Famine and Chaos: Weaving Cloth in Exile to Escape the War

As the cramps in her abdomen intensified, Kyoto Haru gritted her teeth and sat up. She knew she couldn't wait any longer. The intervals between contractions were getting shorter and shorter, and each contraction was accompanied by a tearing force. The baby in her womb could be born at any moment.

"Grain Buds... Grain Buds!"

Jing Zhichun called out to Xiaoman in a hoarse voice.

Jing Xiaoman was curled up in Jing Zhichun's arms. She only raised her head groggily when she heard the call. Her little face was very red. Jing Zhichun quickly touched the child's forehead and found it was burning hot.

It seems like he has a fever.

This really makes these already miserable days even worse...

In this drafty thatched hut, it's hard to find even a bowl of clean hot water, let alone fever reducer.

What should I do?

Should we go and fetch a doctor?

Not to mention whether there is a doctor in this deserted village, she would have to go to the town twenty miles away to find one. With her belly protruding at any moment, she would not be able to get out of this vast snowfield.

More importantly, according to the rules of the imperial court, exiled criminals like them were to be confined to a designated area within this place of exile.

Forget about it in the city or the town.

If the exiles here want to buy something or exchange it for something else, they either have to wait for a peddler, as there are peddlers specifically for this exile area.

You either need to find the soldiers stationed here.

Those men were border troops of the imperial court, and they also had the job of guarding exiled prisoners.

Of course, soldiers had to be paid for running errands for exiled prisoners.

As for how much silver to give, or even whether the person is willing to make the trip, it all depends on the mood of the soldier on duty.

She suddenly remembered an informant of the original owner's older sister, who was also a soldier who delivered food to the exiled prisoners each time.

But where is she supposed to find that soldier now?

Especially now that it's pitch black and snowing.

If this path is blocked, then the only option is to borrow medicine.

But from whom can I borrow it?

Shen Qingzhou's brother and sister-in-law lived not far away, but because the original owner had dragged Shen Qingzhou down, they avoided him.

When Xiaoman went to ask for help, none of them came, so it was impossible for her to borrow medicine from their house.

Three miles away, there was a cluster of mud-brick houses where exiled prisoners lived. It was the old exiled prisoners' stronghold. They had been exiled early and had long since stopped living in thatched huts and built mud-brick houses instead.

New exiles like the original owner would stay in the thatched huts where the older exiles had lived when they arrived at their place of exile.

Perhaps she could find some herbs from the old exile.

But now the heavy snow has blocked the roads, and she can hardly move an inch. How can she let Xiaoman, who is high in fever and unconscious, go alone?

This is undoubtedly sending the child to his death.

What should I do?

Just as Kyoto Haru was in a state of utter confusion, she suddenly felt a slight movement in her arms.

Jing Xiaoman slowly opened her eyes, which were blurry from the high fever, and saw Jing Zhichun's face clearly.

She was stunned for a moment, then burst into tears.

"Mother...Mother, you're awake... Waaah... I thought...I thought you didn't want me anymore..."

"Don't be afraid, Mother's here, Mother's alright." Jing Zhichun patted Jing Xiaoman's back awkwardly to comfort her. "Don't cry, listen to me, listen to what Mother has to say. Go and get the firewood, and make the fire burn brighter, the brighter the better!"

In the dead of winter in Liangzhou, the wind was biting, the thatched huts were drafty, and snowflakes were still falling softly from the holes in the roof.

Without fire, not only she, but also the unborn child and the feverish Xiaoman wouldn't survive the night.

"Okay, I'll go right away."

Xiaoman sobbed as she struggled to get up from Jingzhichun's arms.

The high fever made her unsteady on her feet, and her small body swayed, but she still gritted her teeth and moved step by step toward the pile of nearly empty firewood in the corner.

Looking at the small, swaying figure, Kyoto Haru felt a pang of sadness. Despite the excruciating pain, she used all her strength to prop herself up and move to the stove.

It was called a stove, but it was actually just a small mud mound with a cutting board on it, a stove next to it, and a small pot on top.

The pot was empty. Kyoto Haru picked up a broken ladle and scooped half a ladle of snow from the thick snow piled up by the door and poured it in.

Regardless of who they are, they all need energy and food at this moment.

"Xiaoman, put the firewood here. Come on, lean against your mother." Jingzhichun took the firewood that Xiaoman brought and neatly stuffed it into the stove, stirring it to make the fire burn brighter.

Then, she pulled Xiaoman, who was burning up and could barely stand, to her side and let her sit down next to her.

Jing Zhichun gently patted Xiaoman's back, "Sweetie, lean on Mommy and rest for a while. Let's eat something first."

"Okay, I'll listen to Mother." Xiaoman nodded groggily and leaned against Jingzhichun.

Jing Zhichun's first thought was to fill her stomach, and then she would try physical methods to lower Xiaoman's fever, using every possible means.

The child was abandoned shortly after birth. The original owner found her on her way to a temple to pray for blessings and took her in. The mother and daughter had a very good relationship, especially Xiaoman, who was only four years old but very sensible.

After the original owner was exiled here, she was pregnant and had difficulty getting around, so Xiaoman did most of the work of gathering firewood and cooking, and also had to take care of the original owner.

Now that she had taken over this body, she couldn't let the child lose his life.

Xiaoman soon started to doze off, and Jingzhichun helped her climb onto the tatami mat to sleep.

She fumbled around in the corner of the room, searching through the broken earthenware jars, and found only half a bag of brown rice. She quickly poured half of it into the pot and started cooking.

Just as Jing Zhichun was about to add firewood to the stove, she noticed something hard on the ground. Looking down for a closer look, she found half a wrinkled Cistanche deserticola, with some sand and dirt still clinging to its outer skin.

Kyoto Haru was stunned.

This is a good medicinal material for tonifying Yang, known as desert ginseng, which grows in deserts and Gobi.

However, according to the original owner's memories, the people of the Great Zhou did not know that this was a medicinal herb.

In this northwestern Gobi Desert, Cistanche deserticola is everywhere, and some people will dig it up and eat it raw when they are extremely hungry.

She suddenly remembered the original owner's memories. A few days ago, Xiaoman said that she was craving something so delicious that she dug up a tree root to eat. As a result, she had a nosebleed that day and complained of a sore throat. It seemed that she had eaten the Cistanche deserticola and gotten a sore throat.

Just then, Kyoto Haru suddenly heard a soft "ding" in her mind, like some kind of notification sound, which startled her.

Immediately afterwards, a semi-transparent virtual panel appeared before her eyes. The half of Cistanche deserticola was highlighted in red in the center of the panel, and a line of text popped up below: [Traditional Chinese Medicine System has been activated. Natural and pollution-free wild Chinese medicinal herb Cistanche deserticola has been discovered. 100 coins per catty].

Jing Zhichun's heart suddenly raced. The Chinese herbal medicine system?

What does that mean?

This system was specially given to her, and it only accepts Chinese medicinal herbs?

Thinking of this, Jing Zhichun quickly reached out and picked up the Cistanche deserticola. The mechanical voice in her head sounded again: [Ding! Detected half a jin of natural wild Chinese medicinal herb Cistanche deserticola, valued at 50 wen. Sell?]

"yes!"

Kyoto Haru shouted it out almost subconsciously.

The next second, the Cistanche deserticola in my hand disappeared into thin air, and in its place, a total balance of 50 appeared at the bottom of the panel.

She hurriedly turned to look at Xiaoman, who was still lying dazedly on the thatched bed, unaware of the commotion.

Jing Zhichun quickly looked at the panel again, but before she could recover, the panel changed again, and a similar interface to Pinduoduo popped up, with the prices of the goods in the panel all in copper coins.

A bottle of mineral water cost two coins, a steamed bun three coins, a meat bun four coins, and a pound of rice fifteen coins…

Jing Zhichun's eyes lit up. Having read novels for years, she instantly understood that this was indeed her cheat code!

She had no time to look at anything else; her fingers flew across the panel, where she had food and water for the time being.

Xiaoman still has a high fever, and what she needs most is fever reducer.

After searching for a while, Jing Zhichun finally found the antipyretics and anti-inflammatory drugs, three pills and three packets of each, costing a total of thirty-five coins.

Without hesitation, she clicked "buy," and soon her total balance was reduced to 15. In her palm, she found three more fever reducers and three more anti-inflammatory pills.

Jing Zhichun quickly turned up the fire in the stove. Once the water in the pot boiled, she immediately ladled out a bowl of boiling water, intending to give it to Xiaoman along with the medicine after it cooled down.

Before long, the bowl of boiled water had cooled down enough. She tore open a tablet of fever reducer, poured the anti-inflammatory medicine into the bowl, and stirred it well with a chopstick.

The medicine powder dissolved in lukewarm water, and Jing Zhichun, holding the medicine, woke Xiaoman up.

"Xiaoman, wake up, come on, drink your medicine."

Xiaoman was delirious with fever. Hearing the shout, she opened her eyes, struggled to sit up, and instinctively snuggled up to Jingzhichun, obediently drinking the bowl of water in small sips.

After finishing the drink, she wanted to say something, but her throat hurt terribly, and her words were slurred.

The child is delirious with fever.