The family hurried forward for the better part of the night in an anxious rush, only stopping when they reached another wind-sheltered spot against a mountain.
Everyone in the family longed to rest, yet no one dared speak up.
The crowd looked eagerly toward Old Madame Han. She let out a sigh. “Let’s rest. Let’s take a rest.”
Relieved of a heavy burden, everyone set down their belongings and plopped onto the ground.
Patting her chest, Zhao Shuangtao said, “Mother, that was truly bizarre! How did that bunch suddenly drop dead out of nowhere? It’s downright strange!”
Old Madame Han’s complexion was equally grim.
Having lived for more than half her life, she had never witnessed such an uncanny event!
Han Laoda said in a muffled voice, “Maybe the Heavens really were helping us! Mother, what do you say we don’t bring this up again from now on?”
Old Madame Han nodded thoughtfully.
Her eldest son’s words made some sense, but she feared the Heavens might not have been helping them!
Ignoring Old Madame Han’s intense, probing gaze, Lin Yueru reminded her, “Mother, when all is said and done, tonight’s trouble started because of this horse…”
With just this single reminder, Old Madame Han snapped back to her senses.
Before she could speak, Han Yanqing abruptly sat up.
“Mother, we can’t throw the horse away!”
He had inted to throw a furious tantrum at Old Madame Han, but Lin Yueru patted his hand, and he pursed his lips and sat back down.
Old Madame Han could not help but glance sideways at Lin Yueru.
In the past, whenever Han Si threw a fit, he wouldn’t listen to a single soul!
Han Laoda chimed in from the side, “Mother, having this horse with us is indeed too conspicuous. How about… we just eat it…”
Han Yanqing sprang to his feet in a huff, as if facing a mortal enemy, and threw his arms around the horse beside him.
“No! No one is allowed to eat the horse!”
Lin Yueru hurried to coax him. “No one said we were going to eat it. No one is eating the horse. Don’t panic yet.”
Old Madame Han also advised him with earnest sincerity, “Han Si, it’s not that your mother wants to eat the horse, but our family doesn’t have the strength to protect it. If we keep taking it with us, it won’t do any good for the horse or for us!”
“That still won’t do!”
How could Han Yanqing compreh such logic? His eyes turned bloodshot as he shielded the front of the horse.
“Either way, no one is allowed to touch it! I can protect it!”
Over the past few days, he had searched for fodder to feed it every day, and often rambled on to the horse about all sorts of trivial things.
In his heart, this horse had long become his dear fri. How could anyone slaughter a fri?
Seeing his stubbornness, Old Madame Han knew his mule-headed temper had flared up, so she avoided butting heads with him.
“Fine, fine, fine, we’ll do as you say. We won’t touch it, alright?”
Only then did Han Yanqing’s hostility subside slightly, and he stopped glaring at Old Madame Han and the others as if they were villains.
Yet from that moment on, he grew far more vigilant than before. If Han Laoda so much as cast an extra glance at the horse, he would receive a fierce glare in return.
Let alone strangers—whenever someone cast a malicious look their way, he wished he could whip out his short blade to scare them off.
Old Madame Han had no way to deal with him, and she truly could not bring herself to slaughter the horse either, so she had no choice but to keep bringing it along for the time being.
After walking for another two days like this, the Han family gradually overtook many refugees and reached the front of the famine exodus caravan.
In just six or seven more days, they would arrive in Danyang!
They had heard there were congee distribution stands and grain relief in Danyang; once there, they could make other plans.
“Brother Liu and the others said they were heading to some village at the foot of Danyang, didn’t they? I wonder if their journey was smooth, and if we’ll ever cross paths again…”
Han Er’er was still thinking about the Liu family father and son.
Sitting on the handcart and holding Sanbao and Sibao in her arms, Old Madame Han said, “Once we reach Danyang, we’ll find a place to settle down first, and then we’ll go look for them.”
Han Er’er brightened up. “Alright, Mother!”
Clop, clop, clop…
Just as they were speaking, the sound of horse hooves came from behind.
Han Yanqing looked back to see two lavish horse-drawn carriages heading in their direction.
Lin Yueru noticed them as well, but the carriages appeared to belong to a wealthy and influential household, so they likely had nothing to do with them.
Old Madame Han thought the same, so everyone kept quiet.
To their surprise, the two carriages actually made a turn and caught up toward them!
Old Madame Han’s heart tightened.
She instinctively asked, “Ru, could this be bandits again…”
“No!”
Lin Yueru answered decisively, “Bandits wouldn’t use carriages like these, but I’m afraid they really are coming for us.”
What she didn’t say was that the horse pulling the rear carriage looked rather listless and drooping, so these people probably had an aga…
The Han family took a few symbolic steps aside to yield the way.
The slower carriage in the back stopped a short distance away, while only the front carriage rolled all the way up to them before coming to a halt.
A middle-aged man dressed simply yet cleanly and neatly stepped down from the vehicle.
He went straight to the point: “Is your family selling this horse?”
Old Madame Han froze.
A buyer?
They had only encountered people trying to rob them of the horse before, so she was not quite used to this.
Seeing that no one spoke, the middle-aged man furrowed his brows in puzzlement. Could there be something wrong with this family?
Lin Yueru spoke up at the right moment, “Yes, it’s for sale. Mother, let’s sell it, alright?”
Old Madame Han nodded repeatedly as well. “Yes, for sale! We’ll sell it!”
The man’s expression softened slightly. “This horse of yours is quite decent. How does twenty taels of silver sound?”
Twenty taels of silver!
Their entire family’s life savings amounted to barely two taels!
This windfall nearly made Old Madame Han swoon from dizzying joy; she wished she could agree on the spot!
However, Lin Yueru was more cautious. Before Old Madame Han could speak, she gave her sleeve a tug.
“Mother, we don’t know what lies ahead of us yet. Wouldn’t it be better to trade for some food instead?”
She also had a selfish motive: trading for some food fair and square would save her the trouble of constantly finding excuses to take things out in the future!
Upon hearing this, Old Madame Han grew even more delighted. “Right! Ru has thought this through. We really should add some more grain to our household!”
In times like these, having money didn’t necessarily mean one could buy grain.
“Brother, could we take a little less silver and trade for some grain instead?”
“No! Don’t sell the horse! I won’t let you sell it!”
Before the middle-aged man could answer, Han Yanqing threw another fit.
A bargain like trading for both silver and grain was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Fearing he would ruin such an extraordinarily good deal, Lin Yueru took him by the hand and pulled him aside.
Old Madame Han had originally feared Han Yanqing wouldn’t listen to Lin Yueru once his temper flared.
Who would have thought that while his eyes remained glued to the horse, his legs instinctively followed Lin Yueru away!
She couldn’t help but chuckle. Truly, every creature had its master!
By the time Lin Yueru led him back, Old Madame Han had already finalized the deal.
One horse in exchange for fifteen taels of silver, supplemented with fifty catties of non-glutinous rice and fifty catties of white flour.
No matter how one calculated it, they had come out far ahead!
Han Yanqing had stopped fussing, but he stroked the horse’s head with reluctant affection.
He muttered softly into the horse’s ear, “Horse, horse, don’t be afraid. My wife said that when they take you away, they’ll feed you good things, and you’ll be able to eat your fill…”
The middle-aged man couldn’t help but take an extra glance at Lin Yueru.
This man was simple and kind by nature, but what a pity he was a fool. For this young wife not to despise him, she was truly a good person.
After heading over to report to the carriage, he carried the sacks of grain from their vehicle onto the Han family’s cart and harnessed the horse to the carriage behind.
Having obtained the new horse, the middle-aged man was much happier and cheerfully waved to the Han family.
Having struck such a great deal, Old Madame Han naturally bade him farewell with a beaming smile. “Safe travels!”