Archives: FS

“Then, give me half of the total price. The little kid won’t take up much space.” The village chief begged.

The shopkeeper said impatiently: “Okay, okay, okay.”

The village chief kept mumbling something, but for a long time, he couldn’t figure out how many copper coins he would give.

Just when the shopkeeper was about to ask how many people were in his family, Gu Fei said from the side: “Grandpa, the village chief, you have six adults and two children. Plus a bucket of water, you need to give him 140 cents.”

The village chief looked at her in surprise: “You girl, can you still count?”

“Is this right?”

The shopkeeper also glanced at Gu Fei and said, “This girl is right, it’s 140 cents.”

The village chief gave a bunch of one hundred cents, counted another forty cents, and quickly called his son to fetch water.

Gu Zhang looked at Gu Fei: “Where will we live?”

It doesn’t matter where Gu Fei sleeps, but she wants to take a bath.

Since she came to this world, she hasn’t taken a bath yet!

The water at home was barely enough for the family to eat and drink, but it was not enough for her to take a bath, so she did not dare to make such an unreasonable request to take a bath.

Gu Fei pulled her father aside and said, “Dad, I’m thinking about getting a room. I need to take a bath. My injuries are not bad, and I’m itchy all over.”

Gu Zhang had no objection: “That’s fine. You women stay in the closed room at night. There aren’t enough beds to make the floor, so your brothers and I will stay in the common bunk.”

“It’s just that Uncle Ma is here——”

As he spoke, he turned his head and glanced at Uncle Ma. Uncle Ma seemed to understand what he meant and smiled at Gu Zhang, “I’ll sleep in the open room.”

When he was young, he often slept in the fields.

Gu Zhang nodded: “Then I’ll wrong you.”

Gu Fei quickly handed over the money to the shopkeeper and bought a few more buckets of water, planning to boil it at home for a bath later.

Gu Qing and his younger brothers built a simple stove out of clay and rubbish. Gu Fei pretended to rummage around in the car a few times and took out a large iron pot and then two buckets.

Mrs. Chen came over and whispered: “Daughter, I’m thinking about it. Today at noon, everyone sees our family eating white noodles, and I’m afraid they feel a little knotty in their hearts. Bring out some meat, and we’ll make a pot of broth later. Give a bowl to every household.”

Gu Fei admires her mother so much, she has such a high emotional intelligence.

She nodded, pretended to rummage in the car for a while, took out a piece of meat, and took out the chopping board and kitchen knife.

Gu Erlang went to fetch water, and Gu Qing and Gu Sanlang took a lantern and went to find dry firewood in the field nearby.

Mrs. Chen placed the chopping board on the waist-high loess wall and began to chop the meat.

Mrs. Qian’s side was in disgrace. Gu Zhong didn’t do any work at home, and he still didn’t do any work when he came out, wandering around with his hands behind his back.

Mrs. Qian’s earthen stove hadn’t even been set up yet, and Xing’er was being ordered around by her, sometimes asking her to take this, and sometimes letting her take that.

Bao’er played with Huzi and the village chief’s grandsons Shan Yao and Lian Qiao.

The old lady looked at the second branch’s family. Two earth stoves were set up, and water was brought over. Li Chunhua was stirring the soup, while Mrs. Chen was chopping meat.

Gu Fei and Lanzhi were picking off the roots and yellow leaves of the wild vegetables they picked on the road.

Everything was in order.

The rest of the families also joined the battle, and the village chief’s family started making noodles.

The old lady hurried to Mrs. Qian’s side to help. She was afraid that her eldest son and precious grandson would not be able to eat dinner.

 

There was no moon or stars in the sky.

Every family has lit up a lantern, and the carriage can only illuminate a small area around it, and it is surrounded by darkness.

The howls of animals occasionally came from the surroundings, which scared Xiao Cao in the carriage and burrowed into the old lady’s arms.

Uncle Ma got out of the carriage and quickly adjusted the positions of several carts in the convoy.

The carriage he drove with Gu Zhang was at the head of the group, and the carriage that Gu Sanlang was driving with his uncle was at the end.

The Eldest Uncle was from the mountains and often goes hunting in the mountains.

Although he was a bit older, over fifty, he was courageous and experienced. He was at the last of the group and could respond to any emergencies in time.

After adjustment, they kept moving forward.

The people walking were clinging to the side of the cart at this time. The unknown darkness was terrifying.

If they walk quickly, they will arrive there in two-quarters of an hour.

But this group of people was very tired after walking for a day, and it took almost half an hour to reach the inn that Uncle Ma mentioned.

Everyone was overjoyed when they saw the light in the inn.

The inn was surrounded by a low wall, which just meant to surround the place.

Everyone rushed inside, and the waiter at the door shouted: “We are—”

The group of people had no experience of going out, and their carts were not unloaded, so they all rushed into the inn.

Mrs. Qian found a bench and slumped down on it.

Mrs. Li’s body was already weak. Although she rested in the carriage several times along the way, she was no better than Mrs. Qian. She leaned on a chair and panted.

Li Chunhua and Mrs. Chen were in good condition. They hurriedly unpacked their bags and got water to drink.

The men were all gathered in front of the counter. Uncle Ma was asking the shopkeeper: “How much is the room in the inn?”

The shopkeeper glanced at their clothes and saw that they were all countrymen. He said slowly: “The upper room cost 1 tael of silver, with four buckets of hot water. The rest of the room cost 500 cents a night, with one bucket of hot water. The open area room costs 20 cents per head. You have to take care of your luggage. If you want bedding, you have to pay extra money.”

“The fodder for the animals costs 5 cents a bundle. If you want it, go find the waiter and buy it yourself.”

The village chief frowned and said: “Shopkeeper, the room that cost 20 cents, doesn’t it provide even with a bowl of water?”

The shopkeeper raised an eyebrow and said: “It’s nice enough to have a shelter from the wind for 20 cents. Do you still want some water?”

“If you want to drink water, you can buy it separately, 100 cents a barrel. If you want to drink it, you can collect firewood and burn it yourself.”

Zhang Laoda shouted first: “Isn’t the water you sell too expensive?”

The shopkeeper shook his head: “Do you know where this water comes from? The water in the well has dried up! I hired people to pick it up from the Yangshizi River more than 10 miles away. I have to pay dozens of coins for a bucket of water. If you find it expensive, go pick it out from the river yourself.”

Everyone was silent, the drought was getting more and more serious.

When they came out this morning, they also brought half a bucket of water.

Uncle Ma didn’t say anything and looked at everyone. He only cared about the journey. As for how everyone wanted to stay in the inn, each family had their ideas and he couldn’t control it.

The village chief spoke first: “My family will all live in the open room. Our journey is still long, money will be spent anywhere.”

“We’ll buy another bucket of water, and we’ll boil it ourselves.”

Everyone also thought that it would be more cost-effective to live in the open room.

The village chief has a family of eight, including the elder couple, two sons, two daughters-in-law, a ten-year-old grandson, and a nine-year-old granddaughter.

The village chief took out the money bag from his sleeve, and while counting the copper coins, he said to the shopkeeper: “I have two children at home, so I don’t need to pay, right?”

The shopkeeper rolled his eyes and said: “Why not? Doesn’t your children also take up space when sleeping?”

 

Everyone took a rest and continued moving forward.

Gu Fei, Xiao Cao, Lanzhi, and the old lady were all crowded in the carriage.

Her physical strength has reached its upper limit, and she cannot leave without resting for an hour or two.

Gu Fei was sitting in the carriage, massaging Lanzhi’s calves. The old lady snorted as she watched.

She clearly remembered what Lanzhi said before. It cost one thousand and eighty taels of silver to redeem this girl, and Xiao Fei also paid two hundred taels.

Two hundred taels!

How many years could they eat without worry?

This girl has a lot of money hidden, so she gives her a sheepskin coat!

She was her biological grandmother, but she was treated worse than a poor young lady!

Also, this young lady from the Marquis Mansion was bought by their family. Shouldn’t she be their maid? Why was she still being taken care of by Gu Fei?

Gu Fei was a member of their family, while Lanzhi was an outsider. The old lady can still clearly distinguish between the inside and outside.

The old lady couldn’t stand it and couldn’t help but say: “I, an old lady, have a sore back after sitting in the car for a long time, but no one helped me.”

Lanzhi was very well-behaved and said quickly: “Old lady if you don’t feel well, I’ll massage you.”

The old lady snorted: “I don’t feel comfortable anywhere. This carriage is so bumpy that my bones will fall apart!”

Lanzhi quickly pressed her small hands on the old lady’s waist.

At this time, Xiao Cao said with a milky voice: “Aunt, I will massage you too.”

Xiao Cao’s hands were soft and without any strength when she massaged Gu Fei’s legs. Gu Fei only felt itchy and couldn’t help but giggle, “Xiao Cao, stop pressing it, I can do it by myself.”

Gu Fei massaged her leg with all her strength. She knew very well that if she didn’t massage it hard, she might not be able to lift her leg tomorrow.

After riding in the carriage for half an hour, Gu Fei got out and continued walking.

Lanzhi also came down. She knew her current status. In short, she couldn’t go out of her way. Gu Fei couldn’t walk, so she rode into the carriage earlier.

Along the way, Uncle Ma stopped two more times. When it got dark, Uncle Ma did not stop and continued walking forward.

The village chief sent his eldest son Gu Jinsheng to ask Uncle Ma: “Uncle Ma, my father asked how long we have to go. We are hungry, and the mule can’t bear it anymore.”

Uncle Ma looked at the sky and shook his head. “We can’t rest yet. Everyone is walking too slowly. We should walk more than 100 miles a day. B today, we only walked 50 or 60 miles in the whole day.”

“At night, we can’t stay in the wilderness unless we have no other choice. There are wolves. There is an inn about 10 miles ahead. We can rest there after we get there.”

Gu Jinsheng went to talk to the village chief dejectedly.

Bao’er couldn’t bear it for a long time and climbed onto his sister’s back again.

Gu Fei said nothing more. After all, Bao’er was still young and must have been unable to walk. At this time, even if he was given more candy, he would not walk on his own.

It was good that the Gu Family had an empty carriage. The women in the family, as well as Mrs. Li, all took turns to get up and rest for a while, then got down and continued walking. They can still hold on for now.

Gu Fei looked at Mrs. Qian, gasping for air and moving with difficulty.

Along the way, she looked at the Gu Family’s mule carriage several times. She probably wanted to get on the cart and have a rest, but she couldn’t help but feel ashamed.

If it was someone else, Gu Fei would have asked her to get in the car and have a rest, but Mrs. Qian’s mouth was too venomous, so Gu Fei was not so kind.

The sky soon became completely dark.

 

Gu Fei looked at her coldly: “Where did I get my money? Do I need to tell you?”

“I didn’t steal or rob, nor did anything illegal. Where my money comes from is none of your business!”

Zhang Laoda suddenly said, “Yes, in this world, who tells others how did they get rich? Even the masters kept secrets from their disciples. Xiao Fei can make money, so don’t be jealous!”

The village chief also nodded quickly, “Xiao Fei is promising. From now on, our fellow villagers will be counting on your help. Mrs. Qian, please stop talking nonsense!”

Uncle Ma’s eyes, who stood behind the people, flashed.

Gu Zhang sighed heavily at this time.

“I was wrong.”

“Originally, when I got the news, I should have left quietly with my family. I wouldn’t encounter so many troubles.”

“Thinking about my relatives and neighbors, I can’t just care about myself and watch everyone die. But now, I think I shouldn’t have gone to the village chief!”

Gu Zhang beat his head hard. After speaking, he turned his back, his shoulders shaking slightly.

Gu Fei glanced at her father, this drama was played just right!

But if only their family left, all their belongings could be stored in the space. Their family would ride in the carriages and travel very fast. They don’t need to suffer like this.

Mrs. Chen wasted no time in adding some fire, she punched Gu Zhang a few times: “It’s all because of you. I told you that we can just leave all by ourselves. Others don’t matter. Look at it now, our daughter is being pointed at, and might get into trouble!”

Gu Zhang regretted it. Yes, he should have thought more about this matter. His family ate white noodles every day, who wouldn’t be jealous?

The village chief said quickly: “Gu Zhang you have a conscience, and we are all grateful. Otherwise, everyone would still be in the dark and not know that this drought is so severe.”

“The Gu Family can afford to eat white buns, no one needs to be jealous. You can’t compare yourselves to others. There are so many people in the city who eat white buns every day. The Emperor also eats delicacies from the mountains and seas every day. Do you want to compare yourself with the emperor?”

“No one is allowed to talk about this matter from now on!”

The village chief looked at Gu Zhong and said seriously: “Gu Zhong, take care of your wife. You can’t just let her say anything she wants to say. If the officers and soldiers come after us and are recruited, everyone can only blame her!”

Gu Zhong pulled Mrs. Qian hard and said: “If you can’t say anything good, please just shut up and don’t speak!”

Mrs. Qian received a slap in the face and was criticized by everyone. She couldn’t keep it off her face, so she broke away from Gu Zhong’s hand and ran away.

The village chief smoothed things over: “Okay, okay, everyone, hurry up and eat. After eating, we still have to hurry.”

Uncle Ma lowered his eyes and thought silently. What news did Gu Zhang get that made him decide to flee to the south?

Also, if the little girl’s money doesn’t come from the Marquis Mansion, where did it come from?

But the was no rush, the days were still long, and he would find out slowly.

After the turmoil subsided, everyone was wondering in their hearts, where did Gu Fei, a teenage girl, get the money, and how much money did she get?

To redeem a person, she paid two hundred taels, which was not a small amount.

This girl probably still has a lot of money in her hands.

Gu Fei was aware of what she said. Even though she separated the origin of the silver from the Marquis Mansion, everyone would inevitably have new doubts, and there was nothing she could do about it.

Who told her that there was only rice and white flour in her space and no whole grains

The journey was so long, and the white flour pancakes will eventually be seen by others.
She had thought that exchanging the rice for coarse grains would cover people’s eyes and ears, but why should she wrong herself?

She believed that with her ability, she could eat rice, white flour bread, braised pork, and chicken all her life!

She was very confident!

 

The slap was so powerful that Mrs. Qian’s face quickly swelled.

Gu Zhong hurried over and scolded Gu Fei: “Xiao Fei, how could you hit an elder!”

Gu Fei sneered: “Does she look like an elder?”

“She talked nonsense as soon as she opened her mouth. She is trying to kill our whole family. Should I allow her to keep talking nonsense?”

Gu Zhong frowned: “But still, you can’t hit her!”

The brothers of the second branch and Gu Zhang quickly gathered around, standing behind Gu Fei one by one, staring fiercely at Gu Zhong and his wife.

Gu Zhong’s shoulders shrank. His second brother had three sons, which was his confidence.

Unlike him, he only had one son, Baoer, after being married for more than 20 years. His family was no match for them.

Gu Zhong sighed and pulled Mrs. Qian: “Let’s go and eat quickly. We still have to go on the road.”

Mrs. Qian has such a hot temperament and likes to cause unreasonably. At this moment, she felt she was in the right, so how can she just let it go?

It was obvious that she could win if she fought.

She sat down on the ground and started to cry: “Everyone please comment. Is there such a niece in the world? She even dares to attack her aunt. Why doesn’t God strike her to death with a thunderbolt?”

Gu Fei looked at her coldly and suddenly raised her voice: “Everyone, come here, I have something to say.”

Everyone gathered around while eating dry food.

They were smart people, otherwise, they wouldn’t follow them. They gathered around and no one said anything.

Gu Fei said solemnly: “Everyone must have heard the nonsense my eldest aunt just said.”

“Although I have a clear conscience and I didn’t have to explain anything, I don’t want to cause unnecessary trouble. I, Gu Fei, swear here that the pancakes I eat at home and these mule carriages have nothing to do with the Marquis Mansion.”

“If I tell a lie, I will be struck by lightning and die!”

Everyone was startled.

In this era, people fear God, and generally, no one dares to make such a poisonous oath.

If Gu Fei said this, there was a high probability that what she said was true.

At this moment, Lanzhi suddenly opened the curtain and got out of the car.

“I can testify to what Xiao Fei said.”

“I am the second young lady of the Marquis Mansion.”

When everyone heard this, they were stunned and looked at Lanzhi up and down one by one.

No wonder this young lady was so beautiful, with tender skin and flesh. She turned out to be a young lady from the Marquis Mansion.

Lanzhi’s shoulders were straight, showing the nobility of the Marquis lady without any reservation.

She said calmly: “My home was ransacked, but I had saved 1,600 taels of silver at the bank.”

“Xiao Fei spent 1,800 taels to redeem me from the Jiaofang House.”

“The extra 200 taels were given to me by Xiao Fei herself.”

“I can guarantee that Xiao Fei’s money has nothing to do with the Marquis Mansion.”

She also saw the gold at that time. It was not from the Marquis Mansion, nor was it from the Daying.

Just as the young master said, the gold from Daying was not that pure!

“Please don’t talk about this again in the future.”

Everyone nodded at this time: “That’s right, those words shouldn’t be talked like it’s nothing. This is a crime of beheading, and it’s not a joke.”

Even Old Lady Gu said: “Qian, please restrain your mouth, don’t bring trouble to the family!”

“Yeah, don’t talk nonsense in the future.”

Everyone was blaming Mrs. Qian.

Mrs. Qian was furious: “Then where did her money come from?”

 

Bao’er bit his cheek and looked at Gu Fei fiercely, and after a long while he said: “If you lied to me, you are a puppy!”

Gu Fei nodded: “I promise I won’t lie to you.”

Bao’er turned around and left angrily: “Just walking by myself, what’s the big deal!”

Xing’er pursed her lips for a long time before saying lowly to Gu Fei: “Thank you.”

Gu Fei smiled and pulled Lanzhi: “Let’s go quickly, there’s still a long way to go.”

After walking for another hour, it was almost noon. The cart in front stopped and Uncle Ma shouted: “Everyone, rest for a while and eat some solid food. We will set off again in half an hour.”

With this shout, Lanzhi collapsed on the ground.

Gu Fei was not much better than her. She pulled her up hard and said, “Go sit on the mule carriage for a while, eat something, and lie down.”

Lanzhi’s eyes turned red: “Xiao Fei, I’m afraid I won’t be able to go south. This is only the first day, and I already feel like I’m going to die.”

“It’s okay, it’s just a bit difficult at first, you’ll get used to it.”

Gu Fei pulled Lanzhi to the carriage. Old Lady Gu got out of the car while being supported by Gu Erlang.

Old Lady Gu’s face wrinkled up: “It’s all that second son’s bad idea. What’s the point of escaping? It’s not like we don’t have food at home.”

“My old bones are about to fall apart.”

At this time, Bao’er ran over and stretched out his hand towards Gu Fei: “Give me candy.”

Gu Fei said nothing, took out a candy and put it in Bao’er’s hand, pulled Lanzhi into the carriage, lowered the curtain, and handed her a steamed bun: “Eat it quickly, don’t let anyone see it.”

Lanzhi shed tears while eating.

Tears dripped on the steamed buns, leaving a salty taste in your mouth.

She thought about how she, a rich young lady, ended up like this overnight.

Gu Fei was chewing on the steamed bun and opened a corner of the curtain to see Mrs. Chen holding a package and sharing white flour pancakes with her family members.

She gave Uncle Ma two, and the old lady also got one.

At this time, Mrs. Qian came over. When she saw the white flour pancakes, she exclaimed: “Second sister-in-law, how much money did your family make from the Marquis Mansion? You’re eating white flour pancakes?” Everyone who was resting looked this way.

Each one’s eyes flashed with different expressions.

Uncle Ma pricked up his ears even more.

Mrs. Chen’s expression suddenly changed, “Sister-in-law, stop talking nonsense. What does eating white flour pancakes in my house have to do with the Marquis Mansion?”

Mrs. Qian sneered: “Why doesn’t it matter? These white flour pancakes and this mule carriage were only bought when Xiao Fei came back. Do you dare to say that it wasn’t the money given by Xiao Fei?”

“Where does Xiao Fei’s money come from?”

Gu Fei suddenly opened the curtain and got out of the carriage, staring at Mrs. Qian: “Auntie, do you know that if you talk nonsense like this, if the government finds out, our whole family will be beheaded? What do you want to do? Do you want all of us to die?”

Mrs. Qian Shi snorted coldly, “It’s none of my business. You are allowed to do it, but I am not allowed to say anything.”

Gu Fei stared at Mrs. Qian and said word by word: “Let me tell you, the pancakes and mule carriage that my family eats have nothing to do with the Marquis Mansion.”

“If you dare to talk nonsense again, believe it or not, I will tear your mouth to pieces.”

Mrs. Qian’s voice was sharp: “Tear it apart, I will stand here and wait for you to tear it apart! Let’s see if if dare to touch a finger of mine and try!”

Gu Fei’s eyes turned cold, and she raised her arm and slapped Mrs. Qian’s face hard.

This time, Gu Fei didn’t hold back and used all her strength.

Some people, if you don’t scare them away, they won’t know how high the sky was.