Chapter 1735 - 1737: Who Goes There?
After late autumn passes, early winter arrives.
The weather is getting colder day by day, and the leaves on the trees have all fallen, leaving only bare branches.
On the mountain path, a caravan of carriages passed by, startling the birds in the trees, causing them to fly away with chirping sounds.
The caravan moved slowly forward, with Yang Ming sitting on the foremost carriage, eager to return home.
It had been two months away from home. How was everything back there?
Such a large household needed the wife’s support, truly making it hard for her.
This trip was not without gains. At least their Xuntian Escort Agency had established a footing in Beijing and made some acquaintances in both the underworld and the officialdom.
Looking at the road, once over this mountain, Lin County would be ahead, bringing him closer to home.
Yang Ming turned to shout to the caravan behind, "Stop the caravan here, everyone take a break and have a meal before continuing."
With a collective shout of agreement, the caravan came to a halt.
The mountain path was already narrow, with an endless mountain foot on one side and some steep cliffs on the other, where a slight carelessness could lead to a fall. Therefore, the caravan could only move slowly, adding to the fact that the goods being transported this time were wine jars, unlike other goods. A slight mishap could incur compensation, so everyone was being very cautious.
They pulled the carriages closer to the mountain foot to avoid blocking others’ paths. Once settled, they found an open space to set up a makeshift kitchen.
Being on a long journey away from home, they couldn’t just make do with dry rations, so they carried a large pot with them.
As they were at the mountain foot, those with quick legs had already run into the mountain to hunt for game, supplementing everyone’s meal if they caught something.
Soon, the large pot was set up.
The hunters returned with game, and with many people, everyone quickly got to work!
Before long, the roasted meat was ready to eat.
Everyone’s lips were oily, and they were in good spirits because they were about to return. This time out, they had taken on big jobs, transporting tribute items to Beijing. That work was already done, and they’d earned quite a bit of reward money, and of course, everyone received their share.
Transporting wine back was just a side job — given they were heading back anyway, it was something to be done in passing!
Just as everyone was happily eating, they suddenly heard a noise.
This made everyone alert, stopping their eating, each one perking up their ears, eyes scanning around.
The people in this Escort Agency had some skills, not just brute strength, so they could hold their ground here.
The noise seemed to come closer.
"Big Boss."
Yang Ming also heard the commotion. He gestured for everyone to be alert and to protect the goods in the carriages.
Everyone nodded in acknowledgement. They had seen such situations plenty of times, knowing exactly what to do. However, this kind of danger was new to the Store Manager, so if something really happened, they must protect the Store Manager’s safety.
While everyone was preparing for potential conflict, the noise got closer, and two silhouettes appeared.
One of the brothers from the Escort Agency called out, "Who goes there?"
One of the two people, seeing everyone, spoke up, "Excuse me, are you heading towards Lin County? The two of us need to go there, but the distance is too far, and we truly can’t walk anymore. Could we hitch a ride with you?"
Hearing this, everyone looked towards Yang Ming.
At this time, the person spoke again, "Rest assured, we will pay some fare; we only ask for a ride."