So the next step was to cut down trees and saw planks to make a few simple carriages. The three big men were assigned to cut down trees and saw planks, while Boss Zhou and Brother Fu nailed the carriages together, and the senior brothers from Xianwu Island studied how to make wooden wheels.
Although it was somewhat difficult, it was completed in one day because there were so many people.
The next day, more than sixty children rode in the new carriages. There were nine carriages, with seven to eight people in each carriage. Several senior brothers from Fairy Mist Island contributed their horses, and since there were no horses to ride, they also had to act as grooms.
The three burly men were also responsible for driving the carriage. They were sandwiched in the middle and behaved themselves during the journey, knowing better than to try anything funny.
Half a month later, the group successfully arrived in Nanyang Prefecture, paid the entrance fee, and entered the city in a grand manner.
"Where are we going now?" Zhao Guihua looked at the road and realized it was the wrong way. Weren't we supposed to go back to the house?
“We can’t afford to support so many people at the government office. Let’s just hand them over to the government for resettlement.” Zhou Sanfu had heard Zhu Qiuyu mention this before and knew that this was the arrangement.
Zhao Guihua thought about it and agreed. Along the way, a large group of people had consumed a lot of rice and flour. Although they had brought a lot of food when they set off from Quanshui Prefecture, it couldn't withstand the consumption of so many people. By the time they arrived in Nanyang Prefecture, there was not much food left.
Despite her current disdain, Zhao Guihua was always the most concerned when cooking on the road, unable to bear seeing those emaciated children.
He always told the three big men to put in more rice, and the three men were overjoyed and never refused. They got a share of the big pot of rice, and the thicker the rice was, the more full they would be.
So despite the arduous journey of half a month, the group of children actually gained some weight. Apart from the bumpy ride in the carriage, they were very satisfied with their food and drink every day, which was much better than being locked in a cave. That's why they got a little fatter.
Eleven carriages were parked in front of the government office. Zhu Qiuyu paused for a moment and then walked to the drum.
"Dong dong dong." The drum is beaten to appeal for justice.
"How dare you! Who dares to beat the drum at will?" A constable rushed out and shouted, glaring fiercely at the perpetrator.
“Nothing is done arbitrarily. You must beat the drum to appeal for justice, understand?” Zhu Qiuyu patted imaginary dust off his body and responded calmly.
"How dare you! If you have a grievance, you can write a petition to file a lawsuit. The prefect has already taken office, so you can submit your petition. But instead, you deliberately beat the drum randomly. If you really have a grievance, you can only beat the drum three times. But you just banged it randomly. Don't you even know the rules?" The officer's face was full of anger as he berated the officer, but no matter how angry he was, he did not lay a hand on the officer.
Zhu Qiuyu had never really understood the process of filing a complaint. At this moment, Zhu Changge came over and whispered something in his ear.
Ordinary people could only beat the drum when their case was extremely urgent or serious, and only then would officials accept it. If it was a trivial matter, officials would not only refuse to accept it, but the person who filed the complaint would also be dragged away and beaten with a board. Otherwise, if there were drums in front of the government office and ordinary people came to beat them from time to time, the officials would be exhausted.
Just as Zhu Changge finished analyzing the situation for Zhu Qiuyu, two government officials surrounded her, intending to take her inside and give her a severe beating.
"You want to punish me? You're asking for death." Zhu Qiuyu's usually gentle expression turned cold.
"Senior Brother, don't be impulsive. We're here to shift the blame, not to offend the government and start a fight." Zhu Changge grabbed his hand as he was about to unleash his power.
Zhu Changge handled the rest. She said some nice things to the officials and secretly slipped them a lot of silver. The officials, seeing the silver, did not make a scene.
After the matter was reported to the prefect, the three burly men and a large group of children were left behind, while Zhu Lin and the Zhou family went back first, leaving a few people from Xianwu Island to deal with the government.
"This is it. The house isn't big, but it's big enough to live in." Old Zhou pointed to the house in front of him with a simple smile and raised his hand to knock on the door.
However, after knocking for a long time, no one answered or opened the door. Just as they were wondering what was going on, they heard a timid woman's voice from inside the door, "Who is it? Our master has gone out. If you need anything, go to the market. He won't be back anytime soon."
Zhou Laoda was full of questions and looked at Zhao Guihua beside him. Zhao Guihua was also confused for a moment, but she quickly thought of something and asked tentatively, "Are you Da Ya's cousin? I am Zhao Guihua. We are back from Quanshui Mansion. Can you open the door first?"
The person inside remained silent for a moment, seemingly hesitant, before finally speaking: "You're Guihua's cousin? Wait a minute, I'll open the door right away."
Zhou Laoda and Zhao Guihua both breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that their cousin's illness had improved a lot, and she recognized people again.
A short while later, the courtyard gate opened a crack, and a woman cautiously peeked out. Zhao Guihua noticed that the woman was holding a kitchen knife.
Zhao Guihua and Boss Zhou: "?"
"Cousin, it really is you. Don't be afraid, it's us, there are no bad people." Zhao Guihua tentatively reached out her hand, but dared not get too close, afraid that Zhong Daya might not be fully recovered and might slash at her with a knife.
Zhong Daya stared at her and Zhou Laoda, looking them up and down, her hand still holding the kitchen knife. After a while, Zhong Daya smiled and said, "I recognize you. You are Zhao Guihua, and he is Zhou Laoda. Cousin and cousin-in-law, you're back?"
Zhao Guihua and Zhou Caida exchanged a glance, both of them beaming with joy. Their cousin's illness had indeed improved; she could actually recognize them and was even wary of strangers when she was home alone.
So Zhou Laoda and his family led Zhu Lin into the courtyard.
"Bang!" The sound of a door slamming shut came from behind. Zhong Daya bolted the door shut.
“You’re still alive! We thought you were dead. We were so worried about you, and my husband kept talking about you, afraid something had happened to you. Guizhi and her husband came to the prefectural city a few days ago to inquire about you, but unfortunately they didn’t find out anything.”
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