Transmigrating with a Five Million Dollar Retirement Life

Chapter 192 The Blocked Official Road

After spending five days in Xishuang County, Song Jiaojiao bought the fruits she wanted, but unfortunately, she didn't find any special medicinal herbs.

On the day of her departure, Mu Xue went alone to say goodbye to Mu Mu with tears in her eyes. It was rare to make such a good friend in her life, and she had to say goodbye after only a few days together.

Mu Xue was in low spirits after boarding the train. She sat alone in a corner of the carriage, gazing out the window in a daze. Song Jiaojiao didn't know how to comfort her.

Everyone's path is different, and friends are mostly just passersby on life's journey. Some will accompany you for a lifetime, while others can only walk with you for a part of the way.

The hardships along this journey can only be endured alone.

“Madam, Mozhou is just ahead. Mozhou is all mountains, and the mountains are complex. Without a local to guide you, it is generally difficult to get out of the mountains. However, the abundance of mountains also means that there are rich medicinal resources.” Zhou Dadan said from outside the window while riding his horse.

Song Jiaojiao lifted the carriage curtain and looked at the continuous mountains in front of her. Each mountain was higher than the last, and the official road was winding and twisting, with only a section of the road visible.

It really is true that there are still mountains beyond mountains.

"Are there any famous counties or prefectures?" Song Jiaojiao asked.

"If we're talking about famous places, it has to be Wangmo County. It's famous for its medicinal herbs. It's said that some people have dug up a lot of precious medicinal herbs in the mountains. The richest thing here is hemp. However, the journey is long and the situation in the mountains is unknown. The medicinal herb merchants who come here are either desperate or reckless."

Zhou Dadan thought about how he had traveled all over the country over the years. He had come to Mozhou before when he was a镖师 (bodyguard/escort). Back then, there was a bandit on every mountain. He didn't know how many bandits he had fought along the way, and he wondered what the situation was like over the years.

Song Jiaojiao thought that the situation in Mozhou was somewhat similar to that of Guizhou in her previous life. There were many mountains and little soil, not to mention farmland. There were also countless wild boars. Every autumn harvest, wild boars would come down the mountain in groups to destroy the crops. As the saying goes, "First a boar, second a bear, third a tiger." Even tigers would avoid a group of wild boars, which shows how dangerous wild boars are.

A fully grown male wild boar can weigh up to 500 pounds. Its long tusks can easily pierce through a person. Most importantly, pigs are omnivores, and they will eat anything lying in front of them. There have even been cases of wild boars killing people in the past.

Another issue is that food shortages lead to an increase in bandits in the mountains. The mountain roads are already rugged and few people come here, and the banditry creates a vicious cycle. The fine and precious medicinal herbs in the mountain towns cannot be sold, and people from outside the mountains cannot come in, which leads to the poverty and backwardness of Mozhou and an even smaller population.

"Let's go! Let's go to Wangmo County and take a look." Song Jiaojiao didn't want to miss such a place that was rich in medicinal herbs, and hoped that this trip could upgrade her space to another level.

“Madam, going to Wangmo County is equivalent to entering the central part of Mozhou. Going further south, you will have to go through thirty-six bends and seventy-two turns,” Zhou Dadan reminded Song Jiaojiao again.

That place has a treacherous mountain road, half cliff and half mountain, and if you are not careful, you risk rolling down the mountain.

"It's okay. If it really doesn't work, we can just go back the way we came and try a different direction." Song Jiaojiao thought that at worst it would just take a little more time.

Seeing that Song Jiaojiao had made her decision, Zhou Dadan didn't say anything more, but instead focused his attention on observing the surrounding environment.

"How far are we from Wangmo County?" Song Jiaojiao asked.

"Reporting to Madam, it will probably take about four or five counties. If the weather is good, half a month should be enough." Zhou Dadan thought for a moment and said that it would take about this time if the weather was good. If something happens to delay along the way, it may take even longer.

Song Jiaojiao hadn't expected it to take so long. Now she missed the modes of transportation in her previous life, where even the slowest train only took a day to get there.

The thought of sitting in a carriage for half a month made me feel sorry for my backside.

And so, the carriage traveled for three days. By this time, the official road had long since entered the mountains. Zhou Dayong and Zhou Dadan took turns riding the carriage ahead to scout the way.

When they passed through the previous county, Song Jiaojiao bought two more horses and sent Zhang Li and Zhou Dayong to scout the way in turns, leaving one person to ride a horse to Song Jiaojiao's carriage.

Fortunately, the imperial court did not cut corners when repairing this official road, and the road was built quite wide, allowing two carriages to travel side by side.

Suddenly, countless birds took flight from the forest. Zhang Li immediately signaled to stop. Xu Sen, who was driving the carriage for Song Jiaojiao, also immediately ordered the carriage to stop, and all three carriages came to a halt on the official road.

When Zhou Dayong, who had gone to scout ahead, returned, he hurriedly told Song Jiaojiao, "Madam, we saw a lot of fallen rocks and tree trunks ahead, blocking most of the official road. We can only pass through after they are cleared."

Hearing this, Song Jiaojiao felt that something was wrong. Could it be that things had been too smooth in the past few days, and God couldn't stand it anymore? There had been no rain or earthquakes in the past few days, so how could there be falling rocks?

The most urgent task is to clear the road.

"Alright, Zhang Li, you and Xu Sen will switch places. You come to the carriage and have Zhou Dadan come back and watch the edge of the carriage. Zhou Dayong, you take Shang Yu and Xu Sen to clear the road. Remember to bring your knives and keep an eye on the surroundings. The rest of you, stay put and rest to replenish your energy."

After Song Jiaojiao gave the order, everyone got busy. Song Jiaojiao didn't let everyone get off the carriage, but took out some dry food for the people in the carriage to replenish their energy. She got off the carriage by herself and went to Ye Yun's carriage.

"Miss Ye Yun, the road ahead is blocked by fallen rocks, it will probably take a while to clear it." Song Jiaojiao didn't see Ye Yi, the driver for them was a servant that Ye Yi had bought herself.

"Madam Song, I understand." After this period of treatment, Ye Yun's voice sounded much better. Except for coughing at night, she was basically the same as a normal person during the day.

"Hmm, where's Yoruichi? I haven't seen her." Song Jiaojiao asked, voicing her doubts.

"This...A-Yi...he went to relieve himself in the woods," Ye Yun stammered.

Unexpectedly, Song Jiaojiao's ears turned red instantly, and she said awkwardly, "Oh, I think the falling rocks ahead are very strange. I'm afraid something bad might happen. Miss Ye Yun, please remember to tell Ye Yi later."

"Thank you for the reminder, Madam Song. I will convey it to you."

After finishing her sentence, Song Jiaojiao left and went to take a look into the mountains. Despite the bright sunshine, the mountains looked gloomy and eerie. The tall pine trees blocked out the sunlight, making the forest appear dark.

Half an hour had passed since the time it was supposed to stop. Most of the rocks in front had been cleared, and only a little more needed to be cleared so that the carriage could barely pass.

Nothing much happened during this time, and with approval just around the corner, Song Jiaojiao began to wonder if she was being overly anxious.

Suddenly, a sharp whistle rang out from the mountains, followed by a large number of footsteps rushing down the mountain.