The house was very clean. The most conspicuous thing inside was the pile of firewood. The elderly, weak women, and children couldn’t have gathered so much firewood.

Yang Xi needed to buy firewood with grain. The village was some distance from the mountains, and it was dangerous in the mountains after dark, so she ended up buying firewood with grain.

Just as Yang Xi was about to cook, there was a knock at the door, and the woman in charge of the household walked in.

Before speaking, the old woman smiled ingratiatingly, “I have some dried fish and seaweed stored up. Would you like some?”

Yang Xi’s eyes lit up. Yes, she wanted some; she was pregnant and needed nutrition. “Could I take a look?”

In ancient times, there was no pollution, no fear of radiation or other contaminants; she could eat it without worry!

The old woman smiled and nodded, taking out some dried fish, seaweed, and dried shrimp from the jar. “Adding some dried shrimp to the porridge makes it more fragrant,” she said.

Yang Xi asked her younger sister to call over Li Shi. Li Shi, however, couldn’t stand the fishy smell and took a few steps back, shaking her head. “If my family can’t get used to it, we don’t want it,” she said.

Yang Xi, who was used to the smell and had bought plenty of spices along the way, wasn’t bothered by the fishy odor. She said to the old woman, “We don’t have much grain; I only need half.”

The old woman’s eyes showed disappointment. She had thought she could exchange it for more grain, but then she realized that getting even that much was good enough. She put on a smile, “Okay, but could you give me some rice? My grandson was just born not long ago.”

“There’s not enough breast milk; he needs rice porridge to survive.”

Before Yang Xi got out of the carriage, she heard the crying of the children from that household. She had personally cared for Ziheng, and the child truly was crying from hunger. “All right,” she said.

The old woman thanked her profusely and gave her a lot more shrimp. Carrying the food, she stepped out the door, stood for a while, then turned back and whispered, “Madam, you have a kind heart. Listen to my advice, don’t go towards the coastline. Try to stay overnight in the county town in the future, and be careful when you encounter villages. There aren’t many people with a conscience like us anymore.”

Yang Xi replied, “Thank you, Auntie.”

The old woman waved goodbye and left, deeply saddened. Their village, though small, was very united, full of simple, honest people, but this world offered no way to survive.

Many villages used to have a conscience, but in recent years, there haven’t been many left.

Even after taking the woman’s advice, Yang Xi still didn’t cook the food right away. Instead, she fed a small amount of the sea fish and seaweed to the rabbits. Last time, with no other animals available, she had used the donkey to test the seasonings; afterward, she caught two rabbits and started raising them.

The rabbit, having been hungry for a long time, actually ate something. After waiting a while to make sure it was all right, Yang Xi went to the kitchen to cook. Luckily, the Wu family’s meal was already prepared.

Now that there was the maid Sun Liu, Yang Xi only needed to give instructions. Sun Liu was a quick, capable girl; after being cared for for some time, the young maid had put on a bit of flesh, and when the simple, good-natured girl smiled, she was especially endearing.

There was some frozen meat in the car. Yang Xi wanted seaweed soup, so she cooked a whole pot and shared some with the Wu family.

Li Shi tasted it and regretted it, saying she would get some more the next day.

After the meal, Third Yang stayed to study; Zhou Xiaodi went off to teach. There was no need for him to stay and listen along.

Zhou Xiaodi was knowledgeable enough, and Zhou Yu would privately broaden his horizons.

Third Yang had many questions today. “Jiefu, how many people live in Haizhou?”

Zhou Yu actually knew; his father was very concerned about tax revenue and knew a lot about the bottom-ranking prefectures. “Around 700,000, not including the 40,000 military households in Haizhou.”

Before the court imposed the sea ban, official population records showed that Haizhou had more than a million residents. After the ban was enforced and piracy and wokou raids began, those among Haizhou’s common people who had connections left whenever they could.

Third Yang, “So many!”

Zhou Yu snorted. “Do you know the area of ​​Haizhou? Haizhou should have been a superior prefecture, but unfortunately, it couldn’t develop.”

Third Yang asked again, “Jiefu, how many people live in the whole country?”

Zhou Yu didn’t know either. “The imperial court’s population data is inaccurate; the actual population is a bit more than the records, but not by much.”

Recent natural disasters and man-made calamities have drastically reduced the population.

This time, the Bozhou Rebellion killed and injured many civilians!

Third Yang knew about the military households. “The lives of military households are too miserable.”

Zhou Yu and his wife were silent. Yes, they were too miserable. Of course, some lived well, but only a very small minority.

Third Yang returned to his room after studying. Yan Bing saw Third Yang drawing a map and stared at him wide-eyed. “What are you doing, drawing a map?”

Third Yang didn’t even look up. “Let me remember it more clearly.”

If the map weren’t forbidden, he would have liked to draw it out and preserve it, but he couldn’t. If it were discovered, all his families would be doomed.

Yan Bing studied the map carefully for a while, until Third Yang burned it, then he said leisurely, “You’re really lucky.”

Third Yang smiled. “I’ve always been lucky.”

He was telling the truth. From the moment he escaped, he was lucky. He arrived in the capital unharmed and even amassed a considerable fortune.

Of course, his greatest luck was leaving the capital with the Zhou family. Thinking of this, he was extremely proud.

Yan Bing laughed. “I think I’m lucky too.”

Third Yang asked as usual, “So, how much money do you have?”

Yan Bing was speechless.

He was too lazy to even say “get lost” now. Third Yang’s skin was getting thicker and thicker.

Nothing unexpected happened that night. The next day, Li Shi returned with a lot of seaweed and other seafood, and even shared some with Yang Xi.

Now Li Shi no longer called Yang Xi “sister-in-law.” Zhou Yu was one reason, but Yang Xi’s own abilities also earned Li Shi’s respect.

The caravan set off. Yang Xi glanced back at the small village, only looking away when it was out of sight.

Because of the woman’s warning, they dared not approach any other village. Ye Shun, with his excellent sense of direction, led the way, avoiding the village as much as possible.

They would encounter caravans along the way, but unlike those in Huaizhou, the caravans in Haizhou employed many guards.

During their midday rest, a caravan passed by.

Yang Xi quickly covered the pot with the lid; even on the snowy road, the horses were quite dirty.

Third Yang looked at the guards with envy, then glanced at the servants he had bought, and sighed deeply.

Yang Xi chuckled, “Why are you sighing all of a sudden?”

Third Yang said, “Sister, what do you say? Once things settle down, I can train some people and start an escort agency, okay?”

Zhou Yu paused in adding firewood. “You’ll train them?”

Third Yang nodded. “Mm. I’m very skilled—Jiěfu, you’ve even praised me before.”

Zhou Yu set down the firewood. “Too slow.”

Third Yang blinked. “Huh?”

Yang Xi added, “By the time you’re properly trained and then taken around to be tempered in real situations, it really would be too slow.”

Third Yang, being the clever one he was, grinned. “Jiěfu, Jiěfu guide me!”

Zhou Yu didn’t say anything, staring at the water in the pot, seemingly deaf to Third Yang’s words.

Third Yang felt like vomiting blood from frustration. He looked at his sister. “Sister, tell me!”

Yang Xi smiled. “Think for yourself.”

Third Yang realized he couldn’t think of anything. His sister and Jiěfu couldn’t speak a word. Then his stomach rumbled. A young boy gets hungry quickly. “We need to buy grain again. It seems Haizhou is particularly short of grain. I wonder if we can buy more.”

(End of Chapter)

---