It has been raining for days, and the water from the mountains rushes down, and the rivers are filled with turbid yellow mud.
On the day when the sun finally cleared up, the village organized workers to clear the mud. Under the sun, the river shone brightly, making the eyes hurt.
As long as there are people, there will be topics to talk about. After work, the most discussed thing is the recent project on the back mountain.
Those who were chosen were not very good at talking. Not only were they not good at talking, they also liked to exaggerate. They used a sense of pride in front of others and triumphantly described how magical the mountain was.
While chatting, one person suddenly elbowed his companion: "Look!"
Everyone turned around and saw that girl A Li and Master Zhan Jiu were walking side by side from the village road.
Behind her was a horse that had been disassembled from the carriage in which she came.
"Miss Ah Li can also ride a horse," someone whispered.
"Girl A Li can do everything, but riding a horse is nothing."
In the past few days, Master Zhan Jiu treated this girl with respect and courtesy, and everyone in the village heard about it.
Mo Wuye said outside that Master Zhan Jiu was possessed by an evil spirit. The news reached the ears of Master Zhan Qi and Master Zhan Ba, and they almost took back Mo Wuye's position as "general".
At present, it seems that there is no respect or courtesy at all. It is simply too respectful.
Behind them, Zhi Changle also led a horse.
There were only five horses in Qingxiang Village, so Master Zhan Jiu asked someone to bring them out for Zhi Changle to ride. Master Zhan Qi felt distressed all night long about this.
"Where are they going?" Someone suddenly caught the key.
"Yes! Miss Ah Li looks like this, does she want to leave?"
"Stupid, just go and ride a carriage!" a girl's voice said suddenly.
Everyone turned their heads. Lin Shuanglan and Feng Anan came back from the east end of the village carrying a basket and said to them.
Lin Shuanglan is very popular, and everyone greets her one after another.
Lin Shuanglan responded, walked quickly towards Xia Zhaoyi, and said happily: "Ah Li!"
"Ah Li, you should leave now!" Feng An'an also said.
Xia Zhaoyi had already mentioned it to Lin Shuanglan and the others in advance that she was going out on business, and had also given special assignments.
"Well," Xia Zhaoyi nodded, "I'm not here these days, so don't miss out on your homework."
"We must practice calligraphy and reading well!"
"Okay." Xia Zhaoyi smiled.
"Is this Zhi hero going too?" Lin Shuanglan looked at Zhi Changle.
The word "Zhi Da Xia" carries a hint of teasing.
In these days of contact, when Zhi Changle was called "hero" by others, his reaction was different from other names. Lin Shuanglan discovered this and found it amusing, and occasionally called him "hero".
Zhi Changle was too lazy to argue with the little girl and ignored her.
snort.
Lin Shuanglan curled her lips inwardly.
Master Zhan Jiu looked back at Xia Zhaoyi and got back to business: "Miss Ali, can you really send these letters of mine?"
"I can't completely guarantee it, I can only say that I will try my best." Xia Zhaoyi said.
Master Zhan Jiu sighed: "Speaking of it, even if these letters can be sent out, old friends like mine may not still be where they are, and I don't even know if they are still alive in the world."
"Uncle Jiu, don't be sad." Feng Anan whispered.
"Miss Ali, go early and come back early. Have a safe trip." Zhan Jiuye raised his hand and saluted Xia Zhaoyi.
"Okay." Xia Zhaoyi nodded.
"Ah Li, you must be careful on the road," Lin Shuanglan said seriously, looking at Zhi Changle, "Zhi Daxia, you must be careful too."
Zhi Changle still didn't bother to pay attention to her. He felt that the little girl was really very ill as she kept saying "Zhi Da Xia".
Zhan Jiuye asked Xia Zhaoyi to bring out seven letters in total this time, all of which were addressed to his classmates.
In addition to the letter, Master Zhan Jiu also ordered his wife and maid to prepare a lot of dry food.
There is a small basket behind Xia Zhaoyi's horse, which contains dry food and clothes.
Xia Zhaoyi got on his horse, said goodbye to them, and left with Zhang Le.
The corpse hanging outside the village a few days ago had already been removed, but as they passed by, Zhi Changle still described the scene to Xia Zhaoyi.
The further you go outside the village, the more messy you see on the road. A mile away, you can gradually see scattered refugees coming towards you or sitting by the roadside.
There were also corpses that either died of illness or starvation, but were highly decomposed in the wilderness due to heavy rain for several days.
Because the road was muddy, it was almost dusk when Xia Zhaoyi and Zhi Changle returned to the inn where they came from.
The sky was getting dark, and the entrance to the inn was still crowded. The difference from last time was that there were many more officers and soldiers this time.
Xia Zhaoyi and Zhi Changle were riding horses, which attracted more and more attention. Even though officers and soldiers were nearby, many people still stared at them.
Xia Zhaoyi and Zhi Changle didn't stay long, passed through several inns here, and headed towards the heavily guarded post office.
The postmaster from the Xinyi Post Office has long been gone, and the military department in charge here has taken over. Currently, it is Tian Dayao's men.
Xia Zhaoyi and Zhi Changle rested under an open-air tea tent half a mile away from the post office. There were not as many people here as the inn in front of them, and it was set up for military lords coming and going.
When they passed by, half of the inn was filled with officers and soldiers sitting and resting, and only a few passers-by.
When the waiter comes out to greet the guests, Zhi Changle doesn't move his horse and just asks the waiter to bring a long bench.
The two horses were strong and strong, and the conversation between Xia Zhaoyi and Zhi Changle attracted more attention. The officers and soldiers over there looked over frequently, and their eyes especially fell on the girl.
The waiter brought a long bench over and called his companions to bring up an Eight Immortals table. He asked Xia Zhaoyi to wait while he went in to make tea.
"It's been a long time since I've seen someone with such tender skin and tender flesh, and yet she dares to come here," the man said to his companion, shaking his head in the backyard, "She seems to be unhappy about her longevity."
"Looking at her temperament, she looks like she comes from a wealthy family. She is really good-looking."
"So what? In all the years we have been traveling around the country, how many wealthy families have fallen?"
"This lady is really ignorant. Not to mention now, even in the peaceful days before, such a beautiful girl would easily be robbed while walking on the country road!"
"That's right, not to mention that the military master here has not eaten meat for a long time. Tsk tsk, let them see such a top-notch beauty, it's better to be like a wolf than a tiger."
"Stop saying a few words," the shopkeeper hurriedly came over and scolded in a low voice, "It's not an ordinary person who can come here. She might be the daughter of a general under King Dacheng or a newly married young lady!"
This explanation seemed to make sense, and several of the clerks nodded.
The tea is ready and delivered, along with some side dishes.
Xia Zhaoyi took out the silver needle and a packet of small medicinal powder. After trying the silver needle one by one, he sprinkled the small medicinal powder on it, waited for a while, and said to Zhi Changle: "It's ready to eat."
The waiter standing by, his face changed, and he said unhappily: "Two guests, how could we have poisoned you!"
"It's essential to be on guard against others." Xia Zhaoyi said frankly, without feeling even the slightest bit guilty.
The waiter put the rag on his shoulder, turned around and left.
The soldiers nearby looked at me and I looked at you, and then looked back at the girl.
His calm and calm demeanor actually made the soldiers who had been ruthless here for a long time not dare to act recklessly.
