In this deep winter, animals in the forest were scarce, with only a few small birds.
However, surviving on birds was extremely difficult.
One or two days might be manageable, but Liu Rumei knew clearly that if they stayed longer without a more reliable food source, they would starve to death even if they didn't freeze.
As it was today, seven or eight people worked in the woods for half the morning and caught only three small birds, which wasn't even enough to fill their stomachs.
At noon, after returning to the temple to roast the small birds, Liu Rumei began to ponder desperately how they could fill their bellies.
Zheng Zhun spoke up, "Miss, I think it's better if we go down the mountain to buy some food from a family."
Liu Rumei shook her head, "No, if we are recognized, it will bring us to the brink of death."
At this moment, Xiao Qing spoke, "Miss, I think it's better if Zheng Ge and I go down together. We'll pretend to be a couple fleeing from disaster, then they won't be suspicious, right?"
Director Zheng next to her also added, "Yes, yes, Miss. We can also inquire while we're there. If the enemy has retreated, we can return to our country."
Hearing this, Liu Rumei pondered for a long time and finally nodded in agreement. What Zheng Zhun said made sense. Perhaps the enemy had already retreated, and who wouldn't want to return home sooner?
Soon, Zheng Zhun and Xiao Qing disguised themselves as a fleeing couple and headed down the mountain.
After descending, they walked along a small path for a while. In the distance, there was a small village with about a few dozen households.
Zheng Zhun led Xiao Qing, and they circled around, finding a decent-looking house in the village. Zheng Zhun stepped forward and gently knocked on the courtyard gate.
Soon, there was movement inside the courtyard. Someone shouted loudly, "Who is it?"
"We are travelers..."
Before Zheng Zhun could finish speaking, the gate opened, and a head poked out.
The man looked to be in his forties, with a dark complexion.
He glanced at Zheng Zhun and then at Xiao Qing, and asked vigilantly, "What are you doing here?"
"We are going to Qingguang City to visit relatives, but we got lost. We've eaten all the dry rations we brought and wanted to buy some from you to eat on the way."
The man looked at the two of them, nodded slightly, and opened the courtyard gate. "I did make some flatbreads, but if you want to buy them, they are very expensive."
As he spoke, he held up one finger, "Twenty flatbreads for you, ten taels of silver."
This was an exorbitant price.
But Zheng Zhun had no choice at this moment. As long as he could buy food, the price was secondary.
"No problem, no problem. As long as we can get something to eat, I'll give you the silver."
Zheng Zhun took out a silver ingot and handed it forward.
Seeing that he actually produced ten taels of silver, the dark-faced man was overjoyed.
"You two, come in. Sit down, I'll get you the flatbreads."
Soon, twenty flatbreads were placed before the two of them. The flatbreads were not small, each the size of a washbasin, and one person couldn't eat one in a day.
While Zheng Zhun carefully wrapped the flatbreads in a bundle, he made small talk, "May I ask how far we are from Xiaoqing River?"
"Oh, it's two hundred li from Xiaoqing River. After you leave the village, just keep going east on the road ahead, and you'll get there. However, there are soldiers guarding there now, so you might not be able to pass."
"Great, great, thank you, thank you."
Zheng Zhun was very happy. As the saying goes, what you seek comes without effort. He wanted to inquire about these guards, and the other party readily told him.
However, what Zheng Zhun didn't expect was that as he watched them leave, a smile appeared on the man's lips, and he quietly followed them. He followed the two until they were outside the village. Seeing them ascend the slope, the man stopped and turned to run home.
As soon as the man entered the house, he shouted loudly, "Old woman, old woman, quickly prepare my horse and some food. I'm going to the county town."
A woman with a dusty face came out and looked at him, "Husband, why are you going to the county town in this cold weather? It's dozens of li away."
"Ah, you old fool, have you forgotten? A few days ago, the county specifically sent people to the village to say that if anyone from Da Cang Kingdom is found, report it immediately. Those two people just now said they were going to Qingguang City and that they were lost, but they asked me about Xiaoqing River."
"They are going to Qingguang City, so they must be coming from the direction of Xiaoqing River. Therefore, I suspect they are lying."
"Enough, enough, you wouldn't understand even if I told you. Quickly prepare my horse, we're going to get rich!"
Zheng Zhun and Xiao Qing arrived on the mountain and recounted their experience of buying flatbread.
Hearing that they had bought twenty flatbreads for ten taels of silver, Liu Rumei couldn't help but gasp. But then she thought, in this cold winter, with ice and snow, it was good enough to have food. With these flatbreads supplemented by the hunted game, the food problem could be temporarily solved.
Now that the enemy was guarding Xiaoqing River, she couldn't go back and could only wait for an opportunity in this temple.
That evening, after dinner, everyone was about to rest. There was nothing else to do, so after eating their fill, they would build a fire and sleep, which would also reduce energy consumption.
Just then, the soldier on lookout returned, looking nervous. "Miss, there's a large area of firelight appearing down the mountain, about seven or eight li from us."
Liu Rumei secretly thought it was bad and hurried to the entrance of the dilapidated temple to look into the distance. And indeed, there was a large expanse of firelight on the horizon, coming towards them.
Liu Rumei immediately realized that their trip down the mountain to buy flatbread had caused trouble. "We've been discovered by the enemy, and we must leave quickly now."
Hearing this, Xiao Qing's face was filled with shame. "Miss, it's all my fault. I shouldn't have gone down the mountain to buy food."
Liu Rumei waved her hand, "It's not your fault. We can't starve to death here. Alright, prepare yourselves, we have to retreat."
Liu Rumei led everyone to pack up all the usable items and hastily left the mountaintop, heading in the opposite direction.
She led everyone through the dark, walking all night until the sky began to lighten the next day.
They finally found a place sheltered from the wind to stop and catch their breath. Liu Rumei climbed to a high vantage point to carefully observe the surroundings.
The area was desolate. As far as the eye could see, there were no houses, no forests, and no signs of human habitation. Sudan Novel Network.
Seeing this, Xiao Qing couldn't help but sigh, "It's all desolate. Now we can't even buy food."
Liu Rumei nodded, "Yes, we can't buy food, but that's also good. In such a desolate place, it's visible at a glance. Even if the enemy comes to search, they won't be too thorough."
After speaking, Liu Rumei pointed into the distance, "The east is that way. If we keep going east, we should reach Xiaoqing River."
Liu Rumei was right. Although it was desolate, it was easy to observe. They walked and looked around.