Old Tan continued, "I'll follow you. I'm an old man, I don't have any other skills, but I did pass the imperial examination back then. I can open the door for the kids and teach them to read and write."
“Young lady, I know your family is extraordinary, perhaps you are hermits, or you have had some extraordinary encounter. I will not ask what I should not ask. I just want to bring my granddaughter to you for refuge, and I also need to leave a way out for my children and grandchildren.”
Just a Juren (a successful candidate in the imperial examinations)?
Looking at the old man's demeanor, Lin Jinyue felt that he was no ordinary person. She had been somewhat skeptical when Tan Xue said they were businessmen.
Lin Jinyue felt that they were people who had been demoted or dismissed from their posts.
Lin Jinyue has softened her stance somewhat.
Lin Jinyue was naturally happy to have such a knowledgeable and high-ranking old man come to their aid, as it might even help resolve their residency issues.
But when she thought about the consequences of those secrets being exposed, Lin Jinyue couldn't help but hesitate.
But after thinking about it, he realized that if he was just a little more careful, there was nothing else he could possibly want from her except for the crossbow and binoculars.
Oh, and also, Jiang Yun's medical skills.
Old Tan looked on eagerly. He added that if Lin Jinyue wanted to go to sea in the future, he could provide shipbuilding blueprints and perhaps even get his son-in-law to help him obtain nautical charts for the voyage.
Although the imperial court forbade people to go to sea, the remoteness of Lingnan and the distance from the emperor meant that many private individuals went to sea.
Hearing this, Lin Jinyue's eyes lit up. Going to sea! This was his previous plan. With this nautical chart, he would know which islands were occupied by pirates or people.
Then they can avoid these dangerous islands, saving Lin Jinyue the trouble of finding someone to draw a nautical chart.
Fortune favors the bold.
With that in mind, Lin Jinyue decided to bring the grandfather and grandson along.
Grandpa Tan also breathed a sigh of relief.
He said to Lin Jinyue, "You are a clever girl at such a young age. You have a bright future ahead of you."
Lin Jinyue had heard this many times before, and simply smiled.
After confronting Old Master Tan, Lin Jinyue realized that secretly acquiring a crossbow and a telescope wasn't a big deal. She wondered if she should keep it a secret when she went to Lingnan to do other business.
Now she still needs to get the Wang family and Li the blacksmith together as quickly as possible to get as many good crossbow bolts as possible.
The crossbow bolts that Wang the blacksmith adjusted worked very well; they were much better than before when they were unreliable.
Even its power has increased.
Lin Jinyue was very satisfied.
Let them make one more in these last few days, so that when they encounter wild beasts later, they won't have to struggle to aim before the crossbow fails.
In just ten days, Jiang Yun and her apprentices processed all the medicinal herbs, grinding those that could be made into powder. The women, children, and the elderly in the village learned martial arts for a period of time, so they were not entirely helpless when facing those refugees and bandits.
Ten days later, Lin Jinyue prepared to leave.
Before leaving Yunsong County, they made an appointment with a merchant ship to meet at the dock at noon the next day. Because there were many of them, they gave them a discount, equivalent to seven coins per person.
There were too many of them, and staying in hotels in the city was too expensive, so Lin Jinyue decided to set off before dawn and take a shortcut, hoping to arrive before noon.
Under the cover of night, the group headed down the mountain.
The mountain road was difficult to walk on, but fortunately, she had made thorough preparations this time. Jiang Yun took out a few lanterns, which provided some light.
The group walked down the mountain.
I must say, the south and the north are really different; everyone is finding it a bit difficult to get used to.
Especially as we approached the Lingnan region.
It was already July.
Although it wasn't as hot as the summer of later generations, it was still uncomfortable. They were wearing coarse cloth clothes, long sleeves and trousers, and their whole bodies were soaked with sweat.
Wearing long sleeves is partly due to ancient customs, and partly because the insects in the south are really fierce.
The whole family was bundled up tightly, and Lin Jinyue kept scratching her neck and face.
Lin Shucheng and Jiang Yun were heartbroken.
They all carried herbal sachets to repel insects, but the mosquitoes in the south are so venomous that even with sachets of mugwort, it was difficult to keep them away.
There is another type of mosquito, tiny, smaller than a flea, just a small black dot that is almost invisible unless you look closely.
These mosquitoes are very venomous; one bite and you get a huge welt.
When you're in the village, you can use mugwort to fumigate the rooms, and when you walk along the mountain paths at night, you can't keep out the mosquitoes at all.
Lin Jinyue was bitten so badly that she had no choice but to hurry forward.
She sat on the cart, surrounded by the sounds of mosquitoes being swatted.
He pushed it directly to Lin Shucheng: "This is yours, we can't accept it."
Lin Jinyue led them for more than an hour, groping their way down the mountain in the dark.
Once we got down the mountain, the path became easier, and there were far fewer of those annoying bugs.
Once it gets light, the road becomes easier to walk on.
Fortunately, Lin Jinyue and the others set off early; otherwise, at this pace, they definitely wouldn't have made it to the ship by noon.
When they arrived at the agreed-upon dock, they saw a figure in the distance.
The group was a little nervous, as it was their first time on a boat.
Lin Jinyue said to everyone, "Don't panic, board the boat slowly, and don't leave anything behind."
As they approached the dock, they spotted a figure by the side of the boat from afar. Upon closer inspection, they realized it was none other than Master Hu.
Everyone in Linjia Village breathed a sigh of relief.
On the road to escape famine, the worst thing is for unexpected complications to arise.
Lin Youcai only heard Lin Jinyue and her parents mention the travel permit last night, and they were worried that their group would not be able to enter the city.
There are just too many people.
However, to their surprise, the guards said that the magistrate had said he would make an exception for the more than seventy refugees and had not charged them any entrance fees.
Lin Youcai was on tenterhooks the whole way, afraid that they would be detained.
Thankfully, the journey went smoothly.
The person who came to see him off was Hu Sanye, a good friend of Lin Shucheng.
To be precise, she is actually Lin Jinyue's good friend, but due to age and seniority, everyone subconsciously assumes that she is someone Lin Shucheng knows.
Master Hu was also taken aback when he saw this group of people.
This was even worse than he had imagined. How could this group possibly spend money to smooth things over?
Why did they flee so much famine? It's one thing to bring pots and pans, but why did they also take their sewn tents? It's a mess, and it'll be a hassle when they get on the boat.
Master Hu then said to Lin Jinyue, "Miss Lin, why don't you wait for me? I'll go get you some silver notes."
Master Hu only had about twenty taels of silver ingots on him. He did have some silver notes, but many of them were unusable these days, as merchants only accepted silver.
But now it was noon, and the captain arrived.
Lin Jinyue and the others had no choice but to board the ship.
Old Master Hu could only stuff twenty taels of silver into their hands, saying, "If you have any trouble, just come here and find me."
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