It's really hard to just farm peacefully.

Chapter 170

The morning mist in the forest had not yet dissipated, but the dedicated Hong Yayi and his colleagues urged the laborers to get up and set off.

After a brief relaxation last night, Jiang Yan's hands were tied in front of her body, and her scattered hair, wet with dew, hung in front of her cheeks.

The patients didn't seem to be in good condition. Not long after they started walking, many of them stumbled and fell down.

Jiang Yan wasn't in much better condition either. He was now hot all over, with a dry and sore throat. He was hanging on by his last breath and not collapsing.

She used her dizzy head to analyze that her wound might be inflamed and she caught a cold at night. If she lost her balance and fell and got injured... her trip to the provincial capital might be delayed.

Jiang Yan bit her tongue harder. She heard someone begging the yamen runners for food and water. They hadn't had anything to eat since they left yesterday.

At the same time, the image of the yamen runners' shrunken bags flashed through Jiang Yan's mind again. Even if she were delirious with fever, she could guarantee that they wouldn't be included in the list of forced laborers.

Sure enough, the annoying and irritable yamen runner who loved to crack his whip refused with a foul mouth: "You want to eat shit? I can't even eat enough, how can you have a share?"

"Then...then we have nothing to eat, won't we starve to death?" an aunt said weakly.

The old man lying on the ground groaned, "How heartless! They took all the old man's things without leaving anything behind."

"Who do you think is the thief, you old fool?"

Seeing the angry yamen runner coming towards him with a whip in hand, Yamen Runner Hong hurriedly stopped him and said to everyone:

"We prepared all the food for this trip ourselves. If the county government didn't provide your food, we naturally won't pay for it from our own pockets."

After saying this, the old man stretched out his arms and legs and lay on the ground in a comfortable manner, forming the shape of a "big" character:

"I knew there wouldn't be any fools looking for a bunch of sickly people to work. It turns out the county lords don't want to contribute any food, and they're afraid of losing their karma, so they just starve us to death on the road."

"I'm not leaving, old man. I'm going to die sooner or later anyway. Um... you, that's you," the old man looked at the yamen runner Hong and pointed at his neck, "while I'm not starving to death, give me a quick knife."

Not only Hong Yayi, but everyone who was conscious at the scene was shocked by this action. Did he really want to die or was he just throwing a tantrum?

The yamen runners had a scale in their hearts: a few beatings were fine, but it was best not to kill the person in their hands. They had finally been recalled by the county magistrate, and if they didn't do their job well, they would definitely be punished and sit on the bench again.

Even the irritable yamen runner was kind and comforting for the first time: "You won't starve to death. Just bear with it for a while. When you get to Heyang County, someone will take care of your food."

"Really?" Everyone looked at Hong Yayi again. He was the leader and what he said could be trusted.

Hong Yamen Runner was actually unsure, but in order to complete the task smoothly, he nodded affirmatively: "Our task is to take you to Heyang County."

When everyone stopped to talk, Jiang Yan kept trying to observe the expressions of the yamen runners.

When she heard the encouragement from Hong Yamen Runner and the irritable Yamen Runner, and realized that at least one of them really thought so, she finally couldn't help but let out a sarcastic smile.

"What's with that expression on your face? Are you looking for a beating?" The irritable bailiff had very sharp eyesight and immediately caught the "provocation" from Jiang Yan.

Jiang Yan slowly withdrew his expression and said dejectedly, "The city gates of Heyang County are only opened once every three days, at dawn and at noon. They just closed yesterday."