Crossing the Unknown Country

The family happily finished dinner. Su Feng and Su Run began to copy books, while Su He sorted out the herbs that he had dried. He had already agreed with his parents that the family would go to town to sell the herbs tomorrow. He handed over the copied book to the owner of the library first, and then handed over the remaining two books when the deadline came.

Su He divided the black fungus he picked into three portions and put them in a small basket he made himself, ready to give to Mr. Zhao of the bookstore, the proprietress of the cloth shop, and Dr. Jin of the clinic. He had always wanted to give them some gifts to express his gratitude. They had helped him and he couldn't just let it go. People should be grateful. These mountain products he picked himself could be given as gifts. Black fungus was rare, so it was the perfect gift.

My family was really too poor, so I had to rely on saying nice things to win sympathy, but these three people really helped my family earn and save money, so I must be grateful. In the future, whenever I can find these wild game in the mountains, I will give them some, because more gifts are better.

The next day, they went to the town early in the morning. This time, the family didn't have much to sell, so they didn't plan to set up a stall. It wasn't worth it to pay for so few things. The brothers decided not to go and just copy books at home. Anyway, they didn't need so many people. The parents thought about it and agreed that it was useless to go with so many people. They would just go to the clinic to sell the herbs, then go to the library to hand in the books, and then go to the cloth shop to give gifts. They should go back after shopping. There was no need for them to go.

Su He followed his parents to the town. Since they had been going there every now and then, it didn't feel that far. They talked along the way, looking at the surrounding scenery, and didn't feel tired at all. Then they saw the big sign of the town.

At this time, they saw a group of soldiers from afar, escorting a group of people of all ages walking towards this side. They were now walking on the only pipeline in the town, with nowhere to hide. Su He's father held her and pulled her mother to find a wider place to stand aside and wait for the group of people to pass.

The group of people gradually approached. Although their clothes were a little dirty, it was obvious that the original materials were still good. There were young and middle-aged people, the elderly, women and children, and a few children who were about the same age as their family members. They were tied with a rope and stumbled as they walked. It was obvious that they had walked for a long time.

The soldiers shouted at them fiercely: "Go faster..."

One of the little boys had a red face and was obviously having a fever. He was being held by a young woman, feeling very uncomfortable and mumbling something. As they approached, Su He took out a handful of herbal mint from his backpack and handed it to her, telling the woman that it could reduce fever and could be chewed dry or boiled in water and drunk.

The woman quickly took the mint, looked at her gratefully, nodded and left. She was probably afraid of getting them into trouble, so she didn't dare to say anything and left. Su He saw her stuffing the leaves into the child's mouth and feeding him water with a water bag.

Looking at this group of people, Su He suddenly felt that he was still happy. At least after traveling here, although he was a little poor, his personal safety was guaranteed. The family lived together in peace and stability.

Thinking about this, Su He became more determined to earn more money, otherwise when taxes and military service came, they would need money to solve it. It seems that this world is not very safe. This is the first time she has encountered such a situation. After they walked away, Su He asked his parents: "Dad, Mom, where are these people from, what's going on?"

Su He's parents said, "This place is very close to the border. The next city is the border. Many officials in the capital are exiled there if they commit crimes. Usually, a large family is exiled there, and sometimes you will encounter such things here. We are ordinary people and dare not ask, but we have heard people in the town talking about these people."

Normally, they would stay away from them. There weren't many people like Su He. But seeing that child was pitiful, it was good that a handful of worthless herbs could save his life. They also hurried to the town. These things were not something that poor people could handle.