The Cheng family head also got out of the carriage and exchanged words with their two family heads.
Upon hearing Steward Du's report, the Jin family head quickly dragged his heavy body out of the carriage and squeezed into the cluster of family heads, afraid of being left out.
Seeing this, Ji Bo asked his young master, "This place seems clean enough. Should we rest here? It's almost getting dark."
Cheng Hao, inside the carriage, glanced at the sky outside. It was indeed nearing evening.
"Mmm, alright. Then let's get out and set up camp. Make sure everyone below is mindful and doesn't dismiss what we've said. Remember to be careful."
Avoid contracting any diseases.
They would not pick anything or hunt nearby for now. Safety first.
Ji Bo naturally agreed.
He then jumped off the carriage and went down to instruct everyone to prepare for setting up camp.
They had already fallen into a rhythm.
As soon as they heard the order to set up camp, everyone went to their own duties, working swiftly, which astonished the two wealthy families.
The Xue family head, stroking his goat beard, cupped his hands towards the Cheng family head and exclaimed, "I never imagined that Old Brother Cheng possesses such skill to manage such a large group so orderly and efficiently! Everyone is so energetic! I am truly impressed! Impressed! May I ask for your advice?"
The Yu family head also nodded frequently and lamented, "Yes, yes. I brought over a hundred people with me, but we lost fifty to sixty percent of them on the road!"
He explained that their Yu family lost some people traveling on the main road, some to the heavy rain, and some in the winter. By now, only about thirty people remained. They had endured hardships to survive!
"Currently, everyone in our convoy is weak and sickly, lacking strength. But Old Brother, please rest assured, although this epidemic is rampant, our Yu family has not contracted the disease. It's due to weakness and hunger!"
The Yu family head pointed to his twenty or so followers, all of whom were very thin, with little flesh on their faces, and their complexions and spirits were poor.
The other villagers fleeing were also in a sorry state, wrapped in whatever they could find for warmth, their shoes tattered, and they too were thin.
They had been cautiously staying away from this area, huddled in camps at a distance.
These refugees were the most common sight in this era, but the Cheng and Jin family convoys were truly extraordinary. They were tall and strong, full of vigor and rosy-cheeked, not at all like people fleeing famine.
Everyone naturally played along and offered pleasantries.
But even without words,
your convoy's capabilities were evident. The Yu and Xue families would only think of befriending you and would not dare to be disrespectful.
The Cheng family head had not seen other living people for a long time and was finally able to have a good conversation. He was very pleased, and the compliments made him beam with joy.
He made no mention of his own son.
Instead, he took all the credit himself, humbly saying, "Not at all, not at all. It's simply what a family head needs to do. There's no special skill involved. But if you really want to talk about it, my methods of managing the family are indeed effective. Look how obedient these people are?"
The Cheng family head also laughed heartily, his mood greatly improved by the two other family heads.
The Jin family head rolled his eyes but didn't expose his boasting. He knew his old friend's true capabilities. He was good at business, but the current success of the Cheng family convoy was largely due to the indispensable contributions of his eldest son and daughter-in-law.
He was extremely envious, but unfortunately, none of his three daughters were capable of managing things.
In the end, he could only sigh.
The Yu and Xue family heads, unaware of the truth, continued to flatter the Cheng family head.
"Old Brother Cheng is truly a capable man!"
"Indeed, indeed!"
After the two finished their praise, they finally revealed their purpose: they needed to travel together.
The Cheng family head naturally agreed that traveling together was fine, but warned them not to be insidious people, saying one thing to their face and another behind their backs.
The Xue and Yu family heads quickly assured him they wouldn't, adding, "With your powerful convoy, how would we dare to offend you?"
"Exactly, exactly! We are eager for your protection!"
The two of them adopted a very humble demeanor.
The Cheng family head felt gratified. Being praised by them made him feel his worth, so he quickly responded, "By all means, by all means!"
Then, though he wasn't directly involved in official matters, he knew to inquire about the latest news.
The Xue family head pointed to the sky and said, "Those enemy soldiers! They are truly brutal! They massacred Fengcheng! And they dare to be arrogant! Rampaging around there! Nearby towns could not escape! Now it's rumored they are heading southwest to attack Mo City! However, this heavy snow has stalled their advance!"
The Yu family head nodded frequently and added, "It's just that Mo City is remote. I wonder if the news reached them in time, allowing everyone to escape! We don't know much more than that, but along the way, many people are fleeing, and many cities are surrounded by refugees!"
No food.
And lacking supplies.
They also encountered an unusually long and cold winter.
Those refugees naturally converged on the nearby cities.
"It's a pity that many cities have already issued orders to not open their gates. Now, everyone is in a panic. Refugees outside the city want to enter, and citizens inside the city want to leave. As a result, both sides are blocked. Only the wealthy and officials can endure. Then, those outside cannot enter, and the people inside have no surplus grain. Life is truly chaotic!"
"There are even rumors that in closed cities, citizens with nothing to eat started smashing open the doors of wealthy families and breaking into the back doors of officials to steal things. Now, neither inside nor outside the city is a place for humans!"
The two family heads expressed that they felt a sense of dread after hearing these rumors.
"Precisely because of this danger, my brother Yu and I decided to flee to a less populated area. People's hearts are truly frightening. And as we both said, although there are no people on this road and not much food to scavenge, at least we can avoid large crowds, which is much more reassuring!"
Both expressed lingering fear.
The Xue family head even said, "As we endured to the end and prepared to leave, that area had people from everywhere. That's why the news was so well-informed. And we heard about the snow disaster in the north, floods in the south, and severe epidemics in the Central Plains. Now, even people of our generation are dying from illness!"
The Yu family head was not foolish either. He stated that they had encountered too many corpses along the way, which was also a major hidden danger. He wondered what would happen when the weather warmed up.
Moreover, there were many robberies on the road. They had lost quite a few people to get here.
However, their mental and physical states were extremely poor, which was why they were so shocked by the excellent spirit and physique of the Cheng family and their group.
In this regard, the two expressed their utmost admiration.
The Cheng and Jin family heads listened to this news and felt it was truly terrible.