Chapter 10, Encountering Obstacles
Two days later, Daohua and his group entered the territory of Zhongzhou Prefecture.
Daohua originally thought that the road would be smoother after entering Zhongzhou Prefecture, but she didn't expect that there would be more and more refugees on the road.
“Why are there so many refugees?”
Xiao Yeyang snorted coldly: "Why else? It must be that the officials here are inactive and just sitting there doing nothing."
Daohua looked at him without saying anything, but she agreed with what he said in her heart.
The people are suffering, isn't it because officials are not doing their job?
However, Yan Wentao, standing by, was unhappy: "You can't generalize. There are many good officials."
Old Lady Yan also nodded and said, "That's right, Yang boy, you haven't done any on-site investigation, so don't make such random remarks."
Daohua knew her grandmother and third brother were speaking for her father, the seventh-rank county magistrate. After a moment's thought, she changed the subject: "Little Sixth Brother came to tell me earlier that the escort agency would be separated from us once we entered the city."
Old Lady Yan frowned and said, "Zhongzhou Prefecture is still quite a distance from Linyi County." For a family of theirs, old and young, it would be unsafe to travel alone.
Daohua was also a little worried about their safety on the road, so she said, "Grandma, how about this? After we enter the city, we shouldn't leave yet. Instead, we should write a letter to Linyi County and ask Father to send someone to pick us up."
Along the way, they have seen and heard a lot of cases of refugees robbing and even killing people. For the sake of safety, it is better to be cautious.
Old Lady Yan nodded: "That's a good idea, let's do it."
Daohua turned to look at Xiao Yeyang and Zhao Ergou again: "We're almost at the capital city, what are your plans?"
Hearing this, both of them pursed their lips in silence.
Xiao Yeyang had a way. He could go directly to the government office. If the people in the government office knew his identity, they would definitely send him back to the capital respectfully.
But if he did that, he would not be able to hide the fact that he was abducted by human traffickers. If those people in the capital knew about it, he would be humiliated.
As for Zhao Ergou, he simply didn't know what to do. He was sold by his family. Even if he was found, he would still be sent to be a child husband.
Seeing them like this, Old Lady Yan's heart softened and she sighed: "Let's go into the city first. We'll think of a way after we get there."
Since her grandmother had spoken, Daohua didn't ask any more questions.
Near noon, Qin Xiaoliu from the escort agency suddenly came to the Daohua family's carriage in a hurry.
"Brother Xiaoliu, why are you here? Are you going into the city?" Daohua asked with a smile.
This time when leaving home, Old Lady Yan prepared a lot of food, and she sent it to the escort agency a lot during this period. As a result, they quickly became familiar with Qin Xiaoliu.
Qin Xiaoliu shook his head, his expression somewhat solemn: "I'm afraid I won't be able to enter the city today."
Daohua was startled: "What happened again?"
Qin Xiaoliu shared the information the escort agency had gathered: "Last year, several provinces in the north suffered from severe drought. Zhongzhou Prefecture is close to the Grand Canal, so the drought wasn't as severe. This led to a large influx of refugees."
"When there are too many refugees, trouble is bound to happen. For example, a road leading to the capital has been occupied by a group of refugees these past few days. The government is trying to find a solution, but we don't know when it will be resolved."
Old Madam Yan was anxious and slapped her thigh fiercely: "What is going on?"
Daohua took Old Lady Yan's arm and comforted her while looking at Qin Xiaoliu: "Brother Xiaoliu, what are you going to do with your escort agency?"
As soon as these words were spoken, Old Lady Yan and the others looked at Qin Xiaoliu.
Qin Xiaoliu looked apologetic. "We have a time limit for escorting you. Fifth Brother said we should take a detour to the city. Because it's a long mountain road, we might not be able to continue with you."
Qin Wu's original words were: "They are old, young, and walk too slowly. The mountain roads are difficult to navigate. If we bring them along, we might not be able to deliver the goods on time. If something unexpected happens on the way, we'll have to send someone to protect them, which will greatly increase everyone's burden."
Upon hearing this, the eyes of Old Lady Yan and Uncle Sun and Aunt Sun suddenly darkened.
Daohua and Xiao Yeyang also lowered their heads.
Yan Wentao and Zhao Ergou looked at each other.
Everyone was in a heavy mood. Without the escort agency's protection, they were traveling alone and were afraid they would be robbed before they got far.
Losing money is still a good thing, but if you meet a cruel person, you may even lose your life.
Seeing them like this, Qin Xiaoliu's face became more apologetic: "Old lady, I'm sorry."
Old Madam Yan forced a smile. "No need to apologize. I'm already very grateful that you can bring us this far. The escort agency's delivery of goods is your livelihood, and we can't delay it. You should do this."
As he said this, he glanced at Sun Ma.
After receiving the signal, Sun's mother immediately took out a bag of dried meat from the carriage.
Old Madam Yan handed the dried meat to Qin Xiaoliu: "This is a little gift from me. Thank you for your care during this period."
Qin Xiaoliu shook his hands repeatedly, feeling even more uncomfortable: "No, no, we usually eat enough."
Old Mrs. Yan pretended to be dissatisfied: "Why, do you dislike the things given by this old woman?" After saying that, she stuffed the dried meat directly into Qin Xiaoliu's hand.
Holding the dried meat, Qin Xiaoliu left, looking back every few steps.
As soon as he left, Old Lady Yan slammed her thigh hard and said, "It's all my fault. I was so arrogant and insisted on going alone. Now look what happened. I'm stuck in traffic."
"Grandma, what are you doing!" Daohua and Yan Wentao rushed over at the same time, holding the old lady's hands on the left and right.
Old Lady Yan looked at her granddaughter and grandson with a look of self-blame on her face: "If it weren't for Grandma insisting on leaving your Third Uncle, we wouldn't have encountered such a thing now."
Daohua pulled the old lady aside and said, "Grandma, if you want to blame someone, blame me. If you didn't want us to gain more experience, why would you have to endure this hardship?"
Yan Wentao didn't know what to say, so he could only nod and say, "That's right."
Old Mrs. Yan sighed: "What should I do now?"
Daohua frowned and looked around. At this moment, the people from the escort agency were still packing up and had not left yet. The refugees nearby did not dare to come over, but once the people from the escort agency left, they didn't know what was waiting for them.
After thinking for a while, Daohua quickly jumped off the carriage: "Grandma, wait for me." After that, she ran towards Qin Xiaoliu.
"Little Six Brother!"
Seeing Daohua coming over, Qin Xiaoliu immediately put down what he was holding: "Daohua, what's going on?"
Daohua pulled Qin Xiaoliu and whispered, "Brother Xiaoliu, can you help us get some clothes for the refugees?"
Qin Xiaoliu glanced at Qin Wu, who was looking at them at the moment.
Daohua knew that Qin Wu was the boss of the escort agency, so she immediately took out a bottle of hemostatic medicine and said, "I'll pay you."
Qin Wu glanced at Daohua and said, "Please take them back. They are just a few pieces of clothing. Xiaoliu will deliver them to you later."
Hearing this, Daohua looked delighted: "Thank you, Uncle Qin." Then, she put the hemostatic medicine in Qin Xiaoliu's hand and ran away.
Qin Xiaoliu held the hemostatic medicine and looked at Qin Wu: "Fifth brother, what should we do?"
Qin Wu glared at him and said, "Hurry up and get some clothes. Remember, they should be dirty and torn, so that others won't be able to steal them even if they want to."
"oh!"
Qin Xiaoliu ran away. Qin Wu frowned and touched his face, muttering: "Xiaoliu is the elder brother, why does he become Uncle Qin Wu when he comes to me?" He directly raised his generation.
(End of this chapter)
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