Lin Ya crouched among the crowd while soldiers guarding the refugees moved in from an alleyway, their clothing not particularly heavy, prompting them to walk occasionally to stave off the cold.
With feet stepping on the muddy, snow-mixed ground, several armored soldiers carried two steaming barrels of thin rice porridge through the alley, causing the crowd to become restless.
Many people pulled out bowls and formed a line under the soldiers’ direction, each bowl steaming with barely recognizable grains of rice, cradled like treasures in their hands.
Some who had no bowls and were driven by hunger, fearing that the porridge would be gone before they could borrow a bowl, resolutely used their hands to catch what they could.
The moment the scalding porridge landed in their hands, their faces twisted in pain, eyes bloodshot, yet they gritted their teeth and held on; it was only after they finished trembling through the porridge that they let out a cry of agony, their burned palms and fingers plunged into the frozen snow for some relief.
Taking advantage of the refugees rushing to line up, Lin Ya secretly climbed over the wall from another side, running into a dead-end to change out of his dirty clothes.
“…Tonight at midnight… it will arrive, and then…” As he finished changing, Lin Ya walked toward the other side of the dead-end, faintly hearing voices from behind the wall, which sounded somewhat familiar.
[Oh, it’s the male lead.] 123 suddenly piped up again.
“Chu Ying?” Lin Ya was taken aback, “What is he doing here?”
[Host, if you accept the task, you will know all the details of the plot… cough, let me see.]
[Ah, the plot has reached this point—] 123 quickly explained, [Liu City will eventually be the starting point for the male lead’s rebellion. They are currently conspiring with the future emperor outside the city and inciting the refugees, planning to take over this place in the next few days.]
“So, this place will be relatively safe in the future, right?”
[Yes, Liu City has a higher safety factor compared to other places.]
Lin Ya silently distanced himself from the wall, walked into the outside street, glanced at the pedestrians, and after asking for the location of the granary, he spotted a long line from a distance.
After a few people bought food, the granary closed its doors, suggesting that there was a limit on the amount of food sold each day.
He took a distant glance and then gave up on buying food; with the one or two silver coins he had and the five silver coins given by Mr. Xu, he feared it wouldn’t be enough to buy even a small bag.
[Host still remembers that grain merchant surnamed Li? In a few days, he will bring a large supply of grain to ally with the male lead…]
“That’s great.” Lin Ya turned back, along the street preparing to leave the city. Today wasn’t a complete loss; at least he realized this place could serve as a suitable refuge.
To be honest, even for him, these past few months of traveling had been exhausting.
After leaving the city, Lin Ya avoided the guards at the gate and returned to the farm, conveniently taking some food from the system space. After assessing the situation in the city, he only told Mr. Xu to wait a few more days before heading out.
Although Xu Jin and the others didn’t understand why they had to wait a few days, they still followed his advice and didn’t rush to leave.
The farm wasn’t far from the city gate. That night, two days later, a slight commotion arose, which Lin Ya only noticed due to his keen hearing.
Two days after that, the city gates swung open wide, and the guards outside the farm had vanished since the previous day. Many people trapped on the farm took the opportunity to run out.
When Lin Ya stepped outside, he saw a plume of smoke rising, the scene at the gate bustling with refugees lining up for porridge, and he turned to signal the others to gather their belongings.
“Looks like someone is distributing porridge at the city gate. Shall we go check it out?”
Xu Jin and Xu Yue immediately began to stow away things, while Ren Chao and Ren Lin helped nearby. Mr. Xu and Zhang Shi supported each other, walking to the gate, sighing as they saw the distant scene, “This is the first time in so many days we’ve seen porridge distributed outside the city…”
Lin Ya, with a bundle on his back, let them take hold of the two children as they all made their way to the city gate together.
“This is the first time I’ve seen such thick porridge…” An elder holding a broken bowl shed murky tears, staring at the bowl full of rice porridge that could nearly stand up a chopstick. He wept in despair, thinking that if only his grandson could have waited one more day, he wouldn’t have starved to death.
“Ugh…”
“My child… why couldn’t you have waited just two more days? There’s food now! Do you see?! Ah?” Looking at the thick porridge bowl, most people’s first reaction was one of ecstatic joy, but then thoughts of their deceased loved ones who had starved caused their noses to sting and heartaches to rise painfully.
“Even if… even if it had just been a few more hours! They wouldn’t have died…”
“Ugh, ugh…”
As Lin Ya passed through the crowd, listening to the sorrowful cries echoing around him, he felt a heavy inexplicable weight in his heart.
People can empathize, especially kind-hearted individuals who often possess a strong sense of empathy.
The Xu family members behind him, recalling the hardships they had faced, couldn’t help but shed tears, with the two children beginning to sob quietly.
After queuing for the porridge and finishing every drop, though they had eaten and drunk every day, they had been concerned about their food supply. Except for a few days when they dodged others, they had been only partially full most of the time.
Others finished their porridge and even rarely belched in satisfaction.
Feeling full, Xu Jin seemed somewhat reluctant.
“Is porridge distributed every day outside the city?”
“It is said that it will be for the next few days; after that, it’s unclear.” Lin Ya relayed the information he had gathered, “Those officials said the price of grain in the city remains the same as before, with a limit of one purchase every three days per person, not exceeding five taels each time. Moreover, renting houses in the city isn’t too expensive; just find a specific broker to finalize the contract at the county office.”
Mr. Xu nodded delightedly, exchanging glances with Zhang Shi, and handed Lin Ya all their savings—nearly twenty taels in total. He gave the silver to Lin Ya, “This is all we have. It might not be enough to buy a house in the city, but it should suffice for renting one. Zi Xiu, you’ll have to take care of the housing matter.”
Lin Ya nodded, accepting the silver.
On this trip to the city, not only was there no entry fee, but there were also several young helpers guiding them around.
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