vstars Chapter 147 Rain and Snow, Leaving Xieqiao Town
Chapter 147 Rain and Snow, Leaving Xieqiao Town
Early the next morning, a few snowflakes suddenly began to fall from the sky.
The snowflakes melted into water as soon as they hit the ground, soaking the ground, which shows that the temperature has not completely cooled down yet.
Although snowflakes cannot be retained, the falling snow in the sky adds a touch of coldness.
All the prisoners woke up early, got ready, and hurried to the entrance of the post station to await Lord Zhu's instructions.
The Wen family got up even earlier and worked together to prepare several days' worth of provisions for the family.
The weather is cold, so dry food is easy to store and there is no risk of it spoiling.
Even if Wenwen was prepared, and even if the family had enough to eat and drink, there still had to be some dry rations available.
Although a large meal can be enjoyed at night, during the day, one must maintain a proper appearance under everyone's watchful eye.
At most, the Wen family could simply add more ingredients and make the food they prepared more substantial to fill them up.
They had anticipated that the next few days would be very rushed, and in order to make up for the missed schedule, their lunch break would be very short, and it might even be canceled.
When the Wen family arrived at the post station, only a few prisoners were waiting.
Soon, the remaining prisoners arrived one after another.
At the hour of Yin (3-5 AM), the yamen runners and soldiers lined up, looking ready to go.
clang!
clang!
clang!
The familiar sound of the gong rang out, and Yang, the constable, stood in front of the crowd and spoke loudly.
"We were delayed on the mountain for many days, and everyone has had several days to rest. The journey ahead will be very rushed, and the weather is getting colder and colder. Please make sure to keep warm on the road and don't cause trouble for the adults, otherwise it will be difficult for everyone. Listen carefully and remember!"
Yang, the constable, straightened his clothes, rubbed his hands together, and continued, "The Wen family will go first, let's set off, the rest of you hurry up and follow!"
As soon as Yang, the constable, finished speaking, Lord Zhu's carriage sped away into the distance.
Led by the Wen family, they set off towards the city gate.
Soon, a group of people, braving the snowflakes and trudging along the wet stone path, arrived at the city gate.
At this moment, the city gate was brightly lit, reflecting the snowflakes dancing in the air. At first glance, the scene seemed romantic, but to everyone else, it was anything but romantic; it was freezing cold.
Perhaps because of the cold weather, the procedures for leaving the city were particularly quick today. It felt like we hadn't waited long before the yamen runners started shouting, "Line up, line up, everyone come and line up."
All prisoners obeyed the instructions and lined up to wait.
Soon, after the soldiers guarding the city gate and Lord Zhu quickly checked the prisoners, all the prisoners stepped out of the city gate of Xieqiao Town one after another.
At this moment, there was no one else in the square outside the city gate except for prisoners, yamen runners, and soldiers escorting them.
Looking at the empty square outside the city gate, Wenwen couldn't help but recall the boastful words of the older women when she entered the city yesterday.
She remembered that the old lady had said she was going to set up a stall at the city gate to sell cotton-padded clothes and leather goods.
Right now, there are no vendors setting up stalls in the square at all, not even peddlers from outside the city.
Sigh, she originally wanted to support the older women by buying them a few cotton-padded coats to thank them for going easy on her, but unfortunately, the older women didn't give her that chance.
As Wenwen was lost in thought, a cold wind mixed with snowflakes suddenly blew towards her.
Immediately, many prisoners began to complain about the gust of wind.
"Ugh, this weather! Why is it so cold?"
"Damn it, I forgot to buy a down jacket."
"Holy crap, I didn't buy any either."
"What's wrong with you? You only remember to buy grain, but you forgot to buy cotton clothes. You're driving me crazy!"
"It will get warm when the sun comes out at noon."
......
Whether you complain about yourself or blame your family, there's no way to fix things at this point.
Wenwen felt sorry for the older women once again.
If these women were to set up a stall here in the wind and snow right now, their business would probably be quite good.
Just look at the prisoners shivering with their arms wrapped around themselves, or the people huddled together for warmth, and you'll know this business deal is bound to be good.
What a pity, what a pity!
Some opportunities, once missed, are gone forever.
However, the world's energy is conserved; these riches are either earned by you or by someone else, and they won't simply disappear without a trace.
"Da da da!"
A series of footsteps came from inside the city gate.
Wenwen finished her internal monologue and turned to look at the city gate.
A dozen soldiers marched in formation, heading straight out of the city gate. They arrived before the escorting soldiers' leader, Lord Cheng, and shouted, "Sir, the replacement soldiers have all arrived!"
Lord Cheng merely raised his eyelids slightly and said, "I understand."
The dozen or so soldiers were then added to the escort team.
Oh, so the replacement soldiers have arrived. When we encountered the wolf pack before, more than a dozen soldiers were injured. Although Ye Jingchuan's medical skills are excellent, without good medicine, it will take some time for them to recover.
It was obvious that these soldiers were no longer suitable to remain in the escort team. Therefore, when they arrived at Xieqiao Town, Lord Zhu reported on the casualties of the prisoners, Lord Cheng also applied for a replacement of the soldiers.
Of course, wounded soldiers need to be replaced, and wounded yamen runners also need to be replaced.
All departure procedures have been completed, and replacement personnel have been in place.
The exiles then embarked on the next leg of their journey.
Just as the constable had said, the weather was getting colder and colder, especially at this time of day.
The snowflakes in the sky showed no signs of decreasing; on the contrary, they fell heavier and heavier. However, the ground temperature was not enough to retain the snowflakes, and the snowflakes that fell to the ground quickly melted into water.
Outside the city gate, the roads were all muddy, and the snowmelt slowly soaked the ground, making the roads increasingly muddy.
The Wen family members walking at the front of the procession were all dressed in warm cotton-padded clothes, with raincoats over them and leather boots on their feet. They looked like they were armed from head to toe, so there was no need to worry about them getting cold.
The falling snowflakes and muddy roads had no effect on them.
Soon everyone arrived at a wide road.
Wen Qilin watched as the carriage ahead sped away, turning into a tiny black dot.
He whispered to his family beside him, "Run slowly, running more is good for you."
As soon as he finished speaking, Ye Jingchuan and Wen Chengjian, who were beside him, took the lead and started running.
The Wen brothers, pushing their carts, quickly followed.
The women of the Wen family, too, followed suit, trudging along slowly through the muddy water.
The prisoners behind, cold and ignoring the muddy ground, also jogged along to keep up with the ones in front.
In this way, all the prisoners ran and stopped without being urged, stopping and starting again.
These people ran through several villages and along several mountain roads, gradually slowing down.
At this moment, the group arrived at a place of ruins. The yamen runners checked on everyone's condition and ordered, "Rest here for a while, eat your fill, and then continue on your way."
This place is in the middle of nowhere, with broken bricks lying by the roadside. The so-called ruins are just roofless walls that have collapsed on all four sides, making it leaky and cold. A gust of wind blows by, making it even colder.
The yamen runners distributed coarse flatbreads to everyone. The cold, hard flatbreads made everyone feel even colder after they were eaten.
The constables looked at the prisoner huddled up in a ball and shouted casually, "Does anyone need a cotton-padded coat? I have some here!"
Huh? Such a good thing?