Chapter 134: Beyond the Mountains

Yan Huaiwen adjusted the bundle wall blocking the front of the cart.

It was tightly secured by Tian You.

He called over Yan Xiangheng and asked, “How is your driving practice coming along?”

Yan Xiangheng answered honestly, “Not bad. Driving an ox cart isn’t too difficult.”

“In that case, help your second uncle more so he doesn’t have to work too hard.”

Yan Xiangheng hesitated. “Father, I don’t know the way. I’ll still need Second Uncle to guide me.”

If his uncle had to watch the road for him, it wouldn’t be much different from driving the cart himself.

Their ox was very obedient—it moved when told, stopped when commanded, and could even avoid rocks and sunken pits on the road by itself.

Compared to the mules and donkeys in the village, it was much more reliable.

Yan Huaiwen hadn’t expected his son to have the same issue as him.

“You don’t know the way?”

Yan Xiangheng explained, “Traveling through the mountains is different from taking official roads. You have to go around forests and rocks. Second Uncle can navigate without mistakes, but if it were me, I’d have to stop and figure out the path first.”

Yan Huaiwen fell silent, carefully considering his son’s words.

So he was the only one with this problem!

“Father, Second Uncle is still busy. I’ll go help him.”

When Yan Lao’er saw his nephew coming over, he didn’t stand on ceremony and had him pack the now-cooled braised pork ribs.

He poured wild fruit syrup into the last few bamboo tubes the family had.

Then, the two of them took their spare clothes and gave them a thorough scrubbing.

After washing, they hung the clothes on a hemp rope tied between two trees.

Only then did the uncle and nephew take a break.

Yan Xiangheng quickly dozed off.

Yan Lao’er half-closed his eyes but soon sat up again.

Looking back, he saw his daughter sprawled out in deep sleep, her little mouth slightly open.

He tiptoed over to adjust her sleeping position so she wouldn’t wake up with a dry mouth.

Then, under the cover of night, he retrieved a bundle of wheat straw from the forest and secretly fed the village’s mules and donkeys.

At dawn, as soon as the sun peeked over the horizon, the hardworking villagers began their day.

Cluck, cluck… cluck, cluck…

Yan Yu turned over, her face ending up in the direction of the hens.

Through the sparse fence, she slowly opened her eyes.

Something different stood out against the yellow-green grass.

Oh, they laid eggs!

…What?!

Her eyes suddenly widened as she sat up and stared intently.

“Oh my heavens! The chickens laid eggs!”

Da Ya had woken up early and came over at the commotion. Seeing the eggs in the grass, her eyes curved into joyful crescents.

Her voice brimmed with excitement. “They laid eggs again—oh? There are two this time!”

She turned to her younger sister and grinned. “This time, I was faster than you. I found them first!”

She scooped up the two eggs into her hands.

Yan Yu: …

A few days ago, she had faked finding eggs, but this time it was real!

Their hens had truly laid eggs!

She was bursting with excitement but had no one to share it with.

Locking onto her father’s location, she jumped off the cart and ran over.

“Father! Our chickens laid eggs! Big Sister Da Ya just picked up two! It’s real—the chickens laid them themselves!”

Yan Lao’er was just as shocked. “Oh my heavens, after all that they’ve been through, they still laid eggs? These hens are real egg-laying champs! Just two? We need to find out which ones laid them so we don’t mistakenly butcher them later.”

Yan Yu nodded in agreement.

“I’ll ask Big Sister Da Ya to check their bottoms.”

Their four hens were quite feisty, and only Big Sister Da Ya could handle them.

When Yan Yu returned, Da Ya was already catching each chicken to check.

“Just two today. I figure there’ll be two more tomorrow.” She smiled.

Then she stuffed the warm eggs into Yan Yu’s hands. “Take them to Second Uncle.”

“Big Sister, there’ll be more tomorrow?” Yan Yu asked in surprise.

“Yes! Today’s eggs came from these two. I checked—tomorrow, the other two should lay theirs.”

When Yan Yu relayed this to Yan Lao’er, his expression turned solemn. “Alright, let them lay a bit more.”

And then he mercilessly boiled both eggs.

They were given entirely to Li Xuemei.

Li Xuemei felt a bit embarrassed.

She wanted to share with Heng’er and Da Ya, but her nephew and niece refused.

“Auntie needs it more. Besides, we’ve been eating well these days.”

Li Xuemei then tried giving them to her daughter.

Yan Yu: “Mother, our chickens are really promising. They’ll lay eggs all the time. I don’t crave them at all.”

These were real farm eggs, rich in nutrients. From now on, they’d be reserved for her mother. If she wanted eggs, she could just buy some from the marketplace.

For breakfast, Yan Lao’er cooked a big pot of thick porridge.

The old sauce at home was mixed with various pickled wild vegetables.

Wild vegetables were bitter—fine for an occasional meal but unbearable every day. Pickling them into sauce made them much more palatable, balancing bitterness with saltiness.

After finishing breakfast, they loaded their belongings onto the cart under the morning sun.

Yan Lao’er did a final inspection.

He carefully examined each wheel, ensuring the newly tied hemp ropes were secure, before finally taking his seat at the front.

“Sanbao, let’s go!”

He flicked the right rein, and Sanbao turned right and began walking.

Yan Xiangheng thought to himself: Driving isn’t that hard. Pull the left rein to turn left, the right rein to turn right, pull both to stop, and when you want to go, just call out—Sanbao, go!

That’s all there is to it…

As usual, they traveled three hours before noon and three hours after.

Four days later, they finally emerged from the mountains.

What lay before them was a vast, desolate wasteland.

In just four days, the refugees following behind them came to a stark realization of the gap between them and the caravan ahead.

That group never rushed, just maintained a steady, unchanging pace.

A speed that was manageable for oxen, mules, and donkeys alike.

Yet those following behind struggled to keep up.

By the time they reached a rest stop, they were so exhausted they collapsed like noodles, unwilling to move.

Meanwhile, that caravan was chopping wood, sawing planks, and making pushcarts—working tirelessly.

The previous day, they had seen something in the distance.

That group immediately stopped working and disappeared into the mountains.

Watching this, the refugees grew anxious.

They had no choice but to push themselves into the mountains, searching for water and anything edible.

Their efforts yielded little.

These mountains were far less lush than the deeper forests.

Withered trees and thorny vines were everywhere.

It finally dawned on them—this was the true face of a drought.

The past few days in the deep mountains had felt like a dream.

“Should we… go back into the mountains?” one refugee muttered.

Looking at the cracked, barren land where there should have been a waterway, fear crept into their hearts.

“Go back? And get caught by bandits again? There were multiple bandit gangs in those mountains. We only got through safely because of our numbers. Try going back alone and see if you survive. Didn’t you see the mountain folk fleeing too?”

“But ahead… we don’t know how much farther we have to go. What if it’s like this the whole way?”

“Don’t be afraid. We’ll make it out.”

“Yes, let’s rest, save our strength, and follow that kind scholar. He’ll lead us to safety.”