Chapter 44

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Wanting to leave Mao Er Town was also not that simple as all of the rations for the road must be completely prepared. During this chaotic and famine-riddled time when they cut off from their hometown, they must not starve to death if they entered the wild mountainous country that did not have any other people.

From their preparation in leaving Lan Zhou, Nuan Chun and Nuan Qing were experienced in knowing what goods to purchase for journeys. Starting from food, they bought rice; noodles; oil; salt; soy sauce; vinegar; tea; various small pastries; and quite a bit of dried fruit as fresh ones were not suitable to be stored. They also had someone deliver several bags of charcoal over as it could be used if they passed through areas without any people or areas where there were no trees to cut.

This southern province was the first one to plant cotton and its quality was much higher than the ones planted in the Central Plains. They even had reserves of several catties of cotton.

The original bedding Ruan Zhu used was padded rabbit fur, which was very pliable and warm. But ever since she became pregnant, she did not fare well against its smell. Over several nights, her two bedwarmers had made a new one and spread it in her carriage.

Making all of these preparations took up several days' worth of time.

Their final day in town was the day of the large bazaar that Mao Er Town held once a month. Ever since coming to the southern border, Ruan Zhu had never gone. She had originally thought that because of the famine, the fair would also be relatively desolate, but who knew it would be completely bustling with activity. There were visitors from Tian Chu, Tu Bo, and Nan Ling and all of those merchants and tourists filled up the roads for several li.

Traveling merchants and pedestrians from various the countries walked along the street. Hawkers arranged their wares in booths that they set up along the road, shouting out as they introduced their merchandise. Horse feed; fur; leather; precious gems; melons; fruits; fragrant tea-All of the reputable goods of this era were practically here.

There was a surging crowd as far as the eye could see where people walked shoulder to shoulder. It was truly a bustling and lively sight to behold.

The local official was afraid that the refugees would cause trouble and had appointed quite a few officers to maintain order so that there was no need to worry about any safety or security issues.

Accompanied by Yun Shi Wei, Ruan Zhu had strolled through not even half the market and felt half-dead from exhaustion. If she had known walking through the bazaar would be this exhausting, she would have come in a carriage. Yun Shi Wei borrowed a stool from a soup dumpling vendor for her to sit and rest, while Nuan Chun and Nuan Qing walked forwards to continue purchasing goods for their trip.

"Spouse, how about I give you a ride back to the inn?"

Yun Shi Wei stood by her side, holding an umbrella over her head. This umbrella was not used to block the rain, but rather the sun. Since the start of summer, not one drop of rain had fallen.

"Wait for Nuan Chun and the others to come back before we all return." She had been stifled from being in the inn these past few days and this was a rare day that she could come out.

In the fair, there were quite a few vendors that sold household goods or foodstuffs and business was flourishing as it was cheaper than in actual stores. Many of the Mao Er Town commoners that planned to take refuge in other parts of the country exchanged the items they could not take with them for foodstuffs, oil, salt, and other necessities.

Across from her was a slave market. A hundred men and women with yellow faces and emaciated bodies stood in several rows, a rope binding the right arm of every individual in long strands. They were divided into two groups, with adults in one group and children in the other. There were males and females, old and young. The oldest looked around forty years old while the youngest was probably only seven or eight. The general expression of the adults was stiff and dull while the children had frightened eyes, with some crying.

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