“Mother, please let my third sister-in-law go,” said the eldest son of the Lu family. “She is capable; everyone knows that along the way.”
Lu Laoda had been to the bandit's den with He Jiuniang and admired her immensely. Now, he was just going to Jingzhou City to buy some things, which shouldn't be a problem.
But to his surprise, Sun waited for him fiercely and scolded, "So you don't care about her since she's not your wife!"
Boss Lu was quite embarrassed and didn't know what to say for a moment.
But Jingzhou needed to recruit able-bodied men, otherwise my third sister-in-law wouldn't have had to make this trip.
"Alright, alright, Mother, I know you feel sorry for me!"
He Jiuniang hugged Sun Shi and exclaimed, "It's only ten miles away, I can ride a horse there, it won't take long, so don't worry! I'll buy you some good food when I get back!"
She coaxed Sun Shi like a child, which made her lose her temper. Sun Shi scolded, "Who cares about you? You're so shameless, don't you know how to be embarrassed!"
He Jiuniang managed to get a chance to go out alone. She unloaded a horse from the cart, jumped onto its back, and galloped away in a flash.
Everyone was stunned. Lu Guilan couldn't help but exclaim, "When did Third Sister-in-law learn to ride a horse? That's amazing!"
"My third aunt has always been amazing!"
Youya looked at her aunt with great pride, as if she were the one who could ride a horse.
Not only were the women astonished, but even the men were stunned. Their horsemanship was something they could only dream of.
Many people gave a thumbs up, which was a sign of their heartfelt admiration.
He Jiuniang hadn't thought about these things. Although she had never ridden a horse before, wasn't it something you could learn just by looking at it?
She was very happy to finally get out on her own, and rode the horse with great joy.
Actually, she just wanted to buy some cosmetics to create some scar makeup. These things might not even be available in Jingzhou City, but she still had to go there to make sure that the things she took out of her space could be done openly, otherwise it would easily arouse suspicion.
The most important thing was to go into the city in advance to find out if they really weren't accepting any able-bodied men.
Riding a fast horse for ten miles is really fast; we arrived in no time, and there was a long line of people waiting to enter the city.
There were men and women in the crowd, but most of the men were older, and they seemed to know the news.
He Jiuniang led her horse forward to ask people, and at the end of the line was a hunchbacked old man, so she asked, "Uncle, is it true that Jingzhou doesn't accept able-bodied men?"
The old man sighed, "Isn't that right? I originally had four sons, but only two are left after we fled here. They both went to the army. Now I'm the only old man left to raise this group of orphans and widows. How are we going to survive?"
The old man started wiping away tears as he spoke. Several women and children were standing in front of him, their eyes also red. It was clear that they had escaped one danger only to fall into another.
The others listened with ashen faces, not interrupting, their expressions also revealing sadness.
Although Jingzhou is wealthy, they are all farmers who also need to farm. If there is not a single strong laborer in the family, the whole family will starve to death.
This is indeed a problem with the imperial court, and it's unclear how they will handle it. If not handled properly, it could lead to another civil war.
However, these are not things that He Jiuniang should worry about; she is only responsible for ensuring that the Lu family can live their lives well.
People queuing here are waiting for officers to check their household registration, and then they have to go to a special place set up by the government office to wait for their destination.
He Jiuniang was only going into the city to buy some things and didn't need to queue, so she led her horse directly to the city gate, took out her identity document to show the soldiers her household registration, and after confirming that she was a law-abiding citizen, they let her pass.
She went directly to the government office to see what the situation was, only to find that the area around the government office was full of refugees, all waiting for the government office to make arrangements.
"Officer, how should the yamen (government office) resettle these refugees?"
She squeezed forward and, before she could even speak, slipped some copper coins into the yamen runner's hand.
The constable was about to reprimand her for obstructing official business, but looking at the money in his hand, he couldn't bring himself to kick her out.
"Judging from your accent, you're not a local from Jingzhou either?"
The constable looked at her, weighing the silver in his hand with a scrutinizing gaze.
He Jiuniang had been traveling with everyone through wind and rain, and hadn't paid much attention to dressing up or taking care of herself. She got extremely tanned, making her look unappetizing.
Therefore, even when the constables openly stared at her, they did not arouse any bad thoughts.
"Yes, my family also fled here. The rest of us are still behind, so they sent me to find out what's going on."
He Jiuniang smiled apologetically, revealing a set of white teeth.
The soldiers found her extremely ugly and turned their heads away in disgust. They pointed at a group of refugees and said, "Our Jingzhou is His Highness Prince Chen's fiefdom. We shouldn't be taking care of you, but His Highness is kind-hearted. He not only took in women and children but is also willing to give you resettlement allowances. You should be grateful!"
Then, through the bailiff's words, He Jiuniang learned some basic information.
Jingzhou was wealthy, and Prince Chen was also well-off. Considering that most of the refugees were women and children who were powerless, he gave each of them two taels of silver as a resettlement allowance, regardless of their age.
Two taels of silver is a lot of money. In the past, two taels of silver would have been enough to feed a whole family for a year. Now, if each person gets two taels, it's like their ancestors' graves are emitting auspicious smoke.
In addition, there were already many people in Jingzhou, and not enough land to go around. So the government could not directly allocate fertile land to them. They could only temporarily send them to villages to settle down. If they wanted to, they could go up the mountain to reclaim wasteland. If they did not want to, they could rent farmland from landlords. Although life was difficult, at least they would not starve to death.
Of course, if you have the means and extra money, you can buy fertile land from the local people. There are still many people buying and selling land these days, and as long as it is legal and reasonable, the buying and selling is free.
"I see, Your Highness Prince Chen is such a kind person! Thank you so much, officer! Thank you so much!"
He Jiuniang showered the servants with praise, making them all feel smug.
After finishing the superficial work, I blended into the crowd and left, only then did I feel like strolling slowly down the street.
Jingzhou City truly lived up to its reputation as the second most prosperous city after the capital. It was on a completely different level from Ganzhou City. The streets were filled with the cries of various vendors and the laughter of children. Every restaurant and shop was packed with customers. This was the most prosperous city He Jiuniang had ever seen since she came to this era.
The streets were twice as wide as those in Ganzhou City, and the area had not suffered from drought. Apart from the dusty refugees, everyone else looked happy and cheerful.
Seeing this, He Jiuniang was very satisfied. If the Lu family could settle down here, their lives would only get better and better.
The city was very large, and it was impossible to see everything in a short time. He Jiu Niang only walked along one street, bought some snacks for the children, and then prepared to go back. It wouldn't be too late to explore the city again tomorrow when everyone had entered it.
Suddenly, a commotion broke out in the crowd not far away. He Jiu Niang, with a gossipy attitude, went over to take a look, and wow!
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