To get rich quickly, you need to be simple and rough

The Li family had a good sleep, but the others were not so lucky. Those who slept outside were almost bitten to death by mosquitoes.

The four servants couldn't help but sigh that the young lady's powder was so effective that they didn't get bit by mosquitoes even when they slept in the car all night.

At first light in the morning, the yamen runners got everyone up and prepared to set off. After passing this post station, people would be escorted separately, and those going to the northwest and those going to Nurgandusi parted ways here.

The postmasters steamed large white flour buns and glutinous rice dumplings in the morning. A fist-sized bun cost twenty wen each, and a dumpling cost twenty-five wen. These prices were shockingly high, and the postmaster, seeing the lucrative job, naturally wanted to squeeze some money out of it.

The quantity is limited. After watching the yamen runners finish buying breakfast, Xu Huizhen in the yard also bought fifty buns for one or two taels of silver, and spent another fifty coins to buy two pots of boiled water.

The buns were stuffed with shepherd's purse and pork, and the whole family enjoyed them deliciously with pickles. The young men were at the age of eating a full meal, so they ate five large buns in one sitting, and also had two pancakes.

The servant packed the bedding and put it in the cart. Xu Huizhen supported Yang, Li Wenting supported his father, and Li Yujin led Li Yuze to get on the mule cart.

The elder of the clan watched Yang Li Boyan get on the mule cart and snorted, "What a blessing! Do you still have any respect for your elders?"

Li Boyan bowed and saluted, "My grandfather greets you."

The old man blew his beard and glared: "You are so young, sitting in the car eating meat buns, but you look down on everyone. You have delicious food but you don't even mention respecting your elders. Have you read so much that the books you read are useless?"

Li Boyan looked at this little old man who was much older than him and felt a strong hatred for him. He thought that a relative from several generations away came here to pretend to be older. "To answer my grandfather's words, since the disaster, our family has been penniless. All the expenses we need are sent by Yang and my daughter-in-law's family. We have to travel a long way and eat delicious food, but it's not that I don't care about anyone."

The old man kept on chattering, and his children and grandchildren were watching him take advantage of the situation.

Li Boyan also refused to confess, because he knew that if anyone in this clan was captured at this time, they would all blame him.

Yang ignored the old man and asked, "How much is it worth just by saying that?"

The old man was talking so fast that spit was flying everywhere, but Li Boyan and his son didn't move at all.

At this time, the yamen runners shouted, "Hurry up and leave, otherwise we will have to sleep in the wild at night. You all still think you are the masters, ladies, young ladies, and young masters. Stop acting so arrogantly, or you will suffer on the way!"

The Li family got in the car, and Yang spat outside: "What's a relative of the Eighth Route Army doing here pretending to be a senior? He's been separated from his family for several generations and now he's here to beg for money. Don't you think he has the nerve to do that?"

After a bumpy journey, they arrived at Pengcheng, where the yamen runners needed to replenish their supplies. The food for these hundreds of people and the fodder for the horses were substantial. The price was clearly marked: each family could buy a spot in the city to purchase supplies with ten taels of silver.

Li Wen drove a mule cart and followed the yamen runners into the city. He was not short of food, but he still had to pretend to be among the crowd.

Pengzhou has been a battleground for military strategists since ancient times, and the streets are still very prosperous. The entrance fee is five copper coins, two copper coins per person and three copper coins per mule cart. Li Wenting looked at the big blue mule and said, "Your worth is higher than mine."

My wife and son love rice, so I bought 100 kilograms of rice. My parents love pasta, so I bought 100 kilograms of flour. Li Wenting went to a clothing store and bought ten sets of thick cotton coats, trousers, and shoes for the winter. He also bought ten pairs of pigskin boots—at least they were waterproof for snowy days.

In a quiet place, he quietly pulled out ten sheepskin coats. He also took a jar of pickles, thirty pounds of bacon, and dozens of boiled salted duck eggs. He also took two large baskets of charcoal, which he could use to boil water when he ran out of firewood. He also took out ten sheepskin mattresses; it was getting colder, and these were warm and snug.

Li Wenting saw the cabbage vendor and bought ten more cabbages, thinking they would last longer. Li Wenting also bought a lot from the braised food vendor who was selling sesame cakes.

My mother, daughter-in-law, and children all love snacks, and I've always bought a lot of egg cakes and honey cakes for three yuan each. When Li Wenting saw the store selling mooncakes, he realized Mid-Autumn Festival was just two days away, so he quickly bought two hundred yuan worth of mooncakes. These things are high in oil and sugar and can be stored for a long time. …

Li Wenting looked at the mule, panting from exhaustion, and slapped his forehead. He thought, "If we buy too much, the mule won't be able to handle it." He went to the livestock market and spent eight taels of silver to buy two donkeys and one tael of silver to buy a cart. He divided the goods between the two carts, and the animals easily pulled the goods back.

At the city gate, the yamen runners counted the number of people and turned back if they found anyone missing. At the post station, the yamen runners had a designated rest area, but if anyone else wanted to sleep in the rooms, they had to pay. Even if they didn't pay, there were still places to stay. Over twenty people were crammed into a room in the backyard, with only bricks and wooden planks to support them. If they turned over at night, there was no room.

The Li family spent four taels of silver to rent a suite, with a small kang in the inner room and a large kang in the outer room. The postman brought two arms of firewood to light the kangs, so that they would not feel cold even if they slept all night.

Xu Huizhen went to the kitchen and spent two hundred coins to buy a large pot of steaming hot radish meatball vermicelli soup. Two servants brought the soup to the room, and the family ate it with the hot steamed buns and braised food they had just bought.

After eating, Yang took out a tin kettle for boiling water and asked the servant to fill it with water. She dug out some charcoal from the kang hole, pulled out three bricks from under the table legs, and placed the tin kettle on the firewood to boil water.

Yang: "If you have enough food and clothes, you will be poor. If you don't plan well, you will be poor. The things in this post station are extremely expensive. We can save a lot of copper coins here."

Those who could be servants were all perceptive. When they saw Yang boiling water, they went to the woods by the roadside to pick up a bunch of firewood.

Yang was very satisfied. Although she spent a lot today, she felt happy to save a few copper coins. After all, she could get a discount at the post station.

Xu Huizhen immediately offered her flattery: "When it comes to making a living, our mother is the one who matters. No one else can do it. Why didn't I think of this great idea?"

Yang is still very proud today. My daughter-in-law has good taste. But we have to get along well.

The group drank tea, arranged for food and water for the animals, and then went to bed. The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law slept on the small kang in the inner room, and the four members of the Li family and four servants slept in the outer room.

The warm kang bed allowed the tired person to relax physically and mentally, and washed away the dampness from the body. Yang slept very comfortably that night, and felt that sleeping on a kang was the most comfortable place.

Yang's eyes sparkled: "Huizhen, when we get to Nurgan, we'll also make a kang. This thing is really comfortable to sleep on. Why didn't I find such a good idea before?

Xu Huizhen smiled and said, "In Niangnurgan, sleeping on the kang in winter is actually not cold. I specifically asked someone about it, and they said the soil there is extremely fertile, and everything grows well. Both Koreans and Luoshas love to go there to trade and buy things. In my opinion, that place is very fertile.

Although our family has suffered, fortunately we have not been reduced to slavery. As long as we are willing to work hard, Nurgan will be our blessed land!"