The strong man took the gourd, weighed the portion, and said, "It's quite a lot, more than three kilograms. We're not greedy. Each of us has a bowl. I'll give it back to you when you're done. Hey! All of you, bring your bowls!"
In an instant, six bowls were stretched out in front of the strong man, including two in the hands of the boy driving the horse. The strong man poured about three taels into each bowl, returned the gourd, took the wine bowl from the boy pulling the horse, and drank it in one gulp.
Finally, he said to the young man: "Go, take two tea cakes and half a piece of cloth to this brother."
"No, no, no," He Qizhou waved his hands in a hurry and said, although these two things were valuable, they were of no use to him.
"What? Look down on us? Do you think we are the kind of people who eat and drink for free?" The strong man's eyes widened, which actually startled He Qizhou.
"Well, it's better to give me some money." He Qizhou said cheekily, at least it was light and useful.
"Okay!" The strong man took out the money bag from his arms, took out a few grains of broken silver, and added a bunch of copper coins. The total was close to one tael of silver, but the money bag suddenly shrank a lot.
"Brother, we will give you the money later." The other five people said one after another.
"Just your little money? Forget it." The strong man shook his head and smiled.
"Then you just wait to be repaired by my sister-in-law." The young man secretly smiled.
"Keep your mouth tight! You've drank too much. Go and set up the tent, little bug, and cook! Little brother, let's eat some together when the food is ready." The strong man said with a smile.
"I'm very full. Where are you going?" He Qizhou said, raising his unfinished rabbit leg. It can be seen that the people who came here are quite poor, they must be a group of delivery coolies. I really don't want to take advantage of him.
money, but I was afraid that the other party would be unhappy, so I had to collect it first.
"I was just thinking about drinking, and I forgot to tell you that we are all from Shiqu Town, and there is no shit on this road. Where else can we go if we don't go there? Didn't we just bring something back from the county town?
My name is Xin Leshan, what do you call me little brother?"
"Oh, my name is Zhou Qi." He Qizhou didn't want to reveal his identity easily.
"Although it's May, it's still very cold here at night. Why, didn't you bring a tent?" Xin Leshan couldn't help but be a little surprised when he saw that there was only a small baggage behind He Qizhou and nothing else.
"Oh, I'm not afraid of the cold. I'm used to it. Just bring some clothes to cushion me." After saying that, He Qizhou turned around and walked towards the baggage hanging on the tree. He took out a cloth robe he had just obtained from an Orion and spread it beside the fire.
Aren't you afraid that these people would become suspicious, so you can't sleep anywhere?
"Brother, look! He is lame! Or has his hand broken! What kind of hunter is this? No, let's see if he is poisoned?" The boy called Little Chongzi was still very alert. He watched He Qizhou get up and back,
Suddenly there was an ominous omen.
Xin Leshan naturally saw it and said, "Little brother, don't be offended. His name is Bai Chong. He has never read any books. He never speaks out of his mind. Please forgive me for any offence."
He Qizhou took a sip of wine, chewed some meat, and said with a wry smile: "The lameness is not too bad, I can just go hunting or something."
That night, He Qizhou declined Xin Leshan's invitation. The other party brought two small tents and wanted to invite He Qizhou to sleep in the same tent. It was really unaccustomed for four people to squeeze into a small tent, so no matter how enthusiastic the other party was, He Qizhou still stayed in the tent.
Slept next to the fire all night.
Early the next morning, after He Qizhou and the six people walked for several miles, because the speed of pulling the cart uphill was much slower than walking, He Qizhou did not want to waste another day on the road, so he said goodbye to Xinleshan and his group and walked quickly.
"Brother, I didn't expect that lame man to walk really fast!" On a long slope, Bao Chong was pulling the horse, while Xin Leshan and another man were pushing the cart on both sides.
"Don't underestimate me. You are still young, can you also learn to be polite?" Xin Leshan said.
"My foster father said that what I hate the most is the politeness in his mother's officialdom. Just say whatever comes to mind."
"You know nothing about officialdom." Xin Leshan laughed dumbly.
"Hey, what is that?" Bai Chong suddenly found something hanging on the shaft of the car.
"It's the money I gave to the hunter yesterday. That guy didn't ask for it. It's interesting." Xin Leshan took it off and saw that the cloth wrapped in the strip of cloth was exactly the money he paid to the hunter last night.
"Everyone, use your strength and we'll get home before dark!" Xin Leshan stuffed the money into his arms and shouted. The speed of the two carriages going uphill was obviously accelerated. The six people obviously had good kung fu.
…
Each mountain released a mountain barrier, leaning on a wooden stick, He Qizhou climbed over dozens of gentle hills at one go. Although it rose and fell, it still felt like one mountain was higher than the other. The mountains were flat, so-called official roads
I couldn't see the trace for a long time, so I relied on wooden stakes every other mile to point out the direction.
There was hardly a tree to be seen on the road, not even a trace of low shrubs. Every time I went to a high place, I looked around and saw that there were still continuous mountains on the horizon. The tops of the mountains were covered with a thin layer of snow, and their majestic
No less impressive than the Altai Mountains.
After walking for nearly eighty miles, most of the time there were no people around. The high places were mostly gravel barren mountains, and the low valleys were full of green meadows. Occasionally, you could see herders grazing cattle, but they were covered in long hair.
This is the first time I have seen a cow in my life. I don’t know why the imperial court set this place as the destination for exiled prisoners.
He met two groups of post riders on the official road. He Qizhou asked for directions and knew that as long as he climbed over the last hill in front of him, he would reach the destination of his trip, Shiqu Town. Sure enough, there was an extra stone tablet on the top of the mountain, which read "
The three words "Shiqu Town".
In front of you, there is a small square town in the flat valley, and to the west of the small town is a large mountain that is much higher than the hill below. Half a red sun is stuck on the top of the western mountain, as if it is an extremely huge
His blood-red single eye peered into the east.
He Qizhou took a deep breath and cheered up. For some reason, he felt a little dizzy while walking along the way. Especially when he walked quickly down the mountain, there was still a buzzing in his ears. Fortunately, his internal organs and meridians were not affected.
Something is wrong, otherwise I would really think that I am seriously ill.
A horse will die if you look up the mountain, and a person will die if you walk down the mountain. Just walking from the top of the mountain to the east gate of the small town at the bottom of the valley is almost another seven or eight miles. The small town is about one mile square, and the stone wall is almost three feet high, with a diagonal line going up.
The stone steps led to the gate, and the two guards sitting on the stone steps of the city gate looked at He Qizhou approaching step by step as if they had discovered a monster.
"Stop! Who is that?" It wasn't until He Qizhou approached the city gate a few feet that a guard stood up and asked.
"Oh, I was exiled here to serve as a postman. Where is the posthouse in the city? Could you please give me directions." He Qizhou told the truth. The two guards in front of him were a bit too old, they looked both.
He is over fifty, and his military uniform is covered in patches.
"Hahahaha! This is the first time I have seen such a conscious deployment of troops. Where is your escort officer?" the guard asked after laughing for a while.
"Something happened on the way and they couldn't come. They should have returned to Beijing." He Qizhou said.
"What about the documents to be handed over? Without our seal, what will they take back to hand over?"
"Not here with me, the matter is urgent, but still with them." He Qizhou said.
"Is there anything else you can do to prove your identity?"
He Qizhou thought for a while and said: "Yes, yes." After saying that, he took out the torn prison uniform in the bag and waved it in front of the guard.
"This doesn't count. It doesn't prove that you are a prisoner, and we can't hand it over. People like you can't enter the city." The guard laughed a little.
When He Qizhou saw two men dressed as shepherds running out of the city gate and running to the southeast of the valley, he asked: "Then I am a herdsman now, can I go into the city and spend the night?"
The two guards looked at each other and smiled and said, "That's okay, but how do you prove that you are a shepherd?"
He Qizhou said angrily: "You are just a small town here, do you still need to check the household certificates of people who come and go? Do the nearby shepherds check the household certificates when they enter the city?"
"Boy! We are in a border town here! After climbing over the mountains to the west, we will reach Tuyuhun!" the guard said angrily.
Just at this moment, there was the sound of horse hooves, and the two shepherds who had just left came back with their horses. One of them said to the guard: "I forgot something, I will leave immediately." Without waiting for a reply, he rode directly into the city.
"Didn't they show their household certificates when they entered the city?"
"Did we say we were going to produce a household certificate? They have already provided proof!" The guard said as he patted his sleeves, and the sound of copper coins came from inside.
He Qizhou understood that he had already come here, and he had to find the inn first no matter what.
"How much does it cost to enter the city?"
"Young and old people are not deceived, five hundred articles a day."
"Is the bank okay?"
"OK!"
He Qizhou took out a few pieces of broken silver given by Orion and handed them over. The veteran weighed the weight and said: "It's not enough. The maximum here is three coins, and the quality of the silver is not good."
"I'll go!" He Qizhou cursed secretly. Apart from this little money, he had no money and almost no food. It was really a mistake to return Xinleshan's money.
"Uncle, you see that I am so self-conscious about reporting to the inn, so you can reduce the number a little to make it easier."
"Every outsider who comes in and out of our place, whether they are businessmen or prisoners, must pay money. This is the rule. Sorry, go back to your official!" The old guard returned the broken silver to He Qizhou. He thought, this
Even if a pauper enters the city, he has no money to survive, so it is better to tell him to get lost.
"A shepherd is also a businessman?" He Qizhou was still unwilling to accept it.
Another guard sitting on the steps couldn't help but stood up and shouted: "If they don't come to the city to do business, why should they come to herd? If you don't have money, get out! There is a village twenty miles southwest. If you are more diligent, you might be able to do it."
If someone takes you in, you won't have the chance to wander around once you enter the city!" After the man finished speaking, he couldn't help but murmured: "It's damn rare to see a prisoner who is so willing to be exiled!"
"What bullshit rules? I have to enter the city today." After saying that, He Qizhou walked up the slope leading to the city gate. Although he was injured, he really didn't believe that such a small border town the size of a palm could stop him.