Chapter 30: Setting Out

"The County Lieutenant of Beihe County and I are on somewhat friendly terms. I will write a letter; you go back and call your Fourth Brother to accompany you, then go find him for help." Sun Shouren took the deed of sale and scanned the brief text written upon it.

He was originally from Xingyuan Prefecture; although he had been fighting in the Border Army for many years, he still had many acquaintances within Xingyuan Prefecture.

Moreover, he now held the rank of Fifth Grade and was in charge of all military affairs within Xingyuan Prefecture.

When poor in a bustling market, no one asks after you; when rich in the deep mountains, you have distant relatives. Now, there were plenty of people who wanted to climb up through their connection to him.

Even old acquaintances he had known before but had not been in contact with for many years had come to visit him one after another a while ago.

"Many thanks, Foster Father." Chen Mo was deeply moved and hurriedly bowed to thank him.

Even if this matter might only count as a small thing to him, it was indeed a great help to himself.

Sun Shouren took the paper and brush from the desk, splashed ink and wielded the brush, writing a letter in but a moment, then sealed it tightly with beeswax and stamped his own seal on the outside of the envelope before handing it to Chen Mo.

"Since you are going to redeem someone, you should take some silver with you." Sun Shouren took three silver notes, each with a denomination of ten taels, from his robe.

These silver notes were all of small denominations; no matter who it was, as long as they held the corresponding silver note, they could withdraw silver from a money shop.

As for larger denomination silver notes, they generally had corresponding secret codes, and some even required the person who deposited the silver to go to the specific money shop where the money was deposited in order to withdraw the silver.

"This..." Chen Mo looked at the silver notes and did not dare to take them for a moment. Even if he were to redeem someone, he would need at most no more than twenty taels, and what was before him was clearly more than that.

"You currently have neither half a room nor half a ridge of land. It is one thing for you to live and eat in the military camp by yourself, but you cannot have my daughter-in-law accompany you like that.

Keep this silver on hand, and it will be easier to find a place to settle down later.

Furthermore, although you have my letter, you cannot go empty-handed when asking someone for help; you must bring some gifts for the visit."

Sun Shouren gave detailed instructions. If he were to go find the Beihe County Lieutenant, naturally, he would not need to prepare anything, and the Beihe County Lieutenant, or even the County Magistrate, would have to come out of the city to welcome him.

But as his foster son, if Chen Mo went to visit empty-handed, it would count as a lapse in etiquette. Others might not say it to his face, but they would keep it in mind.

"This child understands!" Chen Mo said this with genuine sincerity. Although he had previously acknowledged his foster father, he had still always treated his foster father as a General.

Now that the other party had helped him so much, he was not a person with a heart of iron; it was impossible for him not to feel grateful, and naturally, he felt closer to him in his heart.

"Go quickly, and don't forget to call your Fourth Brother along." Sun Shouren smiled upon hearing this.

Chen Mo bowed again, then trotted away all the way.

Mo Dao was not hard to find; he was responsible for the duties and patrols of the entire military camp, and on ordinary days, he often stayed on the watchtower carrying a seven-stone heavy bow.

"Fourth Brother." Chen Mo climbed to the highest point of the watchtower all the way; only Mo Dao was here, and the rest of the Personal Soldiers were on the level below.

That place was more spacious and also warmer.

Mo Dao saw him arrive and did not say much, only nodding his head.

"I did not flee from Qingzhou alone back then; my wife also fled the famine with me to Xingyuan Prefecture. To let me survive, she sold herself to the Liu Family of Beihe County as a Slave.

I just asked Foster Father for help, and the old gentleman gave me a handwritten letter to the Beihe County Lieutenant, and also asked you to accompany me on this trip."

Chen Mo understood that Mo Dao did not like to listen to nonsense, so he spoke concisely and gave a rough account of the whole matter.

Mo Dao's expression remained as usual without much fluctuation; this matter did not seem enough to cause him any surprise.

"Good. You go make other preparations first; wait for me at the camp gate in two quarter-hours." He nodded in agreement, stood up, and walked down the watchtower.

Chen Mo followed closely behind, walked down the watchtower, and headed straight for his own barracks. The decoration and layout of the barracks were very simple; apart from some snacks, there were not many things.

Chen Mo thought for a moment, took two boxes of snacks, a set of clean clothes, as well as the reward from the Grade A evaluation and the red envelope given by his foster father, which added up to two taels of silver.

During this time, he had been in the military camp, and the food was quite good, so he hadn't had time to spend this money, and now it was just right to carry it with him.

His foster father had indeed given him thirty taels of silver, but if this money didn't need to be broken, he would try not to break it.

A foster father is, after all, a foster father, not one's own biological father.

If this money could be left unused, he would try not to use it first. If it wasn't all spent, the remainder could be returned to his foster father.

Chen Mo was clear that this silver was not for him to spend; it was to be used to help him redeem Zhao Yu.

If there was any left over, then he would have to return it to his foster father.

Carrying these things, Chen Mo hurried toward the military camp gate again.

Mo Dao had already harnessed a carriage, and he himself was riding a horse alongside it.

Unlike Mo Hu, the Personal Soldiers responsible for guarding the camp gate saw Mo Dao arrive and only silently opened the gate; no one dared to say an extra word.

Chen Mo drove the carriage cautiously. He had fed horses for a period of time, and although he could not ride a horse now, driving a carriage was not difficult.

An old horse knows the way; it would avoid the potholes and gullies on the road by itself.

They were traveling on the official road, so Chen Mo only needed to adjust the direction occasionally to keep up with Mo Dao.

"Beihe County is nearly a hundred miles from our military camp; we won't arrive today. There is a large cart inn ahead; let's go there." Near dusk, Mo Dao instructed.

"Good." Chen Mo nodded in agreement, and the two drove together toward the large cart inn not far away.

This type of large cart inn was not an inn inside a city; it was used for travelers or merchant caravans and escort agencies to rest their feet.

The comfort, of course, could not be compared to an inn at all; the advantage was that the price was cheap.

There were no dishes to order in the shop, only some fixed meals.

"Two single rooms. Feed the carriage horse medium-grade fodder, and feed the one not pulling the carriage high-grade fodder. Bring as much of whatever food is available in the shop today." Mo Dao rode his horse into the shop and instructed the waiter who came to greet them.

"Alright, guest. Today our shop has steamed buns, as well as mutton soup and salted vegetables." The waiter was quite enthusiastic, using the straw in his hand to tie a knot on the horse's reins.

By looking at the number of knots tied in the straw later, one could know what fodder the horse should be fed.

There were not many people in the large cart inn. It was still the first lunar month; although the fifteenth had passed, there were still not many active merchant caravans or escort agencies compared to usual.

Two large bowls of mutton soup with plenty of Sichuan peppercorn powder, along with two full plates of mutton buns and a small portion of salted vegetables, were served on the table.

"This is an old shop; don't worry." Mo Dao lowered his voice and spoke.

Since this shop could open near the official road and had not had any problems for many years, then the food and vegetables in this shop could naturally be eaten with peace of mind.

Chen Mo did not dare to eat completely freely; in the end, he only ate thirty-three buns and drank two bowls of mutton soup. Mo Dao had a little less, but he still ate twenty-five.

The two men's appetite stunned everyone in the shop. A good appetite meant good strength, which showed that the two of them were strong.

When the two had eaten and drunk their fill, the shopkeeper clicked his abacus and walked over.

This type of shop settled the bill after eating and before sleeping, so that guests could leave directly the next morning, all to prevent people from taking the opportunity to slip away the next morning.

"Two guests, the total is two hundred and twelve copper coins; two taels of silver will suffice." The shopkeeper calculated the price carefully and seemed somewhat surprised, but upon second thought, it was normal.

The mutton buns in their shop were a full circle larger than an adult's fist; an ordinary person could eat at most five or six, and a big eater could manage eight or nine, which was already incredible.

Since Chen Mo and Mo Dao had eaten ten portions of food, this price was considered normal.

"Deal." Chen Mo said this and moved to take out the silver; this time Mo Dao had come out to help him, so naturally, he could not let him pay for the meal.

Seeing this, Mo Dao reached out to stop him and took out his own silver from his Huai to pay the bill.

"Since you call me Fourth Brother, how could I let you spend money when we go out to eat?"

As he said this, a rare smile appeared on his face.

(End of chapter)