Upon hearing this, everyone did the math and realized it was true. The group had spent a long time just collecting mushrooms, and they would go to collect them every time it rained, sometimes for a whole day.
Not only that, there's also the time for drying and sorting mushrooms, so overall, each person doesn't make much money per day.
Seeing everyone like this, Xu Han quickly spoke up to comfort them, "But we earn much more in a day than ordinary people do. Ordinary people only earn 10 coins a day doing hard labor, which isn't even enough to buy a pound of pork."
That's just how this era is; labor is the cheapest commodity, and there's no shortage of people who earn money through hard labor.
Grandpa Zhao thought for a moment and said, "That makes sense. After all, ordinary people can't live like us in the deep mountains, where we can hunt and pick mushrooms to make money."
"Alright then, we've finally earned some money, let's hurry downstairs and have a good meal."
"Yes, yes, hurry up, it's almost lunchtime. I had lunch early, and I'm starving."
Upon hearing this, everyone stood up again, tidied up, and started walking outside.
This time, the group didn't go back to the small restaurant they had visited at noon. Instead, they found a crowded place to sit down.
We can't eat at that restaurant every day. There are other places to eat in the county town, so we need to try different things.
The group ordered five bowls of noodles and two side dishes, and then began to eat.
The food at this restaurant wasn't particularly delicious, but it wasn't bad either. Under the guise of not wanting to waste food, the Taoist priest and Lu Chuan even finished the noodle soup.
Lu Chuan wiped his mouth and said, "Finally, we're full. It's still early, before curfew. Let's go for a walk and buy some things to take back."
"Okay, let's go take a look around first, and ask around for some information while we're at it."
There is a curfew in the county town. The city gates are usually closed after dark. In winter, the curfew starts at nine o'clock, while in summer it is delayed.
Before the drought, there was a night market in the county town. I don't know if it still exists now. After dinner, the group started to stroll around the county town.
After walking a few steps, the group discovered food stalls ahead and that the shops along the street were still open, indicating that there was still a night market, just like before.
The group first strolled around the night market, buying a bunch of miscellaneous food items, and then went into a general store.
Xu Han selected several large wine jars and some small wine jars, and then selected some daily necessities, asking the shop assistant to help deliver them to the inn.
Lu Chuan suggested, "Let's go to the teahouse. It's bustling there right now, and it'll be convenient for us to gather information."
"Okay, let's order some tea and take a break. We're really tired after walking around for so long."
When they arrived at their destination, Xu Han ordered some snacks and tea. Mu'er and Ze'er ate what they had in their hands while looking around.
This is Mu'er's second time visiting the county town. The last time she came was in the first half of the year, and her memories of the county town are already a bit hazy.
However, Mu'er wasn't scared when she saw so many people in the county town this time.
Because he had always lived deep in the mountains, Grandpa Zhao was afraid that Mu'er knew too little about society. In order to broaden her horizons, he often told Mu'er about the outside world.
When Mu'er came to the county town and saw these people and things, she felt a sense of familiarity, though it was also somewhat strange.
Mu'er thought to herself that everything here was just as her great-grandfather had described, but it wasn't as bustling as he had said. She figured that only the capital city could be as bustling as Grandpa Zhao had described.
Ze'er wasn't scared at all when he saw so many people; on the contrary, he was very excited and kept chattering and laughing the whole time. Xu Han had no idea what he was laughing about.
Ze'er and Mu'er didn't need any adult supervision and played by themselves.
Meanwhile, Xu Han and the other adults listened to the sounds coming from inside the teahouse, all talking at once.
Although Yunhua had written to the Taoist priest about matters concerning the war and the imperial court, and everyone knew a little about them, hearing them talk about these things now gave them a deeper understanding of these matters.
A man dressed in gray said, "Have you heard? People who go to do corvée labor now not only get food, but each household that goes to do extra labor will also receive 10 coins as wages."
Another man chimed in, "What? Ten coins? Isn't that like getting paid for corvée labor? This job is good. It's the same as manual labor, and you don't have to worry about not having work."
"No, those who went to perform corvée labor did not receive wages, but they were provided with food. If a family member wanted to send another person, the government would provide extra wages."
Another person chimed in, "Is it really that good?"
"I heard it from my second maternal uncle's son-in-law, who works in the county government. How could that be false? If you don't believe me, go and try it yourself."
The man who answered retorted indignantly, "I'm not short of ten coins. What good job is this corvée labor? I'm not going."
A man lowered his voice and whispered, "I heard that this forced labor is for repairing the official road. Now that fighting has broken out on the border, the repair of the official road must be to quickly replenish the border with food supplies. Otherwise, the government would not be paying for forced labor."
Another man quickly chimed in, “Yes, yes, I heard that too. In previous years, each family could only have one person perform corvée labor, and wealthy families could even pay to have their quota filled. This year, the quota is much more expensive than in previous years; it costs five taels of silver per person!”
The other man exclaimed, "So expensive! In previous years, it would have cost at most two taels of silver, but this year it has more than doubled. It seems that the situation at the border is not optimistic, otherwise they wouldn't be in such a hurry to repair the road."
"Moreover, it's already winter now, and the roads aren't very sturdy due to the cold weather. If they freeze over, it will be even more troublesome."
"What can we do? The official road is in a terrible state; it's definitely not going to be left unrepaired."
Another man said worriedly, "I wonder if they'll attack our side."
"We've finally settled down, so please don't attack us."
"We're not too far from the capital, but we're not far from the border either, it's not necessarily true."
The man in gray chuckled and said, "Don't worry, you lot, they definitely won't attack this way. If we lose this side, the capital will fall."
"That's true, but if a fight really breaks out, the most intense fighting might happen here, since we're so close to the capital."
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