HCB Chapter 152 Going out together
Chapter 152 Going out together
The chief, Wang, shouted:
"Old Sun, wait, give me a kick!"
The driver heard the shout, pulled the reins, and jumped off the carriage. Looking back, he laughed and joked:
"Hey, Brother Wang, are you going out with me?"
"A brother from my family wants to go look for someone. I heard that the person went to your place, so I want to go and check it out. Can you give him a ride for a while..."
"There's no room for anyone in my car."
Wang Jinlai hurried forward and took a few steps closer:
"Brother Sun, we will each give two trips, please take both of us with you."
"Is there a 'official road permit'?"
"Of course." Wang Jinlai took out the "Official Pass" from the package and held it in his hand, asking:
"Will you let us take the car or not? If not, we brothers will just go find someone else and not waste our time."
"Then it's settled. You can't enter the carriage. You can only endure it on the carriage. When you arrive, or I arrive first, it will be considered as our destination and we will have to pay."
"it is good."
"Then 10 yuan per person."
Wang Zhushi was indignant:
"Old Sun, I didn't expect you to bring someone along and ask for a high price..."
Wang Jinlai smiled and comforted Wang:
"Brother Wang, it's important to find someone."
Then he turned back to the coachman Sun and said:
"Let's go. I'll pay half of the fare first, and I'll pay you the other half when we get off the bus. Let's go quickly. I heard that my brother has been gone for two days. I'm afraid it's too late to find him."
As Wang Jinlai spoke, he and Wang Jindong sat on the carriage and waved goodbye to Director Wang.
The driver named Sun waved the whip, and the carriage, which had just been delayed in departure, now accelerated onto the official road.
Soon, carriages heading in all directions outside the city set off one after another.
After a while, Wang Ping'an ran out of the city gate and went south along the official road. Along the way, he did not see a single person. Wang Ping'an had not rested all night. At night, under the stars and the moon, he casually ate a few bites of dry food to fill his stomach and continued to chase Wang Jinlai and the others.
But the more he walked, the more strange it felt. He and Wang Jinlai had left Yongxing Lane at the same time, but after chasing them for so long, he still hadn't seen the two boys.
Could they have missed it? Or maybe they hadn't set out yet. It wasn't until dawn that they saw the Shili Post Station ahead and decided to go in and ask.
Wang Ping'an spent some money and finally found out what was going on. He heard that before dawn, there was a carriage heading south. The carriage just added some fodder, and the people drank some water and rested for a while before setting off.
Wang Pingan thought about it and prepared to take a ride. He heard that there was only one official carriage going south. Wang Pingan spent a lot of time talking and finally got a ride on a carriage going the same way...
Needless to say, these two groups of people suffered a lot on the journey. Five days later, Wang Jinlai and Wang Jindong finally arrived in Xunnan County.
After entering the city, the two men acted cautiously as the young lady had instructed, and entered the Tongfu Inn, which had the largest passenger flow in the county.
After settling into the double room, the two washed off the dust from the long journey and agreed to go their separate ways to gather information.
So the two of them went out and prepared to go to Wenjia Village.
The next morning, the two of them settled their bills and went to the city gate, waiting for it to open. The gate slowly opened, and the two of them were less than 10 meters apart, carrying their loads on their shoulders, one in front and one behind, on the official road, heading towards Wenjia Village.
An hour later, the two found a shade under a tree on the official road to rest. Across the road, they saw a young man wearing a coarse cloth short coat and carrying a basket, standing under the shade of a tree drinking water. Wang Jinlai thought that he should ask the locals for directions, so he took two fruits from his load and walked over to ask:
"Brother, I want to ask for directions."
Chen Sanlang saw two peddlers with two shoulder poles full of groceries beside them. He didn't know what they were doing walking towards him and immediately became alert.
Ever since he helped the gambling house beat off the robbers, Chen Sanlang no longer dared to look at the street lights. Now, every other day, he would leave home under the full moon and walk to the county town in two hours. He would go to the Wenmofang to study under the pretext of copying books, and would not go home until the shop closed.
It took me two hours to get home under the moonlight. I was very careful every time I was on the road, fearing that the robbers would take revenge.
Now Chen Sanlang always carries weapons with him. Today he brought a dagger, which was a thank-you gift given to him by the chief after he woke up. It was said to be spoils of war captured by the army.
Chen Sanlang looked at the young man walking towards him. He had a gentle face, a slender figure, and no fierce look on his face.
Wang Jinlai saw the boy's tense appearance, as if he was about to start a fight, so he quickly stepped back half a step and introduced himself:
"I'm Chen Qingyang, that's my brother Chen Jilai. We heard that my brother went to Wenjia Village after he got lost, so we went to look for him. I want to know how to get to Wenjia Village."
Seeing the other party's alert look, he bowed and saluted, and said earnestly:
"Please help me!"
When Chen Sanlang heard that the person was looking for someone and that the other party's surname was also Chen, he felt like he was a fellow traveler. So he asked:
"Who are you looking for?"
Wang Jinlai kept in mind what the young lady said, to avoid a counter-investigation and let them track down the Wang family.
Replied cautiously:
"Oh, it's my brother."
Chen Sanlang's expression relaxed, he nodded, and thought about the map he had seen in the county town, which pointed to a fork in the road:
"You have to go down that road. Wenjia Village is at the edge of Xunyang Prefecture. The village is in the mountains. The road is not too far, about 20 miles, and it's all mountain roads. I'm afraid you have to hurry up, otherwise at night..."
After thinking about it, I kindly reminded him:
"First, we are afraid of wild animals, and second, we are afraid of robbers. You are carrying a load, so you are easy targets for robbers. I advise you to rest at the fork in the road and continue on your journey tomorrow morning. It should be safer to travel during the day than at night!"
Wang Jinlai thanked him repeatedly and just as he turned around to walk back, he heard Chen Sanlang shouting behind him:
"My name is Chen Sanlang and I have a missing sister. Her surname is Wang. Please help me find out about her. Thank you very much. If you have any news, please leave a message at the Wenmofang in the county. Thank you in advance."
Wang Jinlai turned around and agreed readily. He looked at Chen Sanlang opposite him and respectfully performed a scholar's salute to him. The two of them said goodbye politely and retreated back to the shade of the trees.
Wang Jinlai did not ask why the sister Chen Sanlang found had the surname Wang, because his own surname was Wang, and he pretended to be surnamed Chen and went to Shangwenjia Village to look for someone. Wouldn't it be even more strange?
Wang Jinlai came back and discussed with Wang Jindong. They saw a young man in a coarse cloth short jacket on the road. After drinking some water, he went quickly to the county town without looking back.
The two decided to find someone to ask before making a decision. As a result, they waited until noon, and no one went to Wenjia Village. Finally, a rickshaw driver confirmed that the direction pointed by Chen Sanlang was the shortest way to Wenjia Village.
The driver looked the two men up and down, shook his head, and said:
“This journey is not peaceful!”