“Damn it, those rich bastards can still drink and eat meat even at a time like this!”
The aroma of Mei Qian’s family’s late-night barbecue wafted far and wide, though it wasn’t just the Mei family grilling—other households nearby were also lighting fires to cook.
Although these scents weren’t as rich as Mei Qian’s meat skewers, even the faintest whiff of food at this hour was enough to stir longing and envy among the hungry refugees on the outskirts who couldn’t sleep.
Gazing at the distant, continuous line of carriages and horses, their elongated shadows cast by the campfires made the convoy appear even more massive. For a moment, many were mesmerized by the sight.
They were all fleeing disaster, so why did those people have so much good food and drink?
Meanwhile, they lay here, too hungry to sleep!
“That’s right, they have everything. Even when the Xirong dogs come, they have thugs to protect them…”
Alongside the longing, many hearts were twisted with jealousy.
None of this was known to Mei Qian and her family. All they knew was that after days of fleeing, they had finally enjoyed a satisfying barbecue!
Never mind that horse meat was tough and sour—for the Lao Mei Family, who hadn’t eaten meat in a long time, they couldn’t even taste it.
[Host, your barbecue skewers have been successfully exchanged for three low-grade nutrient solutions~]
Just after finishing the skewers, Mei Qian heard this good news.
[Is it that interstellar Exchanger?]
Mei Qian still remembered the origin of her first nutrient solution—it was a returning customer!
[Yes, Host, it’s still the Exchanger from the interstellar Plane.]
Xiao Mei’s reply confirmed Mei Qian’s guess.
After receiving the answer, Mei Qian closed her eyes but didn’t fall asleep immediately.
She carefully took stock of her current supplies: two milk fruits, three low-grade nutrient solutions, about half a kilogram of compressed biscuit powder, and the less than five kilograms of grain her grandmother had given her.
After careful calculation, mixing these exchanged foods with the grain would be enough to feed the whole family for some days.
Her grandmother still had dried meat, grain, and other supplies.
As long as she didn’t cook anything utterly unpalatable, she could continuously exchange for filling food.
This way, at least in terms of food, their family had gained some security…
As she thought, Mei Qian’s mind gradually relaxed, her consciousness blurring as she drifted into a deep sleep.
In the following days, they still had to set off before dawn, but the journey was no longer as terrifying as the initial stretches that lasted an entire day.
That afternoon, the entire convoy stopped to rest. Mei Qian gazed at the undulating, majestic mountains in the distance and couldn’t help but take a deep breath.
At that moment, the convoy was setting up camp along a stream flowing down from the mountains.
“When we follow this mountain eastward and reach Yixian Gorge, once we pass through, we won’t have to live in fear for a while.”
By now, Mei Erhu had become quite close with the Chen family’s steward, Chen San, and had gathered more information.
Seeing her second son, who had once been a simple, honest farmer, now developing like this, Grandma Mei was very pleased and no longer restricted Mei Erhu as much.
After all, he was thirty years old now and should be able to shoulder responsibilities for the family in all aspects.
Thinking this, Grandma Mei nodded slightly, encouraging Mei Erhu to continue.
“What is Yixian Gorge?”
Mei Qian couldn’t help but ask her father curiously.
“It’s a path right between these two mountains. If we tried to climb over these mountains directly, it would be nearly impossible. Yixian Gorge cuts straight through this mountain, and on the other side of the gorge are our Anguo soldiers!”
Her father had heard plenty of talk these past few days. In the future, the only place in Xing’an Fu that might hold out to the end would likely be this mountainous area outside Mingcheng in the east.
After all, mountainous terrain wasn’t suitable for cavalry, and the few accessible roads were heavily guarded.
One man could hold the pass against ten thousand.
Sigh!
But what use was it if only Mingcheng in all of Xing’an Fu could hold out?
Over this past month, who knew how far the Xirong cavalry had advanced?
Mei Qian’s thoughts drifted aimlessly when another wave of commotion arose in the distance. Everyone turned to look and saw another seemingly endless procession of carriages and horses kicking up dust as they hurried toward their location.
Looking closely, there were even soldiers in armor among that procession—clearly not ordinary folk.
Before Mei Qian and the others could observe further, she noticed that from their own wealthy caravan, several people who never showed themselves in public, dressed in luxurious attire, were rushing toward that other procession.
Clearly, someone important had arrived!
If it weren’t so far away and there weren’t so many people over there, Mei Qian would have wanted to sneak over and see what was really going on.
But this news didn’t seem to be much of a secret.
By evening, when Mei Qian returned with her grandmother and cousin from digging wild vegetables in the nearby woods, she had heard more details.
“Oh heavens, it’s actually a Junzhu!”
When the family heard that the grand procession was escorting a Junzhu, they all exclaimed in astonishment.
“No wonder there were soldiers escorting her, my goodness!”
Han Shi gazed longingly toward the distant encampment, clearly separated from their own caravan, and couldn’t help saying:
“I’ve never seen a Junzhu in my life. Do you think she looks like one of those little fairy maidens serving the goddess in the temple?”
“Aunt, why not just compare her to the goddess herself? Good thing the Junzhu didn’t hear you say that.”
Though Han Shi’s tone of envy and awe was genuine, who would compare a noble lady to the lowest-ranking fairy among immortals?
Mei Qian gained a deeper impression of her aunt’s lack of tact.
“Well, if the Junzhu is already a goddess, what if I meet someone even more impressive later? Wouldn’t I have nothing left to say? Should I say the Queen Mother of Heaven?”
Wow.
Her aunt was quite “ambitious”—not only wanting to see a Junzhu but also hoping to meet even more powerful and noble women.
Mei Qian twitched the corner of her mouth and didn’t continue the conversation.
Given their family’s status as common people, if they ever encountered such highly esteemed individuals in ordinary times, it would likely only be because those nobles had fallen into misfortune.
What a mischievous wish!
Mei Qian couldn’t help but chuckle to herself, though her smile faded as she looked at the millet porridge simmering in the pot.
Originally thinking they could live off the mountains, Mei Qian had felt optimistic when they first stopped here, seeing the lush greenery that suggested plenty of food.
But when she went searching with her grandmother and cousin in the afternoon—good grief—anything edible had already been picked clean!
It was also their family’s fault for getting a bit carried away these past two days. Every refugee who had followed to the outskirts had rushed into the woods to find food as soon as they arrived, without a second thought.
That afternoon in the woods, their family had essentially been trailing behind others, scavenging for scraps like beggars.
The problem was, those ahead left nothing behind—the three of them, grandmother and grandchildren, ended up with nothing but empty hands.
Frustrated, when Mei Qian suggested cooking porridge with millet, Grandma Mei huffed and grumbled, muttering something about how she would go forage for wild vegetables as soon as they rested at their next stop.
Mei Qian felt deeply concerned.
Seeing how quickly those people were searching for food, it was clear that many refugees were already facing food shortages.
There had been signs of this earlier, but the sudden incident of wild hunting had distracted attention from the issue.
Now, the situation seemed even more complicated.
At this thought, Mei Qian’s eyes darkened slightly…