Chapter 56: Rest Stop at Kangyou Town

Earlier during the day, Song Yeqing had distributed some smoked meat to everyone, but they all refused, telling her to keep it for herself.

Madam Ge even waited until no one was around and whispered, “Why did you take that out? You should just eat it secretly yourselves.”

That was why Song Yeqing had brought the wild pheasant back rather than putting it back into her space.

Although she didn’t want to be so high-profile, it had been worth it—just this once.

She couldn’t do that kind of thing again in the coming days. A one-time or even occasional lucky find could be passed off as coincidence. More than that would seem suspicious.

Song Yeqing hugged the two children and closed her eyes to rest, conserving her strength.

Aside from Grandpa Wu, the other men took turns standing watch outside during the night.

The nights were cold.

Since heavy quilts were inconvenient to bring along, they laid down branches and dry grass on the ground, bundled together in twos and threes under blankets to sleep.

A fire burned nearby, providing warmth.

The night passed without incident.

At dawn, before the sky fully brightened, two people returned to the trap site from the previous day to fetch water and check on the snares.

He Yanxin’s traps had caught nothing. One of them was a mess, as if the animal had broken free.

Clearly, hunting skills needed hands-on experience to improve.

He carried a broken length of rope, looking slightly dejected.

Forget it. It’s not like this really mattered, right? After all, she hadn’t shown any particular interest in him anyway.

It’s not like she’d suddenly see him in a new light just because he managed to catch some game.

If that were the case, he’d train hard every day—shoot wild boars today and tigers tomorrow—ha!

“Yanxin-ge! Caught something! Did yours catch anything?” Wu Sanlang’s excited shout came from nearby.

“Nothing on my end. What did you get?” He Yanxin quickly perked up again.

“A rabbit! It’s nice and fat.” Wu Sanlang walked over, holding a gray rabbit that had died from exhaustion.

“That’s great. Let’s head back,” He Yanxin said, stowing away his rope.

Back at the camp, they harnessed the ox cart, loaded their belongings, and continued the journey.

On the third and fourth days, they occasionally encountered other travelers and even saw villages with smoke rising from chimneys.

Before the group left each morning, Song Yeqing would sneak off to launch her drone.

To assist her, He Yanxin had even taken night watch during that time to provide cover.

No doubt her drone launches caused some panic again. But she didn’t stick around to observe the aftermath.

More signs of human presence meant they were nearing the town with the promising name: Kangyou.

They arrived half a day ahead of schedule.

At noon, they parked their ox cart outside the town.

Kangyou Town was known for its ceramics. It was three times the size of the small town near Anshan Village and noticeably more prosperous.

So no matter what, they had to stay the night here today—giving Song Yeqing a chance to deploy the drone.

“We’ve been on the road for five days. Everyone’s exhausted. Let’s rest here for a bit and set off again at dawn tomorrow. We can go into town today and see if there’s anything we need to buy,” Song Yeqing said.

These past days, Song Yeqing had been the one managing the route and organizing the group.

At first, people found it a little odd, but now they were used to it.

Everyone assumed that her experience came from traveling with family when they returned to their hometown during the chaos.

They all knew what she’d been through, so no one pried or asked unnecessary questions.

He Yanxin was right—spending more time interacting with people was the best way to erase the impressions left by her past.

By now, neither of them deliberately tried to imitate the original versions of themselves, and no one else seemed to notice.

From now on, they could just be themselves.

He Yanxin helped the children down from the cart, and Wu Sanlang carefully cradled his wife in his arms.

Qi Niangzi blushed a deep pink, turning her head shyly. The two looked very much in love.

“Tch.” He Yanxin wasn’t in the mood to watch lovey-dovey couples right now.

The three people who had ridden in the cart were fine, but the others didn’t look so good.

If Song Yeqing were traveling alone, she would have preferred camping in the wild—it felt safer.

But five days of nearly non-stop travel had left everyone exhausted, dirty, and worn down. A proper rest was needed.

So He Yanxin went around asking if there were any households nearby that could host ten or more people.

Nope—no such luck.

In the end, they had to split into three groups, each staying with a different household.

Song Yeqing grabbed Song Chengsi’s hand and ran into one of the homes.

The little boy had enjoyed sleeping in the cart at first, but as time went on, he got restless. Each time they stopped, he’d run and bounce around to get the wiggles out.

“Mother! Brother! Wait for me…” He Chengze was still trying to tie his belt when he saw his mother run off. He quickly called out and rushed in after them.

He Yanxin only entered the house after feeding the ox.

He sniffed himself—ugh, the smell was hard to describe. He’d already changed clothes twice during the trip.

In his past life, if he got this filthy, he’d have hated himself, soaking in the tub and scrubbing a hundred times.

But now, when survival was the priority, he found he didn’t care about being dirty or smelly.

Everyone else had only brought two sets of clothes. With no time or energy to wash them, they just rotated the outfits.

Dirty or not, they wore them for five days straight.

The weather was cold, but because of the constant walking, everyone had worked up a sour, sweaty stench. It wasn’t exactly pleasant.

Each of the three households they’d found had wells in their courtyards, so they paid extra to buy water and wash up.

Each family could squeeze into a single room, laying bedding on the floor.

So the lodging itself cost only about ten copper coins per person—but the water was nearly more expensive than that.

It showed how bad things were here too.

“Have you ever thought about leaving?” Song Yeqing asked the young wife of the household, drying her hair in the courtyard after a quick bath.

The young woman had a cheerful, straightforward personality and wasn’t shy. She answered readily:

“Leave? We wouldn’t even know where to go! Besides, our water and food supplies here haven’t run out yet. My husband and father-in-law both work at the kiln. We have money and food—no reason to leave.”

Her hands stayed busy with chores as she chatted.

“But yeah, a lot of people have left lately. Just yesterday, we hosted a family that said they were going to live with relatives. Sigh! Times are tough—who knows how they’ll survive out there.”

She didn’t seem to have much of a sense of danger, more concerned about others than herself.

“Hey, are you sure you don’t want me to make you a meal? It’s really cheap—I wouldn’t overcharge.”

They used to feel that living on the outskirts of town was a disadvantage, but with more people passing through, they’d earned quite a bit from hosting guests—and gotten a taste for the profit.

“No need. I’ll cook myself,” Song Yeqing said, shaking her head. “Just let me use your kitchen.”

“Sure, help yourself!” the woman said easily, not offended at missing out on meal money.

He Yanxin was still bathing the kids inside. Song Yeqing, with her hair half-dry, tied it up casually and went to cook.

Because they were staying in someone else’s home, she couldn’t take out too many things, so the meal had to be simple.

She went out to the cart pretending to retrieve something, but in reality, she pulled food from her space.

She made egg noodles with pickled cucumbers. Fortunately, the portions were large, and everyone was full.

Later, while out “shopping,” she’d swap in some better food from her space—so they could eat something more luxurious for dinner.

(End of Chapter)