NABC Chapter 197 Tang Qin
Chapter 197 Tang Qin
Yan Tian looked around and said to Song Jiaojiao in a low and cautious voice.
"This...doesn't the government care?" Song Jiaojiao didn't expect to hear such news. If it hadn't rained these past few days, and she had braved the elements to go there, just as Yan Tian said, she probably wouldn't have been able to come back.
"I haven't paid much attention to that. I don't know if these people never returned to the county or what the situation is. But the government generally believes that if the people don't complain, the officials won't interfere."
Song Jiaojiao thought about it and agreed. Since the people in that village dared to do this so openly, they must have had a backup plan. In these mountains, without a local to guide them, it would be very difficult to get out.
Fortunately, she chose to ask Yan Tian; otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable.
Looking back on that day, Song Jiaojiao felt a chill run down her spine. She had thought what she heard was true, but she never imagined that it was what someone wanted her to hear.
Come to think of it, although Wangmo County was poor and backward, and the mountains were high and the roads were long, there were still quite a few restaurants in the county. How could locals be eating in an inn? Now that I think about it, it doesn’t make any sense.
It's likely that Song Jiaojiao and her group were targeted as soon as they entered the county. Fortunately, the heavy rains of the past few days came in time, giving Song Jiaojiao a chance to recover.
"Which mountain around here has the most medicinal herbs? I'd like to go into the mountains." Song Jiaojiao asked Yan Tian. Although the human-shaped marijuana might be fake, Song Jiaojiao didn't want to miss out on Mozhou, which had abundant medicinal resources. She had just seen many medicinal herbs at the market that she didn't have in her space, but unfortunately they were all processed.
“We have abundant medicinal herbs here, and that mountain is basically the same. However, the mountain roads are complicated, and it is easy to get lost without a local guide.”
It just so happens that Tang Qin used to gather herbs at home, and most people in his village are familiar with the mountain paths. He hasn't come over these past few days; he's probably at home with his parents.
Unlike Yan Tian, who was all alone, Tang Qin was also quite old, turning twenty-five this year. Due to his family's circumstances, no family was willing to marry their daughter to him, and he didn't want to be a burden on any girl, so he remained single.
Tang Qin's parents are still alive. His mother is in poor health and needs to take medicine all year round. His eldest brother was caught in a landslide caused by a sudden rainstorm when he went into the mountains during the year he joined the army. He never came out of the mountains again. His sister-in-law also ran away a month after his brother's accident, leaving behind her three-year-old nephew. When his nephew was five years old, he fell into the water in the dead of winter and had a high fever for three days. Although he was not brainwashed by the fever, he was left with a chronic illness and needs to take medicine all year round.
Over the years, most of the money he earned from escorting has been spent on medical treatment and medicine. Fortunately, his elderly father is still in good health, which gives him the opportunity to go out and earn money as an escort.
"Oh, do you know where he lives?" Song Jiaojiao asked upon hearing the news.
"I know, it's in Erdaowan, not far east of the county."
“Okay, we’ll go to his house and ask him tomorrow.” Song Jiaojiao thought that Tang Qin was someone she had hired, so he was more reliable than a local she didn’t know.
"Okay, but Tang Qin's family isn't very well-off." Yan Tian said cautiously, then looked nervously at Song Jiaojiao.
"It's alright. Here, tell me about his family situation." Song Jiaojiao really didn't know much about Tang Qin's family. She had only glanced at Tang Qin briefly on the day of the signing and knew that he was a quiet and thin man.
Yan Tian told Song Jiaojiao what he knew. Song Jiaojiao hadn't expected Tang Qin's family to be in this situation. She nodded to indicate that she understood, made an appointment with Yan Tian for tomorrow, and then left.
Zhou Dadan hesitated for a long time beside Song Jiaojiao before speaking, "Madam, I... I want to go buy something."
Zhou Dadan only learned about Tang Qin's family situation today. No wonder that boy who was quite talkative in the army is now under such great pressure, and no wonder he looks so taciturn now.
"Wait a minute, come with me to buy some things first." After saying that, Song Jiaojiao went into the grain shop and bought a hundred catties each of fine rice and white flour, as well as a lot of brown sugar and salt, and asked the shop owner to deliver them to the inn.
I went to the cloth pile and picked out a few bolts of cotton cloth. I originally wanted to buy some meat, but thinking that it wouldn't keep for long in this weather, I decided to buy it tomorrow.
When Zhou Dadan saw Song Jiaojiao buying things, he knew that she must be taking them to Tang Qin's house the next day, so he didn't mention buying anything else. He would just quietly slip some money to Tang Qin's house when he left.
Back at the inn, as she passed through the lobby, Song Jiaojiao heard again about the discovery of human-shaped marijuana in Hongya Mountain. She glanced at the table where people were discussing it and saw the person quickly avoid eye contact with her, looking guilty. Seeing this, Song Jiaojiao became even more convinced that it was a scam. Regardless of whether it was true or not, she wouldn't go this time.
As the old saying goes, how do you know that what you hear is true, or that others want you to hear? True hunters often appear as prey.
The items had all been delivered, and Song Jiaojiao asked Zhou Dadan to move them to their courtyard so they could be loaded onto the carriage early the next morning.
Call Shang Xiaoxiao and Shang Yu over. "Xiaoxiao, I'm going out tomorrow. I might be back the same day, or I might not."
"I'm entrusting Miss to you and Shang Yu. You must ensure her safety. We're unfamiliar with this area, and if something happens, it will be very difficult to find her. If Miss needs to go out, call Zhang Li and Xu Sen along. If anything really happens, go find Miss Ye Yun."
Song Jiaojiao was thinking that she was going into the mountains and it wouldn't be good to take Mu Xue with her. She didn't know how many days the trip would take. In addition, she was worried about Mu Xue's safety at the inn because she thought that her group might be watched as soon as they entered the city, after what Yan Tian had said today.
Song Jiaojiao personally went to Ye Yun's place to tell them about her plan to go into the mountains, hoping that Ye Yun could keep an eye on Mu Xue during this time.
Ye Yun nodded to indicate that she understood and repeatedly assured Song Jiaojiao to put her mind at ease.
The next day arrived quickly. After washing up, Song Jiaojiao took the Zhou brothers out. They first bought five catties of pork belly, then cleared out all the lard from the pork stall, and also bought a lot of dry food to prepare for their journey into the mountains. They picked up Yan Tian at the escort agency and set off.
Tang Qin's home was indeed not far, but the mountain road was winding and took some time to travel. If you really had to calculate the straight-line distance, his home was no more than three miles from the prefectural government.
As the carriage entered Erdaowan, many villagers whispered and discussed among themselves, speculating about whose wealthy relative it was.
Yan Tian had been to Tang Qin's house before and knew the general route. He drove the carriage directly to Tang Qin's door. The villagers who had come with him were shocked. They had never heard that Tang Qin's family had such a wealthy relative.
Song Jiaojiao still chose to travel in men's clothing. Since she was going into the mountains, she wore brocade in the color of the mountains. It wasn't that Song Jiaojiao wanted to be high-profile; it was just that none of the men's clothes she bought were made of cotton. They were mostly brocade and silk.