Chapter 20 Tolls
Zhou Yunshu went out in disguise for two reasons: one was to stock up on water; the other was to buy some handy weapons.
It’s a pity that most of the items sold in the blacksmith shop are farm tools and kitchen utensils. Zhou Yunshu asked around for a long time before she found a blacksmith who often made bows and knives for hunters.
The blacksmith was about two meters tall, with well-developed muscles. There was a scar across the right half of his face, making him look ferocious.
Zhou Yunshu walked up to him. He just glanced at her casually and said, "What do you want?"
"I want a bow and arrow, and I want six machetes."
The blacksmith put down the hammer he was hammering the iron sheet with and said, "What? Going to rob?"
Zhou Yunshu: ...
"Self-defense."
"Twenty taels of silver for a bow and arrow, and three taels for a machete."
Seeing Zhou Yunshu didn't say anything, the blacksmith thought she disliked the price of his bow and arrow. "My bow and arrow are made of cherry wood, very durable, more than enough to pass on to your grandson."
"I want to take a look."
"OK."
The blacksmith turned around and walked into the shop. He first took out six machetes from a large wooden box, then went out from the back door of the shop and brought in a dark wooden bow with sixty arrows to match it.
The machete is of good quality, and the blade is very sharp, probably because it has been specially sharpened.
What made Zhou Yunshu most satisfied was the bow and arrow. It was very comfortable to hold in her hand, as if it was tailor-made for her.
Because she was satisfied with the goods, Zhou Yunshu paid for them very happily, and even asked for two more daggers before leaving.
Now that the weapons are purchased, all that’s left is to stock up on water.
The only water in the space was from the lotus pond, but Zhou Yunshu didn't want to move the water unless she had no other choice.
So she bought fifty bathtubs and found ten families in the city who had sweet water wells. She spent a lot of money to fill these fifty bathtubs.
It was already late when they returned to the inn after finishing everything. Zhou Yunshu picked three full bamboo baskets from the apple, persimmon and jujube trees in the space and brought them back, saying that she bought them outside.
The quality of both medicinal herbs and crops in the space is good, which can be regarded as a supplement of high-quality vitamins for the family.
As expected, the three kinds of fruits Zhou Yunshu brought back were particularly popular, and Li Jialan even wanted to make some of the persimmons into persimmon cakes.
When they left the next morning, the two mule carts were full again, especially the one carrying people. In addition to fifty large-capacity water bags, there was also a bucket at the back of the carriage. Next to the bucket was the liquor that Zhou Yunshu had bought earlier.
Everyone had their meal and then set off. Before leaving, they bought fifty steamed buns, twenty sesame cakes and some cooked food.
It looked like a lot of food, but it was only enough for them to eat for two days.
There were two hundred taels of silver in the bag that Wei Zhong had given to Feng Xujie. He kept one hundred taels for himself and gave the rest to Fang Huiwen.
He felt that he would be eating and drinking with the Zhou family from now on, so he had to pay for the food.
Zhou Yunshu liked his self-awareness, especially the fact that no matter what she asked him to do, he would do it seriously and honestly without any complaints.
Before deciding to accept Feng Xujie, Zhou Yunshu had thought about what she would do if Feng Xujie showed the temper of a spoiled brat. Now looking at him, it saved her a lot of trouble.
After meeting up with the people from Dujia Village, they spent the entire day on the road, even eating their meals on the way.
The further they went towards Luzhou, the more desolate the land became. The sun in the sky was dazzling, but they still felt the chill.
Especially when I saw the disaster victims in tattered clothes, fleeing north with their families, I felt even colder.
They looked as if even if they survived today, they would die on the road tomorrow.
There were many people fleeing famine in Dujia Village. If they encountered other lonely families fleeing famine on the road, they would basically avoid them. If they encountered a group of similar number of people, they would be wary of each other and quickly separate.
Of course, there are also some bolder ones who would ask them why they are going south. You know, the deeper you go into Luzhou, the more miserable the drought situation will be.
After Du Laozhuang told the person he had exchanged information with the news from the north, that person was stunned for a moment, then sat on the ground in despair and burst into tears, cursing God for not leaving him a way to survive.
After the team had camped in the wild for two days, they finally passed by a village in the evening, a village that looked quite lively.
But before they could turn around and go to the village to seek shelter, more than twenty men with their faces covered and holding knives and farm tools climbed out from the ditches on both sides of the road.
The moment they appeared, the people of Dujia Village, especially the young and strong men on the periphery, also drew out their farm tools and knives.
The two groups confronted each other, neither willing to give in.
Wei Zhong and Du Lao Er stood beside Du Lao Zhuang, holding long swords in their hands. Du Lao Zhuang, holding a pipe in his hand, said to the people blocking their way: "We are refugees from other places. We are not entering the village. You don't have to be afraid."
While Zhou Yunshu was negotiating with the group of people at Du Lao Zhuang, she came out of the carriage with a bow and arrow.
She glanced at the men who stopped them. From the time they jumped out until now, except for the man who seemed to be the leader who had been negotiating with Du Lao Zhuang, the rest of the men were either staring at the food in the caravan or the women in the caravan.
The gaze directed at them was no different from that of a fat sheep that had strayed into a pack of wolves.
"Oh, who said we were scared?"
The leading man touched the blood-stained machete in his hand, then pointed it at Du Laozhuang standing in front of him and said, "I'm going to make this clear today."
"This road was built by our village. If you want to pass through this road, you have to pay me the toll!"
"Otherwise, go back to where you came from!"
Du Lao Zhuang's face darkened slightly. They were being robbed.
Du Youtian walked through the crowd to Du Laozhuang's side and whispered, "Second Uncle, why don't you ask how much the toll is? We can just pay it and consider it as a loss to avoid disaster."
It's obvious that this group of people are desperate criminals, and those who are barefoot are not afraid of those who wear shoes. There are so many people in their Dujia Village, so it's better not to confront this group of local bullies who are obviously not easy to deal with.
Du Laozhuang looked back at his long team. Even though the other side had fewer people, seeing that they were experienced in battles, if a conflict occurred, there would definitely be casualties in his team.
"How much do you want?"
When Du Lao Zhuang said this, Zhou Yunshu sighed helplessly.
In her opinion, being tough is the best solution at this time. After all, these people in front of her don't seem to be able to be satisfied easily.
As expected, after Du Laozhuang finished speaking, the leading man laughed three times and said, "I want half of your food, and more..."
The man licked his lips, pointed the tip of his knife at the women in the team, and said jokingly, "Twenty young and beautiful women!"
After the man finished speaking, the people in Dujia Village exploded instantly. Food was their life and women were their family members. There was no way they would give them away!
Du Lao Zhuang's face also darkened. These people in front of him were simply taking advantage of the situation.
He looked at the man in front of him who didn't take him seriously at all and said, "So, there's nothing left for us to talk about?"
"Damn old man, I'm only talking to you to give you face..."
As the man spoke, he took a step forward and swung his sword, but before his foot landed, an arrow flew through the air and pierced him directly.
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