Chapter 74 He wasn't angry at all.

Chapter 74 He wasn't angry at all.

"Listen up, everyone!" The lead escort, hands on his hips, stood at the front of the line and spouted nonsense.

"From today onwards, the three of us will escort you to your place of exile! Get up at dawn every day. If you dare to dawdle or slack off, don't blame us for being impolite! Now pack your things quickly, we'll depart in an hour!"

Some distressed voices rose from the crowd, but they were all silenced by a sharp glare from the escort.

Everyone went back to pack their things. Jiang Yutang hid the dry food and herbs he had bought yesterday under Jiang Shengan's wheelchair and covered them with a cloth.

Their bamboo mats, clothes, and pots were placed on the cart, which was inspected before being pushed in front of the escorts.

When the escorts' gaze fell on the Jiang family's cart, the lead escort's expression suddenly changed. Pointing at the pot on the cart, he shouted, "What are you doing carrying this broken pot? It takes up space and is heavy! Throw it away right now!"

Jiang Yutang quickly stepped forward and explained respectfully and urgently, "Sir, I know a little about medicine. If anyone on the road catches a cold, has a fever, or has an upset stomach, they will need this pot to boil medicine to treat them."

"Yes, sir!"

Several surviving refugees nearby quickly stepped forward to speak up for them: "Thanks to Miss Jiang and her family, we've been able to hold on until now. This pot really works, please make an exception for us!"

"If we throw away the pot, and someone on the road gets sick, that would be a real problem!"

The escorts exchanged glances. Seeing that the refugees were all speaking up for the Jiang family, and remembering how troublesome the cholera outbreak had been, they reluctantly agreed, not wanting any further complications on the road. They didn't insist that they throw away the pots, nor did they carefully inspect the carts; they simply waved their hands impatiently.

"Alright, alright! Hurry up and get ready to go, don't waste time!"

Jiang Yutang breathed a sigh of relief, planning to secretly move the items under the wheelchair back onto the cart after the group had traveled some distance.

Cheng Lanzhou and his family also packed up and joined the group, traveling light.

The refugees, who had just recovered from serious illnesses, had clearly not yet regained their strength. After walking for less than half an hour, many of them fell behind the group.

A guard with a leather whip was driving them from behind. Although he didn't actually lash them, the cracking sound of the whip still kept the refugees from slowing down.

Fortunately, these escorts were more restrained than the previous group and didn't really push people to their deaths.

During the rest stop, the guards distributed hard, dry grain cakes, while Jiang Yutang and his family quietly ate the rice cakes brought by the old doctor's wife.

Mu looked at Jiang Yutang several times, her eyes full of hesitation, as if she wanted to say something but couldn't.

Jiang Yutang couldn't help but laugh at her gaze and took the initiative to speak up: "Sister-in-law, just say what's on your mind, there's no need to be so reserved."

Mu lowered her head, looking at Xiaoxiao in her arms, her fingers unconsciously stroking the child's little hand, but she still didn't dare to speak.

Seeing this, Jiang Songzhi could only tentatively ask, "Little sister, do you know when that mysterious merchant who delivered supplies to you before will come again?"

Jiang Yutang abruptly stopped chewing the rice cake, her heart skipped a beat, and she could only manage a dry laugh before mumbling, "I...I'm not really sure either, after all, we haven't been in contact for a long time."

Seeing the fleeting disappointment in their eyes, she felt a pang of sadness.

Mu quickly waved her hand and explained urgently, "Little sister, don't feel pressured! We were just asking casually. It's okay if he doesn't come; we'll think of another way."

Xiaoxiao, nestled in his arms, sucked on her finger and stared at Jiang Yutang with her big, round eyes, looking both obedient and pitiful.

Jiang Yutang snapped out of her daze, and began to worry about the supplies that would follow.

She stared blankly at the rice cake in her hand, silently sighing: "I can only take it one step at a time."

For the next three days, she would secretly take out the book when no one was around and check the first page for any new red lines, but there was only that one curved horizontal line on the page, and nothing else changed.

On the fourth day, everyone was exhausted after traveling all day. When they stopped to rest, they found a river right next to them.

The refugees rushed over to replenish their water supply, while Jiang Yutang quickly filled the bamboo tubes on the cart with water.

Jiang Yuhuai squatted by the river, staring intently at the water, when suddenly he shouted excitedly, "There are fish! There are fish in the river!"

Upon hearing this, everyone rolled up their trousers and prepared to go into the river to catch fish, jumping in with a splash.

Jiang Yutang shook her head with a disgusted grin, thankfully she had already filled the water container, otherwise she would have felt uneasy.

Cheng Lanzhou and Jiang Huaiyu immediately took off their shoes and went into the river. After half an hour of struggling, they caught a total of six half-sized fish.

"We're having fish tonight!"

Jiang Huaiyu took out the folding knife she had been given, found a clean stone, and cleaned the fish.

Cheng Lanzhou looked at the strange folding knife in his hand and took the initiative to ask, "Your dagger looks very peculiar."

"Right!" Jiang Huaiyu proudly held the folding knife above her head, showing it off to him. "My little sister gave it to me, it's very rare, you should try it."

Cheng Lanzhou took the folding knife, casually grabbed a fish, and sliced ​​it open in the belly with minimal effort. He frowned slightly and exclaimed, "Good knife."

After returning the knife to Jiang Huaiyu, he picked up the dagger that Jiang Yutang had given him earlier, and tightened his grip even more.

It wasn't because Jiang Yutang didn't give him a good knife that he was dissatisfied.

Jiang Yutang, on the other hand, scooped a small piece of hot pot base from the cart, melted it over a fire, poured it evenly over the fish, and then set up a tree branch to grill the fish.

The sizzling sound of oil mingled with a rich aroma that filled the air, drawing the attention of the surrounding migrants who couldn't help but turn to look, their eyes filled with envy.

The six fish were shared between the two families. Although there wasn't much meat, the delicious fish helped to relieve the fatigue of the past few days, and the taste was just as good when eaten with dry rations.

Just as everyone was enjoying their meal, Yun accidentally choked on a fish bone and coughed violently.

"Mom, take a bite of the cake but don't chew it. Drink some water and swallow it down with it." Jiang Yutang handed her a glass of water, but she couldn't swallow the fish bone.

Jiang Yutang had no choice but to take Yun to the riverbank and have her drink more water to rinse herself off. He had been in such a hurry that he forgot to bring the bamboo tube for holding water, so he told Yun to wait by the riverbank while he went back to get it.

When she returned with the bamboo tube, she saw Yun drinking water from a wooden bowl.

She asked in confusion, "Mother, where did this wooden bowl come from?"

Yun wiped the water from her mouth and casually said, "It floated down from the riverbank. I guess someone drinking water here didn't hold it properly. I was in a hurry to swallow the fish bone, so I didn't think much of it and just picked it up and used it."

Jiang Yutang frowned and stared at the wooden bowl carefully. She felt like she had seen it somewhere before, but she couldn't remember where.

She felt a little uneasy, but didn't say anything more, only telling Yun Shi to stop using the bowl.

That night, after everyone had gone to sleep, Jiang Yutang was suddenly awakened in the middle of the night by a faint groan.

By the moonlight, she saw that Yun was curled up, her face was pale, her forehead was covered in cold sweat, and she was groaning in pain.

"Mother! What's wrong?" Jiang Yutang rubbed her eyes and sat up, reaching out to touch Yun Shi's forehead.