Chapter 76 Entering the Big City

Chapter 76 Entering the Big City

On the official road, people walked hurriedly, wheels rolled, and dust flew. Two houses not far from each other beside the official road came into everyone's sight.

We had been making candles two days ago. We were busy on the road these two days and didn’t see the team from Zhangjia Village.

Lin Zisu found that the official road had become easier to walk on in the past two days. The official road was straight and wide, with trees on both sides of the road providing shade for pedestrians. That was in spring and summer, but now only branches were left, leaving nothing but bare leaves.

The two houses on the right in front both had large courtyards. Lin Zisu knew without even looking that they were post stations, one for the government and one for the people. She had come across many along the way. The two post stations in front of her were larger than the ones she had encountered before.

Her father Lin Youcai told her that there were two types of post stations along the official roads of the Dahuan Dynasty, official post stations and private post stations.

The official post station was a communication and transportation agency established by the government of the time. It was responsible for transmitting official documents, government orders, military intelligence and other important information, providing accommodation, food and transportation for passing officials, and also undertook tasks such as transporting military supplies and tributes to ensure the country's material supply and allocation.

On some important official roads, official post stations were staffed with post soldiers who were responsible for maintaining local public order and ensuring the safety of officials and pedestrians.

A private inn is organized or run by the people themselves, which is equivalent to a private inn, but it has been registered with the government and approved by the government. It is not run by ordinary people, but only those with money and background can afford to run a private inn.

The post stations provided people with the services of delivering information, mail, accommodation, meals, feeding livestock, rest, etc.

The charges of official and private post stations are much more expensive than those of small inns or farmhouses on the road, but they are safer.

If you are not a public official, don't even think about staying in the official inn. Common people with money will choose to stay in the private inn rather than in a small inn or farmhouse where they don't know the situation. It's not worth it to save some money and stay in a black inn.

During the three-month escape, they passed by many post stations. However, they had never stayed in one of them before, first because they had no money, and second because they wanted to save money. For Lin Zisu's family of four, living in a RV was more comfortable and safer, and it saved money.

There were a few well-off families in the team who had money to stay, but they all chose to follow the crowd. When you go out, you should be low-key and not attract attention to yourself. Compared with comfort and safety, survival is definitely more important.

We still chose to pass by the post station, sleep in the wild at night, and set off at dawn, continuing to walk for 2 days.

Everyone stopped and looked at the tall and solid city gate in front of them. There were three big characters engraved on the gate, painted in red: Dazhao City.

At this time, there was a long queue at the city gate, and there was no end in sight. The Zhangjia Village team that had not been seen for a few days was lined up in the middle of it, preparing to enter the city.

The team moved forward at a snail's pace. Everyone looked at the scene in front of them and was struggling whether to enter the city. There would definitely be an entrance fee to enter the city, and the queue was so long that they didn't know when they could enter the city.

The question of whether everyone should wait outside the city while a few people go in to sell candles and bracelets, or all of them should go into the city was not debated for long.

Because the HUD of the RV projected the information on the windshield. The arrow pointed to the inside of Dazhao City. Enter the city from the north gate in front of you, exit from the east gate, and step onto the official road in the other direction to continue your journey.

Lin Zisu got off the car and told her father about the situation. Her father went to Lin Lizheng to convey the situation. Lin Lizheng asked his eldest son Lin Benshu to pass it on, one by one. Everyone followed the people queuing outside the city and lined up to enter the city. Fortunately, it was still early when everyone arrived at the city gate, and there were still a few hours before the city gate was closed.

While waiting in line, Lin Youxing, holding a candle in his arms, followed the instructions of his grandfather and father and walked to the Zhangjia Village team in front to ask some questions.

Lin Youxing chose to chat with the young man at the back of the line. The other party was bored in the line, and was happy to have someone come to talk to him. As the conversation got more and more heated, Lin Youxing handed over a white candle, and the young man's eyes lit up. He had lived for more than ten years, but this was the first time he had seen such a snow-white candle. He didn't want to refuse it, so he quickly took it and answered whatever he was asked. There was nothing he couldn't say.

When Lin Youxing came back from chatting, only half of the people in the long queue had gone in. It was estimated that they would have to wait for about another half an hour.

Lin Youxing told his grandfather and father everything he had learned, and Lin Youcai also heard it. When Lin Youcai knew it, it meant that all four members of the family knew it. Of course, the others also knew it when they chatted later.

It was not a big deal, and they had no choice but to leave the village. The reason was the riot caused by the bandits, the same gang that had fought with everyone.

The gang killed people wherever they went, and the surrounding villages were all looted. People in the villages were all related to each other. When the gang appeared, the village suffered, and the news spread quickly.

Before the people of Nanlin Village reached that road, the gang had been committing crimes there for more than half a month. All those who could escape from the nearby villages had fled. The government did not care, and in the chaotic times, they could not take care of themselves. If the nobleman had not been in trouble and a cavalry team had not come to look for him, the gang would not have been destroyed.

The gang and the bandits fought desperately, and both sides suffered heavy losses, with many casualties. If the cavalry came, the bandits would be unilaterally destroyed.

We waited in line until 2pm and finally it was our turn.

Among the more than 3 people, only Tao Mingyuan's family and Lin Youcai's family had travel permits, and the others only had household registration documents. Fortunately, two scholars and the head of the village acted as guarantors, so they all entered the city.

The entrance fee for one person is two copper coins. If you don't have a pass, you have to pay one copper coin more. One person has to pay three copper coins, and the same applies to children of different ages. The livestock and carriages cost three copper coins per vehicle, and Lin Zisu's RV costs two copper coins. She clicked on the illusion, and the soldiers at the city gate checked and saw that it was just a shabby wooden cart with a straw mat hanging on it.

Only two scholars did not need to pay for the city entrance fee, but their families had to pay. This was the preferential treatment that the Dahuan Dynasty gave to scholars with official titles. Tongsheng did not have this privilege. Only those who passed the examination for the title of scholar were scholars and were given preferential treatment. The higher the official title, the more preferential treatment they received. With an official title, people would look up to you wherever you go and give you convenience. Everyone knows that everything is inferior except for studying. Not to mention being an official, after ten years of studying hard and taking the exam for the title of scholar, it was all for the purpose of becoming an official.

It cost more than 3 tael of copper coins to enter the city for more than 1 people. It would have been fine if they hadn't calculated the cost, but it hurt to calculate the cost. If it had been before the escape, they could have bought more than 1000 kilograms of coarse grain. 1 copper coins are 6 tael of silver, and 7 or copper coins can buy a kilogram of coarse grain.

If the navigation hadn't indicated that we had to pass through the city, no one would have wanted to go in.

The entrance fee was paid by the owner, but they had a few copper coins. Except for Wei Qiniang and her daughter, and Li Jiada Ya, these three people had no copper coins. Li Juhua lent them a total of 9 copper coins, and the Zhao family agreed.

As the team slowly moved forward, everyone finally entered the city. This was the first time that Lin Zisu had seen the city since she came to this world more than three months ago. To be more precise, it was the first time she had seen it during the day. She had seen Ancheng when she was on her way out of the city at night. It was the same as not seeing it at all. There was nothing to see in the dark.