Cheng Xi returned to the village with letters from home.
Cheng Daqian's letter was seven or eight pages thick. He first expressed concern about the situation at home, then described the escort agency's current itinerary, and finally solemnly told his daughter "not to beat her husband."
Cheng Xi: "..."
Thinking of Shen Xingluo lifting a sack weighing a hundred kilograms effortlessly, the person involved had a subtle expression.
It seems that this father-in-law knows very little about his son-in-law——
Ah, you must have been deceived by his frail look!
Regarding marrying the Shen family, Cheng Xi admired Cheng Daqian from the bottom of her heart.
The future uncle is a reading genius, and it is well known in Lin'an Mansion that if nothing unexpected happens, he will be able to enter the officialdom and become famous. Anyone who has met Shen Xingluo will feel that he is destined to stir up troubles in the treacherous officialdom.
I don’t know what this old man was thinking about handing over the innocent girl he had loved since childhood to such a sinister master.
Are you too confident in your daughter's natural powers?
Or maybe you are too trusting of your uncle?
If this was a multiple-choice question, Cheng Xi would choose C without hesitation.
It must be Father Cheng who drank too much!
Taking the family letter and walking into the study that had just been tidied up, Cheng Xi handed the two separate books to Shen Xingluo.
"Is there a map of Dayan here?"
"have."
Shen Xingluo quickly unfolded a table-sized piece of rice paper, which was covered with curves and occasionally had small annotations.
"Where is my father-in-law now?"
"Just left Kyoto. If we go by the date of sending the letter, we should be in Zhuozhou Prefecture by now."
"here."
Shen Xingluo accurately pointed out a small black triangle symbol on the map.
Cheng Xi looked confused, "..."
This was the first time she had seen such a simple map. There were only official roads, mountains and cities, but nothing else.
Forget it, what kind of bicycle do you want?
Better than nothing.
"How many miles is it from Zhuozhou to Lin'an Fucheng?"
"About 500 kilometers."
"How long can we go?"
"According to the escort agency's schedule, it will arrive in 10 days under normal circumstances."
Hongwei Escort Bureau is the largest escort bureau in Lin'an Fucheng. After the escorts arrive at their destination, they often take another order for the return trip, so they can't go very fast.
It's just better than ordinary people walking.
Cheng Xi heard the caution in his words, "Normal situation?"
Shen Xingluo's eyes flashed slightly, "It's snowing heavily in Lin'an Prefecture now, and it's probably going to be even worse north of the Huai River, making it even harder to walk on the official road."
"There's already a snowstorm in the north."
Cheng Xi frowned slightly, feeling slightly worried.
According to Sun Xiaorong's news, many people in the state capital have chosen to move south. If it weren't for lack of food, no one would go out and walk in such cold weather.
Disasters mean that people will die, and it is possible for victims to riot.
If any of the cottages along the way don't have food or drink and choose to go down the mountain to rob, it will make things worse.
Originally it was only a 10-day journey... it would definitely be postponed.
"Don't worry too much."
Shen Xingluo said, "My father-in-law is very skilled. Normally Xiaoxiao can't hurt him. Besides, there are other escorts from Hongwei Escort Agency with him."
In his previous life, Cheng Daqian came back just before the New Year, but the journey was difficult and not smooth.
"Before moving to the village, I wrote a letter to my father-in-law. The letter mentioned the snow disaster. I believe he has taken precautions now."
"Thank you."
Cheng Xi's tone was sincere.
"You and I, husband and wife, don't need to say thank you."
Shen Xingluo's dark eyes stared at her quietly, as if he wanted to see through her whole body.
***
The heavy snow seems to have no intention of stopping, and it continues from morning to night.
The villagers who originally wanted to take advantage of the situation finally couldn't sit still a few days later and walked out of their homes one after another.
Some people took machetes to the back mountains to cut firewood, and some braved the wind and snow to go to Fucheng, and when they came back they brought bad news to the village.
"What, food prices have gone up?"
"How much has it increased? Tell me, tell me!"
"You damn thief, blackface is worth ten cents a pound? Isn't this a robbery of money!"
"You won't leave us a way to survive. A while ago, the price was five cents per pound, and it has doubled in just a few days!"
...
The news quickly spread throughout Shenjia Village.
In a small farmyard, the sixth uncle was wearing a cotton coat and sitting on the bedside, his brows were furrowed and he never relaxed.
In the room, there were many people circling back and forth anxiously.
"The price of food has risen too fast, and the snow has been falling non-stop. Dad, what should we do now?"
Is it possible that there will really be a snowstorm in Lin'an Prefecture?
The room was silent.
After a long time, a loud command sounded in the room.
"purchase!"
"But...if our family saves some food, it will be enough for the New Year."
The food was very expensive. Black flour cost ten cents per pound, let alone white flour and rice. The price had to be doubled at least. The family's money could not be spent carelessly.
Uncle Six had no doubts, "Buy it, you must buy it!"
"Not only does our family want to buy it, but you also have to talk to the people in the village. It's best to buy it together!"
"Buy together?"
No, no, you can't do this.
Shen Manyun's eyes widened and he shook his head like a rattle.
"Food is so expensive now. If the snowstorm doesn't come and the price drops, won't our family be waiting to be stabbed in the spine?"
If the price of food continues to rise, but it really comes down, the whole village must not jump into his family's pot and cause trouble!
As an upright person, he cannot be criticized.
The sixth uncle glanced at his son and snorted heavily.
"The price of food will not come down for a while, and will only become more and more expensive. The later you buy it, the more money you will spend."
"There has been a snowstorm in the north. Even if we are fine here, the price of food will not drop after the New Year. Do we still have to buy it after our family has finished eating?"
Although the farmer has two acres of land at home, the yield in the field is already low, and there is not much left after paying taxes and rents after autumn.
Because of this, most people would choose to sell their grain and use their money to buy cheap black noodles.
Shen Manyun thought for a moment and was finally convinced.
"Listen to your advice!"
The ancestral hall was opened that afternoon.
The rapid sound of gongs and drums reached the Shen family's courtyard. Shen Xingluo and Cheng Xi looked at each other, and they both had guesses in their minds.
"I gonna go see."
Shen Xingluo put on his cotton coat, opened the door and walked out of the courtyard.
Cheng Xi looked outside through the window, and saw a vast expanse of white that could not be seen beyond.
The heavy snowfall in the past few days has accumulated to a certain extent. Even if every household diligently sweeps the snow every day, it still cannot stop the snowflakes from getting thicker and thicker on the ground.
"Is the salt I bought a few days ago still in the kitchen?"
"here I am."
"Come on, help me light the fire."
Cheng Xi got up and walked into the kitchen. The two of them worked together to pour all the fifty kilograms of yellow salt blocks into the large iron pot. After a while, there was a gurgling sound.
Shen Xingqi was extremely curious, but finally swallowed her doubts when she saw her sister-in-law's serious face.
Until the yellow salt cubes in the pot melt, filter, and finally separate into two parts.
