Although the young man was somewhat surprised, he immediately nodded happily, "Sir, my name is Dazhuang. Whatever you want to ask, I will answer to the best of my knowledge."

Dazhuang arrived a little late today; there was no more porridge left to eat.

He had thought he would go hungry today, but he was so lucky to have such good fortune, so of course he was overjoyed.

"Why are things so expensive in your city? And this porridge, one copper coin a bowl, but it's all rice water, you're willing to buy it?"

Xu Nian counted on her fingers as she asked, feeling very confused.

[Yeah, this isn't even porridge anymore, it's practically just a bowl of water!]

Sigh, I never imagined fleeing famine would be so difficult these days. I guess I'll just stick to being a hard-working office worker and cherish my happy life.

The streamer is quite clever.

Upon hearing Xu Nian's question, Da Zhuang's expression immediately changed, and he lowered his voice, "Sir, please keep your voice down! What if someone hears us and we lose our heads!"

As he spoke, he pulled Xu Nian to a secluded corner.

Seeing this, Gu Zhan frowned slightly and followed behind them, looking at the surrounding environment.

"The city lord opened the city gates, saying he was accepting refugees. But not only did you have to pay a fee at the gate, you also had to pay taxes once you entered the city."

As Dazhuang spoke, his face was full of sorrow. "When I first wandered here, I only had a few hundred copper coins left. I handed them all over and got a place to stay. But it was just a dilapidated thatched hut."

"Moreover, things in the city are too expensive, and we refugees simply cannot afford them. Even in soup kitchens, a bowl costs only one copper coin, and many people almost starved to death in the city."

Upon hearing this, Xu Nian frowned slightly and clenched her hands.

What kind of city lord is this?

They lure refugees in, but then don't let them live?

Before Xu Nian could say anything, Da Zhuang continued speaking.

"Later, the city lord came up with another plan, asking us to farm and mine for him, with each person getting five copper coins a day. To be honest, no one wanted to do it; wasn't that just begging?"

Dazhuang said indignantly, "At first, no one wanted to do it, but later some people couldn't stand the hunger anymore, so they worked all day and finally had money to eat porridge. After that, we all went to do it..."

"Working for the city lord, we have no time to rest at all. We work day and night, and our bodies are almost broken. But there's no other way; no one dares to stop, or they'll go hungry!"

[This city lord is going too far! What can you do with five copper coins?]

This is utter and outright exploitation! They talk about a peaceful and prosperous life, but I think it's all a lie!

My God, how desperate must these people be, toiling all day only to be given rice gruel?

Xu Nian also felt somewhat resentful.

Does such a person deserve to be the city lord?

For a mere five copper coins, he expected a commoner to work himself to death to cultivate the land, and then sell the harvested grain back to the commoners at exorbitant prices. How utterly shameless!

Thinking this, Xu Nian suddenly felt a little dizzy, as if she was angry.

Gu Zhan stood beside her and noticed that the girl looked unwell. He reached out and touched her shoulder, giving it a couple of squeezes.

The stinging sensation brought Xu Nian back to her senses. She glanced gratefully at Gu Zhan and then asked, "What about the vendors in the city?"

Upon hearing this, Dazhuang continued to explain, "Only people who were prominent in the city in the past were qualified to sell things. Ordinary people like us can only work for the city lord if we want to survive here."

"There was a time when someone wanted to quit and tried to sneak away, but Brother Li found out..."

Da Zhuang paused for a moment, looked around, and lowered his voice, "It looks like he was beaten to death with sticks and lost!"

Xu Nian frowned immediately, finding it hard to reconcile Li Ge's effeminate face with such a ruthless expression.

Thinking about it carefully, Brother Li's gaze at them just now was very shrewd, as if he had caught his prey.

Now that I think about it, maybe Brother Li just saw them all as high-quality labor?

"Sir, that's all I know. I see this is your first time here, so how about I take you to where everyone is staying? If you're going to stay here, you'll probably have to go there anyway."

The shrewd and capable man immediately recognized that Xu Nian was no ordinary person, and spoke enthusiastically.

Making more friends is never a bad thing, especially a girl like Xu Nian who looks so distinguished; she might be able to help you out in the future.

Xu Nian did not object, but nodded and said, "Okay, let's go."

She originally just wanted to rest in this city for a while, but according to Dazhuang, if the group acted rashly, they would probably be dealt with by Brother Li.

If it were just her or Gu Zhan, it would be fine. The remaining villagers, although not powerless, were still on someone else's turf, so it was always better to be careful.

With that in mind, Xu Nian told everyone the whole story.

"Master, just give the order," the village chief said first, his words full of trust.

"That's what we think too. We can't go wrong by following you."

Most of the other villagers shared the same idea and echoed the village chief's words.

Upon hearing this, Xu Nian led the group to follow Da Zhuang toward their residence.

Along the way, Dazhuang explained a lot to Xu Nian.

"Brother Li is a favorite of the city lord, and his words basically represent the city lord's words. We work all day long, mainly farming and mining, while the girls can do embroidery. We're never idle for a moment!"

Dazhuang spoke at length, clearly expressing his dissatisfaction with the situation in the city.

"Even so, there's nothing anyone can do. Many people have families to support, and if no one goes to work, they'll all starve to death here. As for the rice porridge... well, we're lucky if we have anything to eat at all."

Xu Nian listened patiently, her mind racing with thoughts.

It seems that if they want to leave this place, they will first need to contact Brother Li.

Secondly, if large-scale warfare is launched, both sides will inevitably suffer losses, so the only option is to outsmart the enemy.

As Xu Nian pondered, Da Zhuang stopped and pointed to a spot not far away, saying, "That's where all of us workers live."

Following Dazhuang's hand, Xu Nian took a closer look.

Large numbers of thatched houses were set up on the open space, all of them dilapidated and seemingly able to seep through the roofs when it rained.

There was nothing inside except a creaky, broken wooden plank that had been roughly shaped into a bed.

Looking around, all the people lying on it looked exhausted.

Among them were many small children, their faces dusty and gray, nestled in their parents' arms, looking pale and thin.

[My God, how can so many people live in such an environment? Is this what the city lord meant by "peaceful and prosperous life"?]

They don't look very old. They were tricked here by this city lord and now they can't even escape!

Seeing such a heartbreaking scene, Xu Nian couldn't help but frown.

Isn't this blatant exploitation of the people?