nyslfriends Chapter 27 The Journey
Chapter 27 The Journey
After leaving the real estate brokerage, Yang Silang bought a whole bolt of white cotton brocade from the cloth shop.
This thing costs one tael of silver per bolt, and it's quite heavy; even if Grandma Yao is fat, it's enough for her to make clothes.
He entered Old Zhou's oil shop, and when the eldest sister saw him, she didn't care that the first wife was right in front of her; she hugged him and cried her heart out.
Yang Silang gently comforted his eldest sister and presented the white cotton cloth to Madam Yao. He explained that he couldn't do the water-carrying work while she was away, and he was also worried about his youngest sister who had no one to take care of her. He asked her family to take her in and have his eldest sister look after her for a while.
When he returned, he would reimburse his younger sister double the cost of food and drink at the mansion, even if it was thirty coins a day.
Grandma Yao was initially unhappy when she heard that he was going to join the army and that the family would have one less cartload of water every day. But when she saw Bai Jinmian, she was delighted. When she heard that she would receive money for taking in the little burden, she was even more delighted and readily agreed.
How much can a little girl eat?
Anyway, she kept the same daily rations for Daya. She didn't care how the three of them divided the food, or who went hungry or ate less. She earned nearly two taels of silver a month, which was much more profitable than a cartload of water.
If it weren't for the fact that she couldn't bring herself to say it, Grandma Yao would really wish that Yang Silang would live on the battlefield year after year.
Yang Silang breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Grandma Yao had agreed. His eldest sister had the money he had given her before, so he didn't have to worry about her going hungry. At least his fifth sister was safe here.
The eldest sister dragged Yang Silang out of the oil shop again, whispering various instructions to him, telling him to come over in a few days to make some insoles and socks for her younger brother, her tears soaking her clothes.
Yang Silang waved his hand generously, saying, "I've already bought all those things for you, eldest sister."
Just wait for good news. There are plenty of opportunities to make money on the battlefield. I can just pick up some random things and I'll be rich. When I come back, I'll have enough money to get married.
Yang Silang left gracefully.
The eldest sister returned to the shop with tears in her eyes, only to see Grandma Yao gloating and whispering to Shopkeeper Zhou, the sounds faintly reaching her ears.
"Luckily, we didn't introduce this porter to Yao Er, otherwise he wouldn't be able to come back, and my sister would be living a life of widowhood!"
"Foolish! His sister moved in, and he promised to give her double the money when she comes back. You should just hope he returns safely."
"Pah, pah, pah... Look at my jinxed mouth..."
Grandma Yao gently slapped her mouth, then turned her eyes to the eldest sister of the Yang family, and immediately began to curse.
"All you do is cry, cry, cry! You wretched child, what if you anger the God of Wealth?"
Sister Yang sobbed a few times, fighting back her tears, and silently prayed to the Bodhisattva to protect her brother and bring him back safely. She said that if there was any danger of war, she would gladly shorten her own lifespan to pay for it...
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The sky was overcast, the sun hiding behind dark clouds, and only occasional rays of sunlight pierced through, offering no warmth whatsoever.
A long road runs between rolling hills, and a long queue is moving slowly through it, like a clumsy and bloated snake crawling along, with no beginning or end in sight.
The earth was covered in a layer of white because it had just snowed in the past few days.
The dirt road, mixed with snow, was repeatedly trampled by the long line of people's feet and heavy objects, turning it into a muddy mess, making it even more difficult for the group to move.
Right at the very end of this long snake.
There was a long procession of over a hundred carts, some pulled by mules, others by wheelbarrows pushed by many people, and still others carrying things on their shoulders or in their hands.
A dozen or so cavalrymen led the way and brought up the rear of the column. In addition, a hundred or so soldiers were scattered on both sides of the long column, all of them with their necks hunched and heads down, hurrying along.
Winter is not a good time for fighting, so the soldiers' morale was very low.
Countless people are struggling to trek along the muddy road.
"This damned heaven is working against us!" Wang Daniu gripped the wheelbarrow, stood on one leg, and looked down. He saw that the outside of his shoe was covered in wet mud, making it impossible to see what the shoe originally looked like.
Not only were his pants soaked, but even inside his shoes, his socks felt completely wet, cold and uncomfortable.
"My toes are frozen stiff!" he said with a mournful face.
Xiao Jiling and Jiao Ada pushed their wheelbarrows past him, glanced at him, and were too exhausted to reply. They were all in similar condition, not referring to each other as "eldest brother" or "second brother."
Yang Silang stood in front, pushing the cart. His face was ruddy, his eyes were bright, and his back was still straight. When Wang Daniu caught up, he offered some advice.
"Stop complaining. Judging by the sky, we should be stopping to rest soon."
"I have some dry foot bindings that my older sister prepared for me. You can change them yourself later."
Wang Daniu was a little embarrassed and said, "How can that be?"
Yang Silang waved his hand and said, "My eldest sister has prepared one set, and my younger sister has prepared another set. We have extras, so you can use them without worry."
Wang Daniu chuckled and thanked them, then praised the eldest and youngest sisters of the Yang family a few more times, his tone full of envy.
Yang Silang smiled and turned around to look back.
Behind us, the mountains rise and fall, merging into the horizon in the distance, and Gongzhou Prefecture is no longer visible.
It has been three days since we left Gongzhou Prefecture. The road conditions are still relatively good a few miles outside the city, but become terrible further away. The team can only travel about 30 miles a day. Counting the days, the journey is 300 miles, and we have only covered the first third of the journey.
The porters and conscripted laborers were divided in two.
A small number of people were assigned to follow the vanguard of the army and were responsible for setting up camp; others were assigned to the rear supply battalion to transport provisions.
Fortunately, the army was marching within Jiangdong Province, and there were county towns along the way that could provide supplies, which greatly reduced the burden.
"I wonder how my younger sister is doing these past few days at my older sister's house?"
Yang Silang pushed his wheelbarrow, lost in thought.
The grain and fodder on the wheelbarrow were piled up like a small mountain, but Yang Silang was still relaxed. This thing was about the same weight as the water cart he used to push for Old Zhou's oil shop.
When going up or down slopes, it takes two or three people to push one cart.
However, it has been several months since I started practicing on the mud-walking stakes.
His base strength has increased to 170, and his progress on the mud-walking stake has reached 124/300. This stake method is very effective on this muddy road, and it is also enhanced by inscriptions.
In addition, with the ever-present carrying pole providing 15 points of strength, he can easily maintain his base strength at 220.
When he first mastered the stance, his basic strength was only 130, which should be slightly higher than that of an average hard-footed person, but only slightly higher.
In other words, Wang Daniu, Jiao Ada, and Xiao Jiling, as qualified hard-footed soldiers, would have a stamina rating below 130.
He now has five rejuvenating spells every day, which, if used properly, can continuously cleanse his body of fatigue and hidden injuries, allowing him to maintain peak condition almost all day long.
He was now full of strength, almost as strong as two strong men, and he estimated that he could probably take the place of a mule pulling a cart without any problem.
I've already used my rejuvenating magic once by pushing the cart this far today. I'm a little tired, but that's all.
Da Niu and the others were suffering terribly. As for Yang Silang, he felt as if he were carrying no weight. He had walked a long distance and only felt slightly warm and sweaty after a whole morning. He hadn't really exerted any strength at all.
Instead, he needs to pretend to exert effort, sometimes even holding back, and he has to feign effort when going up or down slopes, needing others to help him by pushing or pulling.
He wasn't worried about selling this kind of hard labor; he only cared about two things: how was his younger sister doing in Gongzhou Prefecture?
Secondly, can these officers and soldiers win on the battlefield?