Butcher Li and a dozen other people from the village were at the end of the procession. The officers and soldiers at the front would check everyone entering the town.
The city wall of "Hukou Town" is grayish in color. It is not very high, probably only about three meters.
There were also soldiers guarding the city walls, wearing uniforms that looked not very new, and standing firm under the scorching sun.
From time to time, there would be a breeze, and people would think that God was taking pity on them and sending a cool breeze. But when the wind touched them, they realized that even the wind was hot.
After waiting for about a quarter of an hour, it was finally the turn of Li the Butcher and his group.
Butcher Li was a little nervous at this time. After all, they rarely dealt with officers and soldiers, and they didn't know what they were checking.
He was afraid that the officers and soldiers would not let them enter the town or arrest them because they were refugees, so he felt a little scared.
"What are you doing? What are you doing in this town? Are you all here together? Did you bring the household registrations of so many people?
Take it out and let me check it. As for the town right now, the county magistrate said there was a burglary some time ago, so the inspections are stricter now.
You all need to cooperate well and don't have any inappropriate thoughts. Otherwise, you will be sent to jail, understand?"
A tall, thin soldier wearing an official hat and speaking in a gruff voice noticed that Butcher Li was a little flustered when he arrived.
So he shouted at Li the butcher in a fierce manner.
Li the butcher was already a little nervous when he saw the soldiers, but when they spoke to him in such a fierce tone, he became even more frightened.
His legs were shaking violently because of what the officers and soldiers said. He replied tremblingly:
Sir! We are ordinary people. We are going to the town to buy some food.
We were fleeing famine from somewhere else and just happened to be passing through here. We didn't have our household registration with us, but we did have a travel permit.
I can show you the way. Don't worry, we'll go to town to buy something and then come back. It won't take too long.
They also went shopping with us. There were more people in the village, so we found a few more people to go with us.”
Butcher Li was frightened by the soldiers. The people next to him saw his reaction and pushed him hard several times before he came to his senses.
He then finished stammering these words, and quietly looked up to observe the officers and soldiers' expressions. Seeing that there was no change, he felt a little relieved.
He was also afraid that he might accidentally say something wrong and be thrown into jail, and he didn't want to go to jail.
The tall and thin officer heard what Li the Butcher said, looked at him carefully, and then looked at the person behind him.
They were all skinny men with tattered clothes. It seemed that they were indeed fleeing from famine.
Judging from your expression, Li the Butcher, you are not lying. The officers and soldiers looked at him carefully for a long time, half believing and half doubting. Then they said in a rough voice:
"Are you just a few of you? Didn't your village chief come with you? You're just here to buy some things, right?
Let me tell you, there are not many people in the town right now, so you can go into the town.
If it's just something, it might not be that easy to buy.
In that case, bring me your pass so I can take a look. Don't run around when you go in later.
If other officers and soldiers see you and catch you, I can't do anything about it."
After the officer finished speaking, he looked around at Li the Butcher and the others with his sneaky eyes.
It seemed as if his eyes could see through Li the Butcher and the others. The people following Li the Butcher had never seen any government soldiers before.
Being stared at like that, I felt a little scared, worried that I might say something wrong and get caught and thrown in jail.
"Don't worry, sir. We are just passing through town to buy some things. Our village chief is old.
So I took them to the town to buy it. Look, this is our pass.
You can be assured that we will not stay in town for too long or wander around.
We mainly wanted to buy some water to drink, as we didn't have the money to buy anything else.
All of this was pooled together by the villagers, who pooled some money to buy these things.
It doesn’t matter whether we buy it or not, we still want to go in and take a look.
After all, children can't stand such hot weather."
Although Li the Butcher felt a little uneasy being stared at, he tried to remain calm. If he panicked, he would be misunderstood by the officers and soldiers.
He looked like he was going to the town to do something bad. He rummaged through his pockets for a long time and pulled out a travel permit.
There was also a bag of money inside. It was their fare for entering the city, which had been prepared in advance.
The tall and thin soldier deliberately emphasized the tone of the words "buy things" when he spoke.
Basically, anyone with a clever mind could tell what he meant. Seeing the pass being brought over, he took it in his hand and weighed it, finding it heavy, and then quietly put the purse away.
There was no expression on his face, and no one could tell what he was thinking.
Then he withdrew his scrutinizing gaze, and looked at Li Tu and laughed:
"Oh, I was just saying, you look so honest. You must be ordinary people, not thieves. Since you're just passing through the town, then go in first, and remember not to run around.
Otherwise, if you are caught by others, no one will rescue you.
Go in and turn right. There's a restaurant there. You can go take a look and see if there's anything you can buy. Okay, go ahead. There's no problem."
The tall and thin soldier weighed the money bag and found that there was still quite a lot of it, so he probably had an idea of the amount.
Then he changed his face again, and his serious expression suddenly turned into a happy smile.
By the way, he kindly reminded them the location of the restaurant and once again reminded them not to wander around the town and to leave in time after buying things.
When everyone heard the words of the officers and soldiers, the tense nerves in their hearts suddenly relaxed. They were really scared just now. They were afraid that they would say the wrong thing and be arrested. That would be really hopeless.
Fortunately, the officer took the money and did not embarrass them too much. Otherwise, they would not know what to do.
"Thank you, sir. Thank you, sir. I will take them ahead. Sir, you have worked hard here. I will take my leave now."
When Butcher Li saw the soldiers take the silver and return the pass, he put the pass back in his arms.
He bowed slightly, nodded timidly, looked at the officers and soldiers with great concern, and then took the others to the town.
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