Famine and exile: I brought the Spirit Spring to save the entire Marquis's mansion.

The officials led the Huo family to a low, dilapidated thatched hut.

There are only two rooms in total.

Not only were the four walls bare, but several sections of the earthen walls had also collapsed.

"This place is just across the road from Huo Baohong's house. The county magistrate specifically instructed us to take care of you."

"You should pack your things and settle in."

The Huo family was dumbfounded.

This special treatment isn't meant to be targeted, is it?

This dilapidated house is only slightly better than being in the open air; the thatch on the roof is so thin that a strong wind could blow it away.

It's more like a cowshed.

And there are only two rooms, how are so many people supposed to live there?

Seeing that the officials were about to leave, Sang Ning hurriedly called them to stop.

"Sir, please wait."

Sang Ning was still unsure about the situation here, and dared not take out any money rashly. Seeing the conditions here and the scarcity of food, she took out four wild duck eggs.

"Sir, when we came here, I saw an uninhabited mud house by the roadside. Could you not allocate that to us?"

There are simply too many elderly and young people to accommodate everyone. Perhaps we should ask the county magistrate for advice?

The two officers' eyes lit up when they saw the duck eggs, and they swallowed hard.

"That house you mentioned? That's unlucky. A family of five who lived there just hanged themselves."

“If you’re not afraid, I’ll talk to the adults.”

Sang Ning was naturally not afraid, but she didn't know if others were.

So she looked at the other people.

Huo Chang'an stated first: "What's so scary about someone dying?"

As if no one has never died before, the murderous aura emanating from him was heavier than that of a dead man.

"Sister-in-law, it's up to you to decide."

Everyone else looked at Sang Ning with trust.

The two little kids, being too young to understand, didn't listen at all and instead looked around with their big, innocent eyes.

Okay, I'll stay there then!

"Sir, may I ask why that family hanged themselves?"

“Hey, you guys from the capital don’t know, Liangzhou has had no harvest for two whole years, and everyone is starving.”

The locals are easier to deal with; they have land, so they can usually squeeze out some leftovers. But you outsiders…

He understood what was going on; once exiled, they had to find their own way to survive and wait for help from the government or relatives in other places.

"The other day, this family sold a gold hairpin that had been passed down from their ancestors, bought a piglet and a bag of rice, locked themselves in the house and ate for ten days. After they finished eating, they hanged themselves!"

This situation is not unusual in Liangzhou.

The two officers looked helpless, shook their heads, and took the duck eggs away.

These duck eggs are huge! One for each of the two children.

"You can go ahead, I'll just tell the adults."

It's not a big deal; the house is just sitting empty anyway.

In Liangzhou, there are many abandoned houses, but what is lacking is people.

Especially those nobles who were exiled.

After one winter, half of it will be gone.

*

Liangzhou, although it is a city, is just like any other town or village.

There was nothing to sell on the streets, and people were short of clothes.

The advantage is that the land is vast and sparsely populated, and each household has a piece of open land around it, the kind where you can grow things.

But right now, there's drought everywhere, and nothing can grow.

Sang Ning and everyone else helped tidy up their new home.

Actually, this place is only slightly better than those two thatched huts.

There are four rooms in total, all facing south.

There are two main rooms on the north side, and two side rooms, one of which is the kitchen.

In other words, there are three rooms where you can sleep.

Sang Ning was in a dilemma; she didn't want to share a room with Huo Chang'an.

Sleeping side-by-side on the road to exile was nothing, but now it's truly a life behind closed doors.

We share the same bed and pillow.

No, no, this won't do. She's a restless sleeper.

“Jintang is too old to sleep with his sister-in-law, so let him sleep with Silang.”

“Mother shared a room with Jinxin and Jinxiu, while my sister-in-law and I shared a room with Jingya.”

This statement was met with opposition from everyone.

This was the first time since Sang Ning took over the family that the whole family had done this together.

"Husbands and wives should be together and not separated. Jintang will sleep with Grandmother for now," the old lady said.

Jintang nodded vigorously.

Fourth Uncle should sleep with Fourth Aunt; he can't be so inconsiderate.

“Yes, sister-in-law, no matter how tough it gets, we have to leave you a room. Jintang is fine, she can hold on for another two years.”

"Oh, I see." Sang Ning looked at Huo Chang'an.

He had his eyes closed and was leaning against the headboard of the narrow wooden bed, as if he were asleep.

Lately, he doesn't seem to lie down much; he's always sitting, and his back isn't supported by a wooden stick.

Could it be that the spring water worked?

“Alright then, we’ll stay in the side room. Jintang can sleep with Mother for now. I’ll look around these next few days to see who knows how to build a kang (heated brick bed), and then build a small one for Jintang in Mother’s room.”

Sang Ning discovered that the master bedrooms of the people here all had heated kang beds, but the other rooms did not.

It will be very cold in winter.

Why not remove all the wooden plank beds in all the rooms and build them into heated brick beds?

The room allocation problem has been solved.

Everyone cleaned the whole house.

There were also some old clothes and bedding left by the previous owner.

Living in a house where someone has just died is something we can't avoid, but everyone is still a little scared.

Most importantly, they were all incredibly dirty, so Sang Ning threw them all out the doorway.

Anyone who wants to pick it up can pick it up; if no one picks it up, she'll burn it.

“I’ll go out and see if there are any bedding stores,” Sang Ning said.

The bed was too hard, and Huo Chang'an was probably woken up by the hard surface, so he opened his eyes.

"Be careful."

"Okay, hang in there a little longer, I'll put on the blankets before I go to sleep."

Huo Jingya went with her, while Li Yuzhi and Xie Yurou went to inquire about the water source.

Everyone split up.

Half an hour later, Sang Ning and Huo Jingya returned with only two quilts.

Prices are too high; a bed costs ten taels of silver!

Most importantly, even if it were ten taels of silver, they weren't very happy, saying they could exchange it for grain.

Three liters of millet can buy a new quilt!

Everyone is short of food right now!

Everything else is unimportant; the only thing that matters is who can survive this famine.

As he said this, the shopkeeper's eyes were eager.

Sang Ning and Huo Jingya were new faces, and those who had lived here for a long time naturally knew that they were newcomers.

Newcomers, unless they come from poor families, usually have things provided by their relatives, and they all want to get a piece of the pie first.

Sang Ning asked Huo Jingya to tidy up at home while she carried a ceramic jar out.

"Fourth Sister-in-law, what are you going to use to exchange for it?" Huo Jingya asked curiously.

She knew that Sang Ning liked to hide things in earthenware jars, and she could always find something in them, but not many.

Changing the bedding must take quite a bit of work, right?

They don't have that much rice!

"Don't worry about it, your sister-in-law will have a way," Huo Chang'an retorted.

Sang Ning needs no further explanation.

But then he felt something was off and couldn't help but glance at Huo Chang'an.

It seemed like he was covering for her.

Could it be that he actually knows about space?