Others are fleeing famine, but I am a salted fish

Ever since his mother left, he felt that he was tongue-tied and didn't know how to bring up this matter with Lin Xiaoyue, so he had been dragging it on until now.

Taking advantage of the fact that the head of the village and the villagers were present, he mustered up the courage to ask the head of the village for help in mediating the issue.

The head of the village disagreed at first. After all, he was a good young man with healthy hands and feet. He could do anything. Why did he have to sell himself at a low price?

Even if you have to sell yourself, at least find a decent landlord or a wealthy family with some background.

What's the point of selling it to ordinary farmers like them?

Ergou and the village head explained that this was his mother's last wish. Moreover, the reason why he was able to go from being penniless to owning a donkey and having a small fortune was all thanks to Lin Xiaoyue's care.

Without Lin Xiaoyue, not only would he not be able to live the life he has today without worries about food and clothing, but even settling down in Wanbao Town would be a pipe dream.

The head of the village and the villagers were stunned. They never expected that this seemingly inconspicuous 14-year-old girl in front of them had such great abilities.

Although, from the beginning, I saw a little girl making a strange thing called a water filter that could filter dirty water on the road, and I thought the little girl was extremely smart. But I never expected that the little girl was not only smart, but also so kind.

It has to be said that when the head of the village and the villagers learned about Lin Xiaoyue's ability and kindness, not only did they not object to Ergou's "self-degradation" and the idea of ​​signing a long-term contract with others, but the head of the village and other villagers also had the same idea.

It's just that due to the unfamiliarity with the girl, they didn't rashly propose any abrupt ideas. They could only hope that in the future, Ergou would get to know the girl's family more often. Once they were more familiar with each other, they could see if the girl was interested in signing other long- or short-term jobs. Only then could they take advantage of the situation.

With this in mind, Ergou brought the head of the village and the villagers to have a polite conversation with Lin Xiaoyue.

……

After noon, teams heading to the nine counties and seventy-two towns set out one after another. Compared with other towns and counties, Wanbao Town is closest to the state capital and can be reached in about a day, so the journey is quite short.

Everyone said goodbye to their acquaintances reluctantly. This time they left, the mountains were high and the waters were long, and they didn't know when they would meet again in this life.

Lin Xiaoyue and her group, with their vision of a better life in the future, happily led their livestock and carried their full bags, heading for their new place of settlement.

The other families who set out together to Wanbao Town were worried about what would happen when they arrived at the villages under the jurisdiction of Wanbao Town.

No one noticed that hidden among the crowd of refugees, several malicious eyes were fixed on the flag of Wanbao Town as they were about to head there, with calculating gleams in their eyes.

The team of more than 200 people marched along with great momentum, but because they were out of the state capital, they would have to travel a long distance together with refugees going to other places.

It seemed that there were almost several hundred people walking on the official road, in a grand and mighty manner.

Except for the team leaders and officials who were sent here, everyone here had walked hundreds or even thousands of miles, endured hardships, cut through thorns and brambles, and finally reached the provincial capital under the scorching sun.

Now that their registered residence has been decided and their household registration documents are in place, all they need to do is go there and settle down again.

I have already taken ninety-nine steps, what else can I lack but the last step?

The village head and the leading official chatted as they walked leisurely along the way, and unintentionally found out most of the situation of the more than 200 people on their side.

Among the more than 200 people who went to Wanbao Town, there were two families who were like them and settled in Wanbao Town.

The remaining fifteen households were divided into different villages below, and five of them were the head of Ergou's former village and the villagers. However, those five households were not in the same village, but were divided into two villages.

The leader's surname was Shen, and he was from the provincial capital. Maybe he was a talkative person or he wanted to make friends with the head of the village, but he told the head of the village all the information he knew.

Of course, as for the people in the village, due to the distance between them, the head of the village and others did not care. They mainly inquired about two families who also settled in Wanbao Town.

According to Team Leader Shen, one of the families was a small business owner. In the early years, they traveled a lot and lived a relatively wealthy life.

When he set out to escape the famine, he took with him his parents, wife, children, servants and three animals, and two large carts full of food and other supplies.

Normally, a family like this should have it much better than other refugees on the road, except for the lack of water.

But the problem lies with the two trucks of grain.

On the way, they were targeted by an organized group of hundreds of refugees.

After all, in addition to the four men in the family, the merchants also have servants and maids. If everyone works together and risks their lives to fight, they may be able to break through the encirclement of refugees.

But the problem lies with the maids and servants in the house. When the disaster came, they not only failed to work together with the master to overcome the difficulties, but also abandoned the master at the critical moment and fled with a small part of the food.

When they left, the host's family was almost trampled to death by the refugees. In the end, the merchant and his eldest son gritted their teeth and fought with a spirit of dying together and not caring about their lives. They barely managed to protect their family from the encirclement of the refugees who were crazy about snatching food, and escaped by chance.

But on the journey ahead, because the little rations they brought with them were not enough, the elderly grandparents gritted their teeth and starved themselves to death in order to let their children and grandchildren survive for a day or two longer...

Fortunately, there is always a way out. The family of five relied on eating tree bark and Guanyin soil to survive and reach Yongzhou City. Then, with the seal hidden in the merchant's underwear, they went to the money house to withdraw their deposits. Only then did they get through the process and spent most of their family wealth to settle down in Wanbao Town near Juntun.

Although most of their wealth was lost and the elderly in their family also passed away, the remaining couple, their two sons and one daughter, managed to hold on firmly, which can be considered a blessing in disguise.

The other family is a wealthy man who owns thousands of acres of land and countless gold and silver.

It is said that the gentleman is nearly fifty years old and has a delicate and graceful concubine who is more than twenty years younger than him, as well as a pair of children left to him by his deceased first wife.

His son joined the army and is now a small sergeant in the military camp near Wanbao Town, which is considered to be a low-level officer. His daughter married into a wealthy family in Yongzhou City and became the sixteenth concubine.

This time when fleeing, the official was smart and hired more than a dozen martial artists with large sum of money. He gave them 1/3 of the money as a deposit before departure, and would pay the rest when he arrived at the state capital.