Chapter 75 Peach Blossom Village
Zhan Xiao took out a stack of banknotes from his pocket and stuffed them into Shen Zhi's hand. "This is for your food expenses, from them."
Shen Zhi's eyes lit up immediately. This was a silver note worth one thousand taels. Judging from the thickness, there were at least ten of them.
Shen Zhi immediately put away the banknotes and greeted the money sponsor with a smile. "Okay, okay, okay, it's no problem for you to stay for another two months. What are you doing here today?" Shen Zhi felt like a bit of a bootlicker.
Zhan Xiao looked around vigilantly, and seeing nothing unusual, he lowered his voice and said, "I'm going back to Wonju. The Japanese army is making unusual movements."
"Didn't the King of Huainan surround Qingzhou Prefecture, allowing people to enter but not leave?" Shen Zhi was still worrying about what excuse he would use to leave the city tomorrow?
"Now that the birthday banquet for Princess Huainan is over, there is no reason for him to stop them from leaving. Many of the guests came from the capital, and they have already attracted the attention of the capital."
Shen Zhi remembered the two bottles of top-grade laxatives for fighting against the Japanese pirates that the space system had awarded her, so she took them out and handed them to Zhan Xiao. "This is a top-grade laxative for fighting against the Japanese pirates."
"Laxative?" Zhan Xiao's eyes lit up. "Is it the laxative that the Japanese pirates took last time? Afterwards, the Japanese pirates died in batches, and the cause could not be found. I guess it was the laxative that caused it."
"Yes, that medicine was made by myself. This one is more powerful and was made by more professionals. Just put a drop in it. You must not touch it. Without the antidote, you will definitely die in a month." Shen Zhi looked solemn.
Shen Zhi took him into the basement and took out the ordered items from a wide passage close to the hall. The items filled up a long passage.
Zhan Xiao had no choice but to wake up the sleeping Eighteen Heroes, and after a flurry of activity he finally moved all the things in.
Zhan Xiao conveyed the secret order of the current emperor to everyone, and everyone responded positively, willing to continue staying here and endure hardships.
When Zhan Xiao learned about Shen Zhi's next move, he was very supportive and told her to be careful.
Before leaving, the two taught everyone how to use these convenience foods.
Early in the morning, Shen Zhi and Song Rou got up. After breakfast, Shen Zhi said hello to his family and said that he and Song Rou were going to the county to play for a few days. The family was used to Shen Zhi going out frequently and did not react much.
The two men took out the small red dates and set off in the carriage.
The two men went straight into the mountains and after crossing Daliang Mountain they reached the territory of Yuyang County.
For Song Rou, it was her first time to go into the mountains as a young lady riding in a sedan chair. Everything she saw was new to her. Her eyes lit up when she saw wild flowers, wild fruits, and wild chickens. Shen Zhi let her do what she wanted, treating it as a trip.
It was inevitable to encounter wild rabbits and pheasants in the mountains. Shen Zhixiu knocked them out with a stone, tied them up with a straw rope and threw them into the carriage.
When they were hungry on the road, they ate some wild fruits. In the morning, Shen had thoughtfully packed a few cakes for them, which were just right for them to eat now.
It actually rained at noon, which soaked their clothes. Fortunately, Shen Zhi had prepared several sets of men's clothes in the carriage in advance. After the two of them put them on and combed their hair into men's buns, they looked quite stylish.
The further we went, the harder it was to walk on the mountain road. Shen Zhi took out a machete and cleared the way ahead, while Song Rou carefully drove the carriage. They passed through the mountains with difficulty. After going down the mountain, there was an official road.
Shen Zhi took out the map left by Zhan Xiao and walked about twenty miles south to reach Taohua Village.
Looking at the sky, it was already late. The two of them rode at full speed and finally arrived at Taohua Village before the sun went down.
As expected, every house in Taohua Village is planted with peach trees. However, it is late autumn now and the place looks a bit desolate. If you come here in March, you will see another beautiful scene with birds singing and flowers blooming.
Shen Zhi and Song Rou got off the carriage and walked into the village with the little red horse. At this time, curls of smoke rose from the chimneys of every household.
Lu Fei said that his house was the seventh one in Taohua Village. It had a blue brick courtyard with a grape trellis.
Sure enough, the two of them saw the yard. The grape racks were full of purple grapes. The breeze blew, making a rustling sound, as if the grape dolls were saying, eat me, eat me quickly.
The two men went up and knocked on the door, and soon a white-haired old woman came out.
Shen Zhi was stunned for a moment. He should have found the right person. Lu Fei looked to be in his early twenties, and his mother was at most forty. How could she have so many white hairs?
"Who are you looking for?" the old woman asked as she opened the door and saw two young men she didn't know.
"Old lady, we are just passing by and would like to come in and ask for some water to drink. Is it convenient for you?" Shen Zhi asked with a smile.
"It's convenient, come in." The old woman warmly invited them in.
Song Rou led the little red dates and followed Shen Zhi into the yard. The yard was large and very clean. Song Rou tied the little red dates under the jujube tree in the yard.
The old lady led the two into the house and poured them a cup of coarse tea. "We are in the countryside, so we only have coarse tea. Please don't despise it. The old man is cooking in the kitchen. Since you have the good fortune to come to my house today, please have a simple meal before you leave." The old lady looked at them lovingly and warmly invited them to dinner.
Of course Shen Zhi wanted nothing more than to accept this and nodded in agreement immediately.
The old woman went to the kitchen and told the old man that two people came to ask for water, and asked him to cook two more dishes. The two worked in the kitchen for a while before bringing out the dishes together.
The dishes were simple, common in farmers' houses. There was a roasted radish, an omelette, stir-fried vegetables, and stewed tofu. The staple food was black flour steamed buns.
The old woman enthusiastically served them some food, "It's just simple food, eat more."
"Old man, you eat too." Song Rou also picked up some dishes for the two elderly people, otherwise the old woman could put all of them into the guests' bowls.
Shen Zhi and Song Rou had been traveling for a whole day and were already starving, so they were now hungry. The dishes cooked by the old man tasted good, and the two of them ate with gusto. The old man even doubted whether the food he cooked was so delicious.
Shen Zhi chatted with the old man while eating, "Old man, are there only two of you in your family?"
The old woman sighed and said, "I have a son. He was recruited into the army a few years ago, and our family couldn't afford the per-capita money, so he went away when he was just 15 years old. In the first few years, we received a few letters to report that he was safe, but in the past two years, there has been no news at all, and we don't know whether he is dead or alive. We were almost 40 years old when we got this precious child, and I don't know if we will have the chance to see him again." The old woman's eyes were filled with tears as she spoke.
"Yes, if I were still young, I would join the army. My child would be still young at that time." The old man said with red eyes.
"Your son will be back soon." Song Rou has a soft heart and feels heartbroken when she sees others crying.
"Yes, Lu Fei hasn't gotten married yet, he will be back soon." Shen Zhi said.
The old woman nodded, "Lu Fei hasn't married yet." Suddenly she felt something was wrong and looked up at Shen Zhi, "Do you know Lu Fei?"