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

The old man slowly extended two fingers.

"Twenty taels of silver per person."

"Whether they are locals or from out of town."

He couldn't even afford the twenty taels of silver needed for the city gate fee, let alone the five taels for the city entrance fee.

To ensure his family wouldn't starve, he risked his life to crawl through a tunnel into the city to sell firewood, hoping to make a little money to buy some food for his family.

Thinking of the government's actions, a fierce glint flashed in Yang Sanlang's dark eyes.

"Are you sure the news is true, sir?"

Wasn't it said that Magistrate Wei was a magistrate who loved his people like his own children?

The fact that he was able to arrange for yamen runners to distribute porridge outside the city gates at least shows that he still cared about the people.

Why did they suddenly issue such an outrageous notice?!

The old man looked around and, seeing that no one was there, whispered to Yang Sanlang, "It's true, it's true. If you don't believe me, you can go to the city gate and ask around."

"Ever since the county government issued the notice, fewer people have entered the city today, and there are hardly any people on the road."

"Everyone is cursing the magistrate, saying he's gone crazy for money. It's one thing to charge a fee to enter the city, but now he even charges a fee to leave the city. This is unheard of in the world."

Yang Sanlang's eyes darted around, and he tentatively asked, "The cave the old man mentioned..."

"Hey, hey, don't say it, don't say it."

The old man hurriedly pulled the man to a secluded spot, listened carefully to the surrounding sounds for a while, and only dared to say to Yang Sanlang after confirming that no one was around: "Young man, if you want to know the location of that cave, I can tell you, but please don't spread it around. That place is my family's chance to survive."

The cave was far from the north gate; he discovered the secret by accident.

In the past, whenever he started charging to enter the city, he would crawl through that hole every time he went into the city to sell firewood.

He hadn't told anyone, but he told Yang Sanlang today.

Knowing the gravity of the situation, Yang Sanlang solemnly promised, "Don't worry, sir. Now that you've told me such important news, I will certainly keep this secret for you."

He took out the twenty large coins he had kept on his person and handed them to the old man.

"Here is today's payment for firewood, old man, please take it."

"Eh."

The old man happily accepted the twenty coins and handed the two bundles of firewood to Yang Sanlang. Feeling something was amiss, he quickly asked, "How about I help you carry the firewood back?"

This is what he was supposed to do.

"No need." Yang Sanlang shook his head. "Please wait here for a moment, old man. I'll be right back."

After saying that, he picked up a bundle of firewood in one hand, held it tightly, and left.

A moment later, Yang Sanlang returned, carrying a cloth bag in his hand. He approached the old man and casually handed it to him.

"Uncle, these are sweet potato chips that my family dried themselves. Please take them home and let your family try them."

Returning favors in return is a fundamental principle of his conduct.

The old man wiped his hands on his clothes again and again, hesitated before taking the cloth bag, feeling an indescribable gratitude in his heart.

He didn't want to take it at first, but when he thought of his two hungry children at home, he felt so distressed that he actually took it.

"Young man, you...you really don't have to do this..."

He had only heard about sweet potatoes from others; he had never seen them, let alone tasted them.

He merely informed him of the city gate and the cave entrance. Given that this young man's items were of high quality, he could still leave the city even without knowing the cave's location.

Yang Sanlang smiled gently, "Uncle, I'll go with you to see the location of the cave entrance. Let's set a time, and I'll be waiting for you inside the city wall at the agreed time in half a month."

"well."

The old man obeyed without question and went back the way he had come.

He led Yang Sanlang away from crowded streets and tried to go to secluded places.

Seeing the city wall in the distance, he looked around and waved to those behind him.

"Brother, let's keep going west along this road."

Yang Sanlang memorized the route and nodded slightly, "Okay."

After walking about three hundred steps, the old man suddenly stepped forward, parted the dense weeds at the base of the wall with both hands, and a hole just big enough for one person to pass through was revealed.

“This place is quite secluded,” Yang Sanlang said.

No wonder the old man could come and go as he pleased; the cave entrance was far from the city gate, and overgrown with weeds nearby, so he wasn't afraid of being seen at all.

The old man scratched the back of his head sheepishly and whispered to Yang Sanlang, "Young man, there's a small grove of trees just outside this place. Walk north along the grove for another hour, and you'll see the main road. Remember this if you ever leave the city in the future."

This is also why he dared to sneak into the city during the day.

With a grove of trees outside and weeds covering his surroundings inside the city, it was difficult for others to spot him.

Yang Sanlang had a general idea of ​​what was going on and said gratefully, "Thank you for telling me, sir."

You're welcome, no need to thank me.

The old man touched the large sum of money he had just received and a bag of precious dried sweet potatoes in his pocket, and said to Yang Sanlang, "Young man, tell me a time, and I'll go back now to prepare firewood for you."

Make another trip in the afternoon, preferably preparing four bundles of firewood at once, which will earn you another forty coins.

Let's not buy the grain for now. Let's go back and prepare firewood first, and buy it together this afternoon.

Yang Sanlang thought for a moment and said the time, "Between Shen and Youchu, I suppose."

Shenzheng means 4 PM, and Youchu means 5 PM.

The sun was still high in the sky then, and it was still light when the old man finished delivering the firewood and went back.

The old man nodded hurriedly, "Okay, I'll go back now and come back at Shenzheng. Young man, you can go back and wait."

After saying that, he waved to Yang Sanlang, nimbly climbed into the cave, and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Yang Sanlang's eyes darkened. He carefully destroyed the footprints near the cave entrance and turned back.

After lunch and a short rest, Zhao Yan called Yang Sanlang to go to the grain store to buy grain.

The little kids, including Zhao Yunchen, wanted to go with her, but she killed them all with a single look.

There's no other reason than that the outside world is in chaos right now, and she dares not let them wander around aimlessly; they might get lost if she's not careful.

Yang Sanlang wanted to send the letter he had written to General Dou in the north as soon as possible, so Zhao Yan accompanied him to find the largest escort agency in the area, Black Wind Escort Agency.

During this special period, the price of escort services by security escort agencies increased. A single letter cost Zhao Yan a full ten taels of silver, which pained her greatly.

Yang Sanlang's eager gaze never left her. Seeing this, he quickly comforted her, "Don't worry, I'll find a way to earn more money for you in the future."

"Money isn't as easy to earn as you make it out to be."

The man's confident demeanor made Zhao Yan glance at him sideways.

You big idiot.

No matter the time, that money is never easy to earn.

Unexpected gains are a different matter.

"Let's go, it's time to check out the grain store."

After saying this, Zhao Yan continued her search for the grain shop.

Wei County was, after all, a county town, and there were several grain shops there.

Zhao Yan and her companion found the largest Chen's Grain Shop in the city on the busiest street.