A daily intelligence report; in chaotic times and famine years, grain is plentiful.

About two miles from the village, there is a bare, withered forest in front of you.

Chen Mo was about to pass through when he suddenly stopped.

He stopped.

There were several new footprints on the snow.

More than one person.

Moreover, the direction of the footprints was exactly the same as his.

Chen Mo immediately squatted down and examined it carefully.

The footprints were quite fresh, with clear edges, indicating they were left at most half an hour ago. This meant that the other person's departure time was almost the same as his.

Li Laogen's warning, along with Wang Mang's visit yesterday, immediately connected in his mind.

Someone is following him.

He turned around abruptly and looked back at the road he had come from.

In the distance, behind the white snow-covered slope, several figures seemed to flash and disappear.

Chen Mo's heart instantly turned cold.

He gripped the handle of the wood-chopping knife hidden in his bosom.

Should we continue to town, or turn back now?

When they returned, the cotton-padded coat, salt, and medicine had all vanished. This time, they had taken the risk for nothing.

If you continue walking forward, the people behind you might very well try to sabotage you in this desolate wilderness.

He took a deep breath of the cold air, and a sharp pain shot through his lungs.

Running? It's useless.

Fight? The other side has more people.

Chen Mo immediately had an idea and made a decision.

Instead of taking the main road, he plunged into the dead woods by the roadside.

The snow in the woods was thicker, making walking more difficult, but it also made it easier to hide and fight back.

Since you want to play, then I'll play with you.

Chen Mo plunged headlong into the withered forest.

The snow has gotten deeper.

One kick went right up to his knee.

He didn't look back or stop, but kept his head down and moved forward.

[Zhao Si's Perspective]

"Damn! He's gone into the woods!"

Zhao Si spat out a mouthful of saliva, which immediately froze on his beard.

"Keep up! Quickly!"

Sun Gouzi urged from behind, his voice panting.

The two chased each other into the woods, their feet sinking into the deep water, but after running less than a hundred meters, they were so tired that they had to support their knees and were panting heavily.

"Is this kid a rabbit? He runs so fast." Zhao Si cursed as he muttered.

"Brother Mang said we have to stick close. If we lose them, neither of us will be in good shape when we get back," Sun Gouzi said, his voice trembling.

"Chase them? Look at this godforsaken place, the footprints are all messy and disorganized, where are we supposed to go?"

In the woods, the snow was scattered haphazardly by the wind, and Chen Mo's footprints were intermittent, with several places deliberately marked by his stepping on fallen, dead tree trunks.

The two wandered aimlessly through the woods and soon lost their way completely.

"Damn it, I don't care anymore, I can't walk anymore." Zhao Si sat down in the snow and refused to walk any further.

Sun Gouzi looked around at the identical withered trees and also felt deflated.

……

the other side.

Chen Mo pushed aside the last clump of withered branches and returned to the main road.

Ahead, several figures were moving slowly; they were families fleeing the disaster.

A woman sat by the roadside holding a child, who was motionless and silent.

The woman sat there blankly, her eyes vacant.

Chen Mo lowered his head and walked quickly past her.

This is a chaotic world.

Human life is worth less than the grass by the roadside.

He gripped the machete in his arms tighter and quickened his pace.

The outline of Qinghe Town finally appeared on the horizon.

The vast majority of shops on the street had their doors and windows boarded up, with only a few remaining open.

At the entrances of grain stores and pharmacies stood burly men wielding sticks, watching every passerby warily.

Under the eaves, refugees huddled together, their eyes vacant.

Chen Mo didn't stop. Following the map generated by the system in his mind, he walked straight towards the dilapidated alley at the west end of the town.

A dozen or so people were gathered there, each of them covering their faces with a headscarf or hat, their eyes warily scanning their surroundings.

This is the black market.

The transaction was conducted silently; everyone communicated using gestures and eye contact, and once they received the items, they quickly left.

Chen Mo spotted his target at a glance.

An old homeless man was squatting in the corner. In front of him was a tattered cloth spread on the ground, and on the tattered cloth were two old cotton-padded coats.

The cotton-padded coat was terribly worn, but it looked quite thick, much better than the single layer of clothing Chen Mo was wearing.

Chen Mo walked over and squatted down.

"How do I change it?" he asked in a low voice.

The old migrant held up three fingers.

"One pound of grain. Coarse grains will do."

Chen Mo shook his head.

"Too expensive. This coat is already so tattered."

"Half a jin (250 grams)."

"Eight ounces, that's the lowest I can give. I have three children at home waiting for the grain to be cooked."

Chen Mo looked at him and remained silent for a moment.

He took out a cloth bag from his pocket, untied the rope, and slowly poured about eight ounces of mixed grains into the other person's bag.

The old homeless man's eyes lit up immediately, and he hurriedly stuffed the bag of grain into the innermost part of his clothes.

He pushed the two cotton-padded coats to Chen Mo, then stood up, leaning against the wall, and hurriedly disappeared into another alley without looking back.

Chen Mo picked up the cotton-padded coat and examined it carefully.

Suddenly, his fingers touched something hard, hidden in the seam of the interlayer.

A small copper coin fell out.

He quickly put the copper coins into his pocket, tied up the two cotton-padded jackets, and carried them on his back.

Next came the medicine and salt.

Chen Mo arrived at the only pharmacy still open in town.

The shop assistant behind the counter was yawning, and when she saw Chen Mo dressed in rags, she didn't even bother to lift her eyelids.

"To get the medicine?"

"Medicine for coughs and colds," Chen Mo said.

The shop assistant casually took two paper packets from the medicine cabinet and threw them onto the counter.

"The cheapest herbs, one pack costs fifty coins, two packs cost one hundred coins."

Chen Mo didn't say anything. He took out the half silver coin from the place closest to his body in his pocket and placed it on the counter.

The man's eyes lit up instantly, and his drowsiness vanished.

He picked up the silver coin, put it in his mouth, and bit it hard.

His expression changed immediately, but what he said was all about planning.

"Young man, in these days, silver dollars aren't worth much. Grain prices change every day, so they can't be exchanged for many things."

"I'll give you these two packets of medicine in exchange for this half silver dollar, plus another hundred coins."

Chen Mo sneered inwardly.

Half a piece of silver is worth at least two or three hundred coins, but the shopkeeper immediately cut the price in half.

But he didn't have time to haggle here.

"Add another small packet of salt."

The waiter's eyes darted around. Salt was quite expensive these days, but compared to the money he'd swindled, a small bag of salt was nothing.

"OK!"

He took out a small paper packet, about the size of a palm, from under the counter and pushed it, along with a medicine packet and one hundred copper coins, to Chen Mo.

Chen Mo took the things and turned to leave.

He bought the cheapest piece of coarse cloth from a street vendor selling cloth for fifty copper coins. The size of the cloth was just right to make a small cotton-padded jacket for Ling'er.

As he passed a flea market selling secondhand goods, his eyes were drawn to a dagger.

The dagger is quite old; the wooden handle is cracked, and there are several small chips on the blade, but it is still intact overall.

The stall owner was an old man who was so thin he was just a skeleton.