Farming Family's Pocket Dimension: A Charmed Little Lady Comes to Farm

Chapter 46: Chapter 46: What You Thought Was a Coincidence

Lan Zhi nodded emphatically. "I can do that. Sewing is my specialty."

"Then you go on. I’ll take care of this," Mrs. Chen said with a wave of her hand.

Lan Zhi went into the room and consulted with Gu Fei and Li Chunhua. She then grabbed a pair of scissors and began to cut the hides. They had to be trimmed neatly first to make them easier to sew together.

After washing the dishes, Mrs. Chen came over as well. The women were soon bustling with activity, working together.

While sewing the hides, Mrs. Chen asked Gu Fei, "Little Fei, can you talk to your father? Can’t we wait until spring to leave? It’s about to get cold. If we travel in the winter, I’m afraid we’ll freeze to death."

Gu Fei shook her head. "Mother, we can’t wait."

"To get to the south, we have to cross several prefectures. It’s a journey of thousands of miles that will take two or three months."

"Plagues are common in the spring, and who knows how many people will starve to death this winter. If we delay and end up catching a plague on the road, it’ll all be over for us."

"It’s better to endure the cold and leave early."

Just as Mrs. Chen was fretting, Gu Qing came in. "Sister, what was it you said we still needed to buy?"

Gu Fei nodded. "We need to buy ginger, charcoal, hand warmers, foot warmers, and frostbite ointment. Also, all sorts of common medicinal herbs. We’ll probably need to buy more fodder for the mules, too. And waterskins—the leather kind are best, so buy plenty. Get some alum as well. I’m afraid clean water will be hard to find on the road."

"Just buy whatever else you think we’ll need for the journey."

Gu Qing rubbed his hands together. "Aren’t we buying any grain?"

"The price is bound to keep rising."

Gu Fei glanced at the others in the room and steeled her heart. "I have grain. It’s enough for our whole family to eat until we reach the south."

’The family probably already has a tacit understanding about my special abilities anyway,’ she thought. ’There’s no point in being secretive anymore. It’ll be impossible to hide on the long journey south.’

She took out one hundred taels of silver. "In a bit, go pay back our uncle. Then go to the village chief, pay him back too, and get our mortgaged land deed back."

"You and Father can decide how to use the remaining silver."

Gu Qing took the silver and was about to leave when Mrs. Chen suddenly stopped him. "I think we should still buy some coarse grains. It won’t look right if our cart doesn’t have any grain on it."

Gu Fei looked at her mother, then at Gu Qing, and nodded. ’Mother is being thorough,’ she realized. ’This is to avoid attracting unwanted attention.’

「The next day」

Family members set about their tasks. Some went to deliver messages, while others went to buy supplies.

The two brothers of the Gu Family went into the city again with Gu Zhang.

The women who remained at home kneaded dough, steamed buns, and made flatbreads.

Buns and flatbreads were more convenient to carry on the road than raw flour.

Mrs. Chen planned to spend the next few days steaming as many as she could. She had quietly asked Gu Fei, who confirmed she had a place to store them where they would stay hot, just as they were when they went in.

The only thing Mrs. Chen was unhappy about was that they only had fine grain, not coarse grain. It felt like such a waste to eat it.

「By evening」

The men who had gone out finally returned.

Gu Sanlang, however, remained in the city.

Gu Zhang looked very excited.

The family sat down at the table for dinner. Gu Zhang smiled at Gu Fei and said, "Father managed to buy a map today."

Gu Fei’s eyes lit up. Gu Zhang continued, "And that’s not all. While I was at the livery yard, I happened to meet an old man with the surname Ma. When he heard I was heading south, he offered to be our guide."

"He used to be a caravan guard in his youth and has been to the south many times. He knows the routes like the back of his hand."

"Now that he’s older and can’t guard caravans, he drives carts for the yard and takes care of the livestock. He’s an expert at it all."

Gu Fei nodded and smiled. "That’s wonderful. It’s just what we needed."