Traveling Through Farmhouses: Taking the Baby on a Famine Escape

Ling Yun pulled the carriage forward with all his might, with Zhang Xixi and the others following behind.

"This is Lingzhou!" Chen exclaimed, looking at the tall and majestic city walls before her.

Zhang Xixi also looked up and saw the three dark blue characters "Lingzhou City" engraved on the lintel of the city gate, which had a strong sense of history!

The city wall was quite high, but it was covered with moss. On the city tower, patrolling soldiers in armor and holding red-tasseled spears stood lazily. Below, on both sides of the city gate, there were two guards who were also lazily standing. There was no one entering the city after that. The ground outside the city wall was covered with leaves.

When a junior officer on the city wall saw Zhang Xixi and her entourage arrive, he immediately ordered his soldiers to stand up straight and chests out. The soldiers quickly straightened their posture, but their eyes were still curiously observing Zhang Xixi and her group.

This group of people were dressed in coarse cloth, with their families in tow. The young people carried large baskets on their backs, while the elderly and children carried bundles and led horses, donkeys, and other animals that were also laden with many things on their backs.

Young Fan Sheng thought to himself, "Where did this guy come from? How dare he come here!"

This place is recognized as a barbaric land by the Tianqi Dynasty. Although there is a lot of land and no natural disasters have occurred, it is all mountainous and the land is very barren. The harvest is very small, and people often go to the mountains to forage for food all year round.

Zhou Dashan signaled the team to stop, and he and Zhang Wenbo went to the city gate to negotiate with the soldiers guarding the city about entering the city.

They returned in just a few minutes.

"Brother, what do you mean?"

“The city guard said there were too many of us and he couldn’t make the decision; he had to report to his superiors.”

"Then let's wait here!"

Zhang Xixi threw the grain she was carrying on the ground, then turned to the villagers and said, "Everyone, put down what you're carrying and take a rest!"

Half an hour passed and no one came out. The villagers were getting very anxious.

"They won't stop us from going in, will they?"

Zhang Xixi was also anxious. Looking up, she saw that there were several more soldiers at the city gate, and she had a bad feeling.

"Brother, let's go ask what's going on."

Zhang Wenbo nodded, and he and Zhang Xixi went to the city gate again and found the soldier they had met before.

"Sir, what do you say? May we enter the city?"

"You can't go in, you should leave now!"

Zhang Wenbo grabbed him and secretly slipped a piece of silver into his hand. "Sir, can you tell us why?"

The soldier touched the silver in his hand, glanced at Zhang Wenbo, and lowered his voice, saying, "There's been a plague outbreak in Anping County, and all refugees are not allowed to enter the city."

"We're from Liangzhou, not Anping County. Could you please make an exception for us?"

The soldier shook his head. "No, the higher-ups have given orders that no refugees are allowed to go in."

Zhang Xixi quickly asked, "Then can we go in and buy something?"

"Well!" the soldier hesitated.

Zhang Xixi gave Zhang Wenbo a wink, and then took out two more pieces of silver and handed them to the soldier.

"You guys wait a minute!"

After seeing that the man go to discuss with the other soldiers guarding the city, Zhang Wenbo pulled Zhang Xixi back a few steps and asked, "Little sister, what do you want to do in the city?"

"Duanmu Yun left me a token. Go into the city and see if there's a Jinxiufang there. Ask them for help. We can't just turn back again!"

Zhang Wenbo nodded. "No wonder you said you came here and then tried to find a solution; it turns out you had a trump card up your sleeve!"

Zhang Xixi touched her nose and smiled.

"You can go in to buy things, but only three people can go in at a time!"

Zhang Wenbo and Zhang Xixi quickly thanked the soldiers.

"Sir, please wait a moment, I'll go and call someone else."

After Zhang Xixi finished speaking, she walked back, told the villagers about the situation, and then brought Zhou Dashan over.

"Go in quickly! Come out before the city gates close." The soldier added a final instruction before letting Zhang Xixi and the other two inside.

The three of them went inside, found a noodle stall, and asked where Jinxiufang was.

Zhang Xixi only knew that it was on East Street, but the way around was too convoluted and she didn't understand it; her sense of direction has always been weak.

"Big brother, do you understand how to get there?"

Zhang Wenbo nodded and led the way.

Upon arriving at the entrance of Jinxiufang, Zhou Dashan saw that it was a jewelry store, frequented by high-ranking officials and dignitaries. He grabbed Zhang Wenbo and asked nervously, "Wenbo, will we be kicked out if we go in?"

Zhang Wenbo hesitated for a moment, "I don't think so!"

Zhang Xixi walked in with her head held high and her eyes straight ahead, leaving Zhou Dashan and the others no choice but to follow.

The waiter inside didn't mistreat them because they were wearing coarse clothes. After Zhang Xixi explained their purpose, the waiter immediately found the shopkeeper.

Zhang Xixi showed the token to the shopkeeper, and then they were led to the back room.

"Distinguished guests, please have a seat!"

After Zhang Xixi and the others sat down, they quickly introduced themselves to each other. When asking for help, you have to tell people who you are!

Zhang Xixi asked with concern, "Is Miss Duanmu alright?"

"Miss is well and has safely returned to the Duke's side."

"That's good!" Zhang Xixi breathed a sigh of relief; it was good that the little girl was safe and sound.

"Is something wrong with you all?"

Seeing Zhang Xixi and the others looking cautious, Manager Qian continued, "A month ago, the Duke's Mansion sent word that if anyone came with Miss's token, we would do our best to help them with anything. So please feel free to ask if you need any help."

Zhang Xixi tidied up and carefully explained the difficulties she had encountered to Manager Qian.

Manager Qian pondered for a moment and said, "This is easy to handle. The clerk in the prefecture is from the same clan as me. I'll go find him. You all stay here and have some tea."

"Then we'll have to trouble Manager Qian!" Zhang Xixi and the other two exchanged glances, stood up, and bowed to express their gratitude.

"No trouble at all, it's a piece of cake!"

Manager Qian instructed the waiter to take good care of Zhang Xixi and the others, and then headed towards the prefectural government office with some silver notes.

After Zhang Xixi and the others had drunk two cups of tea, Manager Qian returned.

"Manager Qian, how is it?"

Manager Qian smiled and said, "It's all taken care of. It's just that we've arranged for you to be in Dafang County, which is a bit far from here. Here's your travel permit."

Zhou Dashan took the travel permit. "It doesn't matter how far it is. It's good enough that it can let us get into the city and settle down."

"Manager Qian, thank you so much this time!"

"It should, it should."

"Come on, I'll go with you to pick them up."

Upon arriving at the city gate, Zhou Dashan was waiting there, while Zhang Xixi and her brother went out to call the villagers over.

"Manager Qian, these officials!"

"Don't worry, everything has been taken care of!"

Zhang Xixi and her group successfully entered the city. Manager Qian was just about to suggest that they stay for the night before leaving.

A servant ran over and said, "Manager Qian, the prefect said they must go to Dafang County immediately and not linger."

Manager Qian nodded, thanked the waiter, and then looked apologetically at Zhang Xixi and the others, "Everyone, I'm really sorry, I originally wanted you to stay the night, but..."

Zhang Xixi nodded understandingly, "It's alright, we're all used to living in the mountains."

Zhou Dashan chuckled and chimed in, "Having gotten used to living in the forest, it's a bit strange to suddenly be living in the city!"

Upon hearing this, Manager Qian said, "Then I will take you to the West Gate. Go out that way and keep going west. After passing Puan County, you will reach Dafang County."

"Row!"

Zhou Dashan called out to the villagers, "Everyone, follow me!"