When the guards heard Lin Jiuyue say that someone in his family was celebrating his 60th birthday the next day and there was a scholar in the car, and that these people were generous and gave one or two taels of silver each, they did not make things difficult for Lin Jiuyue and the other two.
"In that case, you should hurry back. There have been some refugees arriving lately, and it's getting dark, so be careful."
Lin Jiuyue nodded in agreement, thinking that no matter what the situation, money always matters.
"Oh, that's for nothing. Thanks for the reminder, big brother."
After quickly leaving the city gate, Lin Jiuyue found an opportunity to feed the horse some spiritual spring water.
"Gu Chengyan, let's go quickly."
Gu Chengyan nodded and jumped into the carriage. Lin Jiuyue and Lin Qiye also jumped into the carriage. The three of them drove away quickly.
Not long after the three of them left the city gate, a large number of refugees appeared at the gate.
"Dad, Mom, the city gate is closed."
A woman with a dusty face and messy hair said.
"Is this the end of our lives? We've finally managed to get here, rushing all the way here. We thought we could go into the city to buy some supplies, but when we got here, the city gates were closed again."
The woman sat down on the ground and said in a mournful voice.
As she spoke, she slapped her thighs, looking like a rural shrew.
"What are you doing? What are you doing? Hurry up! There are so many people here. If you don't feel embarrassed, then I do!"
The man looked at the woman sitting on the ground and making a scene with disdain.
"Don't forget, we're not in the village now, we're fleeing famine! It'll be troublesome if someone spots us, so be careful!"
After hearing this, the woman wiped her tears and stood up.
"Do you think I want to act like a shrew? I just feel that this life is meaningless. If you weren't such a loser, we wouldn't have ended up like this!"
After hearing this, the man became angry.
A slap hit the woman's face.
"What's the matter? Are you starting to look down on me for being useless now? If you were capable, why didn't I see you fail to protect the food? Now you're blaming me?"
Lin Jinlian and her brother felt a headache watching their quarreling parents.
"Dad, Mom, didn't we agree not to mention this anymore? Why are you bringing it up again now?"
Lin Jinlian rubbed her temples with a headache.
When the village chief and his companions were walking on the mountain road, his family did not choose to walk on the mountain road with him, but took the official road instead.
I thought it would be safer to take the official road, but who knew that the official road was not safe either.
Although the food at home was not enough to last until the outskirts of Beijing, if they were frugal, it wouldn't make much of a difference.
Who knew that those refugees who were targeted on the road and had no food would have all their own food stolen.
If it weren't for the fact that my brother and I had hidden some silver in our underwear and exchanged it for food along the way, we would have barely made it this far.
I thought that when I got here, I could go into the city to buy some food, but who knew that the city gate was closed.
It really is like when it rains it pours! Bad luck keeps happening one after another!
Lin Dongming and Liu Xiaohua now disliked each other. They always felt that the other party had not protected the food well, which was why it was stolen.
They completely forgot that the food was being stolen. Both of them were afraid of being injured or losing their lives, so they hid faster than the other.
"Don't mention it, we don't even have a grain of food on us now! How are we going to survive?"
Liu Xiaohua said while wiping her tears.
"How are we going to get through this? How can we? We're not the only ones without food. Let's just hold on for now and see if any rich people in the city come out to give out porridge tomorrow. With so many refugees, the government can't just sit there and do nothing, right?"
The reason why Lin Dongming and his family were traveling so desperately was to get ahead of other refugees. If they could enter the city, they would go into the city to buy some food. If they couldn't enter the city, they would see if anyone would come out to give out porridge to gain fame.
Arriving early, you can be at the front of the line, which gives you an advantage whether you are going into the city to buy things or queuing up for porridge.
"Alas, I wonder where the village chief and his companions are now after taking the mountain road. If we had known that the official road was so unsafe, we should have followed the village chief and his companions and taken the mountain road together."
Lin Jinlian looked at the mountains outside the city and couldn't help but sigh.
"What's the point of saying this now? You might as well save your energy for grabbing porridge tomorrow."
Lin Jinshan smacked his lips and lay down on the ground.
Ever since the food was stolen, I haven't had a full meal for a long time.
If I hadn't eaten some leaves and bark to fill my stomach along the way, I would probably be a dead body now.
"Boss, it rained a few days ago. Do you think those people in our village will return?"
Rain meant the land could be planted, and being able to plant meant having food to eat. Anyway, my family had a house and land in the village, which was much better than fleeing famine.
"That's easy to say. Look at the refugees who fled with us. How many of them have returned? As long as the court doesn't issue an order for us to return, we can't go back."
"Is it not possible to go back secretly?"
On the way to escape famine, Liu Xiaohua saw too many people who starved to death because of lack of food.
It was still more than ten days' walk from here to the outskirts of Beijing. Liu Xiaohua was really afraid that she would starve to death on the way.
Lin Dongming sighed.
"I want to, too, but it's only a ten-day walk from here to the outskirts of Beijing. If we want to go back, we'll have to walk for twenty days. Besides, all along the way are refugees fleeing famine like us, so it won't be easy for us to go back even if we want to."
"If we keep going forward, as long as we walk fast, we might even find some wild vegetables to fill our stomachs. But if we go back, there won't be anything left."
It rained a couple of days ago, but it’s impossible for wild vegetables to grow in such a short time.
Rather than taking such a big risk to return, it would be better to follow the large group of refugees and go to the outskirts of Beijing.
At least they went to the outskirts of Beijing. With so many refugees, the imperial court could not just stand by and watch them die.
Liu Xiaohua didn't think too much about it. She just thought that if she could return to the village, her family would have land.
"No! What's so good about our village? It's so far from the capital! Now that I finally have the chance to go to the capital, I don't want to go back."
Lin Jinlian had her own little plans in mind.
It would have been fine in the village before, as I wouldn't have met any wealthy people, but now I'm fleeing famine, aren't I? The people of Lijia Village happened to be assigned to the suburbs of Beijing, the closest to the capital. The opportunity to meet a wealthy person is right in front of me, and I have to go and take a look.
"Dad, Mom, think about it, if we go to the outskirts of Beijing, maybe your daughter and I can find a rich man? If I marry a rich man, our family will be different from those ordinary peasants."
As Lin Jinlian spoke, she seemed to see herself marrying a rich man, and her face was full of longing.
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