Traveling through troubled times: Princess disguises herself as a man and becomes a soldier to earn

Yancheng on the border of Qi State

The refugees from Los Angeles were pale, shivering with cold, their hands were red, swollen and cracked, and their bodies were staggering. It was obvious that they were holding on. If they couldn't settle down, they would not be able to hold on any longer.

Suppressed coughs continued to be heard. The refugees covered their mouths and held back their coughs. If they were seen, people would think they were carrying the plague, and they would then have no way out.

Everyone raised their heads and looked at the city gate not far away. A bit of hope appeared on their deathly pale faces. They moved towards the city gate little by little. When they were almost there, the city gate opened.

Wang Meng led his men and walked towards them. Meeting their frightened and fragile eyes, he stopped not far away and said with a gentle smile: "I have arranged accommodation for you. Please follow me."

"...!!"

The old man in the lead had silver hair and trembled: "Sir, do you mean to... take us in?"

Wang Meng nodded, serious yet gentle, as if he didn't want to scare them.

"Yes, everyone, go in first and settle down before we talk about the rest. I will be responsible for settling you down. The medical treatment will be taken care of by others, and the follow-up work will also be taken care of by others."

Upon hearing this, the refugees looked up with disbelief on their weathered faces, and numbly followed the people into the city, walking all the way to the west of the city, and soon came to an open space.

Rows of houses stood there, their walls were silvery white and didn't look like they were made of earth. They all looked the same, except for signs hanging on the doors with strange numbers written on them.

The old man in the lead was like a child, unable to hide his curiosity. He kept looking around. The more he looked, the more surprised he was at the clean and tidy road surface and the passers-by. When they saw them, they had friendly smiles on their faces. Everything seemed like a dream. They were not driven away.

Wang Meng led the group, registered them, distributed the house keys, and gave a few simple instructions: "Uncle, this 001 house is yours from now on. Meals will be delivered to you."

"Sir, although I am old and work a little slowly, I know how to farm. Is there anything here that I can do? I don't want to eat and drink for free, so it doesn't matter if I'm a little tired."

Wang Meng saw the anxious tone and the uneasiness in his eyes, and felt a little sad. If it weren't for the evil deeds of those people in Yun Country, why would these people leave their homes and come to Qi Country to make a living?

The voice became gentler: "Don't worry, sir. The master has arranged all these things. You are not eating and drinking for free. If you are needed to do something, there will be someone to tell you. Don't think too much for now. Take good care of your health."

The old man felt relieved after hearing what he said, and said flatteringly, "Okay, thank you, sir. I understand."

I followed the soldier to room 001, opened the door and went in. I saw a table, a few small stools, and a very strange bed with a pot on it. I had never seen such a bed before.

"Go in, sir. Take a rest. Someone will bring food over later. I still have to take care of other people, so I won't stay any longer."

When the old man saw him about to leave, he shouted, "Wait!"

As he spoke, he took out a dozen copper coins from his pocket, and with a humbly flattering face full of wrinkles, he said, "Sir, I hope you will accept this small token of my appreciation. I only have..."

The soldier subconsciously took two steps back and waved his hands repeatedly: "No, no, sir, please don't hurt me. There are military orders in the army that you cannot take a single needle or thread from the people, otherwise you will be beaten with a stick."

With a proud face, he said: "Our Qi Kingdom is different from other countries. The ministers in the court are the ones who truly care about the people and are very opposed to accepting bribes. Once discovered, they will surely die miserably."

The old man was stunned: "Ah, is that so? I'm sorry, I didn't know and almost hurt you."

"It's okay. Once you stay here for a while, you'll know how nice this place is. I won't say much. I have something else to do, so I'll leave first. Just stay here and relax."

"Grandpa, it looks good here. I see that the people of Qi are all in good spirits. This is a difficult borderland, but the people can live a good life. This shows that the current emperor is a wise ruler."

"Well, this will be our home from now on."

Soon, people came one after another to deliver rice porridge, steamed sweet potatoes, and corn steamed buns. The refugees expressed their gratitude and, after the people left, they immediately started to scramble for the food, choking and coughing.

After eating and drinking, the refugees had more energy. They looked around carefully, talked to each other, and had a relaxed look on their faces: "Old Yang, we are alive now, right?"

"Alas, it's a pity that Lao Lin didn't make it..."

The old man lowered his eyes and whispered, "Tomorrow, we will go ask the adults if there is anything we can do. It's the beginning of winter now. If we don't find a way to make some money, the winter will be difficult to endure."

Old Yang nodded repeatedly: "That's right. Even if I'm old, I can't be idle. Idleness in the cold winter will only make me die faster. My son is still waiting in Luocheng, I must live and wait for him."

The two looked at each other and supported each other to hold on.

The refugees lay on the kang, covered with soft quilts. Their tense bodies slowly relaxed and they fell into a deep sleep. It was unknown how much time had passed before they slowly woke up.

He sat up suddenly, got out of bed, dressed quickly, opened the door and looked outside. It was the same soldier from yesterday, followed by dozens of people wearing white, which looked like mourning clothes. His heart skipped a beat.

Old Yang looked at them warily until he heard the gentle voice of a girl in white: "Grandpa, what are you looking at? Come, let me see the frostbite on your body. We are here to heal you."

"Ah, for treatment, but the old man has no money to give you."

Xiao Qiu chuckled: "Grandpa, it's free. All points are recorded here. Just owe it for now. When you are well, you can do farm work to earn points and pay it back."

"Well, the old man is fine. The frostbite is not a big deal."

"That won't do. You have to apply this ointment to avoid infection. Are you still coughing? Come, let me take your pulse. Don't worry, we won't cheat you..."

a moment later

Xiao Qiu smiled and said, "Grandpa, it's okay. The cough is not serious, but you need to take medicine and cure it as soon as possible. Otherwise, if you get pneumonia, it will be difficult to cure. I'll get you some medicine. You take it on time."

"If you still feel uncomfortable, feel free to go to the military medical station."

Old Yang looked at the porcelain bottle in his hand, his cloudy eyes were a little confused, and he murmured: "Is this a paradise? We are given food and drink, and medical treatment. It is even better than home. Why are they so kind to the refugees?"

My hands and knees felt itchy and painful, so I regained my composure and applied the ointment.