The end of natural disasters: the daily life of child brides in ancient times

Old Man Lu didn't care about being angry with his youngest son. He grabbed Old Third Lu tightly and warned in a low voice:

"If you go there now, not only will you lose your life, but you'll also bring trouble to your whole family. Look at Erzhuang and Sanniu, they still need you to support them!"

Lu Laosan looked at the two children who were trembling with fear and forced himself not to watch the humiliating scene.

Fortunately, the soldier didn't do anything else. He touched her twice and let Qin Li'niang go.

Everyone in the village was watching this scene. Many women in the back checked each other's bodies and applied more ash wherever they felt there was not enough ash.

When checking the father and son of the Wang family, the soldier found that all three of them were too tall. He stared at them for several seconds. It was rare to see ordinary people so strong these days.

When the soldier checked the Wang family's cart, he saw the large pile of wild dog meat, which further confirmed that these people were very strong.

In the past, they might have forcibly recruited such strong people into the team.

But considering the county magistrate's order, they will probably withdraw soon.

There were enough soldiers to transport the property now, and these people would only waste food, so he waved his hand and let them pass.

The Wang family father and son had no idea that they were nearly conscripted. They breathed a sigh of relief when they saw that the butcher knife tied under the car had not been discovered.

The team from Lujia Village was still queuing to enter the city. The refugee couple following behind took advantage of the other refugees' inattention and ran away quickly to the west.

Ever since their benefactor gave them the wild dog, the other refugees had been eyeing them covetously.

The couple was frightened by these stares and had to shorten the distance between them and the Lujia Village team.

When they were resting at night, they were worried that they would be robbed, so they took a piece of wild dog meat and gave it to a family behind the Lujia Village team, and roasted the meat over their fire.

Until this morning, the couple had been following the Lujia Village team closely for fear of being robbed.

Finally, when they were queuing up to enter the city, they took the opportunity to slip away while the other refugees were paying attention to the city gate.

After everyone in the team entered the city, Lu Tianming led the way and everyone walked along the street.

Most of the shops along the street have closed.

There were a few shops still open, but the prices had increased by who knows how many times, and there were tall men standing at the door.

When the first group of refugees arrived in Gaoyuan County, a large number of people in the city left as soon as they heard the news.

As more and more people fled the famine, fewer and fewer people stayed in the county town.

The shops that are still open now all do business with these people who have fled the famine. Those who are willing to take the risk to stay here and do business will definitely make a lot of money.

The most important thing for the team now is to replenish water. Lu Tianming asked someone and found out that the water output from the wells in the city is not large and the price of water is rising higher and higher.

The water from the ancient wells on the street is sold at a lower price, and the price of each barrel of water has risen to one hundred coins.

Not only is the water flow slow, but most of the city residents also line up here to get water. If their team also buys water from here, I'm afraid they will have to wait in line for a long time.

Another way is to stay in an inn. The inn also has a well. If you buy water from the inn, a bucket of water costs 120 coins.

Accommodation in the inn costs 30 wen per night for a large bunk bed and 100 wen per night for a single room.

After discussing with County Magistrate Yao, Lu Tianming decided to stay in an inn for the night.

On the one hand, there were a large number of people in the convoy, and each family brought a lot of belongings, so it was difficult to find such a large open space for them to rest.

On the other hand, and most importantly, with so many people in the queue, it would take most of the day to get water, and it would take until midnight to get the water.

Now that they had finally found a water source, the team had to cook some food while there was water, and many women and children also wanted to wash up.

After Lu Tianming explained this to everyone in the team, most of them agreed.

Knowing that a bucket of water cost two taels of silver when fleeing famine, people could accept a bucket of water costing one hundred and twenty coins.

Only a few families wanted to save twenty cents and fetch water from the ancient well on the street, but seeing that no one else objected, they did not dare to say anything.

Lu Tianming led everyone to the inn. When the waiter at the door saw so many people coming and there was a carriage in front of the team, he immediately greeted them warmly.

Lu Tianming asked about the accommodation price and water source. Seeing that the price he quoted was the same as the one he had inquired about, he decided to stay.

Seeing so many people, the waiter admitted that there was not enough room in their store, but he could introduce him to a nearby inn with similar price and environment.

Moreover, both inns have a deep well, so if we split up into two, the water supply will be faster.

After hearing this, Lu Tianming and his group decided to split up and stay in two inns, and then gather at this inn at noon tomorrow.

Before they separated, Lu Tianming asked everyone to buy anything they needed before noon, and to gather and set off on time at noon.

The team was divided into two teams, and County Magistrate Yao led the other team to stay at the second inn.

Lu Qingqing followed Lu Tianming into the first inn. The backyard of the inn was very large, large enough for everyone's cart to enter.

After the people in the team parked the cart in the yard, they didn't even bother to look at the rooms and started looking for the waiter to get some water.

Seeing that the yard was noisy, Lu Tianming asked everyone to line up.

Each family is given a bucket of water, and the women use it to cook first.

The water drawn out later is used to fill each household’s big bucket.

Everyone in the team was extremely excited when they got the water.

Someone muttered unconsciously, "This is just two taels of silver. If I had known earlier, I would have sold him half a bucket of water. If the whole family saves a little more, they can hold on until they get to the city."

Many people in the team regretted it, but most of them knew in their hearts that no one knew when they would find water.

If we had replaced the water at that time, we would not have been able to find water later and the whole family would have died of thirst.

In fact, by now, most of the families in the team have little water left, and this is the result of everyone's efforts to save water.

Keeping talking about selling water is just a regret that he missed the opportunity to make money.

After the women in the team got the water, they realized that this place was not like the wilderness, and they had to buy firewood from the inn if they wanted to.

Firewood is much more expensive now than usual, but in order to cook, many families grit their teeth and buy a bundle of firewood.

Some of the more frugal ones would buy a bundle of firewood together.

Lu Qingqing also bought a bundle of firewood, and after getting the water, she and Qin Lang started working.

She didn't know how long it would take for her to find water again, so she had to make more dry food, especially the whole grain pancakes for lunch.

Lu Qingqing was kneading the dough while Qin Lang was lighting a fire nearby.

Many women in the village started to make fun of Qin Lang when they saw him cooking.

A quick-witted woman joked:

"Oh my, Xiao Lang, look at our village. Are there any grown men who cook for themselves? What you're doing is really rare!"

Another woman echoed:

"That's what I mean. Are you going to be the one doing all the cooking from now on? Then I'll have to teach my wife a lesson!"

The women all laughed when they heard this, and the men next to them also relaxed unconsciously when they heard the women's laughter.

After fleeing famine for so long, their nerves have been tense. Not only do they have to guard against refugees on the road, but they also have to be prepared for sneak attacks at any time at night.

Now they finally entered a safer city, and the high walls and sturdy gates of the inn also gave them a greater sense of security.

Qin Lang listened to the jokes of these aunts, which seemed to be praising him, but also seemed to be saying that he shouldn't do housework. He didn't quite understand.

But when my grandfather was alive, he often helped my grandmother cook.

He has been helping to light the fire in the kitchen since he was a child, and his grandmother always praises him.

Qin Lang didn't understand the adults' twists and turns. He felt that doing things that made his grandmother and Daya happy was definitely the right thing to do.