Chapter 30
Who knew, the exiled criminals this time were different from the past, and they didn't even have a penny on them.
At this hot weather, steamed buns couldn't be kept for a few days before going bad.
With so many government clerks present, they couldn't possibly finish eating all these steamed buns.
The Eighth Old Zhou thought, it'd be better to give these steamed buns to Peng Wang to repay him for saving their lives, rather than letting them go moldy and throwing them away.
Peng Wang didn't object to this idea either, and that was how these white flour steamed buns ended up in the hands of the Mo Family so easily.
This time, He Zhiran didn't take out any food from her interspatial ring, after all the package Old Master He Yuanming gave her was only so big, and she had taken out so much marinated beef and a quilt yesterday.
If she kept taking things out without restraint, it would definitely arouse suspicions.
Although the Mo Family people were only nibbling on white flour steamed buns, for these exiled criminals it was already very satisfying.
Perhaps because the second sister-in-law went to deliver white flour steamed buns to her nephew at the Xie family last night, today the Xie family's hostility towards Mo Jiuye lessened somewhat. Seeing the Mo Family eating white flour steamed buns, they didn't stare at them with hostile eyes like the people from the other three families.
The people from those three families stared at the Mo Family like knives.
If not for fearing the government clerks, they would have hurled insults long ago.
While eating the steamed buns, He Zhiran glanced at those people from the corner of her eyes.
She happened to meet the sinister gaze of Li Rou'er.
He Zhiran deliberately annoyed her by raising the steamed bun in her hand and showing Li Rou'er a big smile.
The provocative meaning was extremely obvious.
Li Rou'er was not to be outdone either. She raised her hand and clenched her fist, posing as if she was about to hit someone.
He Zhiran still maintained her smile, except that smile no longer reached her eyes. She continued eating the steamed bun with big bites.
The little interaction between the two did not escape Old Lady Mo's eyes. It could be said that He Zhiran did this without trying to hide it from anyone.
From the trouble Li Rou'er deliberately caused for He Zhiran yesterday, Old Lady Mo could see that these two knew each other and held grudges.
However, she also saw that her daughter-in-law was formidable, and did not worry too much. Later she just needed to remind the others to be careful of Li Rou'er.
After all, she understood clearly that it was hard to deal with little demons when the King of Hell wants to see you.
Just as the Mo Family finished eating their fill and were tidying up themselves, the Eighth Old Zhou and Peng Wang came over.
Seeing this, the Mo Family reflexively became nervous.
The Eighth Old Zhou said in a commanding tone, "Our boss was bitten by a snake yesterday and his body is still a little weak, so he needs to sit in Mo Jiuye's wooden cart for now."
Old Lady Mo asked somewhat uncertainly, "Does the official mean for Jiuye to get off the cart?"
"If he doesn't get off, can he expect the boss to squeeze onto a cart with convicts?" The Eighth Old Zhou was a little unhappy right away.
Old Lady Mo was in a difficult spot.
"Official, as you know, we of the Mo Family are all women. If Jiuye can't stay on the cart, how are we going to travel together with him?"
"That's right, official. Aren't you deliberately making things difficult for us?" The outspoken second sister-in-law chimed in.
At this point, without waiting for the Eighth Old Zhou to say anything, Peng Wang flared up.
"It looks like you don't want to live! You actually dare to disobey the government clerks!"
Seeing that the Mo Family was about to suffer a loss, the people from the other families watched this side with schadenfreude.
In fact, many people were cheering Peng Wang and the Eighth Old Zhou on in their hearts, hoping they would teach the Mo Family a good lesson.
Seeing that her daughter-in-law was about to stir up trouble, Old Lady Mo hurriedly pulled her aside.
However, facing this situation, she was also at a loss for what to do.
Lying on the wooden cart, Mo Jiuye listened to the conversation between the two sides and already had a plan.
Once his wooden cart was taken for Peng Wang's use, he certainly couldn't let the women carry him while traveling. If that really happened, he could only choose to regain consciousness ahead of time.
Just as Mo Jiuye was thinking about how to wake up, he heard He Zhiran speak up.
She walked up to Peng Wang unhurriedly, and her tone could be considered rather respectful too.
"Peng Official, are you feeling a little short of breath and chest tightness right now?"
Peng Wang did have these feelings, and quite severely too. Otherwise, he wouldn't have come to wrestle the wooden cart from Mo Jiuye either.
"That's right, I feel a little out of breath after walking just a few steps."
In Peng Wang's view, He Zhiran was a young lady from a prestigious family. She probably read about emergency treatment for snake bites in some book and happened to save his life by coincidence. He was clear about his own physical condition. Although he felt discomfort, it wouldn't be as severe as yesterday. After arriving at Yunlai County, he could find an imperial physician to take a good look and prescribe some medicine to recuperate.
But to his surprise, He Zhiran was actually able to point out his current symptoms accurately.
This made it very likely that He Zhiran did know medical techniques. Therefore, when he answered, he was not vague at all.
"He Zhiran, you do have a way to deal with the remaining venom in me yesterday. Although I saved your life, there is still residual venom in your body. If it's not treated promptly, it will still be life-threatening."
In fact, Peng Wang's snake venom had been completely cleared out. The reason he had symptoms was because the venom had damaged some nerve systems in his body.
Basically it could heal by itself within a week.
However, in order to avoid the situation of the Mo Family's women carrying Mo Jiuye while traveling, she could only try to intimidate Peng Wang with words.
Peng Wang completely believed He Zhiran's words, after all, his own physical condition was right there.
"Miss He, do you have a way?"
This was exactly what He Zhiran was waiting for.
"There is a way, but..."
As she spoke, she looked towards Mo Jiuye lying on the wooden cart.
A sly person like Peng Wang immediately understood He Zhiran's implication.
He suddenly turned black-faced.
In all his years working as a government clerk, this was the first time he was asked for conditions by a convict.
Peng Wang wanted to say, he didn't need her treatment. He could find an imperial physician after arriving at Yunlai County. Mo Jiuye had to give up the wooden cart today no matter what.
But before he could get the words out, the Eighth Old Zhou pulled him aside and whispered a few sentences to him. Only then did Peng Wang reluctantly come back with a disgruntled expression.
"Miss He, as long as you can completely eliminate the remaining venom in me, I'll permit Mo Jiuye to be on the cart with me."
"Official, as you can see, we of the Mo Family are all womenfolk. Pushing the cart for our husband alone is already very strenuous..."
He Zhiran would eat anything, she just didn't like taking losses.
Although two or three Mo Family women working together could still push the cart, she didn't want her own people to toil.
Peng Wang was so angry inside. He had already lowered his stance to agree to share a cart with Mo Jiuye, yet He Zhiran still dared propose conditions to him.
Just as he was about to erupt, the Eighth Old Zhou cut in again.
"That's no problem, I can get some male convicts to push the cart."
Peng Wang looked at the Eighth Old Zhou and knew he meant well for him, so he acquiesced to his solution.
"I've agreed to your conditions already. If you can't completely eliminate the remaining venom in me, beware of the government clerks' whips."