Li Lanzhen and Xue Bao arrived at the city gate of Youzhou.

They pretended to rest and stood under a large tree beside the official road.

Watching the people coming and going.

Li Lanzhen observed carefully and saw that there were ordinary people, merchant caravans, and soldiers from Youzhou Prefecture patrolling.

In the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.

Xue Bao said, "Aunt Lanzhen, I can't see anything wrong with it like this. Why don't I go to the city gate and take a look first?"

Li Lanzhen shook her head and said, "I'll go take a look first. You sit here for a while."

Li Lianzhen picked up a stick as thick as a child's arm in the woods, and slowly walked towards the gate of Youzhou City with her basket on her back.

When she arrived at the city gate, a crowd had already gathered; there were more people leaving the city than entering.

Li Lanzhen also knew that it was already afternoon, and people who had come to the market or to buy and sell goods should be going home, so there were many people leaving the city.

She followed behind the people entering the city, walking forward.

I stood behind a man in line and saw him take out a few pieces of paper wrapped in cloth from his bundle.

Li Lanzhen then asked the man.

"Nephew, what are you carrying? Do you need proof to enter the city?"

The man turned his head and saw her, asking in confusion.

"Auntie, you're not from around here, are you?"

Li Lanzhen nodded and said, "I'm from out of town. I came to Youzhou City to visit relatives. My family is really out of food, so I'm asking them for help."

The man nodded and said that he knew in his heart that there was nothing he could do during a famine.

"Auntie, you need a household registration certificate from Youzhou to enter the city. Otherwise, you'll be arrested as a vagrant."

People have been arrested every day these past few days.

Some were refugees who came here hoping to find work in the city, or they didn't want to return to their hometowns and settled down in the county government area.

Li Lanzhen quickly asked, "So what was their final outcome?"

The man shook his head and said, "What else can we do? They've all been arrested."

Li Lanzhen pretended to be startled and said.

"What should we do? Nephew, I'm not from around here. If I go into the city, I'll get arrested! My whole family is counting on me. I need to go to the city to seek refuge with relatives and beg for some food to save our lives!"

The man said, "Auntie, you can't go in. You'll be arrested if you do."

Li Lanzhen said softly, "Thank you, nephew. If it weren't for you, I would be finished. I'm not going in; I have to go back to my hometown."

After saying that, he pretended to be scared and quickly turned and walked away.

Li Lanzhen arrived at the spot where Xue Bao was sitting.

When Xue Bao saw Li Lanzhen approaching, he quickly stood up and went to greet her, saying, "Aunt Lanzhen, how is the situation?"

Li Lanzhen shook her head, then pulled Xue Bao and walked deeper into the forest.

"Hurry up, we need a household registration certificate from Youzhou to enter the city, otherwise we'll be thrown into jail!"

Upon hearing this, Xue Bao asked anxiously, "What should we do, Aunt Lanzhou?"

Li Lanzhen smiled mysteriously and said, "Come with your aunt, I have a way to get into the city."

Li Lanzhen, pulling Xue Bao along, arrived at the dog hole where Gou Dan had led them into the city last time.

After sitting down, he said to Xue Bao, "Sit still, no rush. We'll enter the city through the dog hole here when it gets dark."

Xue Bao glanced at the bushes surrounding the city wall, then looked down at Li Lanzhen.

It's as if you're asking her: Are you sure there's a dog hole here?

Li Lanzhen chuckled and said, "Don't worry, I'm sure. Last time I brought Gou Dan and Han Yinan here, we crawled in through a dog hole, otherwise we wouldn't have been able to get into the city."

Xue Bao felt relieved and sat down as well.

Li Lanzhen took two wild vegetable cakes out of her basket and handed them to Xue Bao.

"Come on, let's fill our stomachs first. We'll head into town as soon as it gets dark."

Xue Bao took the two wild vegetable cakes, sat down, took out a water bag from his basket, and the two of them ate and drank until they were full.

As darkness fell, Li Lanzhen looked around. Xue Bao said, "Aunt Lanzhen, there's nothing around. It's safe. Let's hurry into the city."

Li Lanzhen stood up, picked up her basket, and walked ahead until she found the dog hole. She then removed the stones and thatch that had filled it.

Li Lanzhen then discovered that the area around the dog hole was smoother, and the soil and stones that Gou Dan had filled in underneath had been dug out, making the dog hole much larger.

She concluded that people frequently went in and out through this dog hole.

Li Lanzhen looked at the dog hole and realized that it was wide enough for the two of them to pass through, so she didn't dig up the sand and gravel underneath.

Just as she was about to crawl through, Xue Bao stopped her.

"Aunt Lanzhen, I'll go over first!"

Xue Bao put down his basket, crawled halfway through first, peeked around to make sure it was safe, and then crawled through.

Li Lanzhen handed over both baskets before crawling inside herself.

After they went inside, they covered the dog hole with a bundle of straw, making sure it was completely covered.

The two men dusted themselves off, slung their baskets over their shoulders, and quickly left the area.

Li Lanzhen discovered that this place was completely different from when the three of them had come last time.

The last time I came, it was a desolate wasteland. Everywhere I looked, there were emaciated refugees.

But now, rows of houses have been built, and there are no more sounds of adults yelling at children to cry. Every household has its lights on, creating a peaceful and harmonious atmosphere.

Li Lanzhen thought to herself, "This doesn't seem like the place the men in black described."

She was wondering what they should do since neither of them had household registration in Youzhou City. Wouldn't it be impossible for them to stay at a restaurant?

If we don't stay at a restaurant, where should we go? Are we going to go back to that little courtyard from last time?

But judging from the current state of Youzhou City, the owner of the courtyard should have already returned, right?

As she and the snow leopard walked, they thought to themselves. The shops on both sides of the street lit up, and the two of them slowly walked down the street.

Xue Bao asked her in a low voice, "Aunt Lanzhen, we might not be able to stay at the restaurant?"

Li Lanzhen nodded, "Yes. We can't stay in a restaurant. Come with me, we'll find a place to stay for the night."

Li Lanzhen led Xue Bao to the same alley as before.

As soon as Li Lanzhen entered the alley, she noticed that every household in the courtyard was occupied.

Undeterred, she led Xue Bao to the end of the alley and arrived at the entrance of the small courtyard.

I stood outside the courtyard wall and peeked into the yard.

They found that there were no lights or people in the yard, and the gate was still locked.

Li Lanzhen didn't know if the family hadn't returned at all, or if they had gone out on business and would come back later when it got dark.

She thought for a moment and said, "Let's go to the market and get a hot meal first, then we'll come back."

Xue Bao didn't say anything, but he knew what Li Lanzhen was planning.

I followed her out of the alley and onto the street.

Li Lanzhen found a small noodle shop, and as soon as she entered, the waiter came up to greet her.

"Auntie's here, young man's here, please sit down, what would you like to eat?"

Looking at what people at other tables were eating, Li Lanzhen realized that there were already seven or eight people eating noodles in this small noodle shop.

Their noodle bowls are large, with plenty of noodles and soup. Some bowls are topped with two slices of fatty meat, while others contain only vegetarian noodles.

Li Lanzhen said to the waiter, "Waiter, give us two bowls of noodles."

The waiter said, "Auntie, young man, we have noodles with meat and vegetarian noodles. What would you like?"

Li Lanzhen said, "Two bowls of noodles with meat and a small dish of pickled vegetables."

Upon hearing this, the waiter loudly announced, "Two bowls of noodles with meat, and a side dish."