Transmigrated as a Stepmother: Time to Bring the Family to Prosper!-Chapter 152 - 151: Racing Through the Downpour

Transporting grain is not a simple task.

It’s a massive mobilization, requiring manpower and resources in the tens of thousands.

To send one hundred dan of grain to the border, you must first account for the consumption by oxen, horses, and laborers during transportation.

Add it all together, and for every hundred dan of grain sent to the border, at least five hundred dan must be prepared in advance.

If ten thousand dan of grain are to be sent to the border, at least fifty thousand dan must be prepared.

In the grain transport team, every twenty carts form a group, led by an official with ten small soldiers responsible for maintaining order.

Each cart is staffed with six laborers, a coachman, a rear guard, and two guards on each side.

The six are responsible for one cart; the grain on the cart, after accounting for their own consumption, must be delivered to the military camp as scheduled.

If there’s even the slightest damage to the military grain, all six are held accountable and punished by military law.

Therefore, the six must unite to protect their cart of grain to ensure their own safety.

This interconnected relationship naturally turns the group of six into a small team, working together and monitoring each other.

Because of his delicate skin and flesh, unable to shoulder burdens and carry them, Liu Ji was heavily disliked.

He wanted to occasionally hitch a ride on the cart and eagerly applied to be a coachman, but the lead soldier raised his thick eyebrows and immediately assigned him to be the rear guard. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

Thus, Liu Ji began his days of following behind the cart, eating dust while transporting grain.

Sometimes the road was hard to navigate, and when the bumpy ride caused grain sacks to fall, he had to bend over to pick them up immediately, choking on dust; as if that weren’t bad enough, a fresh pile of horse manure splattering down would be a dire situation.

If he were a bit slow, the soldier on horseback would quickly come swinging a whip.

If Liu Ji didn’t react quickly, his back would have already ended up like the rear guard laborer behind him, beaten until the skin was torn.

Sadly, this quick reaction was all trained under the harsh hand of that shrew at home.

His agility drew even the lead soldier’s attention, causing him to look at Liu Ji a second time.

Whenever he thought of this, Liu Ji couldn’t help but gaze forty-five degrees up at the sky, feeling bright yet sad.

"Hiss~" The sun was too glaring; staring for two seconds made his eyes burn, and Liu Ji’s melancholy lasted less than two seconds before he decisively lowered his head, feigning honesty as he trudged forward with numbed legs.

He must have offended the government officer escorting them, placing him under the ferocious soldier Shangguan Lie, so many transport teams, yet his squad moved alarmingly fast.

If they slowed even a bit, it was constant urging, resulting in his first pair of shoes wearing out within three days.

Liu Ji was deeply resentful, holding a heavy grudge against this Shangguan Lie.

As for Qin Yao, who enlisted his name on the conscription list, he feared and felt guilty toward her, hate? He wouldn’t dare!

He licked his lips, which were dry and peeling, and took down the bamboo tube from his waist wanting a sip of water, but to his horror, he found it empty. Who knows when he had finished the water inside.

Since departure day, it’s been clear skies all along.

The last stretch of autumn, with days so hot it made one’s head spin, a jug of water would deplete quickly, and whenever the team stopped for a brief rest, those not on guard duty rushed to grab bamboo tubes from their teammates to fetch water.

With wells and large streams, it was fine, but with those sparse trickling mountain brooks, the time afforded for breaks barely sufficed.

When encountering someone impatient, a bit of physical jostling and verbal disputes was inevitable.

As the most agile in his team, Liu Ji was always the first to rush in for water fetching.

The remaining four guards surrounded him, blocking others from snatching, their tacit understanding already established.

But even so, today seemed unlucky, facing a mountain brook that barely allowed time to fill two bamboo tubes.

Having some to drink was fortunate enough, and the six of them shared it, alleviating the summer heat slightly.

Those who hadn’t managed, soon had to follow the team swiftly onward again, hoping for the heavens to bring heavy rain soon.

Then, heavy rain really did begin to fall.

As the rain fell, the team was suddenly in disarray.

Some covered with oilcloth, hurriedly fetched straw capes, others soothed startled horses.

In the midst of this, Shangguan Lie suddenly ordered to advance quickly!

The grain transport squad moaned in despair, asking if they’d ever catch a break!

Liu Ji deeply suspected that this leader had a penchant for tormenting people, unable to see them in ease.

However, the cool rain fell, dispelling the heat entirely. Liu Ji, having suffered relentlessly from the sun, now wished the rain would only grow heavier.

Many shared his thought, hoping as the rain intensified, Shangguan Lie would halt the team for a rest so they could recuperate.

But as the heavy rain came, they realized their naivety.

The rain grew ever heavier; initially, everyone felt cool and cheered, yet advancing briefly, the road soaked by rainfall quickly turned muddy and impassable,

the cart wheels laden with heavy grain sank deeply into the mire, impossible to just walk beside it, now it was damned necessary to push it forward.

Liu Ji, lacking Qin Yao’s immense strength, found the hefty wheels seem glued to the mud, exerting utmost effort barely moved them.

The soldiers on horseback raced to and fro within the team, cracking their whips several times, shouting sternly:

"Advance swiftly, faster, faster!"

Liu Ji didn’t want to get hit; gritting his teeth, he mustered all his strength, fighting on.

Thus, with over twenty carts, the grain transport team of over a hundred people briskly covered twenty li to the postal station within half an hour.

With numerous carts and horses, the station couldn’t accommodate them all, so they hurriedly detached horses and carts, pushing grain carts into the rest shed, stacking them tightly together.

At this moment, Liu Ji felt fortunate for not being the coachman; otherwise, he’d be the one standing outside the station in the rain, struggling with restless horses.

At least he could now guard the grain carts under a shed to slightly shelter from the wind and rain.

As for Shangguan Lie and those ten soldiers, they had long retired to rest in the station’s main hall.

The noon sky was gloomy, not inclined to clear up, and the rain was even heavier than half an hour ago.

Many laborers appeared baffled, wondering if the heavens had sprung a leak, how could the celestial rivers fall directly back?

In Liu Ji’s memory, this was the largest rain he’d ever witnessed.

The rain continued from noon until the next evening, uninterrupted, turning the entire station ground into a soggy swamp, with mud and water mixed, thoroughly murky.

Liu Ji tentatively stretched a foot out; the water reached past his calves.

Shangguan Lie emerged from the station’s entrance, witnessing Liu Ji withdrawing his foot, his brows furrowed as he spoke to the next soldier, then returned inside.

Moments later, a soldier relayed the order: another day of rest, departure once the water recedes in the morning.

Everyone rejoiced, finally getting a much-needed respite.