The two families were not moving very fast. People needed to relieve their mental stress appropriately. Even though the two families seemed to be fine, they were still uneasy in their hearts.

Jiazhou and Bozhou were like two different worlds. Although the people in Jiazhou were in a panic, the living environment was safe, while Bozhou would never find peace again.

The two families walked and stopped along the way, buying something wherever they went.

The Zhou family didn’t need much, so they only bought snacks and candies to nourish their bodies. The Wu family was the opposite. They had a large family and some money, so they bought a lot of food and clothes.

The two families would stay in each town or county for a day, walking and stopping. Their mentality finally returned to normal, and they gained back some of the fat they had lost.

It was clearly a five-day journey, but it took ten days to reach Gao County.

The two families found an inn to rest. Third Yang accompanied Yan Bing to Qijia Village and came back to pick them up after confirming that there were no problems.

Brother Zhou and sister Zhou took Ziheng out to play, while Zhou Yu and his wife went out for a walk.

Gao County was located in the central part of Jiazhou and was not prosperous due to its geographical location.

From a security perspective, Gao County was surrounded by mountains and was a good place that was easy to defend but difficult to attack.

Yang Xi squatted in front of the stall and looked at the rabbit skins. “The old man has great skills.”

The old man said, “My dear, this is a craft passed down from our ancestors. If you like it, buy a few more. I will give it to you at a lower price.”

Yang Xi wanted to make a rabbit fur cushion for her mother-in-law and a rabbit fur hat for her son. She picked and chose five pieces and said, “I’ll buy five. Let the old man do the math.”

The old man smiled and said, “Thirty cents for one piece of leather, a total of one hundred and fifty cents.”

Yang Xi, “This is not cheap, 28 cents per piece.”

The old man shook his head. “We are surrounded by mountains here, so the price is this high. You can’t buy leather this cheap outside of Gao County.”

Yang Xi, “One hundred and forty-five coins. I’ll keep a few coins to buy two buns for my kids.”

The old man also wanted to go home early, “You got yourself a great deal.”

Zhou Yu was watching with great interest. He reached out his hand to pay the old man, but the old man shook his head and said, “I only want copper coins.”

The two had not taken so many copper coins with them to the street and signaled the old man to keep the leather and they would come back to get it later.

Yang Xi, “We need to exchange for more copper coins.”

Copper coins would be more convenient for daily life in the future, and there was no need to worry about exchanging too many. If a new dynasty was established, the court would recycle the copper coins, melt them, and recast them. The copper coins of the previous dynasty would not lose their value because there would not be so much copper available.

The couple found a money shop and exchanged two taels of copper coins. Today they only exchanged enough for their needs and would exchange more when they left. One thousand seven hundred copper coins were quite heavy.

The current ratio was one tael of silver to eight hundred and fifty copper coins, and the money house made a lot of profit from the difference.

They took a quick tour of Gao County, where there were many hunters and most of the shops were engaged in trading furs.

The family had vegetarian noodle soup for dinner in the evening, but Third Yang and Yan Bing did not come back.

The next day, the two returned to Gao County. Third Yang did not hide Yan Bing’s words and said, “The house is nice, and the people in Qijia Village are easy to get along with.”

Yan Bing smiled and said, “I asked the aunt in the village to clean the house. Zhou Xiānshēng, shall we go first, or do some shopping first?”

Zhou Yu, “You don’t have to call me Zhou Xiānshēng¹.”

Yan Bing refused, “Zhou Xiānshēng has a chasm in his heart. I respect you very much.”

Zhou Yu didn’t want to pay attention to Yan Bing, and said to Third Yang: “Let’s do some shopping before going to Qijia Village.”

Third YangYang San wanted to buy a lot of things, but Qijia Village was not close to the county town, and even if he had a horse, he was unwilling to go back and forth.

The two families bought more food, and as for where Yan Bing got the money, neither family asked any questions.

Yan Bing wanted to help the Zhou family pay the money, but Zhou Yu refused, “It’s good to live my own life.”

They were close enough to the Wu family and continued to live their own lives, and they would settle all the money matters clearly to avoid hurting their relationship in the future.

Yan Bing had suffered a lot, but he was a rich man, so he bought a lot of good things and fine grains.

It was already noon when they left Gao County. Qijia Village was a mountain village and it would be hard to get around without a guide. It took an hour to get to Qijia Village by carriage.

Yang Xi looked at the similar mountains on all sides and said with emotion: “What a great place!”

Yan Bing continued, “Then stay in Qijia Village until spring?”

Yang Xi shook his head, “Leave after you have recovered.”

She would not feel at ease unless she went to the South. No matter how good this place was, it was not where she wanted to settle down.

Yan Bing smiled and looked at Zhou Xiānshēng who was moving things. So in the eyes of Zhou Xiānshēng and his wife, the north was very dangerous.

Many villagers from Qijia Village came to watch. Third Yang had strong communication skills and had established friendships with the young men in the village yesterday. Zhou Yu didn’t have to do much as the young men had already finished moving.

The wall of Yan Bing’s house was one and a half meters high. The house itself was not small, featuring a courtyard with two entrances. The courtyard included a complete set of horse and cow sheds. Although it wasn’t a blue-brick house, it still stood out in the village.

Yan Bing lived in the main room and wanted to give one to the Zhou family, but Zhou Yu refused and they lived in the side room.

The house had more than a dozen rooms, which made it convenient for Boss Wu and Second Wu to finally have a room for each member of the family.

Now that they had a place to live, Ziheng and the two children from the Wu family were playing in the yard. Hearing the children’s laughter, the adults from both families also had smiles on their faces.

Yang Xi tidied it up. There were two kitchens in the yard, so they no longer had to share a kitchen with the Wu family. Yang Xi nodded with satisfaction. It was now convenient to do anything.

After tidying up the dishes and chopsticks, Yang Xi felt a great sense of accomplishment.

Third Yang stood at the kitchen door and said, “Sister-in-law, I bought four hens. They can lay eggs these days. Where should we keep them?”

Yang Xi turned around, “Where’s your elder brother?”

Third Yang replied, “Brother went to the village head’s house.”

Yang Xi came out and saw four hens. Her mind was full of roast chicken, boiled chicken, etc. She swallowed her saliva and said, “Put them in the cowshed.”

Third Yang also swallowed his saliva. As a young man, he was craving for meat the most. He thought that after he finished his vegetarian diet, he would eat a chicken every day.

Li Shi came out and saw the hens, “Brother Yang is really smart. I will also go to the village and buy two hens.”

The adults and children in her family also needed to nourish their bodies, so she was willing to spend the money.

Yang Xi likes getting along with Wu Shan and his wife. Li Shi would not take advantage of them and knew where the bottom line was.

Third Yang said: “I will ask for my sister-in-law later.”

Li Shi felt that her son was not good at speaking, and it would be great if her son could speak well. She said, “Thank you.”

After a while, Third Yang brought back two more chickens for Li Shi.

Zhou Yu came back after dinner was ready. When he saw Yan Bing, he said, “You don’t have to continue to be a vegetarian with us.”

There were no conditions before, but now Yan Bing had the money and the conditions.

Yan Bing said: “I also want to observe mourning.”

Zhou Yu, “Sorry.”

He forgot for a moment. To put it bluntly, he did not approve of Yan Bing in his heart.

The dinner today was lavish, with , braised , and a soup made with . As for where the mushrooms came from, Yang San bought them in the village.

After dinner, Yan Bing left for a while and came back with a bag.
Yan Bing put down the bag and said, “This is a thank-you gift.”

(End of this chapter)

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Footnote

1. Xiānshēng is a respectful title used for men, similar to “Mr.” in English