Chapter 204

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Main Character:

Shen Yao

They picked a good time; the relay station had few people, and the station master, looking at the silver money Madam Zhou held up to him, nodded in agreement that they could stay in two lower rooms.

However, stay they might, the relay station did not provide meals or washing water.

"If you want to eat, go cook in the back kitchen yourselves; water can be drawn from the well in the back courtyard. Leave as early as possible tomorrow morning; don't come bother me during the rest of the time."

The station master held the money, speaking with not a shred of courtesy, and they had no choice but to cope with forced smiles, turning around to hurriedly busy themselves.

After spending a night in various uncomfortable relay stations, they set off on the road again early the next morning.

It took a little over three days before they finally reached the more prosperous Linshan County City.

They found an inn to stay at and paid the driver his fees in advance.

Only one carriage — the one Shen Fugui and Madam Zhou would need for the return trip — was kept; everyone then went out to inquire at tooth firms about houses around the county city that could be let.

Shen Yao's plan was to find a decent place to settle, whether by renting or buying.

And considering they would have to flee famine before long, renting was more cost-effective than buying.

(Why not flee famine in advance? First, they hadn't decided where to go; after all, when a natural disaster strikes, there's nowhere to run. Second, Shen Yao needed to prepare in advance, including some judgments regarding her own mission.)

Rent a house, ah — the tooth firm looked at Shen Yao's party, not taking them very seriously.

Until Shen Yao produced a generous tip; the tooth firm's people grinned ear to ear, turned around, and led them to the South City.

Linshan County is divided into four directions — east, south, west, and north; aside from East City, which is all imperial concubine residences, South City is the best and safest of the remaining three locations.

Rents here are generally very high, starting at five taels of silver a year; buying could cost over a hundred taels.

"Not buying, not buying, we'll just rent," Madam Zhou waved her hands in fright, afraid Shen Yao might lose control and throw all their savings into it.

Shen Yao smiled, soothing Madam Zhou that she would do no such thing; no matter what, she could not waste silver money, even though her own money was already too much to count.

In the end, the tooth firm's people finalized a nice small courtyard with Shen Yao.

Upon entering, there is a spacious courtyard, with green-tiled, blue-brick houses on all four sides.

"The owner of this house isn't in Linshan; they've already gone to live in Luo Zhou Fu.

If you rent this courtyard, the annual rent can be reduced by up to three hundred cash."

Having accepted Shen Yao's benefit, the tooth firm's people conceded quite a lot on the price.

Shen Yao looked around, then pointed at a green jujube tree in the courtyard and said, "Can a few more trees like this be planted?" — actually wanting to alter the house layout.

The tooth firm's people were quick-witted, telling Shen Yao the interior furnishings could be moved, but the external structure absolutely could not.

All right, but the small courtyard has many rooms; it should be enough for the several of them, mother and daughters, to live in.

They returned with the tooth firm's people and signed the lease contract anew.

Shen Yao pays once a year; if she wants to renew next year, she just supplements the contract.

With the house rented, several people first went back to the inn to move their luggage over in the remaining carriage.

Moving in directly was out of the question, because the rooms needed cleaning and sweeping, and some tools inside also needed to be bought with money.

Shen Yao simply split up with Madam Zhou: Shen Yao took Shen Fugui to buy things, while Madam Zhou took the children to tidy up the household goods they had brought.

Once these tasks were done, they would go back to the inn to sleep at night, until the small courtyard was habitable.

"Girl, what do we need to buy?" Shen Fugui pulled the carriage, walking along the road at a loss.

"Father, no rush; I'll go to the money shop first to change some small change."

The gold and silver jewelry in her space are all rather special; even the ancient gold and silver ingots are all large in size.

Considering future living expenses, Shen Yao simply exchanged some broken silver and copper coins.

Then, Shen Yao bought as she walked along — whether kitchen pots, pans, bowls, and basins, or various fabrics and clothing that could be worn — anything useful she bought.

Shen Fugui:...

Shen Fugui looked at his own daughter spending lavishly, wanted to speak but stopped, then finally opened his mouth to urge her to calm down.

This is all silver, after all; it should be saved a bit.

Shen Yao:...

"Father, rest assured; your daughter knows what she's doing — I won't spend recklessly."

At least I won't really let myself look like a sucker.

Soon, the carriage was filled with the purchased supplies, especially the rice, flour, grain, and oil on top, which needed to be sent back.

Back and forth, the carriage made nearly three trips, and Shen Yao successfully filled the empty small courtyard.

That wasn't all; Shen Yao glanced at the room layout again, deciding to find a chance to tidy up the interior and pile the idle items into the miscellaneous room not far away.

The family didn't stay in the small courtyard long; they returned to the inn, bathed, ate their fill of the delivered meals, and lay down to rest.

In Linshan County, Shen Fugui and Madam Zhou stayed about five or six days.

Not until everything was settled here and Shen Yao confirmed there were no problems for the time being did the two elders drive the carriage away.

Hardly had the two left on this side when, on the other side, Shen Yao took Wei Cheng to the county city's martial hall to learn skills.

A martial master is not easy to be, especially learning at a martial hall — one must pay food fees, and even at home the food supplements cannot be cut off.

"No problem, Master Qiao; then after we enroll, we'll have to trouble you to take care."

Wei Cheng has talent in this area; Shen Yao decided to cultivate him on two fronts simultaneously.

"But practicing martial arts and studying at the same time — can a child his age handle the workload?"

Intensive parenting, ah; the System didn't expect the Host to be this ruthless — Wei Cheng is only ten years old.

"If he can't handle it, there's still me and the others; don't think Wei Ying and the rest will have it easy."

During this time, make them all study; even if they don't study, they must learn more skills to support themselves.

Shen Yao's medical skills can also be taught to them at this opportunity; after all, no matter the dynasty, mastering medicine is a craft that can put food on the table.

System:...

The System sighed, truly worthy of a strict mother; the Host's methods are as ruthless as ever.

Silently feeling wronged on behalf of the several children, the System said nothing; instead, Shen Yao, after paying the fees, turned and went to visit several academies in the county city.

Only one accepted girls; the teacher was also a fallen young lady, able to teach only a few classics and some zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting skills.

Shen Yao thought it was good, and regardless of expense, privately enrolled Wei Ying and the other two.

When Shen Yao brought Wei Cheng home, the other four children were still dazed, only hearing their birth mother drop a thunderclap that left their heads spinning.

Study? All of them have to go study?!

Wei Ying's first reaction was that there wasn't enough money; she wanted to say she could stay, but was blocked by Shen Yao's single sentence that she would also go find work at the medical hall.

"You learn some skills, and you'll benefit endlessly in the future." People only advance by constantly learning.

Shen Yao still has many things she hasn't taken out, because she is waiting, waiting for the children to grow a bit more, waiting for the timing to mature.

"Alright, go pack up; tomorrow morning you all get up for class."

Waving her hand, Shen Yao went to the kitchen, took out the food she had bought back, arranged it, and called everyone to eat.

The family of six finished eating and each went to rest; Shen Yao still had other matters to attend to.

For a stretch of half a month, time arrived at early March; Shen Yao could finally touch her chest and breathe a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, everything is very good; the five children are also settled; next she can go to the prefecture city to take a look.

After arriving at the county city, Shen Yao's appearance changed obviously; the several small children might not notice, but if Zhou Shi were here, she would surely exclaim how her own daughter could be this beautiful.

Shen Yao's family gained a firm foothold in the county city, and also left the Wei family behind.

"Doctor Shen" "Doctor Shen"

Shen Yao smiled and nodded at those greeting her, then walked herself into the partitioned inner room to see patients.

After all, she is a woman; compared to the small town with few people where everyone knows each other, the county city still requires more concern for reputation.

After Shen Yao was hired as Hall Doctor, she set about handling some women's diagnoses.

Because her medical skill is high, now the high-ranking great households in the city all invite Shen Yao over.

Shen Yao's silver earnings from a single trip are considerable, and even that is not the most important; the rich personal connections are enough to let Shen Yao learn more news about Qi State.

"It seems my previous inference was not wrong; Qi State wanting to fall into chaos is not easy, but the person on the Dragon Throne will very likely be swapped."

Qi State has been founded for just over a hundred years; it is precisely the time of strong soldiers and sturdy horses.

Don't look at this place belonging to a natural disaster background; but natural disasters attack indiscriminately, Qi State suffers, and the surrounding various small countries struggle even more to survive.

The reason Shen Yao chose to hold her ground is also because she is not certain where is safe.

If the whole country is everywhere natural disasters, does the refuge spot still matter? It's merely swapping one way to die for another.

What Shen Yao currently needs to do is still to seize the opportunity to accomplish her mission first.

When human power cannot resist, one can only rely on external force for self-rescue.

In the past two years, summer droughts and winter heavy snows have appeared quite frequently; Shen Yao believes this is a harbinger of disaster arriving.

"System, can't you give an accurate time, so I can have some mental preparation."

Shen Yao continues pumping the System for words, thinking this world differs from the previous one.

In the previous one, Magic Qi Invasion could be sensed; but here, natural disasters can only be seen with one's own eyes.

Hiding in the mountain forest far from human habitation is dangerous; hiding in a bustling city is also very dangerous.

Originally a dilemma, Shen Yao doesn't know what to do.

The System wears a helpless expression; it isn't clear either, "The prompt information doesn't have these."

It only knows natural disasters will occur, like the north's blizzard frostbiting and freezing to death countless commoners, the south's floods and earthquakes submerging and ruining ten thousand qing of good fields and injuring commoners, the east's rainstorms and tsunamis smashing houses and making people displaced, the west's drought reducing grain harvest and commoners starving.

Not a single peaceful place; it all relies on local officials and political power to hold together; wherever can be maintained, there can survive.

"Right, we still need more information; the matter of going to the prefecture city must be put on the agenda as soon as possible."

The prefecture city is more prosperous; there are more people there, so information is naturally richer; if Shen Yao doesn't want to miss out, she definitely must go personally.

And the prefecture city also has Imperial Clan Relatives; if she can smoothly make contact, she might be able to pry out more useful news.