The two families were preparing to cook when the door was knocked. Two men came in carrying baskets. The older one said, “My father is the head of the village. He asked me to bring food here.”

Only then did Zhou Yu notice the food in the basket, a bag of food, some sauerkraut and pickled radishes, and six eggs.

Yang Xi noticed the sauerkraut and her mouth watered. She wanted to eat the sauerkraut.

Zhou Yu said: “Thank you, Li Zheng, how much money is it in total?”

The man shook his head, “This is a gift from my father to you, sir.”

Having said that, the two men walked away quickly.

Wu Shan thought that scholars were respected wherever they went. Since he entered the village, the headman had never said a word to him. He had benefited a lot from reading along the way.

Zhou Yu gave half of the food and vegetables to Brother Wu, “Wait until my father’s 77th day of mourning, and then our two families will have a good meal together.”

Wu Shan smiled and said, “Okay.”

Yang Xi took Zhou Xiaomei to cook. They used the sorghum and millet that the village head brought to make porridge, stewed sauerkraut and pickled radish soup, beat two eggs to make egg custard, and added a few pancakes. They had a meal with both vegetables and soup.

After dinner, Yang Xi took out the fabric from her luggage and estimated that it was enough to make a set of clothes. “Let’s go to the village head’s house.”

Zhou Yu said: “It’s dark and the road is slippery, Third Yang and I can go.”

Yang Xi, “Okay, I won’t go.”

Zhou Yu talked to Wu Shan, but Wu Shan did not follow him. Wu Shan knew that no one would pay attention to him even if he followed.

Yang Xi took her Xiomei and mother-in-law to take off the quilt cover. They had been in a hurry on the road and had no conditions to do so. They had not taken off their clothes to sleep, so the quilt cover was extremely dirty, and black blood stains could be seen in some places.
Now that she was out of Bozhou, she finally didn’t have to endure it anymore.

Yang Xi found the pre-made quilt cover, and after sewing the quilt cover, the women finally felt relieved. They had no choice when they were forced to do so, but now that they had the conditions, they naturally wanted to keep it clean.

Zhou Xiaomei went out with the quilt in her arms, and came back a few moments later saying, “Sister-in-law, the hot water is ready.”

Yang Xi smiled and said, “Bring it here for me to soak my feet.”

If you don’t have the conditions to take a shower, soaking your feet can also help relieve fatigue.

When Zhou Yu and Third Yang came back with the food, Yang Xi had already washed her son’s hair. While wiping his hair with a cotton cloth, she asked, “What did you buy?”

Zhou Yu, “I’ll go get some hot water to wash my feet first, I’ll tell you later.”

“Good.”

Zhou Yu came back to soak his feet, “It feels so good.”

Yang Xi dried her son’s hair and motioned for the little guy to get into bed. He could take off his clothes and go to bed today.

Zhou Yu then said, “I bought about five kilograms of millet and more than ten kilograms of sorghum. There is no rice in the village.”

“It’s good to have millet.”

Zhou Yu said: “I also bought cabbage and radishes, and a jar of pickles.”

“What about eggs?”

Zhou Yu smiled and said, “I bought fifteen eggs.”

This was the biggest reward, but unfortunately, the chickens were unwilling to lay eggs in winter.

Yang Xi also laughed, “What about salt?”

They were out of salt, so today’s sauerkraut soup was flavored with pickled radish.

Zhou Yu sighed, “I didn’t buy much. Now the price of salt has risen again. Every family in the village uses soybean paste to cook.”

Yang Xi blinked, “Why don’t we buy some more sauce? We can make some egg sauce tomorrow.”

Zhou Yu smiled and said, “Okay.”

They were safe now. Bozhou was in such chaos that it was difficult for the Xu family to send people to the south to investigate. The more Zhou Yu thought about it, the deeper his smile became.

At night, the couple did not sleep. Zhou Yu waited until his son fell asleep and said, “Third Yang told me that Yan Bing has a yard in Qijia Village, Gao County. We can go to Qijia Village to recuperate.”

“A backup plan.”

“Yeah, I think it’s good.”

Yang Xi also thought it was a good idea. Yan Bing’s house would save them a lot of trouble. “I think Yan Bing has a lot of tricks up his sleeve.”

Zhou Yu, “Well, Yan Bing told Third Yang that he was the only one sent out because the incident happened so suddenly.”

“He really isn’t afraid of us stealing his money and killing him. He really trusts us.”

Zhou Yu sneered, “He has something to seek.”

Yang Xi was sleepy. “Shall we continue our journey tomorrow?”

Zhou Yu shook his head, “Rest for another day.”

“That’s good. It’s a good opportunity to wash all the clothes we took off.”

The next day, no villagers came to disturb them. The two families washed in the yard. The women of the Wu family did the work, while the other way around was the case for the Zhou family.

Zhou Yu grabbed Zhou Xiaodi and asked him to wash the quilt cover, and Zhou Xiaodi was dumbfounded.

Zhou Yu knocked his brother on the head, “What are you standing there for? Hurry up and wash.”

There were a pile of quilt covers. As for clothes, he only washed his wife and son’s clothes, while his sister washed her own and her mother’s clothes.

Zhou Xiaodi still didn’t come back to his senses, “Brother, everyone is looking at you.”

Zhou Yu didn’t have the energy to help his wife before, but now he doesn’t have to worry about her safety. He won’t put all the housework on his wife and younger sister. “Your sister-in-law and younger sister have worked hard enough, what’s wrong with washing quilts and clothes?”

Zhou Xiaodi blinked his eyes, “No, brother, your hands can only hold a pen.”

Zhou Yu, “Didn’t you see me holding a knife?”

Brother Zhou, “!!”

He couldn’t help but shiver. He was afraid when he thought about how fiercely his elder brother wielded the knife. Little brother Zhou was scared.

Zhou Yu was satisfied to see that his younger brother was washing clothes honestly. He looked at the dazed Third Yang and sighed in his heart, thinking that he still had little experience.

Third Yang asked Yan Bing in a daze, “Am I dreaming?”

Yan Bing was a young man. He had servants and maids since he was young. He had everything provided for him. He had never washed his clothes. When he thought of his clothes, Yan Bing blushed. His old clothes were already so dirty that they were unbearable to look at.

Wu Shan took a while to come back to his senses, and couldn’t help wondering, was this the difference between him and the scholars? Then he shook his head. He had also seen the students in the village, and their hands were very precious!

He felt that he loved his wife very much but had never done any laundry for her. In the end, he concluded that Zhou Yu was too good to his wife.

Li Shi blinked her eyes and wanted to go talk to Yang Xi. She thought her husband was the most important thing, but before she could take any action, she was scolded by the head of the family!

Ye Shi looked at her two sons washing the quilt, then looked at her daughter-in-law and daughter. She sighed in her heart. They were living their own lives. How long could she live? It was better for her to stay out of it.

Third Yang squatted beside the basin, “Brother, I really admire you.”

He thought of the beast who forced his eldest sister to death. He divorced his sister when his family was in trouble and killed his eldest sister!

Zhou Yu, “You want to help too?”

Third Yang blinked his eyes and said, “I have Li Zheng.”

Zhou Yu, “You little brat.”

Third Yang chuckled, “There is a hunter in this village. I’ll go rent a bow and arrow and go for a walk in the mountains.”

Zhou Yu frowned, “It’s dangerous on the mountain.”

Third Yang, “I’m not stupid, I’ll take the four brothers of the Wu family with me.”

Zhou Yu, “.”

This kid had already stretched out his hand to Boss Wu and Second Wu?

Yan Bing stood in the distance and watched quietly. He sighed again, Zhou Gongzi was too family-oriented.

In the afternoon, Third Yang didn’t catch any prey, but he picked some frozen wild pears in the mountain village and also got some pine nuts from a squirrel’s nest.

On the second day, the group left the village. Third Yang got the biggest gain. He begged and pleaded to buy the hunter’s bow and arrow.

They rested for a day and went up the official road again. They did not meet the Qian family caravan, so they probably got ahead of them.

Yan Bing had been to Jiazhou and was very familiar with it. This time Yan Bing led the way.

(End of this chapter)

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