Tao Wanniang and her group mingled with the refugees. The city guards forbade the refugees from loitering near the city gate and used force to drive them away for two or three miles.
The sun was still blazing, and the bare branches were devoid of leaves.
Tao Wanniang wiped the sweat from her forehead, looking at the vast number of displaced people, feeling depressed.
If they bypassed Caofeng County, they would have to climb a mountain to reach the provincial capital.
"What should we do, Mother? Should we take a detour?" Ling Dahu asked worriedly.
“Yes, Mother, the common people can’t fight with the officials. Why don’t we take a detour?” Ling Dapeng also suggested. The deep-rooted class consciousness in both of them made them dare not offend the government in the slightest.
Tao Wanniang didn't want to take a detour, but she also couldn't think of a way to get into Caofeng County.
"Does anyone know why the magistrate won't let the refugees in?"
Tao Wanniang asked loudly, "Has Caofeng County also suffered from famine?"
"What famine? The imperial court has already allocated relief grain, and a full thousand catties of rice have been sent to Caofeng County!"
A man in his prime said angrily, "Preventing refugees from entering the city is nothing more than corrupt officials and local gentry colluding to embezzle the government's disaster relief grain and silver."
Tao Wanniang cast an inquiring glance at the man. Although his clothes were tattered, he looked strong and didn't seem like a refugee.
"Brother, what's wrong with you? You seem to know so much about things in the city. Did you come from there?"
“I work in the city. A month ago, a fellow villager came to me for help, saying that his hometown had been hit by a disaster and his parents were almost starving. I immediately went back to my hometown to pick up my parents. We have been stopped outside for three days now. That corrupt official is so audacious. Someone will eventually take care of him!”
The man spoke in a low voice, his face full of contempt and resentment. Beside him, two elderly people looked very unwell, as if they had been starving for many days.
Tao Wanniang couldn't believe it all, but she couldn't completely disbelieve it either. She looked up at the high walls of the county town. Was it really that chaotic inside?
"Water, is there any water?"
From the crowd, someone let out a painful groan. It was a refugee lying on the ground, his pale, cracked mouth agape as he murmured.
"Fellow villagers, does anyone have water? Please help my husband! He... he's really... dying!"
The woman beside him cried and begged for help, but everyone around him turned their heads away. They couldn't get into the county town, and everyone was struggling to make ends meet. Who had any extra water to give them?
“Mother, we…” Ling Dahu’s heart softened, and seeing this, he looked at Tao Wanniang.
"If you want to be a good person, then do it yourself, and don't bother me!"
Tao Wanniang said irritably, "We're not a wealthy family. Don't you know whether you have water in your own kettle? Your wife and children are watching you. What will happen to them if you give them away?"
Ling Dahu was taken aback. They didn't lack water; his father gave his mother a full jug every day!
Just as he was about to say something, his wife, Wang Hongyu, gave him a push.
"You're just being too kind. Look at Gouwa and Huani, they're already starving, and you...you...are you trying to make us die of thirst and hunger?"
Wang Hongyu said angrily.
Ling Dahu stared wide-eyed, looking simple-minded!
“Well… Mother, wife, saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda. I think if Father were here, he would definitely support me.”
After speaking, Ling Dahu still took the water bottle from Wang Hongyu's hand and fed it to the man who had fallen to the ground.
"I really raised a good son. We have almost nothing to eat or drink at home, and he still has to save people. My poor grandchildren, when you're hungry, remember to blame your father. Alas, what a tragedy!"
Tao Wan's mother slapped her thigh and cried out, making a veiled criticism that left her son and daughter-in-law somewhat embarrassed.
Wang Hongyu pinched her husband and whispered a few words in his ear, which made Ling Dahu's face relax.
Come to think of it, Mother was afraid that her family would be targeted, and she was probably complaining.
He chuckled sheepishly, letting Tao Wanniang scold him without arguing back.
His few sips of water actually saved the man's life, and the man's wife helped him forward to thank Ling Dahu.
As the sun gradually set, some of the refugees turned back, while others considered bypassing Caofeng County. Originally, there were nearly twenty people besides them, but now only seven or eight remained!
The couple's surname was Lin. As evening approached, the woman stepped forward and took out a steamed bun.
“Benefactor, these are the last of our steamed buns. I kept one for my husband, and this one is for you.”
Ling Dahu didn't take it, but looked up at Tao Wanniang. "The steamed bun is finished, is there nothing else for Dad to give me?"
Tao Wanniang met Ling Dahu's gaze and sneered.
"Good fortune has come! Steamed buns, huh? What are you standing there for? Just take them. Aren't you hungry, kid?"
"Mother, you haven't eaten anything either, how about..."
Ling Dahu took it, looking at Tao Wanniang with a fawning expression.
"No need. I didn't save them. You can eat if you want, or your wife and kids can eat if you don't. As for your mother, I'm full just from drinking the northwest wind!"
If there weren't other refugees around, she could have fooled her son and daughter-in-law by saying the dead man had given her food, but now that there are so many people, she can't just conjure up food again, or she'd be seen as a monster!
The burly man who was previously accused of colluding with officials and businessmen was named Wu Dachou, and he was still staying there with his parents.
In the distance, a carriage drove up. As if he had expected it, Wu Dachou immediately ran to the middle of the road and knelt down.
"My lord, Your Honor, I'm being helped!"
"Oh, it's someone I know!"
Tao Wanniang looked closely and saw the guards accompanying the carriage. Wasn't this the nobleman who had helped them escape?
"Cheng Feng, what's going on?!"
The carriage stopped, but Xiao Yi did not lift the curtain. He simply asked the guards a question.
"Sir, there are refugees kneeling on the road. Oh, the family we met last time is here too."
Cheng Feng glanced at it and reported in a low voice.
"What's the matter?"
As soon as Xiao Yi finished speaking, Cheng Feng jumped off his horse and went forward to inquire about Wu Dachou's matter.
"My lord, I am filing a complaint against Lu Bufan, the magistrate of Caofeng County, for colluding with local gentry to embezzle disaster relief supplies from the imperial court and for blocking refugees from passing through the city!"
Wu Dachou had been waiting for many days; it seemed he had known all along that a high-ranking official was coming.
"Such a thing is true?" Cheng Feng was also quite surprised. When a famine occurs, the imperial court allows people to flee. Moreover, the court had already distributed some disaster relief supplies to stabilize the situation. They were here to inspect the situation.
"You've been stopped outside the city?"
Cheng Feng looked at Tao Wanniang and her group, and asked in response to the voice.
"Yes, yes, Lord Cheng Feng, you are wise! The guards of Caofeng County not only blocked us refugees from leaving, but also forbade us to linger in front of the city gate. We were all driven here!"
Tao Wan's mother immediately called out Cheng Feng's name, and then angrily denounced the guards' evil deeds.
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