Heavenly Blessed Baby: Fleeing Famine, Busy to Prosper!-Chapter 175: No One Blames Courtesy

The other people were also frostbitten. Although they woke up one after another, their wakeful periods were short. Basically, they would eat a little something, drink some medicinal soup, and then fall asleep again.

The group of thirteen old scholars and Ji Hu lived in the same courtyard, helping to take care of each other during the day. Peaceful coexistence was the norm.

When Qi Quanjin and his companion came to deliver food, Ji Hu was awake, sitting in front of the stove watching the fire boil water.

Hearing someone open the door, he turned his head to take a look.

It was bright outside but a bit dark inside, so he couldn’t immediately make out who had come in.

It was Qi Quanjin who saw him first and smiled, asking, "Hu Zi, how’s your body feeling now?"

"It’s... it’s Brother Quanjin!"

Recognizing the voice, Ji Hu hurried to stand up.

But his body was too weak, and getting up too fast, he nearly fell toward the stove.

Qi Quanjin quickly moved forward and grabbed Ji Hu by the collar at the back of his neck, saving him from potential harm.

"Take it slow, your body is still weak. Don’t rush to stand or squat."

Qi Quanjin held Ji Hu’s arm and helped him over to sit on the bed.

Ji Hu scratched his head with a smile, "I was just so happy to see you all, I didn’t think it through."

"Haha, as long as you’re happy."

Qi Quanjin laughed heartily and put the two bags he was carrying on the table.

There was more space now, no longer as crowded as before with everyone squeezed in one room.

So there was a table on the ground where they could place things, making it convenient.

Seeing the bags, Ji Hu asked, "Brother Quanjin, did you bring more food?"

"Yes, you can currently only eat some light foods, but you shouldn’t lack anything. If you’re hungry, just boil porridge. Don’t need to eat by the clock. Getting well is the key. Understand?"

Qi Quanjin instructed. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

It wasn’t that he was overly generous, but he had heard from the two doctors that these people were saving on food, and only drank some rice soup each day. While they wouldn’t starve to death, they also never felt full.

Their bodies were always lacking, affecting even the absorption of medicinal soup, which made their condition worse.

So Qi Quanjin made a point of coming by to explain this clearly.

After hearing Qi Quanjin’s explanation, Ji Hu’s eyes reddened, tears welled up as he choked out, "Brother Quanjin, we’ve become a burden to you. The food must be precious now, we, we..."

"Don’t say you’re a burden. If you really feel that way, then hurry up and get well. Eat properly, take your medicine. Once you recover, help me out more around here, and we’ll be even."

Qi Quanjin didn’t like seeing people cry, especially men’s tears, which gave him goosebumps.

Ji Hu nodded earnestly, wiping his tears with his sleeve, "Brother Quanjin, rest assured, once I’m fine, I’ll work like an ox for your family, repay this kindness for a lifetime!"

Qi Quanjin waved his hand.

Working like an ox or repaying kindness, he hadn’t thought about it that way.

The old scholars, they had no other choice, if they weren’t taken along, they would have surely frozen or starved to death, which led to the idea of hiring them as long-term workers.

Actually, Qi Quanjin preferred having family together, dealing with matters as a family without outside involvement.

Seeing Ji Hu emotional and about to cry again, Qi Quanjin couldn’t stay any longer, "Alright, focus on healing! If anything comes up, have the old scholars send someone to my house with a message."

"Yes, yes!"

Ji Hu nodded vigorously.

The old scholars, some old, some young, had survived until now, which Ji Hu saw as miraculous.

During these few days together, Ji Hu also learned how they came to be with the Qi Family, so he had no doubts about Qi Quanjin’s arrangements.

Qi Quanjin and Qi Ercai left the supplies behind and didn’t speak much before leaving.

Returning home, they put the rope in the living room, and then the boys in the family gathered together to learn how to weave nets.

Without real fishing lines, they had to use a thinner rope for weaving, although not professional, it was straightforward to figure out and learn quickly.

After half a day of work, the Qi family men finished weaving two large nets, which seemed much more useful than the previous makeshift ones made of hemp rope.

After a night’s rest, the next morning, the Qi men left the city to go fishing.

This time, they not only drove the horse-drawn carts but also brought along many sacks.

The empty sacks were spread over the cart floor, covered with worn bedding on top, making it impossible to see what was underneath.

Leaving the city, they encountered the same soldiers as the day before, and Qi Ercai greeted them warmly.

The weather was still good, cloudless skies, so there were more people leaving the city to gather firewood.

The Qi family’s five horse-drawn carts were naturally the most noticeable.

But the carts moved quickly, and before long they disappeared without a trace after leaving the city.

The others saw this, and without exception felt envious and resentful.

If their family had five, or even just one horse-drawn cart, it would make gathering firewood so much easier.

Besides, with such good horses, selling one could earn enough so they wouldn’t need to gather firewood at all, they could just buy it ready-made!

But that was just wishful thinking.

Horses were too expensive, even more than cows, mules or donkeys.

Even if the whole family saved without spending, it would take at least ten years.

The Qi Brothers didn’t know about this.

There were more people coming out today.

Apart from the six brothers, several young men of the Qi Family also came out.

Fishing wasn’t a task for the kids, but gathering firewood was possible for them.

Qi Dalang dropped off his brothers by the roadside woods halfway.

This patch of woods wasn’t connected to the distant mountains, making the likelihood of encountering wild beasts low, so they were tasked with gathering firewood while Qi Quanjin and the others continued on to fish.

After fishing, they would load the gathered firewood onto the carts and take it home.

Upon reaching the pond, there was no snow on top anymore, but the water surface had frozen over again.

Fortunately, it wasn’t thick. The few of them easily broke through the ice and cleared the surroundings.

This made it easier to fish and allowed them to determine the size of the ice surface more clearly.

The caught fish were all thrown into the snow to freeze, and when solid, they filled sacks, loaded them on the cart, and stacked them in the middle.

The effort took more than two hours, and they used all the sacks they brought.

The young ones weren’t as good at gathering firewood as the elders, but with the frozen fish providing structure on the cart floor, when they finally loaded the gathered firewood, fixed it with ropes, the amount looked no less than what Qi Quanjin and the adults could gather in a day.

On the way back, Qi Quanjin said to Qi Ercai, "Brother, we need to think of a way. We can’t let the soldiers keep poking the stuff on the carts. If they damage the fish, no big deal, but if someone finds out something’s amiss, that wouldn’t be good."

"Yeah, I know, so I told our mother to steam more buns at home today, and I’ll take some as a gift to the city guards. It’s hard to fault someone for being too polite."

Qi Ercai replied.