In the middle of winter, there are very few animals in the woods, only a few birds.
But it is too difficult to fill our stomachs by eating birds.
They might be able to cope with it for a day or two, but Liu Rumei knew very well that if they continued to stay here, without a more reliable source of food, they would freeze to death or starve to death.
Just like today, seven or eight people worked in the woods all morning and caught three birds in total, which was not enough to fill their teeth.
At noon, after returning to the temple to roast the bird, Liu Rumei began to think hard about how to fill her stomach.
Zheng Zhun said, "Miss, I don't think it's better than this. Let's go down the mountain to find someone to buy some food."
Liu Rumei shook her head, "No, if we are recognized by others, it will lead to death."
At this time, Xiao Qing spoke, "Miss, I don't think it's better than this. Brother Zheng and I will go down in a while. Our accompaniment will be a couple who are fleeing, so they won't be suspicious."
Director Zheng next to him also continued, "Yes, yes, miss, let's go and inquire about it. In case the enemy troops withdraw, we can return home."
After hearing this, Liu Rumei thought for a long time and finally nodded in agreement. What Zheng Zhun said made sense. Maybe the enemy troops had withdrawn, and who didn't want to return home early?
Soon Zheng Zhun and Xiao Qing pretended to be a fleeing couple and went down the mountain.
After going down the mountain, we walked forward along the path for a while. There was a small village in the distance with probably dozens of households.
Zheng Zhun took Xiaoqing around, and they found a decent-looking house in the village. Zheng Zhun stepped forward and knocked lightly on the door.
Soon there was movement in the yard, and someone asked loudly, "Who is it?"
"We are passing through..."
Before Zheng Zhun finished speaking, the door opened and a head poked out.
The man looked to be in his forties and had a dark complexion.
He looked at Zheng Zhun and then at Xiao Qing, and asked warily, "What do you do?"
"We went to Qingguang City to live with relatives, but we got lost here. We have finished all the dry food we brought with us. We want to buy some from you to take with us on the road."
The man looked at them, nodded slightly, and opened the courtyard door, "I did make some pancakes, but they are very expensive if you want to buy them."
As he spoke, he stretched out a finger and said, "I will give you twenty loaves and ten taels of silver."
This is a sky-high price.
But at this time, Zheng Zhun had no choice. As long as he could buy food, the price was the second best.
"It's easy to talk to. As long as you give it to the person who stutters, I will give you money."
Zheng Zhun took out a piece of silver and handed it forward.
When he saw that he actually took out ten taels of silver, the dark-faced man was extremely happy.
"You two, come in, sit down, and I'll get you some bread."
Soon, twenty pancakes were placed in front of the two of them. These pancakes were not small. One pancake was as big as a basin. One person could not eat one pancake in a day.
Zheng Zhun carefully wrapped these pancakes with baggage while asking for words, "How far is it from Xiaoqinghe River?"
"Oh, it's two hundred miles away from Xiaoqinghe. After you leave the village, just follow the road ahead and go eastward. However, you may not be able to get there because there are soldiers guarding it now."
"Okay, okay, thank you, thank you very much"
Zheng Zhun was very happy. As the saying goes, it took no effort to get it. He wanted to ask about the defender, but the other party was happy and told him directly.
However, what Zheng Zhun didn't expect was that as he watched them walking away, a smile appeared on the corner of the man's mouth, and then he quietly followed them. He followed the two people to the outside of the village. When he saw the two people going up the hillside, he stopped and turned around and ran home.
As soon as the man entered the door, he shouted loudly, "Old lady, old lady, hurry up and get me some horses and some food. I'm going to the county."
A woman with a dusty gray face came out and glanced at him, "Husband, why are you going to the county on this cold day? It's dozens of miles away."
"Oh, you damn old woman, have you forgotten? A few days ago, the county specially sent people to the village to tell them that if anyone from Dacang Kingdom is found, report it immediately. Just now, the two people said they were going to Qingguang City, and they also said He was lost, but he asked me for news about Xiao Qinghe."
"If they want to go to Qingguang City, they must come from the direction of Xiaoqinghe, so I guess they are lying."
"Okay, okay, I don't understand even if I tell you, hurry up and saddle me up, we are going to make a fortune."
Zheng Zhun and Xiaoqing came to the mountain and recounted their experience of buying cakes.
Hearing that ten taels of silver bought twenty cakes, Liu Rumei couldn't help but be speechless. But think about it, in this cold winter, in the ice and snow, it would be good to have something to eat. With these cakes and the supplement of beating The prey can temporarily solve the problem of eating.
Now the Xiaoqing River is guarded by enemy troops, and I can't go back. I can only wait for the opportunity in this temple.
That night, everyone had dinner and was planning to take a rest. There was nothing to do anyway. After eating, they could warm themselves over the fire and sleep, which would also reduce energy consumption.
At this moment, the soldier in charge of the lookout came back and said nervously, "Miss, there is a large fire under the mountain. It is about seven or eight miles away from us."
Liu Rumei secretly thought it was not good and hurried to the door of the ruined temple to look into the distance, right? A large fire in the sky is coming this way.
Liu Rumei immediately realized that they went down to buy cakes and were in trouble. "We have been discovered by the enemy. Now we must leave as soon as possible."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Qing's face was full of shame, "Miss, you blame me. You shouldn't have gone down the mountain to buy food."
Liu Rumei waved her hand, "It has nothing to do with you. We can't starve to death here. Get ready, we have to leave."
Liu Rumei led everyone to bring all the useful things and hurriedly left the top of the mountain and headed in the opposite direction.
She led everyone forward in the dark, and they walked all night until the sky became slightly brighter the next day.
They found a leeward place to stop and take a breath, and Liu Rumei climbed up to a high place to carefully examine the surrounding situation.
The surrounding area was deserted, with no houses, no woods, and no human habitation as far as the eye could see.
Seeing this scene, Xiaoqing couldn't help but sigh, "It's completely deserted. Now we can't even buy anything to eat."
Liu Rumei nodded, "Yes, you can't buy food, of course that's fine. If you can see this kind of deserted place at a glance, even if the enemy comes to search, they won't be too careful."
After speaking, Liu Rumei pointed in the distance, "That's the east. If we keep going east, we should be able to reach Xiaoqing River."
Liu Rumei was right. Although it was deserted, it was easy to observe. They looked around as they walked.
