He started by killing his abusive father, and from then on, he embarked on the road to wealth.

Chapter 76 Recruiting a Few Henchmen

"Boss!" Niu Er shouted to Meng Fuqing, "From now on, I'll give up my position as boss to you, Miss Meng, and my six brothers and I will all follow you! What do you say?"

Someone inside the cave looked at them. Meng Fuqing gave Niu Er a wink, signaling him to come out with him.

Outside the cave, the cold wind made people shiver. Even Niu Er couldn't help but shiver, but Meng Fuqing seemed not to feel the cold at all.

She stopped in a sheltered spot and asked, "Because of the silver notes I gave you yesterday?"

Upon hearing this, Niu Er took out the silver note from his pocket and returned it to Meng Fuqing, saying, "Am I, Niu Er, the kind of person who would bow down for a single silver note? It's definitely for more silver notes!"

Meng Fuqing glanced at the silver note but did not accept it.

Niu Er chuckled twice, scratched the back of his head, and said, "There's no other reason. I just think you're amazing. I'll definitely amount to something if I follow you! I've served in the army and fought in battles. I'm good at fighting and killing. Carrying bags and selling livestock is too boring."

"Don't worry, Miss Meng, all my brothers listen to me. If I say you're the boss, then you are!"

Meng Fuqing had previously felt that it was inconvenient to get things done without someone under his command, but now that a subordinate had come to him, he naturally had to accept him.

She nodded. "You can join me if you want. I don't like to waste my breath, and I especially dislike people asking me questions. As long as you can do it, you'll have plenty of opportunities to make money."

Niu Er was overjoyed, "Yes, yes! Whatever you say, Boss, is true!"

"Alright, we're fleeing for now, so don't come near me when we don't need you."

After saying this, Meng Fuqing walked into the cave, leaving Niu Er standing there for a long time, unable to react.

But no matter what, Meng Fuqing is their boss now! Niu Er was secretly pleased.

The cave entrance was unprotected, and the inside was quite damp. When we first entered, we disturbed the local inhabitants. Fortunately, the cave entrance was sheltered from the wind, and Meng Bochang had people use torches to warm all the nooks and crannies. They also lit a fire in the middle, which finally brought some warmth.

Each household used the firelight to start a fire and cook.

Meng Fuqing returned to the cave and placed the firewood next to the pot he had set up.

Shan Qiyu took out the wild boar's hind leg, Meng Ranran started a fire, and Meng Ali assisted Shan Qiyu. Since Meng Fuqing had no room to interfere, she made a torch herself, found an open space nearby, and heated the ground. Then she found an oilcloth and bedding and began to lay them out.

The cold wind howled like ghosts wailing and wolves howling. The temperature had dropped drastically in the past few days, and Meng Fuqing felt uneasy.

They had only been fleeing for a few days, and their journey was far from peaceful. They encountered all sorts of troubles along the way.

Was Meng Linlang's dream of fleeing famine also like this? It seems Xie Jin only mentioned that war had also occurred there. Was there also a natural disaster?

After a moment's thought, she took out the paper she had obtained from the magistrate of Qingping County from her spatial storage, using the blankets for cover. She tore off a small piece, ground it with burnt charcoal, and quickly wrote a few words on the paper.

He planned to deliver the items to Xie Jin while Meng Ranran was giving them to Doctor Zheng.

She didn't interact much with Xie Jin along the way, partly because it was unnecessary, and partly to avoid trouble. Xie Jin was also very sensible; unless they encountered danger, he would only send his subordinates to contact them. It was best not to break this kind of relationship.

Everyone knew about Meng Fuqing's wild boar legs, and when they took them out to eat, they didn't try to hide it.

Remove the rough outer skin, blanch the cut meat pieces, then simply braise them with sugar and soy sauce. The remaining bones can be used to make soup.

Meng Fuqing had made the braising method before, and Shan Qiyu remembered the recipe after only one attempt.

The aroma of braised pork made the neighbor's child cry with envy again. This time, Cui Guangzong was clamoring for some, but having learned his lesson from last time, the Cui family dared not let Cui Miao'er bring him to ask for it again.

Having been reprimanded by Yao Shanyun before, Cui Miao'er behaved herself this time, only muttering to herself that Meng Fuqing's family was ostentatious.

No one came to claim it, but someone brought another wild boar hind leg to our door.

Compared to Mu Feng, Mu Sheng had a gentler demeanor. He spoke softly to Meng Fuqing, "I apologize for troubling you, Miss Meng. My young master wishes to exchange this wild boar hind leg for a plate of stir-fried meat. Would you be willing, Miss Meng?"

Having made a lot of braised pork, and remembering the more than three hundred taels of silver, Meng Fuqing waved his hand and said, "No need to exchange it. Just take some to Young Master Xie and Doctor Zheng later."

“To be honest, Miss Meng,” Mu Sheng added, “we servants aren’t very skilled in cooking. If this wild boar meat ends up in our hands, we can only roast it. Please accept it.”

Having said that, Meng Fuqing didn't bother to refuse anymore. "Just leave it there. I'll send you some next time we burn some more."

Shan Qiyu deftly scooped out the meat and was about to stand up and hand it to Mu Sheng when a pair of hands took it from him.

Meng Fuqing held two bowls of meat, his gaze falling on the bottom of the bowls before looking up again. "Thank you for your trouble, Young Master Mu."

Mu Sheng was good at reading people's expressions and realized what was going on. He calmly took the bowl and left.

After seeing the person off, the family of four cooked vegetable soup and heated up some flatbread before finally eating.

Perhaps because of the use of water from the spatial stream, the wild boar meat didn't have much of a gamey smell.

With food in my stomach, my body warmed up.

After finishing their meal, everyone went to bed early, and soon the sound of snoring filled the cave.

Despite the presence of night watchmen, Meng Fuqing still extended vines along the corner of the wall to the outside of the cave so that he could be alerted to any activity outside as soon as possible.

In the middle of the night, she was awakened by the sound of footsteps approaching her. As soon as she opened her eyes, she met a pair of familiar eyes. Xie Jin glanced at her and then looked away, the note in his hand falling to her ear.

Meng Fuqing picked up the note, glanced at it, and saw only six words on it: 'war,' 'drought,' and 'locust plague.'

The situation is very different from what it is today.

Through the tendrils at her fingertips, she could sense that the outside temperature was lower than when it was getting dark, and a thin layer of white frost had settled on the ground.

The strong winds and sharp drop in temperature suggest a cold wave is on the way. If it snows again, the clothes the villagers are wearing will hardly keep them warm.

Thinking about all this, accompanied by the occasional howl of wolves, Meng Fuqing fell asleep again. When she woke up, the first thing she did was put away the vines.

"Sister, sister! Wake up, please wake up!"

The little girl's urgent cries drew everyone's attention.

Meng Fuqing looked in the direction of the sound and saw a family living near the cave entrance. A little girl, about seven or eight years old, was shaking her older sister who was lying on the ground.

She remembered that these were Cui Miao'er's two daughters, named Zhao'er and Pan'er.

Cui Miao'er's sister-in-law, Fan Yumei, walked up to her second daughter, Pan'er, who was crying in distress. Her face showed no sign of worry. She simply said, "Is this brat trying to avoid work and staying in bed?"

Zhao'er still hadn't woken up.

Fan Yumei's father-in-law, Mr. Cui, said, "Stop shouting, let her sleep, sleep as much as she wants! Don't let her eat today either."

Upon hearing this, Fan Yumei stood up and said to Pan'er, "Quickly wake your sister up, or you won't get any food either."