Traveling through the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, a story of survival in troubled tim

"I hope the task entrusted to you goes smoothly."

"Meet the girl, everything is done..."

After Jueyu finished speaking, he presented a bamboo tube sealed with beeswax with both hands.

Wenshu took it and noticed the wound on her wrist.

Place the bamboo tube on the desk.

He let out a long sigh, his eyes crossed the yard, and focused on the loquats on the loquat tree that were being pecked by several birds.

"Spring has arrived unusually late this year. Are the farmlands at the foot of the mountain almost finished being cultivated?"

It seemed like an unintentional question.

"My dear, there are fewer people in town this year, and many people haven't had time to plant...?"

Hearing this, Wenshu felt a little regretful. The season at the foot of the mountain had arrived earlier than on the mountain, and most of the crops on the mountain had been cultivated in full swing.

That mountain below——

"The wind is about to blow!"

Jueyu didn't know what the girl meant. She thought about what she had seen and heard on the way back and concealed it.

"For some reason, the town has been deserted lately, and today is market day..."

Thinking about how Zhang the blacksmith looked like he had been waiting for news from an old friend for a long time after he got the girl, if it weren't for the girl's young age, someone would have thought she was his old friend.

"Girl, before I left, Blacksmith Zhang asked me to give you a message...?"

Wenshu became interested. She couldn't imagine that this person, whom she had never met before, could be so kind except for the monetary transaction between them.

"Blacksmith Zhang, let me ask you, young lady, do you think brocade and silk are more valuable, or grain?"

She really asked that.

Hearing this, Wen Shu immediately perked up, feeling a bit eager to try, and confirmed again, "He really asked that..."

Jueyu didn't understand why the girl reacted so strongly, but the blacksmith had a cunning look on his face, like Mo Yan waiting for the fish to take the bait.

Although she was not sure what he meant, she was just a messenger, and she could leave the thinking and decision-making to her master.

"Yes, everything I said is true."

"You go back and tell him I want the food. Ask him how much he has and he will prepare that much for me. As for the money, it's still the same as before."

After getting the promise, Jueyu turned around and jumped out of the yard and went down the mountain to pass on the message.

Wenshu was in a good mood today. Thinking of the few fish reserved for herself, she rolled up her sleeves and went to the kitchen.

The woman in the kitchen was killing a fish. The fish was not big, but the scales were difficult to clean in this season.

"Let me arrange the fish tonight..."

"Yes, I listen to the girl."

The old woman was trying to figure out how to make a flower out of the fish cake which was only two fingers wide, but she didn't know where to start.

It’s not that she looks down on the fish, it’s really so fishy that even a civet cat would avoid it if it saw it.

She just thought the girl was young and was just joking. If she couldn't make it, she could only blame the materials, not her.

Now that the girl is in charge personally, we'll know when we hit a wall.

Wenshu also didn't leave any ink.

"Use warm water to let the dough rise first..."

"Add some salt..."

"There's too much water, add some more noodles..."

"Let it soften first, yes, just like that... After it forms a ball, let it rest for a while."

After saying that, there were several crucian carps that had been cleaned on the chopping board.

"Add oil to the pot"

"Yes, sprinkle some salt, the fish needs to be fried on low heat."

"The heat is almost done, add water, add..."

…………

The cooking was as fierce as a tiger, and when the sun set, the delicious aroma from the small kitchen spread far away.

"Girl, that's all."

The old woman watched and saw that the fish bones in the pot had long disappeared, and the soup was now snow-white without any fishy smell.

I slowly cooked a pot of the noodles I had just pulled.

"Girl, what kind of behavior is this... I have never seen this in all these years."

The old woman was very curious. They seldom ate noodles, and even if they did, they would just bake some pancakes or something. Firstly, making noodles was troublesome and time-consuming, and it took time to make them, not to mention whether they tasted good.

Wen Shu, of course, couldn't explain it clearly. After thinking for a moment, she made up a story, "I've seen this kind of food at a roadside stall in Luoyang before. The crucian carp noodles are so delicious that I still remember them. I've never made them, but I've seen them!"

"Okay, everyone get a bowl and have a taste."

"okay"

After the girl spoke, the old woman's steps became lighter.

.........

After dinner, Wenshu sent the reluctant little Fuer back to her grandmother. When she was about to leave, her grandmother suddenly called her.

"Pengpeng girl..."

The old lady saw that Xiao Fuer had already been taken away to rest.

Thinking of the news they brought today, he was uneasy. "You go watch outside first..."

The old lady sent out everyone around her.

Perhaps it was because I had never seen my grandmother so serious before, the old lady always looked cheerful and kind.

"Grandma, is there something important that needs to be done while staying with Wenshu?"

The old lady looked at Wenshu with some pity and compassion.

She didn't understand what was going on in the court. She had been fighting and killing all her life when she was young. She didn't expect that when she was old and should be enjoying her retirement with her children and grandchildren around her, she would receive bad news one after another. Although there was no certainty about this, her chances of survival were slim.

"Pengpeng, Grandma knows you're young, so logically speaking, I shouldn't tell you these things..."

It seemed a little hard to bear, but the situation outside was so chaotic. Although they were far away from home now, the situation couldn't affect them.

It is hard to say how long this chaos will last. When it breaks out, various forces will take the opportunity to muddy the water in the pond and fish in troubled waters.

In the past, she was able to support the door lintel and hold up the village, so her daughter Wenshu should be able to do it too.

The old lady opened her mouth and said, "Pengpeng, there is no news about your father. You can get the letter."

She knew that Wenshu had a group of troops, but she didn't know how many people there were or where they were kept, so she pretended not to know.

Wen Shu shook her head, pursed her lips, and thought to herself - here it comes, it’s really here.

No one cared about what she had revealed before, whether intentionally or unintentionally. They even felt that the huge Jin Dynasty would not collapse so easily.

"The King of the East Sea is gone..."

"Wang Yan was killed in Ningping, and your father and others were also in Ningcheng at the time."

The old lady's voice was trembling, and she tried her best to suppress her inner grief and anger, as if she was talking about something that had nothing to do with her.

"What about my father, mother, and sister..."

After hearing this, she could no longer sit still. Her eldest brother had told her that her father and others had gone to Xianyang for important matters, so why did they go to Ningping?

"The person who came back to report the news didn't say anything, but only said that your father and his men were about to leave the city when they encountered Shi Le's rebellious army attacking the city. When the city was captured, it was already in chaos.

After hiding and searching for them in the city for a long time, we found no trace of them, let alone any information about them. We heard that hundreds of thousands of Xiongnu soldiers were heading towards Luoyang City.

What she didn't say was that after the King of Donghai died of illness, the Huns took advantage of the victory and defeated the Jin army of 100,000 when it was leaderless.

That was an army of hundreds of thousands. The royal family of the Jin Dynasty had been killing each other, and their military strength had been almost exhausted.

This time it’s even more…

Wen Shu listened without saying anything. Even if the wheel of the times rolled over her, it was not her turn to speak or comment.

She suppressed her fear and asked, "Grandma, do you want me?"

"I want you to pick up the knife."

She said it was as easy as eating and drinking water.

"I want you to pick up the knife, protect yourself, and protect your current brothers and sisters..."

"Don't refuse yet. I know you have the power and the ability."

What she values ​​more are the hundreds of episodes behind Wen Shu.

Although I don’t know what the future holds, it is safest to hold the knife in my own hands.