"Old Six's family is truly kind-hearted!"
The villagers nearby also praised them, as they lacked the eloquence to offer greater commendation.
When they went to the trees to retrieve the supplies, they were stunned. There was so much, nearly a thousand boxes. The village now had over 200 people, so each family could receive one box. Coupled with the cured meat and sugar, they could find food along the way or simply eat one meal a day, and they would surely survive.
Village Chief Gu immediately regained his confidence and called for Zhang Dahu and the others to transport the goods to the campsite.
For the entire night, the people of Taoyuan Village did not sleep; everyone was overjoyed.
Each family received two boxes of compressed biscuits, about half a kilogram of cured meat, 250 grams of salt, and 250 grams of sugar.
To everyone's surprise, the village chief also announced that Gu Lao Liu had brought them cotton-padded clothes bestowed by Prince Xia.
These cotton-padded clothes were precious and warm, so they were told to wear them underneath, not to expose them. Otherwise, if bandits saw them on the road, they would try to rob them.
The villagers looked at the thin down jackets with skepticism, but once they put them on, they immediately felt that what the village chief said was true.
When Zhang Dahu put on his down jacket, he felt so warm he was about to float. The sensation was marvelous.
Hearing that these were warm clothes bestowed by Prince Xia to Gu Lao Liu, the villagers praised Gu Lao Liu endlessly, and no one doubted the origin of these supplies.
After all, they were bestowed by Prince Xia! The Prince was the Emperor's son. No matter what they ate, drank, or wore, were they not superior to what commoners used?
Village Chief Gu said that with food and clothing, the villagers should pack up properly and set off tomorrow to continue their flight south.
The villagers were highly supportive. They had stayed long enough in other villages, being treated like beggars by the locals, and having dogs set upon them at any moment. They had endured enough humiliation.
Rather than stay here and wait to die in misery, it was better to continue south where there was still hope.
Early the next morning, at the Yuelai Inn, Gu Qingcheng was still groggy when she heard a notification from the system:
"The villagers of Taoyuan Village have departed for the south. The mission has been completed. Host has been rewarded with 50,000 points."
Gu Qingcheng's spirits immediately lifted.
Fifty thousand points! That was enough to buy a speedboat. She had originally planned to buy just one, but now it seemed that two or even more would be more than sufficient.
The system had not deceived her!
Everything she had done yesterday was worth it!
She wanted to get up, but as soon as her hand reached out of the covers, she flinched back in shock from the cold.
There was no underfloor heating in the room. The charcoal brazier had burned all night and was now completely depleted. The room was only slightly warmer than the outdoors.
Gu Qingcheng looked at the indoor temperature displayed on the system: minus 15 degrees Celsius. No wonder it felt so cold. She wondered if her parents could endure it.
She quickly changed into her down jacket and put on a cotton robe before getting up.
This dreadful place was too cold. Tonight, she absolutely had to return to the mountain, otherwise, she couldn't survive in a room without underfloor heating.
After washing up, Gu Qingcheng planned to go out and buy some hot breakfast.
She was merely indulging herself. There was still hot breakfast in the storage cabinet, but she thought that eating one less item from there meant one less to replenish, so she decided to buy something outside.
Although it was still dark, based on her previous inn experiences, by this time of day, some places would already be selling breakfast.
As she passed through the lobby, she saw the inn waiter with his hands tucked into his sleeves, hunched over, stomping his feet from time to time to keep warm. White mist billowed from his mouth.
The waiter asked enthusiastically, "Guest, you're up so early. Aren't you afraid of the cold?"
Gu Qingcheng smiled and said, "I'm going to buy breakfast."
"Oh, guest, don't bother. It's so early, no shop is open yet."
"Weren't there some open before? It was bustling at this hour," Gu Qingcheng said.
"That was before. It wasn't this cold then, and everyone would get up early to work. Now, most people wait until dawn to move about."
Hearing the waiter say this, Gu Qingcheng had no choice but to return to her room.
Perhaps it was due to the cold weather, but she felt quite hungry. Upon entering the room and seeing that no one else was awake, she took out the soy milk, fried dough sticks, and fried dough rings she had packed earlier and ate them with relish.
A while later, Mi Guo also woke up.
"Sister, it's so cold here. I woke up from the cold. Our home on the mountain is much better."
"Quick, eat something hot!"
Gu Qingcheng took out soy milk and meat buns. She noticed that Mi Guo liked meat buns.
In this day and age, who wouldn't want a meat bun? It contained meat and was filling.
While the two siblings were chatting, Gu Zhaobei and Hu Lanfang also stumbled out, shivering. They likely heard them talking outside.
"Dad, Mom, what do you want to eat?"
Hu Lanfang said she wanted hot milk, and Gu Zhaobei said he wanted hot coffee.
"Consider it done!"
Hu Lanfang wanted a beef pancake.
Gu Zhaobei asked for a pan-fried bread.
The aroma of coffee attracted Mi Guo. It was the first time he had seen Gu Zhaobei drink this dark, hot liquid, so he curiously asked,
"Dad, what medicine is this?"
Gu Zhaobei, who was drinking coffee, heard Mi Guo's question and let out a chuckle, nearly spraying coffee from his nostrils.
"This is a beverage." Seeing Mi Guo's curiosity, Gu Zhaobei said, "Qingcheng, why don't you get your brother a cup to try? It's refreshing."
Gu Qingcheng nodded and brought a cup of hot coffee to Mi Guo.
Mi Guo took a sip in silence and stopped talking. In the end, summoning the courage he used to drink traditional Chinese medicine, he closed his eyes and downed it in one gulp.
It was hard to drink, but he didn't want to waste it!
After breakfast, they tidied up, and the family planned to return to the mountain.
By this time, it was bright daylight, and the streets looked lively. For the sake of livelihood, people had to come out and toil, even in the severe cold.
Gu Qingcheng sighed inwardly.
The hired carriage arrived. After a short drive, they passed by Boss Zhang's shop.
Gu Zhaobei had struck up a friendship with Boss Zhang, so they got off to pay him a visit.
Boss Zhang was not at the shop.
The shop assistant told them that due to the cold weather, too many people were buying coal, and they were short-handed. Boss Zhang had to personally deliver goods. There were also wealthy families who wanted underfloor heating installed. In short, business was booming.
Boss Zhang's shop and home were both equipped with underfloor heating. Gu Zhaobei didn't say anything more. Boss Zhang was knowledgeable about preventing cold and staying warm, so there was no need for him to say anything further.
Passing by Mr. Sun's brokerage shop, Gu Zhaobei's family also disembarked to visit.
They would likely be in seclusion on the mountain for a long time this time, possibly never coming down again. Therefore, it was necessary to say goodbye to the "friends" they had.
Mr. Sun's shop appeared much more desolate. A brazier glowed red inside, but it could only warm a small area. There were no customers, and Mr. Sun was worried from idleness.
Seeing the Gu family, he was overjoyed and called for Sun Sanniang from the backyard to make tea for everyone.
Gu Qingcheng inadvertently noticed that Sun Sanniang's gaze was fixed on her father. She stole glances several times, but her somewhat oblivious father seemed to have no idea, engaging in pleasant conversation with Mr. Sun.
"Mr. Sun, this weather is extremely cold. You should install underfloor heating at home and stock up on more coal. Otherwise, you'll freeze to death at night."
Gu Zhaobei hinted.