It's hard for my elder sister. I rely on the mountains to farm and pay off my debts.

Song Zhi walked out of the city, listening to the discussions of passers-by on the street.

Suddenly, there was a commotion among the crowd, and someone shouted to the group, "Everyone, go and see! There's a notice posted at the city gate saying they're canceling the entrance fee!"

The crowd on the street was quickly ignited by this statement. Someone grabbed the person shouting and asked unsurely, "Is this true? Where did you hear that?"

The man was stopped and felt unhappy. He was waiting to go back and tell his parents the good news.

He tugged at his sleeve, but it didn't budge. He pointed to the city gate and said, "This is the notice the police just posted. If you don't believe me, go and see for yourself. Don't try to stop me from going home!"

On the entire street, whether it was merchants from other places or local people, upon hearing this, they all walked out of the city curiously.

Suddenly the streets were crowded with people, and everyone no longer cared about what they were originally going to do, and all walked out of the city.

Although Song Zhi was curious, she did not go over immediately.

She took her brother and sister-in-law and waited for a while at a snack stall.

During this period, groups of people returned from outside the city from time to time, and they talked with interest.

Song Zhi heard from these few words that it seemed that the entrance fee was really going to be cancelled!

After the surging crowd had passed, Song Zhi took her brother and sister-in-law and walked out of the city.

Song An looked at Song Zhi with sparkling eyes and asked, "Sister, do we not have to pay the entrance fee when we enter the city tomorrow?"

He also heard the conversation between those people just now, and the little guy was so happy that his eyes and eyebrows were full of smiles.

Song Zhi also wanted to know, so he said to the two children, "Let's go and take a look."

So the three siblings left the city together.

As soon as she left the city, Song Zhi saw that the area in front of the notice board at the foot of the city wall was already crowded with people and very lively.

Considering that most people were illiterate, Zhou Yu specially sent a literate clerk to read the contents of the notice.

When Song Zhixun came over, the clerk surrounded by the crowd was reading the key part: "From tomorrow onwards, all the people under my jurisdiction will no longer be charged any entrance fees when entering the city..."

Before the clerk could continue reading, his voice was suddenly drowned out by the cheers of the crowd.

The clerk had no choice but to stop and wait for the people to calm down before continuing to read.

"But fellow villagers, please note that starting tomorrow, anyone entering the city must carry their household registration certificate proving their identity so that officials can check it."

The clerk emphasized, "If you forget to bring it and cannot prove your identity, you will not be exempted from paying the money."

The crowd became noisy again.

Due to the constant wars in recent years, many people have fled from border areas to live in Qishui County.

This group of people either worked as tenants in wealthy families or became hidden households.

Zhou Yu's move was also to urge these people to take the initiative to come to the county government to report their household registration so that they could settle down in the county.

Originally, the county government was too poor, so he could only take care of one side. Now that the situation in the county has eased, it is time to seek welfare for the poor people.

The people were whispering to each other, thinking of telling their relatives outside the city the news.

At this time, someone weakly raised his hand and asked, "Sir, our son is not even three years old yet, and the village hasn't reported him to the head of the village yet. Does this mean he can't be exempted?"

The child mortality rate at this time was very high. Generally, the village was not in a hurry to report children aged one to three. Only after confirming that the children were able to survive would the people consider registering them.

The clerk was stunned. Such a detailed matter was indeed not mentioned in the notice.

The crowd laughed and said, "Sir, please ignore him. He's only three years old and can't even speak clearly. Why bring him to the city?"

Everyone burst into laughter.

"My Lord, please ignore him and continue reading."

The clerk said seriously, "This situation is not clearly stated in the notice. I will report today's matter to the Lord, and then the Lord will make the final decision."

The onlookers nodded repeatedly.

The clerk looked up at the notice on the wall and continued reading, "In addition, to make it more convenient for the people to trade, the county magistrate has planned three grass markets within the city."

"Once the market is complete, you can bring your livestock, vegetables, winnowing baskets, bamboo baskets, etc. to the market to sell and increase your income to supplement your household expenses."

The crowd began to talk noisily again.

"Sir, will there be a fee for the grass market?" asked someone among the onlookers.

The clerk nodded and said, "You must pay one penny."

"Then do we have to charge for setting up stalls in Caoshi?" someone asked on a sudden inspiration.

"That's not necessary," the clerk replied.

"That's great! In the future, more people will come to the city to sell vegetables, and those of us living in the city will have more choices."

After hearing this, someone slapped his thigh and said, "I have to send a message to my relatives at home, asking them to bring their leftover vegetables to the city. After all, they can earn a little money."

Some quick-witted people, upon hearing this, left the crowd and went to deliver letters to people they knew.

After listening to the notice, Song Zhi took her two children to another place to look for an ox cart.

At this time, Old Man Zhao was happily asking the passengers on the ox cart about the contents of the notice.

There was originally a lively scene to watch at the foot of the city on the other side, but since he had an ox cart next to him, Old Man Zhao did not dare to go over to watch the fun.

He looked at the time and thought to himself that he would wait a little longer. If there were no passengers, he would catch the bus back.

In just a cup of tea, two people came out from the bustling crowd opposite and asked if he wanted to go to Dazao Village.

It takes two more miles to get to Dazao Village, but if you go back empty-handed, you won’t make a penny.

Old Man Zhao thought about it and nodded in agreement, but asked the two to wait for a while.

The two of them were not in a hurry. They just read the notice about the cancellation of the city entrance fee and sent a letter to her parents' home.

While waiting, Old Man Zhao asked the two of them about what had just happened.

When Old Man Zhao heard this, he was overjoyed. If the entrance fee was no longer charged, would more people come to the county town to sell goods in the future?

Wouldn't his oxcart business be better then?

Seeing Song Zhi and her brother coming over, Old Man Zhao waved to them excitedly, "Ah Zhi, did the notice really say that the entrance fee will be cancelled?"

Song Zhi smiled and nodded, "Yes, from now on, if we have leftover vegetables at home, we can carry them to the city and sell them, which will at least help supplement our family income."

Old man Zhao grinned with his missing front teeth, "That's right, that's right!"

After the three siblings got on the car, Old Man Zhao didn't wait any longer and waved the whip impatiently and left.

He had to go back quickly to tell his wife the good news.

My wife planted a lot of delicious vegetables, but she couldn't sell them at the market. She was reluctant to spend that penny to go to the city, for fear that if the vegetables didn't sell, she would have to lose another penny.

Now he could bring his wife to the county town, and he didn't need to go to the market. He just needed to carry the vegetables and ask the people at the entrance of the alley.

But it only requires some effort and doesn't cost much, Old Man Zhao thought happily in his heart.