Chapter 12: Beggars Go to the Yamen
The capital of Zhongzhou Prefecture.
Countless refugees crowded outside the city gate, sitting together in twos and threes. These people looked at the closed city gate with numbness, hope, or despair.
At this moment, Daohua and a few others were also among the refugees, and their faces looked unhappy.
"We finally arrived at the provincial capital, but I didn't expect that we couldn't even get through the city gate." Daohua looked depressed.
Xiao Yeyang said, "This situation is very normal. A refugee riot broke out not long ago. Now that the city gates are opened, refugees will pour into the city. Who knows if there will be any trouble?"
Daohua: "But with so many refugees gathered here, the government can't just ignore it, right?"
"Who said don't care?"
Someone next to him interrupted.
Daohua immediately looked over and asked, "Old man, do you know any news?"
Seeing that everyone around was looking at him, the old man straightened up, coughed a few times, and said, "Yesterday I was wandering at the city gate and heard the gatekeepers say that a few days ago a high-ranking official from the capital came."
"A high-ranking official in Beijing?"
"Isn't it? I heard he brought a lot of soldiers with him. We have a terrible drought in the north, and the high officials from the capital are here to provide disaster relief."
Hearing this, everyone else looked excited, but Xiao Yeyang's eyes flashed, and he lowered his head, not knowing what he was thinking.
At noon, soldiers came out of the city, carrying buckets of steaming rice.
As soon as they appeared, refugees rushed over in an instant.
In just a moment, a long queue formed outside the city gate.
Daohua asked Sun Ma to look after Old Lady Yan, while she took Yan Wentao and went to queue up with Sun Bo, Xiao Yeyang and Zhao Ergou.
There was no way out. They had to throw away all their bags. Although they still had silver notes on them, they could not enter the city and could not exchange them. They could only queue up to get porridge.
While waiting in line, Xiao Yeyang saw something and suddenly ran out of the line. When Zhao Ergou saw him, he rolled his eyes, glanced at Daohua who was also waiting in line for porridge, gritted his teeth, and quickly followed him.
When Yan Wentao told Daohua, she turned around and only saw the two men's backs disappear among the crowded refugees.
Daohua frowned: "What are they going to do?"
Yan Wentao shook his head: "I don't know, Ye Yang seemed to have seen something."
Daohua's expression changed: "Don't worry about them, we'll get the porridge, grandma has been hungry all night."
Yan Wentao has no objection.
In his eyes, Xiao Yeyang and Zhao Ergou were just two passers-by, no match for his grandmother and sister.
After waiting in line for more than half an hour, Daohua, Yan Wentao, and Sun Bo received three bowls of porridge. They took it back and shared it with Old Lady Yan and Mother Sun.
Old Mrs. Yan looked at her grandchildren with heartache: "It's good to have this experience, so that you can taste the hardships of life in advance." After saying that, she sighed and looked around.
"Why haven't Yang Xiaozi and Er Gouzi come back yet? Could something have happened to them?"
Daohua was unsure: "That shouldn't be the case. Xiao Yeyang looks quite smart."
Old Lady Yan shook her head: "No matter how smart he is, he is just a half-grown child now. If he meets an adult, he will only suffer losses."
Yan Wentao: "How about Uncle Sun and I go look for it?"
Old Lady Yan pondered for a moment and said, "Don't go too far. Just look around. If someone is really missing, it should be their life."
Yan Wentao and Sun Bo left. Daohua sat back down next to Old Lady Yan and muttered, "Isn't that unlucky?"
However, thinking about Xiao Yeyang's bad luck of encountering human traffickers wherever he went, he became uncertain again.
After a while, Yan Wentao and Sun Bo returned dejected.
The two shook their heads at Old Lady Yan and Daohua.
Daohua forced a smile and said, "Didn't Xiao Yeyang see someone? Maybe it was his family. He might have gone home by now. Zhao Ergou will be fine if he follows him."
Old Lady Yan sighed, "I hope so."
Having said that, several people still hope that the two will come back.
No matter what, after spending so much time together, they won't feel at ease until they see that the two are safe.
Unfortunately, Xiao Yeyang and Zhao Ergou did not come back that night.
The next day, there was still no sign of the two.
Daohua looked at the still-closed city gate, then at Old Lady Yan, who had lost a lot of weight. "Grandma, I wonder how long it will take for the city gate to open. Xiao Yeyang and Zhao Ergou probably won't be back. Why don't we just leave?"
Old Lady Yan was silent for a moment, then nodded. "Let's go, walk slowly. Even if we have to beg along the way, we must reach Linyi County."
Daohua smiled and whispered, "Of course, you forgot that your granddaughter still has some banknotes on her." If she can't enter the provincial capital, it's impossible that she can't enter any of the other cities on the way.
Even if we can't enter these cities, we can still meet one or two rich people. At that time, at most we will suffer a loss, but we will definitely be able to exchange it for silver.
Even if they take a step back and cannot exchange for silver, Daohua can ensure that they can reach Linyi County safely. Don't forget, she still has a space, so she can secretly take out some food to prevent everyone from starving to death.
On the third day, at daybreak, Daohua and his companions left the city and headed towards Linyi County.
Shortly after they left, a group of armored soldiers suddenly arrived outside the city gate. These soldiers searched among the refugees for a while, but finally returned empty-handed.
——
Half a month later.
The five beggar-like Daohua people looked at the stone tablet with the three big characters "Linyi County" engraved on it with tears in their eyes.
"Grandma, after passing this stone tablet, we will enter Linyi County."
“Okay, okay, okay!”
Old Mrs. Yan choked up and said three good words in a row.
Daohua also breathed a sigh of relief.
Now that she was in ancient times, whenever she rode in a carriage, she would complain about the bumpy and unstable carriage. But after walking for more than half a month, she no longer complained about the carriage.
No matter how bumpy the carriage is, it is still better than walking on two legs.
"Let's go, we'll be able to see your parents soon."
Daohua looked at the clothes they were wearing and asked, "Grandma, if we go to see father like this, will they...?"
Old Madam Yan's eyes widened immediately: "What? Could it be that he dares to look down on an old woman like me?"
Rice flower smiled bitterly.
He would not dislike the old lady, but he would dislike her.
She didn't grow up with her parents, and relationships between people require mutual understanding. She didn't believe how much her parents loved her.
"Let's go. What are you afraid of? With grandma here, no one can bully you."
Linyi County, at the gate of the county government office.
The gatekeepers were discussing where to go after get off work and were talking excitedly when they suddenly smelled a pungent smell. They looked up and found that there were five beggars in front of the county government gate.
"Sir, may I ask, is this the Linyi County Government Office?" Sun Bo stepped forward and asked with a smile.
"Go away, beggar, where did you come from? Go back to where you came from." The yamen runners in front of the gate drove Sun Bo out with disgust on their faces.
Before Sun Bo could ask more questions, a yamen runner became impatient and raised the sword at his waist, ready to hit him.
"What are you doing?"
Yan Wentao was shocked when he saw this. He took two steps at a time and ran over quickly. He grabbed the yamen runner's arm and rescued Sun Bo.
"You bold and unruly citizen, how dare you run to the county government office and make trouble? Are you tired of living?" The other yamen runners stepped forward. With their large numbers, they pushed Yan Wentao to the ground in a few moves.
Seeing how they treated Yan Wentao, Old Mrs. Yan was so angry that she was about to lose her temper.
"Stop it right there!"
Daohua was also furious and anxious. She handed Old Lady Yan to Sun Ma and quickly ran up, pointing her finger at the yamen runner and sternly said, "My father is Yan Zhigao, the magistrate of Linyi County. If you dare to touch my third brother, I will make you pay."
As soon as these words were spoken, the yamen runners who had been smiling smugly were all stunned on the spot.
(End of this chapter)
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