The next morning, as dawn broke, Suozi, as she had hoped, did not leave with Qian Shi and the others. Instead, she took her men and headed west out of the city, returning to the northwest.
The reason for this was that Zhao Liangcai had suffered a headache that night, accompanied by nausea and vomiting, and had even experienced a brief period of unconsciousness.
At this point, the divine physician Mo, whom Qian Duo had saved, found his calling.
Qian Duo seized the opportunity, using Zhao Liangcai and Fuzi needing care as an excuse to refuse to leave with Suozi. Since she was not leaving, Qian Shi and Zhao Rui naturally would not leave either.
Suozi, intending to make the three women suffer a little, watched as Zhao Liangcai fell asleep after taking his medicine. She then left with two of her men, taking the others with her on horseback.
Outside the city, Qin Junyao, after a night of sleep that restored her strength but left her mentally fatigued, shouldered her basket again to trade for goods.
This time, the main grains she intended to trade were corn and millet.
The corn was in its cobs, and the millet was in the form of grain heads snipped off with scissors. These grains would not sprout when placed on the ground in her spatial dimension.
As for the remaining plants, Qin Junyao only needed to pull them up, and the land in her dimension would automatically absorb them, greatly increasing planting efficiency.
"Sister, want to trade for some knives?" Qin Erniu took the basket from Qin Junyao and began to negotiate.
"Trade for knives? What kind of knives?" Qin Junyao genuinely wanted to trade for knives today, specifically sickles.
"Any kind of knife will do. Chopping knives, butcher knives, wood-cutting knives. When we came out, I saw Third Uncle and Uncle Hou asking around again. I have a strong feeling we'll have to go into the mountains."
Qin Da Niu tightened the basket on his shoulder. "No way. Grandma didn't agree to go into the mountains yesterday."
Qin Er Niu reached out and slung an arm around his elder brother's neck, raising an eyebrow. "You don't know this, but just as dawn broke, I got up to pee and saw Grandma throwing copper coins. Her expression wasn't good."
"Look at that place. Eldest Sister and Second Sister, don't look. Over there, the people who have died these past few days are thrown into that big pit. It's hot now, and they're rotting fast."
Qin Junyao, holding Qin Xiaoyu's hand, was looking for her next trade target when she heard this and spun around sharply. "They weren't buried?"
"Where would we get the strength to bury them? Being able to throw people into a pit is already good. There are even those who died and were just left there."
"Sister, that family has a wood-cutting knife. Let's go ask them," Qin Er Niu, with one arm around Qin Da Niu's neck and the other holding Qin San Niu's arm, turned and walked towards the family with a wood-cutting knife hanging from a carrying pole.
Qin Junyao stood still, looking in the direction her second brother had indicated. Her brow furrowed into a deep crease, and her hands unconsciously clenched.
Why did the refugees at the city gate flee? They called it fleeing famine, but it was fleeing for their lives. Even after escaping, they had to endure another plague?
At this moment, a surge of anger welled up in Qin Junyao's heart, anger at the times and at her own powerlessness.
"Sister," Qin Xiaoyu, whose hand Qin Junyao was gripping painfully, dared not pull away. She could only swing her arm and softly call out. Her sister was a little frightening right now.
This single "Sister" pulled Qin Junyao back to reality. Feeling the small hand she had been crushing, she quickly loosened her grip.
"Does it hurt?" Qin Junyao bent down and rubbed Qin Xiaoyu's hand.
Qin Xiaoyu shook her head. "Sister, I don't want to eat roasted corn anymore."
"It's alright. If Xiaoyu wants to eat it, I'll provide it for you for your whole life. Let's go, Brother is calling us."
Qin Xiaoyu switched hands and actively grasped Qin Junyao's hand, tilting her chin up and saying to Qin Junyao, "Who wants you to provide for me for my whole life? When I grow up, I'll grow my own corn to eat. It'll be a hundred times tastier than what you give me."
"I'll even roast it with chili sauce. It's so delicious."
"Have you ever eaten it to know it's delicious?" Qin Junyao responded to Qin Xiaoyu while glancing back in that direction.
She faintly saw a woman throw down a child in her arms. It seemed someone went down into the pit after the woman turned and walked away. Su Wen Novel Network.
"Even if I haven't eaten it, I know it's delicious. Hurry up, Second Brother is getting anxious."
In the morning, Qin Junyao managed to trade for two wood-cutting knives, which she placed in the open. She also traded for a sickle, a spade, and some cloth, which she put into her spatial dimension.
There were also two shriveled, sprouted potatoes, sorghum, various beans, and a large bag of what were said to be medicinal seeds.
The last time, Qin Junyao had traded for two unknown seeds, which grew slowly on the edge of her dimension.
This time, the large bag of seeds seemed to contain over a dozen types. She hoped these seeds could help her dimension expand again.
The afternoon was dedicated to Qin Junyao's learning. Qin Father was happy to explain the uses of various farming tools to his daughter.
Using the Hou family's farm tools, Qin Junyao gained a comprehensive understanding, with only practical experience left.
"Yaoyao, stop chatting with your father. Grandma wants to ask you, can we still stay here?" Qin Grandma held three copper coins, sliding them back and forth, producing a faint clinking sound.
Qin Junyao thought of the pit Qin Er Niu had described that morning. "Grandma, let's go."
"Alright. Eldest son, pack up. We're going into the mountains tomorrow morning."
"Mother, aren't we leaving with Master Zhao?" Qin Mu asked Qin Grandma, putting down the hoe he was holding.
Qin Grandma, agitated by the bad omen from the copper coins, snapped, "Leave with him? Relying on others will lead to starvation. Did you see him today? A hollow melon on his neck. Hurry up and pack your things with your wife."
Qin Father went to pack, and Qin Grandma went to inform the others. Qin Junyao was left behind.
If they were leaving tomorrow morning, could she risk it?
Afterward, Qin Junyao went to find Qin Er Niu.
"Sister, it's almost dark. What else do you want to trade for?" Qin Er Niu looked up at the sky, thinking it was a bit late.
"Grandma said we're going into the mountains tomorrow morning. Let's go trade for a few more knives." Qin Junyao believed that given Qin Er Niu's personality, he would agree to trade for knives.
"What will you trade with?"
"Sweet potatoes."
Qin Junyao had spent a significant part of the previous night planting sweet potatoes. The yield of sweet potatoes was the highest among the grains she had planted in the same area in her dimension. Therefore, she had a large quantity.
She hadn't brought them out during the day because the sweet potatoes were large and fresh.
Each one was as big as a grapefruit. The ones Zhao Chui Zi had brought were only apple-sized. In modern times, they could be considered a new variety, but how could she explain them in this arid ancient era?
The corn cobs she had brought out had already attracted some attention that morning. Fortunately, they were dry, and she could claim they were brought from elsewhere. For the sweet potatoes, Qin Junyao truly couldn't come up with a plausible reason.
Seeing Qin Junyao's expression, Qin Er Niu knew these sweet potatoes were unusual.
During this time, Qin Junyao had been observing and sensing the Qin family members, and the Qin family members were also re-evaluating Qin Junyao, who had been blessed by a bodhisattva.
Then there was the water pot that never ran out of water as long as there was water in it, the radishes that shouldn't exist at this time of year, and the crops that grew better than those in first-class fields.
No one was foolish. Qin Junyao's changes were more than just her personality.
This was also why only the Qin family members went out with Qin Junyao. The Hou family had kept their children.
"Sister, let me see the sweet potatoes," Qin Er Niu reached out to Qin Junyao.
Qin Er Niu took the basket Qin Junyao handed him and saw the sweet potatoes inside, with red skins, clean, and without a speck of dirt. He swallowed hard.
He held the basket and told Qin Junyao to wait, not to leave.
"Second Brother, where are you going?"
"To find Third Uncle and my father." Qin Er Niu's next words stopped Qin Junyao from opening her mouth. "Sister, we are family."