The man looked at the two, his face covered for some unknown reason. From their appearance, their hair was disheveled and their clothes were tattered, but they didn't stink as much as the refugees. Furthermore, the man was taller and stronger than he was, and the woman was taller than the average woman.
His intuition told him that these two people were not ordinary people.
Although their clothing was unremarkable, they had intact mule carts and sharp swords, which made them more powerful than ordinary people. Their eyes were also different from those of the desperate refugees on the ground, and they definitely had money in their hands.
The man's eyes rolled. "Do you have household registration?"
"have."
"I can take you into the city, but I'll need ten taels of silver per person."
Jiang Yue had 155 taels of silver and more than 500 strings of copper coins in cash. She thought about it and decided that it was not impossible.
"Eight taels per person, six taels to be paid in copper coins."
Antiques in prosperous times, gold in troubled times.
The man frowned. The price of gold and silver was high right now, and exchanging them for copper coins would be a bit of a loss. But after circling around, he found only these two people who were lightly burdened and had money, so they could leave immediately.
"Okay, then you pay half the money first, and then follow me now."
Jiang Yue took the bag he gave her and went into the carriage pretending to take money.
The corners of the man's mouth twitched. If you didn't know, you would think that the bulging bag contained a huge sum of money.
Jiang Yue and the other person followed the man and took a detour to the small side gate of the city. There were also some refugees and guards here, but half as many as at the main gate.
The man walked away while instructing them, "Just keep saying you're my relative. Ignore the rest and pretend you don't understand."
When they arrived at the checkpoint, the mule cart was stopped.
The man smiled flatteringly and walked up to greet the square-faced guard in the middle. Judging from his familiar look, he must be someone he knew.
He stuffed the bag of money into the guard's hand. The guard was a little disappointed when he saw it was copper coins, but after weighing it, he realized it was quite a lot, and his expression became less gloomy.
He waved his hand at them and said, "Since you are relatives, come over and let the doctor feel your pulse. If there is no problem, you can go in. After entering the city, behave yourself and don't cause any trouble!"
"Yes, yes, I will definitely keep a close eye on them. Cousin, come here quickly!"
Jiang Yue felt that the adults in this city were quite responsible and knew to arrange doctors at every city gate.
But judging from the expressions of these doctors, most of them were forced to do so.
After taking their pulses, the doctor frowned. How could he "see" with their faces obstructing their view? "What is that on your face? Take it off."
The two men pulled their masks down, revealing sallow faces. Their pulses were strong, which didn't match their complexions.
However, the doctor was not a naive person and did not ask any more questions. He guessed that it was just a disguise for safety reasons.
Jiang Yue said, "We heard from some doctors that in addition to drinking boiled water, covering your mouth and nose can also reduce the risk of diseases or other impurities entering the body through the mouth and nose, making it less likely to get sick. That's why we made this mask out of cloth."
The guard didn't care. After looking at the two men's ordinary faces, he stopped paying attention.
But doctors are different. When an epidemic strikes, they are the first to suffer. He pondered for a moment. Medical books mentioned that many impurities enter the body through the mouth and nose. Perhaps this method could really be useful?
The doctor had no problem with this, and the three of them entered the city smoothly.
There were few shops in Yuncheng doing business, and except for a few that still had inventory, the rest couldn't open. Prices were extremely high.
Every household had their doors and windows closed, and the streets were quiet, not even as lively as outside the city.
If you compare this city, it is actually more dilapidated than Shuntianfu City. However, Shuntianfu City no longer exists, while this city is deserted, but it still holds on.
The man led Jiang Yue and the other man through many twists and turns until they reached the corner of an alley. They didn't notice anyone following them.
Judging from his proficiency, he must be a native of this city.
Jiang Yue paid the balance. The man received the money and was overjoyed. His originally dull face became lively.
In troubled times, the timid die of starvation while the bold die of gluttony. No matter when or where, there are always people who can see business opportunities and make money.
She had just observed from outside that these alleys were filled with residential buildings and asked, "Are there any houses for rent here? They'd better be with high walls."
The man wasn't surprised. He would have asked even if the other party hadn't asked. He knew he couldn't just wander around in the city, or he would be arrested by the government. And he had to earn money to support his children.
"My wife's family has a house with a high wall. Let me take you there to see it."
The house was almost in the city center, with the houses on either side not too far apart. The so-called high courtyard wall was only about 150 or 160 meters high.
Compared with other houses that have no walls or have walls that are only one meter high, this one is indeed considered to have high walls.
Jiang Yue only planned to stay for a few days, so it was okay to make do with it.
There are three rooms in total: a kitchen, a living room, and a bedroom. The two rooms on the left collapsed and were never rebuilt.
Jiang Yue didn't ask where his wife's family had gone or if they had died in the house. It was incredibly difficult to find a house where no one had died. Even the prefect's house was probably buried with countless human remains.
Don't ask too many questions. There's no benefit in annoying yourself.
Jiang Yue checked the front door, bedroom and kitchen, and found them clean and tidy.
"What's the rent here?"
The man's wife rushed over after hearing the news and said cautiously, "You're staying for ten days, so I'll give you ten cakes."
The man didn't have time to pull his wife away. As soon as he said this, he knew he would have to bargain.
Jiang Yue thought, one pancake a day, not bad.
"We don't have much food left. Eight buns will last us ten days. Ten buns out there are enough to buy a person."
His wife was very happy and thought that eight pancakes were enough. The house was empty anyway, and it would not go bad if someone lived in it.
After paying the rent, the two took the keys and left.
Jiang Nian fed the mule, and Jiang Yue went straight into the house. He didn't ask why, but he smelled the fishy smell on Yueyue.
That time of monthly bleeding has come again.
Jiang Yue spread the mat she bought in the town on the bed, took out a pillow, and lay down to rest.
Seeing this, Jiang Nian made her a bowl of brown sugar water, helped her up, and fed her. After she finished drinking, he lay down with her and put his big hands on her lower abdomen from behind to make her feel better.
The weather was hot, and Jiang Nian kept a distance from her except for his hand touching her.
Jiang Yue was always in a bad mood at this time, so he stopped talking. The two of them lay like this for two days, catching up on the sleep they needed.
On the third day after entering the city, Jiang Yue was woken up by the noise. The streets, which had been as quiet as a chicken before, suddenly became noisy.
"Locust Master is coming!"
"Locust Master, please have mercy on us and let us go!"
“…”
What Mr. Huang? Who wants to cause trouble for them?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com