Chapter 263: Chapter 262: Almost Home

More than half of the journey was over, and everyone was eager to return. Except for using the restroom and eating lunch, all other time was spent on the road.

The closer they got to Kaiyang County, the more refugees there were.

Among these refugees, about two or three out of ten were local residents who had failed to harvest food during spring.

Now, in Kaiyang County, the price of coarse grain had soared to fifty cents per pound, medium grain to 150 cents, and refined grain to 300 cents.

The money shops and pawnshops were set up directly at the refugee gathering places outside the city. People lined up from morning till night to borrow money to buy food. Business was so brisk that the shopkeeper’s smile never faded.

A large number of refugees from other regions gathered in Kaiyang County territory, but the government had yet to issue any document to solve the problem. The situation in Kaiyang County could only be described as chaotic.

Throughout the journey of the Qin Yao’s group, they encountered countless cases of people selling their children. There were also many young adults selling themselves into slavery.

Human traffickers found business so good that a strong young person could now be bought for five taels of silver.

Children were even less valuable; unless they were notably good-looking, they could barely be taken into the city.

When Qin Yao and the group arrived at Kaiyang County’s town, the city gates had already been closed for three days.

Within the city, residents were allowed out but not in unless they had obtained an entry and exit document from the government.

If one wanted to enter the city to buy food, they must have a travel permit to pay the entrance fee.

Back at the time, the Lord County Magistrate assured the people that the granaries were full, but no one anticipated the arrival of so many refugees from neighboring provinces.

Whether to open the granaries had not yet been decided.

Local residents were both resentful and helpless toward the outsiders, thinking that if it weren’t for the refugees, they would already be eating government relief grain.

But such days could not continue indefinitely. With the autumn harvest approaching, if too many people died, it would not look good on the performance records.

Finally, amidst the local residents’ curses, the government opened the granaries.

Every morning and evening, residents with household registration in Kaiyang County could come with their registration book to receive disaster relief grain.

Following this decree, the business of buying and selling people outside the city flourished even more. People were becoming adopted by godparents, entering families by marriage, and becoming daughters-in-law. Just one circle around the city gate, and you could witness dozens of such incidents.

The refugees from other places denounced the county magistrate of Kaiyang County for only caring about local residents and neglecting their survival. Complaints arose among the public.

As Qin Yao’s group moved stealthily towards Jinshi Town, the government food cart was nearly hijacked.

Village chief’s nephew Zhou Zheng was responsible for escorting the food cart, and seeing it about to be seized by a group of well-prepared refugees from other provinces, he was anxious and angry. At a loss for what to do, he caught sight of a familiar figure from the corner of his eye.

Immediately, his eyes lit up, and he called loudly, “Miss Qin! Help, Miss Qin!”

During the few days returning, Da Zhuang and the two guards of the Ding Family had already reached a tacit understanding with Qin Yao to deal with the refugees. As soon as they saw Qin Yao draw her sword, they immediately picked up nearby weapons and followed.

Qin Yao led the way, and with a sweep of her sword, people fell in succession. Ordinary people had no chance to fight back against her.

The two guards of the Ding Family and Da Zhuang took the opportunity to sneak to the front of the food cart, calling upon Zhou Zheng and other government officers to push the food cart and follow them.

Once Qin Yao cleared a path, they quickly protected the food cart and charged out.

Since their opponents were common people who dared not kill, their momentum naturally weakened once they saw their target breaking out of the encirclement, knowing their plan had failed.

Usually, Zhou Zheng would unconditionally take chains and arrest several leaders to throw in jail, but seeing that they were mere civilians, he could only sigh with resentment, directing his companions to reclaim the cart and threatening them away with club-wielding.

In the end, it was only after Qin Yao drew her sword and wounded the leader’s arm, drawing blood, that these refugees from other regions reluctantly retreated.

Before leaving, they even spat a disgusted “ptoo” as they looked back.

The hot-tempered Zhou Zheng immediately swung his iron chain as if ready to arrest them, and that group then scampered off hastily.

“What happened?” Qin Yao inquired about the situation, walking up to Zhou Zheng and others with her sword in hand.

Casually, she reached for a handful of weeds by the roadside to wipe the blood off her sword. Instead, she grabbed a handful of dry dust, nearly forgetting that anything edible by the roadside had long since been picked clean.

The incoming refugees also knew that the crops were the farmers’ lifeblood. If they dared touch the crops in the fields, the locals of Kaiyang County would fight them to the death.

They made sure not to overdo it, fearing backlash if they did, which is why they left the crops in the fields untouched.

Unable to find any grass, Qin Yao took a handful of soil to wipe off the blade, handing it to Liu Ji on the cart, gesturing for him to put it away.

Zhou Zheng sighed, “These refugees from outside have no local household registration and can’t receive our relief grains. They’re desperate enough to risk their lives stealing from the government.”

Qin Yao asked puzzled, “Did the County Magistrate not request disaster relief grains from above? How does the court plan to deal with these refugees?”

Zhou Zheng, being just a minor government official, didn’t know much. However, he had heard that the County Magistrate had reported the disaster situation upward.

“The County Magistrate has reported the situation, but these refugees aren’t originally from our place. The Lord Prefect still needs to report to the court before opening the granaries. Even if it’s an urgent dispatch, it’ll take ten days to half a month.”

Without a clear order from the court, it was already pretty good that the County Magistrate could take care of the disaster victims within the county.

And the situation wasn’t that simple. The gambling house and pawnshop were in cahoots, and other forces intervened internally. Previously amassing low-cost grain only to sell at sky-high prices now. If the disaster were resolved quickly, how would they profit?

Zhou Zheng couldn’t speak this openly, but Qin Yao thought it over quickly and frowned.

Even a ferocious dragon cannot overpower local snakes—these chaotic days were bound to last a while longer.

Zhou Zheng, having dodged trouble and thanked them, then took his leave.

Watching the government officers push the food cart away, Ding Shi looked toward his village worriedly, “I wonder how things are at home?”

Qin Yao thought of Ding Xiang, a young girl alone at the mansion, and urged him to hurry back.

Ding Shi gave a slight bow of his fists, then separated and headed home.

Seeing that not many refugees stayed outside Jinshi Town, and knowing the Ding Clan had many people, Ding Xiang would likely be fine.

Liu Ji couldn’t be bothered about others when his own family’s granary with its ten thousand pounds of wheat was at stake. Without needing Qin Yao to urge him, he hastened the carriage toward Liu Family Village.

Passing through Lower River Village, the main road to the village was blocked with stones and wooden fences, with villagers patrolling the entrance.

Seeing Qin Yao and Liu Li’s group, they showed surprise, and familiar faces greeted them.

Liu Ji responded while inquiring about the situation in Liu Family Village.

The Lower River Village villagers laughed, “Nothing’s happened in your village; hidden away in the hills, no one can find it. If anyone comes, they have to get through us first.”

They also said, “Just yesterday, we saw Liu the carpenter and your elder brother fetching wood for the merchant convoy. We heard your village is building a large workshop specifically for making wooden boxes. My brother also applied, but there were too many people, and he wasn’t selected.”

Nearby villagers all knew the Liu Laosan household was overseen by Qin Yao, and one villager grinned ingratiatingly at her, “Miss Qin, can we come next time there’s a recruitment?”

Qin Yao nodded, “Of course, we’ll inform you for the next recruitment. It’s getting late. We’ll head home first!”

“Alright, take care.” said the Lower River Village villager waving their hand.

Knowing that no refugees had reached the village, both Qin Yao and Liu Ji breathed a sigh of relief.

With a shout of “Hyah!” Liu Ji urged the horses on, and Old Huang, seeing the familiar scenery, knew they were nearing home and galloped joyfully toward their destination.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep