Chi Sihai's eyes instantly turned red.
Enraged, Aunt Chi pinched her fourth son's arm hard and scolded him in a low voice, "Chi Sihai, you're not as smart as your son! For such a heartless woman, you don't even care about your own son anymore? You're a beast!"
The more sensible a grandson is, the more heartbreaking it is to see him.
This only makes Chi Sihai seem even more cold-blooded.
"Mother, I was wrong," Chi Sihai said, crying.
In fact, Chi Sihai is only eighteen years old this year, and he is still a child.
Aunt Chi couldn't bear to be too harsh on her.
Unexpectedly, Kogoro refused to accept this. He staggered to his feet, stood in front of Chi Sihai, spread his short little arms, and said in a childish voice, "Grandma, no."
Despite its small size, it wanted to shield its father from the wind and rain.
Who could remain unmoved?
Chi Sihai held his son in his arms and cried silently.
He was really wrong these past two years.
"Alright, go to sleep. We have to keep going early tomorrow morning," Old Man Chi said, tapping the edge of the pit with his pipe.
If you look closely, you'll notice that the corners of Mr. Chi's eyes are also red.
*
The next morning, Aunt Chi made an excuse to take Chi Tang for a walk, but in reality, she wanted to see what else was useful in the village and had Chi Tang put it all away.
One basket in the east, one bench in the west.
There's a pot here, and a cleaver there.
Take more today, and you can buy one less item later.
The family loaded their things into the car in high spirits. Then, as always, Grandma Li and Aunt Chi carried Chi Tang and Wu Lang, and Aunt Chi San shamelessly carried Si Lang as well, squeezing into the car.
And so, the group set off again in a grand procession.
After two days of travel, we finally arrived at Jin Yang Town.
Following the route Seventeen mentioned earlier, after passing through Jin Yang Town, you will reach Beiyang City. After passing Beiyang City, it will only be five days' journey to the capital, and the roads are all official and very safe.
What surprised everyone was that, from a distance, they saw a large crowd gathered at the city gate.
Looking around, there were crowds of people.
"Why are there so many people here?"
"They all look like refugees, right?"
Although the people from Liyang and Jinyang prefectures left earlier and were spared the natural disaster, it's quite normal for people from other places suffering from famine and hunger to flee to the capital.
Chi Dashan and Li Mingfan went ahead to inquire, while the others stayed behind.
A short while later, Chi Dashan and Li Mingfan returned with dark faces.
"How is it?" Aunt Chi asked anxiously.
They are not afraid of hardship.
I'm afraid it will never end!
Once they arrive at their destination and can settle down, they can live there peacefully.
The whole family rushed over.
Because everyone could see that the two of them didn't look too good.
"The city gate ahead is closed; they say they'll charge a toll." Chi Dashan clenched his fists, a fire burning within his chest, pounding back and forth, almost tearing him apart!
Old Man Chi angrily swung his pipe and struck his son's arm, urging, "Just tell me already, how much!"
This kid really deserves a beating!
Knowing full well that they are anxious, why are you speaking so slowly and deliberately?
Li Ming hurriedly tried to stop him, his voice filled with despair: "One person... five taels of silver for the toll."
"How many?!"
Old Man Li got so anxious that he dropped the wooden stick he was holding to the ground.
Everyone else stared in disbelief.
"Five taels of silver per person," Li Mingfan said with a wry smile.
Otherwise, why would so many people be blocking the city gate and unable to get in?
They were all poor people; where could they easily come up with five taels of silver per person for toll fees?
Moreover, if Jin Yang Town is like this, who knows if other towns will follow suit?
"Don't they know that bandits are causing trouble here? If they don't leave, how will the common people survive?" Aunt Chi asked in a shrill voice.
He unconsciously tightened his grip on Chi Tang.
Chi Tang felt a little uncomfortable, but didn't say anything.
She was calculating.
The Chi family has fourteen members, and if each person pays five taels of silver, that's seventy taels of silver.
I do have the silver to spare.
But who knows how many more seventy taels of silver will be waiting for them later?
I'm worried this might not be a one-time use item!
"It's precisely because we know the bandits are causing trouble and everyone has to leave to save their lives that we dare to ask for such an exorbitant price—five taels of silver for the toll!"
Chi Dashan gritted his teeth in hatred, his dark face contorted as he forcefully swung his fists to express his dissatisfaction.
What do ordinary people mean to these officials?
Do you really not take it seriously?
Li Mingfan clenched his fists so tightly they cracked, tilted his head and spat, then cursed, "You heartless bastard, you son of a bitch..."
A string of witty remarks came from the mouths of the two families.
This shows how desperate they were.
If it weren't for the bandits causing trouble, why would those fleeing people have to pass through Jin Yang Town? Staying here would have been a way to survive.
"The appearance of these bandits is probably exactly what these officials wanted," said Sister-in-law Chi angrily.
Aunt Chi went even further, speculating with even more malicious intent: "Who knows if these bandits are actually bandits?"
Perhaps it was collusion between officials and bandits?
Or perhaps... we were originally one family?
"Mother, please don't say such things. If someone spreads them, it could cause trouble." Chi Sihai was becoming more cautious.
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