Chapter 38: Can’t Enter the County Town
"Aunt Liu, have you processed the yams?"
"It's all processed. Look, this one will last for quite a few days."
Aunt Liu happily took out a thick yam that she had processed and showed it to everyone. The villagers across the street were surprised to see that Aunt Liu didn't feel itchy or hurt when peeling it.
Wu Yuetang folded her arms and looked at them.
"Do you believe what Aunt Sun says? Her head is full of gossip and garbage about other people's families. She has no real knowledge. Aunt Liu and the others came to ask me how to deal with yams. Isn't that a trivial matter?"
Wu Yuetang's expressionless face and nonchalance completely infuriated Aunt Sun, who was pushed to the ground, and she started to curse without caring about her image.
"You little bitch! You found the yams and didn't tell anyone! You knew how to deal with them and you didn't tell anyone! How can you be so vicious! You've done so many evil things, why don't you get struck by lightning!"
"Oh? I found the yam and you came right after I dug it out. You're trying to take the credit from me. What's wrong? Now that I'm being held accountable, you're shirking responsibility? Didn't you solemnly tell everyone that you could eat it as long as you peeled it? Then why didn't you tell everyone about the precautions?"
"Didn't I only know to peel it after hearing what you and your third brother said? Then why didn't you also tell me the precautions at the time! Now you're putting the blame on me! You are so shameless! You deserve to be struck by lightning! Someone as vicious as you deserves to have your entire family wiped out!"
Wu Yuetang frowned and his expression changed suddenly. Good, very good, this Aunt Sun has completely lit the fuse.
"You can curse me, but if you curse my family, you're courting death!"
Wu Yuetang turned her head to look at the pot with a little porridge left. The fire had not yet gone out, and the remaining soup inside was still bubbling.
With a smile on his lips, he held a thick rag in both hands, picked up the casserole and without saying a word, poured it directly at Aunt Sun. The villagers around him all moved away.
Aunt Sun didn't seem to expect that she would pour the boiling soup directly on her, and she stopped cursing immediately.
Some soup was poured into his open mouth, and his tongue and lips were burned, making him scream. There were leftovers from the pot on his face and hair.
The weather was already dry and hot, and after Wu Yuetang poured boiling hot soup into her, her face instantly turned red, and even smoked under the sunlight.
Aunt Sun was now speechless. The skin on her hands and face was red and bubbly from the burns, and her tongue was numb from the burns. She was mumbling something incoherently.
"Humph, you're really asking for trouble!"
The villagers around started pointing and talking at her. They were itchy and hurt because of Aunt Sun, but she wanted to put the blame on the girl from the Wu family.
"Hey, you deserve it! I hope you can't speak anymore!"
"Bah! He's just dreaming all day long. Wu girl did a great job. This kind of person should have been dealt with like this a long time ago!"
The voices around were all cursing Aunt Sun. Chen Chunhe had already run away when she realized that something was wrong. Standing in the distance, she was also frightened when she saw Wu Yuetang pouring the porridge.
This is no more cruel than beating yourself with a stick. The pain will only last for a few days. If the burn is not treated properly, it will leave scars. You still can't mess with the Wu family.
Chen Chunhe swallowed unconsciously and slipped back to his own haystack.
Seeing that she was speechless, Wu Yuetang looked down at her. Although his eyes were on her, his words were addressed to everyone.
I repeated the instructions I had given Aunt Liu that morning, emphasizing the precautions. I also specifically explained that thin yams can be used to make soup, while thicker ones can be steamed, roasted, boiled, or sliced and stir-fried.
After a while, Aunt Sun was the only one left in the noisy place, sitting on the ground crying. After crying for a long time and seeing that no one paid any attention to her, she struggled to get up and walked back home.
I kept touching my face and hands on the way. The burned areas were so painful that I had to find water to wash them quickly.
Li hid in the tent and watched what happened just now. She was almost scared silly. Zhou and Chen behind her didn't dare to say anything. They had just finished eating porridge and were fine, so how could they suddenly start fighting?
Although I watched the whole process and knew that Wu Yuetang was not wrong, my heart almost stopped when I saw her pouring the burning food in the pot towards Aunt Sun.
Seeing the crowd disperse, Li climbed out of the tent and pulled Wu Yuetang over.
"How could you just throw something so hot on someone's face? What if he gets hurt?"
"Don't worry, she won't die. The burns will only make her feel uncomfortable for a while. I think she'll be almost healed in five or six days."
Wu Yuetang shrugged indifferently, not thinking that she had done anything wrong.
"But that old lady Sun's face is terribly red from the burns. Is she really okay?"
"Oh, mother! It looks red because it's a hot day. She can go back and get some water to wash her face a few more times and it will be fine."
Although she said so, Wu Yuetang thought in her heart: The burns will not be relieved until we enter the snow mountain, so you will suffer during this period.
Li looked at Wu Yuetang's determined expression, nodded slowly, and stopped asking questions.
Afterwards, everyone made some food with yam, mostly roasted. After all, you don’t need to peel the roasted yam, you can just tear off the skin and eat it after it’s roasted.
It was not until the sun went down and the sky gradually darkened that the team that went to the county town to inquire about the news returned.
The village chief at the head had a worried look on his face, and the three people following behind him also had unhappy expressions.
Wu Yuetang understood it at a glance. They must have known that they couldn’t enter the county town.
After the bonfire was lit, the village chief called everyone together for a meeting.
"We went to the county town today to gather information, but I'm afraid we can't get into the county town."
After saying this, the village chief sighed deeply, and the crowd around him became agitated.
"Why? What's going on? Why won't you let us into the city?!"
"The guards at the city gate said that a group of refugees, about a hundred of them, entered the county town and went door to door, looting many shops. Later, we found out that some of the refugees were bandits in disguise."
Aunt Liu’s eldest son, Zhao Yi, began to tell everyone what he had learned.
"After this incident, the county government increased the entrance fee to the city to control the flow of villagers into the city. However, not long after, another group of villagers fleeing famine arrived. When they heard they had to pay to enter the city, they protested and even rioted at the city gate. Many officials and civilians were injured. Because of this, the county government no longer accepted groups fleeing famine. If you want to go to the provincial capital, you have to take a detour."
As soon as these words were spoken, the atmosphere around became even more solemn. At first, some people were noisily expressing their dissatisfaction with the county, but as they spoke, they became quiet.
"Village Chief, how much is the city entrance fee? Can we go into the city to do some shopping?"
A sudden voice sounded, it was Wu Yuetang, who squeezed into the crowd with great effort and asked the village chief.
"It's no problem for individuals to enter the city, but the entrance fee is now 150 coins per person, and you can't stay overnight. You have to leave the city on the same day."
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