Ask the mountains and rivers

Chapter 12 Food
Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees!

The wooden cart wheels rolled laboriously across the relatively flat official road, accompanied by the clatter of horses' hooves.

Exhausted and numb after walking for most of the day, the Pei family members stopped and turned around. More than ten flatbed carts piled high with grain appeared before them.

"The grain has arrived!" Madam Lu exclaimed in surprise.

It wasn't just Madam Lu who lost her composure; the Pei family members, young and old, who had been starving for days, all had their eyes shining. Their gazes towards Pei Qinghe grew increasingly fervent.

The journey over the past few days had been arduous, but everyone had endured it silently. However, with only two dry biscuits and a meager amount of water each day, it was far from enough to fill their stomachs, making the ordeal truly unbearable.

Of all things, eating is the most important. This principle is simple yet true.

It was grain that Pei Qinghe had demanded from the Prince of Zhangwu!
At this moment, Pei Qinghe's image in the hearts of the clansmen suddenly rose to a height of more than two zhang!
Several palace guards dismounted and approached Pei Qinghe. The leading guard, Gao, bowed and said, "We have bought all the grain, cotton cloth, and medicine that Miss Pei requested."

The items were easy to buy; grain shops, cloth shops, and pharmacies in the county town all had them, and I bought everything in less than half a day.

The real time and effort required was finding the car and the people.

Flatbed carts are easy to find; a dozen or so won't cost much. The animals for pulling them are much harder to buy. Horses are out of the question; the military camps don't have enough, and you can hardly find any for sale on the market. Cattle are also precious and expensive.

In rural areas, mules and donkeys are commonly used for pulling carts.

You need to buy more than a dozen horses at once and find a driver who knows how to drive and take care of the animals. Most importantly, the driver must be willing to make a trip to Youzhou.

In those days, leaving the county town was considered a long journey. It was a long trip of over a thousand li, and a round trip was three thousand li. The drivers shook their heads when they heard this, refusing to go no matter how much money they were offered.

After being refused several times, the guard Gao finally got angry and tied up a homeless, bachelor coachman. He brandished his long sword, threw in ten taels of silver, and the thirty-year-old coachman obediently drove the carriage.

The process of finding a doctor was similar. In the end, they "invited" a young doctor by using their longswords.

These are trivial matters, not worth mentioning.

The guard Gao casually told Miss Pei that he had lived up to expectations and successfully completed the mission.

Pei Qinghe pretended not to see the unlucky-looking coachman and the dejected young doctor, and politely thanked Guard Gao: "Guard Gao, thank you for your hard work."

The guard replied, "I am here on His Highness's orders to escort the Pei family to Youzhou. I am at the behest of Miss Pei Liu and do not deserve your thanks."

The implication is quite clear.

We have already done more than enough to ensure the safety of the Pei family, young and old. Please refrain from making any unreasonable requests.

Lieutenant Sun came over and chatted warmly with Guard Gao.

In terms of official rank, Commandant Sun was a commandant of the eighth rank. Guard Gao didn't even have a rank. Yet, when they actually arrived at the same place, it was Commandant Sun who fawned over Guard Gao.

Gao, the Imperial Guard, was a guard of the Eastern Palace and a man of the Prince of Zhangwu. Even if the Eastern Palace was being squeezed and suppressed by the Prince of Wei, it was not something a mere captain could afford to offend.

The guard Gao gave a cold smirk: "Commander Sun is truly a master of marching and traveling. It took us two days to catch up with him."

The sarcasm is clearly evident.

The Pei family, including the elderly, women, and children, actually walked at a pace slower than an army. It must be because Commander Sun was putting too much pressure on them.

Lieutenant Sun explained with a wry smile, "Guard Gao has misunderstood. I originally planned to travel twenty li a day. It was the Pei family who took the initiative to speed up."

The guard sneered, clearly showing his disbelief.

Lieutenant Sun was speechless and decided to remain silent.

The guard wasn't blind; he could see clearly as they traveled together.

The guard quickly broadened his horizons.

The elderly women sat on the prison carts, each holding a young child. The women of the Pei family were divided into several groups, each led by a person. Pei Liu, the sixth daughter, walked with varying paces, urging, reminding, and encouraging everyone to move forward. The Pei clan, without any adult males, did not weep bitterly, nor did they collapse; they moved forward silently and tenaciously. Perhaps their formation was still rough and not very orderly, but it possessed a stubborn and tenacious vitality.

Sixth Miss Pei has been the pillar of the Pei clan.

The guard's expression was complicated, and he remained silent for a long time.

When they arrived at the post station that evening, Guard Gao took the initiative to chat with Lieutenant Sun, without mentioning the Pei family at all, which was tacitly considered an apology.

Captain Sun certainly wouldn't mind, and even took the initiative to invite Guard Gao to have dinner together.

Traveling together for several months at a time, a strained relationship would indeed be inconvenient.

The guard agreed.

Captain Sun sent the clever, black-faced soldier to the kitchen. In no time, the soldier returned, carrying a large tray with four plates of meat and a small pot of wine.

"Sixth Miss Pei asked the cook to prepare a few dishes and invited the captain and guard Gao to have a couple of drinks."

Wealth can move mountains.

Five hundred taels of silver notes were exchanged for small silver ingots of five taels each, which were neatly placed in a box. Miss Pei was generous and rewarded him with a silver ingot, and the cook, full of energy, prepared several of his signature dishes.

The soldier with the mole on his face put the dishes and wine on the table with a big smile: "Sixth Miss also invited us to have two dishes and two jars of wine."

Drinking is forbidden while on duty; that's the rule in the military. But when you're out on the front lines, the rules can be a bit more flexible. Fifty-odd people shared two jars of wine, each person drank a small half-bowl, satisfying their cravings without interfering with their business.

This Miss Pei, though young, is remarkably tactful and experienced in her dealings.

Captain Sun and Guard Gao exchanged a glance, both feeling a pang of sadness.

It's a pity she's the daughter of a disgraced official and will be exiled to Youzhou. What a shame!
Lieutenant Sun and Imperial Guard Gao drank together happily, and the soldiers ate heartily.

There was a stone mill in the inn. A donkey pulled the mill for an hour and ground several bags of flour.

Wu and about twenty other capable women worked until midnight kneading and mixing the dough, steaming hot buns that piled up like a small mountain.

Pei Qinghe ate five soft steamed buns and drank a large bowl of hot vegetable soup, feeling completely satisfied.

Pei Yun, Pei Yan, Pei Xuan, and Pei Feng sat around Pei Qinghe. They were all teenagers at the age where they could eat their fathers out of house and home. After several days of long journeys that had exhausted them, they were all starving and ate heartily.

"Cousin, will we still be able to have hot steamed buns tomorrow?"

Pei Feng let out a happy burp and asked expectantly.

Pei Qinghe's eyes flashed with a smile, and she nodded: "Of course."

These dozen or so cartloads of grain are enough to feed the Pei family of over three hundred people all the way to Youzhou. Only when they are well-fed and watered will they have the strength to train.

Pei Yan and Pei Xuan grinned and cheered together. Pei Yun, being a few years older and more composed, hesitated and whispered, "Shouldn't we eat sparingly to avoid starving when we get to Youzhou?"

Pei Qinghe raised an eyebrow and smiled: "Don't worry, I have my own way of handling things once we get to Youzhou."

strangeness.

Why does Qinghe's cousin speak with such familiarity and certainty when talking about unfamiliar places thousands of miles away?

Pei Yun was puzzled, but before she could ask, a terrified scream suddenly rang in her ears.

……

(End of this chapter)