Chapter 105 Tong'an County
The city gate was crowded with people queuing to get in. The line was so long that you couldn't see the end of it, and the city gate would be closed in one hour.
Lin Youcai glanced at the time on his electronic bracelet and said, "Village Chief, it's getting late. The queue to enter the city is very long. How about we stay outside the city for one night and go through the city directly tomorrow?"
Lin Li was smoking a pipe to satisfy his craving for tobacco, but he had run out of it. He looked at the long queue at the city gate. There were so many people in the queue that he didn't know if they could find a place to stay after entering the city. "Okay, let's stay outside the city for one night and enter the city tomorrow morning."
The team walked forward and found an open space not far from the city gate to settle down. Everyone set up a tent, built a stove to boil water and cook dinner, and each of them was busy.
Lin Youcai called a few people and walked towards the city gate.
"Hey, what are you doing? If you want to go into the city, go line up at the back." In the queue to enter the city, a big man in linen clothes looked at the four people leaning out and said with a frown and impatient look on his face.
Zhao Zhuang waved his hand embarrassedly and said, "Uncle, we want to see what's going on ahead. Why is it so slow to get into the city?"
"You're looking around here...you can't be thieves!" said the old lady as she quickly covered her package and looked at them sideways.
After hearing what the old lady said, the people around them looked at Lin Youcai and his companions warily.
Lin Youcai, Zhao Zhuang, Tian Daniu, and Lin Youxing walked aside awkwardly. As they approached the city gate, the soldiers guarding the gate looked at them unkindly.
They really didn’t mean to cut in line… The four of them went back angrily.
On the second day, at daybreak, Lin Youcai and his 15 companions lined up outside the city gate. When daybreak came, they finally entered the city.
The 15 people dispersed and went around grain stores, grocery stores, teahouses, restaurants, and civilian markets in groups of 3 or 4. Lin Youcai and a few others inquired about the price of grain, while the others just stayed wherever they went and heard a lot of news.
Lin Youcai asked about the price of grain at several stores, but the prices kept going up. He negotiated a price with the shopkeepers, and by noon, everyone had heard a lot of information.
Tong'an County has a lot of problems, so it's best to pass by quickly. Fortunately, I didn't stay in the city last night.
Fifteen people gathered in the alley on the street. Zhao Zhuang couldn't wait to speak, "I said it only cost one copper coin to enter the city. It's weird! Which county magistrate is so kind?"
Lin Youxing: "I also find it strange that there are so many people guarding the city gate and the inspection for entering the city is not strict."
Lin Youfeng was full of questions, "What do you mean?"
Lin Youcai: "What did you hear?"
Zhao Zhuang: "We were at the market and heard the vendors gossiping. They said they wanted to sell out early and go home early. Since last year, there have been scandals in their county town, including children, women, and young men. Reporting to the police is useless and nothing is done. The people who have been embarrassed are never found alive or dead."
Zhao Wang: "It is said that many people were missing last year. At the beginning, only a few local people were missing, but the news did not spread. Later, more and more people were missing, and the locals did not dare to enter the city and ran around everywhere. After a few months, more people from other places came, and there were fewer cases of people being embarrassed here. In order to make a living, the locals had no choice but to come to the county town to sell things."
"I went to the teahouse and heard that..." Shen Jingfu pointed to the sky, "they love money and sex, and have many concubines. There is a matchmaker named Liu in this city. Well, she is a matchmaker for all kinds of marriages. She has a special skill, which is to judge women very well. The matchmaker is eloquent, has a good tongue, and has a sharp eye. It is said that many wealthy people and officials from other places have been looking for her to make connections. Relying on this skill, the matchmaker has made a lot of money, has servants and maids, and has many rich and powerful people to support her."
Of course, the thread that the matchmaker is pulling is not the red thread of a good marriage, but the thread of satisfying the two men's brothers in front of the bed.
Some were jealous, some were ashamed, and some were envious, but Liu the Matchmaker was rich and had people to protect her, so the people in Tong'an County could only gossip and satisfy their desire.
Those who went to inquire about the news paid special attention to this kind of news because they all had wives, children, and sisters.
You must not fall into his trap. If women and children fall into the hands of such people, they will not have a good end! Which powerful family has not thrown out the back door of a building with a beautiful girl who has died?
Lin Youcai: "The people cannot defeat the officials, so everyone should quickly pass through the city and stay away from here."
Tao Mingyuan: "We have already negotiated the price of grain with the grain store owner. Our team will enter the city later, and we will empty a car to transport the grain. We will leave after paying the money."
"I think the people in Tong'an County don't live very well. The civilians in the county seem to have very poor food and clothing. There is no war, no military disasters, and the grain here is very expensive." Lin Youcai pointed upwards, "They must be unkind people, not good people."
Ten people were left waiting outside the grain store in the city, and five of them went out of the city to meet up with everyone else, telling them the news they had heard and the situation they had analyzed.
Lin Lizheng notified everyone, especially women and children. The women covered themselves up tightly, pretending to be ugly, lame, or sick. The children were kept under close watch by their parents.
Shen Xianglan and Lin Zisu went specifically to tell the family of four, instructing the young couple to follow the group closely, change the clothes of the two girls, and let Liang change into men's clothes as well.
Shen Xianglan repeatedly urged the couple to hold the child in their arms and walk. If they held the child by the hand, they would be squeezed by the crowd and the child would be taken away. They were unfamiliar with the place and the gang was committing crimes. If the child was lost, they could not find him at all and had no way to seek redress.
The frightened couple nodded repeatedly and started to pack up in a panic.
The women in the team have been dressing as men since Lin Zisu suggested they wear men's clothes last fall.
Men dress well to make it easier to work and travel. When fleeing for their lives, they may be in the mood to pay attention to their appearance at first. But after a while, they don’t eat well or sleep well, and just being alive is good enough. No one has the mood to pay attention to these things.
The women and children all got into the cars, and the men walked outside the team. After the team got ready, they headed towards the city gate.
The family of four hurriedly caught up, and as they got closer, the people behind the team turned a blind eye and only paid attention to them from time to time.
Lin Youcai and his men waited anxiously in the city. Half an hour later, they finally saw the team. Butcher Zhao drove the specially vacated ox cart towards the grain store on the street.
This time we bought all coarse grains. After the price was agreed upon and the weight was measured in bags, the guys at the grain store loaded them directly into the truck.
Last year, I had more than 30 taels of silver left from selling Chinese tallow candles, but now I only have more than 20 taels of silver. I bought taels of silver worth of coarse grains, filling up an entire carriage.
Everyone has to sigh that food is becoming more and more expensive.
Lin Youcai and a few others followed the ox cart and hurried towards the large group that was slowly moving towards the south city gate.