Heavenly Blessed Baby: Fleeing Famine, Busy to Prosper!-Chapter 134: What Are Your Thoughts?
Yi Meng listened to the daughter and mother-in-law’s words, then returned to Qi Quanjin and repeated the meaning, finally adding, "We don’t have much water left, and that water isn’t good to give them, so I’m thinking of letting them collect snow themselves. We’ll bring it over, boil it, add some ginger slices, and once it’s done, distribute it to them. Brother Jin, do you think that will work?"
"It’s a method."
Qi Quanjin nodded, "I’ll go talk to Dad and them, see what their plan is."
Yi Meng responded with a "Hmm," and wrapped the quilt tighter around herself.
Qi Quanjin quickly went to find the elder men to discuss this matter.
Everyone agreed that this could be done.
Qi Zheng sighed, "If we can lend a hand, we should. Otherwise, it’s not right to let them freeze to death beside us."
Mr. Wang Sr. said, "Yes! I was just thinking, what if they get desperate and come to snatch our things? Even if we can protect our stuff with our numbers, we’d have to fight."
These words were met with nodding approval from everyone.
In fact, the old guys had already discussed this possibility among themselves.
Rather than waiting until they can’t hold on and fight desperately, it’s better to offer some benefits to pacify them. When we enter the city tomorrow, we won’t have to worry about what’s outside.
Qi Quanjin also thought this was the case, so he called Qi Ercai to go and speak together.
The grandfather and grandson were already so cold that they could barely keep their eyes open; if this continued, they certainly wouldn’t survive the night.
The grandson sensed someone approaching and struggled to open his eyes. Seeing it was that group, he quickly tugged at his grandfather’s sleeve and whispered, "Grandpa, grandpa, someone is coming."
The sound of teeth chattering was too obvious, and the voice was weak.
The old man struggled to raise his head, seeing it was Qi Quanjin. Instinctively nervous, he tried to get up.
But his arms and legs were too frozen to move. He collapsed face-first to the ground instead.
Qi Quanjin was startled and quickly stepped forward, grabbing the old man’s clothes and setting him back into a squatting position.
"Hero, we, we..."
The old man thought they were being chased away; he wanted to explain, but his tongue was so frozen that he couldn’t speak properly.
Qi Quanjin sighed and said, "Don’t worry, I’m not here to drive you away."
Hearing this, the old man felt somewhat relieved.
Qi Quanjin glanced at the people around, totaling just seven or eight, all old people with children, no strong men or younger women at all.
The further out they were, the more they were frozen, and some were already lying motionless on the ground, looking as if they were dead.
He initially thought of letting them collect some snow and his family would help boil it.
But with people collapsing on the ground, ignoring them would mean they’d really die.
Qi Quanjin and Qi Ercai exchanged a glance.
Although the two brothers didn’t verbally communicate, a single look was enough to understand each other’s intention.
Qi Ercai turned back to their group, and shortly after, Qi Dalang returned with a bundle of firewood, following Qi Ercai back.
The two of them quickly made a fire and carried the few lying on the ground near it.
With the fire, everyone’s spirits visibly lifted.
They all looked gratefully at the three from the Qi family.
Qi Quanjin said, "It’s cold, and my family doesn’t have much hot water. You collect some snow yourself, and later we’ll help boil it so you can have a drink."
The voice wasn’t loud, and with previous movements done hunched over, it didn’t disturb the people on the other side.
Those on the other side were facing away from the wind, afraid the fire would blow out, so they didn’t notice the movement here.
The old man and others all had eyes welling with gratitude and nodded repeatedly.
They had no tools for making a fire, not even a bundle.
All their belongings were just the tattered clothes on their bodies.
Qi Ercai sent Qi Dalang back, and when he returned, he brought two wooden basins.
With the heavy snow and wind, the two basins collected only half a basin of snow after less than a cup of tea’s time.
Qi Dalang came over again with firewood, poured the snow from the two basins into one, and took it back to their group.
Everyone in the team already knew about helping those people and had no objections.
The fire was burning anyway; it was just borrowing a pot.
The half basin of snow poured into a clean pot didn’t even fill half the pot after melting.
They threw in a handful of dried ginger, letting it boil. Once it bubbled, they sent it over with Qi Quanjin and Qi Dalang, along with ten bamboo tubes.
There were exactly ten people, one for each, and no more even if they wanted it.
Using bamboo tubes to scoop the water, everyone held one, drinking while warming their hands.
The snow and wind continued to intensify, and Qi Dalang brought firewood over every half hour.
This was to avoid being seen by the people over there, so each time he went hunched by the wall, unable to carry much at once, making several trips necessary.
The old man and the others continuously collected snow.
Even though everyone’s stomach was empty with no food, with the warm ginger water, it gave them a chance to live.
The eastern sky finally showed a hint of light, signaling the arrival of a new day, but the snow and wind hadn’t stopped, making them worry whether the city gates would open.
There were usually soldiers on patrol at night, but due to the snow, the patrols stopped.
People occasionally emerged from the gate to clear it, but only twice during the entire night.
Each time they came out, they saw people hiding in the gate, driving them away immediately.
Blocking the gate, what if someone started a fire to burn it down?
After being driven away twice, the three huddled in the gate had no choice but to brace themselves and join the old man’s group’s fire.
Seeing Qi Dalang come to deliver firewood without saying anything, they tacitly accepted the newcomers.
Except for the children, Qi Quanjin’s group didn’t sleep.
Unable to sleep through the night, they chatted together.
Seeing his wife already roasting by the daughter, Qi Quanjin, afraid she’d come over and catch the cold wind again, simply sat by the old man’s fire.
Yin Cheng sniffed and suddenly asked, "We don’t know which village we’ll be assigned to in the future, do you have any thoughts?"
No one had thought about this question the whole way, now presented, everyone looked bewildered.
Qi Ercai asked, "Mr. Yin, what do you mean by this? What thoughts do we have?"
Qi Quanjin also asked, "Yes, Mr. Yin, isn’t it just going to whichever village we’re assigned to?"
Yin Cheng rolled his eyes, clearly thinking they were too slow.
Qin Minglang on the side smiled and explained, "Supposedly, we just go to whichever village we’re assigned. But for the locals, we’ll be outsiders."
"Moreover, there could be a scenario where one village can’t accommodate all of us. What then?"
What?
There might not be a village to go to?
Everyone widened their eyes upon hearing this.
