Chapter 127: Still No Way
The village head sighed again and again. "What do we do? What do we do? We can’t even go back now—"
Gu Zhang thought for a moment and asked Uncle Ma in a low voice, "Do you have any ideas?"
Uncle Ma pondered for a long moment. "It’s hard to say. I’ve never run into something like this before."
"How about this," he said. "Everyone, let’s go ask around first. Maybe there’s another way."
Su Chen, sitting in his carriage, heard everything clearly. His expression soured. He quietly called Zhang Ze over, whispered a few words, and Zhang Ze nodded and left.
Uncle Ma, the village head, Gu Zhang, and Gu Qing all went off to make inquiries.
The rest of the people, seeing no other option, unhitched their carts, huddled together, and ate their dry rations.
There were many refugees around, so no one dared to cook a hot meal.
Those who had gone to ask around were gone for the better part of an hour before they started to trickle back.
Zhang Ze was the first to return. He walked up to the carriage and reported to Su Chen in a low voice, "I secretly asked one of the gate guards. It’s ten taels of silver per person. They won’t check household registrations and will let us pass."
Su Chen’s lips tightened. After a long moment, he said, "Let’s wait for Uncle Ma and Second Uncle Gu to return and see what they say."
Gu Zhang and Uncle Ma came back together, both with grave expressions.
When everyone saw the two return, they all crowded around.
Chen Hu walked over as well, carrying Su Chen on his back, and found a place to set him down.
The crowd fell silent, their eyes fixed expectantly on Gu Zhang.
Gu Zhang looked at the eager faces all around him and gave a bitter smile. "After all that asking, it turns out there are two ways to get into the city—"
A wave of joy washed over the crowd, and their expressions relaxed.
Gu Zhang continued, "But neither of them is a good option."
He held up one finger. "The first way: ten taels of silver per person, adult or child. You slip the money to the guards, and they’ll let you pass."
Everyone was stunned. ’Ten taels a head?’
A family would need dozens of taels to get everyone through. The problem was, they didn’t have that kind of silver!
Ms. Qian couldn’t help but yell, "Why is it so expensive? That’s highway robbery—"
Before she could finish, Gu Zhang shot her a fierce look and hissed, "Sister-in-law, is this something you can be shouting about? We have to pay them in secret, and they only let people pass in secret!"
Gu Zhong’s face flushed crimson. Without a word, he raised his uninjured arm and slapped Ms. Qian. "Shut your mouth."
"None of the other wives have said a thing, but you just had to open your big mouth!"
Ms. Qian clutched her face, aggrieved. ’Lately, my husband finds more and more fault with me,’ she thought. ’It’s always a beating or a scolding. I can’t live like this.’
The village head asked anxiously, "So, what’s the other way?"
He himself had just made a round of inquiries but had learned nothing.
Gu Zhang’s voice dropped even lower. "This one... is riskier. There are people here who will forge a household registration. The price isn’t high, just two mace of silver. But they don’t guarantee you’ll get past the gates with it."
"They say some have made it through, but others have been caught."
The village head asked again, "So, what happens if you’re caught with a fake one?"
Gu Zhang glanced at him. "Normally, forging documents would land you in the county jail. But these days, the jails are already overflowing. The government still has to feed the prisoners, so now everyone *wants* to get locked up. You can’t even get into jail anymore!"
"I heard if they catch you with a forgery, they pull down your pants right at the city gate and give you a paddling. Ten strikes per person."
The village head shuddered. ’Ten strikes of that plank... it would take half your life.’
’But he had a family of eight. That would be eighty taels of silver to enter the city. He really couldn’t come up with that much!’
So, there were two options, which meant there was no option at all.