Chapter 53 – Picking Up the Qi Family and Getting Ready

You have to understand—if they stayed behind this time, all that awaited them was starvation. No food, and no money to buy the high-priced grain later.

Compared to his previous life, it was hard to say which fate was worse. He Yanxin didn’t want to see such an ending.

In the end, the hesitant Old Man Wu finally agreed to leave.

“Yanxin, my boy… you really…” Old Man Wu choked up.

Back then, they had only helped him occasionally out of pity, never expecting something like this in return.

“Don’t worry. I’ll definitely pay you back. Even if I’m gone one day, your big brother will repay you!”

Granny Ge, speechless beside him, silently wiped her tears.

He Yanxin couldn’t stand seeing elderly people cry. After offering a few words of comfort, he quickly left the scene and went home to get the money from Song Yeqing.

He handed the money to Old Man Wu, and after thinking for a moment, he added, “How about this: I happen to be going to the county town anyway. Why don’t I help you buy some grain while I’m there, and pick up Sanyou and his family too?”

Their planned route didn’t include Yongqing County, so it would be more convenient to pick them up and leave together.

“Besides, I just bought an ox cart. It’ll be easier to make the trip.”

He Yanxin had already heard that the Wu family sold their ox. Luckily, he had the foresight to buy two, which should be enough.

“That’s great, that’s great,” Old Man Wu finally felt the burden in his heart lift.

He Yanxin went back and hitched up the ox cart, one with a canopy, then left Anshan Village.

The trip to the county town, which normally took four hours on foot, only took two and a half by ox cart. On the way, he even ran into Wu Dalang.

“Big brother, hop on!” He Yanxin called out. Riding the ox cart proudly, he almost looked like he was driving a convertible sports car.

Once Wu Dalang was on the cart, he asked about the situation.

He Yanxin didn’t mention that he had lent money to his family—it wasn’t the kind of thing to say directly. Better to let Old Man Wu tell him later.

So he only said he was helping his father buy grain and picking up his third brother’s family.

Wu Dalang patted the silver he had hidden in his inner clothes. Though confused about how his father still had money, he didn’t ask further.

When they arrived in town, their first stop was the Qi family to inform them of the plan and ask them to pack up.

The Qi family didn’t hesitate at all. They immediately began packing. Father Qi went with He Yanxin to buy grain.

They didn’t buy much, since they could restock after leaving Qizhou.

The Wu family, six people total, bought 80 jin (about 40 kg) of grain. The Qi family, four people, bought 50 jin (25 kg).

If they rationed it carefully, it would last over 20 days. Besides, carrying too much would make travel harder.

The Wu family bought coarse rice and mixed grains. The Qi family bought some white rice separately, likely for the pregnant Lady Qi.

To avoid standing out, He Yanxin also bought 20 jin of coarse rice for himself.

Even though none of it was good-quality grain, prices were skyrocketing, so they still spent a significant amount of silver.

Perhaps it was due to the ripple effect caused by the news the county magistrate had released—coarse rice had risen to six taels of silver per dan (a unit of volume), let alone white rice.

That was more outrageous than in his previous life during the same period.

Equivalent to 30 yuan (RMB) per jin (half a kilogram) in modern terms. Outrageous, isn’t it?

In their world, the person in charge would’ve been shot for something like this.

Still, He Yanxin didn’t regret what he had done.

The more expensive grain became, the more people would choose to leave Qizhou. Leaving your homeland was still better than losing your life.

In his past life, nearly 200,000 people died in Qizhou—starved, killed in battle, or murdered by others. It was too tragic to witness.

So in the end, it was a cost worth paying.

After returning to the Qi family, they had one more meal before setting off.

Seeing the heavily pregnant Lady Qi, He Yanxin broke out in a nervous sweat.

Judging by her state, she might end up giving birth on the road. If he remembered correctly, the baby was due next month.

As long as they made it out of Qizhou, everything would be easier. Hopefully, there wouldn’t be any complications.

Mother Qi laid thick bedding in the ox cart for Lady Qi and stayed with her to take care of her. The others didn’t ride but walked alongside the cart.

Pregnant women weren’t suited for long journeys, but there was no choice now. He Yanxin led the ox, carefully choosing flat paths to walk.

“Young man from the He family, so you heard the news too?” Father Qi asked.

“Uncle Qi, just call me Yanxin,” he replied. Wu Sanyou was younger than him, so this form of address was appropriate.

Father Qi and Mother Qi looked quite young. Walking next to Wu Dalang, they looked like peers.

Which made sense—Lady Qi was only around sixteen or seventeen. So the couple couldn’t be more than thirty-five.

He Yanxin knew exactly what Father Qi was asking. It would’ve been strange if someone living in the county town hadn’t heard the news.

“Yes, that’s why we wanted to leave Qizhou as soon as possible.”

After all, he was the one who had first spread the news. But there was no need to mention that now—it might scare people.

“We really do have to leave. That damned Qi…” Father Qi looked around, then whispered the last word, “King.”

His face was full of righteous indignation and disgust.

And rightly so. If it weren’t for King Qi’s incompetence and destructive decisions, things would never have gotten so bad.

He Yanxin felt a wave of melancholy.

They chatted as they traveled. Because they had to accommodate Lady Qi, it took almost four hours to get home. Not much faster than walking.

But both he and Song Yeqing had already accounted for this. In the end, the ox cart was more for easing the burden on people.

It was for carrying supplies and letting people rest when they were tired—it wasn’t meant to gallop like the wind.

They stopped at the Wu family’s door to unload the grain. Then He Yanxin led the ox back home.

They wouldn’t have much time on the road to cook, so most of the food had to be prepared as portable dry rations.

For them, tonight would likely be a sleepless night.

“Thanks for your hard work today, Bro Niu,” He Yanxin said, tying up the ox before going to wash his hands for dinner.

Old Man Wu had invited him to stay for dinner earlier, but given the choice, of course he went home for something better.

So he politely declined and went home to enjoy the meal Song Yeqing had saved for him.

Silky steamed egg custard, a light and sweet red date–lotus root soup with pork ribs, stir-fried pumpkin shoots, and perfectly cooked white rice. Still piping hot from her space.

He Yanxin couldn’t help but let out a satisfied burp after eating. He had been truly starving today.

But after that burp, his face reddened uncontrollably. He even stole a glance at Song Yeqing from the corner of his eye.

When he saw she didn’t react, he let out a breath of relief—though a vague, inexplicable sense of disappointment followed.

“What’s wrong?” Noticing his gaze, Song Yeqing turned and asked.

“Nothing… nothing,” He Yanxin replied quickly, sipping the last of his soup and nearly choking on it.

“Oh.” Song Yeqing turned back to wrap the smoked meat in oiled paper.

Everything was ready. Now all that remained was to leave tomorrow.

Sure enough, the neighbors didn’t sleep all night. Song Yeqing could occasionally hear them walking around, moving things.

At 4 a.m., the two of them woke up while the children were still asleep.

Song Yeqing took out some buns from her space and steamed a full basket. Once ready, she placed them on the family altar.

Before the spirit tablets of the He and Song families, she placed three buns each, along with apples, sweets, tea, and some homemade fruit wine.

Her space always had incense and candles prepared. Now, they were finally useful.

She silently recited a passage of scripture, and the two of them bowed deeply.

(End of Chapter)