The Chen family’s claim of being unable to make decisions was actually quite telling.
At least in Mei Qian’s view, these prominent families had likely made some agreement before setting out together—for instance, letting one family take charge in certain matters.
And this aspect of decision-making clearly left the Chen family dissatisfied.
Otherwise, they wouldn’t have spoken to her father with such evident resentment.
Mei Qian thought carefully and realized that the position from which the attack and archery commands were issued last night indeed didn’t seem to come from the Chen family’s side.
Still, all of this had nothing to do with their Lao Mei Family, at least for now.
After the fierce battle, as dawn broke, the large group packed up and set off again.
This time, following the Chen family felt noticeably different, at least in terms of the people traveling alongside them.
Initially, Mei Qian had assumed that those traveling with the Chen family would mostly be Chen clan members or servants. To her surprise, many were like the Mei family—seeking the Chen family’s protection.
“My family has been blacksmiths for generations. Blacksmith Yang from the east of Jingyang City—ask anyone, they all know us~”
“My grandmother was the wet nurse of the Chen family’s patriarch. Since my grandfather’s generation, our family has managed the fifty-acre estate outside Jingyang City for the Chen family. Two years ago, the head of the family showed great kindness and restored our household to commoner status. I was planning to arrange a good marriage for my son next year, but now…”
When Mei Qian first transmigrated, she thought her father, Mei Erhu, was a simple, honest, and somewhat clumsy man. Yet, during their escape journey, she watched as his seemingly awkward but earnest social interactions unexpectedly yielded results.
Even Mei Qian and Grandma Mei couldn’t help but marvel at the information he managed to gather through his chats.
Along the Chen family’s journey, aside from their own clan members, they had also brought along humble households, artisans, and former servants. Even after the Mei family revealed to nearby traveling families that they were merely farmers and hunters, no one seemed particularly surprised.
It was as if the Chen family were some reincarnated white lotus—paragons of virtue, taking in all kinds of people.
If the Mei family hadn’t been rejected that night, Mei Qian might have thought the same.
···
“Ah, I’m exhausted!”
This time, they walked for three days straight, with only brief stops for water and sleep.
Mei Qian felt that if she could ever transmigrate back, she’d buy herself a wheelchair and never take another step for the rest of her life!
Now, the family sat in a neat row leaning against a haystack, each holding a milk fruit to munch on.
After three days, Mei Qian finally got to taste the long-awaited milk fruit!
“Mmm! So delicious!”
Biting through the tough, dark outer skin, the juice instantly flooded Mei Qian’s mouth.
A concentrated flavor reminiscent of a certain brand of milk left her in awe, even at the risk of spraying it everywhere.
Before, she had always found that brand of milk too sweet. Now, after days without any sweets, Mei Qian wished it were even sweeter!
No wonder this fruit made it to the Exchange Platform!
Delicious, filling, and nutritious—who wouldn’t be captivated by it?
“So tasty, even the skin is quite good…”
After gulping down all the juice in one go, Han Shi didn’t even spare the skin.
Mei Qian turned her head to look at her aunt’s frantically vibrating chewing muscles, that expression as if she were chewing some tough cowhide. Mei Qian couldn’t help but cover her own cheek.
“It’s definitely edible.”
The second to try was her own father.
Seeing this, Mei Qian quickly asked Xiao Mei whether this thing was really edible.
After receiving the conclusion that it was edible, just not tasty, even Mei Qian opened her mouth to try it.
Thrift is a virtue. Things that can be eaten should be eaten, so as not to feel guilty.
Mei Qian thought optimistically, chatting with everyone while chewing the fruit peel, and unexpectedly found it quite a good way to pass the time.
“Following the Chen family feels really different. There are far fewer people around.”
Mei Qian sighed at the advantages of entering the “final circle.”
Although their journey of fleeing was still exhausting, compared to the dusty, disheveled days spent running with a group of refugees, this felt much better.
Besides having less dust to eat while traveling, even when Mei Qian and her aunt went to fetch water in the evening, they no longer had to walk far. Their resting place was upstream from the water source.
“Of course! When you were fetching water, you didn’t see it—the people downstream were still packed like dumplings in a pot, so many! Quite a few who ran away last night came back after finding nothing happened.”
Han Shi shared what she saw while fetching water with Mei Qian, but then she sighed and changed the subject. “Still, I think there are far fewer people than before.”
“Maybe many died that night?”
After Mei Qian said this, Grandma Mei spoke up: “Not just those killed by the Xirong soldiers. Some could no longer run, scared out of their wits. They’d rather hide in some mountain and wait for peace to return before coming out.”
“How many years would they have to wait?”
Mei Qian frowned, unable to imagine hiding deep in the mountains for several years.
The wolves, tigers, and leopards in those deep mountains were no vegetarians.
“They’ll come out once the Xirong have completely occupied Xing’an Fu.”
When Grandma Mei said this, the entire family suddenly fell silent.
Did this mean they would become slaves of a conquered nation?
Though no one asked it aloud, the expressions on their faces couldn’t lie—they were likely all thinking the same thing.
Mei Qian knew she had traveled into a fictional history, but from the history she had studied in school, few foreign tribes that entered the Central Plains ever truly treated the local common people as human beings.
“If it really were peaceful, why would these wealthy families think of fleeing?”
Mei Qian’s quiet remark made Grandma Mei nod first. She looked at the other family members and said, “Look at you all. Even Qian understands. You were silent just now—don’t tell me you were also thinking of hiding?”
“Of course not, Mother! Those Xirong soldiers on wild hunts kill anyone they see. How could we dare to place our hopes on such barbarians? That won’t do.”
Mei Erhu shook his head repeatedly. Their Lao Mei Family was determined to head south—nothing could change their minds!
As the topic grew heavier, after Mei Erhu finished speaking, the family fell into another brief silence.
It was then that the cooking smoke rising from the nearby camps reminded the Mei family.
“Right, what about this horse leg? It’s so big. We’ve been running so frantically these past two days. If we leave it much longer, with the weather getting hotter, it’ll spoil!”
Mei Shitou was still thinking about the horse leg they had cut off that night.
Although not hungry, the mention of meat made almost everyone in the family crave it.
Following Mei Shitou’s worried gaze toward the horse leg, Mei Qian glanced at the expressions of the other family members.
It was clear that everyone wanted to eat meat, even though the milk fruit had already filled them up.
So Mei Qian suggested:
“Why not strip the meat from the horse leg and make it into jerky? And while we’re at it, have some fresh roasted horse meat? Sliced thin, I still have some wild garlic saved, and with a bit of salt, roasted over high heat, it shouldn’t taste too bad.”
“This…”
Grandma Mei instinctively wanted to ask if it was wasteful—they weren’t even hungry, and here they were roasting meat late at night.
But as soon as she opened her mouth, she nearly sprayed the saliva she hadn’t swallowed earlier.
“Alright then, focus on making the jerky, and save a little to taste.”
With Grandma Mei’s approval, the Lao Mei Family suddenly felt as if it were New Year, and everyone sprang into action.
Since the horse leg was mostly dense muscle, Mei Qian gave up on finding a stone slab to “roast” the meat. Instead, she worked with Madam Jiang and Han Shi to make skewers about a third thinner than chopsticks, stringing up the “scraps” her eldest brother and father had trimmed off.
Using red-hot charcoal, Mei Qian grabbed a large handful of horse meat skewers and officially began roasting.
Although her technique was unpolished and the heat was a bit too high, this was meat!
Protein roasted at high temperatures, even if slightly burnt, still released an enticing charred aroma.
Moreover, Mei Qian had sprinkled some aromatic seasonings. Though not much, they couldn’t change the flavor of the skewers much, but the roasting process itself was truly fragrant!
At this point, the Lao Mei Family had completely forgotten about the jerky hanging by the fire. Instead, they all stared with eager eyes at the skewers in Mei Qian’s hands.
Even System Xiao Mei couldn’t wait, urging Mei Qian to upload the horse meat skewers.
Mei Qian had intended to upload them this time, and she had even prepared the advertising slogan for the horse meat skewers while roasting:
#Primitive Charcoal-Roasted Meat Skewers, the Perfect Companion for Late-Night Drinks~#
For some reason, Mei Qian had a feeling—she was about to see Nutrient Solution again!