Gu Qingcheng told them about the system's mission.
Seeing that the system also recognized the matter and that they could receive a reward of 50,000 pleasant points, Gu Zhaobei and his wife dispelled their worries.
Gu Qingcheng then noticed that Migguo was not with them and asked where Migguo was with curiosity.
"He was standing next to me just now, chatting with a middle-aged local woman, perhaps a relative of his."
Hu Lanfang's heart skipped a beat.
Gu Qingcheng's heart also sank upon hearing this and said, "Could it be Auntie?"
"Migguo's aunt? Wouldn't that be the person who sold him?" Hu Lanfang recalled and said, "It shouldn't be his aunt. That woman was quite friendly to him, and he seemed happy to see her. If it were his aunt, he definitely wouldn't dare to speak to her."
As the three were looking around, they saw Migguo walking out from the entrance of Pucun Village. Seeing them, he quickened his pace and ran towards them.
"Where did you go? We were just about to look for you everywhere," Gu Qingcheng quickly asked.
"I just met an old friend of my mother's, named Zhu Wuniang. She knows I've been adopted by you and is very happy. She told me to follow you well."
Migguo said honestly.
"Oh, it's good that you're fine. Let's go."
The four of them got into the carriage waiting at the entrance of the village.
Gu Qingcheng had already decided what supplies to give to the villagers.
She planned to give the villagers compressed biscuits as supplies for fleeing famine. These were made with high sugar, high oil, condensed milk, and flour. Although the taste was ordinary, they could be eaten dry or boiled into a paste, providing high calories and were essential for fleeing famine.
Moreover, compressed biscuits were not expensive. A piece weighed 45 grams, and a box of 40 pieces cost only 27 yuan.
An adult could be satisfied with just two pieces for a meal.
Besides, they could only eat one meal a day while fleeing famine. If calculated extremely, one box per person could last for 20 days.
The whole family now had 212 people. If they sent 424 boxes of compressed biscuits, it would be enough to support them for more than a month of fleeing famine.
424 boxes multiplied by 27 yuan totaled 11,448 yuan, which was not expensive.
Then, gifting each of the 212 villagers a piece of a regular brand down jacket for warmth, a down jacket that could keep them warm would cost at least about 500 yuan, which would be 106,000 yuan. Adding the cost of compressed biscuits, the total would be 117,448 yuan.
After completing the mission, the system would give her 50,000 pleasant points, which, when converted, was about 1,400,000 yuan.
After deducting the more than 100,000 yuan spent, she would still have a net profit of more than 1.2 million yuan.
With food and warm clothing, they had the conditions to start fleeing famine to the south.
Although it would cost more than 100,000 yuan in the early stage, it was a necessary price to pay for earning 50,000 pleasant points.
Tonight, they were going to do something big, so they did not return to Yashan but booked a superior room with three suites at the Yuelai Inn.
As night fell, Gu Zhaobei and Gu Qingcheng hired a carriage and headed straight to Pucun Village.
They had the carriage wait a distance away from the village, and the father and daughter came behind a large tree where they planned to exchange supplies.
They had arrived earlier than the time agreed with the village chief. It was cold, so there was no one from the village waiting there yet.
Gu Qingcheng quickly released 500 boxes of compressed biscuits, 300 down jackets, 100 jin of salt, 100 jin of sugar, and 250 jin of preserved meat from her space.
These supplies were more than enough for the villagers. Gu Qingcheng did not count them strictly. The excess would be used for public allocation by the village chief, who would decide based on the situation of each household. This would also re-establish the village chief's authority.
Power in hand would only be obeyed if it translated into tangible benefits.
If the village chief did not have some benefits to offer, some people in the village would not be so obedient.
Nearly a thousand boxes of supplies were not a small amount. Gu Qingcheng had spent a lot of time at the inn dismantling the boxes and packing them into storage boxes without any text.
As for the packaging of the compressed biscuits, there was no way to remove it, as it would damage the shelf life. She could only hope that the villagers were less informed. Even if they saw the exquisite packaging, they would not understand that such packaging did not exist in this era. Anyway, she claimed it was a royal product, and it was estimated that ordinary people would think that royal products were indeed different.
The father and daughter, their necks hunched against the cold, waited for the villagers to arrive.
After a while, they heard the sound of "swish, swish" of footsteps on the snow.
The two stood up from under the shade of the tree and peeked out. As expected, it was the village chief accompanied by Zhang Dahu and a group of young people.
"Old Six, Qingcheng, you're here early? Sorry to keep you waiting."
The village chief's spirits lifted as he saw the father and daughter.
After a few pleasantries, Gu Qingcheng said:
"Village Chief, these foods and clothes were bestowed upon us by Prince Xia. He has inside information that this extreme cold weather will last for a long time, perhaps not ending until spring next year. So, he bestowed more food and clothing upon us.
Since we can't use them for the time being, we're giving them to the villagers.
These biscuits are very sturdy and are used for military campaigns. Eating two biscuits can last a day. The biscuits are cooked, so you can eat them directly, or boil them into a paste.
These clothes are also for keeping warm inside the army.
Since both the biscuits and clothes are royal products, they cannot be found on the market, and the material is particularly good. Please be warned not to show them to outsiders or talk about them. Otherwise, Prince Xia was kind enough to bestow them upon us, and if we give them away, he will be angry."
Gu Qingcheng deliberately made the matter sound mysterious and serious.
After all, as long as it involved royalty and princes, ordinary people nowadays dared not act rashly.
Gu Qingcheng then handed over 100 jin of salt, 100 jin of brown sugar, and 250 jin of preserved meat to the village chief. These important winter supplies would be allocated by the village chief.
The village chief was shocked to see so many supplies, but he did not suspect anything, because they were gifts from Prince Xia. Prince Xia was a prince, what couldn't he afford to give?
Everyone naturally thought so.
"Qingcheng, your family has performed a great deed. Our entire village will thank you. When we settle down in the south later, we will erect memorial tablets for your family."
The village chief was on the verge of tears.
The Gu family was not giving grain and clothes, but their lives!
Gu Zhaobei and Gu Qingcheng felt a bit awkward. Erecting memorial tablets and the like was a bit unnerving, so perhaps it was best to forget it.
Qingcheng handed a drawing in her hand to the village chief and said:
"Village Chief, this is a map of the southern official road drawn for us by Prince Xia. If you follow the official road, you can avoid encountering bandits. There are also post stations every hundred miles along the way where you can replenish water and seek help if someone falls ill."
"That's great! After Jinsha City, no one from our village has ever been this way before. We don't know the direction and planned to ask as we went. Now, with this map, we know."
Anything from Prince Xia is bound to be excellent.
The village chief was deeply moved.
This map was naturally created by Gu Qingcheng, and she could only attribute it to Prince Xia.
The Gu father and daughter explained everything and then bid farewell to the village chief and left.
The village chief watched them leave, his eyes slightly moist.