Old Mrs. Chen snorted coldly. The old man who came out to persuade them had been here for a long time. She hadn't seen him come out to defend his old man earlier. Now that he heard that his old man really didn't intend to take them with him, he started to act like a Monday morning quarterback!

“You call yourselves juniors! How old are you all? Your kids are about to get married, and you’re still so irresponsible!” Old Mrs. Chen retorted without any politeness.

She wasn't going to tolerate these people. First, Granny Chen was quite old; there weren't many older than her in the village. Second, the journey of fleeing was fraught with hardship, and the old man still had to worry about these ungrateful wretches—what was he getting out of it? They had some money and provisions, enough to support them on their journey south. Their son and daughter-in-law were both capable; they weren't worried about them not being able to make a living there…

Hearing Old Mrs. Chen's cold snort, the old man's pale complexion became even more pronounced.

Fortunately, Lu Dingtian felt that it was not the right time to break off relations, otherwise it would seem like making a mountain out of a molehill, so he quickly spoke up to break the deadlock.

“Since Grandpa said so, I can’t refuse. Ahead is Guocheng, which is said to have a dock and is a very prosperous place. If we need anything, we can go in and buy it. As for the issue of the head fee that everyone mentioned, I have thought about it carefully. Why don’t we select a few people to go in? The cost can be shared by everyone and divided among each household. Everyone should think about what they need to buy and report it to the people going into the city to make purchases. Also, if any individual wants to go into the city on their own, that’s not impossible, but they will have to pay their own entry fee.”

Even resourceful people couldn't help but admire that this was truly a great idea, as it solved their problem of not being able to enter the city and ensured that every household could buy what they wanted.

There are no dissenting voices at the moment.

"Village head, your method is excellent, my family approves!"

"Yes, the village head is truly exceptionally wise!"

...

Lu Dingtian received a wave of praise, which eased his less-than-pleasant mood somewhat.

"Everyone can take this opportunity to sell the wolf pelts they hunted before. Also, if any family wants to sell chestnuts or has any other business, they can come along. It's just a matter of paying for one more person."

Farmers don't have much to sell, but some families might have a silver hairpin or bracelet that they could pawn. These are inanimate objects; the money could buy rice and grain, providing more food for the living. However, since the items are valuable, it's not appropriate to have someone else sell them on their behalf.

In short, whether or not Lu Family Village can reach an agreement on moving to the city is none of Tan San Niang's business. Besides, she has great faith in Old Man Lu's abilities; he's a cunning old fox!

In the afternoon, after traveling for about half an hour, while Qin San Niang was still taking a short rest in the carriage, she heard Fatty exclaim, "We've arrived in Guocheng!"

The city walls of Guocheng were even taller than those of Luzhou City. Soldiers with long spears stood on the walls, and the city gates were also tall and imposing red-lacquered wooden gates. At this moment, the city gates were open, but they were still guarded by two teams of soldiers with long spears. In addition, there were many patrols with long swords hanging from their waists, making the scene look very solemn.

There were quite a few refugees at the city gate, but not as many as at the gate of Luzhou. Presumably, everyone thought that Guocheng was a small city, and that there was no need to go south from here. The defenses were quite strict, so many refugees who did not want to enter the city could simply bypass Guocheng and go south directly...

At midday, the sun was still high in the sky, and if nothing unexpected happened, we would be able to move into the accommodations today.

Thinking of this, Qin San Niang felt overjoyed. How she missed her bed! She had also heard that Guocheng was very prosperous. If possible, she planned to take the children to stroll around the streets, so that the trip would not be in vain.

Although we are currently fleeing from disaster, there's an old saying: "Reading ten thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles!"

In her past life, Qin San Niang was a child who grew up surrounded by books. Now, having the opportunity to travel through ancient times is truly exhilarating. Putting aside the hardships of the escape, Qin San Niang didn't want to leave any regrets in her life. Since the sun rises in the east and sets in the west every day, whether happy or sad, it's still just one day, so why not live it happily?

"Madam Qin, I'll go ask how to get into the city!"

After Gu Qingshan finished speaking, he strode away, accompanied by the eldest son of the Lu family.

"Mother, Sister Chunhua, come down and rest your legs."

"Hey!" Liu and Wu Chunhua quickly got down. Although they didn't have to walk anymore, it was still tiring to keep their legs curled up for so long.

Looking at the tall and majestic city wall in front of them, the children's eyes were filled with hope, and they chattered away like little birds.

About fifteen minutes later, Gu Qingshan and Boss Lu returned and went back to report.

Guocheng also requires an entrance fee, but it's cheaper than Luzhou before, costing only 100 coins per person.

Gu Qingshan thought it might be because there was a dock here. Although it was a chaotic time, there were still many merchants coming and going. To avoid economic chaos, letting a suitable number of refugees into the city would be beneficial to economic recovery. Of course, the most important thing was that no refugee would consider Guocheng as their final destination. There wasn't enough fertile land here, and it wasn't an ideal place for the farmers who had farmed for generations to multiply.

Hearing this price, not only Qin San Niang, but even Liu Shi and Wu Chunhua thought it was a very reasonable price! Of course, this is in comparison to the price in Luzhou City.

However, the villagers of Lujia Village did not think that way, and they began to cause chaos again. However, the soldiers guarding the city gate not far away did not dare to be too reckless.

Zhao Juhua started by crying, saying that she and her daughter Zhao Di were the only ones in her family, and they had no money to go to the city. Even if she gave them ten coins, it would be too much!

Old Mrs. Chen completely ignored her. Others might not know, but she did. Zhao Di's grandmother had always been a thrifty and hardworking woman. Even if Zhao Juhua had squandered all of Zhao Di's father's compensation money, she would still have some money left. She didn't believe that Zhao Juhua didn't have any money!

Seeing Old Mrs. Chen give her a cryptic glare, Zhao Juhua felt a little guilty and swallowed the words she was about to say. In her heart, she cursed Old Mrs. Chen a hundred times over, wishing she would hurry up and go keep her short-lived mother-in-law company!

Lu Dingtian felt very annoyed listening to the commotion. He had always known that not all the villagers were good people, but after interacting with them every day along the way, he realized that they were not only bad, but also evil! Even though they were from the same clan, he felt a chill in his heart.

In the end, ten men and two women from Lujia Village went out to buy things. There were also a few other people who were willing to pay money themselves, which is another matter!