The pretty widow is addicted to money, and the little wolfdog asks for a hug

After walking for about three or four days, Gu Qinghuai discovered that there were refugees on the road. Although there were not too many of them, it was obvious that the atmosphere had changed.

In ancient times, agriculture depended on the weather for harvest. Once there were refugees, it meant that a natural disaster must have occurred somewhere.

Whether it is drought or flood, it can make the lower-class people lose everything and be forced to flee to other places.

It seems that it is never a bad idea to stock up on food.

Gu Qinghuai was very glad that she had a strong sense of crisis, and she had stored a lot of food in her space.

She was lost in thought when she suddenly heard some heart-wrenching cries coming from the roadside.

She turned her head and saw two men snatching two little girls from a woman not far away. There was also a little boy with a terrified face standing next to them.

The woman held the two little girls tightly, crying and begging, "Two uncles, please let my daughters go. They are still young and can't be sold for much money."

One of the narrow-eyed men saw that the woman refused to let go, so he kicked her and said, "Won't these two girls starve to death if they follow you? Why don't you find a good family for them where they won't have to worry about food and drink?"

These two little girls are twins. Although they are only six or seven years old and their faces are covered with dirt, they still look pretty good.

If they were brought to the imperial capital and sold to brothels, or sold to wealthy masters who liked young girls, they would definitely make a lot of money.

No one would care even if these lowly refugees died on the road, so it would be better to let them pick up some loose ends and earn some money for wine.

But this woman is too stubborn and refuses to let go.

The two men looked at each other and decided to tie up the woman and sell her to a brothel, where they could at least fetch a few hundred coins.

The two men let go of the two girls and turned to catch the woman.

"Let my mother go! Let her go! Help! Help!" The two little girls kicked and hit the man, crying loudly in hoarse voices.

The little boy was only three or four years old, and he was so scared that he huddled aside and cried. Gu Qinghuai was furious, and immediately took out his pocket crossbow. Just as he was about to shoot a few arrows at the two men, he saw a red figure rushing over, kicking the two men away with two kicks, and they couldn't get up for a long time.

"How dare you kidnap a girl in broad daylight!" Shu Mingzong struck a handsome pose and shouted angrily.

The woman immediately hugged her two daughters tightly and looked at Shu Mingzong with gratitude, "Thank you, thank you, young master!"

Gu Qinghuai rode Chiyan forward, dismounted, and walked to the woman.

Shu Mingzong raised his thumb, pointed at himself, and said to Gu Qinghuai proudly: "Master, I looked very handsome just now, didn't I?"

"Yes, he is a passionate young man," Gu Qinghuai praised with a smile.

Shu Mingzong turned around, glanced at Xiao Yueshi with contempt, and shook his head and said, "Of course, I am not as cold-blooded as Xiao Yueshi. That guy also said that I should not cause trouble for myself on the road. If I save someone with bad intentions, or if I am targeted by other refugees, I will get into a lot of trouble."

Gu Qinghuai said in a gentle voice: "What Yue Shi said is not wrong. We should do good things, but be careful not to bring trouble upon ourselves."

Xiao Yueshi walked over, patted Shu Mingzong on the shoulder, and chuckled: "See, what I think is always the same as what Xiao Huai thinks."

Shu Mingzong snorted, crossed his arms across his chest, turned his head away and ignored him.

Gu Qinghuai turned his gaze towards the woman.

The four of them, mother and her two children, were all dressed in rags. Their extremely thin faces were covered in dust, their hair was gray, and their cracked lips were covered with layers of white skin.

When the woman saw Gu Qinghuai approaching with a cold face, she was a little scared and quickly hid the three children behind her. But when she saw that Gu Qinghuai was holding a chubby, white and delicate child sleeping soundly in his arms, the tension in her heart eased a little.

They are all mothers, and this young lady doesn’t look like a bad person.

Gu Qinghuai placed a large bag of steamed buns in front of her and took out two taels of silver and put them in her hand.

The two little girls and the little boy were staring at the steamed buns, with saliva flowing from the corners of their mouths.

The woman also swallowed, her eyes almost popping out of her sunken eye sockets, "Young lady, this... this is too much. Even if you give it to us, we can't protect it."

Gu Qinghuai smiled gently and said, "Not much. I have something to ask you. Consider this as your reward. Where are you from? Why are you wandering around?"

The woman started crying before she said anything, and her tears left two black grooves on her cheeks.

She raised her black sleeves, wiped her tears, and choked up, "My family is... from Zhongzhou. There is drought over there. The crops in the fields have dried up and there is no water to drink. My family had no choice but to flee north, but we were robbed by other refugees on the road. My husband was... beaten to death. The four of us, mother and son, have not eaten for two days. Young lady, young master, you are our saviors!"

As the woman spoke, she pulled her three children to kneel down before Gu Qinghuai.

Gu Qinghuai quickly stopped her and handed her a water bottle: "Hurry up and drink some water and eat some steamed buns. We are going back to Qinghe County, Wuzhou. If you have nowhere to go, you can follow our convoy."

When the woman heard this, she couldn't believe it. She fell to her knees and kowtowed to Gu Qinghuai desperately, her head hitting the ground with a thumping sound.

Gu Qinghuai quickly grabbed her and said, "If you can't find a way to survive in Qinghe County, you can go to Tuniu Village to find me. My name is Gu Qinghuai."

"Thank you...Ms. Gu, we...we can do any job. My daughter can do laundry and cook," said the woman, wiping her tears.

Perhaps because she was too excited, her body was shaking slightly.

Gu Qinghuai nodded and said, "Very good. I don't support idlers. As long as you can work, you will have food to eat."

"Yes, we are hardworking and capable of working," the woman said in a crying voice.

The two little girls also kept nodding their heads.

After the mother and her four children had eaten and drunk their fill, Gu Qinghuai and his group set out again.

But they walked very slowly, as if they were strolling on the official road.

Shu Mingzong was puzzled: "Sister Xiaohuai, let's free up a carriage for the mother and her two children, so we can travel faster."

"Why hurry? We have to be comfortable even when traveling. We are not in a hurry," Gu Qinghuai said in a leisurely manner.

The little Huhu in her arms was also yawning, as if he couldn't get enough sleep.

Xiao Yueshi glanced at Shu Mingzong and said with a smile, "Mingzong, you don't understand. Xiao Huai did this on purpose to let the mother and son follow behind. If other refugees see this, they will follow. Sister Xiao Huai wants to take the refugees to Qinghe County."

"What?! To Qinghe County?" Shu Mingzong's eyes widened in shock. "Master, do you know that in our Great Xia country, every local official and local people are extremely afraid of refugees? A large number of refugees pouring into a place at the same time will not only bring great security risks to the local area, but also increase food pressure. It is a very dangerous thing."