The village chief, along with Da Zhuang and the others, stood cautiously not far from the city gate, carefully observing the crowds entering and leaving the city gate and every move of the soldiers.
They noticed that most pedestrians were allowed into the city smoothly after presenting a document.
After pondering for a moment, the village chief searched the crowd for a suitable person to question.
Suddenly, his eyes lit up and he saw a kind-looking old man walking slowly towards him.
The village chief hurried forward, bowed slightly, and smiled. He politely and humbly took the old man's hand and asked, "Hello, old man. We are refugees from outside the area. I wonder if we can enter the city in our situation?"
The old man stopped and looked up at the village chief and the young people behind him who looked tired and expectant, a hint of sympathy flashed in his eyes.
He said enthusiastically, "Refugees can enter the city, but their household registration will need to be checked, and each person must pay five cents. But there's one thing: you can't stay overnight in the city; you must leave before dark."
"Five cents, my God, it's only five cents!" The village chief couldn't help but exclaimed, his face full of disbelief.
The previous entrance fees to the city instantly emerged in his mind. They were often several taels of silver, a huge amount of money that ordinary people were reluctant to pay.
In comparison, these mere five cents are like pie in the sky, so cheap beyond imagination.
There was a glint of surprise and excitement in the village chief's eyes, and his whole body seemed to be injected with powerful vitality and became full of energy.
He sincerely thanked the old man repeatedly, and then returned to the camp with Dazhuang and others with light steps.
When everyone saw the village chief returning, they all looked at him anxiously.
The village chief couldn't hide his excitement and raised his voice, saying, "Listen up everyone, we only need to pay a five-cent entrance fee to enter the city!"
As soon as these words were spoken, it was like a stone thrown into a calm lake, instantly causing thousands of waves.
The villagers were stunned at first, then burst into excited shouts: "Five cents! Only five cents! That's great! My family can afford it!"
The crowd suddenly became lively and everyone started talking at once.
Some villagers were so excited that they danced and kept saying, "That's good! We can finally get into the city for supplies."
The children were also infected by the cheerful atmosphere and ran around in the crowd, laughing and playing.
The women gathered together, discussing what to buy after entering the city.
The men patted each other on the shoulders, their faces filled with gratified smiles, as if they had already seen the dazzling array of supplies in the city waving to them.
The entire camp was bustling with activity. The fatigue that had been suppressed for many days was completely dispelled by this sudden good news.
The village chief smiled and clapped his hands vigorously. The crisp applause echoed in the noisy crowd. It took a long time before the excited crowd gradually calmed down.
He cleared his throat and said loudly, "Alright, stop arguing! The entrance fee is so cheap, there's no need to worry about it. Let's get settled quickly and then go into the city to buy food. Remember, we have to leave the city quickly after buying it. Time is running out. We have to continue our journey in an hour, so we can't delay our journey."
After hearing the village chief's arrangement, everyone nodded in agreement, and then began to discuss enthusiastically who in the family should go to the city to buy things.
On the Su family's side, after a brief discussion, it was finally decided that Yao Qingshuang, Su Wencheng and Su Wenjun would enter the city together.
Everyone lined up at the city gate with great anticipation. The soldiers guarding the city took the household registration documents they handed over with a serious look and checked them carefully.
After a long time, the villagers confirmed that everything was correct and paid the entrance fee.
Only after the officers and soldiers gave the order were they allowed to enter the city.
As soon as everyone entered Qingyun County, it was like stepping into another world. They were instantly stunned by the unique architectural style here and their eyes widened, and they couldn't help but exclaim in amazement.
On both sides of the street, buildings with white walls and black tiles are arranged in an orderly manner.
Completely different from the tall, majestic and imposing buildings in the north, the buildings in the south are like women from the Jiangnan water towns, standing there quietly, exuding a gentle and reserved atmosphere.
The flying eaves and brackets are exquisite and delicate, as if they were works of art carefully carved by craftsmen; the walls are covered with lush vines, adding a bit of vitality and agility to these buildings; the courtyard is deep, and through the half-open door, you can vaguely see the exquisite garden landscape inside, the rockery and the pool complement each other, and every step is a scene, full of poetry and tenderness, showing the unique charm and charm of the Jiangnan water town everywhere.
Everyone was fascinated by the architecture of this Jiangnan water town and it took them a while to come back to their senses.
The village chief was the first to react. After asking for the address of the grain store, he greeted everyone and hurried towards the grain store in the county.
Along the way, everyone's steps were eager and full of anticipation, and their eyes were flashing with desire for food.
Everyone couldn't wait to walk to the door of the grain store. When they saw the mountains of grain inside, many people's eyes couldn't help but feel warm.
A closer look at the price of grain made them even more pleasantly surprised.
Coarse grains cost only three cents per pound, which is an incredibly affordable price; white rice and white flour only cost thirty cents per pound, which is much cheaper than the price in their hometown.
Everyone was delighted to find such high-quality and low-priced food in this Jiangnan water town, as if they had already seen a beautiful scene in the future where everyone would be able to eat and drink enough and no longer be troubled by hunger.
They secretly sighed in their hearts that it was indeed worthy of being the water town in the south of the Yangtze River. The reputation of this land of fish and rice was well-deserved. The rich products made these refugees from the north full of envy and gratitude.
The waiter of the grain shop was standing at the door sorting a few bags of grain that had just been brought in. He looked up inadvertently and saw a group of people gathered at the door.
The crowd was so huge and large that the waiter subconsciously took a small step back, his hands unconsciously clutching the corners of his clothes.
But his sense of duty as a grain shop assistant still prompted him to take a deep breath, muster his courage, and walk towards the crowd. He forced a smile on his face and greeted them with a slightly trembling voice: "Everyone...are you ready to buy some grain?"
"Yes, yes, we want to buy food!" Someone in the crowd immediately responded loudly.
Then, a burly man shouted at the top of his voice: "I want 150 kilograms of coarse grains and 50 kilograms of white flour!"
His voice was like a loud bell, echoing in the crowd and attracting the attention of those around him.
"Me too, me too!" The others were not to be outdone. They surrounded the waiter and started shouting one after another. Everyone couldn't wait to say how much food they wanted to buy. They looked so anxious that they were afraid that the food would be sold out if they were late.
The scene instantly fell into a noisy cacophony, with various sounds intertwined and rising one after another.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
