jdhmnovel Chapter 122 Tolls
Chapter 122 Tolls
There were 12 people on Chen Shi's side. He divided the dried sweet potatoes and dried meat into 12 equal portions, then wrapped them in oil paper and let each person keep them for themselves.
Then he opened the sealed pottery jar, which contained lard and pickles.
Everyone looked at Lard in silence.
"Sir, how could a village like this be willing to throw lard and dried meat here?"
Of course it wasn't thrown away, it was kept on purpose.
Chen Shi looked at the note he found in the wooden box and gave it to the destined person.
I don’t know what Chen Shi was thinking about, but a hint of guilt flashed across his eyes.
Su He regarded these as a treasure. If Chen Shi really came to take them, he would consider it a good sale. If not, and they were found by the disaster victims, he would consider it as giving them hope, the hope of survival.
"Let's go and take everything with us."
"Sir, where are you going?"
"I'm going to the border to get soldiers and horses, but if I can't find food and money, I won't go back to Yunhe."
Chen Shi was almost starving to death, and he had to find someone to vent his anger on.
He should have gone to the border earlier to ask for food, but he was afraid that Chen Laosi would laugh at him, so he insisted on searching for some food in the county. As a result, he was almost finished.
Forget it, he won't bother with this bandit.
On this side, Su He and his group waited until dawn. When the road under their feet could be seen clearly without the illumination of kerosene lamps, Su He picked up Miao Miao and shouted for everyone to set off.
That group of people were taking a different route from them, heading towards Jinyang City or the border.
Su He looked behind him and followed Zheng Da to lead the group.
Everyone followed Su He's instructions and tried it out along the way. It took them two more days to complete the journey that would have taken three days.
That day, everyone arrived at Huangye Town. The town was very lively. Su He felt extremely at home watching the people coming and going. It was really depressing to travel in the wild these days.
"Captain Zheng, let's have a good meal here. Let's gather a few dozen people and find a restaurant to eat. Don't be alone. Leave a group of people behind. Are there any livestock and carriages for sale in this town?"
Zheng Biaotou got off the car happily. "Yes, this town is very popular, and there are many things of different styles. Lotus, if you are not in a hurry to leave, you can stay here for a few days. Maybe you can find a lot of good things."
"Really? What a pity. Let's go eat first and then go shopping."
Su He turned around and discussed the time with the village chief. Everyone gathered their cars at the town gate, left a dozen people to guard it, and then formed teams and dispersed.
"Dad, let's go eat something good. Don't be like what Aunt Lotus said, that she was reluctant to spend money even though the person left."
Tietou has experienced a life-and-death adventure with his biological father this time, and now he is particularly attached to Wang Bin. As soon as he got out of the car, he held Wang Bin's hand and wouldn't let go.
"Don't say such unlucky words, little brat."
Wang Bin put his arm around Tietou's neck and followed Wang Fugui and others to find a roadside stall to eat a bowl of hot noodle soup.
Miaomiao stood in front of the stall and chose a bowl of wontons, but she didn't leave. "Brother, do you want to drink?"
Mu Tou looked at his sister speechlessly, "If you want to drink it yourself, don't bring me along. This is not the rice wine at home. Forget it. When we get to Su'an, I will definitely make it."
Miaomiao was still not giving up, she smiled and talked to the stall owner, "Boss, what kind of wine do you have? I want to buy some for my sister."
Mu Tou rolled his eyes but didn't stop him. Miaomiao only had a dozen coins on her and couldn't afford it at all. So he let this poor guy wake up on his own.
The stall owner heard the conversation between the brother and sister from the beginning. He smiled and let the two of them look at each other. When he heard that the little girl actually wanted to buy wine from him, he laughed heartily.
"Hahahaha, little kid, you're only a few years old and you're already drinking. The wontons you ordered will be ready soon. Children shouldn't drink alcohol."
Su Miao felt looked down upon, and her eyebrows stood up in anger. "I have money, and you don't sell it to me? What kind of precious wine is this that you hide it like this?"
The stall owner teased Miao Miao, "10 taels of silver per pound, it's not expensive, do you want it? I'll give it to you."
How many?
Miao Miao, with an empty wallet, took a step back and said, "You are trying to grab the silver, don't give it to me. I'm telling you I won't pay you."
Mu Tou saw Su He coming over and immediately called for help, "Sister, come quickly, Miao Miao is not behaving well."
Miao Miao would never let her brother complain, so she pushed the wood away and rushed forward to hug her sister's thighs, "Sister, don't listen to your brother's nonsense. I ordered wontons and I'll give them to you later. It doesn't matter if I eat later."
Su He smiled and took Su Miao's hand and asked the stall owner to add three more portions of mutton, one for Zheng Biaotou, one for grandpa, and one for themselves.
"Don't bully your brother. Sit down and eat."
Su He had a average appetite and didn’t even finish a serving of wontons. She gave them directly to the two little ones, who didn’t mind and ate them up in noisy gulps.
"Boss, do you brew this wine yourself?"
"How can that be possible? These were all shipped from Su'an County. We don't have the skills to make them."
Su He nodded, "How much silver per pound?"
"2 taels of silver."
Su He was surprised, "Why is it so expensive? Is Su An's wine so expensive?"
The average price of wine in Huaihe County is about 100 wen, why is the difference so big here?
The stall owner sighed, "Everyone says I'm a ruthless person, but in fact I only make a hundred coins. All this money goes into tolls."
"Tolls? Never heard of them."
"You'll find out soon. I heard from the little girl that you're going to Su'an, and someone will come to collect tolls from you on the way."
Su He frowned, it sounded like this was not a serious unit.
"bandit?"
"Oh my, don't say that. Just prepare the money. It's important to pass safely."
The stall owner quickly looked around and even wiped the sweat from his forehead exaggeratedly.
Su He resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "How are these tolls collected? Are they collected and handed over to the government? Mayor?"
"Hey, please stop talking. It's not good to know too much. I estimate that one penny of silver is enough for you three siblings. Try to wear shabby clothes and put some dust on your face."
"What if there is a carriage?"
"That's 10 taels per person."
Su He suddenly lost his appetite. Who were these bandits and why did they have such a big appetite?
Su He asked Liu Bai, who was not far away, to take care of Mu Tou and Miao Miao and then went to find Zheng Biaotou.
"Captain Zheng, I heard that we have to pay protection fees when we go to Su'an County?"
Zheng Biaotou was wolfing down noodles, and was confused when he heard this, "You don't know?"
"I have no idea!"
"Didn't the magistrate tell you?"
"No."
The two looked at each other blankly, "These bandits are collecting tolls from even the county magistrate?"
"No, the government officials won't accept it. I heard they will give..."
Su He had a blank expression on his face. "Then what should we do with so many teams?"
"I thought the adults had cleared the way for you."
Leader Zheng was also panicking. If things hadn't been smoothed over, then his offer of four hundred taels would have been a bit too low.
What a bullshit, Chen Shi, that damn official.
Su He gritted her teeth and kicked Chen Shi to the ground in her heart.