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After the Qin brothers’ handcuffs were removed, the women were truly liberated. Before, the children couldn’t carry anything on them.
First, the third brother, Qin Zhao, carried his youngest daughter and tied her to his chest with coarse cloth.
Then Qin Heng found a bamboo pole and tied their family’s luggage together, putting it on his shoulder to carry.
They borrowed two pairs of baskets from Xu Zheng. Qin Zhao and Qin Sheng, the two brothers, carried their family’s children.
They also found a piece of wood for Old Madam Qin to lean on, while Lu Songli helped Nie Yunniang walk. Without having to carry the children, Old Madam Qin and Lu Songli felt much lighter.
Their pace and speed increased significantly.
Xu Zheng and the others were quite satisfied with this. At this rate, they could travel fifty miles a day without any problem.
However, Lu Songli gradually found it difficult to walk. An unusual feeling in her lower abdomen made her feel like she was about to collapse.
Her lower abdomen felt heavy and achy, a familiar sensation that indicated the arrival of her period!
Lu Songli knew she was in trouble. Her body had been weakened by cold and dampness, but she had managed to recover somewhat through her own efforts. However, spending several days in the cold and damp prison had taken its toll, and now she was likely to suffer a setback. This period was likely to be more painful than usual.
Sure enough, not long afterward, she was in so much pain that her face turned pale, even with a hint of tearing pain.
“What’s wrong with you?” Qin Sheng was the first to notice her discomfort.
Lu Songli pressed her hand against her abdomen and forced a smile at him. She walked slower and slower.
Qin Sheng almost stopped walking with her. “Don’t smile,” he said. “It makes you look worse. What’s wrong?”
Lu Songli whispered to him, “My period has come.”
Their unusual behavior attracted everyone’s attention, and the Qin family members turned around.
Qin Heng looked at Old Madam Qin. “Mother, ask her.”
Qin Zhao also looked at Nie Yunniang. As Lu Songli was their younger brother’s wife, they couldn’t directly inquire about her condition.
Old Madam Qin and Nie Yunniang were both women and knew what was wrong with her. They went over and asked her in a low voice, and it was indeed her period.
Lu Songli covered her stomach with one hand, her face pale as paper, lacking any blood color, clearly showing that she was very uncomfortable.
Xu Zheng looked at the sky and said, “Hold on a little longer. There’s an abandoned hut a mile ahead. We’ll stay there tonight.”
The abandoned hut was actually a house that people had abandoned. It was better than sleeping in the open, at least it could provide some shelter from the wind and rain.
Old Madam Qin and Nie Yunniang bravely approached Xu Zheng and negotiated with him. After obtaining his permission, they took Lu Songli to a secluded place where they could also relieve themselves.
Fortunately, their family had been sending some clothes to Nie Yunniang from time to time, and now Lu Songli could use them.
While they were taking care of themselves, the Qin family rearranged their belongings. Qin Heng and Qin Zhao each carried a pair of baskets. They unpacked their belongings, divided them up, and put them in the baskets so that the children could either hold or carry them.
Qin Sheng freed his hands and waited for Lu Songli and the two to return.
He crouched down in front of Lu Songli, “Get on. I’ll carry you.”
Lu Songli felt a little embarrassed to be carried in front of everyone.
Others noticed something and consciously took a step forward.
When they were all ahead, Lu Songli got on his back. Her long legs wrapped around his lean waist, her arms around his neck, and her face rubbed against his shoulder. She let out a comfortable sigh, “Thank you, A Sheng.”
Qin Sheng stiffened slightly, then blushed, holding her hips and legs, he stood up steadily and quickly walked forward.
Lu Songli thought, A Sheng’s waist and legs are really strong, he doesn’t sway at all. She weighed over ninety pounds now.
Lu Songli noticed that he was slightly bent over, just to make her comfortable. She also noticed that Qin Sheng walked very steadily, each step almost the same length, he wouldn’t bump her at all.
She couldn’t help but kiss his cheek.
He blushed at her touch, trying to calm himself down.
The young man’s warmth radiated from his back, and she felt her lower abdomen wasn’t as painful. The warm, reliable, and peaceful atmosphere enveloped her, and Lu Songli unconsciously fell asleep.
Upon realizing that the person on his back was asleep, Qin Sheng walked even more steadily.
Lu Songli took a short nap on his back, and when she woke up again, they had already reached the abandoned hut Xu Zheng mentioned.
She got off his back and discovered that even though he had carried her for a mile, he was still breathing calmly without a trace of fatigue. What a good thing.
Lu Songli began to examine the hut. It was a mud-brick and tile-roof house with several rooms, but it was dilapidated. The walls were cracked, and the tiles on the roof were unfixed, causing serious leaks.
Only the main hall was still in decent condition, and the floor was relatively dry.
The officers led their horses into the courtyard. The Qin family waited for them to choose the best corner in the main hall before picking the second driest one.
Old Madam Qin found a broken clay pot, which Qin Heng took over and cleaned with snow. Then he dug up some clean snow and put it in the pot, preparing to boil it for drinking water.
Qin Zhao had already found stones, bricks, and other materials to build a simple stove.
This abandoned hut was likely used often, and there were some dry firewood and branches piled in a corner. They used them directly. Actually, if they had the chance, they should add some firewood before they left.
The three Qin brothers had strong hands-on abilities, so they didn’t need Lu Songli and Nie Yunniang’s help.
Qin Sheng also found some straw in another room. He spread it in the corner they had chosen, then laid down the coarse cloth they brought from the prison, followed by the mattress. After laying it out, he let the women and children sit on it.
Old Madam Qin saw that Lu Songli isn’t feeling well and knew she was still uncomfortable. Seeing the water boiling in the clay pot, she scooped a bowl for her and let her drink slowly.
“If only there was a bowl of chicken soup to nourish her,” Old Madam Qin muttered.
Qin Sheng, with his sharp ears, heard her and stood up without a word.
“Where are you going?” Old Madam Qin asked.
“I’m going out to see if I can find any wild chickens,” replied Qin Sheng.
Qin Zhao couldn’t help but interject, “Are you stupid? At this time of year, with all this snow, where would you find wild chickens? There’s no chance of finding any!”
Old Madam Qin pondered for a moment, “We could also make fish soup.”
Seeing Qin Sheng deep in thought, clearly considering the idea of fishing, Qin Zhao quickly added, “Mother, please don’t say that. There are no rivers or lakes nearby, so where would we get fish from? It’s more likely for a goose or pigeon to fall from the sky and make soup for the younger siblings.”
As Qin Sheng walked outside, he contemplated the idea of geese and pigeons.
Seeing this, Qin Zhao couldn’t help but lightly slap himself. Why would he mention geese and pigeons? It’s making the youngest sibling anxious!
After Qin Sheng went outside, he stood in the courtyard of the wilderness cottage and looked up at the sky.
“You fool!” Qin Zhao couldn’t help but shout at Qin Sheng outside, “What are you looking at? Where would geese and pigeons come from at this time? Even if there were geese and pigeons, you don’t have a bow to catch them—”
Before Qin Zhao could finish his sentence, a sorrowful cry of geese was heard, followed by a heavy thud.
Qin Zhao was stunned! Did he see that correctly? Could it be true? With this thought, he couldn’t help but rush out.
Others also heard their conversation and the commotion, and they followed suit.
They saw a goose fall in front of Qin Sheng, who looked puzzled.
Looking at Qin Sheng from head to toe, Qin Zhao remarked, “Little Six, you’re something else. You want to eat goose, and a goose literally falls into your lap. Is this goose a female?” This is unbelievable!
Others also found it incredibly unbelievable!
Lu Songli, who slowly emerged, also scrutinized him from head to toe. Is he really a lucky person? We’ll see.
Qin Sheng ignored them, picked up the goose, and calmly went to prepare it.
In the end, the goose was split in half, with one half given to Xu Zheng and the others.
Xu Zheng and the others reciprocated by lending their iron pot to the Qin family.
So Old Madam Qin stewed half of the goose in a pot, serving it first to Lu Songli and Nie Yunniang, followed by Old Madam Qin and the children. With some dry bread, everyone ate to their heart’s content.