Transmigrated into a seven-year-old child, my fate is in my own hands, not in the heavens.

After traveling for several days, the horse began to become restless.

At first, we could find some food for the horse, but as the sun got stronger, we couldn't find much to eat. We could only feed it hay, and it could only eat one meal a day.

In this sweltering heat, thirsty and hungry, coupled with the heavy load of pulling so many people and constantly traveling, the horse's speed began to slow down.

As noon approached, the horse was hungry and tired, and the scorching sun made it throw a tantrum and refuse to move.

"Third Miss, what should we do? This horse won't move!" Zhen Guang was sweating profusely, waving the whip and striking the horse's rump, but no matter how much he whipped it, the horse wouldn't budge.

"Oh no, my horse seems to be dying!" Liu Jinzhu shouted anxiously.

Zhao Lian rushed over to check and saw the horse lying on the ground, convulsing and foaming at the mouth.

"Oh dear, my horse is failing too!" Butler Su exclaimed.

In less than half an hour, six of the ten horses had died. There was no village in sight, no shop in sight, in the middle of nowhere.

Zhao Lian made a quick decision: "Everyone, stop on your way. Let's kill this horse, cook it, dry it, and use it as provisions in the next couple of days."

"good idea!"

The idea was approved by everyone; although the horse was dead, it was still a fine piece of meat.

People haven't eaten meat in ages. Anyway, the horse died from exhaustion, not from illness.

Even if someone dies of illness, having something to eat is better than having nothing to eat at all.

They acted immediately, tying the remaining horses to the shade of a tree to rest, and working together to drag them to a cool place.

Teng Fu, Liang Chong, Steward Su, Chen Guang, and the others worked together to gut the horse. Since there was no water, they had to skin it raw, peeling off the skin directly.

We can't waste these hides. Even though there's no water right now, we can dry them and use them to make clothes or food.

Everyone worked together, with women and children going up the mountain to collect firewood. Before long, they had gathered a large pile of branches.

Because of the dry weather, and fearing that the dry grass on the mountain might be accidentally ignited when starting a fire, Zhaolian specially cleared away all the grass on the side, creating a large open space.

Finally, a fire was lit, and the chopped horse meat was sprinkled with salt and placed on the fire to roast. Before long, the meat sizzled, and the long-lost aroma of meat filled the air.

"Mmm, it smells so good!"

Because the slices weren't very thick, they were cooked through in less than half an hour. Everyone sat around and ate with great relish.

They couldn't remember the last time they had eaten meat, and as they ate it, they instantly forgot all the fatigue of the past few days.

He Mu and Zhao Feng sat not far away, watching everyone eat with relish, but they didn't come over. Zhao Fu wasn't with them either. He was with Li Chunhua.

It is said that whoever feeds you is your mother. Following Li Chunhua, Zhao Fu had plenty to eat and drink, and he was so concerned about his own food and drink that he had long forgotten about his father.

He Mu looked at Zhao Feng and said to her, "Zhao Feng, hurry up and go eat some meat."

Zhao Feng shook her head: "Father, I'm not hungry. If you want to eat, I'll go get it for you."

Although she said she wasn't hungry, Zhao Feng's stomach was already growling loudly. Every now and then, a breeze would blow in, carrying the aroma of meat, making her mouth water.

She just didn't want to beg Zhao Lian; she had to wait for Zhao Lian to slice the meat for her. Of course, begging and being given meat willingly were different.

“If Dad doesn’t want to eat, I still have some pancakes.” He Mu said, taking out a pancake and starting to eat it.

Seeing that they didn't come over, Zhao Lian had Zhao Di take the roasted horse meat to Zhao Feng.

This horse weighs over 200 jin (100 kg), and six horses would weigh over 1,000 jin (500 kg). If you clean out the meat, the meat alone would probably weigh over 400 jin (200 kg).

Although there's no water, these bones shouldn't be wasted. They should all be used for roasting. Once they're cooked, first gnaw off the outer meat, then suck out the marrow inside—that's the real delicacy.

After they had eaten their fill, everyone put the roasted meat out in the sun to dry for two days, until it was all dried into jerky.

The three or four hundred pounds of raw meat were dried into jerky, and in the end, only seventy or eighty pounds of jerky remained. Zhaolian distributed the jerky to everyone and told them to keep it themselves. Each person received about three pounds.

She couldn't care less about that now. Based on her speculation, the imperial court had probably already issued a notice, and she believed that a large number of refugees would soon emerge.

They don't have much food left, and only a few jugs of water.

If you roast this meat into jerky, it can last for a while longer.

Large numbers of refugees carrying too much food may attract unwanted attention, increasing the risk significantly.

Moreover, it is said that eggs should not be put in one basket. This dry food is for everyone to keep themselves, which is also a precaution. In case of theft, the whole army will not be wiped out.

Therefore, it is the smartest way to ensure that everyone carries some food.

After resting for two days, the horses looked much more energetic when they resumed their journey.

These horses could only be used for hauling things. After much consideration, except for Qiao Tai, Li Chunhua, Ling Yun, Liu Laogen, Yan Guihua, and a few children who rode in the carriage, everyone else got off and walked.

Although a few more people can sit there, considering that these horses are already tired, we can't add to their burden. If even these horses die from exhaustion, then things will get really difficult.

Anyway, these days carriages aren't very fast; it's not much different from walking.

After passing through the woods, we entered the main road, where the number of people increased, many carrying bundles and dragging their families along, hurrying on their way.

Zhao Lian stopped one of the men: "Uncle, what are you doing? Why are you in such a hurry?"

The man widened his eyes and said, "Young lady, you don't know yet, do you? The imperial court has issued a notice ordering us all to flee the famine."

"We're heading to Ula Oblast, which is still thousands of miles away! I can't talk to you anymore, I'm still on my way!" After saying that, the man hurriedly left.

Sure enough, the imperial court issued a notice, and they had only traveled a little over 200 li.

"Mom~ I can't walk anymore, sob sob sob~" A cry rang out.

When Zhao Lian turned around, she saw a little girl, about five or six years old, who looked pale and thin, sitting down on the ground and starting to wail loudly.

Standing next to her was a woman in her early twenties, with a bundle slung across her chest and a baby a few months old on her back.

“You silly child, why are you so insensible? We still have to hurry on our way, or we might not be able to find your father again,” a thin woman dressed in coarse brown clothes said patiently.

"But my feet hurt, I can't walk anymore. Why don't you carry me on your back?"

The woman became angry: "Are you leaving or not? If you don't leave, your mother won't want you anymore."

As she spoke, the woman ignored the child and started walking on her own.

The little girl didn't believe it at first, but once her mother was far away, she burst into tears, quickly got up from the ground, and limped after her mother.

More and more people arrived, and the official road was crowded with people. Some looked like families, while others looked like they were traveling alone. No one paid any attention to them; everyone was busy making their way.