amaotonovel Chapter 194 Arrival in Wangmo County
Chapter 194 Arrival in Wangmo County
The woods were quite restless at night, but thankfully the fire at the temporary camp never went out, and with Zhou Dayong and the others taking turns keeping watch, nothing serious happened.
Song Jiaojiao was awakened by the cold. A thick fog had rolled in over the mountains in the early morning, reducing visibility to less than five meters. The sun had not yet risen, and everything in sight was a white expanse. Song Jiaojiao draped the quilt over Mu Xue and then got out of the carriage.
Shang Xiaoxiao got up early and is now cooking millet porridge by the fire. The rich aroma of rice wafts over, so she must have been up for a while.
"Madam, you're awake. I've boiled some water." Shang Xiaoxiao saw Song Jiaojiao come out and prepared the hot water for her to wash up.
After washing up, Song Jiaojiao sat by the fire, watching the sun slowly rise in the distance. The mist on the mountain began to dissipate, leaving only a sea of fog at the foot of the mountain, forming a beautiful sea of clouds.
The golden rays of the early sun bathed the earth and shone on Song Jiaojiao's face, adding a touch of mystery to her. Enjoying this rare moment of tranquility, Song Jiaojiao tilted her head back and savored the moment.
Once the sun had fully risen and the temperature had increased, Song Jiaojiao and her group continued their journey.
Fifteen days later, Song Jiaojiao and her group finally arrived at Wangmo County. The journey was not peaceful, as they encountered three groups of bandits along the way. Fortunately, Ye Yi was there, and they managed to pass through safely.
Song Jiaojiao is now incredibly grateful that she chose to exchange the century-old ginseng with Ye Yi; otherwise, she probably wouldn't have been able to get through Mozhou.
Unlike other prefectures, Wangmo County is not flat. There is only one road in the county that can be traveled by horse-drawn carriage, and the rest of the area is basically made up of stairs.
Fortunately, Sifang Inn is located on this road, so there's no need to worry about where to park the carriage.
As before, Song Jiaojiao chose to book a small courtyard directly. However, the courtyards here are all relatively small, with only four rooms in each courtyard. They are two-courtyard houses. Song Jiaojiao felt that the name "Siheyuan" (quadrangle courtyard) was more appropriate for it. Helpless, she had to book two adjacent courtyards.
The shopkeeper was overjoyed. It was rare to find such generous customers in this place. He grinned and personally led Song Jiaojiao and the others over.
After traveling by carriage for half a month, Song Jiaojiao told everyone to get off and rest. Even Mu Xue was listless. She greeted Song Jiaojiao and went back to her room to catch up on sleep.
Song Jiaojiao wasn't in a hurry to go out. Considering the risks of the past few days, she felt she needed to hire more people. If nothing happened to the few people they had, they would be fine, but if something did happen, they would be short-handed. It seemed she would have to go to the escort agency to ask tomorrow.
Lost in thought, Song Jiaojiao fell asleep, and when she woke up, it was the next day.
When Song Jiaojiao woke up, she looked out the window. It was dark outside, which made her a little confused. She didn't know what time it was.
"Xiaoxiao, Xiaoxiao," Song Jiaojiao called out as she finished dressing.
"Madam, I'm here." Shang Xiaoxiao brought in hot water and placed it on the washstand.
"What time is it now?" Song Jiaojiao asked while washing up.
"Reporting to Madam, it is now 9 AM."
Song Jiaojiao was taken aback. It was so late? She hadn't expected to wake up at this hour.
"Is it going to rain outside?" Song Jiaojiao asked, looking at the dark sky outside the window.
"It looks like it's going to rain. Dark clouds are gathering outside. It'll probably start raining soon," Shang Xiaoxiao said respectfully.
The words had barely left his mouth when a pattering sound began outside, and in an instant, a torrential downpour began.
Looking at the heavy rain, Song Jiaojiao was relieved that they had arrived in Wangmo County. If they had been on the road, they would have been soaked to the bone.
"Where is Miss?" Song Jiaojiao continued to ask.
"Miss is in her room," Shang Xiaoxiao said.
"Okay, I understand. I'll go find him/her later." Song Jiaojiao thought that it was raining today and she was afraid that she wouldn't be able to do anything. Since she wasn't familiar with the area, she decided to have dinner in the inn's lobby later and listen to see if there were any rare medicinal herbs.
"Xiaoxiao, go and tell Zhou Dayong and the others that we'll be having dinner in the lobby later."
After Shang Xiaoxiao nodded, she carried the basin out of the room.
Song Jiaojiao thought that Xiaoxiao was the only woman on the road, and she usually had to cook and fetch water, so it might not be enough. She planned to buy two more servants after the rain stopped.
"Mu Xue, what are you doing?" Song Jiaojiao came to Mu Xue's room and saw the little one staring blankly out the window.
"Mother, you're here." Mu Xue's voice was listless, and she seemed quite unhappy. It seemed that the heavy rain and inability to go out to play had made her very distressed.
"Hehe, aren't you bored?" Song Jiaojiao sat down next to Mu Xue and tapped Mu Xue's face with her finger.
"Yeah, it's so boring! Why did it rain? We can't go out to play anymore," Mu Xue said, pouting as she rested her chin on her hands.
"Alright, alright, it's getting late. Let's go to the lobby and see what good food we can get here." Song Jiaojiao led Mu Xue out the door and along the covered walkway to the lobby.
Zhou Dayong and the others had been waiting for Song Jiaojiao for a long time, and they ordered two tables of local specialties.
"Madam Song has arrived." It was rare to see Ye Yun come out. Although they had been traveling, Ye Yun looked much better, and the bumpy ride had not affected her.
“Miss Ye Yun looks much better,” Song Jiaojiao asked with a smile.
"Thanks to Madam Song's medicinal herbs, otherwise I would probably be nowhere to be found right now." Ye Yun was very grateful to Song Jiaojiao. Very few people have century-old ginseng and Tianshan snow lotus, let alone be able to generously give them away. They are not only for emergency use, but even if they are not used, they can be passed down as family heirlooms.
"You're too kind. It's all fate. I should thank Ye Yi. If it weren't for Ye Yi, we would probably be in grave danger along the way." Song Jiaojiao nodded and smiled gratefully at Ye Yi.
"Madam, you're too kind. It was something we agreed on back then, nothing to mention," Yoruichi said calmly, no longer speaking with the same breathlessness she had back in Taihang Town.
"What are Mrs. Song's plans next?" Ye Yun asked with a smile.
Song Jiaojiao looked at the heavy rain pouring down outside the door, wondering how long it would take before it stopped.
"Let's stay in the county for now. We don't know how long this rain will last. We'll also inquire about any good medicinal herbs nearby."
"I noticed that Madam Song has been collecting medicinal herbs and fruit trees along the way. May I ask if Madam Song's family is in the medicinal herb business?" Although Ye Yun doesn't go out often, Ye Yi tells her about everything Song Jiaojiao and the others do.
"Not really, it's just that my family has several workshops that make all sorts of things, so we collect a little bit of everything. Besides, it's a rare opportunity to travel far from home, and encountering rare medicinal herbs is a kind of fate, so naturally I don't want to miss it," Song Jiaojiao said softly.
Just then, the waiter brought out all the dishes, and Song Jiaojiao quickly invited everyone to start eating.
"Miss Ye Yun, this hot pot is a local specialty, please try it," Song Jiaojiao said with a smile.