Cheng Feng was somewhat surprised when Tao Wanniang called out his name; this woman actually remembered his name.
Wu Dachou, who was kneeling on the ground, also glanced at Tao Wanniang, seemingly very surprised that this mean-spirited woman recognized the imperial inspector.
Upon learning of the situation, Cheng Feng turned back to the carriage and reported to Xiao Yi.
"Oh, I didn't know such a thing happened. Let's go into the city together and take a look."
Xiao Yi's calm voice came from inside the carriage.
Cheng Feng agreed, letting the refugees follow behind the carriage while he mounted his horse and headed towards Caofeng County.
"Auntie, do you know the Imperial Inspector?"
Wu Dachou approached Tao Wanniang's cart and asked in a low voice.
"I've encountered you on the way to escape famine, but how did you know that the person coming was an imperial inspector?"
Tao Wanniang was also surprised. This man had said he had been waiting outside the city for several days. It turned out he was waiting for the imperial inspector!
"I have heard that the imperial court has sent an imperial inspector to investigate."
"Then how do you know that the person in this carriage is the Imperial Inspector?"
Tao Wanniang asked curiously, "There's more than just one carriage going in and out of Caofeng County."
"I do have connections," Wu Dachou said cryptically.
Tao Wanniang stopped talking and followed the carriage to the city gate. The soldiers guarding the city initially tried to stop them, but in the end, they allowed the carriage and the refugees to enter the city.
Tao Wanniang saw a guard running into the city at great speed, probably to deliver a message.
"You should each find a place to stay!"
Cheng Feng addressed the refugees who were following him into the city. After he finished speaking, the carriage sped up and quickly disappeared from everyone's sight.
"Gentlemen, I also have a small house in the city. If you don't mind, you can stay at my house for one night."
Wu Dachou warmly invited the group over.
Tao Wanniang looked at Wu Dachou in surprise. He still had a house in the county, so why was he being stopped outside?
Even if his parents do look extremely destitute, he can still prove that he is not a vagrant.
Feeling something was off, while everyone else was relieved to have a place to stay, Tao Wanniang coldly refused.
"No, there are only ten of us. If your house weren't a large three-courtyard mansion, it wouldn't be able to accommodate us."
Tao Wanniang's expression showed some disdain.
Upon hearing what Tao Wanniang said, the Ling brothers had no choice.
"Brother, we won't go. We'll listen to our mother." Ling Dahu smiled sheepishly.
Wu Dachou looked at Tao Wanniang, then at the Ling brothers, and finally could only let them go. But the remaining refugees all followed Wu Dachou.
"Sister Tao, don't you think this young man is acting strangely?"
On the way out, Aunt Liang, who had been silent all along, finally spoke up and asked.
“Oh, Aunt Liang, you also think this man is not simple. But I think his target is not us. It may be related to that inspector.”
Tao Wanniang guessed, "I'm already quite old, and I have a son and daughter-in-law, and these three children are still so young, so I'm not going to get involved in this mess. It's getting dark, so let's find a dilapidated house to stay in first."
Grandma Liang patted her granddaughter's head and nodded. "Yes, these are turbulent times; it's best to be cautious."
It was quite difficult to find an abandoned, dilapidated house in Caofeng County. After dark, the little grandson, Er Gou, was starving and started crying.
"Hey, do you have any money? If so, you can stay in my house for one night."
A door opened behind them, and a middle-aged woman looked at them with a critical eye.
"No refugees have entered this city for a long time. How did you get in?"
"Of course, someone will lead the way. Sister, my family has quite a few members, young and old. Is there enough room in your house?"
Tao Wanniang looked the woman up and down with suspicion. Her clothes looked fine, though they were a bit worn from washing. There also seemed to be traces of makeup on the woman's face.
Is anyone still in this house?
Tao Wanniang countered with a question.
"That's all. If there were other people, I wouldn't have kept you here."
The woman said directly, "I'm not a philanthropist. If you pay me, I'll let you stay for the night if you have one or two taels of silver. If not, then forget it."
Upon hearing the mention of a tael of silver, the Ling brothers' expressions immediately changed. A tael of silver was equivalent to a string of cash, or a thousand coins. They had painstakingly saved up only a few coins.
"Okay, just one or two taels, let us stay for one night."
Tao Wan's mother spoke up and readily took out one tael of silver. Oh, it hurt, but it was better than sleeping in the open.
"mother!"
The son and daughter-in-law were so shocked that their voices trembled.
Where did Tao Wan Niang get one tael of silver?
The woman took the silver from Tao Wan's mother and opened the door to let the group in.
"Push the cart to the backyard, don't leave it in the front yard, it looks bad. There are three rooms on the east side, choose one of them to stay in, but there is no food, there are many people in the city who have run out of food."
The woman's complexion improved after receiving the silver.
"Where is the kitchen? We brought our own flour and want to cook something."
Upon hearing the woman's words, Tao Wanniang immediately smiled and said...
Sure enough, the woman's expression changed immediately. She looked at Tao Wanniang hesitantly and swallowed hard.
"Flour, what...what can I make? Will it be something I can eat?"
"I, my surname is Hu, you can call me Sister Hu. If you can provide food, I'll let you stay a few more days."
Tao Wanniang was planning to rest in Caofeng County for a few days, and she smiled slyly.
"Alright then, I'm in a good mood today, so I'll give each of you a bowl of noodles."
After Tao Wanniang finished speaking, everyone swallowed hard. Noodles, there were actually noodles.
"Um... there's no water in the kitchen."
Ms. Hu looked expectant yet embarrassed, then her stomach rumbled, making her even more awkward.
"It's okay, I have it."
Tao Wanniang said magnanimously, "Dahu, Dapeng, go and get that bag of flour from the cart, and also get my water bottle."
Mrs. Hu was overjoyed. She was truly starving and had no money left. When she heard the child crying outside, she opened the door to take a look and was surprised to find that the family was quite wealthy!
"Big sister, come here, this way. Although there's no water in the kitchen, there is firewood. If you need someone to start a fire, I can help."
"Let's go take a look first."
Tao Wanniang did not refuse outright. After her two sons brought the items over, she opened the cloth bag in front of everyone.
"Mother, when was this made...?"
Ling Dahu was extremely surprised, as his mother hadn't uttered a single word the entire way.
“Normally, if I hadn’t been frugal, do you think I would have even a tael of silver? If your mother hadn’t been so stingy, could we have saved any money at all?”
Tao Wanniang said proudly, "As for the flour, if I hadn't kept it from you, you would have ruined it long ago. Besides, we haven't really encountered a proper kitchen along the way. I just want to eat a bowl of noodles today. What, is that not allowed?"
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