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

Chapter 66 Bringing a Caravan Back

The group walked for another half an hour, until it was completely dark and the temperature dropped.

The vehicles leading the way lit torches for illumination. The Niu family members were familiar with the terrain around Qingping County, so Meng Fuqing only needed to follow them.

Suddenly, a burst of fireworks exploded in the sky, and everyone looked over at the sound.

"Why are people setting off fireworks?" Niu Er, who was walking ahead of Meng Fuqing, asked in surprise.

Meng Fuqing knew that Mu Feng had set off the fireworks to remind her of their location.

She said to Niu Er, "Brother Niu Er, the fireworks just now were set off by the people who were with me."

Niu Er, who was driving the cart ahead of Meng Fuqing, turned his head and said "Oh," with a simple smile, "The people in your village are really thoughtful."

Meng Fuqing suddenly remembered that Niu Er thought Xie Jin was the son-in-law she hadn't welcomed into the family. It was fine before no one in the county recognized him, but now it was better to clarify things.

There were people both in front and behind, and they were all rushing to catch their trains, so it was difficult to explain. They could only wait a while.

Unexpectedly, the son-in-law himself arrived during this wait.

Fireworks went off twice more. Just when the convoy was only half an hour away from Wild Boar Gully, two people on horseback came galloping towards the county town.

The figure in front of him looked very familiar to Meng Fuqing; it was Xie Jin.

She wondered if Xie Jin was going to go to the county town under the cover of darkness.

With many vehicles on the road, the two men reined in their horses and slowed their pace, carefully identifying the people in the convoy, as if they were searching for something.

By the light of the torches, Niu Er recognized Xie Jin riding a horse. He exclaimed, "Huh?" Meng Fuqing's eyelids twitched, and he quickly said, "Brother Niu Er, my brother has come to see me. You've met him before."

"Brother...?" Niu Er was completely confused, but after thinking for a moment, he seemed to understand. After all, they weren't married yet, so he could understand.

Niu Er chuckled, "Yes, it's my brother. He must have been worried because you've been out for so long."

As soon as Meng Fuqing spoke, Xie Jin looked over. Hearing her call him "brother," he looked at Niu Er, who was talking to Meng Fuqing, with surprise. It took him a moment to recognize the man.

Niu Er greeted him warmly, "Young man, do you still recognize me? We plan to travel with you, please take good care of us!"

As he sized up Xie Jin, he wondered to himself why the girl was always dressed much worse than the boy whenever he saw them. Was she not a good person?

Xie Jin nodded, looked at Meng Fuqing, and rode alongside him, asking, "Is there anything unusual in the county town?"

"Are you going to Qingping County?" Meng Fuqing asked.

"I was going to go anyway, but now that you're back, I'll just ask you."

Mu Feng, who was following behind the two, remained expressionless. He had no idea that they were going to Qingping County.

Meng Fuqing did not mention that the magistrate of Qingping County was dead. He only said, "A lot of carriages and horses have come from the north. After today, the news will probably spread, and more and more people will head south. There should be a lot of trouble on the road."

Xie Jin looked at Niu Er in front of him and raised his chin, "Who are they?"

"They wanted to come with us, and I agreed because I saw they had a lot of vehicles and livestock."

Xie Jin nodded, "That way we can walk faster."

After traveling for another half hour, the convoy arrived at Wild Boar Gully.

Wild Boar Gully is located in a lower-lying area than other places in Qingping County. It is named after the wild boars that used to roam there. By crossing Wild Boar Gully, they can leave Qingping County.

The villagers of Mengjia Village were resting in a grove of trees. They cleared a space and lit a bonfire. The villagers slept on the ground around the fire. The night watchman heard the noise and got up to check. In the dim light of the fire, he saw a convoy on the road and was so shocked that his jaw almost dropped.

"Who are these people? Why are there so many cars?"

"Who knows? Maybe someone just happened to be passing by?"

Meng Bochang was old and a light sleeper. He woke up when he heard the noise. Feeling uneasy, he put on his clothes, got up and looked over. Pointing at Xie Jin and Mu Feng, he tentatively asked, "Is that Young Master Xie and the others?"

Tiger, who was on night watch, looked closely and realized it was true.

"I'll go take a look!" He rubbed his hands together and walked towards the convoy.

The three of them, including Shan Qiyu and her son, were so worried about Meng Fuqing who had gone to the county town that they couldn't fall asleep. At this moment, all three of them looked exhausted and were looking forward to Meng Fuqing's return.

Once Tiger understood the situation, he couldn't help but gasp in amazement. Good heavens, going to the county town and bringing back a whole convoy of cars was quite something.

It has to be said that having these people join is a great thing for them. Tiger couldn't hide the excitement on his face and ran back to the woods to tell the village chief about it.

Meng Bochang perked up and hurried over to greet him.

After learning the reason, he felt more at ease.

The Niu family, including relatives, consists of five households, totaling sixty or seventy people including the elderly and children. They have thirty or forty carts harnessed to livestock, many of which are still empty.

Not walking with people you don't trust will indeed make you a target for others.

Niu Da concluded, "We'll have to trouble Village Chief Meng to take care of us in the future. We're just rough men, so if you need anything from us, just let us know!"

Meng Bochang quickly waved his hand, "It's better to have more people at times like this. Qingya trusts you all, and I, as the village chief, also trust her judgment. Since we've decided to walk together from now on, we can discuss everything together."

The two sides chatted happily, and their voices woke up many sleeping people.

As they listened to the distant conversation, their sleepiness gradually dissipated.

"Qing girl brought back a convoy? Am I dreaming?"

"Could they be here to rob us? Why are they even traveling with us in this convoy?"

"Didn't you hear what the village chief said? It won't work if there's a car but no one to guard it!"

"If they need a lot of cars, could we borrow some?"

"We have to pay them, right? Qingya knows them, but we don't. If we lend them money for nothing, wouldn't that be taking advantage of Qingya?"

The villagers who wanted to borrow the car fell silent.

On the other side, Niu Er whispered to Meng Fuqing, "Didn't he say he would give you his clothes? Why are you dressed so poorly? You're using a mule while he's riding a horse. Girl, take another look. I don't think this guy is a very good person."

Meng Fuqing: ...

Xie Jin, who has good hearing: ...

He glanced at Niu Er, a slight smirk playing on his lips, wanting to see how Meng Fuqing would explain himself.

Unexpectedly, Meng Fuqing nodded and said in a low voice, "Brother Niu Er, you are right, so I don't want him anymore. Actually, I only did it because I felt sorry for him and redeemed him as a good deed."

Niu Er praised, "Well done!"

The smile froze on Xie Jin's lips. He pursed them and called out in a dangerous tone, "Meng Fuqing..."

When Niu Er was caught talking badly about someone, he immediately shut up.

Meng Fuqing tilted her head and gestured with her eyes to indicate why she was being called.

Since the other party started it all in the first place, and she didn't know how to explain it, she might as well go with the flow and let it slide for now. After all, he was the one who started the trouble.

Xie Jin knew that he had caused this, and if there was no explanation, it would damage Meng Fuqing's reputation.

He tossed out a parting remark: "Remember to call me elder brother from now on!"

He turned and walked towards his carriage.

Mu Feng glanced at Meng Fuqing, then left.

Seeing that there was nothing for her to do, Meng Fuqing turned around to drive the mule cart into the woods, and when she looked up, she saw Shan Qiyu coming to find her with Meng Ranran and Meng Ali.

"Sister!"

"Miss!"

The two children rushed to Meng Fuqing's side. Meng Ranran said, "Big sister, you're finally back! If it weren't for your older brother looking for you, we would have gone to look for you too!"

Meng Ali nodded repeatedly, whether in agreement with her second sister or out of sheer sleepiness, it was unclear.