Sold immediately after wearing it? I took my family and fled the famine.

After traveling for ten days, the group finally saw the outline of the long city wall.

Everyone was eager to get started and couldn't wait to settle down by tomorrow.

But as the group approached, they discovered that fences had been erected on the open spaces on both sides of the city gate, leaving a narrow passage for people to enter and exit. Every ten steps outside the fences, a soldier with a knife stood guard, and inside the fences, there were people everywhere.

A vast, dark mass of people, with carts, oxcarts, and wheelbarrows crammed together in rows, and tarpaulin sheds and straw mat sheds stacked densely together. Smoke rose from every corner, weaving a layer of hazy gray mist over the open space.

Everyone was stunned by what they saw, looking at each other blankly, not knowing what was going on.

Jiang Xing stood at the very edge of the line, his gaze sweeping from one end of the fence to the other, his face expressionless. This open space looked exactly like a temporary containment point, and it had been operating for quite some time.

The tire tracks on the ground were so deep they reached above the ankles. In the corner of the fence were several piles of burnt firewood ash, the ash layer thick enough to be more than just a few days' worth of burning. The people here had been here for a long time.

The soldiers from Chuancheng County lined up outside the fence. The captain, who was riding a horse, bowed to Ma Dadan and the two exchanged a few words in hushed tones.

Then he gestured, and the two ten-man squads turned their horses around simultaneously. The thunderous sound of hooves rolled across the official road, and they quickly disappeared into the twilight.

As soon as the officers and soldiers left, the atmosphere immediately became subtle. Several pairs of eyes were cast from the surrounding sheds, scrutinizing the newly arrived refugees. Their gazes contained scrutiny, indifference, and a hint of wariness.

Ma Dadan, bracing his injured leg, rode closer and looked at the two hundred or so refugees behind him. He shouted, "Everyone, go inside and find an open space. Stay put and don't wander off. I'm going to the government office to report and find out what's going on. I'll be back soon." He spurred his horse, and it snorted and galloped towards the city gate.

After hearing Ma Dadan's words, everyone quietly followed their village chief into the fence to find a place to wait.

After passing through the fenced entrance, the group arrived at a relatively open area, surrounded by the shacks of other refugees, leaving them only this small patch of land.

Everyone found a place to rest. Shen Dehou looked around, his face slightly grim, but he still cheered himself up and told each family to put their things away first. He arranged for several families to form a semi-circle around the resting area, with their belongings placed inside the circle, and each family huddled together as tightly as before.

(Please remember the website 20 ...

The sun sank inch by inch behind the city wall, and the sunset on the horizon turned from orange-red to dark red, and then to gray-blue.

One by one, the campfires lit up in the camp, and the fires of the other refugees spread out densely, like a cluster of stars fallen to the ground. The aroma of food wafted from all directions, mingling with the smoke from the firewood.

But Ma Dadan still didn't return.

Shen Dehou stood at the gate for a long time, tiptoeing and looking towards the city gate. He looked and looked, but all he saw was dust blown by the wind. He walked back and squatted by the fire, poking at the firewood with a branch, without saying a word.

Everyone else had already prepared their own thatched huts for the night and were quietly waiting for news from Ma Dadan.

Wang Laoshi was the first to lose his composure. He jumped to his feet, rubbing his rough hands together. "How long has it been? Captain Ma went to report for duty; he should be back by now, right? Is the government giving us a hard time?"

"Don't talk nonsense, you old fool," Aunt Wang glared at him, but her voice tightened, "But Captain Ma has indeed been gone for quite a while, almost two hours... How come..."

"Then why aren't you back yet?" Wang Laoshi didn't sit back down, his neck stiff.

"You're asking me? Who am I supposed to ask?!"

Shen Dehou stood up and gestured for everyone to calm down. "Don't panic. Captain Ma told us to wait before he left. He's an official and has official documents, so the government won't make things difficult for him. It's probably just that there are a lot of people and the queue is long. Let's wait a bit longer." His voice was relatively steady, but after he finished speaking, he glanced at the fence and pursed his lips into a thin line.

The atmosphere around the campfire was heavy, like a stone pressing down on it. Everyone had the same thought swirling in their minds, but no one dared to voice it: Could it be that the imperial court would not accept us? Could it be that something had gone wrong in the prefectural city?

Jiang Xing sat quietly to the side and listened. She had already scanned the area when she entered the camp. There were at least a thousand people crammed into the place. The soldiers outside the fence were guarding it tightly, ostensibly to maintain order, but in reality, they were probably there to prevent refugees from attacking the city gate.

Not seeing anyone, she felt increasingly anxious just sitting there. She stood up and walked to Shen Dehou's side.

"Village chief, don't keep everyone waiting idly. People tend to overthink when they're idle."

"I'll go and find out what's going on with Captain Ma. No matter what the situation is in the prefectural city, life goes on day by day, so we have to make the most of today. Some of you are chopping wood, some are digging for wild vegetables, and some of you are cooking."

Her words seemed to cut a slit in the oppressive atmosphere around the fire, allowing a little air to escape.

Widow Sun immediately stood up and shoved Niu Niu into Tie Dan's arms: "Jiang girl is right, waiting around won't do any good. I'll go see if there are any wild vegetables nearby." Aunt Wang also came to her senses and turned to fetch the pot of porridge that was almost dry: "Yes, yes, yes, get to work. People can't be idle. Whose turn is it to dig for wild vegetables today?"

Then several pairs of eyes fell on Chen Sumei.

Chen Sumei was huddled behind her mother, Hu Shi, with her hands tucked into her sleeves and her neck hunched over to avoid the cold wind.

Under everyone's gaze, her expression froze for a moment, and then her brows furrowed almost imperceptibly.

It's eerily cold today. The wind is blowing in through the gaps in the fence, and it feels like tiny knives on her face. She's had blisters on the soles of her feet from walking all this way. All she wants now is to warm herself up by the fire. Let her brave the cold wind and go out to dig for wild vegetables.

But she didn't say anything. She just slowly stood up, patted the grass clippings off the hem of her cotton-padded jacket, her movements so slow it was as if she were counting how many grass clippings there were.

"understood."

She muttered something, but didn't move an inch. She kept her head down, glancing at Jiang Xing's direction out of the corner of her eye. She was thinking that after Jiang Xing left, she would go out for a stroll, hand over a few wild vegetables, and be done with it. After all, there were so many people, a few less vegetables wouldn't make a difference.

Seeing that her older sister hadn't moved an inch, Chen Xiaoxiao gently tugged at her sleeve. Chen Sumei glared at Chen Xiaoxiao fiercely.

Chen Xiaoxiao lowered her head in fright, took the basket and walked to the side, afraid of being scolded later.

Jiang Xing had already turned around and was about to leave, but she didn't hear the footsteps following behind her. She suddenly stopped and then slowly turned around.

His gaze was fixed directly on Chen Sumei's face, without any extra expression.

Chen Sumei felt extremely uncomfortable under her gaze; the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. She wanted to say something tough to bolster her courage, but her lips moved, and she couldn't utter a single word.

Madam Hu was a clever woman. She quickly assessed the situation, nudged Chen Sumei with her elbow, grabbed the basket of wild vegetables and shoved it into her daughter's hand. While pushing her out, she whispered in her ear, "Don't be foolish! We don't even know what's going on. That girl has connections with the soldiers, you see? If we upset her, she'll make things difficult for us and won't let us come with her. What will we do then?"

Chen Sumei was pulled forward a few steps by her mother, her expression changing several times, but was finally suppressed by Hu's last words.

Yes, she's been eating with Jiang Xing's family these past few days and has been able to get enough to eat every day. The firewood burns until dawn, and she doesn't feel cold at all. Right now, she doesn't have a place to settle down, and if her family were to be abandoned now, leaving her to go hungry and exposed to the cold wind, how could she possibly be willing to do that?

She bit her lip, snatched the basket from Chen Xiaoxiao's hand, and walked silently toward the fence.

Hu took a couple of steps after her, not forgetting to turn back and give Jiang Xing a fawning smile, a smile as bright as a flower: "Jiang girl, don't take it to heart. Su Mei is just being silly. Auntie will keep an eye on her and make sure she digs up the wild vegetables!"

Jiang Xing withdrew his gaze, said nothing, and turned to walk towards the other end of the camp.