Chapter 88
Chapter 88
Xiao Che immediately rallied everyone to help surround the reindeer.
There appeared to be more than a dozen of them. Xiao Che divided his people into eight groups, sending them around from a distance to quietly form a ring before gradually closing in.
Reindeer were timid and would turn away from any attack.
That would allow the group to trap the herd in the middle.
Jin Bao was about to charge into the herd and catch one when Old Han scooped her back into his arms.
“Don’t rush, little girl. See that biggest reindeer, the one with branching antlers that look like a crown?”
Jin Bao followed the direction of Old Han’s finger and indeed spotted an enormous, beautiful reindeer.
She blinked her big eyes and nodded. “Grandpa Han, Baby sees it!”
“That is the leader of the herd. As long as we capture it, the others will be easy to handle.”
“Mm-hmm! Otay, Baby remembers!”
Jin Bao swiftly charged into the herd, startling the reindeer into fleeing in all directions.
She grabbed the lead reindeer’s leg. Even with both little hands wrapped around it, she could barely encircle the limb. Before the reindeer could resist, she had already yanked it down into the snow.
Old Han immediately pulled off the rope wound around his body, tied a slipknot, and looped it around the reindeer’s front hooves.
Xiao Che and the others chased and intercepted the remaining reindeer. It took a great deal of effort, but in the end, all dozen or so were captured alive. Old Han tied each reindeer’s two front hooves together, leaving the whole herd lying in hollows in the snow.
“That’s all of them. Reindeer can carry goods and produce milk, and their hides can keep people warm. They’re tremendously useful. With them, our chances of surviving in the Black Pine Forest are far better. They can reproduce too. Three of these dozen or so are calves, so it looks like the herd was migrating.”
“Reindeer like to eat moss and salt. When their habitat runs out of food, the entire herd migrates in search of a new home. We were lucky enough to encounter them at just the right time. If Jin Bao hadn’t spotted the herd so quickly, we would have missed a wonderful opportunity.”
Old Han stroked his beard, grinning so broadly that his eyes disappeared.
The exiles cheered as well. After spending so many years on the Northern Frontier, they too had heard of reindeer. But these intelligent animals rarely approached areas inhabited by humans. Despite cutting pine timber here for so long, the exiles had never encountered a single one.
Yet the very day the Xiao Family arrived, they captured an entire herd alive. Their luck was unbelievable.
Everyone gained a little more confidence in their decision to migrate with the Xiao Family.
The work of taming the reindeer was left to Old Han.
Xiao Che took Xu Huaijin and some of the prisoners back to the Garrison.
Old Han stayed behind with part of the group. They still had enough rabbit and pheasant meat to last the day. All they needed to do was wait for Xiao Che to return with the others and meet them there.
By the time Xiao Che led his people back to the Garrison, night had long since fallen.
Xiao Jingmo and several others stood outside the dugouts with lit torches.
In the span of one day, Xiao Jingmo had organized every task at the Garrison with impressive efficiency.
He had divided the dugouts into several zones: a lodging area, a treatment area, an activity area, and a living area.
The uninjured were currently in the living area, curing the wolf pelts together.
Lu Shuangshuang and two other physicians were treating the seriously wounded in the treatment area. Those with minor wounds could already move about without help, and their injuries no longer affected their daily activities.
When Xiao Jingmo came out to check the situation again, he saw Xiao Che returning with a group of people.
He hurried forward to meet them, holding his torch high.
“Father, the numbers aren’t right. A lot of people are missing. Did you run into trouble? Where’s Grandpa Han?”
Xiao Jingmo immediately noticed that Old Han was not among them.
Xiao Che strode toward the dugout without stopping. “Mo’er, something has happened. We all need to move. I’ll explain inside.”
Xiao Jingmo asked no more questions. His expression tightened as he quickly followed Xiao Che into the dugout.
“Mr. Xu, please come inside and join the discussion as well.”
After saying that, Xiao Che turned to the others. “Please notify everyone else and take a count. If anyone doesn’t want to leave the Garrison, I, Xiao Che, will not force them.”
The crowd immediately dispersed to carry out their tasks.
Xu Huaijin followed Xiao Che into the dugout.
Only Old Madam Xiao and Madam Liu were inside the dugout, talking with Xiao Jingyu.
Pei Wanqing and Nanny Chen were elsewhere, working the wolf pelts with the female exiles.
When Jin Bao did not see her mother, she greeted Old Madam Xiao and immediately ran off.
Xiao Che invited Xu Huaijin to sit. It was only after everyone gathered around the firepit that they finally began to feel warm.
“Mo’er, I received word today that Lu Dachang is coming. He’s probably here for Jin Bao, so we’ve decided to flee west into the Black Pine Forest tomorrow.”
Xiao Jingmo had heard of Lu Dachang. The man was the Deputy Commander of the Northern Frontier, a ruthless figure and one of Prince Cheng’s trusted subordinates.
“Father, if we need to flee for our lives, I’ll make the arrangements right now. But where is Grandpa Han? Why didn’t the others come back?”
“We unexpectedly discovered a migrating herd of reindeer in the forest. Thanks to your little sister, we captured all of them alive. Your Grandpa Han is taming them now. With those reindeer, our chances of survival will be much greater.”
Xiao Jingmo had not expected them to have such a fortuitous encounter. It seemed his little sister not only possessed extraordinary abilities but was also a Little Lucky Star, blessed with astonishing good fortune.
Relieved to learn that Old Han was safe, Xiao Jingmo turned and left the dugout.
Since they were leaving, the grain they had obtained earlier would be difficult to carry. Cooking along the road would be hard enough, and if they carried raw grain for too long, it would grow damp. Their only option was to turn all of it into prepared travel rations.
Xiao Jingmo found Pei Wanqing and Nanny Chen.
“Mother, Father is back. The situation has changed.”
“We’re leaving the Garrison tomorrow, and there’s no knowing what conditions we’ll face after that.”
“So I’ve decided to turn all our grain into travel rations.”
“I’ll select a group to manage the food on the road, but I’ll have to trouble you and Nanny Chen to organize everyone and prepare these rations overnight.”
Pei Wanqing already knew what had happened. Jin Bao had found her and babbled all about what they had encountered in the Black Forest, so Pei Wanqing was mentally prepared.
The moment Xiao Jingmo explained, she quickly set down her work and stood.
“Mo’er, leave this place to me. With Nanny Chen helping, I can manage. Go take care of your other tasks.”
Jin Bao had said that everyone agreed to flee together, which meant the matter could not possibly be simple.
It would have been easier if only their family were leaving. But the Xiao Family now had to lead more than a hundred people, so food would be especially important along the way. She could not afford to make a single mistake.
“Everyone, stop what you’re doing. Set up the pots-we have a long night of work ahead. Once we enter the Black Forest, whether everyone survives will depend on whether the food we prepare can last until we reach our new home.”
At the mention of preparing food, everyone immediately set aside their work. To them, food was an unimaginable luxury.
Pei Wanqing divided the women into two groups. One stayed behind under Nanny Chen’s direction to light fires, boil water, and make preparations, while Pei Wanqing led the other group to carry over the grain.
Xiao Jingmo also gathered everyone at the Garrison who appeared reasonably strong.
He selected fifteen people and brought them to Xiao Che.
“Father, I plan to establish a special team to manage and carry our food along the journey. These are the people I selected. What do you think?”
Instead of answering immediately, Xiao Che looked at Xu Huaijin.
“Mr. Xu, what do you think?”
No one understood the people here better than Xu Huaijin. If he approved, then there would be no problem with them.
Xu Huaijin looked the group over and singled out two men.
“These two won’t do. They’re always shirking, playing tricks, and stealing. If you entrust the food to them, they’ll eat it all before we ever reach our destination.”
The two men were furious and humiliated after Xu Huaijin expelled them from the team. They glared viciously at him, then turned and ran outside.
“What should we do? That Xu fellow has it in for us. He’ll definitely make things difficult for us from now on. Are we still going with them?”
“Don’t worry. If he won’t let us live in peace, we won’t let them live in peace either. When they leave tomorrow, we’ll mark a trail on the ground and lead those people right to them.”