CHAPTER 181: CHAPTER 181: AS GENTLE AS HER APPEARANCE

Since everyone was on the carriage, as long as the horses weren’t tired, they could keep traveling.

It wasn’t until they reached the city gates that everyone realized that Jingzhou had fewer refugees than the Capital, about ten thousand people, but their faces were not as good as those of the Capital’s refugees.

After all, Jingzhou was the hardest-hit area by the drought.

If the Gulan Mountain Range was only somewhat drought-stricken, then Jingzhou hadn’t seen a drop of rain since spring began.

The weather was hot, and the river had dried up, so there was no water to irrigate the crops.

Shu’er got out of the carriage and spoke to the refugees.

"If you want a way to survive, then follow us."

"Our place isn’t as drought-stricken, it’s vast and rich, very suitable for planting."

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone raised their eyes to look.

Some were skeptical, but most people here were simple and honest.

"May I ask, young lady, where is this place you speak of?"

Shu’er replied, "The Northernmost Territory. Once you’re there, everyone will have land and won’t worry about settling down. The crop yields are higher than here, even after taxes, you can eat well."

Upon hearing this, everyone looked at each other. The northernmost region is two to three thousand kilometers away. Having experienced famine, they knew how difficult it was to flee.

The number of dead was countless, and if they followed now, the long journey might result in more deaths.

Some people shook their heads at the distance, so Shu’er explained the situation in Gulan Mountain.

"Besides being a bit cold, it’s not dry there, rest assured, if you reach there, as long as you work hard and listen to me, you won’t go hungry."

Some were swayed, looking at each other, some stood up, while others sat with struggling expressions on their faces.

Those who were willing to follow Shu’er were registered by Di Liu, and then Di Qi distributed some food to them.

Seeing the food, those initially unwilling were tempted, swallowed their saliva, and stood up.

When they observed that those who agreed to go had eaten without restraint, finishing four pancakes without being reprimanded, their eyes lit up.

This leader was kind, not strict with her subordinates, as gentle as her appearance.

More and more people stood up and went to Di Liu to register.

This time, attracted by the food, they recruited a total of 200 people.

Based on the number of people, Shu’er asked Di Liu to buy horse carriages, and those people kept asking about Gulan Mountain, to which Shu’er spoke favorably.

After all, to persuade people to go to Gulan Mountain requires some reservation.

When the carriages arrived, a total of twenty were purchased. The carriages were quite large, with each carriage costing thirty taels of silver, plus seventy taels for the horse, totaling one hundred taels per carriage.

Twenty carriages cost two thousand taels of silver.

Tang Zan spent the money without batting an eye.

Shu’er thought of the money he just collected, spending ten percent after just one city.

With the addition of these people, more food would still need to be purchased along the way.

Everyone thought they would walk on foot, not expecting to be pulled by horse carriages, they were impressed by the wealth and another fifty people joined.

Therefore, eight more carriages were bought, with three spare carriages filled with food and cooking utensils.

The people rested throughout the journey, whereas the horses did not rest at all.

The horses were of high quality, able to pull the carriages at 20 kilometers per hour.

With added time for cooking, they could cover 440 kilometers a day.

At each post station, they would change horses.

Along the way, they would stop to rest and cook meals.

At this time, the men would search for wild vegetables or fruits, and even take water along the way.

They would fetch water at rivers whenever they could, but such opportunities were rare.

Last year during exile, it was not a famine year, and the rivers showed no signs of drying up.

But now it was different; the current drought conditions were severe.

Sometimes even rivers containing water had dead animals around, already decaying and emitting a foul stench.

Such water, Shu’er repeatedly warned was not to be consumed.

If they found a drinkable water source along the way, it was essential to first boil the water.

Women were in charge of boiling water and cooking, everyone worked well together on this journey.

Shu’er secretly drew some water and, when unnoticed, placed it in her space before leaving again.

Inside her space was a large water boiler into which she poured the water before stepping out again.

Once the water inside the space was boiled, she returned to fill the water bags or wooden barrels, making it easier to access later.

After the water was boiled, everyone continued their journey without halting.

Among them were some women with children.

Initially, they worried these people might be human traffickers.

As they engaged, they found out these people were kind rather than malicious.

Of course, anyone wishing to leave along the way was free to do so.

This laissez-faire attitude gave many refugees a favorable impression.

It also dispelled the fears that they were traffickers.

No traffickers would let people escape without pursuit.

Moreover, even the infants were not separately supervised.

Miss Pei even provided them with milk powder and bottles, with a constant supply of hot water.

Such a novelty, they’d never seen before.

Those infants nearly on the brink of starvation had, after being fed these days, plump faces now, looking so lovable.

They appeared even chubbier than children of rich families.

The women, in the meantime, learned how to weave straw shoes, hats, and rain capes.

By day, while the carriages traveled, Shu’er led a group to fetch straw from outside.

Nobody knew where she found straw, given the general crop scarcity.

Yet nobody was naive enough to ask.

The group now had three hundred people, and they first weaved for Miss Pei and the two male leaders.

Then came the fierce carriage drivers.

Since there weren’t enough drivers, some were selected from the refugees, all experienced and honest.

As for the men, Shu’er instructed them to collect seeds along the way, and hunt if possible.

With more people now, Shu’er needed to maintain order, so she chose fifty men for this, all capable and obedient.

Shu’er judged this through their micro-expressions and daily behavior.