Chapter 166 Ning Bao is such a pitiful little thing.

Ning Bao stood on the ground, looking up at the city gate in front of him.

She had lived in the Sanqing Temple since she was a child and had never been down the mountain or traveled far before.

This was the farthest she had ever traveled, and Lanyu City was also the largest city she had ever seen.

This big city is really something else; it's much more impressive than Yunliu Town, which they visited before.

However, the town gate of Yunliu Town was open and no one was guarding it, so everyone could enter freely.

However, not only were the city gates of Lanyu City tightly closed, but there were also guards at the entrance who looked very intimidating.

Ningbao secretly did some calculations on her fingers and sighed, "Today might not go very smoothly."

Regardless, she had to enter Lanyu City; such a large city must have the yellow paper and cinnabar she needed.

Their journey to escape famine is not over yet, and not having a handy talisman is causing them a lot of trouble.

So she needs to buy cinnabar and draw lots of talismans.

Mu Chunping picked Ningbao up again and held her in his arms.

"I never expected that there would be so many refugees in Lanyu City."

Shen Junshan looked around.

"It seems that most people think the same way we do; they also want to go to the city to shop or settle down."

Lin Jianfei frowned.

"Since the city gates of Lanyu City are not open, it seems they will not take in refugees. I think my father's plan to settle down in Lanyu City will not be realized."

"Can we enter the city today?" Lin Hai looked at the tightly locked city gate with some worry.

Shen Junshan looked around.

"Jianfei, you guys stay here and watch the stuff. I'll go over and ask around."

Hearing that Shen Junshan was going to gather information, Ningbao wriggled her short legs and climbed down from Mu Chunping's arms.

"Dad, I want to go with my uncle."

Mu Chunping ruffled Ning Bao's sparse blond hair.

"Okay, go if you want to, but hold your uncle's hand tightly so someone doesn't carry you away."

Along the way, Mu Chunping had seen too many children like Ning Bao being eaten like lambs, so he immediately became wary of the refugees around him.

Although he was worried about Ningbao, he wouldn't keep her by his side and restrict her freedom, because he knew that Ningbao wasn't a child who could sit still.

Upon hearing that Ning Bao wanted to go with Shen Junshan to gather information, Mu Chunping immediately shoved her into Shen Junshan's arms without saying a word.

Just as Shen Junshan led Ning Bao away, a man from among the refugees sitting next to them approached.

"Brother, your wild boar looks really interesting. You don't seem to be villagers from around here. Are you also refugees?"

Mu Chunping gave the other person a wary look, his face full of aloofness.

“There are many hunters in our village. We just hunted this wild boar yesterday and were thinking of selling it in the city for some money, but we didn’t expect the city gates to be closed.”

Mu Chunping did not mention that he was a refugee, but emphasized that there were many hunters in his village.

Because everyone knows that hunters are skilled and can kill wild boars and wolves, he is indirectly telling everyone that they are not to be trifled with.

The man smiled.

"Brother, you're lucky. It's not easy to catch such a fat wild boar these days. But Lanyu City isn't a place you can just enter casually these days."

I've been waiting here for three days and still haven't been able to get in. I heard that there are not only time restrictions for entering the city, but also an entrance fee.

"Sigh! We only came to escape famine because we couldn't make ends meet, and now we have to pay an entrance fee to enter the city. To be honest, almost no one can afford that."

An entrance fee?

Shen Junshan and Ning Bao also learned about the entrance fee at this time. Shen Junshan asked a steward-like man who was standing in line at the city gate.

The man sat on the cart, holding a riding whip in his hand.

"This entrance fee is a recent addition; Lanyu City didn't have one before."

But since autumn, the number of people fleeing famine has been increasing. At first, our prefect was trying to find ways to resettle the refugees, but there were just too many refugees and our small town simply couldn't accommodate so many people.

No imperial decree had been issued, and with the increasing number of refugees entering the city, theft had also increased. Left with no other option, the prefect, for the safety of Lanyu City, had to order the city gates closed.

Shen Junshan frowned.

"Brother, you're from the city, right? I see you're waiting here. Does the city gate have set opening hours? What are the requirements for entering the city?"

Brother, here's the thing: we did come from the north. Our family was doing alright, but because of the drought and lack of water, we had to come to the south to find a way to make a living.

It's getting cold soon, so I'm thinking of going into the city to buy some new clothes for my family.

"Uncle, it's very cold in winter without clothes," Ningbao said, shivering pitifully.

The butler couldn't help but chuckle at Ningbao's adorable appearance.

"Haha, the little girl is so cute. There are definitely conditions for going to the city..."