Traveling through troubled times to escape famine and cultivate crops as a grain merchant

After a lively meal, everyone packed up and prepared to set off.

Zhou Su and Zhou Dacang were on the same horse, and Zhou Guo still led Hei Dadan.

When it was time to set off, Zhou Suli followed behind reluctantly, unwilling to move.

Zhou Dacang said, "What's wrong? Let's set off earlier so we can get home earlier. I don't know how much your family is missing you. If you keep dawdling like this, we may not get home until next year."

Zhou Su opened his mouth but said nothing.

Zhou Guo thought of the little kids she had saved and asked tentatively, "Are you thinking about the little playmates you met on the road?"

Zhou Dacang was a little surprised, "Really?"

Zhou Su pursed his lips and said, "They are not playmates, they are brothers who live and die together!"

The little guy clenched his fists and said seriously that those were good brothers he knew who could share life and death with him.

Zhou Guo and Zhou Dacang didn't speak for a while.

How could it not be? Although they are still young, they have experienced what they should have experienced. Sometimes the friendship between children is more pure, even though the friendship between a little beggar is not much more complicated.

After a moment of silence, Zhou Dacang spoke first, "So you plan to bring all your little brothers back to our home to raise them?"

After saying this, he waved his hand, "That won't do. Although we can eat rice and flour every meal now, we can't afford to raise so many children. The little brats will make us poor. The amount of food we eat for each meal is enough to give your mother a headache. If you pick up so much food to take back, your mother will be worried until her hair turns gray!"

Zhou Guo also said, "Yes, Xiao Su, our family cannot raise so many children. If it were just one or two, it would be fine, but seven or eight..."

Besides, their house is not a charity.

Zhou Su lowered his head and said sadly: "I know, but I just want to see them before I leave."

The two wondered, "Where are you going to meet them?"

Zhou Su pointed toward the southeast.

Zhou Guo and Zhou Dacang looked in that direction and saw a wisp of green smoke rising slowly from the other side of the mountain at some point in time.

Zhou Dacang asked Zhou Guo, "Strange, when did the smoke rise? Why didn't I notice it? Did you notice it?"

Zhou Guo shook his head, "I didn't notice it either. I know them. Let's go check it out first."

He mounted his horse and ran over there.

She ran three or four miles, went around the mountain wall, and followed the smoke into the woods for half a mile. Sure enough, she vaguely heard a lot of voices coming from the front. She stopped and listened for a while.

"No, no, we can't burn it too big. If it's too big, there will be too much smoke. If it becomes thick smoke, we will be discovered."

"Well, I don't know if Zhou Su can see it. If he sees it, he can come out to meet us so that we can know what he thinks. If he still wants to go home, we can take him to the north. Anyway, we have no family, so it would be good to help him find a home."

"If you ask me, you are just farting. Zhou Su is just like the rest of us. His family is poor and he has to come out to make a living because he can't make a living. If we send him back, his family may not be able to support him and throw him out again. How can we find such a capable and kind-hearted young master?"

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone expressed their agreement.

But the two people who spoke first disagreed and insisted on sending Zhou Guo back. Their reasons were very simple.

"Zhou Su said that he got lost on his own. You see, he always talks about his parents, sister, grandparents, and brothers. When he talks about them, his face is full of smiles. Zhou Su must be spoiled by everyone at home. Just look at those of us who are not spoiled and hated at home. We will hate them as soon as we think of them. How can we even mention them? Zhou Su, he is different from us."

Everyone nodded after hearing this.

Several people were arguing. Some thought that they were just fleeing, so why couldn't so many people protect Zhou Suli? It only showed that his family members didn't care about him, and not caring meant they didn't like him.

Zhou Guo listened to every word of these words.

After a while, he turned around and left quietly.

Zhou Dacang and Zhou Su were still waiting there. When the little guy saw her come back, he stood on tiptoe to look behind her. After looking for a long time, he didn't see anyone and frowned.

Zhou Guole stopped his horse and nodded, saying, "Let's go, I'll take you to say goodbye to them."

Zhou Guo stopped his horse about a mile away and took out a purse from his bosom. There were small change and copper coins in it. He handed it to him and said, "There are probably more than ten taels of silver in here. Give them all to them."

Just consider it as a way to thank them for taking care of me during this period of time. It is not easy for a few half-grown children to risk their lives to follow me. They really treat Zhou Su as a friend.

Zhou Da Cang also took out a bag of silver from his pocket, "And here are some I have here. There are at least 17 or 18 taels in here, if not more than 20 taels. Take them all and give them to your brothers. With silver, you can spend this winter in peace."

Zhou Su looked at the two men hesitantly with the purse in his hand.

Zhou Guo smiled and said, "Go ahead. If you give this little money to others, our family won't have to worry about not being able to afford food."

Although they spent a lot on this trip, they also earned a lot, especially the large sums at the beginning, which poor people would probably never be able to earn in their lifetime.

It comes too easily, so just give some away and consider it as a good deed.

Zhou Su nodded happily when he heard that, and walked away with the two money bags in his arms. After walking a dozen steps, he turned around and looked at them.

Zhou Dacang waved his hand and said, "Go ahead, we're not going anywhere, we'll just wait for you here."

He walked away with peace of mind, but he would look back after walking for a while.

After watching him enter the woods, Zhou Guo turned and went into the mountain.

Zhou Dacang shouted from behind: "Hey, where are you going? Aren't you going to wait for him? If he doesn't see you when he comes back, won't you make a scene?"

Zhou Guo said as he walked, "Before we leave, we have to treat his brothers to a good meal. If there's nothing else, how can we not have meat? Plenty of it!"

Zhou Dacang smiled and said, "Go ahead, I'll wait for you here."

After saying that, he lay down on the spot, put his hands behind his head and closed his eyes. He didn't sleep well at all last night, so he should make up for it with some more sleep. Zhou Suli kept calling dad, mom, and sister, and he called everyone in the family by name.

Zhou Guo thought that the two brothers would talk for a while longer before saying goodbye, so he simply found a place to catch up on his sleep, as he didn't sleep well last night.

When she opened her eyes again, the sun had already risen. She estimated that it was probably 9 o'clock.

He sat up from the tree trunk, stretched his muscles, tiptoed happily, and jumped to another tree.

After wandering in the woods for about half an hour, he caught four pheasants, three rabbits, and a goat!

In order to catch this goat, she ran from the east to the west of the forest and made a big circle before she found such a big one, which was enough for them to have a big meal.

Walking out with a full harvest.