CH 4

Chapter 4 – Journey to the North

There is a saying that a prolonged drought brings floods and extreme drought brings locusts.

Not long after Li Jing’er left Wolong Village, the heavy rain that was thought to be heaven-sent continued to fall endlessly for almost a month.  The rice seedlings that had just sprouted were beaten to the ground and before the plants with grain heads that had ripened early could be harvested they started to rot in the fields.

A swollen river suddenly overflowed and flooded countless fertile fields.  The crops that originally could still be harvested were all submerged in water and the disaster was more serious than the drought.

The Xiao Family, who were initially rejoicing that there were two mouths less to feed, suffered an indescribable calamity.  Just as they were elated at getting a share of the Second Branch’s compensation, in a blink of an eye, nothing was left.  Even the 15 taels of silver were washed away by the flood leaving behind only the roofs of the brick houses intact.

As for Li Jing’er, it was lucky she avoided the flood just at the right time.  She headed north on foot and traveled for almost a month as she could not walk fast carrying her child.  Throughout the journey, she followed the waterway without deviating.

Along the way, she encountered a large group of refugees who were fleeing and some of them were gathered in small clusters of 3 to 5 people.  Among them, there would always be a mixture of good and bad people.  To avoid danger and trouble, she walked alongside a few families who looked friendly and had children.  At the same time, she ate and slept not far away from them.

The only unbearable thing was that there was a woman who was very talkative and liked to pry into other people’s private affairs.  Even when she was very tired and panting breathlessly, she would not shut her mouth.

“Little sister, are you really divorced from the Xiao Family?”

“Not divorced, it’s amicable separation.”

Li Jing’er untied the only quilt she had and draped it over her daughter who was sleeping soundly.

As she traveled further to the north, the climate became cooler.  In Wolong Village, it was so hot that she had the urge to drink cold water in the summer but in less than a month, the weather had changed.

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Autumn was about to end but the weather still showed the strength of the autumn tiger.  Walking in the afternoon could still make one sweat but it was much cooler in the morning and night, so one would surely catch a cold in summer clothes.

Fortunately, she insisted on taking the cotton quilt with her when she left and even had a huge quarrel with Mother Wu over it.  In the end, she won the fight due to her youth and strength and also took away 10 catties of white rice, 10 catties of white flour, and 20 catties of coarse grains.

All these food rations were stashed in her house which she had deliberately hidden away.

Due to this reason, Mother Wu burst into tears and insisted that Li Jing’er stole the food rations from the Xiao Family.  However, it was written clearly in black and white on the divorce paper that was signed in the presence of the Village Administrator and the Clan Elder.  Therefore, the Xiao Family could only watch with hatred as she took away the food that could be regenerated.

With the added weight of the child, the bamboo basket on her back weighed at least 50 to 60 catties but to a firefighter who had to carry heavy equipment constantly, it did not pose any problem to her.  Even though she was in a different body, Li Jing’er could easily carry the weight of 60 catties after a little self-training.

Some firefighting equipment was even much heavier than this.  If she can’t carry this weight, then how can she possibly fight the fire and handle rescue missions?  A qualified firefighter must have a strong healthy body and a powerful will.

And in this line, she was a Squad Leader and also one of the few female firefighters.

“The meaning is the same.  It’s an abandoned wife that the husband’s family doesn’t want.  An amicable separation is just a nicer way of putting it but it’s still abandonment.”

The woman speaking was about 24 to 25 years old with a son and a daughter.  It could be seen that they did not have enough to eat for a long time as the mother and children were so skinny that their bones were protruding while the woman’s husband was making a fire to cook a pot of wild vegetable porridge at the side.

“If it’s an amicable separation, one can take away all the dowry but if one is divorced from the family, one has to leave without taking anything.”

Li Jing’er said calmly without any intention to share the steamed buns in her hands with the others.

When she left the Xiao Family, there were 6 taels and 325 coins in her possession.  She tried not to eat the food rations in the bamboo basket to guard against any unexpected eventualities.  Along the way, she bought a dozen large steamed buns and a few easy-to-preserve flatbreads as dry food.  Around her waist, she tied a gourd that was picked up by the roadside that had seeds removed and filled it up with water so she could drink whenever she felt thirsty along the journey.

At the bottom of her bamboo basket, she kept a few pieces of dried meat, and taking advantage of the darkness in the night, she would sneak a few bites and chew on them as she needed physical strength to complete the whole journey.

Even so, she still ate better than the others.  She ate two meals a day and could fill her tummy to 80 percent full.  Compared to the wild vegetable porridge that was full of water, her food could be considered the earth’s delicacy.

Like all the refugees, Li Jing’er wore patched-up clothes and pretended she did not have enough food for three meals a day.  She acted like after finishing the steamed buns and flatbreads there would be no more food left.  As a result, even though the people around her were very hungry, they did not covet her food as she still had a child that needs to feed on breastmilk.

Madam Zhou was the one watching Li Jing’er eat.  She really wanted to grab the steamed bun over and stuff it into her mouth.  She was very hungry but as long as she did something like that, she would be beaten up even before the steamed bun could enter her mouth.  Her husband was too upright and she was not allowed to snatch from others before reaching the end of the rope.

Thus she could only pass a few sarcastic remarks to disgust others.  As she was not having an easy time she did not want others to have it easy as well, so she wanted everyone to feel miserable together with her.

“How much silver taels do you think a farmer would have when he has to feed a family of more than 10 people?  The money I earned had to be handed over to my parents-in-law and when I left, I couldn’t take anything with me.  I only have about 10 coins with me, otherwise, why do I need to do embroidery all along the journey?”

Who doesn’t know how to put on a pretense of being poor?  And she is indeed poor!

To avoid being regarded as a fat sheep to be slaughtered and at the same time, wanted to earn more money, Li Jing’er trained herself to do embroidery while walking.  In five days, she could embroider two handkerchiefs and after selling the embroidered handkerchiefs, she openly used the money to buy food rations.

Her child was still young and feeding on mother’s milk.  Although she eats for two, she does not spend a lot of money so it did not attract much attention.  In this way and to some extent, she more or less avoided getting into trouble.

However, among the refugees, there was a mixture of rich and poor people and some of them could still afford to eat meat.  As for Li Jing’er who was so obscure, it was not noticeable and was like a droplet of water falling into the ocean, disappearing instantly.

“You’re indeed capable considering you’re a woman and you traveled so far while carrying a child on your back.  As for me, I’m traveling with a skinny son and daughter, and if not for my husband who is leading us, I won’t even be able to get out of Minjiang River Estuary.”

Madam Zhou said in a boastful tone to brag she was better off than some people.

After all, she has a husband, and no matter how difficult life is, she is in a much better situation than an abandoned woman burdened with a child.

“Since my life is as such, I have to grit my teeth to carry on living.”

After taking a sip of water, she pulled up the cotton quilt to wrap herself and her daughter inside and breastfed her daughter.

Li Jing’er was still very grateful for her good luck that her titular husband died after her delivery as it gave her time to recuperate and nourish her body that was depleted of energy and blood.

After she had saved enough money and felt that she could start to secretly arrange to cut ties with the Xiao Family, she suddenly received news that her husband, who did not have any fate with her, had died in the war.  The compensation money successfully helped her to leave the Xiao Family who only wanted to treat her as their servant.

God still treated the so-called time travelers with kindness.  She was given a ‘married’ status and did not have to worry about getting married upon reaching the marriageable age and getting married to the wrong man.  Although she did not have a husband, she had a daughter and carried the reputation of a ‘widow’ and an ‘abandoned woman’.   She believed that with this kind of status, a lot of people would not show any interest in her.

“You’re right.  If we continue to stay there, we won’t be able to survive as well.  It’s either the drought or the floods or the swarms of locusts that cover the sky.  It was the reason we were forced to seek refuge with relatives in the capital.”

Trees that move will die but people who move will survive.  Leaving home was the only way to survive.

“Are you going to the capital?”

It is not easy to make a living under the Emperor’s feet.  Although it may seem prosperous on the surface, it is actually concealing the filth as 7 out of 10 officials are related to the royal family.  Since those people could not be offended, it would be better to stay away and avoid getting into trouble with them.

As a time traveler, Li Jing’er never harbored the thought that she was suited to fight with the members of the royal family.  Or with gold in her right hand and silver in her left hand, she could simply open a shop to start a business and make profits that flow like running water with the princes and noblemen crowding around her like loyal dogs giving others the impression that she is favored.

But that is not the reality!  People have become wise nowadays as they have been brainwashed very thoroughly since childhood.  They value family status and whether both parties like each other and the most important is that they must be well-matched in social status.

Even in modern times, it was rare for the sons of rich families to marry daughters of poor families.  Even though sometimes there would be a couple who spread vigorously that they could not live without the other but tragic endings were still aplenty.  Most of these tragic marriages were with daughters of some big consortiums and although their marriage seemed harmonious on the surface, the couple no longer love each other but they still refused to divorce.

This is called reality.  Love can never match up to money.

So Li Jing’er never dreamed about ridiculous and nonsensical things.  She arrived in peace and intends to be an ordinary person, keep a low profile and live a peaceful life.

“Are you not going to the capital?”  Madam Zhou asked as she patted her young son’s back to coax him to sleep.  Her thought was that after he had fallen asleep, he would no longer feel hungry.

“No, I’m going north to where the mountains are located.”

There are a lot of commodities in the mountains and if one works hard, one will never die of hunger.

There were also mountains in Wolong Village where Li Jing’er lived but they were not high.  The number of wild birds and beasts had dwindled pitifully and most of them had been caught by the village’s children using slingshots and traps.  Even when she wanted to eat a pheasant she could not find any.