Armed with a machete and a gun, armed with a system, they fled the famine.

Yang Sanlang looked at Zhao Yan with kind eyes and said, "The yard is a bit messy, but it will be fine after I clear the weeds. Let's go check the house first. If it's really uninhabitable, then we'll go to the brokerage to settle accounts."

They just finished the property transfer, and even if they went to the broker now, there's nothing he can do.

The sale of the house will have to wait until the day after tomorrow.

Tian Xiu'e stepped forward and grabbed Zhao Yan's other arm, then persuaded her, "Yes, Yan'er, the courtyard is a bit dilapidated, but the house might still be in good condition. Let's go and see the house first."

He said this, and with a little force in his hand, he pulled Zhao Yan and led her into the side room on the left side of the main house.

Fortunately, the rooms weren't too bad. Zhao Yan looked around each room, and her frustration gradually dissipated.

She pointed to the side room on the left side of the main house and said to Yuan Yutang, "Uncle Yuan, you and Uncle Yuan can stay in this room with Tianbao. Yunchen and the other two can stay in the room opposite you."

As for the remaining east and west wing rooms, one of the west wing rooms was a livestock shed used to store horses and carriages, while the other room was used by Tian Xiu'e's family.

Zhao Yan and her daughter eventually moved into the east wing.

Poor Yang Sanlang was forced to live in the woodshed next door.

The reason is simple: she's not used to sharing a bed with a man, even if that man is her husband in name only.

Fortunately, there were tables, chairs and benches in the woodshed. Yang Sanlang simply put them together to make a bench bed that was just big enough for one person to lie down on. He then laid a soft cotton mattress on top of it, so the bench bed wasn't too uncomfortable to lie on.

After tidying up the house, Yang Sanlang picked up a machete and began clearing the weeds in the yard.

Seeing this, Zhao Yunchen also helped clear the weeds.

The courtyard itself wasn't very big, and it wasn't long before the two of them cleared away all the weeds, revealing the original ground paved with blue bricks.

Zhao Yan clicked her tongue in amazement: "I didn't realize that the previous owner of this courtyard knew how to enjoy life. The courtyard is paved with blue bricks. No wonder the broker asked for such a high price."

Yuan Gang laughed and replied, "That's right. Ordinary families wouldn't be willing to pave their courtyards with blue bricks. Only wealthy and powerful families would do that."

Even the backyard of their pharmacy in Baima Town was still dirt ground, only it was compacted so it wouldn't easily crumble on rainy days.

At this moment, Tian Xiu'e came over and said worriedly, "Yan'er, without firewood, we can't cook lunch."

Oh no, I forgot to ask the broker where I could buy firewood or something.

Zhao Yan touched her face in annoyance.

Yang Sanlang and Zhao Yunchen were working together to move weeds into the livestock shed when they heard this, and he quickly came over carrying a bundle of dry weeds.

"Let's use this for now. Those weeds should be enough for a meal. I'll go out and see if there's any firewood for sale later."

That's all we can do for now.

Zhao Yan helped Yang Sanlang move the cleared weeds to the kitchen window so that it would be easier for Tian Xiu'e to cook.

After finishing all that, Yang Sanlang washed his hands and found Zhao Yan, who was helping to cook in the kitchen.

"Yan'er, could you... give me some silver?"

There was nothing he could do; he was penniless and had to ask the shopkeeper for money before buying firewood.

Tian Xiu'e cast a mocking glance at Zhao Yan.

Oh dear, Sanlang is so pitiful now, he has to ask his wife for money to buy anything.

Zhao Yan blushed slightly, took out the cloth bag that Yang Sanlang had entrusted to her for safekeeping from her bosom, took out a piece of silver from it and handed it over.

He said in a curt tone, "Is that enough?"

Yang Sanlang knew, of course, that his wife was angry, but his skin was now as thick as a city wall, and he still accepted the silver with a deep smile.

"That's enough, thank you, wife."

After saying that, he gave Zhao Yan, who was about to become furious, a deep look, and quickly left.

Let's get out of here quickly.

If he didn't leave soon, he feared the raging anger in his wife's eyes would completely melt him away.

It was also due to Yang Sanlang's luck that he had just stepped out of the gate and had not gone far on the main road when he ran into an old man carrying two bundles of firewood.

He quickly stopped the man and asked, "Uncle, are you selling your firewood?"

The old man had just crawled in through a hole outside the city and was sweating profusely with nervousness. When he saw that Yang Sanlang wanted to buy his firewood, he immediately nodded enthusiastically, "Sell, sell."

How much is a bundle?

The old man wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, thought for a moment, and said, "To tell you the truth, I smuggled this firewood in from outside. It usually costs six coins a bundle, but now my family really has no money to buy grain, so I had no choice but to sneak into the city to sell firewood. If you want it all, I'll give you eight coins a bundle."

Eight coins a bundle, two bundles would be sixteen coins. He could buy two jin of dark flour, not much, but enough for his family of five to eat for two or three days.

Sneak in?

Does this mean that there are other entrances into the city besides the North Gate?

Yang Sanlang, being a military officer, immediately understood the deeper meaning in the old man's words.

He probed calmly, "Uncle, I'll take both bundles of firewood from you, and I'll give you ten coins per bundle."

"Not only that, I need six bundles of firewood every day for the next two weeks. I wonder if you can bring them over, sir?"

Ten coins for a bundle?

Six bundles every day?

Oh my god.

How much does that cost per day?

The old man was so happy that his hands trembled uncontrollably and his eyes welled up with tears.

Great, they won't starve for now.

Yang Sanlang patiently asked again, "Uncle, can you deliver it?"

"Yes, yes, it absolutely can!"

The old man wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes and gratefully assured Yang Sanlang, "Don't worry, young man, I'll have my family go up the mountain to chop firewood as soon as I get back, and they'll definitely bring over four more bundles of firewood this afternoon."

"By the way, young man, where should I deliver this firewood to?"

Yang Sanlang wasn't in a hurry to give the address. His dark eyes swept across the old man's face, and he asked casually, "No rush, old man. You just said you were secretly bringing firewood into the city. Could it be that there are also yamen runners guarding the north gate?"

After calming down, the old man realized that he had said something he shouldn't have.

What if this young man in front of me is a bad guy, and he tells the magistrate about his smuggling of firewood? Wouldn't he go to jail?

He's not afraid of going to jail, but he has several family members waiting for him to sell firewood and buy food to save their lives.

He broke out in a cold sweat again, and pleaded in a trembling voice, "Brother, please don't report me. My son is dead, my daughter-in-law has run away, and I'm left with just an old woman and three grandchildren crying for food. We're so pitiful; we don't have enough food, so we have to go up the mountain to dig for wild vegetables and eat tree bark. I'll give you these two bundles of firewood, just please don't take me to the authorities..."

Does he look like a bad guy?

Yang Sanlang's face stiffened for a moment before he reached out and helped the old man up from the ground.

"Old man, you've misunderstood. I won't send you to the authorities."

"To be honest, I'm not a local. I'm just in town to buy some things. We're leaving in half a month. I just wanted to ask you what the situation is like at the north gate."

It turned out to be the case.

The old man calmed down a bit and said, "You shouldn't have entered the city. There are notices posted at every city gate today saying that from today onwards, you have to pay money whether you're entering or leaving the city."

Do I have to pay money to leave the city?

Yang Sanlang couldn't help but frown. "Does the old man know how much the exit fee is?"