In those few short breaths, Song Tantan imagined a lot of things. Finally, she looked at Ye Moxun with an extremely sympathetic gaze. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of Bai Zhiyan, who was breathtakingly beautiful, and she became inexplicably angry again.
Daring to make a move on the person she has her eye on is deliberately making trouble for her. If that Bai guy really dares to come to Fengcheng, she'll definitely teach him a lesson.
Feeling the intense gaze from someone, Ye Moxun found it amusing. He hadn't even said anything yet, and this girl was already glaring at him, as if he had done something to wrong her.
"Let's talk about it when you get to Fengcheng." Ye Moxun's answer was ambiguous. If Song Tantan could think of something, how could he not?
No matter what Bai Zhiyan's purpose is in coming to Fengcheng to find him, if it's aimed at him, he will never welcome her.
"Farewell." Bai Zhiyan could tell that Ye Moxun and Song Tantan didn't like her very much, and she felt a little bitter. If she could, she wouldn't want to take on this job that would offend people, but since her father had spoken, she had no choice but to obey.
Both the escorting team and the Bai family traveled by horse-drawn carriage. The refugees watched with envy as the two groups left one after the other, without much reaction, because they already had steamed buns in their hands.
If they didn't have food to fill their stomachs, they might have rushed up and robbed the carriage. Horse meat could fill their stomachs. Whether they were bodyguards or members of the Bai family, they were all dressed neatly and had fleshy faces, so it was impossible for them not to try to rob it.
However, even if they tried to rob them, they wouldn't necessarily succeed. The bodyguards all knew martial arts and carried knives, and the Bai family members also knew martial arts. If the refugees tried to rob them, they would definitely suffer heavy casualties. Fortunately, the innkeeper was kind-hearted and distributed food to everyone. Once they had enough to eat, who would want to risk their life?
After seeing off two groups of people, Song Tantan and the other two were also ready to leave. The inn was about to be completely abandoned. Looking at the more than one hundred refugees outside the door, they were speechless. Did these people want to settle down here?
Song Zhuiyan stayed upstairs for three days, feeling like she was going to get moldy, but she was still listless and couldn't muster any energy. Seeing the malnourished, sallow-faced, and emaciated big-headed baby, she sighed with melancholy.
She did want to do something kind and help these people, but the problem was whether they would listen to her instructions; if they didn't, they wouldn't get any help.
The patriarch of the large family then approached Ye Moxun and bowed respectfully, asking, "Where are you going, shopkeeper? Are you no longer running your shop here?"
“It’s not safe to open a shop in this desolate wilderness. The world is too chaotic. We want to go home and retire. We can’t make any money opening a shop here. We’re closing down and leaving,” Song Tantan answered for Ye Moxun.
Ye Moxun smiled and did not refute Song Tantan's words, but simply replied, "We are going to Xifeng. It has been stable for the past two years. The people have resumed farming and can all have enough to eat. Xifeng takes in refugees. Refugees who settle there can be allocated houses and land, and they can also be exempt from taxes for the first two years."
The clan chief was only in his early forties, but his temples were already gray. Because he had been starving for many years, his eyes were sunken and his cheekbones were high, but his eyes were bright and he looked very shrewd.
Their family name is Zhong. They originally fled from the south, specifically from the floods in Jiangnan seven years ago. Due to various reasons, they were unable to return to the south. This time, they had no other choice but to go to Xifeng.
He learned about Xifeng's situation from others, and he didn't know if it was true or not. But their clan originally had more than eighty people, and now only more than thirty people remain, mostly women, children and the elderly. More than half of the men died while protecting others on the way.
I heard that Jiangnan has developed quite well under the rule of the wise king, but they are too far away and it is not easy to return to the south. Xifeng is much closer to where they used to live, so they chose to go to Xifeng. Unexpectedly, they still encountered all kinds of dangers on the way.
They have many elderly people and children, which is truly difficult for them.
"We wonder if we could travel with the shopkeeper? We have few men, but many elderly people, women, and children. It's still more than half a month's journey to Xifeng. We really have no other choice." The clan chief, surnamed Zhong, looked distressed, his dirty face pleading.
"Okay, but you have to follow our instructions. If anyone has any bad intentions, I won't show any mercy." Because there were refugees around, Ye Moxun and Song Tantan had been disguised. Song Zhuiyan was also dressed in men's clothing, but she was also carrying a knife, so that people would know that she was also a martial arts practitioner.
"We won't cause any trouble. As long as the shopkeeper is willing to take us along, we'll listen to the shopkeeper the whole way." The clan chief bowed again to express his gratitude.
After leaving the inn, Ye Moxun questioned the refugees present, "The inn is closing down. We're heading back to Xifeng. Anyone who wants to come with us can join us, but I'm warning you now: anyone who dares to steal or kill a fellow refugee will be executed immediately."
Furthermore, we are traveling by horse-drawn carriage, which you certainly cannot keep up with on foot. We will go ahead, but we will stop and wait for you in each town we reach.
From here to Xiangyang City, one has to pass through three small towns and two prefectural cities. In fact, it is not impossible for these people to settle down in other towns, but the treatment is not as good as in Xifeng.
That's up to them to choose.
"Shopkeeper, what should we do?" Chief Zhong was very anxious. He wanted to travel with the shopkeeper, but they didn't have a carriage and couldn't catch up at all. He hadn't thought of this before, and he was secretly delighted when the shopkeeper agreed.
After coming out and hearing what the shopkeeper said, I realized that their tribe didn't have a carriage either, and they didn't want to travel with the refugees. These people are capable of anything.
Although everyone has enough food to last a few days, it won't last long. What will happen in three to five days?
Who knows what kind of trouble might arise?
Ye Moxun: "Do you have any silver on you? If so, you can sell a few donkeys or oxen to pull the cart when you reach the next town. That should be enough to keep up with our speed."
"We only have a little over sixty taels of silver in total. We still need to make a living in Xifeng. If we run out of money, we will..." Chief Zhong couldn't finish his sentence.
At this moment, a little girl of about four years old burst into tears. It turned out that she had been beaten by her grandmother for stealing cornbread. The girl's parents had died two years before they fled, leaving her all alone. Now she was fleeing with her uncle's family and her grandmother.
Without parents, one can only imagine what kind of life the child lived. In this kind of world, it's a miracle she didn't starve to death.
Seeing Ye Moxun frowning, seemingly annoyed by being disturbed, the clan leader quickly played the victim, telling the whole story of the little girl's background, hoping the shopkeeper would overlook her immaturity out of consideration for her unfortunate fate.
The little girl's grandmother slapped her hard again: "You good-for-nothing, all you know is eating. What are you wailing about? You've offended the important person, I'll beat you to death."
This was made for Ye Moxun and the other two to see.
That little girl could barely speak and walked unsteadily; I can't imagine how she managed to keep up with everyone until now.
Song Zhuiyan couldn't bear to watch this scene, so she went over and snatched the little girl away. Looking at her thin, emaciated face, she said softly, "Do you want to eat your fill? I have plenty of food at home. If you're willing to come with me, I'll feed you."
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