Wang Erya and the other two went to town by riding in an ox cart at the village entrance.
Wang Shan, who was driving, was somewhat of a relative to her family. She and her brother Zhuzi had to call him uncle, and Old Man Wang called him cousin.
The oxcart was jolting along the road, and Wang Shan warned as they set off: "The mountain road ahead is bumpy, hold on tight!"
Then he cracked the whip and the car began to move slowly forward. The mountains, green trees, brook sounds, flowers and plants flashed by in the sight of the three people in the car behind and disappeared behind them.
It was still chilly in the morning when they set out, and by the time they arrived in town, the sun was already high in the sky.
"Erya, come here, Dad will help you down." Old Man Wang reached out to help his daughter in the car.
Wang Erya stretched out her little arm and was helped out of the car. After she stood firmly, she raised her eyes and looked at the situation on both sides of the street.
In this town, people walking along the road looked hurried, and there were only a few customers and peddlers talking about business on the stalls on both sides. Most of the stall owners were listless, and no one knew what had happened.
This thought went around in her mind, and she listened carefully to the conversations of passers-by along the way.
"These days... taxes have increased by another 10%. How can we make ends meet..."
"...The notice...said that the State of Chen was recruiting soldiers...from every household..."
Wang Erya listened attentively for a long time, and from these fragments of conversation, she guessed two pieces of not-so-good news: one was an increase in taxes, and the other was that the State of Chen was recruiting soldiers.
No matter which of these two is confirmed, it is not good news for the company.
"Erya, you and your brother are waiting for dad here. Don't run around, okay?"
Old Man Wang's words brought her back to her senses. The three of them were now in a small clinic along the street. A young man in brown clothes was grinding medicinal herbs in front of a wall of Chinese medicine cabinets.
Wang Erya nodded obediently.
Seeing this, Old Man Wang smiled and touched his daughter's head, let go of her hand, and went over to greet the young man in brown.
"Xiaoqing, Zhuzi and Erya will stay here with you for a while. I'll come and pick them up later."
"Okay, Uncle Wang, don't worry, I'll take care of them both."
Wang Shun nodded after hearing this, glanced at the two children, then left the clinic and hurried out.
He came to the town this time at the behest of the county magistrate. As the head of the Dashi Village, Wang Shun had a bad feeling in his heart because the county magistrate had been replaced and kept calling them over.
The name of this town is Qingshi Town. Dashi Village and several other villages around it are under the jurisdiction of this town. When Wang Shun entered the county government office, he saw several familiar faces coming over.
These people are village heads like him.
The back hall was surrounded by a circle of officials and runners, and the village heads gathered in the open space in the hall, waiting for the arrival of Chen Guoxin, the newly appointed county magistrate.
"County magistrate, Lord Zhuang is here!" the yamen runners shouted.
Everyone in the hall knelt down and saluted, saying respectfully in unison, "Hello, Your Excellency the County Magistrate!"
Wang Shun knelt in the back row, only to see this Lord Zhuang, being escorted from the side up the steps to the front of the hall. He stood in front of the crowd, looking down at them and said, "Everyone, stand up."
Upon hearing this, everyone stood up, half bent over and listened respectfully. Then they saw the county magistrate sit down, and the legal advisor beside him took out a notice and began to read it.
"I hereby issue the decree of King Chen: While the world is at peace, demons and monsters still arise in remote regions, causing unrest among our subjects. Therefore, I hereby issue a summons to recruit brave and courageous men to join the royal army and eliminate these demons and monsters."
"Conscription notice?!"
When Wang Shun in the hall heard what the notice said, he was immediately shocked.
…
The other side.
Wang Erya and her elder brother were waiting for Old Man Wang obediently in the clinic, but as time passed, they became restless. Zhuzi looked around in the clinic, and she also stood up and wanted to go to the door to see what was going on.
Behind the medicine cabinet, Wang Qing, who was weighing herbs, noticed the two children's movements. He looked up and said with a smile, "Are you two bored waiting?"
Wang Erya looked at him and asked, "It's a bit boring sitting here. Can I wait for Dad at the door?"
Zhuzi's temperament had calmed down a lot recently. When he heard his sister say this, he added, "Brother Qing, let me and your sister sit at the door and wait for Dad."
Hearing this, Wang Qing smiled and suggested, "There aren't many people on the street outside. Instead of sitting at the door waiting for Uncle Wang, why don't you come over and help me with a small favor?"
Most children are kind-hearted.
When Zhuzi heard this, his eyes were a little excited. He walked over and asked, "Brother Qing, what can I do for you? Just tell me!"
He looks like a capable young man who can take on a lot of responsibilities.
Seeing this, Wang Erya had no choice but to follow and see. She saw Wang Qing take out a medicine jar and pestle, placed them on the table where the two of them had been sitting before, and said, "Here are some herbs. Can Zhuzi help grind them into powder?"
"It's easy, cousin, just leave it to me." Zhuzi patted his chest and assured.
After saying that, he took the dark, round pestle and began to grind it with full confidence. Wang Erya watched from the side with her chin in her hand, and a look of helplessness flashed across her little face.
But she knew that her cousin was looking for this to do, so she changed the topic because she didn't want them to stay at the door, so she stopped thinking about it and didn't mention it again.
Time flies.
When Wang Shun came back from the county government office, he was surprised to see his naughty son being so well-behaved as soon as he entered the clinic.
"Zhuzi, Erya, Dad is here to pick you up." He said.
Zhuzi put down the heavy pestle, ran over, and said excitedly, "Dad, you're finally back."
Wang Erya fell asleep a moment ago while watching her brother slowly pounding medicine. She was awakened by the noise and looked up to see that Old Man Wang had returned.
"Dad, you're back." She also walked over and said.
Old Man Wang patted her head, went in and thanked Wang Qing, and then took the two of them to the street to buy things.
Zhuzi looked at the various stalls on the street with all his energy. He looked here and there, just like the big yellow dog running happily in the village.
Wang Erya suspected that if it weren't for Old Man Wang holding her brother back, he would have run away in a moment.
It was getting late, so Old Man Wang bought some corns and took them to a roadside noodle stall to have lunch.
The stall owner is an old man with gray hair, but he is very skilled in making ramen.
"Old man, give me three big bowls of vegetarian noodles."
The three of them chose an empty table and chairs to sit down, and Old Man Wang spoke to the old man.
Stall owner: “Okay, please wait.”
A moment later, three large bowls of noodles were brought over and placed on the table.
The thin noodles were soaked in the soup, which was glistening with oil and sprinkled with some green chopped green onions. It looked particularly appetizing. Wang Erya was a little hungry, so she took the chopsticks handed to her by Old Man Wang and started eating with big mouthfuls.
The same thing happened to the pillar next to it, just as the three of them were eating noodles.
"Village Chief Wang, what a coincidence that we meet here."
A voice came from the next table.
When Old Man Wang heard this, he looked up and saw the person who was speaking. He stood up and went over to greet him.
Wang Erya didn't pay attention at first, but she heard some words in the conversation between the two.
"Recruitment", "Notice", her expression changed.
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