Chapter 97: A Fee to Enter the City
As expected, a delicious meal made everything else seem trivial.
Gu Sanlang took the rabbit aside to kill and clean it. Gu Fei gave it a quick rinse, but Lian’er immediately took over. "Miss Xiao Fei, just tell me what to do. I’ll handle it. Don’t dirty your hands."
Lian’er insisted on calling her "Miss," and there was nothing Gu Fei could do about it, so she just said, "Chop it into small pieces."
Mrs. Chen came over. "Let’s not eat it today. We’ve all had flatbreads already. Let’s save it for tomorrow."
Gu Fei nodded. "Alright. I’ll marinate it now, and we can cook it tomorrow."
She got some salt, pepper, and cooking wine, poured them into a basin with the meat, and mixed it all evenly with chopsticks. Then she covered the basin, wrapped it securely, and placed it on the cart.
Uncle Ma had originally decided to keep his distance from Gu Fei, the "spy." He realized he was starting to grow fond of the girl, Little Fei. ’This won’t do,’ he thought. ’How can I have a good opinion of a spy?’ But now, unable to resist the temptation of rabbit meat, he walked over. "Little Fei, how are you planning to cook that rabbit?"
Gu Fei beamed. "How does dry-pot rabbit sound?"
Uncle Ma swallowed hard. "Oh, that sounds incredible."
Gu Fei’s eldest aunt’s husband came over. "What about the rabbit pelt? Don’t throw it out. Let it dry for a few days, and when I have a spare moment, I’ll help you tan it."
Gu Fei smiled. "That would be wonderful! Thank you so much, Uncle. We can use the pelt to make a hat for Little Cao."
Lan Zhi added from the side, "Once the pelt is tanned, I can do the sewing. I could even make a scarf. This rabbit looks big enough."
’Now that Lian’er was here, Lan Zhi felt a profound sense of insecurity. How could that girl be so clever and quick, rushing to do everything? Compared to her, she felt like a useless lump.’
After Uncle Ma assigned the night watch, everyone went to sleep.
「The next morning, they rose at dawn to continue their journey.」
The road was still crowded with refugees, and their progress was slow.
Uncle Ma had originally estimated they would reach Tong City by afternoon, but it wasn’t until late afternoon that they finally saw the city walls.
By the time the exhausted group reached the city entrance, the gates were already shut. They couldn’t tell if the gates had been closed all day or if they weren’t being opened at all.
The entire area around the city gate was crowded with makeshift shacks, with a solid line of them running along the base of the wall.
Enduring the hollow, desperate stares of the other refugees, they finally found an empty spot and began to unload their carts.
Gu Zhang and the village chief hurried off to ask around and find out if the city gates would open again.
A river flowed through Tong City, and while the water level was much lower than in previous years, at least they didn’t have to worry about finding water to drink. The families quickly went to the riverbank to fetch some.
A short while later, Gu Zhang and the village chief returned with news. "The gates will open tomorrow morning," they announced to the group. "The opening hours have been shortened; they close in the late afternoon now. On top of that, there’s a fee to enter the city. It’s three hundred wen per adult, the same for teenagers. Young children get in free, though."
The crowd erupted. "Three hundred wen a person! How much silver is that in total?"
The village chief squatted on the ground, sighing. He had a family of eight. Just to enter the city would cost him more than two taels of silver. The very thought made his heart ache.
Boss Zhang was also unwilling to pay. He looked at Uncle Ma. "Uncle Ma, can’t we just go around it? We don’t have to pass through the city, do we?"
Uncle Ma shook his head. "I’ve never taken the route that bypasses the city. I don’t know the roads, and I have no idea how long of a detour it would be."
"If we go through the city and exit through the East City Gate, we’ll be right back on the main road."
Gu Zhang added in a low voice, "For the past few days, wealthy families have been distributing congee at the city gate. That’s why all the refugees are gathered here and refuse to leave."
"I heard the entrance fee is meant to screen out refugees, to keep them from entering and disrupting public order."
After all, anyone who can afford the fee must still have some silver on hand and possess purchasing power. They wouldn’t need to resort to theft or robbery.
"Everyone needs to decide for themselves what to do," Gu Zhang said, and then left it at that.
In truth, each family still had a little silver, but they were reluctant to spend it.
After talking for a while, everyone quickly set up makeshift stoves to cook dinner.
Just then, Ms. Qian’s gaze fell on Xiao Hong, and she grew irritated all over again. ’Do I really have to pay three hundred wen for this girl to enter the city?’
’There are still so many cities to pass through on this journey. If we have to pay a fee at every single one, even several taels of silver won’t be enough!’
Still, Xiao Hong was useful for now. Ms. Qian’s eyes shifted as a thought occurred to her. "Xiao Hong, go fetch two buckets of water from the river."