Transmigrated Into an Ancient Famine Novel as a Scumbag Alpha (ABO, GL) - Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Ye Qing ate a few bites of lamb. The fresh lamb had a slight gamey smell, but Ye Qing could definitely handle it. As long as it wasn’t the locust cakes from the apocalypse, she could eat anything.

Feeling unsatisfied, Ye Qing scooped some cabbage and lamb into her bowl with a spoon and ate it with rice porridge.

The little one was eating heartily too, devouring several large pieces of lamb. After the little one was full, Jiang Jinhuang hurriedly started eating her porridge.

She picked up a piece of lamb to taste. Back in the capital, Jiang Jinhuang would never have eaten lamb—she disliked its strong smell. But in times like these, she found the lamb in her mouth delicious. Apart from the fish last night, she and her sister hadn’t eaten meat in a long time.

Ye Qing had already finished a bowl. Her gaze shifted to Jiang Jinhuang, noticing that Jiang Jinhuang’s posture remained upright, though her chopstick movements had sped up noticeably.

Seeing how much Jiang Jinhuang enjoyed the food, Ye Qing’s eyes curved with a smile. But she quickly restrained her emotions. She and the female lead weren’t friends yet, and she didn’t want a simple smile to be overinterpreted. That would be disastrous for her.

The little dumpling was playing with her hands in the distance, her eyes occasionally glancing at her sister, then sneaking a look at Sister Ye. She had just noticed that Sister Ye smiled at her sister.

If only Sister Ye could always treat her and her sister like she had these past few days, the little dumpling thought secretly.

Seeing Jiang Jinhuang finish her porridge, Ye Qing spoke, “There’s still some in the kitchen, and a bit of the dish too. We’ll keep it for lunch. I’m going out to find a cart now. You stay here and pack our things.”

Jiang Jinhuang nodded. “Okay.”

“Come on, lock the gate after me,” Ye Qing said as she stood and left the bedroom. It was the hour of the Dragon, around 7 a.m. in modern times. Ye Qing planned to search again for anything useful.

For example, she hadn’t taken many quilts last time, but they would be very useful now. On their journey, exposed to the elements, quilts could keep them warm, serve as cushions, or be used to build shelters.

And cotton clothes—she hadn’t taken many before either. But now, traveling every day, she desperately needed clean cotton clothes. She’d take them all.

With that in mind, Ye Qing prepared to leave the courtyard. Jiang Jinhuang called out, “Ye Qing, wait a moment.”

Ye Qing turned to look at Jiang Jinhuang. “What’s up?”

Jiang Jinhuang nodded and walked a few steps closer, stopping right in front of Ye Qing.

Her lips pressed together, hands clenched tightly as if gathering courage. After a moment, she looked up at Ye Qing, gently adjusting Ye Qing’s clothes at the chest while softly saying, “Be careful out there and come back soon. Yangyang and I will be waiting for you.”

Ye Qing nodded at Jiang Jinhuang. She knew what Jiang Jinhuang meant. Jiang Jinhuang wasn’t truly worried about her safety—she was afraid Ye Qing might abandon them and run off.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be back before noon. Go inside; it’s cold out,” Ye Qing instructed before turning to leave.

Jiang Jinhuang watched Ye Qing’s departing figure with worry. Only when Ye Qing was out of sight did she return to the courtyard and lock the gate.

Back in the bedroom, she began packing. She and Jiang Jinyang had few belongings—just some worn-out dresses and bedding. Jiang Jinhuang packed them together, while the little dumpling watched from the side.

“Sister, where are we going?” the little one asked, fidgeting with her hands.

Jiang Jinhuang sighed, squatting down in front of the little one and touching her face. “There’s a famine in Linzhou. If we don’t leave, we’ll have no food. So we’re heading south to escape the famine. Once we get there, I’ll find a way to contact our family. Don’t be afraid, Yangyang. I’m here, and I won’t let anything happen to you.”

The little dumpling obediently hugged Jiang Jinhuang. “I’ll protect Sister too.”

Hearing her sister’s sweet promise, tears welled in Jiang Jinhuang’s eyes, but she smiled. “Good, Yangyang is the best.”

Jiang Jinhuang closed her eyes. The little dumpling was too young to understand what fleeing south meant, but Jiang Jinhuang knew.

Fleeing meant a grueling journey, especially in winter. They faced the risk of freezing or starving at any moment, not to mention potential human dangers along the way.

Refugees, lacking clothes and food, might rob, kill, or assault others. No one would intervene. Safely reaching the south was no easy task. Sometimes, Jiang Jinhuang didn’t dare think too deeply about whether she could truly bring her sister to safety.

Meanwhile, Ye Qing had found the courtyard where she’d seen carts before. It belonged to a wealthy household, and the carts were likely used by servants to transport goods.

There were several carts. Ye Qing chose the newest and sturdiest one. She tested it by pushing it. The feel wasn’t as good as modern carts—wooden wheels weren’t as smooth as rubber ones—but it was a tool for carrying things, and they couldn’t do without it.

She selected one to take back later. As for the other five carts, Ye Qing thought for a moment and tossed them all into her space. They were consumables, and since they were far from the south, the cart might break down on the way. Having spares was wise.

After securing the cart, Ye Qing searched the bedroom for quilts. Last time, she’d taken only a few. This time, she threw every clean quilt she found into her space—roughly fifteen, by her estimate.

She also looked for cotton dresses. Any clean ones went into her space. She found some children’s dresses too, and a cotton hat with rabbit ears, which she thought would suit the little dumpling. She stored them all in her space.

By the time she’d gathered everything useful, it was nearly noon. Ye Qing placed two quilts and a bundle of cotton clothes on the cart for show, then pushed it out.

As she walked home, Ye Qing noticed a few scattered refugees on the street. There were even fewer people today than the past two days.

She quickened her pace. The few people on the road were also hurrying along.

Back at the house, Jiang Jinhuang had finished packing the bedding and clothes. She was now in the kitchen reheating food. There was some leftover stir-fry from the morning, so she mixed it into the porridge to give it more flavor.

But the porridge had been heating for a while, and Ye Qing still hadn’t returned.

Jiang Jinhuang paced anxiously in the kitchen, the door open, her eyes darting to the gate, praying for Ye Qing’s quick return.

After a while, she heard a sound outside, like someone pushing a cart.

She hurried to the gate. “Ye Qing, is that you?”

“It’s me. Open the door,” Ye Qing called from outside.

“Okay.” Jiang Jinhuang breathed a sigh of relief, quickly moving the stool blocking the gate and unlatching the bolt.

When she opened the door, she saw Ye Qing pushing a cart. She stepped aside to let her in.

“Where did you find these?” Jiang Jinhuang asked, seeing two quilts and a large bundle of clothes on the cart.

Ye Qing sighed. “Don’t ask. At times like these, we can’t afford to be picky.”

Jiang Jinhuang understood and nodded, dropping the subject. “By the way, I’ve reheated the porridge.”

“Good. Let’s serve it and eat. We need to hit the road soon,” Ye Qing said, parking the cart in the courtyard and heading to the water tank to wash her hands.

Jiang Jinhuang went to the kitchen to serve the porridge, carrying the bowls to the room one by one.

Ye Qing was tired. She sat down and started drinking the lamb and cabbage porridge. Jiang Jinhuang must have added more salt, as it tasted saltier than in the morning, but just right.

The little dumpling ate heartily, her cheeks puffed out with food.

After feeding the little one, Jiang Jinhuang began drinking her porridge. After a few sips, she seemed to remember something and said, “What should we take from the kitchen? I’ve put spices and such in a small wooden box. As for pots and bowls, I think we should take fewer.”

Ye Qing nodded. “Yeah, take one iron pot, one clay pot, one large wooden spoon, and our three bowls. Take three pairs of chopsticks too. Leave the rest.”

“Okay,” Jiang Jinhuang said.

Ye Qing ate quickly, not as refined as Jiang Jinhuang. Filling her stomach was enough.

After Jiang Jinhuang finished eating and cleared the table, Ye Qing took out some fabric and cotton from the clothes to sew cotton gloves for the three of them.

But as a modern person, Ye Qing’s sewing skills were limited. She had just cut out a shape when Jiang Jinhuang stood nearby, frowning.

Not knowing what Ye Qing was doing but finding her cutting messy, Jiang Jinhuang asked, “What are you doing?”

“Oh, I want to sew gloves for the three of us.”

“Gloves?” Jiang Jinhuang asked, puzzled.

“Something to cover your hands. It’s too cold otherwise, and exposed hands could get frostbite,” Ye Qing explained, showing Jiang Jinhuang the two pieces of fabric she’d cut. “Like this, roughly hand-shaped but bigger, with cotton inside for warmth.”

Jiang Jinhuang nodded. “That’s a good idea.”

Back in the capital, she had cotton clothes and hand warmers for winter, but she’d never seen gloves.

Watching Ye Qing sew, Jiang Jinhuang saw her crude stitches, uneven and crooked. Unable to stand it, she said, “Why don’t you let me do this, and you pack the kitchen?”

Ye Qing thought it was a good idea. They could work on both tasks and leave sooner.

“Alright, you take over. I’ll go to the kitchen.”

Ye Qing went to pack the kitchen. She’d said to leave unnecessary items, but in truth, she threw everything usable into her space. On such a long journey, anything might come in handy.

As for the items to pack, she did it for the sisters to see. Storing things in her space would be easier, but she couldn’t do that.

The journey was long, and Ye Qing felt her space secret might eventually be discovered, but it absolutely couldn’t happen now. With Jiang Jinhuang’s low favorability toward her, being found out now would be bad.