Li Erlin was also puzzled. Zhang Yu and Chen Song were also confused. Even though they saw that the sacks were filled with white polished rice, they didn't feel much joy.
It was so abnormal that they even suspected whether the half-sack of polished rice was drugged.
It's not that they don't believe in kind-hearted landlords, but after all, they have only heard about it and never seen it. They don't believe that such good luck will happen to them.
"It's white rice!" Xiao Ruyi exclaimed when she saw the white rice in the sack. She raised her little head and looked at Li Erlin, her bright eyes flashing. "Dad, do we have white rice to eat?"
These days, what people eat is brown rice, which is light yellow rice with the outermost husk removed from the grains and a layer of husk. The taste is not very good to Li Pingan, so he sometimes uses He bought some expensive polished rice with his own money, but he didn't buy it often. In his previous life, he heard his grandparents say that eating too much polished rice can easily lead to illness, such as weakness, oral ulcers, etc.
He didn't know whether it was true or not, but he would rather believe it. Anyway, the current conditions of his family in this life are not enough to support eating a meal of white rice every now and then. The rice made from polished rice is soft, glutinous and delicious, and Xiao Ruyi likes it, so even though she has only eaten it a few times, it does not affect her impression.
Now that she saw this half bag of white rice, she couldn't help but miss the deliciousness of white rice.
Unfortunately, her expectations were dashed. Li Erlin shook his head and said with a smile, "We won't eat white rice for now. We'll wait until all the brown rice is finished."
It's hard to refuse if they accept it, but they can still decide whether to eat it and when to eat it. Others had no objections when they heard Li Erlin's words. Although they felt that there was nothing worthy of a big shot, it was still better to be careful in this chaotic world.
Xiao Ruyi was extremely disappointed, but she didn't make any noise. However, when she was drinking rice soup made from brown rice at night, she asked Li Ping'an aggrievedly: "Big pot, how long do we have to go?"
She really missed her life at home. She ate dry rice every meal, and could get a piece of sweet candy from the big pot every now and then, as well as delicious snacks. She was never hungry.
Unlike now, she is not cute even if she is hungry for nine meals in three days! In the past, many people liked to pinch her face, and she was always angry. Now, except for the occasional pinch from the cauldron, no one else pinches her face.
Li Ping'an made a rough calculation and said, "It's almost time. We'll be there in another half month at most."
From Huzhou to Yuezhou, there are two states in between. After walking for two days, they can enter the boundary of the next state, and cross it to Yuezhou.
Even if they didn't know, Li Ping'an was frightened. It turned out that Huzhou and Qizhou, where they were now, were quite large. It had taken them more than half a month to get here.
The farther south you go, the less severe the disaster is. The local government also sends out government servants and strong men to guide and guard the victims to prevent them from causing trouble in their fields. There are also more counties offering porridge. Although the city gates are still closed and no one is allowed to enter the city, and there are no plans to detain the victims, they can still provide food for the victims, which can be regarded as an end to the exile of the victims.
The farmland we saw no longer looked like it had been washed away and destroyed. Each straw head was stuck in the wet mud. They all told the victims who fled south that they had experienced a harvest not long ago.
In the evening, the wisps of smoke from those villages made the victims yearn for it. They seemed to smell the fragrance of rice from a long distance away, and seemed to see the warm reunion of a family in thatched huts or wooden houses.
For a time, many victims, whose families were destroyed and whose children were sold, either hid their faces or beat their chests and cried bitterly.
More and more victims are unwilling to move forward, so they stay outside the county towns where they provide porridge. The county magistrates do not drive these victims away. They cannot accommodate these victims, but being able to retain some of them will also be a plus for the evaluation of the Ministry of Civil Affairs. As long as the food is collected and delivered by the court, these victims can be repatriated to their place of origin, and their achievements will be recorded.
Li Ping'an and his party continued to go south. Chen Song and another family who originally planned to find a county to stay when they returned to Xiaochen Village also changed their minds and still stayed in the team. As for the reason, no one else knows.
Mr. Wang's motorcade is still slowly following them, and will still be by their side when they settle down in the evening. He will deliver half a bag of polished rice to them every two days.
Li Ping'an was quite puzzled. What were they planning? He couldn't figure it out even if he tried hard, what was it about them that deserved Mr. Wang to take such care of them?
Li Erlin and others also gradually let down their guard, feeling that they were extremely lucky and had really met a good person. Little Ruyi also got her wish and ate delicious white rice porridge. The little girl was so happy that she even hummed Li Ping'an's usual tune to lull her to sleep.
Seeing the joy of his younger brothers and sisters, Li Ping'an made a mental note of Mr. Wang's kindness. He has already thought about how to repay them, and maybe even establish some connections with them to find a backer for himself.
As the number of refugees on the road decreased, Li Ping'an and the others sped up their journey much faster. In less than ten days, they finally entered the territory of Yuezhou.
Li Erlin's hometown is in Mingxia County in the west of Yuezhou, and the state where Mr. Wang wants to go still needs to go further south.
The night before they separated, when they settled down, Li Erlin braved the courage to go and say goodbye to Mr. Wang, and finally saw clearly what Mr. Wang looked like.
Hearing Li Erlin's intention, Mr. Wang was stunned for a moment, "Aren't you going to Zhoucheng? I thought you were going to Zhoucheng."
Li Erlin's heart skipped a beat, and he glanced at Mr. Wang quietly and explained: "I originally fled from Yuezhou to Huzhou. This time I fled south just to return to my hometown."
"That's it." Mr. Wang suddenly realized, and then asked enthusiastically, "Is it far? Do you need us to send you there? Do you have money to stay?"
Li Erlin was completely confused. What's going on? In the past, my colleagues could explain that after all, the destination was the same on a large scale, but now the route was obviously different. Why did Mr. Wang still want to take a detour and give me a ride? And from what Mr. Wang said, if they had no money, he would still give them money?
Mr. Wang smiled and asked, "Are you confused?"
Li Erlin nodded silently.
"That Jiale probably didn't tell you that before we left Fuping County, we were actually infected with the plague. It was a Taoist priest who saved our family. The Taoist priest learned that we planned to flee south, so he drew a picture before leaving. The portrait is of a little girl, and he said that if we see her and take more care of her, we will be repaying his life-saving grace."
Mr. Wang raised his head and looked at the team in Xiaochen Village, his eyes locked on Caoya, "Jia Le also discovered by chance that that little girl is in your team."
Beside, Butler Wang unfolded a portrait. Li Erlin looked over and recognized the child from Caoya at a glance.
Gee, that long painting is too impressive.
