There was only one shop open on the corner. When most of the people in Gaoping Town heard that the Tartars had invaded, they took their valuables and fled eastward. Now, most of the people in the town were those who had escaped from Tianshui and came here to rest for the night.
A large steaming steamer was placed at the door of the only open shop. When the waiter opened the steamer, dozens of plump, white and soft steamed buns were seen emitting sweet hot steam. The sight of them was extremely tempting.
Mingyu and Lixiang's stomachs growled at the same time. Lixiang reached out to take out the silver, but Mingyu stopped her. "Don't take out the silver and let people see it." Mingyu said anxiously in Lixiang's ear. There are many refugees here. They walked hundreds of miles a day on their own. They are all strong and healthy. If they show their wealth and people have bad intentions, they will be finished.
Lixiang understood what she meant and searched her body for a long time before she found out about twenty copper coins, which were the rewards given to her by Aunt Yu. She didn't expect that the copper coins were still there, but the person who rewarded her had passed away. It made people sigh.
In the past, steamed buns were sold for two for one penny. Mingyu took out two copper coins, ran to the door of the shop, looked at the fragrant white flour steamed buns, swallowed his saliva, and said, "Give me four!"
The waiter was not very old, about sixteen or seventeen. He looked at the dirty Mingyu and Lixiang with his small eyes and said arrogantly, "You want to buy steamed buns for two dollars?"
"How much does it cost?" Mingyu was stunned.
The waiter was a little impatient. It was obvious that the two dirty boys had no money. He waved his hands and said, "Go away! My steamed buns are ten yuan each. If you can't afford them, go away. There are plenty of people buying them. Don't delay my business!"
Mingyu's eyes almost popped out of her head. This bastard was really making money from the national crisis! The price of a steamed bun had increased by twenty times. How many steamed buns could she and Lixiang buy with the few coins they had
In desperation, Mingyu tried every possible means to persuade the waiter, and told him the tragic story of "an underage apprentice who was abandoned by his heartless boss and fled home with his mute brother to find his father". Finally he bought two steamed buns for fifteen copper coins. The waiter still acted like a great philanthropist, which made Mingyu lose her appetite.
Mingyu was reluctant to finish the steamed buns at once. Although they had some silver on them, they dared not take it out and let others see it, and they did not have enough copper coins to spend. The two of them shared a steamed bun, and stuffed the remaining one into their arms and put it away, preparing to eat it tomorrow morning.
The freshly-baked steamed buns were fragrant and soft. Mingyu felt that her stomach finally had something in it after eating them. It was no longer empty and burning. She thought of the bowl of cabbage noodle balls she made for Lu Hao's friend. She almost drooled with greed. If that person wasn't extremely hungry, he wouldn't think the simple vegetable noodle balls were delicious.
Looking at the five copper coins left in Lixiang's hand, Mingyu felt a little headache. The price of steamed buns had increased twenty times, so what about the inn? The temperature in the northwest in late autumn could drop below zero at night. If the two of them slept on the street like these refugee strong men, they would be frozen.
Mingyu and Lixiang led the horses and went to the waiter who was selling steamed buns. The waiter had already sold all the steamed buns and was in a good mood, humming a little tune while stacking up the empty steamers and moving them into the store. Mingyu hurriedly and attentively helped him move some small items, and Lixiang also helped move them with her tact.
"Hey, hey, what are you doing?" the waiter shouted.
Mingyu chuckled and said cheekily, "Big brother, you are the best!"
The waiter looked at the fawning smile on Mingyu's dirty little face and immediately had a bad feeling. Sure enough, Mingyu stuffed five coins into the waiter's hand with his dirty little hand and said pitifully: "Big brother, we only have five coins left. Please let us stay in your store for one night!"
The waiter refused without a second thought. Mingyu could no longer care about that. She squatted on the ground and hugged the waiter's legs, crying, "Please, big brother, we will stay in your shop for one night and won't cause you any trouble!"
The waiter was so annoyed by Mingyu's shouting that he weighed the five copper coins in Mingyu's hand and said angrily, "You just sit in the store and leave at dawn. Do you understand?"
Mingyu nodded quickly, and quickly led the horses with Lixiang to the yard behind the store. After the horses were tied up, the waiter drove them into the store, threw in a few sacks, and immediately bolted the back door, as if he was afraid that they would break in.
The shop owner had already run away with his family, leaving only the waiter to look after the shop. According to this money-obsessed waiter, he would also run away tomorrow morning as soon as the city gates open, so the more money he could make today, the better.
The snack shop is very small, with only two greasy tables. Once the front and back doors are closed, it is a small, airtight hut. When it gets dark, with the doors and windows closed, the light in the room becomes dim.
Mingyu and Lixiang put two tables together and lay on them. After a day of fear, they were too tired to move, and they didn't care about the hardness of the table. But Mingyu couldn't fall asleep. As soon as she closed her eyes, she would think of Sima Qing's mutilated body under the bloodstained white cloth, and the back of Master Bao riding away on horseback. She felt uneasy and helpless.
She can barely take care of herself now and has no time to take care of others.
It started to get cold at night, and the two of them slept together, covered with sacks. Mingyu thought in a daze that she thought life in the villa of the marquis was hard, but she didn't expect that something even harder was waiting for her.
In the late night, Mingyu was awakened by the noise outside. Covered with a sack, Mingyu jumped off the table and looked outside through the crack of the door. The street was brightly lit, and neatly arranged rows of armored soldiers were running westward in a hurry, as if they were urgently dispatched from other places.
Mingyu narrowed her eyes as she looked at the endless line of troops. She didn't know how to fight and didn't know if she could take back the lost Tianshui with these soldiers. However, now that Tianshui was occupied by the Tartars and burned, even if she took it back, it would not be the same Tianshui as before.
The next day, Mingyu and Lixiang got up at dawn. Before the waiter came out, Mingyu quickly took out a pair of pearl earrings that she had taken off when she changed her clothes.
When the waiter opened the back door and was about to yell at them to get up, he found that they were already up, with the sacks neatly folded on the table. He choked on what he wanted to say and said angrily, "It's daybreak, let's go, I'm going to lock the door!"
The waiter was carrying two bags, which looked like they were filled with dozens of steamed buns. Mingyu was moved and asked, "Brother, are you carrying so many steamed buns on your way?"
"Yeah, what's wrong?" The waiter said with an impatient tone, reaching out to lift the bag on his shoulder.
Mingyu smiled widely, "How can that be possible? Are you going on this journey alone?"
The waiter looked Mingyu up and down warily and said, "Why are you asking so many questions?" He made a lot of money from selling steamed buns at high prices yesterday. Could it be that this pair of brothers were trying to kill him for money
Mingyu knew he was thinking the wrong thing when she saw his two small eyes rolling around alertly, "Look, there are people fleeing outside, many of them haven't eaten for a day. If you go out with a big bag of steamed buns on your back, you'll just be a sitting duck, won't you? No need to skip a word.
After hearing what Mingyu said, the waiter turned around hesitantly and looked at the street. It was still daybreak and the refugees who had huddled on the street to sleep last night had not yet gotten up. Most of them were young and strong men. If they really tried to steal his buns, he would not be able to protect himself no matter what.
"What's it got to do with you?" the waiter asked unhappily.
Mingyu took out an earring from her bosom and said with a smile, "Big brother, when I escaped from Tianshui yesterday, I found an earring on the ground. It must have been dropped by a young lady from some family. It is worth a lot of money. I will exchange it with you for the steamed buns. If you don't want it, I will sell it to someone else."
“Wait!” The waiter raised his hand to stop Mingyu, took the earrings and looked at them, then looked at Mingyu again and said, “I’ll give you five steamed buns at most!”
Lixiang couldn't help but feel indignant. These were top-quality South Sea pearls. Madam had spent two taels of silver to buy them for Mingyu!
Mingyu was also a little short of breath, "Forget it, I won't sell it."
"I'll give you five more! I tell you, if you sell them to others, they might arrest you and say you stole them!" The waiter refused to return them. His rough fingers stroked the warm pearls, which were plump and smooth. Even if he didn't understand much, he could tell that they were good things.
"Okay, deal!" Mingyu gritted her teeth. Although the waiter was greedy for money, he was not a bad person. They were unfamiliar with this place, and she didn't dare to sell it to others.
Lixiang took the ten steamed buns handed over by the waiter and wrapped them up carefully. Mingyu was filled with emotion. Her pearl earrings were now worth only ten steamed buns.
Lixiang had to remain silent at this moment and could only glare at the waiter angrily, what a black-hearted boy!
The waiter noticed Lixiang's contemptuous look, but he didn't care at all. He proudly stuffed the pearl earrings into his arms and said, "There is no business without fraud!" After that, he impatiently urged Mingyu to take her horse and leave.
Mingyu led her horse out from the backyard and saw a dirty water bag on the windowsill. She quietly stuffed it into her robe when the waiter wasn't paying attention.
The horse was tied up in the stable last night, and there was still some horse feed left in the stable. Perhaps the waiter didn't need the horse feed anymore, so he didn't charge Mingyu for it. The horse had rested for a night and had eaten enough feed, so it had recovered its spirits. Lixiang was no longer afraid of riding a horse, and the two of them rode very fast after getting on the horse. Before leaving Gaoping Town, Mingyu saw a well on the side of the road with his sharp eyes, and he and Lixiang drew water from the well to fill the water bag, and continued to run east.
Mingyu remembered that when she was in the Marquis' Mansion, she had read a book of mountains and rivers written by Master Bao. After Gaoping, it was Qin Town, and after Qin Town, it was Baochuan Prefecture. Baochuan was an important town in the northwest, connecting Xi'an Prefecture and Tianshui Prefecture. Once they reached Baochuan, they would be safe. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets on Qidian (). Your support is my greatest motivation.)
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