Chapter 276 Refugees

"Slow down, slow down!" Fu Zhong called out.

Fuwang came with a carriage to pick up the master and carried out a small box from the house.

A total of six pieces of brocade were woven, four of solid colors, bright red, bright yellow, indigo, and purple, and two of multicolored, one of which was gradient color and one of which was seven colors.

Fu Zhong asked for bright red, indigo, and gradient colors, and left bright yellow, purple, and rainbow colors for Su Ying.

There were also two wooden boxes filled with cocoons of various colors, which were sent away along with the brocade. In order to prevent the pupae inside from breaking out of the cocoons and turning into butterflies, they were fumigated and dried.

There was also a jar of winter melon candy. Fuwang knew without being told that these were being sent to the capital.

Atang took Xiaotao on horseback, while Aying drove the ox cart, taking the old lady, Mrs. Du, Yang Chunhua, and Mrs. Wei with her.

When we arrived at the village entrance, we saw several ox carts waiting there, driven by men, carrying the village elders and women from various families into the city.

The child is going to study abroad, so I send him some clothes, meet him, and give him some advice.

Atang took Xiaotao to Qingshi Mountain first, and then on the way to Jinfeng Village, he notified each family whose children were going on the study tour and asked them to gather at the intersection.

The oxcarts picked up the goods when they passed by and marched towards the city in a mighty procession.

"I'll do it!" Su Laoer pushed Su Ying aside and smiled at Yang Chunhua, "Madam! How are you doing recently?"

"Very good!" Yang Chunhua looked at her husband's dusty clothes, reached out and patted them, and a cloud of dust immediately rose from her body.

Su Ying jumped out of the car with a smile and squeezed into the same car with Madam Zheng and the others.

Old Mrs. Su sat on the ox cart, looking around curiously.

When we arrived in early autumn last year, the mountain roads were rugged and extremely difficult to travel.

Not long after, the family came out in a ox cart and looked at this clean and hard road!

The old lady felt proud, this was built by her second son who led everyone to do it!

In Huanggou Village, the old lady is now very proud of her three sons who have achieved great things and have extraordinary abilities.

Among the grandchildren, the older grandsons have all found ways to make a living, and now the two younger grandsons are also going to study abroad!

The second daughter-in-law is pregnant, and there will be another addition to the family.

The old lady felt that there was hope for the future, and she was full of energy and walked with confidence.

We picked up Yang Dalang and others at the intersection, and everyone was in high spirits and chatting and laughing when they got in the car.

After entering the county town, we went to the county government office.

The streets are bustling with people. The busy farming season has just passed, and everyone is out again, selling vermicelli and honey.

There were still many convoys and business travelers on the streets, as well as many ragged women and children, chasing people with broken bowls to beg for money and food.

There was a woman holding a child. She was pale and thin. The child in her arms was wilted and so hungry that he could not even open his eyes.

"Fried dough sticks, fried dough sticks, four cents each!" In front of Niu Er's wife's stall, the women were shouting while clearing the dishes.

"Rice cakes, rice cakes! Sell them for a penny! Sell them for a penny!" the old man selling rice cakes shouted loudly.

A group of ragged children stood far away, greedily sniffing the tempting aroma and drooling at the fried dough stick and rice cake stalls.

What's going on? Why are there so many poor people all of a sudden? Their accents don't sound local.

"Uncle, give me two baskets of rice cakes." Su Ying got out of the car.

"Oh, girl, long time no see. You are finally free!" The old man who makes rice cakes cuts a basket of rice cakes into small pieces.

"Come, eat!" Su Ying picked up two pieces of rice cakes and handed them to the beggar.

The woman with lifeless eyes was stunned and couldn't believe her eyes.

"Sister, eat it. The child is starving!" Su Ying stuffed the rice cake into the woman's hand.

"Thank you!" The woman said in a hoarse voice as she fed the rice cake into the child's mouth.

The dying child smelled the rice cake, suddenly opened his eyes, hugged his mother's hands with both hands, and ate the rice cake in big mouthfuls.

"Slow down, slow down! Be careful not to choke!" Su Ying called out hurriedly.

The child was so hungry that he choked and his eyes rolled back after eating just a few bites.

"Sister, bring me a bowl of soy milk!" Su Ying shouted to Niu Er's wife.

Niu Er's wife had already seen Su Ying and was busy. She just nodded and didn't have time to say anything.

Hearing this, a bowl of soy milk was brought over. The child drank it in big gulps, and it took him a while to catch his breath.

"Thank you so much!" The woman knelt down holding the child.

"Get up quickly, sister!" Su Ying pulled the person up.

The children nearby moved closer silently and stared at the rice cake in Su Ying's hand.

"Go and eat! Uncle, I'll pay for it!" Su Ying said to the children.

"Hula!" The children surrounded the old man with rice cakes.

"Don't worry, don't worry, we have them all, we have them all!" The old man distributed the rice cakes one by one.

"Sister, where are you from? How did you end up here?" Su Ying asked the woman to sit down and brought her a bowl of soy milk.

"We are from Hebei Province. Last year, there was a frost disaster in early winter. All the winter wheat froze to death, and we had no harvest in the spring.

"We had no savings at home, and all the food we could eat was gone. We were on the verge of collapse. We heard that Lingnan Road was a grain-producing area, and the imperial court was encouraging farmers to reclaim wasteland and offering a three-year tax reduction, so we fled here."

The woman ate the rice cake in big mouthfuls. After taking a few bites, she stopped and put the remaining half in her arms.

"Escape from Hebei Province?" Su Ying was very surprised.

Hebei Road is thousands of miles away from here. They have to switch between land and water routes all the way, and have to pass through wild mountains and wilderness. How did they get here?

The food and drink costs along the way alone are huge. With all this, it would be better to make a living around my hometown.

"Yes, many came, and many died of disease and starvation on the way, but we survived." The woman said, with a glint of light in her wooden eyes.

"How did you get here?" Su Ying felt that these refugees were not simple.

“A great merchant’s ship sailed south and brought us down here, otherwise how could we have gotten here so quickly?

They say Lingnan is a land of high mountains, long roads, and abundant miasma. It's true; many have survived seasickness on the road, but not the miasma of Lingnan.' The woman smiled bitterly.

There are more than a dozen people in my family, and five or six of them have died.

When Su Ying heard the word "big customer", she vaguely guessed that it was Fu Zhong and Hu Erlang. But since they were brought here, why was no one taking care of it?

"Didn't the county government take care of it?" Su Ying asked.

"I take care of it. My husband and some of his brothers-in-law are working on a road at a construction site in exchange for a day's food," said the woman.

"Are there many of you?" Su Ying thought to herself.

My brother is also in the county government office, it is impossible for him to just ignore it. Is it because there are too many refugees and the county government office can’t handle it?

"I don't know. We escaped from our hometown, and people kept joining us along the way. But people also kept dying along the way. I don't know how many made it here."

The woman was just an ordinary peasant caught up in the situation. She couldn't even survive herself, so how could she care about so many things?

Refugees from nearby areas heard the news and flocked here. Soon, everything on the stalls of the old man selling rice cakes and Niu Er's wife was sold out.

Su Ying settled the bill for rice cakes and fried dough sticks, and drove the ox cart to the county government office. Fu Zhong's carriage was running fast and had long disappeared.

To understand the situation, one can only go to the county government office to ask Magistrate Hu, Hu Erlang and his brother.