The grain team transporting the grain was very large, and there were more than two hundred soldiers dressed as military officers on both sides of the team. Each of the soldiers was holding a gleaming spear in their hands. Even if someone coveted this batch of grain and wanted to take advantage of the situation, they would have to think twice before doing so.
The laborers were sweating from head to toe. Their faces were red, and their clothes were drenched in sweat.
They were overjoyed when they saw a teahouse next to the station.
"Sir, we've been transporting the grain for so long. We're all tired. Why don't we rest for a while before we continue?"
The leader of the laborers approached them with a smile and talked to the leader of the soldiers who were guarding the grain.
They were all made of flesh and blood, not made of steel. After transporting so much food from Meng County to here, the cooks were physically and mentally exhausted. However, the soldiers on horseback were blind and could not see. Anyone who was slow would be whipped.
Luckily, Hejian County was right in front of them. It would only take them half a day to get there.
Otherwise, someone would die of exhaustion if they continued like this.
The leader of the soldiers was the one who had been spared by Jiang Pengji on purpose.
He was eager to make up for his mistake by performing meritorious deeds. After receiving the task of escorting the grain, he had been constantly squeezing the laborers' energy and urging them to travel day and night, hoping to rescue Meng Liang as soon as possible. As the days passed, he felt more and more uneasy. He kept feeling that something bad might happen if he delayed any longer. Coupled with his eagerness to perform meritorious deeds, he naturally did not notice the fatigue on the laborers' faces.
Even if he did, he wouldn't care.
They were just a few laborers. How could they compare to the Second Langjun of the Meng's?
If something happened to Meng Liang because they were too slow, who would take the blame?
However, now that they were only half a day away from Hejian County, the anxiety in his heart had eased a lot. In addition, he also felt a little tired, so he simply followed the leader's words and waved his hand to let the whole team rest for an hour.
After receiving permission, the cook leader felt as if he had been pardoned. He hurriedly shouted to the cook at the back of the team.
"Hurry up. The teahouse is right in front. Let's go there to rest and have a cup of tea."
When everyone heard this, they were instantly motivated. The long grain team was like a wriggling worm, slowly approaching the teahouse.
This teahouse often received caravans traveling from the south to the north, so it had seen big scenes before.
The Lady Boss hurriedly put on a smile and greeted a few soldiers who had entered the teahouse. The rest of the soldiers found a random place to sit outside.
Jiang Pengji saw that the proprietress was running around in circles. Qiguan Rang looked as if he had seen a ghost. Jiang Pengji stood up with a kind and honest smile on her face.
"Lady Boss, why don't I help you … Hey, I was in too much of a hurry and forgot to bring my copper coins."
The lady boss looked at her from head to toe and smiled warmly. "It just so happens that we're very busy here. Go and serve a few bowls of tea to the soldiers outside … Do it well. If you're clumsy, you'll have to pay double the compensation …"
Jiang Pengji smiled and said, "Don't worry about that. I work in the fields every day at home. My hands and feet are nimble."
If it had been someone slightly more mean, they would have probably punished her. Why did she come here when she could not even afford a copper coin's worth of tea?
However, Jiang Pengji could tell that although the proprietress had a mean face, she had a sharp tongue and a soft heart. She was very warm and considerate. Sometimes, when travelers did not have money to pay for tea, she would generously waive it.
When it was cold, she would even make ginger soup to ward off the cold.
Qiguan Rang was stunned. He watched Jiang Pengji walk out of the teahouse with a big bowl of tea. She easily blended into the grain team and secretly observed the goods in the cart under the pretext of serving tea. Her face was filled with a warm smile. It was as if she had changed into a different person.
Was this … the same Liu Xi, the son of the Liu County Chief that he knew?
Would anyone believe that he was a wild boy from a peasant family?
Qiguan Rang was greatly impressed. On the other side, Jiang Pengji had gained a lot.
Using the opportunity of serving big bowls of tea, she seemed to be complaining and chatting, but she slowly got important information from the cooks.
Of course, the cooks who leaked the information didn't realize it. After all, they were accompanied by the soldiers who escorted the grain.
"Hey, you're just a wild boy. Why are you so curious?" A soldier raised his head and gulped down a bowl of tea. He still felt thirsty and asked Jiang Pengji to bring him another bowl. "Bring me another bowl. I'm dying of thirst …"
Another soldier smiled and said, "He hasn't seen much of the world. It's not a big deal for him to ask a few questions out of curiosity."
Anyway, he did not ask any important questions, so he could answer them.
Jiang Pengji readily agreed. "Two bowls of tea. Please wait for a moment."
Qiguan Rang looked at Jiang Pengji's nimble figure as she busied herself everywhere. If he didn't know that she had an ulterior motive, he might have misunderstood … However, for a noble son of an aristocratic family to go this far in order to obtain information, he had to give it his all.
He laughed involuntarily. After an hour, Jiang Pengji, who had not stopped for a moment, finally had the chance to sit down. The grain team had set off again.
"You really … Why do you have to do this …" Qiguan Rang did not know whether to laugh or cry.
"If I didn't do this, it would be hard to get close to them." Jiang Pengji had been busy for a long time, so her mouth was dry. After drinking a bowl of tea, she felt refreshed. She whispered to Qiguan Rang, "There's no problem with the grain team. It's not two thousand dans, it's more than three thousand dans! The Meng's are really generous. I just don't know … if they'll still be smiling in two days. "
Qiguan Rang raised his eyebrows and said in surprise, "I only saw you bustling about and trying to get information from people. You didn't even get close to the grain wagons that were being guarded by the soldiers. How did you know that there was no problem with the grain? You even knew the specific amount …"
Jiang Pengji said, "That's easy. Look at the weight of the wheels. The weight of the same bag of grains and sand is different. I also went to get some information from those cooks, and I can roughly estimate the total amount of food they have … "
Although Jiang Pengji was busy, she was actually multitasking.
She added in a low voice, "Of course, I took the opportunity to get close to the grain team not to look at the grain …"
Qiguan Rang was suspicious. The main purpose of getting close to the grain team was not to look at the grain?
Then what was it for?
He frowned slightly and began to recall Jiang Pengji's actions during this period of time, hoping to guess her real intention.
"Don't keep thinking about it. I'm here to deliver something. If I don't take this opportunity to deliver it, it will be inconvenient to take action at other times, and it will easily arouse suspicion … "Jiang Pengji smiled as she drank her tea. Her satisfied look was very much like a fox whose scheme had succeeded.
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