One of the men mustered his courage and stepped forward, saying, "I... I'm afraid you'll catch up and make things difficult for us again."
After he finished speaking, the others shrank back and remained silent, not daring to look at Yun Si and the others.
Yun Liuguan and his companions were not dressed in rags like the refugees from the north. They spoke with a heavy southern accent, and the woman behind them was leading several young children. They had a family to support, including the elderly and children.
Based on his years of investigative experience, Yun Liu quickly determined that these beggars were likely from a village in the south who had fled famine, and that there were quite a few of them.
It's strange, the south doesn't experience drought or disasters, so why are they all out begging?
He winked at Yun Si, who nodded slightly and took out a piece of silver from his sleeve and threw it into the bowl the woman was holding.
The man and several others immediately knelt down and kowtowed to the two men.
"Thank you, young master! I wish you all the best."
Yun Sijun smiled gently. "You don't look like northerners. Why are you begging here?"
The young man had not only helped him but had also been very generous. Seeing that the young man looked harmless, the man told him the truth.
“Young master, to tell you the truth, we are villagers from a remote village under the jurisdiction of Huaizhou City. The taxes and grains have been increasing every year. Now, we can't even eat half a grain of the grain we grow, and we have to hand it all over. We really can't survive, so we came to Nanzhou Prefecture to beg for food.”
"Is it just your family who came here?" Yun Liu asked.
The man glanced at his family behind him, shook his head and said, "Half of our village came out, about one or two hundred people."
Upon hearing this, Yun Si quickly exchanged a glance with Yun Liu.
Yun Liu sighed, "The North is different. It's been plagued by war for years. Our whole family went through countless hardships to escape to Nanzhou Prefecture." As he spoke, he looked around warily, then lowered his voice and continued, "We'll be heading to Longtan soon. I heard that you can plant things there for free. Have you heard of that?"
The men exchanged glances upon hearing this; they knew about Longtan.
An elderly man in the crowd hurriedly said, "Young master, you mustn't go! I heard that the land was occupied by Japanese pirates two years ago. People from several counties have either fled or died. It may not be safe for you to go there!"
Yun Si opened his folding fan with a flick of his wrist and slowly began to fan himself.
"To be honest, the Japanese pirates are long gone. They were driven back by a powerful clan from the north. We decided to go and join them after receiving news from our clan."
As soon as he finished speaking, Yun Liu continued, his face beaming with excitement.
"According to our clansmen there, people who go to Longtan can be exempted from paying taxes for two years. One of my brothers and his family had nothing, but they were able to get rice seeds on credit from them. The city lord of Longtan was worried that they wouldn't be able to grow them well, so he sent someone to teach them how to plant them."
Yun Liu didn't mention that each person would also receive thirty catties of grain. These people were originally from the south and did not face the same difficulties as the refugees from the north.
The old man and the man were somewhat tempted after hearing this; farming could sustain them, who wanted to be a beggar?
The man looked at Yun Liu with sparkling eyes, "Is there really such a good thing?"
Yun Liu, "Do you know about the Yun family in Nanzhou Prefecture?"
Everyone nodded, curious about the connection between Yun Mansion and Dragon Pool.
Yun Liu lived up to everyone's expectations and said, "Those in Longtan are the Yun family members who escaped death in the capital. Do you think the Japanese pirates are more powerful or the Yun family?"
The old man stared wide-eyed in disbelief, pointing with his finger. "You mean the Yun family who guards Yanmen Pass?"
Yun closed his folding fan and gestured for everyone to be quiet.
"This matter must not be publicized."
The old man was somewhat excited, "Yes, yes."
“In a couple of days, some of our clansmen will be going to seek refuge with us. Would you like to come along?” Yun Si asked.
The man glanced at the old man, who pondered for a moment before saying, "We still have fellow villagers scattered throughout the city. We need to go back and discuss this with them."
Yun Liudao said, "Two days from now, at the hour of Mao (5-7 AM), our convoy will stop at Shili Pavilion outside the city for a quarter of an hour. We will not wait for those who arrive late."
Having said what he needed to say, Yun Si opened his fan and turned to leave with Yun Liu.
"Uncle, do you think we can trust what these two, master and servant, say?"
The old man said, "We'll know when we go and see."
“Uncle, I’ll do some research these next couple of days,” said the quick-witted young man.
"Alright."
As the crowd watched the master and servant disappear into the street corner, a faint hope rose in their hearts.
Walking down the bustling street, Yun Liu asked, "Fourth Brother, do you think they'll go?"
"Opportunities are given out; whether they can seize them is up to them," Yun Si said nonchalantly, waving his fan.
“Let’s go back and tell the eldest son-in-law to write a letter back to the third wife.”
Nanman Prefecture, Longtan County.
Lin Yinan was looking at various account books in the county government office, occasionally flicking his fingers across the abacus.
After recovering from his injuries, Yun Mo would personally take Yun Shijiu with him when he wasn't going out.
He stood at the door and knocked gently a few times, which made Yun Shijiu giggle.
"Anan, the secret guards have caught a few suspicious people."
Lin Yinan looked up from a pile of ledgers, rubbed her sore eyes, and asked, "Have you asked them where they were sent from?"
She stood up, and Yun Shijiu thought she was going to hug her, so she leaned forward and opened her arms to her from a distance.
Yun Mo held her tightly in his arms and said in a deep voice, "I asked them. They came from Dongshui County, which is next to Xihe County. They were sent by the Zhong family. Previously, a Japanese pirate survived and managed to escape to Dongshui County. He was rescued by the Zhong family's servants. The Zhong family became suspicious of this place and sent people to investigate."
"What about the Japanese pirates?"
Yun Mo said, "They were killed by the Zhong family without anyone noticing."
Lin Yinan was relieved; at least the Zhong family was sensible.
She found it amusing to think of Ah San and the others who had been tortured into submission by the secret guards.
"So, seeing that the people they sent out earlier had neither appeared alive nor dead, the Zhong family sent people back to investigate?"
“That’s right,” Yun Mo said.
Lin Yinan washed her hands and took the babbling Yun Shijiu. Smelling the milky scent on her, Yun Shijiu snuggled into her arms like a little piglet.
Yun Mo closed the door behind him, and Lin Yinan lifted her clothes to breastfeed Yun Shijiu.
"How many people have come? What are you going to do to them?" she asked, wiping the thin layer of sweat from Yun Shijiu's forehead with a handkerchief.
Yun Mo was tidying up at the table when he heard this and said with a mischievous smile, "Eleven people have come this time. Our official road is not yet finished, is it? Let them go and help out and contribute their share."
"Since the Zhong family has covered for us, we should thank them properly when they go back," Lin Yinan said.
Zhong family: Do you even have any sense of martial ethics?
When the leader of the Zhong family guards, wearing leg shackles, was brought to the construction site of the official road, his lips twitched violently when he saw Ah San and the others working hard.
While everyone else was worried about whether the others would live or die, Ah Da and the others were full of energy in the Dragon Pool.
When Ah Da saw his boss, he was equally surprised, and almost smashed the shovel in his hand onto his own foot.
"Boss, what are you doing here?"
The guard leader glanced at Ah Da and the others; their hands and feet weren't tied!
In other words, they stayed here to work voluntarily!
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