The last family bought a donkey and returned to the inn with some disappointment. As they turned a corner, they discovered that the inn had two mules in its courtyard. The Wu family had spent ten percent more than the market price to buy one.

With donkeys and mules pulling sleds, a person could sit on a sled and travel three times as far in a day as he could on foot.

The capital was the capital, and the nearby villages and towns were relatively stable. There were no bandits on the roads. Once you left the capital, you could no longer travel without worries.

Within two days, the two families left the capital and found a larger village to stay overnight. They did not rush on their journey the next morning.

Yang Xi prepared breakfast. They had finished eating their cabbage and radishes long ago. They had exchanged some cabbage and pickles with the villagers yesterday. Their breakfast was millet porridge, a bowl of egg custard, and a plate of pickles.

The room they stayed in this time was nice. There was a kang in the room which was warm, and Ziheng lay in the warm bed without waking up.

Zhou Yu came in to wake up his son and dressed him himself. The little guy was shy and said, “Dad, I can dress myself.”

Zhou Yu rarely had time to take care of his son. “We are not traveling today. Dad will help you get dressed.”

Ziheng loosened his grip on his clothes, “Aren’t we in a hurry?”

Zhou Yu had cracks on his hands from the frostbite, and even after applying medicine, he still felt very uncomfortable. He endured the itch and dressed his son, “Well, take a rest today.”

Ziheng noticed his father’s hand, “Dad, have you put medicine on your hand?”

Zhou Yu, “I wiped it off, let’s go eat.”

After breakfast, Zhou Xiaomei cleaned the table, while Zhou Xiaodi and Third Yang went to the mountain to collect firewood. They had to stay for another day, and the firewood they had collected was not enough.

Yang Xi and his wife went to Wu’s house to discuss how to avoid the bandits.

In the ancient times of the previous life, Yang Xi had a miscarriage and the Zhou family encountered disasters one after another. They had no choice but to stay near the outskirts of the capital. Until the beginning of spring, when the number of refugees increased, then only they left the capital with the refugees.

The bandits only robbed wealthy families and ignored the refugees. Even if they encountered bandits, they would just ride past on horseback. Bandits were after money and rarely killed people. Only then was the Zhou family able to return to their ancestral home.

It was different now. They wanted to go south. There were many bandits outside the capital. They had donkeys but few people, so they were easy targets. Even if they didn’t have donkeys and mules, they dared not gamble.

Wu Shan frowned, “The road ahead will be difficult.”

Zhou Yu had heard his father talk about bandits many times and was very familiar with their distribution. “The most difficult place is Xinzhou, where bandits are rampant.”

Wu Shan did not know how many states the country had, nor did he know of any chaotic people. The farthest place he had been was his ancestral hometown in the state capital. Without Zhou Yu mentioning it, he wouldn’t have known that ahead was Xinzhou.

Wu Shan said, “I’ll listen to you. You tell us how to go, and we’ll go that way.”

Zhou Yu took out a burnt stick and drew on the kang table, “We will go around the outskirts of Xinzhou and try to avoid the bandits’ activities.”

The bandits guarded the official roads and robbed the wealthy families or merchant caravans they could rip off, so the outskirts were safer.

Wu Shan couldn’t understand the map and was very surprised. “Do you know the map of Xinzhou?”

He was just an old farmer, but he knew that not everyone could draw a map.

Zhou Yu, “My father would map out the places he visited, and I have a good memory, so I memorized them in my mind.”

Wu Shan felt sad when he heard this. Lord Zhou was a very talented person, but it was a pity that good people didn’t live long. “Then I’ll listen to you.”

Zhou Yu stood up and said, “Have a good rest today. We will have to leave for Xinzhou quickly in the next few days, so it will be difficult to have time to rest.”

Wu Shan knew the seriousness of the matter and said, “Yes.”

After leaving the Wu family’s house, Yang Xi looked at the time and said, “Let’s go to the county town.”

They stayed for a day not only to rest but also to change their household registration. There were rioters in the north, and refugees with family assets all went south. This resulted in stricter household registration control the further south they went. Without household registration and travel permits, not only would they not be able to enter the city gate, but they would also be punished, and in serious cases, convicted.

(End of this chapter)

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