NCCnovel Chapter 255 Inquire
Chapter 255 Inquire
As we walked forward, it seemed that there were more and more pedestrians on the road, all heading towards the provincial capital. The outbreak of this mountain flood affected several counties and towns, large and small, in the surrounding area. The people who suffered had nowhere to go, so they all started walking towards the provincial capital.
After walking for more than two hours, they finally arrived at the city gate at 12:30 am.
At this moment, there are more people gathered at the city gate. Although the city gate is closed at 15:15, there are too many people recently, so people are not allowed to enter the city gate at night. They can only enter during the day, and even if they enter, they can only stay for three days.
There were too many people fleeing famine, and they all poured into the provincial capital at once. Accommodation and food for so many people became a problem. Before the problem was properly resolved, there was no way to let so many people in at once, as it would easily cause chaos.
Huo? tried to give money to the soldiers guarding the city to ask them to make some concessions and let them in, but to no avail. There were too many people outside and it was dark, so the soldiers did not dare to take the risk.
In the end, they had no choice but to stay outside for one night and go into the city the next day.
The people of Luofeng Village found a sparsely populated area at the city gate to "set up camp."
In fact, there was no such thing as a "village". We just found a clean place and sat down. After walking for such a long time, everyone's shoes were either torn or their feet were worn out. No one was not tired.
There were lanterns and torches at the city gate, which provided them with some convenience.
After putting the things down, Village Chief Wang came to Ning Chengyong and asked, "Chengyong, what are your plans next?"
Ning Chengyong shook his head and said, "I don't know, let's take it one step at a time."
Bai Lifen had already told Ning Yan that he would explode when he spoke, so their current situation was that they had no choice but to flee the famine, but they had no idea where to flee to.
I heard the situation in the north isn’t good either. I don’t know what the situation is.
Village chief Wang also sighed, feeling unsettled. He left Luofeng Village, not knowing where to settle down.
After the village chief returned, Wang Shanjun asked, "Dad, are we going into the city tomorrow?"
Or are they waiting here for news from the capital? Once they enter, they will leave the capital three days later and head to the next location.
The future is unknown, money is not abundant, and food is in short supply. For a moment, I don’t know whether to continue moving forward or wait here for news from the imperial court in the capital. Which is the better choice?
Wang Wude asked, "Shanjun, do you think we should enter the city?"
"I think Brother Zheng and the others are planning to go into the city." Wang Shanjun said.
Wang Wude said, "If we all go into the city, we might have to leave that same day because we have nowhere to stay. The prices in those inns are not cheap, and the villagers may not be willing to stay there."
Besides, the rooms in the inns in the city may not be very tight. Are there any vacancies? Some people in their village died in the flood, but there are still 3 to 4 people. How many rooms can they sleep in?
"So you want to ask everyone's opinions tomorrow?" Wang Shanjun said.
Village Chief Wang said, "Rest first and see what happens tomorrow."
Huo said to his family, "You guys go to sleep, I'll keep watch."
Ning Yu said, "Then I'll take your place in the second half of the night."
Ning Yan sat on the ground, hugged Huo Xi's waist, kissed him and said, "Thank you for your hard work, brother."
"Wife, please compensate me more in the future, and I won't have to work hard." Huo? whispered in his ear.
"Okay." Ning Yan agreed.
Ning Yan was so tired from walking today that after talking to Huo Yan, he lay down on the straw mat and fell asleep with his eyes closed.
The two kids, Ning Chengyong and his wife, and Ning Lu, fell asleep while he was talking to Huo Xi. They fell asleep in seconds.
Huo? lay beside Ning Jian, closed his eyes and took a light sleep, keeping an eye on the surrounding situation.
The night is very quiet, the starry sky above is very beautiful, the moon is bright and clear today, and the occasional sounds of frogs and crickets can be heard in the air.
In the dim night, several people tiptoed around the crowd lying on the ground and headed straight for a place.
Huo? noticed some slight noises in his ears, which were the footsteps of several people. Although they walked very lightly, these people were not martial artists, so they naturally did not hold their breath and concentrate their energy, so it was easy to detect.
The sounds were getting closer and closer, and seemed to be coming from their direction.
When these people were still a few meters away, Huo raised his arm and swung it. A dart flew out and hit one of them in the thigh.
The man was just walking and didn't understand what was happening. When he realized it, the dart had already penetrated his flesh, and he howled in pain.
His companions didn't understand why he suddenly howled. One of them quickly stepped forward, covered his mouth and dragged him backwards, while the others rushed directly towards Huo and the several backpacks they had placed next to them.
Today they saw that this family had left a lot of meat, so they came for the meat.
Huo? was sleeping on the outermost side. After noticing the movements of several people, he fumbled for a few stones from the ground and threw them directly at their lower bodies.
Before a few people touched the backpack, they screamed "Ah" and instantly covered their crotches, jumping on the spot in pain.
Several people came here one after another, and they all wanted to get the backpack, so they were squeezed together. Now they were jumping and fighting with each other, bumping into each other.
I don’t know whose elbow accidentally poked the part that another person was covering with his hand, and that person immediately let out another scream.
The continuous howling woke up the people sleeping around, and they all stood up to check what was going on.
Ning Jian was woken up, opened his eyes dazedly and asked, "Brother, who is it?"
"It's okay, thief, go to sleep." Huo? patted him sideways and said.
Ning Yan turned over upon hearing this and fell asleep again in Huo Yan's arms.
Ning Yu was originally awake, but after hearing what Huo Yu said, he lay down and fell asleep again. Brother Huo was watching him, so he didn't need to worry about him for the time being.
Ning Chengyong and his wife, and the Huo Yun brothers were also woken up, but after opening their eyes and taking a look, they went back to sleep.
With their brother-in-law (father) around, they don’t have to worry.
"What do you do?" someone nearby asked.
"They are here to steal things, so everyone put your valuables away," said Huo.
Steal something?
Someone shouted angrily: "Catch them and hand them over to the authorities."
Before anyone could get up and catch them, those people ran away in shame. They had no time to steal anything now. The most important thing was to confirm whether the vitals were damaged.
After this incident, nothing happened in their area in the second half of the night, but there were a few curses from other places, suggesting someone was stealing things.
The next morning, Huo and his friends didn't even have breakfast. When the city gate opened at 3:30 AM, they began to pack up and prepare to enter the city.
Before Village Chief Wang and his companions could come to a conclusion, Ning Yan and his companions just said hello and left.
Sun Huzi followed closely behind, and Duan Zhili also caught up with their pace.
When Aunt Zhou saw Bai Lifen leave, she discussed it with her family, packed up her things and followed them into the city.
She always felt that she would be lucky if she followed the Ning Yan family, not to mention that she had a good relationship with Bai Lifen in the village before.
You need to pay a gate tax to enter the city gate, two cents per person for ordinary people, five cents per person for officials and merchants. In addition, if you carry a large amount of goods, you also have to pay tax on the goods.
After Ning Yan and his friends paid their way into the city, they went straight to a breakfast shop that sold wontons. There was also a bun shop next door.
After ordering a few bowls of wontons and buying a few buns, they sat down and started eating.
The tables in the wonton shop were small, and could only accommodate five people at most. They couldn't fit everyone in, so they shared a table with Sun Huzi and his family.
A small bowl of wontons costs 8 wen and contains six wontons, while a large bowl costs 12 wen and contains nine wontons. The wontons are about the same size as dumplings.
Wontons were too expensive, and Aunt Zhou and the others were reluctant to buy them, so they squatted near the wonton shop near the roadside, eating dry food and drinking water, while waiting for Bai Lifen and the others.
Bai Lifen saw the Zhou family's children staring at the wonton shop, their saliva watering at the delicious aroma, so she ordered a few small bowls of wontons and asked the waiter to bring them to them.
"This...his aunt, we can't accept this." Aunt Zhou came over with the bowl and refused embarrassedly.
Aunt Zhou didn't say anything. The children in the family saw the wontons in their parents' hands. Although they all wanted to eat them, they didn't move.
Bai Lifen smiled and said, "This is for the kids. They're growing up right now, so Sister Zhou gave it to them. They ordered everything, so it would be a waste if they didn't eat it. I specially asked them to use big bowls and put in extra soup so you can have some hot food too."
Having said that, Aunt Zhou couldn't refuse anymore, so she said gratefully, "Thank you. When our lives are stable in the future, we will treat you to a meal again."
Bai Lifen waved her hand and told her to go eat quickly, as they still had to find a place to stay after dinner.
When Ning Yan got married, Aunt Zhou and the others helped a lot, and they had a good relationship. Moreover, their family members were also good people, so Bai Lifen was willing to treat them to a meal, otherwise she would not have done so.
She no longer tolerates everything like she did before, and she will ignore people she doesn't like.
On the other side, Duan's mother, who was also eating dry food, saw this situation and said sourly: "If you don't get married, I won't even be able to invite your children to eat."
Duan Zhili said helplessly:
"Mom, can you blame me for not getting married? It's because you used to have complaints about Ning Jian. If I hadn't been so shameless as to get along with him, our family would be no different from anyone else in the village to Ning Jian's family, and they wouldn't even give us a second glance."
Father Duan glared at him and said, "How dare you talk to your mother like that? Have you forgotten your manners?"
Duan Zhili shut up after hearing this, but he still said, "Anyway, I suggest you maintain a good relationship with the Ning family in the future. If you are sincere to them, they will not let us suffer any loss."
Just like before when he asked Ning Chengyong to take him to school, although Ning Chengyong didn't ask for money, he couldn't take advantage of him all the time, so he would buy some things in the town from time to time to give to him as a token of gratitude.
However, Ning Chengyong would sometimes bring him breakfast when he sent him and Ning Ru off.
To be honest, there is a huge gap in wealth between the two families. Compared with the food Ning Chengyong gave him, the things he bought from Ning Chengyong's family are definitely more expensive. However, Ning Chengyong knows that he is thoughtful and not a person who would take advantage of small opportunities, so as an elder he is willing to take care of him.
So people can definitely feel whether you are sincere or not.
Upon hearing this, Duan's mother said, "I understand."
She is not an ignorant or unreasonable person. It is just that she used to consider things from her son's perspective, so it is inevitable that she has some complaints.
But Ning Jian is married now, and her children are grown up. If she keeps harping on this matter, wouldn't that be annoying?
The wontons here taste pretty good. The three kids each had a small bowl of wontons and a meat bun, and they were full.
The adults had big appetites and they all ate two or three bowls of rice and a few buns before they were full.
After dinner, they carried their luggage and went to find a place to stay.
There is indeed a shortage of rooms in the inn right now. I asked two inns and they were both almost full. If there were any, there were only one or two rooms left, which is definitely not enough for people like them.
Finally, we went to the third one. There were some empty rooms there, but the environment was worse than the first two. The price was similar to those there, and the security seemed to be flawed.
However, they would be leaving after just two days, so they just booked a room and stayed there.
The rooms in the city are not cheap either. Except for the dormitory room which costs 50 wen per person per night, the other rooms are priced at 350 wen per night.
Huo? They only asked for two rooms this time. Since it was not safe in this inn, they let Ning Lu sleep on the floor in Bai Lifen and the others' room.
Sun Huzi's family, Duan Zhili's family, and the Zhou family rented a dormitory in one room together. More people saves money, and they can take care of each other if something happens.
They took a nap in the room in the morning, and only prepared to go out shopping after lunch.
After leaving the inn, Sun Huzi asked Huo Xi, "Brother Huo, do you have any plans to go somewhere?"
It’s not a good idea to keep drifting around like this. I have to find a suitable place to live.
Going south is definitely not an option, so we can only go north first. But where can we stay in the north? This is another problem.
"Let's go north first," Huo said, "and find out the news from the north."
Sun Huzi nodded when he heard this.
Then they split into two groups. Huo Yan and Sun Huzi went to buy a cart together, while Ning Yan and his group went to the shop to buy some daily necessities. After Huo Yan and his group bought the cart, they would come to pick up Ning Yan and his group.
The two men went to the carpenter's shop, each bought a ready-made cart, and then asked the boss about the situation in the capital and the north.
"North? The situation in the north is not too good either. I heard that the drought was already very serious before the New Year. A few days ago, I heard from a traveling businessman who came to my place to repair his car that many people have fled from the north to the south." The owner of the carpentry shop sighed.
Huo Yu asked, "Didn't the imperial court issue an order for disaster relief?"
"I don't know. I haven't heard about it yet." said the boss.
Then the boss whispered, "I doubt we'll get disaster relief. It's been raining for so long this year that we've barely harvested a grain. Let alone disaster relief, we're still collecting grain taxes as usual, and we've even been overcharged on commercial taxes."
"Everything is going up except wages. Food prices have risen so much that we can hardly afford to eat."
"The snack shop next door closed down because the rent increased due to rising food and meat prices."
Huo thanked the boss and left with Sun Huzi, pulling the cart.
Ning Yan and his friends went to the grain store and cloth shop and found that the prices had generally increased by at least double, and there seemed to be a shortage of supply.