Chapter 144: Chapter 144: Heaven Has Finally Shown Mercy

The luggage brought by the Qi Family and the other three big families was all ready, including pots and pans, but the rest of the people had nothing.

Helplessly, the four families could only lend them a pot each.

Not saying much, at the very least, each room needed a stove that could be lit for boiling water.

It was similar to the small courtyard where the Qi Family was located.

The main house had three rooms, allocated to the Wang Family, Sun Family, and Zhou Family.

Fortunately, the kangs in the main house were big enough, so the families could squeeze in and sleep.

There were six wing rooms on either side, but two of them, one was a warehouse, and the other was a straw shed.

Not only were there no heated beds, but there weren’t even windows covered with paper.

Thus, only four rooms were habitable.

Luckily, all thirteen of them were men, so they could squeeze in and sleep.

Once the belongings were moved into the house, Qi Quanjin and a few others hurried out of the city with four carriages only with planks, to chop wood in the forest.

The wood burned in each room now was leftover from last night, which, even if used sparingly, could only last a day. Without going out to chop wood, the only option was to buy it.

With so many people and rooms, relying on buying wood for warmth could incur an indefinable cost.

Yi Meng and others at home were not idle either.

Each family’s water urns were placed in the corners of the rooms, and the men were busy carrying water, first sending it to the Qi Family in the backyard, and then filling the water urns in the front yard.

The fire in the stove remained lit, continuously boiling hot water in the pot.

The first two pots of hot water were mixed with some cold water, and the women began wiping everywhere with their cloths.

The house was empty, but there was still some dust.

The wives and daughters-in-law were not lazy, and since the house had a well, they naturally had to clean it thoroughly.

Yi Meng was fervently busy with her sisters-in-law and sisterhoods when suddenly she heard someone shouting in the front yard.

When she got to the doorway, she saw Zhou Tao leaning over the back wall with a face full of anxiety, “Fourth Sister-in-law, someone is sick! Could Mr. Yin and Mr. Qin come over?”

“Wait a moment, I’ll call them right away!”

Yi Meng was also startled and quickly went to find Yin Cheng and Qin Minglang.

Although Yin Cheng and Qin Minglang didn’t get along, they were staying in the same room.

They shared a room with Dalang, Erlang, and Sanlang.

Yi Meng didn’t enter directly at the door but stood outside and called out.

Soon, Qin Minglang came out.

Once a bright and clear person, now he had his sleeves rolled up, his face stained with dust, looking a bit disheveled.

“What’s the matter?”

Qin Minglang had been busy dusting inside and heard the shouting from the front yard, but since it was directed to Qi the Fourth’s wife, he hadn’t come out.

Just after he spoke, Yin Cheng came out, followed by Qi Sanlang.

Qi Sanlang was carrying a medicine box.

“What else could it be; someone must have gotten sick with the sudden relaxation.”

Yin Cheng shot a disdainful look at Qin Minglang, expressing as much contempt as possible.

Qin Minglang then realized, slapping his forehead, “Oh right, I was thinking about this when we were moving, and now I completely forgot with all the busyness. Senior brother, you go first, I’ll follow later.”

“Why are you going over there? Hurry up and wipe the kang!”

Yin Cheng snorted and walked off.

Yi Meng quickly made way, “Mr. Yin, sorry for the trouble.”

“Hmph! If you know it’s troubling, make something good to eat tonight.”

Yin Cheng was not polite at all.

Yi Meng immediately chuckled and agreed.

Now settled down, without the immediate worry of rough meals in the open, it’s time to celebrate with some good food.

Yin Cheng headed with Qi Sanlang to the front yard, leaving Yi Meng to find Mrs. Qi.

“Mother, I want to go out and buy some groceries or something. Now that we’re finally settled, we ought to celebrate a bit, don’t you think?”

Yi Meng washed her hands as she entered the room, discussing with Mrs. Qi while drying her hands.

Sitting on the kang, Qi Manman, playing with Qi Shilang, overheard and immediately turned to her mother, her big, round eyes almost sparkling, “Mom, Manbao wants to eat fish!”

“You child, where are we going to find fish in this cold weather?”

Mrs. Qi scolded gently, then told Yi Meng, “Don’t go out alone; you’re not familiar with the place, take a couple of people with you.”

“Okay! I’ll have my sister-in-law and Erlang accompany me in a while.”

Yi Meng promptly agreed.

Wang Daya, upon hearing they were going to the market to buy groceries, eagerly agreed too.

Qu Laodi approached, “Fourth sister-in-law, can your second sister-in-law join you too?”

“Sure! But second sister-in-law, your room isn’t spotless yet; what if we get delayed coming back?”

Yi Meng didn’t mind bringing another person along.

Qu Laodi hesitated.

Looking back at her own bedroom, she finally waved it off, “Forget it, I’ll not go today. You and big sister-in-law take a good look, I’ll go later.”

“Alright!”

Yi Meng felt a sigh of relief when the second sister-in-law decided not to join them for shopping.

Honestly, if they all went out shopping, she’d worry about having no one dependable at home if something happened.

The third sister-in-law had a soft nature, and the fourth sister-in-law wasn’t someone who could handle big matters; the second sister-in-law was the most reassuring to leave at home.

Wang Daya washed her hands, put on a thick coat, and called Qi Erlang; the three headed to the front yard, calling Zhou’s Cui Niang and Zhou Tao’s wife, Xu Meihua.

Upon learning they were going shopping, Zhou Tao quickly expressed his desire to join.

Thus, the six of them headed towards the main street.

As they walked, Yi Meng learned that the sick person was Ling Shuo.

Ling Shuo was the grandson of the old junior scholar.

The old scholar was called Ling Liang, and though his body was frail, he managed to hold it together.

It was the youngest, Ling Shuo, who got sick, unsure if it was due to catching a chill last night or relaxing suddenly, causing his body to falter.

Just now, while kneeling on the kang wiping it down, he suddenly collapsed.

Initially, they thought the child was playing around, trying to slack off on the warm kang, so nobody paid attention.

It wasn’t until Ling Liang, embarrassed, called his grandson twice to get back to work and got no response that he realized something was wrong.

“It’s so unfortunate, that child has suffered so much at such a young age.”

Wang Daya sighed repeatedly.

Zhou Tao said, “Sis, don’t worry! Though it’s severe, Mr. Yin said the kid has a strong foundation; he just got weaker from fleeing. He’ll be fine with rest and proper medication.”

“That’s good to hear.”

Wang Daya patted her chest and then clasped her hands in prayer, “For us to make it here safely and settle down, it’s truly a blessing from the heavens.”

Yi Meng carried her basket, looking up at the sky too.

Although not clasping her hands, she was bowing fervently in her heart.

Indeed, it was divine protection, otherwise, her family might have already become wild wolf fodder.

As they reached the main street, the six found the market bustling with people.

In an unfamiliar place, they feared encountering swindlers or thieves, so they decided to stick together.

Just after leaving a short distance, they heard someone calling Qi Erlang.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep