Who knew? The exiled criminals this time were different from the past, and they didn't even have a penny on them.
In 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 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 mouldy 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 Qin Family so quickly.
This time, Li Xinyue took no food from her interspatial ring. After all, the package Old Master Li 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 arouse suspicions.
Although the Qin family only nibbled on white flour steamed buns, it was already very satisfying for these exiled criminals.
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 Qin Yichen lessened somewhat. Seeing the Qin 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 Qin Family like knives.
They would have hurled insults long ago without fear of the government clerks.
While eating the steamed buns, Li Xinyue glanced at those people from the corner of her eyes.
She happened to meet the sinister gaze of He Rou'er.
Li Xinyue deliberately annoyed her by raising the steamed bun in her hand and showing He Rou'er a big smile.
The provocative meaning was self-explanatory.
He Rou'er was not to be outdone either. She raised her hand and clenched her fist, posing like she was about to hit someone.
Li Xinyue 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. Li Xinyue did this without trying to hide it from anyone.
From the trouble He Rou'er deliberately caused for Li Xinyue yesterday, Old Lady Qin 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 needed to remind the others to be careful of He 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 Qin Family finished eating their fill and were tidying up themselves, the Eighth Old Zhou and Peng Wang came over.
Seeing this, the Qin Family reflexively became nervous.
The Eighth Old Zhou said commandingly, "Our boss was bitten by a snake yesterday, and his body is still a little weak, so he needs to sit in Qin Yichen's wooden cart for now."
Old Lady Qin asked 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 Qin was in a difficult spot.
"Official, as you know, we of the Qin Family are all women. How will we travel with him if Jiuye can't stay on the cart?"
"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 dare to disobey the government clerks!"
Seeing that the Qin Family was about to suffer a loss, the people from the other families watched this side with schadenfreude.
Many people were cheering Peng Wang and the Eighth Old Zhou on in their hearts, hoping they would teach the Qin Family a good lesson.
Seeing that her daughter-in-law was about to stir up trouble, Old Lady Qin hurriedly pulled her aside.
However, facing this situation, she was also at a loss for what to do.
Lying on the wooden cart, Qin Yichen 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 travelling. If that happened, he could only choose to regain consciousness ahead of time.
Just as Qin Yichen was thinking about how to wake up, he heard Li Xinyue speak up.
She walked up to Peng Wang unhurriedly, and her tone could be considered rather respectful too.
"Peng Official, are you feeling 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 Qin Yichen, either.
"That's right, I feel a little out of breath after walking just a few steps."
In Peng Wang's view, Li Xinyue 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 physical condition. Although he felt discomfort, it wouldn't be as severe as yesterday.
After arriving in Yunlai County, he could find an imperial physician to examine him and prescribe medicine to help him recuperate.
But to his surprise, Li Xinyue was able to point out his current symptoms accurately.
This made it very likely that Li Xinyue did know medical techniques. Therefore, when he answered, he was clear.
"Li Xinyue, 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."
Peng Wang's snake venom had been completely cleared out. The reason he had symptoms was that the venom had damaged some nerve systems in his body.
It could heal by itself within a week.
However, to avoid the situation of the Qin Family's women carrying Qin Yichen while travelling, she could only try to intimidate Peng Wang with words.
Peng Wang completely believed Li Xinyue's words. After all, his physical condition was right there.
"Miss He, do you have a way?"
This was precisely what Li Xinyue was waiting for.
"There is a way, but..."
She looked at Qin Yichen lying on the wooden cart as she spoke.
A sly person like Peng Wang immediately understood Li Xinyue'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. Qin Yichen 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. Only then did Peng Wang reluctantly come back with a disgruntled expression.
"Miss He, as long as you can eliminate my remaining venom, I'll permit Qin Yichen to be on the cart with me."
"Official, as you can see, we of the Qin Family are all womenfolk. Pushing the cart for our husband alone is already very strenuous..."
Li Xinyue would eat anything; she just wanted to avoid losing weight.
Although two or three Qin Family women working together could still push the cart, she didn't want her people to toil.
Peng Wang was so angry inside. He had already lowered his stance to agree to share a cart with Qin Yichen, yet Li Xinyue 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 to him, so he consented to his solution.
"I've agreed to your conditions already. If you can't eliminate the remaining venom in me, beware of the government clerks' whips."