novelden Chapter 137 First Encounter with Yun Hu
Chapter 137 First Encounter with Yun Hu
The dry food that Zhu Jingxing found for Luo Xiaoran at that time was just some steamed buns, which made Luo Xiaoran speechless. It was not even enough for her and Niu Dan to eat for three days.
In order to avoid starving to death on the road, Luo Xiaoran personally went to the Zhu Mansion's kitchen to search around, but found nothing.
Zhu Jingxing explained that the meal times in the Zhu Mansion were fixed, so there was no food during non-meal times. The few steamed buns in his hand were the ones he had collected with great difficulty like a thief.
Luo Xiaoran was in a hurry and didn't waste time talking to Zhu Jingxing. She took some seasonings, rice, flour, oil and grains from the kitchen, and took a small pot with her. Finally, she bought some dry food and candied fruits on the street before going to look for the beef eggs.
After passing the Lin family and successfully leaving the city, Luo Xiaoran walked on the small road with Niu Dan for ten days.
The two were in a hurry to travel and did not want to waste time cooking. They were also afraid of alarming the wild animals in the forest, so they gave priority to eating the ready-made steamed buns and dry food.
In order to prevent fluid accumulation in Niudan's ankle joint, Luo Xiaoran let Niudan's injured foot lie flat on the horse's back instead of letting it droop.
Luo Xiaoran's injuries have not healed yet, so she can't be too tired, so she has to ride on the horse.
Apart from the fourteen-year-old Luo Xiaoran, the skinny little Niu Dan is also seven years old. It is only because he has never had enough food and is malnourished that he looks younger than the five-year-old Luo Xingchen.
A horse carrying supplies and two people, although they are two children, is still a considerable burden.
They walked like this for ten days. Because they didn't walk, the bruises on Niu Dan's ankles had obviously subsided a lot, and Luo Xiaoran's injuries had also recovered a lot.
But just yesterday, their horses were startled by a wild boar that suddenly jumped out. Luo Xiaoran took great pains to kill the wild boar, and it also allowed herself and Niu Dan, who had been running around for days, to have a taste of meat.
However, two people could not finish a pig, nor could they take it away, so Luo Xiaoran simply dealt with the wild boar.
Luo Xiaoran felt a pang of pain in her heart as she threw away the pig's head, trotters, tail and internal organs which were difficult to handle on the road. If she had a kitchen, she would have eaten all these things to her heart's content!
The easy-to-handle front leg and hind leg meat should definitely be taken away. The tender tenderloin cannot be thrown away, and the most delicious pork belly cannot be given up. It should be marinated with salt to extend its shelf life.
I can't continue walking on the path. It's full of grass, thorns, and woods. There are too many dangerous factors. After dealing with the wild boar and looking at the wild boar's blood on the ground, Luo Xiaoran thought so.
The official road is still safer. After calculating the distance she has traveled and making sure that the Lin family will not catch up with her, Luo Xiaoran decided to go back to the official road.
Speaking of which, Luo Xiaoran has walked this official road between Changzhou and Kyoto three times.
The first time was when he was fleeing from famine, the second time was when he was kidnapped by Zhu Jingxing, and the third time was when he returned to Hexi Village.
Thinking of Hexi Village, Luo Xiaoran sighed deeply. She wondered if Chen'er would make a fuss about her sudden disappearance for such a long time, and whether Du Kongqing and Sun Qingyuan would be worried.
"Niudan, do you want to come down and eat something?" Luo Xiaoran asked Niudan on the horse.
Since returning to the official road, in order to reduce the burden on the horses, Luo Xiaoran has been walking half of the time, and when she is tired, she rides horses with Niu Dan.
Niu Dan didn't say anything, just nodded, then carefully stepped down in the stirrups according to what Luo Xiaoran taught him.
He was a quiet person to begin with, and he became even more introverted after his mother died.
Luo Xiaoran wanted to help pick him up, but was rejected by Niu Dan: "Sister's injury has not healed yet, I will do it myself."
Luo Xiaoran took out a piece of wild boar meat wrapped in leaves from the saddle bag, heated up some oil in a pan, cut the pork into small pieces and stir-fried it in the pan, then served it out when it was cooked.
The rice that has been soaked in a water bag overnight can be quickly steamed in a pot. Then put the fried pork cubes on the rice and steam it for a while before you can eat it.
In fact, this is a reference to the method of steamed rice with Chinese sausage, but where can I find all the ingredients on this desolate official road? I can only make do with what I have.
The rice is new rice, and the pork has been salted, so it’s a bit salty. The lard has flowed into the rice, and it tastes quite fragrant. Didn’t this attract a passerby?
"Little girl, do you want to sell this rice?"
A sudden voice startled Luo Xiaoran who was concentrating on eating. When she looked up, a handsome and fair-skinned young man came into her sight.
I didn't even notice his footsteps. This person might have some kung fu skills. Luo Xiaoran was secretly alert: "I won't sell it. I'll eat it myself."
"Don't refuse first. Let me exchange something else with you!" the man said quickly.
Luo Xiaoran swallowed the pork she was chewing, and took off the rice with beef eggs stuck on her face, but her eyes were carefully looking at the other person.
The man in front of him was dressed in black, with his hair standing up high. His clothes and hair were stained with road dust. He must be a traveler on the official road.
However, Luo Xiaoran looked at his empty hands and asked him to exchange something. What did he want to exchange?
It seemed that Luo Xiaoran's eyes were too sharp. The man also realized that he really had nothing on him, so he hurriedly explained:
"My companions are all behind me, just wait a moment. We have a lot of good stuff in our team, there must be something you like."
Sure enough, not long after, a group of people came from afar. Seeing the familiar uniforms on them, Luo Xiaoran was a little surprised. This group of people were from the Dongfeng Caravan!
The last time she attended the temple fair, Luo Xiaoran accidentally saw the Dongfeng caravan with a group of people selling their bodies. She didn't expect to meet them on the official road this time.
"Are you from the Dongfeng Caravan?" Luo Xiaoran raised her eyebrows, her eyes widened, and she looked very surprised.
Uncle Xiang, Aunt Ji and Ruyi had told her about the Dongfeng Caravan. From their descriptions, it can be inferred that although the Dongfeng Caravan also engaged in human trafficking, they were not criminals.
Moreover, when Luo Xiaoran bought Aunt Ji and the others from the Dongfeng Caravan, although the leader of the caravan looked ferocious with a whip in his hand, he intended to sell the three of them to her together so that Aunt Ji's family could remain together. Therefore, Luo Xiaoran had a good impression of the Dongfeng Caravan.
The man in black didn't expect that a little girl actually knew them. It seemed that the Dongfeng Caravan was so famous that everyone knew it. Thinking of this, he was very pleased:
"That's right! We are from the Dongfeng Caravan, my name is Yun Hu."
"Why?" Luo Xiaoran murmured to herself.
"Yes! 'Yunhu' means 'why'. Isn't my name very special?" The man in black continued, as if he was very happy that Luo Xiaoran could understand the meaning of his name at once.
"No matter what you give me, I won't trade it with you." Luo Xiaoran said.
Yun Hu's eyes widened under his sword-like eyebrows, and he seemed very puzzled: "Why?"