Natural disasters in books: I stockpiled goods to escape famine in ancient times

According to the route on the map, the group still had to walk on the official road for half an hour before they could reach the mountain.

After half an hour of traveling, everyone except Song Shiwei was sweating profusely. There was a skillful man in the village who picked a lot of dry grass on the roadside to weave straw hats for his family. The officials also found the villagers and bought straw hats with silver money, which brought income to many families in the village.

Ge Li held a map in his hand and walked in front with Xie An. The two compared the markings on the map and carefully examined the surrounding environment. Finally, they found the entrance to the mountain.

The intersection was overgrown with weeds at this time. If it weren't for the willow tree next to it that was so big that it took three people to hug it, the two of them would not have found the entrance into the mountain.

The intersection was found, and Ge Li and Xie An withdrew after their mission accomplished. The village hunters and several young men cleared the way ahead, cutting the weeds on both sides to widen the intersection and make it easier for horse-drawn, mule-drawn, and ox-drawn carts to pass through.

Huang Changyuan's family's ox cart was in front, followed by Song Shiwei's horse carriage, then the carts of other families in the village, and finally the mule carts of the Shen and Xie families and the officials.

Whenever Xu Shihe and his apprentice were on the road, they would either take the villagers' bus or Huang Changyuan's ox cart. Occasionally, they would get off the bus to take a walk. The two men probably felt embarrassed, so they would give each other some benefits every time they took the bus, either prepared herbal medicine or acupuncture to treat the injuries caused by years of fatigue at their homes. Both sides felt that they were getting the upper hand.

After entering the mountain, the ride in the car was too bumpy, so everyone chose to get off and walk forward, which also gave the livestock a chance to catch their breath.

After entering the mountain, the old hunter from the village was still the one who explored the way and found a place to rest, but this time two officers were added to avoid any accidents.

Several people walked in the mountains for nearly an hour. They looked at the sky and saw that it was about the end of the day. The few people who went out to explore the way also came back at this time.

Huang Changyuan came forward, his old face full of anticipation: "Did you find it?"

Chen Qiang and others shook their heads at the same time: "This mountain is more complicated than we thought. We almost got lost."

Huang Changyuan sighed and said, "When you explore the road in the future, try not to separate, so as not to get lost and encounter danger."

Huang Changyuan looked around, thought for a moment, and suggested: "This mountain is even more densely wooded than the previous one we entered, and there is no sun. Let's go a little further. If it doesn't work, we can rest in the woods and continue our journey earlier in the morning."

No one else had any objections, and they all listened to what Huang Changyuan said in the unfamiliar environment.

The officer who went to explore the way also told Ge Li about the situation, and Ge Li shared the same idea as Huang Changyuan.

So everyone continued on their journey while it was still daylight, trying to walk more every day so that they could reach the north earlier and live a stable life.

In the end, the group still couldn't find any water source or flat place. As it was getting dark, they had to spend the night in the woods.

Huang Changyuan was a cautious person, especially in unfamiliar places. As soon as the team stopped, he asked the old hunters to go around to see if there were any large wild animals nearby. He also took young men like Liu Daming with him to set some traps around.

The others were choosing a suitable spot to set up their tents in the forest. Song Shiwei looked up at the sky. The sky was blocked by the towering trees, with only a few rays of light leaking through.

Song Shiwei retracted his gaze, glanced at the people who had already chosen a location to set up their tents, turned around and pointed at the villagers and said to Zhang Wu, "Let's set up our tents there."

The location Song Shiwei chose was at the edge, about three or four meters away from the villagers' tents, which was just right, not too close or too far. The tents of the officials and the Shen and Xie families were opposite the villagers. This was also suggested by Huang Changyuan. Everyone tried to form a circle to make it easier for the night watchers to look after the surroundings.

The officials escorted exiled prisoners all year round, and it was common for them to sleep in the wild, so they had more experience than the villagers.

Ge Li went straight to Huang Changyuan and suggested that everyone put some sharpened sticks behind the tent, firstly to prevent wild animals from approaching, and secondly to reassure everyone so that they could sleep well at night.

Huang Changyuan immediately arranged this matter. The men chopped trees and cut sticks, the women made a fire and cooked, and the children picked up dead branches around the tent.

Zhang Wu's hand had gotten much better, so he took over the cooking task. He had traveled for a long time during the day, and was worried that his master might not have a good appetite, so he tried to think of ways to cook for Song Shiwei.

Roe deer meat and wolf meat are both sold in Xiang County. There are also some wild boar meat, pheasant and rabbit, as well as a lot of dried fish, piled in the carriage. Zhang Wu grilled a fish and stir-fried a pheasant in the evening, and also soaked some dried vegetables in a bowl of water.

Song Shiwei felt it was too hot outside, so after setting up the tent he went inside to cool off. Before going in, he left a water bag of iced drink for Zhang Wu.

After dinner, Huang Ping brought a bundle of firewood and specifically reminded Zhang Wu to remember to light a fire at night to scare away wild beasts.

A lot of sharpened wood was also inserted behind the two people's tent. They were all made by the villagers. After they were done, they told Song Shiwei and the others about it to prevent them from accidentally stepping on it when they got up at night.

The entire team was basically eating at this moment. The officials also bought enough supplies when they left Xiang County, and the Shen and Xie families spent a lot of money.

At this moment, the tents of the Shen and Xie families were set up side by side. In Xie Hong's tent, Shen Qianxue, her father and her elder brother were all inside, whispering about the current disaster situation.

Besides Shen Xian and his son, the only ones who knew that Shen Qianxue had a space were Xie Hong and his son. This was what Shen Qianxue decided to tell them after discussing with her father. As for Xie Hong's wife and Shen Qianxue's mother, no one said it explicitly, leaving it to them to guess.

After traveling for a long time in the scorching heat today, even Shen Yan felt a little uncomfortable. There was no one else in the tent at the moment. He fanned himself with dry leaves while looking at Shen Qianxue and said with a smile: "Sister, why didn't you think of preparing some ice before? Traveling in such weather is simply life-threatening."

Shen Qianxue glared at him and said unhappily, "There are so many things that our two families need to put away. It's already great that we can prepare so much food for you. You still want ice? You really dare to think so."

Xie Hong and Shen Xian laughed loudly on the side.

Xie An patted Shen Yan on the shoulder and said, "Qianxue prepared so many of your favorite foods for you. You are really greedy. If I had known earlier, I shouldn't have put away those swords and knives."

"No, no, no, I said the wrong thing, it's my fault."

After the joke, Xie Hong's eyes showed deep worry: "We have been prepared for this, but it still happened. I don't know how other people are doing, and I don't know if the people above have provided disaster relief."

Shen Xian understood his friend's worries and sighed, "With Cao here, how can he provide disaster relief? It's good enough that we can take care of ourselves now. You, don't think too much. Let's talk about it when we can get to the northern border safely."

"I know everything you said, but the people are innocent. Natural disasters are already difficult, and if man-made disasters are added, how much will be left for the people? If I had known earlier, I should have released the news. It would be better than watching the people suffer."

When they heard this, their faces changed immediately.

"Father, you'd better listen to Uncle Shen and stop thinking about those unnecessary things. If you had really let the news out, how could that person let us go? Where would you put Qianxue?" Xie An looked at him steadily after he finished speaking.

Xie Hong also knew that he had said the wrong thing, and quickly waved his hand: "I just said it casually, I'm not stupid. Now the victims are rushing to the capital. There is always a glimmer of hope at the foot of the imperial city. I just hope those people in the capital don't just watch and do nothing."

The topic gradually became heavy. Shen Qianxue and Xie An looked at each other and saw helplessness in each other's eyes.