I survived the famine by scavenging and supported my family.

Both of his sons were injured. His younger son was slashed on the arm. Fortunately, Zhao Lao Er helped block the blow, otherwise his younger son would have lost his arm!

"I can't swallow this either..." the village head said. "There are still so many people in the village, we'll have another chance... but next time, we can't be as careless as we were tonight."

The village chief nodded. "The villagers need a good talking-to. They've all come out to escape famine, yet they're still so carefree. If everyone were like Zhao Lao Er and Er Shun's family, what would our group have to fear from these petty scoundrels?!"

The village head nodded, and the two walked away while discussing.

The villagers of Wangli Village dragged these seven people into the ditch and threw them in. The other two injured people were also thrown in. Whether they would be able to climb out or not was up to fate.

After resting for an hour in the morning, the people in the group shouted that they should continue moving forward.

Some of them were there because their family members were injured, and they wanted to get to the county town as soon as possible so they could rest properly and find a clinic to get some herbal medicine.

Some people did so because their families were out of food, and the sooner they could get to the county town, the sooner they could exchange their silver for some grain.

At the beginning of the morning, the procession from Wangli Village continued to move slowly forward.

The three families who lost their loved ones pooled their money to buy a cart from a villager, and carried their bodies to the county town to find a thin coffin and a place to bury them.

We absolutely cannot leave it here in the middle of nowhere.

The people of Wangli Village held their breath and, braving the scorching midday heat, rested for only two hours. By 5 PM, before sunset, they had arrived in Heqing County.

Contrary to expectations, a large crowd of people were blocking the area outside Heqing County.

The procession from Wangli Village stopped at the outermost edge, making it impossible to see what was going on ahead.

Helpless, the village head could only stop the procession where it was and then lead two people to squeeze forward.

The further they went, the more alarmed the village head became.

The large crowds in front of the county town were all people who had fled famine, bringing their families, pulling carts, and pushing wheelbarrows.

Everyone looked weary from their journey. They found a place near the county gate that seemed to have a simple and easy-going population. The village head took out a hard pancake the size of a child's palm from his pocket.

"Young man, do you know what happened up ahead?" After the village head asked, he waited for the young man sitting on the ground to look over, and then silently stuffed the pancake in his hand into his hand.

The man was caught off guard when a round object was suddenly shoved into his hand. He looked through his sleeve and saw that it was a flatbread made from two different doughs!

He swallowed hard, hid the pancake, and then said, "You've come to the right person! I've been here for three days, and I know everything about Heqing County."

Hearing that he had been here for three days, the village head's heart sank. His family hadn't been able to get into the county town for three days... So, would the people of Wangli Village still have a chance to get in?

Seeing the desperate look on the old man's face as he gave him the pancake, the young man, fearing he might change his mind and snatch the pancake away, quickly said, "Don't worry, don't worry! Let me explain."

"Heqing County opens its city gates about once every three days, allowing only those who can afford the entrance fee to enter."

"Entry fee to the city?" The village head's heart skipped a beat. During the holidays, many villagers didn't want to pay the entry fee to the city, so they rarely got to go into the city.

At this time of year... the village head dared not even imagine how high the entrance fee must be.

"One tael of silver per person, three taels of silver per carriage," the man said in a low voice. "If you can get an extra five taels of silver, I can find someone to put you at the front of the line to pay and go in."

The prerequisite is that you let us follow behind your group.

The village head nodded, "Wait while we discuss it with the villagers."

The man wasn't in a hurry. After watching the person who came to inquire leave, he quietly slipped the pancake from his sleeve into his wife's hand.

Feeling the weight of the pancake, the family of three was excited for a while.

They've been stuck outside the city for three days! They've run out of the little food they had on them, and for the past two days they've relied on digging up grass roots nearby and exchanging them for silver to survive until today.

"If only they could go into town..." the young woman murmured.

Her family lived in the county town. If they could go to the town, they wouldn't have to go hungry outside.

After the village head returned to the group, he told everyone about the matter of collecting money when they went into the city.

When the villagers first heard that they would have to pay money, they didn't think much of it, because they usually had to pay two coins to enter Fengning County.

But when they heard that money would be charged per person and per cart, with each person paying one tael of silver, the villagers became excited.

"How can you accept so much! One tael of silver! Where am I supposed to find one tael of silver?!"

"One tael of silver! Why don't you just rob someone!"

"My whole family combined only has a few ounces, but there are four of us!"

"Damn it... Which heartless government agency would accept such ill-gotten gains at this critical juncture! Aren't they afraid of being caught walking alone at night...?"

The person was interrupted by their family members who covered their mouth halfway through their swearing.

After the chaotic noise subsided, the village head continued, "Our family is going to the city, and besides, Heqing County is the only way to the prefectural city."

I don't know how many miles it would take to take a detour.

"If you want to come with me, prepare the money for entering the city. Don't wait until you get to the city gate and then not be able to pay, which will only cause trouble."

"Don't let your family drag down the whole team."

Using both soft and hard tactics, some people who were planning to cause trouble at the city gate quietly put away their little schemes.

The villagers each prepared their own money, and those who had no money at all started to think of other ideas.

This morning, three households were ordered by the village head to pay compensation, amounting to at least a dozen taels of silver!

Even disregarding what they use for themselves, they should still have an extra four or five taels.

Lacking money, but quick-witted, they went directly to the three families, lowered their voices, and promised to use their own grain to pay half, and then find another way to give the other half once they entered the county town.

When repaying the money, they not only paid back enough silver, but also an extra half a jin of rice.

The three families' money was thus secretly borrowed. When the others remembered and went to find them, they learned that the money had already been borrowed.

Old Zhao's family.

Granny Qian counted on her fingers.

Now only she and her husband are left in the family. The eldest son's family consists of six people, including his granddaughter-in-law, and the third son's family consists of three people.

The head fee alone costs eleven taels of silver, and with a carriage, it would cost the whole family fourteen taels of silver just to get into the city.

With fourteen taels of silver, one could buy countless kilograms of rice to eat!

It costs so much just to cross the road; I might as well take a detour!

Making Granny Qian spend money is worse than cutting off her own flesh!

"Mother... is the money ready?" Cao Rouan asked cautiously.

"What are you yelling about! Weren't we counting?" Granny Qian pulled a tattered bag from under the woodpile. The bag was tightly wrapped around a wooden stick, which was well hidden in the pile of firewood and not easy to fall off.

Cao Rouan's eyes flashed.

No wonder my mother-in-law wouldn't let them get firewood. I thought she was afraid they would break the bundled firewood, but it turns out that's why!

Fourteen taels of silver were counted out, and the money bag immediately deflated.

Granny Qian put the money bag back exactly as it was.

Cao Rouan noted down the location.

On Zhao Ningning's side.

Their family had spent most of their savings before fleeing the famine, and now the space mainly contained food, drink, and other necessities—real silver.

Zhao Ningning rummaged around on the small table in the entryway and found the pocket money that her parents usually gave her.

Zhao Qi also took out his small purse from his pocket.

With the help of her two children, Zhao Ningning's family of four managed to scrape together the cost of moving to the city.

Ning's mother was both amused and exasperated. She had almost taken out the hairpin that Ning's father had bought for her in the prefectural city to offset the city entrance fee.

Fortunately, the two children had some spare money, and they would have to find a way to exchange it for silver after they got to the city.

While the procession in Wangli Village was in chaos, and many people were still worrying about the entrance fee to the city, the crowd at the entrance of Heqing County began to stir.

The village head thought to himself: Heqing County must have started letting people into the city.

The area at the county town gate soon quieted down. Officials were shouting, but the village head, standing far away, couldn't hear what they were saying.

All that is known is that after they finished speaking, the crowd that was originally crowded at the entrance of the county town spontaneously formed a line at the entrance.

The line stretched out in a long, winding queue, with the end almost invisible.

The line moved forward slowly.

At this rate, even if the queue from Wangli Village is held until tomorrow, it's unlikely they'll be able to enter the city.

Just as the village head was worrying, the young man he had just questioned came rushing over from a distance.

Upon spotting the village head in the crowd, the man approached and asked in a low voice, "How was it? Was the information I gave you correct?"

"That's right, that's right... there are just this many people. I don't know when it will be our turn." The village head smiled wryly. "To be honest, some of our team members are injured, so we need to get into the city as soon as possible."

"Then take out five taels of silver, and I'll take you to find another way into the city so you don't have to queue here," the man said.

After considering it over, the village head finally nodded in agreement.

The man was overjoyed. His family had joined the queue before the town gates opened and were still in the middle of the line... Those who arrived late might not know, but he certainly did.

Heqing County only opens its doors for a short time, so unless you're in the front row, you might not be able to get into the city smoothly.

The county town gates could be closed at any time, and if they stood in the middle, they wouldn't get a chance to enter the town.

Having managed to get on board this group to enter the city, the man hurried back to call his wife and children out of the group, and they came back carrying large and small bags of their belongings.

The people of Wangli Village have almost finished preparing their money for the trip to the city.

Those who had no money at home, thinking about how far they would have to take the detour and how they would have to separate from the group, shamelessly went door to door to borrow money, and finally managed to scrape together enough.

As soon as the man arrived, he led a group of people along the city wall of the county town, heading west towards the town.

The entrance to Heqing County was crowded and noisy, with everyone moving around. This group of people walking around didn't attract any attention at all.

After walking for about fifteen minutes, we arrived at the west gate of the county town.

There were also officials guarding the area, and only a dozen or so households were queuing up.

The man led the Wangli Village group, silently standing at the back.

The person in front was collecting money. When they saw someone coming, they would directly take five taels of silver. After that, they would collect money based on the number of people and the cart.

Three clever families pooled their money to pay the five taels of silver. When the yamen runners checked their household registrations, they discovered that the families were not from the same place. They kicked the families out of the line and refused to return the five taels of silver.

Seeing this, the village head turned to look at the man in line and whispered, "You stand at the back later. There's a cart that three families are pulling together."

The man nodded.

When it was Wang Li Village's turn, the constable took five taels of silver, weighed it in his hand, and raised an eyebrow: "Not enough."

--not enough!?

The village headman was very shrewd. He took out two taels of silver from his sleeve, secretly slipped it to the constable, and said with a smile, "Sir, please take this and have some tea."

Two taels of silver wasn't much, but who would complain about it? The yamen runner nodded and had the people next to him pay, check household registrations, and search vehicles one by one.

When Zhao Ningning's family saw that they had to search their car before entering the city, Ningning's mother thought for a moment, took out an empty cloth bag from her spatial storage, and scooped a bowl of coarse noodles into the bag.

From this perspective, it seems like their family only has this little bit of food left.

During the search of the vehicle, the constables scraped off a considerable amount of grease and grime.

When it was Zhao Ningning's turn, the constables saw such a fine carriage, pulled by a horse and a mule, and assumed it must be carrying a lot of grain.

When they boarded the train, they found it completely empty, with only a few quilts piled up at the back of the carriage and a small cloth bag next to them.

The bag didn't even need to be opened; it was flat and looked like there wasn't much inside.

Having failed to make any profit, the constable spat as he got out of the carriage and moved on to the next one.

Upon arriving at a cart piled high with goods, the constable instructed the person next to him, "Lift up the list."

A cart covered with such a fine bed sheet? This is the first time the constables have ever seen anything like it, despite inspecting so many vehicles.

"Sir, sir! There's no grain or firewood on this cart, what's loaded on it is..." the person next to him explained.

Before he could finish his explanation, the constable reached out and grabbed the hilt of his sword, drawing the broadsword from its sheath.

"You don't listen to me at all?"

The person standing guard quietly lifted a corner of the bed sheet, tears streaming down their face, revealing grayish-white feet.

The constable immediately understood what was going on, spat, and cursed his bad luck.

He sheathed the knife, glared at the villagers, didn't even look at their household registrations, and walked straight to the next car.

The man standing next to them secretly rejoiced; thankfully, he was quick-witted and understood what the villagers were saying.

The officials thought it was unlucky and wouldn't investigate further, which conveniently allowed the family to blend into the group.

Before long, people from Wangli Village began to enter the city.

In Heqing County, many yamen runners patrolled the streets. Those who had just entered the city and were wandering aimlessly were immediately scolded and driven away by the patrolling yamen runners as soon as they were discovered.

After learning that the man was from Heqing County, the village head asked him about inns in Heqing County.

The man who managed to sneak in without paying money was naturally open and honest, saying everything he knew.

He pointed out two places to the village head, one was cheaper, but the environment was slightly worse.

There's another one that's five to twenty dollars more expensive than the previous one, but the environment is a bit better.

After saying goodbye at the county gate, the village head led the villagers to find a more affordable inn.

"What! 500 coins for a room?"

"It's one thing for food prices to go up, but why are inns raising their prices? We can just not stay here!"

The villagers' shouting echoed directly into the inn from outside, and Li Zheng was so angry at the unrestrained villagers that he almost fainted.

The voice reached the shopkeeper's ears, and he rolled his eyes. He had seen plenty of poor and stingy people like this lately, so he didn't care much and said, "We also have shared beds, fifty coins per bed."

The village head thanked him and went out to explain the situation regarding the shared sleeping quarters.

Some people were reluctant to spend the money; fifty coins! That's enough to buy a pound of rice. Wouldn't it be better to save that money and buy rice instead?

If you spend one night outside the city, you can save the money.

During this period, they often stayed overnight in the wilderness. Besides, there were patrols in the county town, so what was there to be afraid of?

Seeing that they had made up their minds, the village head did not try to dissuade them. He simply asked those who wanted to stay at the inn and called on everyone to pay so that the cart could be pushed to the backyard of the inn.

Those who don't want to stay in the guesthouse should find somewhere else to stay.

Zhao Ningning's family naturally needed to stay at an inn, and the four of them booked a room.