Chapter 160: Learning and Selling at the Same Time

   Ma Jin was still pondering how Zhou Da could actually help the Second Master’s family when the next evening he witnessed a scene that opened his eyes.

When they arrived at their designated stop, Wu Yashi discovered that there were already people inside, and the aroma of delicious food wafted out, much to everyone’s surprise.

As it was nearing the end of the year, there were few people out and about, especially in this remote northern area of Da Li. They had encountered hardly anyone on their journey.

Today, it was the first time the eldest daughter rode in a sedan chair.

Just as Wu Yashi was hesitating whether to enter or not, the other party came out and warmly approached Wu Yashi.

Ma Jin looked at the familiar face of Zhou Da, before he could even be surprised, he watched as the other party began to deceive people, claiming that their group of people were hired escorts by a wealthy merchant named Yishuang. The husband of the other party had fallen seriously ill and died, and they wanted to escort the coffin back to their hometown, so they hired these escorts to protect them on the journey. Coincidentally, their hometown was none other than Changli.

Then they started praising Wu Yashi, saying they had heard of his great reputation, admiring his thick eyebrows and big eyes, and his righteous demeanor…

Pah!

Just as Zhou Da had led Wu Yashi and a few guards inside, the rest silently followed.

During this time, Zhou Da discreetly gave him a look, as if to say, watch and learn!

After inviting the guests inside, Zhou Da used the excuse of cooking too much food to treat them all to a good meal. Wu Yashi couldn’t bear to refuse his warm hospitality.

Even the exiles got to enjoy a delicious meal of big bone and meat porridge.

Ma Jin: Can we really do this?

The next day, Zhou Da used the excuse that the coffin was too heavy and the road was difficult to travel, and that the officials possessed a righteous aura that could ward off evil spirits, so they traveled together.

What could Wu Yashi do? Their reasons were too legitimate to refuse. Besides, this wasn’t their road to begin with.

Ma Jin’s eyes widened, can we really do this?

After successfully reaching their destination, Zhou Da gave him a sly wink, How about that? Aren’t I amazing?

Ma Jin: …Where did he learn this from? How did he become so cunning and crafty?

Zhou Da’s brothers below chuckled, they were basically copying from the Sixth Young Master’s side.

Next, Zhou Da had some tricks up his sleeve every day. By the end of their journey, Zhou Da’s team almost took over their meals, and also solved the problem of the children having difficulty walking.

Furthermore, a guard named Lin died on the third night of their journey together. It was said that he had diarrhea and accidentally fell while relieving himself, unable to get up, and froze to death in the wilderness.

Qin Yan did not expect that Zhou Da was so resourceful. Since meeting him, the children no longer suffered from hunger and cold. Their exile journey became smoother and smoother.

It wasn’t until they arrived in Pingzhou later on that he learned that these tactics were actually used by his unseen sixth sister. Zhou Da was simply following her example, learning and selling at the same time.

His wife, Cai Shi, was very curious and impressed by her. Both husband and wife knew that without the medicine brought by Zhou Da in time, their daughter Qin Yun’s illness would never have improved, and her premature death would have been inevitable.

The couple was truly curious about the sixth sister, what kind of person was she to come up with so many tactics.

Ma Jin, munching on nougat, asked Zhou Da, “Has the Young Masters always lived this kind of life?”

Zhou Da replied, “Well, the thier life is much better than ours. The Sixth Madam is well-prepared, they have everything they need on the road, their food, drink, and necessities are no different from the wealthy families who go out on excursions.”

Ma Jin and his men were skeptical.

“Why would I lie to you? The Sixth Madam arranged for the Yang Wei Escort Agency, they brought along more than ten carriages full of goods, all kinds of supplies, you name it. The nougat in your mouths and the rice cakes in your hands are all from her. Little Six Master can even hunt some wild game to change things up, you can imagine the life they live.”

Ma Jin and his brothers listened, forgetting the cakes in their hands. Wow! They exclaimed, wow! Is this exile?

“Old Zhou, did you learn from the Sixth Madam how to deal with Wu Yashi, and how you became so cunning and crafty?” Ma Jin was very curious.

“Call me Brother Da! Don’t call me Old Zhou!” Then, Zhou Da said proudly, “I did learn this trick from the Sixth Madam. The Sixth Madam once said that if we want our careers to succeed, we must make as many friends as possible and as few enemies as possible.” Actually, the Eldest Young Master had given him some pointers, and after learning about the Yang Wei Escort Agency’s actions before they met, he had been thinking about it all along.

Ma Jin nodded, that’s true, the more friends you have, the more paths you have, the more enemies you have, the more walls you have.

“Even if they are not our friends at first, we can be more proactive, as long as we wield the hoe well, there is no corner that cannot be dug.” This was the first time he had put it into practice, look, haven’t they won over Wu Yashi? The effect is excellent.

Ma Jin: Makes sense.

“What if the other party doesn’t like you, or even has a grudge against you?”

“As long as it’s not a deadly feud, we can try to win them over.”

“What if it’s a deadly feud?”

Zhou Da said decisively, “Then we’ll go all out and kill them! They are mortal enemies, what are you thinking about?” Look at the Sixth Madam, did she ever show mercy to the Xie family or the Zhao family?

As Zhou Da said, the rest of the journey for Lu Songli and her group was incredibly smooth.

After leaving Gunzhou, they entered the territory of Jizhou when spring was in the air.

In early spring, many wild vegetables sprouted in the mountains and fields. The first to appear was shepherd’s purse, followed by white flower cabbage, gray cabbage, acacia blossoms, wild celery, ma lan tou, and fragrant toon.

Because they had plenty of time and were not in a hurry, their caravan traveled at a leisurely pace, stopping along the way to dig some wild vegetables. When they found a suitable place to stay in the evening, they would check in early. During this period, their dinners were mainly based on seasonal wild vegetables, such as shepherd’s purse and pork dumplings, which were incredibly delicious. White flower cabbage cooked into vegetable soup, blanched, then beaten with a few eggs and a pinch of salt, ready to be served, with a refreshing and sweet taste…

Under Lu Songli’s guidance, these wild vegetables were made into dishes, each with a unique flavor.

The children were also well-nourished, the bitter meat they had eaten in the first few days had long been replenished, and now they were all jumping around with rosy cheeks.

One day, the setting sun was just right, everyone had finished dinner and scattered out to enjoy themselves.

A few guards, full of food and drink, sat by the river watching the sunset, chatting casually.

“Brother Ding, you’ve gained weight.”

Brother Ding rolled his eyes at him, “Xiao Lu, it’s not like you haven’t gained weight.”

They had privately exclaimed more than once that this trip was truly the most relaxing and enjoyable one of their escort careers, it was like a free excursion. They ate and drank well, almost the entire journey was spent in carriages, and the occasional walking was considered exercise.

Xiao Lu said, “Brother Ding, further ahead is Youzhou.” After Youzhou is Pingzhou.

Brother Ding couldn’t help but touch his belly, “Yeah.” He was very dejected, he wondered how much of this belly would be left when he returned home.

Xiao Lu said sadly, “We won’t have such good treatment on the return journey.” As the saying goes, it’s easy to go from frugal to extravagant, but difficult to go from extravagant to frugal. They hadn’t even returned yet, and they were already worried.

Ding Ge looked at him with disdain, “Of course, do you think you’ll still be riding in a carriage when you go back? You’re dreaming.” They only had one horse, the only one, the horse was more precious than the people.

But then again, thinking about the return journey, they would have to walk more than three thousand miles, just thinking about it made them sad.

Humans’ joys and sorrows are not interconnected. At this time, on the other side, Lu Songli was instructing Lu Mingzhi to dig wild vegetables with a hoe.

Qin Jia, Qin Han, and the other children gathered around her, peering out to see, “Auntie, can we eat this vegetable?”

Lu Songli nodded, “You can, this vegetable is called Ma Ci Gen, it’s covered in sharp thorns, most animals don’t dare to go near it, don’t touch it with your hands either.”

Qin Jia asked again, “Then how do we eat this Ma Ci Gen?” It doesn’t look very appetizing.

Lu Songli: “We can take its roots and stew them with chicken for soup, people who have tried it will never forget its flavor.” Its roots are indeed very thick, usually as thick as an adult’s finger, a bit like ginseng.

The youngest, Qin Zhen, added, “But Auntie Six, we don’t have any chickens in the carriage.”

Lu Songli thought back to the last three chickens they ate two days ago, Mo Bing mentioned it, but she didn’t expect the little ones to hear it and remember it.

Qin Yu, five years old, waved his little hand, quite imposingly, “Uncle Six will go catch them!”

In the children’s minds, Uncle Six and Auntie Six were both so amazing, Auntie Six knows so much, Uncle Six can catch so many delicious things whenever he goes out, birds in the sky, animals on the ground, fish in the water, everything is easy for him.

“Alright, arranged, let your Uncle Six go catch them.” Lu Songli laughed as she agreed to the task.

Qin Sheng, who had just walked over, …

He was spotted by the sharp-eyed Qin Zhen, the little girl pointed a tender white finger at the Ma Ci Gen and said, “Uncle Six, go catch some wild chickens and stew them with roots.”

Qin Sheng said helplessly, “How many wild chickens do you want?”

“Two!” Qin Yu said loudly.

Qin Han secretly tugged at him, “Fourth Brother, you’re so stupid, two isn’t enough to eat.”

“Then four?” Qin Yu extended five fingers.

“Idiot, this is five, this is four!” Qin Han pressed down his thumb.

Lu Songli laughed as she watched them bicker, she looked up and met Qin Sheng’s gaze, and said with a smile, “We’ll need at least seven or eight wild chickens.” After all, they have forty or fifty people.

“Mother, Sixth Sister-in-law is really patient with these children.” Nie Yunniang, who was rocking a child to sleep, said with a smile. Children are really lovable when they are cute, but when they throw tantrums, you really want to beat them up.

“Chapter 160 Chapter 158 Learning and Selling on the Spot (4/4)”

The mother of Qin, who was sewing, looked up and smiled, “Ally does have patience.”

Lu Songli took them to pick wild vegetables, allowing the children to learn about many edible wild plants along the way.

Many adults were surprised to find so many edible things growing in the mountains and wilderness. After receiving guidance from Lu Songli, the skilled cooks among the escort brothers found that the taste was unexpectedly good.

Realizing Lu Songli’s knowledge, the three Qin brothers also followed her to learn how to identify edible wild plants and animals in the wild. They were well aware that when leading troops in battle, insufficient or untimely food and supplies could lead to difficulties for the army. By learning more now, they might be able to save lives in the future.

Usually, after teaching Qin Heng and Qin Zhao, the two eldest uncles of the Qin family, Lu Songli would take Qin Sheng aside for separate teaching.

At such times, Qin Zhao couldn’t help but tease, “Little Sixth Sister, you don’t need to pamper him. If he gets lost or trapped while leading troops, he definitely won’t lack food and drink.” The heavens favored him, and wouldn’t let him go hungry. He would be fed even if he couldn’t find wild vegetables, but there would be no shortage of wild vegetables for him to find.

Lu Songli was about to reply with a smile when Qin Sheng pulled her away.

At this moment, Qin Zhao was about to sarcastically say, “Little Sixth Brother is just lucky.”

Qin Heng nodded, “Little Sixth’s luck is indeed good.”

Qin Zhao thought to himself, this kid’s luck is not just good, he was born as the youngest in the family, loved by the elders in the family, loved by his brothers: if he falls on hard times, the heavens love him, and now he even has a wife who loves him.