"I've already agreed that every household must buy enough water for ten days. Anyone who buys just two or three days won't be allowed to borrow water from the village later. Don't think I'm joking. We're fleeing famine right now, so I won't say how important water is."

"Normally, when there's no drought, it's fine for everyone to lend each other some things. But right now, saving your own money to borrow water someone else has already paid for is too much. No one is stupid. If you're still trying to take advantage of someone else now, don't blame us for not helping you when you're in trouble."

After the village chief finished speaking, he looked at everyone again. Some people lowered their heads in embarrassment.

"Village chief, it's my turn now. I'll share what I've learned. I asked an older brother about my age. He said prices in the county town aren't high, even with so many refugees at the city gate. It's said the government issued a notice in advance, prohibiting businesses from raising prices too much, and that they have to give the refugees outside the city a way out."

"However, this county town is not very big, so there are only a few grain stores in the city. And the grain stores limit the purchase quantity every day. So, we probably won't be able to buy too much grain this time." Old Man Wu said regretfully.

"There's nothing we can do about it. This county is too small. However, it's a blessing for everyone to meet such a good official. Just limit the quantity. When the time comes, we can go to a few grain stores and buy as much as we can." The clan elder said helplessly.

"Yes, we bought some food in the capital last time. This time, what we are mainly lacking is water and heating supplies. I guess there should be no limit on the purchase quantity." said Yun the Butcher.

"Brother Yun is right. I asked that big brother, and he said that apart from food, there are no purchase restrictions on other items."

"Also, I specifically asked about the cattle and horse market. The guy there said there's a big one in the county town. They sell a lot of cattle, horses, mules, and donkeys. The prices haven't increased much compared to before the drought."

"So, I thought everyone can think about what they want to buy tonight. It will definitely be cheaper if we buy them together then." said Old Man Wu.

"This is good news. I thought this county town was not big and cattle and horses were hard to buy. I didn't expect that the cattle and horse market in this city is so big." The second elder said in surprise.

"That guy said the government encouraged the villagers to raise cattle and horses to earn more money. Once they were well-raised, the government would buy them. I heard the government had channels to sell these animals. It was only because of the drought and the unsafe roads that the government didn't ship them out."

"Normally, there aren't that many cattle and horses in the market. So we're lucky this time."

"That's good. Judging from the actions of the government, the prices of cattle and horses will not rise too much." The elder of the three tribes said affirmatively.

"This is the first time I went out to inquire about information, and I didn't dare to ask too many people. So I only asked this big brother for so much information." Old man Wu said embarrassedly.

"Old man Wu, you have found out a lot of information, which is very important. You have done a good job." The elder of the three tribes praised.

"I have joined our village now. I am very happy to be able to help the village." Old man Wu said happily.

"Well, with people like you joining us, our village will get better and better." The elder said affirmatively.

"Yun the Butcher, what news did you hear today?" The village chief turned his gaze to Yun the Butcher.

"Village chief, I've heard from the soldiers guarding the city that the entrance fee is one hundred coins per person. You can enter when the gate opens in the morning and leave before dark."

"Also, the soldiers guarding the city said that the county town only has three main streets. Once inside, it's relatively easy to find grain and cloth shops. He said the prices at the grain shops are similar because they're all owned by the same owner."

"He said that a person can only buy a limited amount of food at one store, but if you go to the next store, you can still buy the same amount of food. So, the person in charge of buying food has to go to all three stores in the city."

"When buying grain, the grain shop will check your household registration. So you need to bring your household registration with you to the city tomorrow." Yun the butcher emphasized this.

"Why don't we wait until we get out of the city tomorrow and then go buy some water. Then we can just use the car to bring it back." The village chief added.

"That's fine, but we want to buy a lot of cars, and it would be too conspicuous to rush out like this." said Yun the Butcher.

"Indeed, more than 20 vehicles rushing out will attract a lot of attention. What should we do? We have been robbed by refugees twice in the provincial capital before, and I have a trauma in my heart." The second elder said worriedly.

After hearing what the second elder said, everyone started to worry.

"Village Chief, I secretly asked the soldiers guarding the city. We are entering the city through the north gate. When we leave, we have to go through the south gate to continue forward."

"So the soldiers guarding the city suggested we leave through the south gate. There aren't many refugees there. That way, we won't be noticeable."

"Butcher Yun, do you mean that everyone in our village must go to the city? How much will that cost?" the village chief asked hurriedly.

"I asked the village chief, and he said that if we keep going straight ahead from where we are now, we can reach the south gate in about five miles. But we can only go through the woods, and it's not easy for cars to pass through the woods."

After hearing what Yun the Butcher said, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. As long as it could save money, they could just walk through the woods. It wasn't a big deal.

"He also mentioned another way. If we walk south along the city wall, we can reach the South Gate. However, there are many trees along the city wall, so the advantage is that a cart can pass through."

"Because nearby villagers usually secretly walk along the city wall to save the entrance fee, a small path has been trampled out there." Yun the Butcher said and looked at everyone.

"How about this, tomorrow those who have horse-drawn carriages or ox-drawn carts can go into the city to buy things. Everyone else, including children, can take the small path next to the city wall." said the village chief.

"Village chief, how are we going to buy water tomorrow? Do we have to buy water before leaving?" a villager asked.

The village chief looked directly at Yun the Butcher.

"There's a water stall at the South Gate. We can go there to buy water. It's too much trouble to carry water with us. We can also get free water at the South Gate. There are fewer refugees there, so it will be our turn soon."

"But we have to leave very early tomorrow morning. If we're late we won't be able to get the free water the government is giving us."

"That's a good thing. It's just getting up a little earlier. It's not a problem."

"Yeah, there are so many refugees in the square here, and we don't know when it will be our turn."

"Don't worry about that. Didn't Butcher Yun say there are fewer refugees at the South Gate? We'll probably be in line soon."

"It's really good. The money we save on the city entrance fee is enough for us to buy water."