In the years of famine, the knife in my mother's hand is not bad either

Just as he was thinking about it, the ox cart slowly landed at the end of the migrating team.

Wait until Niu Niu and Da Huang finish eating the grass.

I just happened to see the patrol members and hunters following the team.

"Let Niu Niu and Da Huang catch up with the team." Shen Qian called to Xiao Qi again.

Xiaoqi is well-behaved and obedient.

Niu Niu and Da Huang quickly came to the back of the team and followed.

Wang You and Wang Liang hid in front of the ox cart and looked back carefully.

However, the fourth son's wife, Liu, had gotten off the waterwheel at some point.

Only Shen Qian was left sitting on the mobile water truck.

Shen Qian straightened up from the waterwheel, looked around carefully, and was shocked: This Qing Yishui with bright eyes, white teeth, and a feminine complexion, what else could he be but a eunuch?

But Shen Qian certainly couldn't directly expose the other party's identity, nor could she ask about their purpose. She could only treat them with courtesy. After all, she was just a village woman now.

Shen Qian asked the people in the carriage behind her:

"May I ask how much water you need, sir?"

“The village has been relocated, and water storage is not abundant.”

"I'm afraid I can't fill all your kettles."

Liang Zhaozhong, the chief steward in the carriage, heard a female voice asking and couldn't help but feel curious:

"Can three or five pots be evenly distributed?"

"If the envoy speaks, then five pots!" Shen Qian responded and said to Wang Wu:

"Third son, go get the kettle from the masters."

"I understand, mother." Wang Wu responded, walked directly to the side of a group of eunuchs on horseback, and asked for the water bottle.

The eunuch who was previously called Xiao Linzi now came to the carriage window, whispered twice to the inside, and then took the kettle handed to him.

Including his own, a total of five kettles were handed to Wang Wu.

Holding the kettle, Wang Wu walked to Shen Qian and handed her the kettle.

Shen Qian personally opened the lid of the bucket and filled water into the kettles for several people.

Seeing that the bucket opened by Shen Qian was full of water, Xiao Linzi complained:

"You are so dishonest, woman!"

"I saw you open the bucket and fill it with water. Why are you so stingy with me?"

"Are you trying to exchange it for money?"

"Why do you say that, my lord?" Shen Qian listened to the eunuch's complaint, her hand that was filling the water bottle stopped in mid-air, she stood up straight and looked at the eunuch.

Because she was standing on the ox cart, her perspective at this moment was somewhat condescending.

"Not to mention that this waterwheel and the water are both my private property, how I deal with them is up to me."

"I only said I owed you five jugs of water, but I didn't mention any money or anything else. Why are you insulting me?"

"Besides, there's a lot of water, but in my village, there are 185 households with a total of 1742 people who have relocated. This water is just a drop in the bucket."

"If we don't plan carefully, many people in the village might die from water shortage." Shen Qian's words were well-reasoned, and the people following the car immediately echoed her:

"That's right! Auntie is kind enough to share some water with you. How can you dare to tarnish my character?"

"If I tell you, Auntie can just refuse to give him the clean water. If you force me to take it, I will protect the water with my own body!"

"I am also willing to protect the water and comfort my aunt with my own body!"

"..."

Listen to everyone agreeing and supporting you.

It would be a lie for Wang Shen to say she wasn't moved.

Since my rebirth, everything I have done has not been in vain.

Seeing that a conflict was about to break out, Shen Qian bowed to the neighbors and thanked them:

"King Shen accepts your kindness."

"Please don't talk about conflicts."

"This is a good deed, and it shouldn't lead to disaster."

The words fell.

Everyone continued to glare at the little Leo who had spoken.

However, there was a burst of applause from the sedan chair:

"Clap! Clap! Clap!"

"It's a good deed, but it shouldn't lead to disaster."

"Little Leo, why don't you apologize?"

"Big..." Little Lizi felt indignant when he saw the steward asking him and a village woman to apologize.

But then, the chief steward's voice in the sedan chair was filled with frost:

"Could it be that my words are no longer effective?"

The voice of the person in the sedan was not loud, but it almost scared Little Li so much that he fell off his horse.

"I'm sorry, it was Leo who was rude. I hope you won't blame me!" Leo lowered his head and apologized honestly.

Seeing this, Shen Qian waved her hands repeatedly:

"Ignorance is not a problem, but I hope you will not think badly of me."

After she finished speaking, Shen Qian continued to fill the water bag with water.

After all five water bags are filled.

Shen Qian handed them to Wang Wu:

"Send it to the envoys."

After taking the water bag, the person in the sedan took two sips.

Rise and ask:

"I heard that you are migrating, not fleeing famine. May I ask where you are migrating from?"

Shen Qian felt the shaking of the ox cart and sat directly on it, then replied:

"The oxcart is bumpy, so I'll sit down and answer you, sir."

"We are from Wangjia Village, which belongs to Beiyang County."

When they heard the name of Beiyang County, the people in the carriage were obviously stunned.

You know, this place is the border of Beiyun County, and across the border is Beize County!

It is at least seven hundred miles away from Beiyang County!

Even if you travel a hundred miles a day, it will take seven days to do it!

And seven days ago, Beiliang Pass had not yet been breached, but they had already started migrating south?

"Why move?" General Manager Liang Zhaozhong asked the question in his mind.

Shen Qian looked at the eunuchs holding weapons and did not dare to speak rashly for a moment.

Talking lightly about state affairs is a serious crime.

She had experience from her previous lives, so she naturally wouldn't make such a big mistake.

"Moved due to drought!" Shen Qian considered it carefully and came up with a fairly acceptable excuse.

After all, the fact that dozens of surrounding counties were suffering from severe drought was understandable, as I knew through certain channels.

After hearing Shen Qian's explanation, a chuckle came from the sedan.

"Is there a record in the government office?"

"No!" Shen Qian's heart skipped a beat when she heard the question from inside the sedan.

But I still didn't intend to lie.

If the other party finds out, the matter will be easily exposed, and lying will make the other party unhappy.

"You are dishonest and deceive us." Suddenly, the source of the laughter stopped, replaced by a cold warning.

"My lord, you are wise. I hope you won't bother with me." Shen Qian suddenly felt a headache.

"I hope you can tell me the truth about the migration. I will forgive you! If you speak well, there will be a reward!" The voice in the sedan chair came again, but it changed from the previous cold tone and returned to the original conversational tone.

"In early August, I overheard merchants discussing that with no rain falling in dozens of surrounding counties, I concluded a severe drought was inevitable." Shen Qian took a deep breath and began to narrate, half-truthfully.

“So he took his fellow tribesmen and bought food to prepare for the famine.”

"But in mid-August, a woman chatting with a village veteran discovered..."

"The percentage of barbarians wearing armor has increased from 10% to 20% ten years ago to 50% to 60% now, and they are all fully armored. Moreover... veterans of the border troops have stated that the barbarians used to cross the Beiliang Pass to plunder, but we were not aware of this because we were not in the border counties."

As she spoke, Shen Qian raised her head and looked towards the sedan chair.

The voice of the person in the sedan came out: "Continue."

"Considering the severe drought in Daliang, which has left no rain, I infer that the grasslands are barren, with cattle and sheep starving to death in large numbers and struggling to survive the winter. This year's barbarian invasion will undoubtedly be several times greater than in previous years."

"The northern border is suffering from famine, leaving little food to plunder. If the barbarians can't grab enough food, they'll definitely continue their raids. Beiyang County will undoubtedly no longer be safe, so the woman persuaded the villagers to migrate south."

"To make a living." Shen Qian said, silently waiting for the decision of the person in the sedan.