Chapter 17 Search
Tongcheng didn't know what had happened. Originally, no one had strictly checked the teams entering and leaving the city in the morning, but at this moment, a team of officers and soldiers suddenly appeared at the city gate, checking everyone in and out of the city, especially the teams leaving the city.
Zhou Yunshu didn't know whether this sudden search had anything to do with them. She was just glad that they had simply disguised themselves before leaving the inn, so they were not conspicuous at the moment.
When it was finally Zhou Yunshu's turn, she looked at the officers and soldiers who were carefully comparing their portraits to hers, and smiled as she handed her newly obtained household registration and pass to the officer who asked her to lift the curtain of the carriage.
Along with the household registration and travel permit, there was also a silver note worth fifty taels.
The officer calmly put the banknotes into his sleeve, lifted the curtain and looked inside the carriage. Seeing that there was no man matching his portrait, he lowered the curtain and said to Zhou Yunshu, "Is that mule cart at the back also yours?"
"Yes, sir. We are moving so we have a lot more stuff."
"Lift the oilcloth for me."
"Yes, sir."
Zhou Yunshu asked Chunque to remove the oilcloth. The officer who received the silver bills saw that the mule cart was indeed full of food and luggage, so he waved his hand and let Zhou Yunshu and others leave.
They left Tongcheng without replacing the oilcloth they had removed.
One hundred meters after leaving Tongcheng, Zhou Yunshu stopped the mule cart and waited for Chunque to cover the oilcloth again before heading in the direction of Dujia Village.
On the way, Zhou Yunshu recalled the man in the portrait, or rather, it should not be called a man, but a boy.
The young man was about thirteen or fourteen years old, with a handsome face and a familiarity in his eyes that Zhou Yunshu couldn't describe.
Zhou Yunshu frowned slightly, feeling as if she had seen this young man somewhere before, but she just couldn't remember where.
In recent years, too many people have had their homes confiscated by the emperor. No one knew how this young man had offended the government and was wanted by the whole city.
Zhou Yunshu thought of Cao Zhengxing who entered the city this morning, and thought that maybe the young man had not necessarily offended the government, but might have offended Cao Zhengxing.
But these have nothing to do with them. The most important thing for them now is to catch up with the team from Dujia Village and continue to flee south.
Just as Zhou Yunshu had thought before, there were too many people in Dujia Village, and they didn't get very far in the morning.
It only took Zhou Yunshu and Chunque an hour and a half to catch up with the group fleeing famine from Dujia Village.
Du Lao Zhuang smiled brightly when he saw Zhou Yunshu catching up, but then he felt that he couldn't hide his happiness well.
After all, Zhou Yunshu's arrival now only means that her previous plan has failed.
"Yunshu, have you made your decision?"
Zhou Yunshu sighed and nodded, "My aunt's house is gone, so instead of staying here, I might as well continue south."
As she spoke, she looked up at the sky. "I don't know when this drought will end. When I was in Tongcheng, I heard that all the refugees from the three northern states had gone south."
Du Laozhuang was shocked and asked, "Where did you get this information? Why are they all heading south?"
Zhou Yunshu told Du Laozhuang the news she had heard in the restaurant before. After hearing it, Du Laozhuang's brows twisted into the shape of a "川" character.
"I don't know where those refugees are now. If I run into them..."
Zhou Yunshu didn't say it all. You know, there is a difference between refugees fleeing famine and refugees.
There are refugees like those in Dujia Village who are well prepared, have food and plans; there are also refugees who have lost everything, not even a shred of humanity, and only have their lives left.
If they really encounter this, if Dujia Village is not brave enough, it might be looted by the refugees behind. I think this is why Du Lao Zhuang suddenly fell silent.
"Thank you for the news. It's life-saving news." Du Lao Zhuang thanked him sincerely.
He exhaled a breath of foul air and said, "I'll tell them to speed up the journey. You guys just follow our mule cart."
"Thank you, Uncle Du."
With Uncle Du taking charge, the whole team was indeed much faster in the afternoon than before.
Before nightfall, the entire team found an open area on the roadside to camp.
Fang Huiwen and Chunque were cooking, Li Jialan was looking after the children, and Zhou Yunshu was sitting with Uncle Du and the others, warming herself by the fire. She also repeated what she had said to Uncle Du during the day to the people with more say in the team.
Du Youtian and Du Laozhuang are of the same generation. When he was young, he went from door to door selling things and accumulated a lot of wealth. He was also one of the few wealthy families in Dujia Village.
After listening to Zhou Yunshu's words, he frowned and said, "Since this news has already reached Tongcheng, it means that those refugees have been heading south for some time and may be approaching the capital soon."
Wei Zhong, the leader of Du Laoer's escort team, said, "Not necessarily."
"After the refugees fleeing the northwest were buried alive and cremated, the refugees heading south from the northern border might just bypass the capital and head south."
"Brother Zhong is right. After what happened to the disaster victims in the northwest, who would dare to go to the capital to die?" Du Laoer echoed.
Du Laozhuang tapped his pipe against the wood in front of him a few times and said, "We need to move faster. We can't be caught up by the disaster victims behind us."
The refugees coming south from the north have experienced so much, and I guess they don’t have much humanity left. There are so many of them and so many things that we have to be on guard against.
Du Youtian, Wei Zhong and others nodded repeatedly. The refugees behind them were like jackals, tigers and leopards to them. They would rather avoid them if possible.
During the meal, the people who were originally sitting together returned to their seats.
Food is not abundant in years of disaster, not to mention that they are still fleeing from famine, so they really cannot provide any extra food.
Because Du Laozhuang wanted Zhou Yunshu to teach his grandchildren, he wanted her to stay for dinner, but Zhou Yunshu refused.
Although she did not stay, Zhou Yunshu promised to teach Du Laozhuang's four grandsons when she had time.
When Zhou Yunshu returned, Chunque and Fang Huiwen had already prepared dinner.
The place where Zhou Yunshu and her friends ate was between the mule cart and the Du Laozhuang family, so apart from the Du Laozhuang family, no one could see what they ate, at most they could smell the food.
On the simple table was a pot of thick rice porridge with red dates, which was paired with the meat buns and roast duck that Zhou Yunshu bought at the restaurant during the day. It could be said to be a very rich dinner.
Li Jialan and Chunque took the children to sit down and serve the meal. Zhou Yunshu didn't see her sister-in-law. Just as she was about to ask, her mother pulled her sleeve and whispered, "Shu'er, come here."
Zhou Yunshu watched the mysterious Li Jialan walk to the mule cart with her. She knocked on her own carriage, and Fang Huiwen lifted the curtain with red eyes.
Although it was dark, Zhou Yunshu could still vaguely see that there was one more person in the carriage with the help of the firelight outside.
Zhou Yunshu frowned slightly, "Who is he?"
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