Chapter 99: Packed Up and Ran Away
Gu Zhong’s expression froze. He and Boss Zhang had been on watch last night, but he’d been so exhausted he’d dozed off for a while. ’Could that be when someone made off with our family’s grain?’
’But wasn’t Boss Zhang there too?’
Boss Zhang had a guilty conscience. He was a heavy sleeper and had no idea when he’d actually conked out.
He avoided Gu Zhong’s gaze, wondering, ’This thief is a strange one. Why steal from Gu Zhong’s family and no one else’s?’
Boss Zhang suddenly asked, "Where’s that servant girl your family bought?"
Ms. Qian frantically looked around and yelled, "Xiao Hong! Xiao Hong, you wretched girl, where the hell did you go?"
There was no sign of Xiao Hong. Ms. Qian hastily rummaged through the mule cart—even the bedroll they had given Xiao Hong was missing.
Realization dawned on Ms. Qian. She slapped her thighs and plopped onto the ground, howling, "That shameless hussy! She ate my food, used my things, and then stole my grain and my blanket! May she be sliced into a thousand pieces! May her head be chopped off and her body quartered! I hope she dies a miserable death!"
No one sympathized with Ms. Qian. Gu Fei saw a scornful smile play on Shanzimama’s lips, and Aunt Liu rolled her eyes in disdain.
Mrs. Chen gave Li Chunhua a knowing look. "What did I tell you? That girl isn’t a simple one."
Li Chunhua was quick to flatter her mother-in-law. "You truly have a discerning eye, ma’am."
Mrs. Chen smiled. "Hurry and make breakfast. We should eat and then get into the city."
"We need to buy a few pairs of shoes. All this walking wears them out, and we don’t have time to make new ones. I saw that Dalang’s and Sanlang’s shoes are already ruined."
While everyone was busy making breakfast, Gu Zhang walked over to Gu Rong and discreetly pressed two taels of silver into his hand.
Gu Rong clutched the silver, on the verge of tears. He quickly and quietly showed it to Ms. Li. "Second Brother gave us this. We have money to get into the city now."
Ms. Li nodded. "We’ll pay him back when we can."
As they were eating breakfast, the surrounding refugees suddenly stirred, surging toward the city gate like a tide.
Someone was shouting, "They’re handing out porridge! Grab your bowls!"
Upon hearing this, Ms. Qian immediately called to Xing’er, "Take a basin and go join them."
Boss Zhang was tempted as well. He stood up to take a look, then waved a dismissive hand at his wife. "Forget it. The line is huge. Who knows how long we’d have to wait."
Xing’er bit her lip. "I’m not going. No one else is, so why are you making me go?"
She was afraid that if she went to line up for porridge, her mother and father would take Bao’er into the city and leave her behind.
’She knew her mother was capable of it.’
Ms. Qian viciously smacked the back of her head. "Are you going or not? If you don’t, you won’t get any lunch!"
Xing’er wrenched herself away and ran off. "Fine, I won’t eat then!"
Gu Fei’s family finished their breakfast and quickly packed up to head into the city.
There was no need to wait for anyone else; they had already agreed to meet at the East City Gate at noon.
Uncle Ma had already left at some unknown time.
Gu Fei’s family, her uncle’s family, and her aunt’s family started heading toward the city gate with their carts.
The line for the porridge was extremely long.
Official soldiers, armed with large sabers, patrolled the area to maintain order.
As Gu Fei passed, she glanced at the huge pot of porridge. It was millet congee, simmering over a fire, and it looked thick enough.
The imperial court had a standard for disaster relief: the porridge must be thick enough for a chopstick to stand upright in it.
This wasn’t official court relief, but a charitable effort funded by a wealthy family. For them to make it this well was already quite commendable.
’These refugees are probably surviving on this one bowl of porridge a day,’ she thought. ’I just wonder how long they can keep this up.’
At the city gate, they lined up to pay the fee. Gu Zhang counted everyone, paid three taels of silver, and the family was finally allowed inside the city.