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

Yang Xiaoniu was so shocked by Jing Zhichun's words that his eyes widened, and he didn't react for a long time.

He originally just wanted to ask for advice, but he never expected that this lady from the Shen family would have such courage to go with him personally.

This was something Yang Xiaoniu could have wanted more than anything.

After all, he had cooperated with Jing Zhichun twice, and he knew better than anyone that Jing Zhichun looked like a weak woman, but her courage and throwing knife skills were far superior to his, even to that of an old hunter.

With her going along, the chances of catching the tiger were practically gone, turning from a certain death to at least a 50% chance of survival!

Yang Xiaoniu asked excitedly, "Madam Shen, you...you really want to go with me?"

"Yes, yes, I'm willing." Kyoto Haru nodded. She wouldn't hesitate to take advantage of the money that was offered to her.

Moreover, judging from the hunter's excited expression, he probably wanted her to go.

Yang Xiaoniu received an affirmative answer and smiled even more happily, "That's wonderful! With you here, I feel so at ease!"

But then he thought of something and frowned again. "However... Madam Shen, with your status... I'm afraid you won't be able to leave this place of exile. I need to talk to Young Master Liu about this first and see what he says. Wait for my news."

Kyoto Haru nodded; that was exactly what she had been waiting for.

Exiled prisoners were not allowed to leave the designated area of ​​custody without permission. If they wanted to go out, they had to apply to the military office in charge of the area and obtain a permit.

Besides the complicated procedures, the main issue here is whether there are connections behind the scenes.

However, the Liu family was not the richest in the county, and young master Liu was a newly appointed scholar who had passed the imperial examination, making him a very prominent figure in the area.

With his family's power and connections, it wouldn't be difficult for him to pull strings and get a document allowing her to temporarily leave the country.

"Alright, then go and ask Young Master Liu," Jing Zhichun said to Yang Xiaoniu.

"Alright, Madam Shen, don't worry, I'll go to town first thing tomorrow morning to talk to Young Master Liu!" Yang Xiaoniu nodded.

Before leaving, he handed the cloth bag he had been carrying to Jing Zhichun. "Oh, right, Madam Shen, this is 50 catties of brown rice and 1 catty of coarse salt. Although we can't eat the meat of those six wolves from yesterday, we can still get some money by tanning their hides. So we got a good deal. Don't mind this little bit; it's just a small token of our appreciation."

In this place of exile, food and salt were the most precious and scarce resources.

The Yang family's return gift was simple yet generous, clearly showing that they genuinely remembered her kindness.

Kyoto Haru looked at the cloth bag, accepted it without hesitation, and said, "Thank you very much. I won't be polite then."

After seeing Yang Xiaoniu off, Jing Zhichun looked at the cart piled high with firewood at the door and began to make plans in her mind.

If we were to actually go to Laoyashan to catch the tiger, it would take at least ten days to half a month, or even longer.

It's already deep winter. If this snowfall is too heavy and closes off the mountains, we won't be able to cut firewood. The little we have in the house is far from enough!

So, after Jing Zhichun finished stacking the firewood, she turned around and went back into the house. Together with Xiaoman, she simply cooked a pot of thick porridge and ate it with pickled vegetables.

After instructing Xiaoman to keep an eye on her younger brother, Jingzhichun closed the door, then picked up the cart again, braving the increasingly dense snowflakes, and went into the woods to continue chopping firewood.

The forest grew colder at night, and Kyoto Haru stopped pulling her cart and began to look at the system shop.

She first spent 100 copper coins to buy a thick rabbit fur hat, and when she put it on, her ears, which had been numb from the cold, immediately felt much warmer.

Then she bought a headlamp and put it on her head.

With light, everything in front of us became clearer.

Jing Zhichun pulled the cart into the woods and began to look around.

Thin firewood doesn't burn well, and picking it up is a waste of time.

Therefore, she decided to cut it thick.

Kyoto Haru selected several small trees that were about the thickness of her thigh.

If they cut down about twenty of these trees and chopped them into firewood, it would be enough for the mother and her two children to get through the winter safely.

However, the axe in his hand was not sharp enough, making it a bit difficult to chop.

Jing Zhichun gritted her teeth and selected an even more handy axe with a sharper blade from the mall.

She was envious of the modern logging tools, such as chainsaws, but the price was 1500 coins!

She only had less than 3000 coins left in her system, and she really couldn't bear to part with them.

Well, these trees are completely dry. We can slowly chop them down with a sharp axe.

Jing Zhichun put on her headlamp, adjusted the angle, stretched her body, aimed at the first selected sapling, and started working with her new axe.

Before long, a clanging sound could be heard from the woods.

While cutting down trees, Kyoto Haru also kept a watchful eye on her surroundings.

To avoid some wild beast suddenly jumping out from behind.

Although they killed all the wolves yesterday, the mountains in this exile area are too big.

There might be other packs of wolves and wild animals involved.

She had to be careful lest she become prey for wild beasts.

After chopping for a while, Kyoto Haru would stop to catch her breath, stretch her sore arms and wrists, listen to the surrounding sounds to make sure it was safe, and then continue.

Although it's winter, once people start working, they not only don't feel cold, but they also work up a good sweat.

Jing Zhichun felt that her back was soaked with sweat and her forehead was covered in sweat. She casually wiped the sweat from her forehead and continued to work.

After an unknown amount of time, accompanied by a teeth-grinding creaking sound, the small tree in front of us began to lean.

Jing Zhichun immediately stopped and nimbly retreated to a safe distance.

The sapling swayed a few times and then fell to the ground.

The first one is successful.

Jing Zhichun wiped the sweat from her forehead, bought three steaming hot meat buns from the mall, and began to eat them in big bites to replenish her energy.

You can't do this job if you don't have the energy.

Having eaten and drunk their fill, Jingzhichun walked toward the second tree.

The clanging sound of felling trees rang out again.

From soreness to numbness, and then to a feeling that her arms didn't belong to her, Kyoto Haru never stopped.

As dawn broke, Kyo no Haru finally felled the fourth tree.

Looking at the four trees lying across the snow, Kyoto Haru let out a long breath of white air, sat on the ground to rest for a while, and then pulled the cart to stop in front of one of the trees.

Next came the more physically demanding tasks.

She had to load the wood onto the cart.

There were no machines; everything was done by manpower.

It's easy to imagine how tiring that must be.

Fortunately, she only cut down small trees.

If it were a large tree, even if she could cut it down, she wouldn't be able to bring it back.

Jing Zhichun dragged and pushed the four felled saplings one by one, exerting tremendous effort, before finally getting them all onto the cart.

She was panting heavily, brushed the snow and dust off her body, picked up the cart, and walked towards the thatched hut without stopping for a moment.