The Lucky Farmgirl

Chapter 2290 - 2265: Let’s Walk Together from Now On

General Guo finally breathed a sigh of relief as Assistant General Nie found something, "The village is near Tingzhou, it takes three to four days from Xizhou to get there. If we ride horses, we should be able to make it in three days, but..."

He paused and said, "No one is willing to guide us."

Manbao: "Is it because the money we are offering is not high enough?"

"No," Assistant General Nie said, "There’s a rumor that the area around Dan Stone Village is a place cursed by the gods, and no one is willing to go there."

He continued, "Ever since the incident of the Crown Prince being poisoned was reported, the Protectorate here sealed off that village area, and very few people can come out from there, let alone go in. After finding out the location, I thought of hiring someone who knows the way to guide us, but as soon as I mentioned going to Dan Stone Village, they refused, and no amount of money could change their minds."

Manbao was speechless for a long time, and Bai Shan pondered for a moment before saying, "Then let’s figure out the route clearly and go ourselves."

He turned to Daji and said, "Daji, you go with Assistant General Nie."

He didn’t plan to take Assistant General Nie and his men with him, just planning to take a few guards with Daji.

Assistant General Nie initially had objections, but when he heard that Mr. Zhuang and the others were not going either, he accepted the arrangement.

They began to purchase supplies, water and food for the journey, as well as a large quantity of rice, flour, and local fabrics. They only planned to take one carriage, so everything was loaded onto the carriage. In addition to the inside, the carriage roof, undercarriage, and the back were all tied with many items.

Across from them, people who had rented a house to stay, including Dayu and others, saw this and immediately ran over to inquire, "Are you leaving?"

"No, we’re going out on official business." Manbao thought about not seeing them for several days. He didn’t expect them to be living across the street, which surprised him. "Why are you living across the street?"

Dayu said, "We’re staying for a long time, so staying in an inn is too expensive. Therefore, we rented a courtyard as well."

Manbao figured out the situation and asked, "You’re not going back home?"

Dayu sighed, "Isn’t it because there are many bandits on the road? So, we thought to wait for some time, and when your official business is done, we could go together, saving you a bit of money on the way back."

Manbao: "... Are you afraid of bandits?"

Weren’t you guys bandits before?

Moreover, with a small amount of cargo, such as spices and gems, which are small and easy to carry, you could easily stuff them into a pocket. With your intimidating presence, no sensible bandit would want to mess with you.

She thought they would return after selling their goods.

Dayu and his companions did plan on that initially, but...

Dayu sighed heavily and leaned in close to whisper, "It’s not the bandits that are scary, but the soldiers. According to reliable information, people like us, as long as we hit the road, would be directly considered bandits and eliminated by soldiers. At that point, there won’t even be a chance of captivity; they’d chop off our heads, claiming it as military merit, and naturally, the gems and spices we bring would be theirs."

So it’s safer to follow Zhou Manbao’s group. At least they won’t be mistaken for bandits and eradicated.

Bai Shan pondered for a moment and then said, "In that case, shouldn’t you be paying us for escorting you?"

Dayu: ...

He turned and walked away, "Forget it, just pretend I wasn’t here. When the trade route opens and the road gets busy, we’ll leave too."

He doesn’t believe the Anxi military can eliminate bandits all the way until next year.

Bai Shan laughed and called after him, "Just a joke. If you want to travel with us, that’s fine. But we haven’t decided on our return date yet. You should talk to Steward Li. After all, we came from the same place, and returning together has its benefits of mutual support."

It is mutual support, not employment.

Dayu understood but was quite happy. He thought to himself: although there won’t be any escort fees, going back with them would probably mean less hassle from soldiers, making it easier to pass through customs.

With the major matters settled, Dayu had the leisure to concern himself with them and leaned against the wall, shaking his leg, asking, "You guys are going on a long journey. Coincidentally, we sold a lot of our goods. Do you need us to escort you?"

Bai Shan declined. He hadn’t even brought all his guards, so they weren’t necessary yet.

Dayu was very curious, "Is there really a prescription for treating smallpox in Anxi?"

How come I’ve never heard of it?

Bai Shan responded calmly, "If you inquire carefully, you’ll always hear some news."

"Are you going out now to investigate this matter?"

Bai Shan smiled without explaining further.

The next day, they left the city. Bai Erlang and others escorted them to the city gate. Once their carriage had gone far, Bai Erlang immediately cheered, slinging his arms over Liu Huan and Yin Huo’s shoulders, and called to his friends, "Let’s go, let’s explore all around Xizhou City."

Zhou Liru turned and said, "Include me!"

Bai Erlang agreed, "Sure!"

Liu Huan hesitated, "This might not be good. Some places aren’t suitable for girls."

Zhou Liru said, "What’s wrong with that? You guys just want to go to the singing and dancing house, right?"

Liu Huan: "... How do you know?"

"I heard you talking with Young Master Bai Er."

Liu Huan immediately clammed up and turned to look at the other two companions.

Yin Huo said, "Let’s just go."

After all, it’s not like they haven’t seen such places before; there are plenty back home.

Bai Erlang didn’t think it was wrong for Zhou Liru to go to these places. After all, hasn’t Manbao been playing like this with them since childhood?

Subconsciously, they thought places they could go to were also suitable for her and her niece.

Only Liu Huan hesitated for a bit, but soon shrugged off his worries. The four of them didn’t even return to the courtyard and went straight to have fun.

Assistant General Nie turned back for a moment and saw them running off into the distance. He shook his head, thinking that without Mr. Zhuang present, there really were no restraints on them.

The guards and Xiaos accompanying them didn’t see anything wrong with this either, and they marched boldly and energetically in the same direction as their masters, heading for the entertainment venues.

At this moment, Bai Shan and Manbao were heading north with their curtain hats on. Tingzhou is north of Xizhou, an even more desolate place.

But the location wasn’t within Tingzhou, just near it.

The meteorite’s site wasn’t particularly far from Dan Stone Village. Manbao remembered the words of the two villagers sent to the capital back then: At night, a particularly bright star fell from the sky, breaking into three fireballs mid-air. As it fell, the entire earth shook.

They were frightened and rushed out of their houses to look into the distance, seeing a burst of firelight in the direction of the desert.

It was in the desert, and the fire burned for two days before stopping. Because there was only Dan Stone Village in that area, they finally decided to take a look.

It was a huge crater, and in the end, they found a particularly, particularly beautiful giant gem there. Dan Stone Village had craftsmen who had worked for the king. The village belonged to the king, so they decided to offer the gem to him, hoping to request relocation to a better place to live.