Chapter 47: A Generous Gesture, Two People Can Go
The snow-covered path was slippery, and if one wasn’t careful, they could easily fall. Despite being skilled in martial arts, Yu Xiaoran, who was carrying Old Man Yu, slipped and tumbled into the nearby woods with him.
“This snow is only about a palm’s depth. When we reach the frontier, the snow there will be truly hard to walk through—knee-deep at times. Being able to walk even twenty li a day would be a blessing. No wonder so few people survive the journey to the frontier once they’re exiled,” Ye Jiamei said with a sigh, brushing off the snowflakes that had landed on her face.
Even though she was wrapped in a new cotton coat, the cold was already biting. She couldn’t help but worry about how they would survive once they reached the snow-covered frontier, where there wouldn’t even be a place to shelter from the wind at night. Would they have to sleep directly on the snow?
The mere thought of it made Ye Jiamei’s heart sink with anxiety, dispelling any sense of ease that the journey might have briefly brought.
“Xiao Luo, if you go shopping today, see if you can find a way to make a simple tent or something. I’m afraid that on the way to the frontier, it’ll be nothing but snow as far as the eye can see. If we can’t find anywhere to rest, we might not even make it there, let alone survive once we do.”
“I’ll think about it,” Yu Luo replied.
Ye Jiamei’s worries quickly spread to Yu Luo and Yu Haojie, and even Yu Zhengqing seemed troubled by the thought.
After about an hour of walking and resting intermittently, they finally reached the fork in the road leading to the nearby town.
Since they couldn’t take the main road, Wu Dahai had to lead all the exiles along a side path.
“Today, I’ll allow each family to send two people to buy supplies,” Wu Dahai announced. “The town is only about fifteen minutes away. But you must return by the hour of Shen (around 3-5 PM).”
As soon as Wu Dahai made this exception, everyone in the Yu family was overjoyed. Even Yu Luo was thrilled, trying to decide whether to take her mother or her father with her.
“It’s better if your father goes with you,” Ye Jiamei suggested. “He’s stronger and can carry more.”
“Mom, we don’t need to carry that much stuff. We just need to make it look like we’re carrying enough,” Yu Luo replied.
“She’s right,” Yu Haojie agreed. “I wouldn’t be at ease leaving you alone here. You two go together and see if you can figure out something to help us rest on the road.”
Meanwhile, in the main branch of the Yu family, Yu Xiaoran was quick to step forward. “Father, let me go with you,” he said.
“Alright,” Yu Zhengqing agreed without hesitation. His son was strong, and the two of them together could carry a lot more supplies.
“Husband, did you remember everything we talked about buying yesterday? Besides food, there are also things us women need…” Lady Lan reminded him.
“I know,” Yu Zhengqing replied impatiently, cutting her off. Women were the most troublesome on this journey, especially with their monthly needs. Although he was reluctant, he had to agree since they were all either his wife or daughters.
“Husband, don’t forget needles and thread, and also some leather boots…” Chang Huilan added, only to be met with a more irritable look from Yu Zhengqing.
“Big brother, could you buy me some snow cream? My face and hands are all dry and cracked,” Yu Yingying, the spoiled young lady, chimed in. Despite the hardships she had suffered, she still couldn’t forget about taking care of her appearance.
Lying on the makeshift stretcher, the paralyzed Old Man Yu felt a surge of bitterness. Just last night, they had been arguing about whether to buy medicine for him, and now his precious granddaughter was asking for snow cream?
Not far away, Yu Luo’s family overheard the main branch’s conversation and couldn’t help but stifle their laughter.
In the second branch, Yu Liang quickly sent his two sons to do the shopping. They had managed to scavenge several dozen taels of silver from the bodies of the bandits earlier, which they now clutched like a lifeline. Yu Liang repeatedly told his sons to buy only food since they had enough clothes and shoes from the looted bandit corpses.
In the third branch, Yu Qiang also sent his two sons, being the strongest among them. He gave them a detailed list of things to buy, including food, salt, needles and thread, and most importantly, arrowheads and knives for self-defense.
“Remember everything I told you last night? Don’t forget a single thing! Once we reach Pingyang City, the new guards will take over. This is probably our last chance to buy supplies. On the frontier, even if we have money, we won’t know where to spend it.
So focus on food, but not too much—we can still hunt for meat. Prioritize salt, needles and thread, arrowheads, and if possible, small knives that you can hide in your boots for self-defense. If you have any silver left, get medicine for colds and fevers. In those freezing lands, getting sick is the worst.”
Meanwhile, Yu Luo and Ye Jiamei headed straight for the marketplace, hoping to buy vegetables. But since it was winter, the selection was sparse—only cabbages, white radishes, and a few other hardy greens, aside from poultry.
They rented a small courtyard to store their purchases and continued shopping. Ye Jiamei bought several thousand pounds of grains, both coarse and fine, and had them delivered to the courtyard. Then she went to the blacksmith to buy farming tools and daily necessities.
She also visited the cloth shop and ordered a large tent that could fit fifty to sixty people, thinking that the new guards wouldn’t let them keep a smaller tent just for themselves.
