Chapter 68 Give me a little face with this long stick!
"Fill up the water, and leave immediately after you're done!"
With the water problem solved, the refugees here face another serious problem: no food!
Although they had driven away the grain carts when they arrived, horse meat is still grain!
They brought ten carriages, which consisted of ten horses.
To the refugees, these were things that were bright and clear, things that could fill their stomachs!
Sure enough, it wasn't long before someone noticed that they were all thin, frail women and children, and wanted to harm them!
Shen Lanxi walked to a wooden stake as thick as a water vat, and with a flick of her long stick, the stake was lifted to a height of more than a person.
The next second, a whooshing sound rang out, followed by a series of cracking sounds as wood was crushed.
The piece of wood, as thick as a water vat, was cleaved into three pieces with a single blow, and flew rapidly in three different directions.
Two loud thuds echoed as the wood struck the ground.
There was also a piece of wood that flew directly into Moon Lake, and the huge impact blasted water more than two meters high into the lake.
Everyone who tries to cause trouble gets soaked to the bone!
"Give me a break with this staff!"
"Our group is only here to collect water, and we'll leave immediately afterward. Let's all keep to ourselves!"
No one answered; all around was silent.
A few seconds later, the people, soaked to the bone, slunk away one by one!
The water collection went very smoothly afterward. Even when Shen Lanxi left for a short while, no one dared to approach the women who were collecting water!
After walking around, Shen Lanxi discovered that most of these refugees drank untreated water and were very unhygienic. Some refugees poured their used dirty water directly back into Moon Lake, and they even washed and cleaned themselves right in the lake.
Although the flowing water has a self-purifying function, it can't withstand the increasing use by displaced people. If the drought isn't resolved quickly, Moon Lake will eventually turn into a sludge mess!
Water pollution alone is not the worst thing; what is truly frightening is the potential for an epidemic!
Tell everyone that no one is allowed to drink the water before it has been boiled!
Spring snow and autumn frost, hurry up and inform them.
After collecting the water, the group headed towards Yicheng without stopping, just barely passing by the group of refugees they had previously met!
"Wow, so much water!"
"Where is Young Master Liu? Quickly call him over so he can drink first!"
Where is Young Master Liu now? The group of exiled prisoners has already reached the foot of the city!
"Shall we go in?" At this moment, Liu Laohu felt extremely uncertain when he asked the question!
The household registration records that Shen Lanxi obtained have been handed over to Liu Yanhui for management. He carefully compared the gender and age of each person and distributed the household registration records.
Liu Laohu and the other constables, holding the identity and household registration documents, remained silent and quietly hid the original household registration documents.
When Liu Yan returned to Wei Jiajun, she hesitated for a moment before walking towards them.
Do you have your household registration documents with you?
Wei Jiajun: "It was lost during the escape!"
Liu Yan returned and distributed the household registration certificates to them.
"Half of you go into town to shop, and the other half stay behind. Return in an hour to replace the ones who stayed behind!"
"good!"
Liu Yan called Liu Laohu aside and gave her the money for the trip to the city and the purchase funds separately. Of course, part of it was a kickback, given under the guise of purchasing—to make it sound better, but everyone kept quiet about it!
Liu Laohu led half of the constables and a third of the well-behaved prisoners into the city first.
"Brother Wu, when they come back, they won't let us in, will they?" Shen Yuanruan asked deliberately.
Wu Youliang leaned lazily against the wheel, but his eyes were restless, greasy as he looked at the women, finally settling on Shen Yuanruan.
"No way, we're in no rush right now. If they go back on their word, who will believe them next time!"
Shen Yuanruan: "That's not necessarily true. Even if they break their word, there's nothing we can do about it. They're government officials!"
Wu Youliang thought it made sense and quickly got up.
"I'll go ask!"
Shen Yuanruan followed, saying, "Brother Wu, I'll go with you!"
Madam Shen was furious at the sight of Shen Yuanruan throwing herself at her.
"Third brother, does your daughter have any shame? Why don't you go and teach her a lesson? She's making the Shen family lose all face!"
Shen Congli looked helpless: "Mother, what time is it now? We're about to lose our lives, who cares about shame!"
Madam Shen was so angry that she reached out and hit her son.
"Don't think I'm too old and blind to see you secretly asking her for things. I'm not dead yet! This kind of despicable thing can never set foot in the Shen family again!"
"Listen up, all of you. If any of you are like her, don't ever say you're a member of the Shen family again. I can't bear the shame!"
Shen Congyi: "Mother, don't get upset over someone who has chosen to be lowly. Let's see how much silver we have and what we can buy in the city!"
Shen Conglian: "Our second branch of the family doesn't have a single penny. We spent it all when we bought water!"
"Our third branch is the same..."
Shen Congyi: "Don't look at me, we don't have any money in our room either! Mother, Yuan Jing and the others have such a good relationship with Lan Xi, they must have money."
...
Shen Yuanjing and his group tried to curry favor with Wei's army by sending them gifts, but they have already been rejected four times.
Although they entered the city with Liu Laohu and the others, they didn't have much money left.
I've already spent almost all of my money buying pastries, dried meat, and sweet soup from my older sister.
"How much money do you have left?" Shen Yuanjing asked his younger siblings.
Shen Yuanjun: "I still have four coins!"
"I still have a silver hairpin!"
"I also have a silver ring."
...
Shen Yuanjing: "I have an idea. I want to buy some special gifts for Master Hu and the others!"
"Brother, what special gift is it?"
"I didn't expect that either."
"Brother, even if you figured it out, we can't buy it with this little money. One steamed bun costs eighty coins!"
"..."
Liu Yan asked about the price of water, and it was comparable to the price of meat!
He then inquired about grain prices, which had already exceeded meat prices. Afterward, he went to a teahouse and sat for a while, gathering some information.
When Liu Laohu and his group were almost finished with their shopping, they went to the teahouse to call Liu Yanhui.
Liu Yan bought some steamed buns and water with a heavy heart and hurriedly left the city!
Just as the second group entered the city, Shen Lanxi returned.
Liu Yan reported the news she had heard to Shen Lanxi.
"More than a month ago, the Empress suffered a miscarriage and hemorrhage. Fortunately, the people from Medicine King Valley arrived in time to save her life. A few days later, the Empress died because she was overwhelmed with grief and could not eat or drink!"
Xiaoxue had already told her the news, and in more detail than Liu Yan had heard it!
"Last time in Anzhen, the people from Medicine King Valley left in a hurry, presumably because they were summoned to the palace!"
Shen Lanxi nodded: "Continue!"
"The Prince of Zhennan was ordered to lead an expedition to the Northwest. His official rank has been repeatedly demoted, and he is now a Lieutenant General in the Northern Expeditionary Army, responsible for escorting grain supplies!"
Shen Lanxi's lips curled up: "From a first-rank general to a fifth-rank lieutenant general, the speed of his demotion was faster than the speed of his promotion. He is truly the first person in the Great Zhou Dynasty to be demoted!"
(End of this chapter)
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