The weak scholar in the end of ancient times

Chapter 27: I can't bear to see it
Just now, County Lieutenant Zhou had asked several questions and had a general understanding of the county seat of Feng County ahead. Wen Gu asked a few more detailed questions on top of these questions.

After County Magistrate Tan took his men away, what was the composition of the survivors in the city?
Those who stayed behind were not necessarily ordinary civilians.

Also, if they want to stay in the city, what do they need to pay? What are the current rules in the city?

He Da hesitated for a while, but still told Wen Gu.

He told Wen Gu that several groups were fighting for power and controlling the entry and exit of people at the four gates of the county town.

It’s okay to leave the city, but those who come back into the city have to pay a “city entry fee”.

For example, those who go out of the city to chop firewood need to hand over a bundle of firewood when they enter the city.

As for how much you should pay for the bundle of firewood, it depends on the mood of the gatekeeper and your relationship with him.

Even if you enter the city, the streets and alleys have been divided up, and even if you live in an empty house, you still have to pay accommodation fees.

When the county magistrate was in office, there were runners to maintain order. Now that there is no one in the government office, it is managed by some civilian forces.

Magistrate Tan's office had been occupied, and several vacant mansions of wealthy families in the city had also been divided up.

The order in the county town is unstable now, and outsiders like them who enter at this time may not end up in a good situation.

"Is there a blacksmith in the city?" Wen Gu asked again.

He Da recalled for a moment and nodded: "Blacksmith Yu should still be here."

Wen Gu thought, it seems I still have to go into the city.

He whispered a few words to Xiao Liu.

Xiao Liu walked to the mule cart behind.

He Da, who had been paying attention to the movements from all sides, was surprised to hear the voice of a child on the mule cart, and then he had other ideas.

Zhou Shan stared at He Da warily, his brows furrowed even more tightly.

Although He Da was keeping a low profile and slightly hunched, his eyes were rolling around and I wonder what evil ideas he was thinking about.

You can tell at first glance that he is a cunning person!
At this time, Xiao Liu brought over two paper bags, one large and one small.

What is packed inside is crushed grain bricks, and when it is packaged in bulk, two specifications are made.

This was a thank you gift for answering the question, and was handed to He Da.

Wen Gu said casually, "Thank you very much, little brother."

"Hey, you're welcome!" He Da quickly took it.

Although he didn't know what was inside, he quickly agreed, "If you have any questions, feel free to ask. I may not have any other skills, but I'm good at getting information."

He Da said this and took two steps to the side, but he didn't avoid Wen Gu and the others, nor did he care about other people's eyes. He opened the small paper bag and looked at the powder inside.

It was wrapped in oil paper and dry enough. He Da pulled down the cloth on his face, leaned in to smell it, licked the grain powder in the paper bag, and a look of joy appeared on his face.

He looked at Wen Gu and the others again, then at their two cars, and asked, "Do you have much stuff in your car?"

County Lieutenant Zhou looked over warily, but before he could say anything, He Da continued, "If you have a lot of stuff with you, it's best not to go into the city. You won't be able to keep it. But if you want to go into the city to find a blacksmith..."

He Da held up two fingers: "Give me two more bags, and I'll take you into the city."

Passersby usually don't carry much food. Two bags of grain powder are already a reasonable price he gave them for the sake of Wen Gu, a scholar.

Moreover, if he shouted any more, the county lieutenant Zhou next to him would draw his sword.

Wen Gu looked at Zhou Shan. Zhou Shan hesitated for a moment, then nodded. Although he looked down on them, these county urchins did have close ties with certain civilian forces and had their own ways.

The Taoist priest and Xiao Liu had no objection, and Tietou had an expression that said "I listen to my brother".

Wen Guruya smiled and said, "Then I'll trouble you, Brother He."

He also immediately asked Xiao Liu to take out two large paper bags.

Xiao Liu couldn't help showing reluctance on his face.

He Da smiled until his eyes narrowed, and he quickly took it over with great enthusiasm: "Sure, sure!"

I thought to myself: It turns out that scholars are easy to talk to and are very sincere!
Taoist Qingyi, who was standing next to the donkey cart at the back, closed his eyes.

I can't see it!

Is it so easy to get the dog scholar's things? !

If he gives you a small package, forget it. It’s a one-time transaction and there will be no future problems.

How dare you accept the big package given to you!
The last person who dared to take his bowl of soup has now become a laborer in the team!
The Taoist priest looked at Zhou Shan again.

This person obviously hasn't realized the seriousness of the matter.
Everyone is drunk but I am sober!

At this time, He Da had already put on his backpack and asked Wen Gu and others to follow him. He would take them to a nearby shed.

The shed is relatively hidden and well preserved. You can see that someone comes to take care of it from time to time.

He Da said, "This place is not far from our old village. I used to stay here more often, and officials would go there occasionally. But it's different now. Fewer people leave the city. I don't think anyone from the county town has come here in the past two days."

He asked Wen Gu and others to park the donkey carts and mule carts here, and leave some people to guard it. He would lead anyone who wanted to enter the city.

Giving Wen Gu and the others some time to discuss, He Da walked aside, took another lick of the grain powder in the small paper bag, took another big lick, took out the bamboo tube he brought with him and drank water, with a look of aftertaste on his face.

The grain brick powder didn't taste very good, but it was grain after all, and eating it directly gave him a very satisfying feeling. He had been drinking porridge for so long that he had almost forgotten what it felt like to eat dry food.

The fact that many people survived in the county meant that it was difficult to forage for food from other people's homes for their own consumption. Previously, there were government officials present, and the food found in nearby villages and empty houses in the city was managed by the government. These people could only work to earn food, just to avoid starvation.

Thinking of this, He Da took another big lick of the food powder, then packed and tied up the small bag of weight loss food again.

Zhou Shan kept an eye on this person out of the corner of his eye.

He has a sly look, a slick mind, and doesn't seem very reliable, so it's better not to get too involved with him.

Over at the shed, several people discussed who would stay here and who would go into the city.

Wen Gu wants to go into the city to find a blacksmith.

The Taoist priest was not interested in going into the city, so he stayed.

Tietou must be following along to review the past.

Zhou Shan had been a county lieutenant, and with his professional experience and knowledge, he was determined to follow Wen Gu into the city to find out what was going on. But he was worried about his three children.

Xiao Liu said, "Then the Taoist priest and I will stay here. Don't worry, County Magistrate Zhou, we still have Ma Tuan'er. If anything really happens, he will warn us, and I will also send him to find you."

County Magistrate Zhou went to the mule cart and talked with the three children for a while, then went to the county town of Feng County with Wen Gu and Tietou.

He Da really didn't lie to them. He brought Wen Gu and the other two to the west city gate. He was more familiar with the gatekeeper there.

Feng County is richer than Tang County before Zhou Xianwei, and the city walls are slightly higher.

As they approached, the man who was originally leaning lazily there guarding the door stood up and stared at Wen Gu and the other two, looking them up and down.

Three unfamiliar faces.

He Da took a few quick steps and went over to talk in a low voice with the gatekeeper.

After a few glances, it seemed as if we were communicating that you understand, I understand, others don't understand, but we understand it quite well among ourselves.

County Lieutenant Zhou gripped his knife cautiously.

However, Wen Gu guessed that He Da might have just exaggerated the identity of Zhou County Magistrate a little bit, and those who were guarding the city were obviously a little bit afraid.

But the people guarding the city were still unwilling to give up. They looked over here again and met the murderous eyes of County Lieutenant Zhou who was standing in the front.

The gatekeeper became frightened, looked away from He Da, and reached out to pull at his backpack.

"What's this?" The gatekeeper took out a square object wrapped in paper from his backpack and peeled off the paper.

"Before leaving the city today, I exchanged a book with someone. It's a Confucian classic and I'm taking it back for my brother." He Da snatched the book back and rewrapped it.

When the gatekeeper saw that it was a book, he immediately lost interest and looked at He Da as if he was a fool.

The times are in chaos now and the imperial examinations have been suspended. What's the point of reading this kind of book?
They even used supplies to exchange for it, how stupid!

The gatekeeper glanced at the backpack again, and it seemed that there was nothing else in it except the book and a bundle of firewood.

He looked He Da up and down again, staring at a bulge under his clothes.

He Da's face was full of pain as he muttered, "This is the biggest harvest today, a gift from a noble person. I can't even bear to eat it myself!"

With a look of reluctance on his face, he took out a small paper bag from under his clothes and handed it over, his fingers still tightly clenched.

The gatekeeper was delighted and snatched it away with force. He opened the paper package, looked at it, smelled it, and licked it.

It's food!
The man guarding the city gate finally put on a smile at this time and wanted to take out a few more firewood from He Da's backpack, but was pushed away by He Da. He didn't get angry and just turned his head to the side.

"Let's all go in."

County Magistrate Zhou, who was watching the whole process, said: "..."

Wen Gu didn't know where He Da hid the big paper bag that he gave out, but he remembered clearly that He Da had licked the small paper bag given to the gatekeeper several times!
Was this something that was prepared in advance?
What are you reluctant to eat? You’ve already eaten a lot!

This person is as cunning as his appearance, and is full of nonsense!

(End of this chapter)