Chapter 98: The Food Is Gone
Xiao Hong answered, then picked up a water bucket and went with the others to get water.
Once Gu Qing had finished building the stove, Uncle Ma found Gu Fei. "What about the rabbit meat?" he asked.
Gu Fei shook her head. "Uncle Ma, I’m afraid we can’t eat it today. Just look around."
Uncle Ma didn’t need to look; he knew they were surrounded by refugees. He slapped his forehead. "Look at me. When I get a craving, I forget everything else. Another day. We’ll eat it another day."
Mrs. Chen had Lian’er cook a pot of porridge with some dried vegetables and then handed out buns to everyone.
As they were eating, Xiao Hong’s voice came from where Ms. Qian was. "Ma’am, you forgot to give me a cornbread bun."
Ms. Qian’s face was grim. "What cornbread bun? There is none!"
"Our family is almost out of food; we can’t afford to keep you. Go find another family to serve. I’ve kept you for this long—I’ve done right by you."
Everyone understood immediately. Ms. Qian couldn’t bear to pay the three-hundred-coin entrance fee for her.
Xiao Hong bit her lip and glanced toward Gu Fei’s family. The Gu Family all quickly looked down at the ground or up at the sky, avoiding her gaze.
Xiao Hong lowered her head. After a long moment, she looked up and pleaded with Ms. Qian, "Ma’am, forget the bun. Just let me stay the night before I go. It’s cold, and I don’t have any bedding."
The girl’s soft-spoken pleas made Ms. Qian’s heart soften for a moment. "Fine. You can stay for one night. But don’t follow us tomorrow."
After eating, the group gathered to discuss whether or not to pay the fee the next day.
Gu Zhang didn’t speak. He was thinking, ’If Little Fei hadn’t returned, I can’t imagine what would have become of our family.’
The village head sighed. "Let’s pay. We have no other choice."
Boss Zhang’s family was relatively well-off. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have been able to afford a horse and cart. The cheapest horse alone cost around thirty taels of silver.
He sighed but said nothing. ’We have to pay,’ he thought. ’What choice do we have?’
Although her great-aunt’s husband lived in the mountains, he and his two sons were skilled hunters. He also knew how to tan hides. In a year, they could save at least ten-odd taels of silver.
However, his family was accustomed to being frugal and rarely ate fine grains, so they had a fair amount of silver saved up.
Gu Zhong still had his mother’s retirement silver, which he’d collected at a rate of two taels per year. Over the years, he had accumulated between ten and twenty taels.
The only one who was truly short on cash was Gu Rong. He only had a few silver coins, which was nowhere near enough.
Tugging at his hair in frustration, he was just about to speak when Gu Zhang nudged him, so Gu Rong said nothing.
Shanzimama hadn’t said a word the whole time. Her family was just the two of them, so they could afford the fee.
Since no one objected to entering the city, Uncle Ma spoke up. "Alright, everyone, let’s get an early rest. We’ll head into the city tomorrow. Go and buy whatever you need, but be absolutely sure to stock up on food and water. We’ll meet at the East City Gate at noon to set off together."
With that, everyone settled down for the night.
Early the next morning, as Gu Fei was getting dressed, she suddenly heard Ms. Qian scream, "My millet! Where did my big sack of millet go?"
Everyone panicked and rushed to check their own food supplies. Thankfully, everything was accounted for.
"Look again," Gu Zhong said impatiently. "You’re always stuffing that grain of yours every which way. Who knows where you put it?"
Ms. Qian frantically rummaged through everything on their cart before plopping onto the ground. "It’s gone. It’s really gone."
She suddenly scrambled back to her feet. "Who was on watch last night? What kind of a job did you do? You didn’t see anyone stealing our things?"
Frowning, her great-aunt’s husband stood up. "My eldest son and I had the first watch last night. We didn’t see anyone approach the carts."
"Your husband had the second watch. Ask him!"