Chapter 201: Chapter 201. Zhaoyuan County
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
The imperial court was filled with undercurrents and infighting. The Emperor had focused his energy on dealing with the Wan family and his son, so exterminating the rebel victims was not as important.
A group of disaster victims just wanted to eat and wear warm clothes. The Emperor had learned his lesson and sent the An family to provide disaster relief. The disaster victims did not have high demands. As long as they did not starve to death, they would not rebel.
To win the people’s hearts, the Emperor revoked the decree to exterminate the disaster victims. The journey was relatively safer. Ji Shuisheng and the others had the escort flag and the Zhenyuan Bodyguard Agency documents. Even if they had weapons, they could leave very smoothly.
They left for half a month. It was mid-September, and the further north they went, the colder it became. Su Qing taught the women of Peach Blossom Cove to make cotton shoes. They tore apart the cotton clothes to make cotton shoes. Not only were Peach Blossom Cove’s people dumbfounded, but even Qin Feng and Madam Li found it unbelievable.
Su Qing only said that they could save money this way. No one went to buy cotton-padded clothes or shoes personally. They didn’t know if they had saved money.
By the time they reached Zhaoyuan County, the team had already run out of food and salt for many days. They could only rely on Ji Shuisheng and the others to hunt daily to maintain their food and clothing. If they did not purchase food soon, some of them would starve to death along the way.
The distance between the cities was more than double that of the south. The land was vast and sparsely populated, and it wasn’t easy to buy things.
Therefore, Ji Shuisheng and Qiu Yongkang decided to stop at Zhaoyuan County to buy enough supplies before continuing their journey.
Su Qing wanted to go into the city to buy cotton and cloth. It was far from enough! She had only made about 30 pairs of shoes.
She had moved up two levels and reached level five during this period. Su Qing had now mastered the skill of Su embroidery, and the flower figures she showed were so lifelike that even Madam Li, who was skilled in embroidery, could not compare to her.
The darning skill had leveled up, but the cooking skill had not leveled up for a long time. The more she wanted to level up, the harder it was.
Su Qing’s knitting skill had been upgraded to level four. With the three levels of knitting and darning, her war god ability had also been upgraded to level 34.
Su Qing wanted to practice forging now. They had an iron mine, so it was not difficult for her to upgrade her forging.
However, the iron mine was too far away. After Ji Shuisheng sent them safely to Jingshi Duo, he asked Qu Da, Jiang Cheng, and the others to mine and forge their needed weapons.
Su Qing made up her mind to go with Shuisheng. She could offer advice and provide advanced technical guidance to help Shuisheng complete his revenge as soon as possible. At the same time, she could also max out her forging and mining skills.
In the past half a month, Su Qing had followed Ji Shuisheng to many mountains. She had never forgotten to seek the thousand-year-old Lingzhi for her mother, but Lingzhi was hard to come by. She had already used two along the way. How could she have so many thousand-year-old Lingzhi?
Su Qing was getting more and more anxious. The hundred-year-old Lingzhi could only sustain her mother for a year. She had to hurry.
Zhaoyuan County was far away, and no wanted notice was posted at the entrance. The soldiers guarding the city were also undisciplined, and the people entering the city were not checked. Before Su Qing entered the city, she saw Xiaoying looking at her longingly.
Of course, it was also because few disaster victims could make it this far, so it did not affect Zhaoyuan County much.
Xiaoying excitedly followed beside her sister. She hadn’t entered the city for a long time. She still couldn’t forget the last time she entered the city. Life in the city and escaping from famine were simply heaven and hell.
Ji Shuisheng and Qiu Yongkang’s goal was clear. They were going to buy food, salt, and some necessities.
Fortunately, Su Qing had brought the girls to pick herbs, so they did not lack medicine. No one died of illness on the way.
“Shuisheng, you guys go and buy food. I’ll take Xiaoying to cat something delicious.”
Su Qing told Ji Shuisheng she also wanted a good meal. She had been living in the open all this time, and the wild game made without salt was not delicious.
“Alright, we’ll wait for you at the grain store.”
Ji Shuisheng nodded and went to buy food with Qiu Yongkang.
Xiaoying looked at the buildings in the city curiously. Unlike in the south, most houses here were made of mud. Even the most prosperous main streets did not have many wooden buildings. They were all made of mud. The people’s clothes on the roads were also very different from theirs.
There were many peddlers selling animal skins. Many people wore clothes made of animal skins and liked to have feathers on their heads.
The man was tall, strong, and rough. The woman was not as gentle as the southern women, who could quarrel with the man with their hands on their hips and hoarse voices.
There were no official restaurants here, but there were many relay stations. They were not official relay stations but private ones. The first floor of the relay station was used as accommodation for the restaurant’s second floor. The business was very good.
Su Qing searched for a long time before she found the biggest courier station on the street. The courier station had a strange name: Smelling Fragrance and Dismounting Horse.
Because of this interesting name, Su Qing wanted to see how fragrant their dishes were.
Unlike in the South, the waiters here were not as enthusiastic as in the South. No one came out to welcome them. If you wanted to order something, you had to call the waiters.
Su Qing and Xiaoying sat by the window on the first floor. This table was relatively neat and clean, but there were some cuts.
Why did she say that? Many other tables were either missing table corners or had broken legs supported by stones.
Not only that, but the decoration of the tavern was even more unbearable. The walls were smeared with mud and straw and unwilling to brush with white lime. The walls were all original.
When Su Qing and Xiaoying arrived, it was not a proper meal yet, but there was already a table full of people eating in the tavern. Unlike the Southerners who drank with exquisite wine cups, everyone drank with large bowls. They stood up with one foot on the stool when they were happy. Spittle flew everywhere as they greeted each other and gestured loudly. It was a lively group.
Su Qing frowned. This dining environment did not match the attractive plaque outside the door.
“Waiter, please make us a pot of tea.”
Seeing that no waiter came to serve them, Xiaoying could only go to the waiter to ask for water. They had been without water for two days, so they had to drink water first.
The waiter rolled his eyes at Xiaoying when he heard her asking for tea.
“There’s only plain water, one tael of silver for a pot.”
“One tael of silver for plain water?”
Xiaoying stretched out a finger in disbelief. Why was it so expensive? One tael of silver was enough to buy a cart of water.
“What is this place? Water is more expensive than oil.”
The waiter rolled his eyes at her as if Xiaoying was a fool.
“Alright, one tael it is.”
Su Qing called Xiaoying to stop. There was a shortage of water here. There was a shortage of goods. The cost of transporting water was high, and the merchants wanted it expensive. They would not lack this bit of silver if they wanted to drink water.
Xiaoying sat back down on the stool with a heartache.
“One tael of silver can buy four piculs of grain.”
“The rarer a thing is, the more valuable it is.”
Su Qing said lightly. When she entered the city, she observed the surroundings. There were not many farmlands around the city. Even the farmlands that she saw were mainly abandoned.
Where would there be food if no one farmed? They were all shipped from the South, and the price was not low.
The waiter brought over a pot of water. The kettle was quite big, several times bigger than the exquisite teapot in the south. The bowls for the water were even bigger, using a big bowl like those who drank.
Xiao Ying poured two bowls of water and said with heartache,
“It’s even more expensive than drinking oil.”
Su Qing didn’t answer her and looked at the two tall men who came in from outside the door..
