Farmhouse Green Plum

Chapter 647: Conflict

Yuan Qing nodded, leaning towards this option. "Less contact with people means less risk of exposure. Let's first find a way to go into town to buy some food, and then try to minimize contact with people."

In fact, it would be better to finally leave Dongchang Prefecture and go farther away to purchase supplies. However, they brought very few things with them, especially with a baby, so they had to prepare some thick cotton clothes.

So, after Nanny Zhang and Yanqiu had taken care of Yu Lingwan and her daughter, Song Ying and Yuan Qing discussed the matter with them.

Although Yu Lingwan and her daughter were in stable condition, they had just given birth, so Song Ying had to stay and look after them. Yuan Qing went to the city with Nanny Zhang to buy supplies.

The two disguised men arrived at the city gate. From a distance, Yuan Qing discovered that the number of guards at the gate was 20% more than that of an ordinary city.

He hurriedly stopped Aunt Zhang and pulled her to a nearby deserted tree. "Something's not right. Dongchang Prefecture might be under martial law."

Aunt Zhang was immediately anxious: "What should we do? Everything else can be made do, but without a quilt and mattress, what will the young lady do?"

It's already autumn and the nights are very cold. How can the baby bear it?

Yuan Qing thought for a moment and motioned her to stay here and not move. He walked a little further away, and then when an ox cart was about to pass by, he suddenly rushed out, lowered his head, and pretended to walk hurriedly.

Caught off guard, the cart couldn't stop at all, and the cow in front hit Yuan Qing's lower back.

"Ouch—"

Yuan Qing shouted and fell to the side of the road.

The driver was terrified. He pulled the ox hard and asked anxiously, "Little brother, are you okay?"

Yuan Qing's nose and eyes wrinkled into a ball, and he rubbed his waist and cried out: "Ouch, my waist hurts! It hurts so much!"

The man was frightened. He jumped off the ox cart and squatted down, reaching out to check Yuan Qing's injuries. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, my ox cart is running..."

Before he could finish, Yuan Qing interrupted him, "Brother, it's not your fault. It's my fault for not looking where I was walking. Ouch, it hurts so much."

Hearing this, the man felt relieved. "Little brother, you really should have watched the road before you walked. It's a good thing you were hit by an ox cart. If you had run into a playboy on horseback, you would have been killed if you hadn't walked like this."

Yuan Qing frowned and admitted honestly: "I was too impatient."

This look of admitting his mistake made the man have a better impression of him. He reached out to help him and said, "I'll take you to the clinic to see a doctor."

"Thank you, big brother." Yuan Qing responded, and when his hand touched her, she immediately raised her voice and cried out, "Ouch, it hurts! Big brother, ouch, no, it hurts so much!"

The man retracted his hand. "Could it be that a bone was broken? Bear with it, little brother. I'll take you to the city to find a doctor. You can't delay in this situation."

Yuan Qing's face was pale, with layers of cold sweat running down his forehead. "But it hurts so much, I feel like I'm going to die if I move a little."

At this point, he paused, his expression becoming even more anxious, "Besides, I have an urgent matter to attend to in the city today."

"What's more important, the matter or life?" The man stared at him and asked back with great disapproval.

Yuan Qing was troubled and stammered, "But my sister is getting married tomorrow. If I don't buy two quilts quickly, I won't be able to give her any dowry tomorrow!"

The more he spoke, the more anxious he looked. "My sister suffered a lot since she was a child. She didn't even have a decent dowry when she got married. She would definitely be laughed at by her husband's family. She raised me, and I can't even support her."

After hearing the last sentence, Yuan Qing's expression turned into shame.

The man patted him on the shoulder gently and said, "Little brother, it takes more than just one or two quilts to support the family. As long as you are successful, your sister's husband's family will definitely look up to her. This is the real support for the family."

Yuan Qing expressed his gratitude and explained, "My brother-in-law's family is very poor, and his parents are partial to each other. Without my sister's dowry of cotton cloth, how will they survive this winter?"

He hesitated for a moment and said, "Brother, you are going to the city too, why don't you buy it for me?"

"Ah?" The man was a little confused. "I'll buy you a quilt?"

His eyes moved to Yuan Qing's lower back, "It's not impossible, as long as you trust me."

Yuan Qing said firmly, "Of course I trust you!"

He took out a tattered little purse and handed it over. "Here's five taels of silver. Please buy me two quilts. You can use the remaining money to buy some cotton cloth."

He scratched his head, feeling a little embarrassed. "I saved this money for a long time. When I had enough, I even exchanged it for silver."

The man looked at the purse in disbelief, "You, do you trust me so much?"

Yuan Qing said sincerely, "Brother, you are so kind, you must be a great person!"

The man felt a warmth in his heart, but also a sense of melancholy. He was a young man who didn't know how dangerous the world was. He had trusted others too much in the beginning, and that's why he was deceived several times.

Looking at the young man in front of him with clear eyes and a sincere face, he seemed to see his younger self.

He took the money and nodded solemnly: "Okay, I'll buy it for you."

Yuan Qing smiled brightly, revealing a row of neat white teeth, looking a bit silly, "Thank you, big brother, remember to ask for bright red, with blooming flowers!"

The man agreed, "Wait here. I'll try to finish my shopping as quickly as possible and then find a doctor for you."

Yuan Qing rubbed the corner of his clothes awkwardly, "Thank you, brother. Forget about the doctor. I, I think I'll be fine after a rest."

The man sighed, remembering that he had just said that this money was saved bit by bit by him, and it was all he had. He used it all to buy a quilt for his sister, so naturally he had no money to see a doctor.

He couldn't help but sigh, what a simple and honest good brother.

No matter how much he felt emotional, he could do nothing about it. He was just an ordinary civilian. It was hard for him to feed his family, so how could he have the ability to pity others?

The man sighed and drove away in the ox cart.

Nanny Zhang came over from a distance and asked worriedly, "Aren't you afraid he'll just take the money and leave?"

Yuan Qing looked towards the city gate and said, "Now we have no choice but to take a gamble."

When he said this, his expression was calm, without any trace of the honest and straightforwardness he had just shown.

Aunt Zhang sighed.

Fortunately, his bet was right. At about three quarters past four, the man came out with an ox cart and went straight to the tree where Yuan Qing was.

Before the car came to a complete stop, he asked, "Little brother, are you feeling better?"

"I've rested for a while, and I feel much better." He pinched his lower back, "Now there's only a little pain."

The man said happily: "It seems that the bones are not broken, it should be nothing serious. Remember to watch the road next time you walk..."

After a long chatter, he pointed to the quilt on the cart and said, "This is the bright red quilt you wanted. I used the remaining money to buy two pieces of cloth. Marriage is a happy occasion, so I chose red cloth for you."