Chapter 63 Sister, do you believe me?
Li's mother finally hugged Zheng Meiniang and cried. Li Shiyue watched from the side, not knowing what she could do to make Li's mother less sad.
She sat in a row with the Li sisters, Li Qiutian and Li Xiatian, along with Shi Tou and Li Wangming. They watched the river scenery blur in the gradually darkening sky, feeling a gentle breeze. They just sat there without saying a word. She felt that this was the most pleasant time since they fled the famine.
As the last rays of sunlight faded, the ship's lanterns were already lit, but it was almost time for the ship to enter the harbor.
Yes, we've arrived at Dongmu Port!
Even though it was already dark, Dongmu Port was brightly lit, which gave Li Shiyue the feeling that Dongmu Port was full of vitality!
Soldiers were pacing back and forth on the riverbank, scolding the boatmen. The managers of the boat merchants were directing the laborers to move things on and off the dock. Interspersed among them were the sounds of women and girls hawking food. Occasionally, you could hear a sharp-tongued girl shouting in the local language that you couldn't understand. You didn't know what was being sold in that rickety basket.
Li Shiyue and her family disembarked smoothly and stood on the dock. She watched as Li Shiyang stood at the bow of the boat, talking to the boat owner.
Turning around, two men carrying lanterns walked over from the outer perimeter of where Li Shiyue and the others had gathered.
"Would you all like to stay somewhere?"
The ship to Andong won't depart for another three days. You'll have to come to my Liu Family Inn; honest and fair dealings for all ages. A shared room costs ten coins per person, and a pot of hot water is included.
The man spoke first, followed by another man with a large belly, who was slower to speak. He sneered, "Old Liu, you're really stingy. You only provide a pot of hot water for a dormitory room with ten people."
Turning around, the man bowed to Li Youfu, who was clearly quite old and standing in front of the villagers from Lijia Village. Then he smiled and said, "Old man, my name is Zhu Youneng, also known as Zhu Laowu. The earliest passenger ship to Andong will not arrive for at least three days."
Gentlemen, would you like to stay somewhere?
My inn, run by Zhu Laowu, charges ten coins per person for a shared room, including two pots of hot water. And if you stay for three consecutive days, it'll be even cheaper.
"Hey? Zhu Laowu, why are you stealing my business again!"
Liu Laosi was unwilling to accept this. He took the lamp and shone it on Zhu Laowu's face, his expression showing that he was about to have a word with him.
"How can you say that?"
The old man hasn't spoken yet, and nothing's been decided, so how can you say I'm stealing your business? It's just a matter of each person relying on their own abilities.
Zhu Laowu shook off Liu Laosi's hand that was reaching up to him, turned around and put on a big smile for Li Shiyang who was walking over: "Young master, you look like a scholar. Would you like your family members to stay at my inn?"
"The price is fair, and I can even call a car for you, my lord. Don't worry, the drivers are all people I know well; they certainly won't overcharge you."
Zhu Laowu had only said a few words, but Li Shiyue felt that if he didn't go to his inn, he would really be missing out.
Thinking of what the boat owner had just told him, Li Shiyang bowed to Zhu Laowu and Liu Laosi and said, "Greetings, managers. May I ask if you know Yan Jun?"
"Mr. Yan, the shipowner?"
"Does the young master know Mr. Yan?"
Finally, all fifty or so people from Lijia Village followed Zhu Laowu to his inn.
Although Liu Laosi was a little disappointed that he didn't get the business, he wasn't particularly angry. He even told Li Shiyang that if he changed his mind, he could come to him anytime.
The people of Lijia Village were unwilling to spend money to hire a vehicle to transport their luggage along the way. Besides, they had already thrown away most of it along the way, so there was really no need to hire a vehicle to transport it.
However, Zhu Laowu was too stout to accompany the people of Lijia Village all the way back to the inn, so he asked a servant to lead the way for them while he went back to the inn by carriage.
Li Shiyue followed the crowd toward the Zhu Family Inn. As she walked, she observed the buildings and people on both sides of the road. After leaving the dock, the noise level dropped, but she could still see that there were still food stalls open on the street, with lights hanging in front of them.
There were also women wearing headscarves standing in front of the snack shops, calling out to attract customers.
“This place presents a scene of peace and joy.” These were the words that Li’s mother said to Zheng Meiniang.
Li Shiyue, however, realized from this street scene how formidable the people maintaining this prosperity were.
The fact that Dongmou Port can still be used for business, and is doing very well at that, with innkeepers even coming out to attract customers and clearly stating the departure times of ships bound for Andong, indicates that the area is peaceful and allows for thriving commerce.
So the first reason is naturally that the Xuanjia Army is powerful, otherwise wouldn't the rebels have attacked?
Secondly, the magistrate of this county is truly capable. He has managed to make the business thrive under such circumstances, which shows his skillful governance.
Furthermore, the fact that the departure time for the ship to Andong is clearly stated indicates that there were quite a few refugees like the people from Lijia Village heading to Andong.
Andong was able to absorb the refugees and arrange for ships to transport them. At least the route from Dengzhou to Dongmou and from Dongmou to Andong could be controlled by the Xuanjia Army.
Therefore, the relationship between the Zhenbei King behind the Xuanjia Army and the magistrate of Dongmou County is also worth considering.
With these thoughts in mind, Li Shiyue and the others arrived at the Zhu Family Inn.
The inn was quite large, and we originally planned to separate the rooms by gender, but some people were unwilling to do so, preferring that the whole family stay together.
Later, Li Shiyue set an example and pulled Zheng Meiniang and her two daughters, along with Li Wangshui, Zhou Lanhua, and Dazhuang and Xiaozhuang, to make up a shared bed.
So each family found a familiar household and pooled their resources to make a bed together.
As Zhu Laowu had instructed, two pots of hot water were delivered to the shared room, but that was hardly enough to drink.
If you want more water, you'll have to buy it. If you want something to eat, just go out and buy it. If you don't want to go out, the inn also sells dry biscuits; you just need to pay.
That day, the group barely ate anything. In the end, Li's mother bought two pancakes for each person. In her words, "It's not easy to have something to look forward to, so I'll only buy this once. Tomorrow, we'll go to the yard, buy firewood, and cook porridge ourselves."
Dry biscuits with hot water—it's been a pretty good meal these days.
At night, the man slept on the left, the woman on the right, and Li Wangshui and Zhou Lanhua, a married couple, slept in the middle.
The place where Li Shiyue was lying had a wall to her left and Li Qiutian to her right.
"Sister?"
Li Shiyue turned to Li Qiutian and whispered in her ear. Li Qiutian leaned over and asked her in a low voice, "Shiyue, do you need to pee? I'll go with you."
Li Shiyue nodded, and Li Qiutian got up. Even though the two of them made a small movement to get out of bed, Li's mother was still alert.
"Mother, sister, come with me to pee."
Then, Li's mother, who had half-sat up, whispered, "Slow down, be careful."
Nodding in the darkness, Li Shiyue and Li Qiutian went out the door.
Once they reached the courtyard, standing in the very center, quite a distance from the rooms, Li Shiyue pulled Li Qiutian to a stop.
Just as Li Qiutian was wondering, she saw Li Shiyue lean close to Li Qiutian's ear and whisper, "Sister, do you believe me?"
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