Set Out

"The county magistrate of Beihe County and I have some acquaintance. I'll write you a letter. Later, call on your Fourth Brother and go find him for help." Sun Shouren took the deed of servitude and swept his eyes over its brief wording.

He had been born in Xingyuan Prefecture. Although he had spent years fighting with the frontier army, he still had plenty of acquaintances in Xingyuan Prefecture.

What was more, he now held a fifth-rank position and oversaw all military affairs within Xingyuan Prefecture.

When you were poor, no one in the bustling marketplace would ask after you; when you were rich, even distant relatives in the deep mountains would come running. Now, plenty of people wanted to curry favor with him.

Even old acquaintances and former friends whom he had known before but had not contacted for years had recently come one after another to pay him visits.

"Thank you, godfather." Chen Mo was deeply moved and hurriedly bowed in thanks.

Even if this matter was perhaps only a small thing to him, it truly solved a huge problem for Chen Mo.

Sun Shouren took the paper and brush from the desk, splashed ink and swept his brush across the page. In just a moment, he had written a letter. He sealed it tightly with beeswax, stamped his seal on the outside of the envelope, and only then handed it to Chen Mo.

"Since you're going to redeem her, take some silver with you." Sun Shouren then pulled three ten-tael banknotes from his robes.

These banknotes were all small denominations. Anyone could take the corresponding notes to a money house and withdraw the silver.

Larger-denomination banknotes usually had matching coded text. Some even required the depositor himself to go to the bank where the money had originally been deposited before the silver could be withdrawn.

"This..." Chen Mo stared at the banknotes and did not dare accept them for a moment. Even if he was going to redeem someone, he would need no more than twenty taels at most, while the amount before him was clearly more than that.

"You don't own half a house or a patch of land. Living and eating alone in the military camp is one thing, but surely I can't have my daughter-in-law accompany you there.

"Keep this silver on you. You can use it to find a place and settle down later.

"Besides, although you have my letter, when you ask someone for help, you can't go empty-handed. You should at least bring some gifts for the visit."

Sun Shouren explained everything carefully. If he himself went to find the magistrate of Beihe County, naturally he would not need to prepare anything, and both the county magistrate and the county magistrate's superior would even have to come outside the city to welcome him.

But Chen Mo was his adopted son. Since he was paying a visit, going empty-handed would be somewhat discourteous. Others might not say anything aloud, but they would remember it in their hearts.

"I understand, Father!" Chen Mo spoke with heartfelt sincerity. Although he had acknowledged Sun Shouren as his godfather before, he had still always treated him as a general.

Now that the other man had helped him so much, Chen Mo was not cold-hearted. He could not fail to feel grateful, and naturally felt closer to him as well.

"Go on, then. Don't forget to call your Fourth Brother." Sun Shouren smiled when he heard this.

Chen Mo bowed again, then left at a brisk jog.

Mo Dao was not hard to find. He was responsible for guard duty and patrols throughout the entire military camp, and usually stayed in the watchtower with a seven-stone powerful bow slung across his back.

"Fourth Brother." Chen Mo climbed all the way to the top of the watchtower. Only Mo Dao was there; the other personal guards were on the level below.

That place was more spacious and warmer.

When Mo Dao saw him arrive, he said nothing more than a nod.

"I didn't flee here from Qing Province alone back then. My wife came with me during the refugee flight to Xingyuan Prefecture. To keep me alive, she sold herself as a servant to the Liu Family of Beihe County.

"I just asked my godfather for help. He gave me a handwritten letter for the magistrate of Beihe County and asked you to accompany me on the trip."

Chen Mo knew that Mo Dao disliked listening to unnecessary words, so he got straight to the point and gave him a rough account of the entire matter.

Mo Dao's expression showed no great change, as usual. The matter seemed insufficient to cause him any surprise.

"Fine. Go make some other preparations first. Wait for me at the camp gate in half an hour." He nodded in agreement, rose, and walked down from the watchtower.

Chen Mo followed him down from the tower, then headed straight for his own quarters. The quarters were simply decorated and arranged. Apart from some pastries, there was not much inside.

After thinking briefly, Chen Mo took two boxes of pastries, a clean set of clothes, the reward for his armor evaluation, and the red packet from his godfather. Altogether, he had two taels of silver.

He had been in the military camp this entire time, where the food was quite good, and had not had the chance to spend this money. Now, it was just right to bring it along.

His godfather had indeed given him thirty taels of silver, but if he could avoid breaking one of those notes, he should try not to.

A godfather was ultimately a godfather, not a real father.

If he could avoid using the money, he should try not to use it for now. If he did not spend it all, he could return the remainder to his godfather afterward.

Chen Mo understood that this silver was not for him to spend. It was meant to help him redeem Zhao Yu.

If anything remained, he would have to return it to his godfather.

Carrying these things, Chen Mo headed for the military camp's main gate once more.

Mo Dao had already harnessed a carriage, while he himself rode a horse alongside it.

Unlike Mo Hu, when the personal guards stationed at the camp gate saw Mo Dao approach, they simply opened the gate in silence. Not one of them dared say a word.

Chen Mo carefully drove the carriage. He had fed horses for some time, so although he could not ride one yet, driving a carriage was not difficult.

An old horse knew the road. It avoided the potholes and gullies along the way on its own.

They were traveling on an official road, too. Chen Mo only had to adjust the direction from time to time and follow Mo Dao.

"Beihe County is nearly a hundred li from our military camp. We won't make it there today. There's a large cart inn ahead. We'll go there." As evening drew near, Mo Dao gave his instructions.

"Alright." Chen Mo nodded and agreed, driving together with him toward the large cart inn not far ahead.

These large cart inns were not the same as inns in the city. They were meant for travelers, merchant caravans, and escort agencies to rest.

They were naturally nowhere near as comfortable as ordinary inns, but their advantage was that they were cheap.

There were no dishes to order in the establishment, either, only a few fixed meals.

"Two private rooms. Feed the cart horses medium feed, and the horse without a cart top-grade feed. Bring out more of whatever meals the inn has today." Mo Dao rode into the establishment and gave instructions to the waiter who came to greet him.

"Right away, honored guests. Today we have steamed buns, mutton soup, and pickles." The waiter was quite enthusiastic as he tied a knot in the horses' reins with the straw in his hand.

The number of straw knots told them what sort of feed the horse should receive.

There were not many people in the large cart inn. It was still the first month of the lunar year. Although the fifteenth had already passed, there were still far fewer traveling merchant caravans and escort agencies than usual.

Two large bowls of mutton soup thick with Sichuan pepper powder were brought to the table, along with two heaping plates of mutton buns and a small serving of pickles.

"This is an old establishment. There's no need to worry." Mo Dao spoke in a lowered voice.

The inn could operate beside an official road and had gone many years without trouble, so the food served here was naturally safe to eat.

Chen Mo did not dare eat without restraint. In the end, he ate only thirty-three buns and drank two bowls of mutton soup. Mo Dao ate slightly less, but still put away twenty-five.

The appetites of the two men left everyone in the establishment staring dumbfounded. A hearty appetite came with great strength, which showed that the two men were formidable.

After the two had eaten and drunk their fill, the shopkeeper came over, moving his abacus beads.

Establishments like this settled the bill after dinner and before bed. Guests could leave directly the next day, preventing anyone from slipping away in the morning.

"Honored guests, the total is two hundred and twelve copper coins. Two qian of silver will do." The shopkeeper seemed somewhat surprised after calculating the price carefully, but after thinking it over, found it quite reasonable.

The mutton buns at their establishment were a full circle larger than an adult's fist. An ordinary person could eat five or six at most, and even a big eater would find eight or nine extraordinary.

Chen Mo and Mo Dao had eaten enough food for ten people between them, so this price was perfectly normal.

"Fine." Chen Mo was about to take out some silver. Mo Dao had come out to help him this time, so naturally Chen Mo could not make him pay for the meal.

Seeing this, Mo Dao reached out to stop him and took out silver of his own to settle the bill.

"Since you call me Fourth Brother, how could I let you pay when we eat out?"

As he said this, a rare hint of a smile appeared on his face.