Crossing the farm gate, the whole family reunites in the disaster year

After leaving Luhua Village and arriving at the next village, Captain Yan asked Zhao Li to drive the carriage back to the county town.

First, he had to report the progress of finding water to the county magistrate, and second, the two large bags of water chestnuts were too heavy, so they had to be sent back to the county government office for storage.

There are more than 60 villages under the jurisdiction of Qingyang County. Xiahe Village is located to the west of the county seat, while the village where Cui Zhaozhao is currently located is to the east of the county seat. Although they are far apart in the west and north, they are the same distance from the county seat.

The speed of the horse carriage was more than twice that of the ox cart. Zhao Li returned in just half a morning.

The village had found a water source, so the Cui brothers and sisters got on a carriage and rushed to the next village without stopping.

It was almost noon, there was not a breath of wind on the road, and the whole earth was drowsy.

They were the only ones on the official road. The horses were listless and drooping, Cui Zhaozhao's eyelids were drooping with sleepiness, and the constable outside was also thirsty from walking.

"There's a tea stall up ahead. Let's stop there and fill our stomachs."

Zhao Li pointed at the tea sign standing in the distance. Captain Yan glanced at the listless horse and nodded in agreement.

They could travel in the hot sun, but the horse couldn't. Besides, it had been running all morning and really needed a rest.

In other words, a horse costs dozens of taels of silver, but you can't even report it even if you die of exhaustion.

It was only after Cui Zhaozhao came here that he realized that in addition to hanging signs, shops also had to hang banners. Different shops would have different banners, such as a wine shop hanging a flag and a pawn shop hanging a "pawn" sign.

In addition to flags, there are also enlarged product models. For example, a comb shop hangs a string of large wooden combs, a clothing shop hangs a set of clothes, and a drug store paints a square wooden board white with a black circle in the middle. From a distance, you can tell that what they sell is plasters.

The restaurant is the most special one, with red baskets hanging on the walls, like red lanterns.

Previously, the breakfast shop of my original family had a strainer hanging on it, which represented the lowest-class restaurant where they could only eat steamed buns.

If you want to eat stir-fried dishes, you have to go to a restaurant with at least two baskets hanging at the door.

The two stalls are considered mid-to-low-end, and they earn the money of ordinary people. They have three or five small tables, and the dishes they cook are all ordinary dishes, with large portions and enough to fill you up.

The rich and powerful who pursued a good environment and had plenty of money would go to the big restaurant with four baskets at the door.

There once was a high-end restaurant with six baskets in Qingyang County. Later, the head chef was poached by a rival restaurant, the taste of the food went downhill, and in the end, two of the baskets were fired due to the diners' scolding.

Cui Zhaozhao jumped off the carriage.

The tea stall in front of me had a bamboo pole with a big word "Tea" written on it, and a willow branch hanging on it.

The instructions say to eat, but not much.

The tea shed is called a shed, but it is actually two adobe houses with a pergola outside and two tables for passers-by to drink tea and rest.

There are also a few tables in the house where you can have a simple meal.

Captain Yan untied the horse's harness, tied the horse to the hitching stone behind the tea shed, and asked the servants to feed the horse water and fodder.

A few people found a table in the shade of the house, each drank a large bowl of cold tea, and breathed a sigh of relief.

When Zhao Li came back from the county town, he had an extra bag in his hands. He put down the tea bowl, raised his eyebrows and took out an oil-paper bag.

"Come on, come on, I bought these buns at the city gate before I left town. I've been eating rice porridge for the past two days, and my mouth has lost its flavor. I'm craving these big, juicy meat buns even in my dreams. Everyone, have some."

The detectives were not polite at all. Even Captain Yan took one and bit off half of the bun in one bite.

Lard wrapped in soup dripped down the wrist.

"It smells so good." Zhao Li closed his eyes contentedly. Seeing that Cui Zhaozhao and his sister hadn't moved, he greeted them warmly, "The buns are still hot. Feel free to eat one too."

Cui Zhaozhao's stomach churned.

The meat buns here are different from the braised meat buns in later generations. They are filled with fat, with a few pieces of lean meat occasionally used as garnish.

She had just bought some once after traveling through time. The buns were already cold when she ate them, and the lard in the buns had solidified into a white mass. She really couldn't get used to eating them.

"She doesn't like to eat meat, don't bother with her." Cui Jingwen smiled and picked up a palm-sized bun, stuffed it into his mouth in three or two bites, and swallowed it with his eyes closed.

"How can I not eat?" Zhao Li slapped his forehead, "Look at my memory, there are still pickles."

As he spoke, he took out a fist-sized earthenware jar from his bag.

Pickles are best eaten with pancakes. Zhao Li raised his hand and asked the waiter to bring some hot pancakes.

"This is Cai's pickle shop's most famous eight-treasure pickles. Girl, try it. How does it compare to your pickles?"

The food in the yamen canteen tasted as bad as pig food. Usually, the brothers relied on pickles to go with their meals, and the most common one they ate was eight-treasure pickles.

The waiter stepped forward in embarrassment and said, "I'm sorry, sir, we've sold out of pancakes. Would you mind having rice porridge?"

Zhao Li's eyes widened. "It's not even dinner time yet, and there's no food. What are you doing?"

The waiter's legs were so weak with fear that he bent his head and explained, "Two escort teams passed by half an hour ago and bought up all the food in the store. I really didn't know that the official would come..."

This matter was caused by her, and Cui Zhaozhao spoke up to smooth things over.

"It's okay, it's okay. I just want to drink some porridge. Can you please give me a bowl of porridge?"

"Hey, that's good."

Seeing that the official had a sullen face and didn't say anything, the waiter wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, swiftly scooped out a bowl of rice porridge, and also brought a small plate of fried peanuts.

Captain Yan called out to his comrade who was about to leave, "Have many escort teams passed by these days?"

"Quite a lot." The waiter thought for a moment, "Only one escort team passed by two or three days ago, and three escort teams passed by yesterday. I specially prepared extra food today, but it still wasn't enough to sell."

"What are they transporting in the car, and where are they going?"

"I don't know about the little one. The car was covered tightly with cloth, but I heard they said it was going to Yong'an County."

Yong'an County is connected to Qingyang County. Yong'an County is more than a hundred miles east along this official road.

Captain Yan frowned.

The clerk said cautiously, "Is there something wrong? How about I ask around next time?"

Captain Yan waved his hand and said, "No need. I'm just asking casually. Go and do your thing."

The guy hunched over and walked away.

Li Shi asked in a low voice: "What's going on, boss? Is there something wrong with the escort team?"

The escort teams need to report to the government when they are transporting goods. I haven’t heard of anyone having a large amount of goods to transport these days.

Captain Yan shook his head and said, "It's okay, let's eat." Then he grabbed the bun and took a bite.

In the good years before, it was common to see more than a dozen escort teams coming and going every day. Now that the number is gradually recovering, he still feels there is a problem.

I've been a police chief for so long that the only thing on my mind is catching criminals.