They didn’t know if what they heard was true or not, so they didn’t dare to take the risk and had to change the route and take the official road!
Fortunately, the official road allowed the victims to walk!
Liang Pei walked in front, leading the horse, which was carrying their supplies. However, there was not much food left. The staple food was rice and flour, as well as wild potatoes, and some pickled salted fish and pork, a total of about 50 kilograms.
Assuming that one can eat five kilograms of food a day and only eat half full, it will only last for ten days!
I originally wanted to stop in Meixian and buy some, but I didn’t expect that Meixian would not allow the victims to enter at all. I had no choice but to continue on my journey and buy some in Guicheng, the next provincial capital, Lihuacheng!
However, the distance from Meixian to Guicheng is 300 miles. At their speed, it would probably take about a month!
Except for Lu Qingqing, everyone was worried about how to get something to eat on the road.
Although it is March, the winter jasmine has bloomed early.
There are also many wild vegetables growing lush green on the roadside.
Although wild vegetables are edible, they are not staple food. Eating only these vegetables after a long journey will not be enough to keep you from getting hungry!
Lu Qingqing couldn't tell them that the food stored in her space was enough for them to never have to worry about food and clothing for the next life, so she could only comfort them by saying that maybe they would meet some caravans on the road and they could buy some food then.
However, she did not expect that she would not encounter the caravan.
Along the way, they encountered many disaster victims one after another.
Most of them were dressed in rags, with dark features and skinny bodies that looked as if they would fall down at the slightest breeze.
It seemed that they had suffered a lot on the way here, although no one was missing any limbs!
But at least in terms of food, they did not get their food needs met in time, and they suffered greatly!
So, when the victims saw that they were dressed cleanly, had rosy faces, and had a black horse to help them, they were very happy.
Everyone's tired eyes flashed with greedy green light.
But after all, they were afraid of carrying swords and knives, so they dared not act rashly!
Lu Qingqing quickly and calmly distanced herself from them, not because she was afraid that they would attack her directly!
They all smelled so bad that they didn't dare to breathe.
I distanced myself from them by several hundred meters, until I could no longer see their figures, and the nauseating smell gradually faded away.
Lu Qingqing discussed with them that there was no rush to travel now, so just let them pass first before leaving!
However, Yang Liuqing said thoughtfully at this time:
"I think I saw several familiar faces among the disaster victims just now."
Everyone looked at her at once, and Lu Qingqing asked, "Second Aunt, who is it?"
Yang Liuqing didn't know if he had seen it wrong, and said:
"It seems to be Mu Yanshi's mother and her family. I don't know if she recognized us. But it's strange that I didn't see her son and daughter-in-law with her."
When they heard it was that old witch, everyone's expressions were shocked!
After all, the old witch is over sixty years old!
Not to mention the freezing snow, high fever, lack of food and clothing on the road, even without these, she could still walk such a long distance at her age.
The old witch's physique is truly shocking!
Lu Qingqing didn’t look at them carefully just now. If it was really that old witch Mu!
They have to be on guard at all times, because she once approached them to buy medicine, but they didn't sell it to them!
The old witch always felt that it was because they did not sell the medicine that led to her son's death, so she held a grudge against them!
Lu Qingqing saw that it was already noon, so she found an open place, made a fire, cooked, and ate before continuing on her journey.
For lunch, I’ll make something simple, braised shredded pork with rice over firewood.
The shredded pork is the meat cut from the salted pork ribs. There is not much of it, but it tastes so good when stewed with rice that you want to eat the whole pot.
The shredded pork has been marinated for a long time and there is a layer of white salt frost on it. It needs to be soaked in cold water for half an hour to make it less salty.
While the shredded pork is soaking, everyone should immediately divide the work and work together!
Boil water, heat the pot, wash rice, everyone has their own job
The youngest Lu Yaoyao also has a task, and she is responsible for patrolling everything around!
Second Aunt often praised her, saying that with her around, not even a fly could get close to her!
After half a month, the shredded pork was ready.
My cousin and Liang Pei, one was responsible for making fire and the other was responsible for cooking.
At this time, the rice in the pot is almost cooked.
Lu Qingqing squeezed out the water from the shredded pork and put it into the cooked rice to cook together!
When the water is fully dried up and the shredded pork is cooked, drizzle a circle of soybean oil on it. When you hear a "sizzling" sound, the aroma of the shredded pork rice will immediately come out.
When serving, sprinkle some freshly picked wild garlic on it, and the appearance of the shredded pork rice will instantly improve!
Lu Qingqing brought large bowls and filled each bowl to the brim!
Without waiting for her to say anything, everyone took the food away without any courtesy, found a comfortable place to sit down, scooped a mouthful of rice, blew on it to cool it down, and ate it.
Lu Qingqing looked at them guarding their food for fear that it would be snatched away, and smiled to herself. She also picked up a bowl and started eating like them!
However, before he had taken a few bites, he saw black shadows popping up one after another in the empty space in front of him, like bamboo shoots after a spring rain!