Qin Sang called out to Da Zhuang:
"Da Zhuang, wait for your father-in-law. The mule can share some of the load. Have him put the grain on the mule to carry; don't let it crush the man."
Da Zhuang obediently slowed down. Beside him, Eldest Brother's Wife, holding Eldest Girl's hand, showed a grateful expression:
"Thank you, Mother."
"No need for thanks, we're all family."
Qin Sang looked at the other families in the village; none were faring much better. Qiao Lei was pushing Old Man Qiao on a small cart, which held only one bag of grain and a pot. All the other clothes, bedding, and mats were carried on Qiao Lei's back.
To be capable and filial to such an extent at such a young age, this lad was truly impressive.
Qin Sang saw Widow Xia's family. Granny Xia was leaning on a stick, being led by Caoer. Qin Sang felt uneasy:
"Er Fu, go over and give Granny Xia a hand."
"Alright, Mother, I'll go right now."
As for Widow Xia herself, she was like Qiao Lei, carrying a lot of things on her back while also using a cloth strap to push the cart.
The cloth strap was tied to the handles of the Wheelbarrow. This way, even if she accidentally let go, the small cart wouldn't tip over, and her shoulders could bear the weight of the cart.
Unlike Old Man Qiao, who could get off and walk a few steps from time to time when he saw Qiao Lei was tired, giving him a break, The Second Son of the Xia Family was truly paralyzed and couldn't walk. Widow Xia was the only one in the family who could push the cart.
Widow Xia's hair was wrapped in a headscarf. The cloth straps on her shoulders were digging in, making her neck flushed and swollen. Sweat streamed down her temples. The four children each carried a bundle larger than themselves, holding hands in pairs and following closely beside the Wheelbarrow.
Qin Sang was just thinking about how to help her when she saw Tian Youdi walk over:
"Xia Wang-shi, my father told me to help you push the cart for a while. Steady the cart, and I'll take over."
If others went to help, it might invite gossip, but Tian Youdi was arranged by the village chief, and it was their own family's male member being assigned. This way, no one could complain.
Everyone knew how pitiable Widow Xia's family was. No family would be jealous that the village chief was helping Widow Xia and not helping them.
If anyone really dared to voice a complaint, they wouldn't need the village chief to speak up; the other villagers would tear them to shreds.
Heizi and his group were at the back of the procession. Besides Heizi and his dozen or so brothers, the rest were elderly and young children.
Qin Sang waited a while. When Heizi and the others caught up, she realized the oxcart Heizi was leading was full of elderly people. All the other grain and bedding were carried on the backs of Heizi's brothers. Heizi smiled as he approached:
"Aunt."
Qin Sang glanced curiously at the oxcart:
"How did you manage to get that cart up the mountain?"
Because this area was a mountain hollow, the oxcart could still travel, but there were definitely places on the mountain paths where an oxcart couldn't go, which made Qin Sang very curious.
Heizi scratched his head, somewhat ashamed:
"Couldn't bear to throw it away. My brothers carried it up." This ox and cart were his family's most valuable possessions. Grandma said they were worth more than him.
Qin Sang gave a thumbs-up. Only Heizi, with his dozen-plus brothers, could do something like this. If she had known earlier, her two flatbed carts wouldn't have needed to be abandoned either:
"Well, you'd better keep up closely. Don't lose the procession because you're carrying the carts."
Heizi grinned:
"Don't worry, Aunt, we won't get lost."
Qin Sang asked about the medicinal herbs, of course, without mentioning the valuable ginseng inside.
"We're not sure either. At the time, many people came to exchange food with us. We felt sorry for them, so we exchanged for all the roots and herbs they brought. The prices weren't high. Aunt, did we cause you a loss? Aunt, if those aren't medicinal herbs, I'll return the flour to you. Please don't blame Er Fu. She only reluctantly accepted them because I begged her. Please, please don't blame her."
Seeing the anxiety in his eyes, Qin Sang pursed her lips:
"No loss, don't worry. In your mind, am I the kind of person who would blame my daughter over two catties of flour?"
"No... no, Aunt could never be that kind of person, hehe..." Heizi scratched his head awkwardly.
Qin Sang seriously suspected this guy had lice on his head. After all, it hadn't rained for so long, and who knew how long it had been since these people had bathed.
Qin Sang also mentioned some things about digging ditches when they reached the Settlement. Heizi and his brothers had no objections:
"Don't worry, Aunt. We already consider ourselves part of Tianjia Village. Just tell us whatever needs to be done."
Qin Sang felt reassured. On her way back to her own family, she stopped by Widow Xia's place and took the four little ones' bundles, tying them together with her own:
"Come find Aunt to get them back tonight."
The Xia family wasn't worried at all that Qin Sang would steal their things, because the family's grain and water had all been obtained through exchanges with Qin Sang's household.
When they set off in the morning, people would still chat and laugh a bit. As the sun rose, everyone lost the desire to talk. After all, water was precious now, and talking would make them thirsty.
The procession moved on in silence, the pace still not fast. Qin Sang estimated they would probably need to rest in the wild for two more nights before arriving.
Before noon even arrived, the village chief had Tian Yougen notify everyone to take a break.
Noon was too hot. Everyone was tired, thirsty, and under such scorching sun; it was easy to get heatstroke.
It was a shared consensus that they couldn't survive the Rebel Soldiers only to die here in the mountains.
Anyway, the Settlement was right there. There were no pursuers behind them, so they could take their time. They would get there eventually.
Everyone found places to rest. Qin Sang's family also stopped. Along the way, Eldest Girl had been very well-behaved and hadn't asked to be carried. Still, Qin Sang was worried that walking too much would hurt the child's legs, so she occasionally let her ride on the horse's back for a while.
Now that they were resting on the spot, the little girl finally gathered around her own mother, tilting her head up to say:
"Mother, Eldest Girl wants to drink water."
Eldest Brother's Wife took a Waterskin from her waist, shook it, unscrewed the cap, and brought it to the little girl's mouth, instructing:
"You can only take a small sip, understand?"
Qin Sang's heart ached hearing this. She knew everyone was worried about running out of water, each preferring to have a parched throat rather than drink an extra mouthful. So she called out:
"Eldest Girl, come to Grandma. Grandma still has water here."
Eldest Brother's Wife held the little girl back, not letting her come over:
"Grandma only has one Waterskin. Mother has two here. Grandma needs to drink water too."
Eldest Girl obediently took a tiny sip. Qin Sang suspected it didn't even wet her lips before Eldest Brother's Wife took the Waterskin away.
Qin Sang couldn't be too obvious about it either. Because she had been the most willing to drink and had drunk the most along the way, everyone had seen it. After all, her Waterskin couldn't be a treasure with an endless supply of water, right?
She needed to think of other ways to replenish fluids:
"How about everyone looks around nearby to see if there are any fruits?"
This suggestion was met with approval. Everyone was eager to find something to eat or drink. If there were wild fruits, they could also help quench some of the thirst.
"But what if we encounter wild beasts?" someone muttered.
Everyone started to worry. Acting alone in the mountains was indeed unsafe.
Hunter Xu stepped forward:
"Who wants to go hunting with me?"
With that one sentence, nearly half of the village's boys aged fifteen and above stood up. It seemed every one of them was eager to try hunting.
Well, who could resist the temptation of meat?