Zhong Xinger's eyes shed tears, yet there was little emotion in them:
"Go cook them a meal."
Qin Sang raised an eyebrow. With such a large commotion from her group entering, if Tian Hongmei were in the kitchen, she would surely know. Why hadn't she appeared by now?
Qin Sang kicked open the kitchen door and looked inside. There was no sign of Tian Hongmei anywhere in the kitchen, but the back door leading to the outhouse was still open.
Qin Sang saw the footprints on the ground:
"Your mother ran away long ago."
Zhong Xinger shed tears as she laughed loudly:
"Ha... haha... hahaha..."
Her mother had run away, taking the family's last remaining food and abandoning them all.
Her father, to gain the Leader's trust, had willingly offered her up.
These were her parents.
Clutching the scissors, Zhong Xinger walked woodenly out of the courtyard. She did not look back, disappearing into the darkness.
Tian Sangui was somewhat worried:
"Mother, if she runs around like this, won't something happen?" Qin Sang glanced at him:
"What? Worried about her? Do you want to take her into the mountains?"
Tian Sangui immediately shook his head:
"Her mother has a grudge against our family, and her father died by our hands. Who knows if she hates us in her heart?"
Only then did Qin Sang give an approving hum:
"She herself didn't ask. Where she goes is her own choice."
Zhong Xinger might be innocent and pitiful, but this family was no bunch of good people. Qin Sang didn't want to get involved.
In truth, if Qin Sang were a bit more ruthless, she should have chosen to silence her. But she ultimately wasn't:
"Enough talk. Get to work quickly."
Besides San Gui and Da Zhuang carrying people, the men from the other families, now freed from their bindings, also joined the carrying team. Over a hundred stripped people were piled up like a small mountain in the main hall of Tian Hongmei's house. It took the better part of an hour to finish all this.
The children and women surrounded the outside with firewood. Tian Yougen took a deep look at the room full of piled-up people, his fingers trembling slightly.
He had never killed anyone in his life.
"Step aside. I'll do it." The village chief shakily dismounted from the mule, pushed his eldest son aside, grabbed the door bolt, and locked the door.
Then he took out a fire starter, crouched down, and lit the fire:
"You see clearly now. The one burning you to death is this old fool, me. It has nothing to do with anyone else. In the future... if you become ghosts, come demand my soul... don't involve others..."
The fire ignited the dry wood, illuminating the village chief's eyes. Tian Yougen hurriedly stepped forward to support him:
"Father, your son will take you into the mountains."
The old village chief gave a low acknowledgment and was finally helped away.
Soon after, a towering blaze lit up half of Tianjia Village.
Qin Sang waited until everyone had gathered and said to Da Zhuang and San Gui:
"I'm going home to see if the silver is still there. You two protect everyone going up the mountain."
The two were uneasy and wanted to follow. Qin Sang waved her hand, and Da Huang, who had been waiting at the back of the mountain, rushed down:
"The house has been ransacked by the Rebel Soldiers. I'm just going back to check the situation. Don't worry, the Rebel Soldiers are all dead. I won't be in danger and will catch up with you soon."
Leaving the group, Qin Sang and Da Huang entered their own courtyard.
Qin Sang had hidden all the silver in the Mall warehouse. The purpose of returning was to sell Medicinal Herbs.
The herbs collected over those three days hadn't been sold yet; they were all hidden in the cellar.
The house had been turned upside down by the Rebel Soldiers, but fortunately, it was already dilapidated beyond belief, so its destruction wasn't much of a loss.
Qin Sang didn't use a torch. Instead, she put on Night-Vision Goggles.
She quickly found the cellar and began selling the Medicinal Herbs to the Mall.
The children had done a very reliable job. Each type of herb was sorted, greatly reducing Qin Sang's time.
Qin Sang's hands kept picking and selling, and the Mall balance soared.
Because many people had been digging up roots over those three days, the amount of herbs received was truly substantial.
The Mall balance soon broke through the hundred thousand mark.
When the cellar was nearly empty, Qin Sang found a bundle still inside. Opening it, she saw it contained roots and rhizomes, but different from those previously purchased. Probably, the children didn't recognize them but thought they looked like herbs, so they traded them for grain anyway.
Qin Sang recognized at a glance that several large pieces were chinese yam. This was both medicine and food, good for strengthening the foundation and nourishing vitality—excellent for dietary therapy.
Qin Sang didn't sell it to the Mall, keeping it for her own family to eat.
After picking out the chinese yam, she saw a human-shaped object among the other roots and lumps in the bundle, and her eyes immediately lit up:
"Rare-quality thirty-year-old Wild Ginseng detected. One gram for one thousand mall coins. Sell?"
One thousand per gram. This ginseng root must weigh half a pound.
Qin Sang thought for a moment and decided to keep it for now. Pure wild mountain ginseng was priceless in later times; it was a life-saving medicine in critical moments. Even if she had money, she might not be able to buy it.
Qin Sang stored it in the warehouse.
Among the remaining roots and rhizomes, there were also several other herbs: Szechuan Lovage Rhizome, rhubarb, and Pinellia Tuber.
Qin Sang stored half in the warehouse for future use and sold the other half to the Mall.
After collecting the herbs from the cellar, Qin Sang also took the firewood and charcoal from the house. Although the mountains were full of firewood, saving time and effort to do other things was good too.
Qin Sang stored all the tables, chairs, and benches from the main hall in the warehouse, along with the two double-decker bunk beds. She'd see if there was a chance to take them out later; if not, they could be used as firewood.
Also, the thatch in the Woodshed, prepared by Da Zhuang and his wife for roof repairs.
The large water vat and the jars and pots in the kitchen—all things difficult to carry by manpower—Qin Sang stored them all in the warehouse.
After finishing all this, the fire at Tian Hongmei's house had mostly died down. Qin Sang confirmed that no one had escaped and then led Da Huang up the mountain to catch up with the others.
The night was dark, some were injured, and there were children. Da Zhuang and the others weren't moving fast, so Qin Sang quickly caught up.
Tian Sangui asked worriedly:
"Mother, is everything alright at home?"
Qin Sang looked serious:
"Nothing much, just that the house was completely emptied. The Medicinal Herbs in the cellar were all taken too."
Tian Sangui said angrily:
"It must have been Tian Yuanshan and the others. They knew those were herbs that could be traded for money. It's all my fault. I should have dug the cellar next to the manure pit in the backyard."
Qin Sang almost couldn't hold back a laugh and comforted him:
"Being safe and sound is the greatest fortune. Don't worry about the rest. The mountains are full of Medicinal Herbs. We'll just keep digging then."
Tian Yougen said worriedly:
"Da Zhuangs Mother, we're all hiding in the mountains now. Are we still going to dig herbs? Who would want them even if we dig them?"
Qin Sang wanted them, as many as possible, but she couldn't say that:
"Not necessarily. Take these Rebel Soldiers, for example. Aren't there any injured? Any sick?
Moreover, even if they can't be sold, everyone can stockpile them first. When the situation stabilizes and we leave the mountains, we can still trade herbs for grain, so we won't starve."
Everyone nodded, finding this reasonable, and felt a bit more hopeful about entering the mountains.
Along the way, the village chief recounted what had happened after the Rebel Soldiers entered the village. To her surprise, Zhou Lin had actually refused to lead the way and, even after having his ribs broken, hadn't revealed that the red rope was a marker. This made her view Zhou Lin in a new light.
"These are Painkiller Pills I made. Take one now; the pain will lessen. This bottle, take two pills every three hours.
Your injury will have to wait until we reach a resting place before I can treat it.
And, your injury is internal. I can't guarantee I can cure it."
Qin Sang bought painkillers from the Mall, put several dozen pills in a porcelain bottle, and gave it to Zhou Lin. This could only treat the symptoms, temporarily alleviating Zhou Lin's pain.
If it were a broken leg bone, Qin Sang might still think of a way. But for chest bones, without surgery, even if they healed, there would likely be aftereffects.
Performing surgery in this era, Qin Sang thought it might be better to just give him a quick, merciful death.
Zhou Lin took the pills, chewed and swallowed them dry, and said with a bitter laugh:
"Keeping my life is good enough. I should have known better and followed you into the mountains. It's my fault. I was scared by that big snake and ended up dragging those other families down with me."
The others quickly comforted him:
"How can we blame you? It's also our own fault for not fully believing Da Zhuangs Mother's words. And we just happened to be so unlucky.
Fortunately, everyone is alive. It's just that my family's grain was all looted clean. Now that we're entering the mountains..."