Old Zhang also had his own thoughts. He was afraid that if he took the remaining food into the group of disaster victims, it would be looted. Rather than being robbed, it would be better to fill his family's stomachs.
After finishing this relatively substantial breakfast, he instructed his four sons to divide the last bag of brown rice into several bags and hide some on each person in the family, stuffing them in bedding rolls or packages. Liu tied her own gold ingot to her chest and hid a bag of millet between her and the child, which was the food for her and her sons.
The group was ready to go. Following Lianyi's suggestion, they simply abandoned the cart. They were going to follow Yu Junyu's carriage into the city, so they could not drag the cart. Otherwise, everyone would know at a glance that they were also fleeing famine. On the contrary, if they followed the carriage with their luggage on their backs, people would mistakenly think they were the slaves or servants of the scholar, which would make the victims afraid.
Yu Junyu immediately understood Lianyi's intention, and asked Chen, Liu and Hui Niang to take the three youngest children into the carriage. The others continued to follow the carriage, making it look like a family of servants following their master, which would make it less likely to be exposed.
At first the three of them were unwilling, especially with their mother-in-law, old Zhang, around. How could they feel comfortable doing that? However, old Zhang was not the kind of person who would put on airs regardless of the occasion. She told them to get in the car; the most important thing was to get into Haoyuan City.
Old Zhang sat on the shaft of the cart and acted as Yu Junyu's driver. After everything was ready, everyone set off.
Lianyi turned around and walked to Song Dachuan, and asked in a low voice:
"Where is Master Yu's driver?"
"He left in the middle of the night yesterday! I don't know where he went."
Song Dachuan said in a low voice.
Lian Yi nodded, then took two quick steps and knocked on the carriage window. After the window opened, she asked directly:
"Master Yu, do you need to wait for your driver?"
"No, let's go into the city first. He has other things to do, so there's no need to wait for him."
Lianyi nodded and didn't ask any more questions.
The six-li road was neither far nor near, and it only took a cup of tea to get there. Lianyi frowned as she saw that there were more people gathered at the city gate than yesterday. Zhang Zhong and Zhang Jun had already walked to the front of the carriage, waving the axes in their hands, asking the victims who were blocking the road to make way for their masters.
The victims who were defending the city outside were a little agitated by the appearance of the two-horse carriage. However, as soon as they saw the two tall horses, they knew that the people in the carriage were not simple people. Although there was constant discussion, they still made way for them.
Lianyi looked around vigilantly, not giving the victims a chance to get close. It was not that she did not want to help. She was now escorting the imperial envoy who could completely resolve the current predicament into Haoyuan City. How could he help the victims if he couldn't even enter the city?
When the carriage and the Zhang family had gone halfway, they saw a group of soldiers guarding the city coming towards them with spears in their hands, obviously escorting them.
"Give them some money."
Yu Junyu's voice was heard from inside the car.
Song Dachuan rummaged in his pocket, took out two taels of silver, and threw it directly to the leading captain.
"This is a reward from my master, a juren scholar. There will be more rewards once you enter the city."
Song Dachuan said as Lianyi taught him.
Naturally, this money was given to Lianyi by Yu Junyu in advance, and Lianyi distributed it in order to deal with such situations.
"Thank you for the reward, sir."
The leading officer took the silver and said with a smile on his face.
Then he took the initiative to go over, lead the carriage smoothly all the way, and finally arrived at the only open small gate.
The Zhang family breathed a sigh of relief temporarily. Whether they could get in depended on this time.
"This is the money my master prepared for entering the city, and this is the identity certificate and document."
Song Dachuan acted as the manager. He walked over first and bowed to the gatekeeper, then stuffed a bag of silver into his hand and handed him a scroll.
The other party only took the bag of silver, shook it, and then showed a satisfied smile. As for the identity certificate, he did not look at it. He just waved his hand and asked someone to move the wooden fence away, open the small door, and let the carriage in. As for who was in the carriage and how many people there were, he did not even check.
With the help of Yu Junyu's money, the Zhang family successfully entered Haoyuan City.
Entering Haoyuan City was like entering another world. The streets of the city were crowded with people and all kinds of shops were open. Although the number of people in the grain shops remained the same, there was no panic buying and the hawking sounds were still heard.
"Master Yu, where should I send you now?"
Ripple asked from beside the carriage.
"Please take me to the inn next to the county government office. You can stay with me in the inn for one night. I'll pay for it."
Yu Junyu suggested.
"Thank you for your kindness. Our transaction is now complete after you are escorted in. After we take you to the inn, we will leave."
Lianyi rejected the other party's kindness. The Zhang family members wanted to talk but hesitated, but no one spoke immediately, especially Lianyi, who shook her head silently at everyone.
".In that case, I won't force it."
Yu Junyu sighed and said that it was difficult to keep capable people.
The group crossed half of the city and finally arrived at the inn that Yu Junyu mentioned. Immediately, a waiter came over and led the carriage. Song Dachuan sent Yu Junyu to the room, and then they met up with his family in the lobby of the inn.
Lianyi saw Song Dachuan coming down, so she left the inn with everyone else. The innkeeper had been watching them the whole time. They all looked rather disheveled, and it was obvious that they had come in from outside the city.
When they got to the street, Lianyi said to Old Man Zhang:
"Master, we'd better leave Haoyuan City before dark. When we entered the city just now, I saw several strong men making eye contact with each other, as if they were inciting the victims to rush in. We can't stay here for long, otherwise if something goes wrong we will be taken away as victims."
After hearing Lianyi's words, everyone took a deep breath.
The first person to agree this time was Old Zhang:
"Old man, listen to Lianyi girl. When I followed you in, I saw that the victims looked at us strangely, as if they wanted to eat us!"
"Mom is right. There are obviously more people blocking the city gate this morning than yesterday afternoon. Those people are not in good spirits."
Xin followed her mother-in-law into the city, and she also noticed something was wrong.
"Grandpa, we have all the pots, pans, and luggage. You take my uncle to buy two ox carts. Dad and I will go buy some steamed buns and biscuits for food. Then we can leave here after buying the ox carts."
Lianyi looked at the sky and said.
"Okay, let's listen to Lianyi."
After all, there are elderly people and children among them. If they lose the cart, they will have to buy new tools, otherwise it will affect their progress.
"Let's go to the mule and horse market with Dad. Once we buy the ox cart, we'll put all the luggage on it. We're not familiar with this place, so it's better not to separate."
Zhang Shi said directly.
"Come with me, Lianyi, you and your father should go quickly and come back soon. If you really can't buy anything, come back quickly. The food we have can last for a few more days."
Old Zhang was worried about Lianyi and Song Dachuan, so he immediately gave them instructions.
"Master, don't worry, we will go there and come back soon and meet you at the mule and horse market." (End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
