Yang Xi stood up and got out of the carriage, and Zhou Yu quickly reached out to support her.

Little brother Zhou saw that his brother and sister-in-law had something to say, so he stood up and went to look for the boy who was still standing in the snow in the distance.

Yang Xi said to her son, “Mom will be back soon.”

Ziheng was very sensible, “Mom, I will take good care of grandma.”

Ye Shi touched her grandson’s head lovingly, “So good.”

Ziheng was a little embarrassed. Grandpa said that he was the eldest grandson and had to take on the responsibilities of the family. He had grown up a lot along the way. “Grandma, I’ve grown up.”

Yang Xi and Zhou Yu had smiles in their eyes. Their child said that he had grown up at such a young age. Then they couldn’t help feeling sad because the child was forced to grow up.

Yang Xi and Zhou Yu didn’t have to go far. They could still see Zhou Xiaodi and the boy. Third Yang San didn’t pay attention to the boy as he was helping the guards cook.

Zhou Yu said: “The caravan only has enough food for three days.”

Yang Xi said worriedly: “To be precise, if there is no accident, it can last for three days.”

The previous meal consumed half a day’s worth of food for the caravan. The escorting soldiers, over a hundred in number, consumed half a day’s worth of food for over four hundred people. They were so full that they ate too much!

Zhou Yu was also worried, “We didn’t buy much food in Pingzhou, and it will be even harder to buy food in Bozhou.”

Soldiers and bandits in Bozhou were looting everywhere, and merchants did not dare to sell their grain.

Yang Xi recalled the common people she had seen in the past two days and could not help but let out a long sigh. Grain production had decreased in recent years, and the people didn’t have much grain left after paying taxes. Now that Bozhou was in turmoil, don’t think that the people could escape just because they were poor. In fact, these people were the first to be robbed.

Prince Jiang’s goal was to gain strong labor, and the soldiers and bandits had no scruples and robbed food. The common people were left without strong labor and food, and the elderly, the weak, women and children had no choice but to die.

The two chatted for a while, and when they came back, the younger sister had already boiled the medicine. The boy built a snow nest for himself, knowing that he was sick and knew to stay away from Zhou’s house.

Brother Zhou gave the water bag to the boy.

After Yang Xi finished her meal, she saw that the young man had already picked up firewood and started a fire. Yang Xi felt the cakes with her fingertips. Their family had already given them the medicine, so a few cakes wouldn’t be a big problem.

The Zhou family had a wealthy boss who took care of them and ate caravan rations, but the Wu family was not so lucky.

Yang Xi made the pancakes for the journey, and including the two she gave to the young man, she only ate five in total and saved the rest.

It got dark quickly. Today they were staying outdoors, so Yang Xi stayed in the carriage to rest.

A cold wind was blowing outside. Yang Xi hugged her son tightly. The child was like a stove. She hugged her son tightly to keep him warm. She reached out her hand to touch her son’s little face and looked at the hand warmer in the moonlight. This hand warmer was given to Zhou Yu by Mr. Qian.

The next morning, the team’s breakfast was halved. Except for the guards who were only 70% full, the other personnel each had a bowl of clear soup and a palm-sized pancake.

After finishing her meal, Zhou Xiaomei began to treasure her family’s food even more. “Sister-in-law, how long will it take us to leave Bozhou?”

Yang Xi, “Bozhou is a big state, one and a half times bigger than Pingzhou.”

Zhou Xiaomei, “.”

She should have known not to ask. If she hadn’t asked, she could have imagined leaving Bozhou as soon as possible.

Ye Shi was thankful, “Xier is a good person, otherwise our family wouldn’t be able to save so much food.”

Yang Xi, “Little sister, go tell the Wu family to hide the food.”

The Wu family didn’t follow her to buy food every day, so she didn’t know how much food they had left.

The team was preparing to set off again. Yang Xi discovered that the boy from yesterday had caught up with the team and started talking to Third Yang.

Yang Xi asked his younger brother, “Third Yang wants to take the boy with him?”

Brother Zhou, “I don’t know either.”

He was extremely depressed. It was clearly he who helped Yan Bing, but this morning Yan Bing hooked up with Third Yang. He didn’t know what the two of them talked about, but Third Yang took Yan Bing with him and wanted to drive the donkey cart together.

Yang Xi didn’t pay much attention to it. There were too many pitiful people in this world. She thought the boy would leave today, but she didn’t expect that. “You saved him, but he didn’t say anything to you?”

Brother Zhou’s voice became even more depressed. “He thanked me and said he would remember the favor.”

Yang Xi, “.”

Then Brother Zhou didn’t want to say anything.

After waiting for a while, the caravan set off again. It was very quiet. Today’s food supply was halved and everyone realized that there was not enough food. The food issue was weighing on everyone’s mind.

They arrived at Guixian City in the evening, but their joy disappeared when they saw the city gate. There were no soldiers guarding the gate. The gate was wide open and there was not a single pedestrian, which made people feel sad.

Qian Zhu cursed in her heart and asked Zhou Yu, “Are we still going into the city?”

The more he interacted with Zhou Yu during these days, the more he valued Zhou Yu, and the more he wanted to recruit him to serve the Qian family.

Zhou Yu felt heavy in his heart. Bozhou was in a more miserable state than he had imagined. He did not know how many people in the capital had been won over by Prince Jiang. “Send a few skilled people into the city to get information.”

Qian Zhu called for the guards and selected six people to ride into the city on horseback.

The people who went to inquire came back quickly, bringing back the news that every household had its doors closed and all the shops in the city were also closed.

Zhou Yu asked, “Where is the government office?”

The guard replied, “The government office is closed.”

Zhou Yu looked at Qian Zhu, “There’s no place to stay in the city.”

Their team was so large that the people in the city were already frightened out of their wits.

Qian Zhu’s back teeth hurt badly, and she had been suffering from irritation these days. “Then let’s rest outside the city.”

Yang Xi waited for Zhou Yu to come back and asked, “Is the situation not good?”

Zhou Yu nodded, “Yeah.”

Food had become even harder to buy, and no one knew how much food Prince Jiang had stolen as war supplies.

Yang Xi’s face turned pale. She had seen many body parts today, and her stomach was churning. “I won’t eat tonight.”

She really couldn’t eat anymore. There was no one to collect the bodies of people who died of starvation on the road, and the wild beasts in the wild would not be polite.

Zhou Yu was worried, “Don’t look outside tomorrow when you are on your way.”

Yang Xi closed her eyes and said, “I wonder how many people will die in Bozhou this winter.”

The people will have no food throughout the winter and will not be able to buy food. Many people will die in Bozhou, and they will be unable to do anything as they can barely protect themselves.

Zhou Yu patted his wife’s shoulder to comfort her. Not wanting her to continue thinking, he changed the subject and asked, “Why did that boy follow Third Yang?”

Yang Xi was more alert, “I don’t know either, why don’t you go ask?”

Zhou Yu did want to ask, so he called Third Yang over, “I thought you would ignore the boy.”

Third Yang did not hide it, “I really didn’t care. He was lucky to get the medicine I sent him. It’s hard to buy medicinal materials for treating diseases these days!”

Yang Xi asked, “Then why did you care again?”

Third Yang raised his eyebrows, “Because he is smart, and he is not from Bozhou, he has a household registration from the capital.”

Yang Xi and his wife were surprised. “Capital registered permanent residence?”

Third Yang, “He has a big problem. I don’t believe he was not searched. He can hide his household registration after being searched. Tsk tsk, this person is very scheming. By the way, his name is Yan Bing.”

Yang Xi thought of his younger brother Zhou. He should indeed be depressed.

Yang Xi also thought that Yan Bing was very scheming. Yan Bing seized the opportunity well yesterday. The escorting soldiers were well-fed and in a good mood. There was also a large caravan nearby. The soldiers did not draw their knives and let Yan Bing fend for himself. If the timing was wrong, he would have been killed by the knife.

Zhou Yu asked, “How did he tell you about his life story?”

Third Yang, “He said he was a tongsheng who went back to his mother’s hometown with his father, but his parents died due to bad luck, and he wanted to leave but was arrested.”

Zhou Yu said leisurely: “Tongsheng.”

Third Yang, “I have tried to test him. He has indeed studied and is quite good at it.”

Yang Xi looked at Zhou Yu, who nodded and said, “Take me to meet this Yan Tongsheng.”

---