Li Lanzhen, with her two children, followed the flow of people into the market.
As soon as you enter the market, you see a bustling and prosperous scene!
There were all kinds of vendors, and shops were built along one wall of the market.
I don't know why they moved all the shops from both sides of the Fucheng Street here.
As I walked along, I saw all sorts of vegetables, poultry such as chickens, ducks, and geese, as well as chicken and duck eggs. There were even a few stalls selling pork.
There are also many food stalls selling steamed buns, wontons, and sesame cakes.
Li Lanzhen walked slowly along the market road, and suddenly realized that this place had not experienced the three years of natural disasters and man-made calamities, and that she had not left her hometown to flee famine with her children. This place had always been prosperous.
A moment later, Gou Dan tugged at Li Lanzhen's clothes again.
He whispered, "Grandma Lanzhen, I sense something's wrong. Look around this market, there aren't any ordinary people like us."
Sure enough, as Li Lanzhen looked around, there were more stalls than people walking around.
Those who went around buying vegetables, poultry, eggs, and meat all drove carts and wore silk, clearly indicating that they were stewards or purchasing agents for wealthy families.
At this moment, their retreat only drew more attention.
As time went by, more and more people came here.
Only then did they see many ordinary people, including many children and women from poor families in the western part of the city, picking up rotten vegetable leaves and collecting stalks.
Moreover, Li Lanzhen discovered that these people dressed in rags were not well-liked.
Taking advantage of the chaos, Li Lanzhen wanted to quickly take her two children out through the side door to find a place to change clothes and gather information.
And so, having learned nothing and bought nothing, they hurriedly left through a small side door.
Going out through this side door leads to a narrow alley, where very few people pass by.
Li Lanzhen thought to herself, if she couldn't find out any information, wouldn't it be a wasted trip?
He then said to Gou Dan and Han Yinan, "Let's find a secluded place, change our clothes, and clean ourselves up before coming in."
The two children walked ahead, going down the alley, and they actually discovered a strange phenomenon.
This half of the alley was deserted, with no one in the courtyards. The doors were locked, and the dust in front of the doors suggested that no one had lived here for a long time.
Li Lanzhen chose a small courtyard and took out a piece of wire from her spatial storage.
He instructed the two children to stand here and watch the people on both sides of the alley.
Li Lanzhen inserted the wire into the keyhole and opened the lock in a few quick movements.
I pushed open the courtyard gate and greeted them; the two children came in.
Gou Dan said, "Grandma Lanzhou, you two go in first. I'll lock the door and jump over the wall."
Otherwise, if someone discovers the gate to the yard is unlocked and comes in to investigate, it will be troublesome.
Li Lanzhen slapped her forehead, realizing how careless she had been; she hadn't even considered things as thoroughly as a child.
After Gou Dan locked the door and climbed over the courtyard wall, the three of them looked around and surveyed the yard.
The courtyard is small, with only three main rooms and two low-lying houses on the west side, which are probably the kitchen, woodshed, and storage room.
None of the rooms were locked, so Li Lanzhen pushed open the door to the middle room of the main house.
Once inside, the furniture was quite simple: a table, two chairs, two benches, and a cabinet against the back wall.
The tables and chairs were covered in dust, indicating that no one had lived here for a long time.
Li Lanzhen didn't have time to think about these things. She quickly used the basket to take out two sets of clothes for the two children from her space, and took out a set for herself as well. All three of them wore dark blue clothes and pants, which were neither new nor old.
Gou Dan carried a wooden basin out to fetch water for the three of them to wash, but when he got outside, he found that there was no well in the yard.
He went into the main room again and said, "Grandma, there is no well in the yard."
Li Lanzhen took the wooden basin, left the main room, and pretended to walk into the kitchen on the west side.
Soon, a basin of water was brought over, and the children were greeted, "Come wash up and change your clothes, then we'll go to the market."
The two children assumed that Li Lanzhen had brought the water stored in the kitchen water tank and did not suspect anything, so they let Li Lanzhen wash first.
Li Lanzhen did not refuse. She took a handkerchief, wet it, and wiped her face, neck, and hands clean. Then she took out a comb and carefully combed her hair, tying it into a low bun at the back of her head.
The two little ones quickly washed their faces and hands, changed their clothes, and got ready to set off.
The three people carried baskets on their backs, preparing to go to the market again.
This time, Li Lanzhen climbed over the wall and used a wire to unlock the door.
The two children stared in disbelief as they saw Lanzhen nimbly climb over the wall, her hands braced against it.
Han Yinan proudly said to Gou Dan, "Gou Dan, did you see that? My grandma is a Hercules too!"
Gou Dan chuckled, "Grandma Lanzhen is a super-powerful goddess!"
Standing in front of the courtyard gate, Li Lanzhen heard the two children talking and found it amusing. She had come out for a short while and suddenly she had become "Grandma Mighty"!
The three of them went to the market again, found a wonton stall, went in and sat down, intending to eat and inquire about some information at the same time.
The shops here are lined up one after another. Next to the wonton stall is a sesame seed cake stall, and on the other side is a tea stall.
There were already more than a dozen people eating wontons at the wonton stall.
After Li Lanzhen had the two children sit down, the owner of the wonton stall came over with a smile and asked Li Lanzhen.
"Auntie, how many bowls of wontons would you like?"
Li Lanzhen paused for a moment, then chuckled, "Auntie? Of course, she is Auntie."
"Four bowls of wontons, please."
"Alright! Please sit for a while."
Li Lanzhen turned around and looked at the sesame seed cake stall next to her, smelling the aroma of wheat and sesame.
Li Lanzhen, who hadn't eaten sesame seed cakes in a long time, unconsciously swallowed a mouthful of saliva.
He shouted, "Shopkeeper, give us twenty sesame cakes!"
The owner of the sesame seed cake stall asked, "Do you want it with meat filling, or without?"
Li Lanzhen asked, "Three meat-filled sesame cakes and twenty unfilled ones."
Dog Egg and Han Yinan were incredibly excited when they entered the wonton shop, and they were even happier when they heard that Li Lanzhen was also going to sell sesame cakes.
However, the two pretended to be calm, their small hands tightly clasped together, and they happily tapped the table lightly.
Li Lanzhen saw their little actions and smiled to herself, feeling sorry for the two young children who had traveled far from home, enduring hardships and fear to come here, full of hope but still unable to enter the city, register at the government office, be assigned to a village with a household registration, and then be allocated land and live a stable life.
Li Lanzhen's purchase of so many sesame cakes at once attracted the attention of the shop staff.
Li Lanzhen's heart skipped a beat. She had been so happy that she bought sesame cakes that she had forgotten the identities of the three of them.
Why would someone from this city buy so many sesame cakes all at once?
He quickly came up with an excuse.
"Come on, you two, you've been clamoring for wontons and sesame cakes. Grandma bought you wontons, but one bowl isn't enough, so we'll have another one."
"Take the remaining sesame cakes back for your five older brothers, grandparents, and uncle's family to share."
The wonton shop owner chuckled and said, "These kids are going to eat their fathers out of house and home. Two bowls of wontons wouldn't be enough to stop them."
Li Lanzhen chuckled, "Just let them have a taste, we won't let them eat their fill."
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