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

Zhao Yunchen quickly guessed his aunt's intention and replied in a low voice, "I understand, Aunt."

Yang Sanlang raised an eyebrow in surprise, his eyes revealing appreciation.

Great, now he doesn't have to worry about anyone coveting his wife's beauty.

Zhao Yan went even further, not only smearing her entire face black, but also covering her exposed neck, palms, and the backs of her hands with the smear.

A quick glance revealed that he looked as if he had rolled in mud several times, and no one wanted to look at him again.

Seeing this, Tian Xiu'e followed suit, grabbing a handful of black ash from the ground and smearing it on her and her daughter's faces.

After applying the first layer, she was still not satisfied and wanted to grab some black ash to apply a second layer to her daughter's face, but Chen An suddenly grabbed her wrist.

"Xiu'e, Jiao Jiao's face is already dark enough, don't put any more on it."

If they keep smearing themselves and end up looking like beggars, he's worried they won't be allowed into the county town.

"That's fine."

Tian Xiu'e then gave up.

After walking for half an hour, the group turned onto the official road leading to Wei County.

The official road was much wider than the side road, and it was faster to walk on.

However, after walking for a short while, they saw men and women lying on both sides of the official road, mostly elderly, with very few children.

Zhao Yan glanced at them coldly. Their eyes were wide open, and their faces, with prominent cheekbones, were completely devoid of color, clearly indicating that they had been dead for some time.

Yuan Yutang quickly told Zhao Yunjie and the other children to stay quietly in the carriage and not to look around.

Chen Qingjiao was also so frightened that she clung tightly to her mother's arm.

Zhao Yunchen walked over with a grim expression.

"Auntie, they...they're all dead, aren't they?"

He had never seen a dead person before, not even as a child.

The scene on both sides of the official road was so shocking that his heart trembled.

Zhao Yan reached out and patted her nephew's shoulder reassuringly.

"Don't be afraid, the dead are the safest."

What they need to guard against are the living people.

Zhao Yunchen didn't dare to look around, and nodded in a low voice, "Yes, I'm not afraid."

Zhao Yan's eyes sharpened, and she hurriedly asked Tian Xiu'e, "Sister Tian, ​​how many cloth masks did you make that I asked you to make before? Take them all out so everyone can wear them."

It's still hot during the day.

If those corpses are left unattended, bacteria can easily breed in the hot weather, leading to an outbreak of plague.

While cloth masks are not as effective as medical-grade masks at preventing bacteria and viruses, wearing one still provides an extra layer of protection.

better than nothing.

"I'll find it for everyone right away."

The tragic scene by the roadside had greatly shocked the honest and law-abiding Tian Xiu'e. She told her daughter to sit on the cart shaft first and began to rummage through the basket on her back.

Finally, she found a dozen or so cloth masks at the bottom of the basket and handed them to Zhao Yan.

"We only had time to sew these, and Jiaojiao and I will continue tonight."

"it is good."

Zhao Yan gave each person a hastily made cloth mask and taught them how to wear it.

The cloth mask was made from the fabric she had prepared in advance. The mask had two layers: the inner layer was made of pure white fine cotton, and the outer layer was made of slightly rougher dark linen.

There is a strip of cloth sewn on each side; just wrap the strip around the back of your head and tie it tightly.

This is exactly the situation she was trying to prevent.

As expected, her prediction was correct; people did indeed die on the road.

The group of people all wore identical dark-colored cloth masks as they walked along the official road, which looked quite unusual.

When other pedestrians saw this, they seemed to realize that this was also possible, and they all pulled out a piece of rag from their bodies to cover their faces.

As Zhao Yan and her group walked along, others quickly followed suit, covering their mouths and noses with something, leaving only their eyes looking around.

When they reached a distance of two miles from the south gate of Wei County, they were followed by a line of pedestrians with their faces covered by cloth.

However, Zhao Yan and the others were unaware of this; they were only concerned with how to get into Wei County.

When Tian Xiu'e and her daughter were kicked out of the house by Granny Mei, they left with nothing. Granny Mei still held their household registration.

Although Zhao Yan had completely severed ties with Yang Zhangshi and established her own household, Yang Sanlang's household registration was still linked to Yang Zhangshi's family.

Another possibility is that Yang Sanlang and Chen An's household registrations were cancelled by their families long ago, and they are now unregistered residents.

After pondering the question for a moment, Yuan Yutang reassured Zhao Yan and the others, "When we go into the city to check the household registrations later, none of you should say anything. Leave this to Yuan Gang. If my method doesn't work, we'll think of another way."

Sometimes, money can solve most problems.

With a slight sense of relief, Zhao Yan and the others continued their journey to the county town.

There were also some pedestrians with their families who came to approach them, but before they got close, they were so frightened by the machetes in Zhao Yan and her group that they were speechless and fled.

Zhao Yan and her group had a relatively smooth journey so far.

Aside from the initial shock of seeing the dead on the roadside, everyone gradually recovered and walked faster, soon putting distance between themselves and the pitiful, emaciated people on the road.

Although she had anticipated what kind of scene she would face, when she was actually there, Zhao Yan was still so overwhelmed by the magnificent sight outside the south gate of Wei County that her eyes felt heavy.

Too much!

There are just too many refugees!

All that could be seen around the city wall were circles of refugees, most of them with their families gathered together, and many more from village to village.

The area outside the city gate was occupied by refugees, leaving only the road leading from the city gate to the official road.

Zhao Yan squinted and roughly estimated that there were at least ten or twenty thousand people.

The magistrate of Wei County is really bold. With so many people gathered together, isn't he afraid that the refugees will cause a riot?

Several soup kitchens were set up on both sides of the city gate. Zhao Yan squinted to look and saw that people were distributing soup to the refugees.

Is it the work of the Wei County government, or a wealthy private household?

Or both?

Distributing porridge from granaries can temporarily appease the starving refugees.

When they arrived, a long queue had already formed in front of the city gate.

Two tables were placed at the city gate. Behind one table was a doctor who was taking the pulses of people entering the city. Only after confirming that they were alright were they allowed to pass.

Behind another table sat two constables, one responsible for checking household registrations and the other for collecting money.

Seeing their arrogant expressions, their nostrils practically popped out of their heads.

Behind them stood a row of soldiers in blue, each wielding a large sword, their eyes fixed menacingly on everyone entering the city.

No wonder those two constables were so fearless; they had someone protecting them.

Those who chose to enter the city were all wealthy people with several horse-drawn carriages and mule carts; the poor and destitute refugees who couldn't even afford a decent set of clothes had no chance of entering the city at all.

When it was Zhao Yan's turn, Zhao Yunjie and the others were helped off the carriage by Zhao Yan and Yang Sanlang, and their pulses were checked one by one.

After being allowed to pass, they began checking everyone's household registration.

Yuan Gang suddenly stepped forward and handed over a household registration document wrapped in oilcloth and several silver ingots.

"Sir, these are our household registration documents and the city entry fee."