Not only Jiang Tangtang wanted to go to the city, but Fang Peiru also wanted to go to the city.
"Mother, please take me to the county town to see a doctor!" Fang Peiru pleaded softly, clutching Lu Cuilan's hand.
Lu Cuilan was also holding a grudge. Since her family refused to ask Li Shi for help to treat her daughter's eyes, she took her daughter to the city to find a doctor herself.
Severing ties is fine, who cares?
Once her daughter's eyesight improves, she'll marry into a powerful family... Even if they kneel on the ground and beg her, she won't acknowledge them.
Lu Cuilan had high hopes, but reality was harsh. After inquiring about the requirements for entering the county town, she immediately gave up her plan to go.
It turned out that although the magistrate of Yihe County did not turn away all the disaster victims, he not only did not provide any disaster relief measures for them, but also charged them half a tael of silver as an entry fee.
Moreover, the county town was also suffering from famine. Not only was there a shortage of water, but many grain shops had closed down, and the few remaining grain shops were charging exorbitant prices. Many families in the town were migrating to other places.
After learning about the situation in Yihe County, the villagers of Dawan Village were extremely disheartened. Some of the older villagers couldn't help but cry out, "Heavens above! Where is there any way for us to survive?"
"This is driving us to our doom!"
...
At first, only a few elderly people cried, but later some women whose families had run out of food also began to wipe away their tears. Some men cursed the county magistrate for being inhuman.
Hearing the villagers' cries and curses, Jiang Tangtang couldn't help but feel a little down.
Knowing the plot of the book, she knew more than the villagers had gathered from their inquiries.
The current drought and internal strife are only the beginning of the disaster.
According to the plot of the book, before this disaster has subsided, war will break out on the border again. At that time, the Western Rong, Northern Di, and Southern Zhao kingdoms will simultaneously launch an attack on the Great Zhou, attempting to divide it up.
Judging by the time, the Western Rong should already be sharpening their swords, ready to wage war against the Great Zhou.
Unfortunately, the royal family of the Great Zhou Dynasty was only preoccupied with internal strife and was completely unaware of the wolfish ambitions of the Western Rong and other countries. When the Western Rong launched their war against the Great Zhou Dynasty, the border was as fragile as paper, and they easily broke through the border and occupied several cities of the Great Zhou Dynasty.
As far as she knew, this area near Yihe County was the first city occupied by the Western Rong.
In the book, because the male protagonist was injured and the ox was also lost, their journey was much slower. The Lu family encountered the Western Rong attacking the Great Zhou, and the family suffered a lot of hardships.
Of course, although he encountered many hardships, it also created opportunities for the male protagonist to eventually become a great general.
Thinking about this part of the plot, Jiang Tangtang couldn't help but feel anxious. She had to find Li Shi's wife and children as soon as possible and leave this place of trouble.
She had no interest in going through hardships with the male lead and then watching him rise to high office.
She just wanted to survive.
To find Li Shi's wife and children, she had to use the system, but the system required her to complete tasks to increase her character value.
Just as Jiang Tangtang was feeling anxious, Lu Shiyan suddenly agreed to her unreasonable condition, "Let's go."
"Huh?" Jiang Tangtang was a little taken aback. "Really going into the city?"
She knew that it would cost half a tael of silver to enter the city, and that the city was still in the same state, so she didn't really plan to go into the city.
After all, the city entrance fee is too expensive, so entering the city at this time would be a bit like being ripped off.
Before Lu Shiyan could answer, Jiang Tangtang leaned closer and whispered, "Do you have the money to enter the city?"
“No,” Lu Shiyan said.
Jiang Tangtang looked at him, "Then how do we get in?"
Lu Shiyan, carrying the bag of medicinal herbs, said, "Let's find someone to replace the herbs inside."
Jiang Tangtang thought he was going to turn stones into gold like the immortals in TV dramas! She never expected him to exchange medicinal herbs for money.
Although the book said that Sanghuang (a type of medicinal herb) was quite valuable, she couldn't bear to give it to corrupt officials! So she changed her mind, "Forget it, I don't want to go to town anymore. I'll keep these herbs for now and sell them at the next town!"
Unexpectedly, Lu Cuilan and Fang Peiru, who had shamelessly come to find them, overheard these words. Lu Cuilan secretly pinched her daughter and wailed, "Sanlang, you and your cousin grew up together, are you really so heartless as to watch your cousin become blind and not help her?"
"Cousin, please, save me! I don't want to be blind!"
Fang Peiru was already heartbroken because she had gone blind, and on top of that, her mother pinched her hard. Now, tears were streaming down her face, making her look incredibly pitiful.
At this very moment, Lu Cuilan pulled Fang Peiru down to kneel before Lu Shiyan and Fang Peiru, pleading, "Sanlang, look how close Doctor Li is to you, and you have the medicinal herbs. Please, save your cousin!"
The two looked pitiful, and Lu Cuilan, being an elder, was kneeling and begging for help from the younger generation, which was tantamount to putting Jiang Tangtang and Lu Shiyan on the hot seat.
If they refused to help, it would be bad for their reputations.
Moreover, people are always inclined to sympathize with the weak. In addition, many villagers, like the Fang family, were at a disadvantage during this famine and unconsciously put themselves in the Fang family's shoes to consider their own situation.
Seeing Jiang Tangtang and Lu Shiyan remain unmoved, many villagers couldn't help but feel that the two were too cold-blooded, and many of them showed reproach and disapproval on their faces.
Lei Erniang couldn't stand Lu Cuilan and Fang Peiru's attitude, so she stepped forward and scolded, "Fang Peiru, do you have any shame? Have you forgotten so quickly how you conspired with Wang Ergou to harm that couple? Now you actually have the nerve to kneel in front of people and beg for help? Can you be any more shameless?"
As Lei Erniang's good friend, Chen Chunxiang was always the first to stand up for her when Lei Erniang got into arguments. Although she didn't have much contact with Jiang Tangtang, she genuinely liked Jiang Tangtang's personality. So she stepped forward and said, "That's right. Jiang Meizi was considerate of our kinship and was afraid you would lose face, so she didn't tell you about your dirty deeds. But you can't bully her like this just because she's kind."
Lei Erniang wholeheartedly agreed, saying, "I think it's because you've done too many bad things that even Heaven can't stand it anymore and is punishing you by making you blind."
Fang Peiru was completely panicked at this point, her mind racing. She couldn't see Lu Shiyan's expression because everything was dark, but she could already picture him looking at her with disdain and contempt.
It was June, but she felt icy cold all over, as if her whole body had been frozen.
The villagers of Dawancun were in an uproar.
Several women crowded around Lei Erniang and Chen Chunxiang, asking them what had happened.
The two of them immediately recounted what they had said when they went to the woods to relieve themselves and stumbled upon Fang Peiru and Wang Ergou arguing.
Lei Erniang added, "Originally, Fang Meizi, considering that our families are relatives, told us not to tell anyone. But I really couldn't stand how shameless those two were, bullying her like that."
As she spoke, she looked at Jiang Tangtang and said, "Jiang sister, you won't be upset that I told you this without your permission, will you?"
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