On the side of the cave.
Cheng Hao was covering Su Miaomiao's face with his hands, rubbing her palms. He frowned and said, "The temperature drop is unusual, ten degrees a day. It might even go below zero later."
As he spoke, he noticed his hands were icy cold, and no matter how much he rubbed them, they wouldn't warm up.
He began to scold her.
"What were you running so fast for? Don't catch a chill later and get a stomachache, you'll get sick. And you need to change that habit of opening your mouth when you run!"
He was lecturing his childhood friend when he heard Wang Daming's confusion.
Cheng Hao turned to look at him, pulled an envelope from his sleeve, and shook it. "We're lucky. We found supplies hidden by a wealthy family nearby. They said they couldn't take them all. If they were discovered by others, it would be a shame. They figured it was a good deed to let us have them. They said we could take them all, but we'd have to offer sacrifices to their stone deity daily, like this one. They said we just need to be devout!"
He spoke with a serious expression.
With his noble demeanor, he was actually quite intimidating.
He managed to fool them all.
They were stunned.
Su Miaomiao didn't know her childhood friend had started improvising while she was gone. She understood his intention but couldn't play along.
She was afraid of being exposed.
After all, the more you say, the more likely you are to make a mistake.
They hadn't rehearsed this beforehand.
Who knew what else he would make up?
But as childhood sweethearts, she understood his intentions.
It would save a lot of trouble.
Everyone could take the items directly without any fuss.
Indeed.
It was very effective!
Although everyone thought the world was fantastical, with all sorts of strange things happening, and that it was even more magical that they had encountered this, they still believed it wholeheartedly. They carefully picked up the stone, which looked no different from any other stone, perhaps just a bit more unusual in shape.
Wang Daming was a bit confused, but he couldn't think of anything else. He could only believe that this young couple was incredibly lucky to have stumbled upon this.
It was unbelievable!
But overall.
Everyone was overjoyed, filled with energy.
They immediately began to move the items.
Cheng Dazhuang and his brother found a sturdy wooden pole and carried the items, intending to make fewer trips.
Wang Daming followed suit, getting the hang of it quickly on his first attempt.
The other servants also helped to carry the items.
They even placed some dead leaves on top to conceal them.
But it was estimated that it wouldn't fool anyone.
It was like trying to cover one's ears while stealing a bell.
The other two teams would surely know they had acquired a considerable amount of goods.
No matter what they were.
Knowing you had something good was enough to breed jealousy.
But everyone currently relied on Cheng Hao and Su Miaomiao, the young couple. And the Cheng family's caravan was the strongest of the three teams, so they wouldn't dare to act rashly.
Thus, they were at ease.
As everyone busied themselves.
The young couple also prepared to return. They needed to move everything before dark.
They took the heavier items.
Su Miaomiao and Cheng Hao carried some of the miscellaneous items, especially two wooden boxes containing daily medicines, which were the most crucial.
Their group worked tirelessly, making several trips to move everything.
Old Ji received them at the temple.
As soon as the items arrived, he carefully inspected them, then recorded them in the inventory book.
He then had others place them on the supply carts and covered them securely with oilcloth.
Now that the supply carts didn't need to carry people, there was plenty of space!
But the old man was startled each time he inspected an item. His hands trembled. He thought to himself that so much grain and supplies were simply astonishing!
Hadn't their young masters robbed a bandit's den? Otherwise, where could they have gotten so much grain and so many supplies? He believed his young masters wouldn't be capable of robbing anyone, which led him to think they had raided a bandit's hideout!
In reality, there was no bandit's den.
They didn't even know if there were any villages nearby. Even if there were, the quietness indicated that people had long since left, leaving the place deserted.
It was indeed strange.
Logically speaking.
Their carriages weren't moving slowly, but the people on foot were faster than them. There were very few people on the main road. Everyone was heading for the small paths in the mountains. But Old Ji soon understood.
The men of Shana Village also preferred to travel through the mountains. Although it was more dangerous, they rarely encountered the rumored wolves, tigers, and leopards. Wild beasts generally feared large human groups and would avoid them.
But if they encountered one, it would be a matter of life and death!
However, everyone wanted to save time. As long as they could get through the mountains, they would go. Although the path was more difficult than the main road, it could save a lot of time, as they could cross a ridge in some places.
The main road, on the other hand, was winding and circuitous to ensure smooth passage for carriages, naturally making the journey longer. Therefore, ordinary villagers would be foolish to travel on the main road.
Moreover, encountering abusive powerful figures or wealthy households on the road was also dangerous.
Old Ji quickly reassured himself.
It was fine that there were no people nearby on this stretch of road.
Although they occasionally felt a sense of loneliness, as if they were the only ones left in the world, it was safer to have no one around, so they wouldn't encounter people like those in the previous temple and almost implicate their group.
After understanding this, Old Ji happily had the items stored away and sent people to keep a watchful eye on the supplies. So much stuff required careful attention.
Laifu was a bit confused, thinking that since everyone had faced death, they wouldn't dare to steal from the Cheng family, would they? They wouldn't dare, would they?
Old Ji tapped him and reprimanded him in a low voice, "As a servant, your duty is to share your master's burdens and resolve difficulties! You must also think of your master's interests in every possible way! Remember, only if the master is well can we servants be well! Can you be careless in your duties? Not even an iota of error is permissible!"
The elder taught him earnestly, knowing that Laifu was young and hadn't experienced the cannibalistic past, so he underestimated human nature.
He said in a low voice, "Don't look at everyone being good now. If they are in dire need, or if malice arises, let's see who wouldn't dare."
Old Ji strictly instructed Laifu never to be careless, to approach everything with utmost vigilance, and that if something went wrong, it would be too late!
Laifu naturally kept this in mind and quickly expressed, "I would never dare again!"
He then looked at his master's rarely serious face, knowing he wasn't joking.
He absolutely could not forget.
Seeing Laifu's earnest promise, he knew he was a good and teachable child.
He had definitely taken it to heart.
Old Ji then nodded with satisfaction and told him to continue his work.
Laifu agreed.
He went back to help, working tirelessly and never complaining of fatigue.
The other two teams watched the Cheng family's caravan bustling with activity and were somewhat puzzled. But upon hearing that the young couple had discovered some more treasures, they suddenly understood and then lamented their great luck.