How did a good exile turn into a runaway?

Chapter 14 Spending money to enter the city

After Shen Qiuge robbed this little guy, his life was no longer so boring. In addition to rushing on the road every day, he also had to feed this little guy with milk and complementary foods and coax him to sleep.

Although most of my life is spent around the little guy every day, I still feel happy.
"Baby, call me sister."

"Ah~"

"Call me sister~sister~!"

"Ah~ oh!"

"What a fool!"

After dinner, Shen Qiuge was teasing the little guy again. Occasionally a word would pop up in the past two days, so Shen Qiuge was very happy.
But it happened that even if this little guy was against Shen Qiuge, he didn't know if he really couldn't bark or if he did it on purpose?
"Forget it, I won't teach you anymore, it's time to get on your way."

Shen Qiuge had already packed up before he finished speaking. He should be approaching the largest city here. More and more people are fleeing.
In the past two days, Brother Shen Qiu did not put the baby in the basket, but carried him on his chest with a baby-carrying device.
Although there were a lot of irritations and bad looks along the way, it was generally okay. After all, he had a lot of long machetes on his back, and he looked like he was not easy to bully, and those people were not that unsightly either.

I found a place with few people in the woods and checked that there was no one around. I put my bicycle into the space and saw that I had replaced it with a baseball bat. Then I left the woods and walked towards the city gate.

This is an open place with a large square. Many people are sitting on the ground here, in groups here and there. The only thing in common is that few people talk.
There was a dead silence among the people in the place, without any vitality. For those who came again, they only raised their eyelids, lowered their heads and closed their eyes to rest.

There was not even a moment of curiosity or chatting with others, but the crowd in the place seemed a little desolate.

Occasionally there were one or two crows, and when Shen Qiuge saw this scene, what came to his mind was that if more black smoke spreads,
A few more props are placed in place, which is the image of an ancient battlefield after a defeat. He shakes his head and looks at the person sitting on the ground next to him. He takes out a bun from his arms.
"Auntie, let me ask why there are so many people here outside. Are they not allowed to enter the city?"

The man was so hungry that he had no energy to say anything. He looked up and then lowered his head. Before he even closed his eyes, he smelled a scent. He smelled it hard and his eyes widened.

"This is for you, but you have to tell the truth."

"Well! Okay, now the officials inside don't let us refugees enter the city, saying they are afraid that we will go in and rob, but there are also those who have money who can go in after paying money. I don't know how much, I don't have it. Silver, so I didn’t even ask.”

When the woman spoke, her eyes did not leave the big bun in front of her for half a second, and she couldn't help saying a few words.
"If you're not allowed in, why are you still here?"

"What if we see there are too many people here and let us in! Then the officials can't starve us to death! I heard that porridge will be served starting tomorrow, and I don't have the energy to go anywhere else anyway. , if an official has to make porridge, I can also find a way to survive."

Shen Qiuge didn't ask any other questions, but still handed the bun in his hand out. The aunt happily snatched the bun away, but instead of stuffing it into her mouth, she ran to the back and saw a child lying there, as if sleeping. It's as if it's burning,
Shen Qiuge didn't look down. He had actually seen too much in the past two days. He knew what the follow-up was without even thinking about it.
Since you can get in with money, of course it is much safer to go in. The entrance to Sheng is blocked by refugees. It can be said that there is no complete straight road.
Shen Qiuge had no choice but to walk in zigzags to the city gate. If he walked straight, it would probably take less than half an hour. As a result, Shen Qiuge had been walking in circles like this for who knows how long.

It is indeed a big city. The city wall alone is more than ten meters high. It looks very solemn and heavy.

It’s no different than Kyoto. The only difference is that there are only two or three soldiers standing guard on the city wall.

There are also more than a dozen soldiers guarding the city gate with swords and spears. They all glared at the refugees 50 meters away with vicious eyes.

There was a row of triangular wooden fences blocking it, forming a protective circle. "What are they for?"

As soon as Shen Qiuge reached the dividing line, he was stopped by someone. Looking at the spear in front of him, Shen Qiuge was not afraid.
"Brother, it's just me and my brother. I need to go to the city to see a doctor for my brother. He has a fever."

"It costs ten taels of silver per person to enter the city."

"So damn expensive, a bunch of bandits."

Shen Qiuge thought angrily in his heart, with a flattering smile on his face.

"Brother Bing, please accommodate me because my brother is still a child. Can I have ten taels of silver? I really don't have much money left, and I still have to treat my child."

The soldier glanced at the silver lump in the opponent's hand, looked at the opponent up and down, said "wait" and walked towards his leader. He didn't know what the other party said, but he came over in a moment.

"Okay, come in!"

The man said and used all his strength to move one of the wooden fences away, leaving a gap for people to enter. Seeing this, Shen Qiuge quickly squeezed in, and the man quickly returned the fence to its original position.

"Come here to pay money and register. Where do these people come from? Where are they going?"

In front of a table, a man dressed as a scholar asked in a routine manner,
Hey~ There were so many people just now, so they were covering this up so they didn’t notice it, but it wasn’t a big problem. Shen Qiuge cried immediately when he heard the other party’s question.

"Ugh, my whole family is gone. Only my brother and I escaped. We have nothing with us. My family is originally from Yangjia Village, seventy miles outside Kyoto.
We were originally going back to my parents' house with my parents, but before we got to my grandma's house, it rained heavily and flooded halfway. We were the only two brothers left in our family.

Apart from these two lives and a little money, there is nothing left!Now my brother has a high fever again and I don’t know what to do. "

Shen Qiuge rubbed his eyes hard while crying. He kept thinking about the sad moments in his mind, and then he shed tears.
The copywriter who wrote the registration was filled with tears after listening to it.
"My condolences, little brother! There is nothing we can do about it in today's world. You have to take good care of your brother. Just pay the money and go in! Ten taels of silver."

Shen Qiuge had a plant in his mouth and didn't know whether to spit it out. He was really cold-blooded and dedicated to his duty.

"Sir, I only have ten taels of silver here, and the rest is only a few dozen copper coins to buy medicine for my brother."

"I know a few dozen copper coins are enough to buy medicine. Here is your note for entering the city. Put it away quickly."

The man couldn't help but slap the note on the table and looked at the silver ingot. Shen Qiuge quickly put the silver on the table.
There was a scale on the table, and the man was holding a silver ingot and weighing it. Looking at the tall tilted weighing pole, the man smiled and nodded with satisfaction.

He waved his hand and told Shen Qiuge to leave quickly, while he threw the money into the frame under the table.
I sat there contentedly and hummed a tune, thinking that the quality of the silver was not bad, and there were more than ten taels. Once it was worth it, it wouldn't matter if I cut it into two pieces.

(End of this chapter)