jdhmnovel Chapter 138 Unable to Enter the City
Chapter 138 Unable to Enter the City
Li Lanzhen and Xue Bao arrived outside the gate of Youzhou City.
They pretended to rest and stood under a big tree beside the official road.
Watching the people coming and going.
Li Lanzhen observed carefully and found civilians, merchants and caravans, as well as officers and soldiers from Youzhou city patrolling.
A cup of tea.
Xue Bao said, "Aunt Lan Zhen, what's the problem if I can't see it like this? How about I go to the city gate first and take a look?"
Li Lanzhen shook her head and said, "I'll go take a look first. You sit here for a while."
Li Lianzhen picked up a stick as thick as a child's arm in the woods, and slowly walked towards the gate of Youzhou city with a basket on his back.
When she arrived at the city gate, some people had already gathered, most of them were leaving the city, and few were entering.
Li Lanzhen also knew that it was already afternoon and people who came to the market or to do business should go home, so many people were leaving the city.
She followed the people entering the city and walked forward.
I was standing in line behind a man and saw him taking out a few pieces of paper wrapped in cloth from his bag.
Li Lanzhen asked the man.
"Nephew, what do you have here? Do you need proof to enter the city?"
The man turned around and saw her, and asked in confusion.
"Auntie, you are not a local, right?"
Li Lanzhen nodded and said, "I am from another place. I came to Youzhou City to visit my relatives. My family really has no food to eat, so I'm looking for them for help."
The man nodded and said that he knew in his heart that there was nothing that could be done in the years of famine.
"Auntie, you need a Youzhou household registration certificate to enter the city. Otherwise, you will be arrested as a refugee.
People are being arrested every day these days.
Some of them are people who have fled here to seek employment in the city, or who do not want to return to their hometowns and have settled down in the county government."
Li Lanzhen asked quickly, "So what was their final outcome?"
The man shook his head and said, "What else can I do? They were all arrested."
Li Lanzhen pretended to be shocked and said.
"What should I do? Nephew, I'm not from here. If I go into the city, I'll be arrested. My family is counting on me to go to the city to seek refuge with relatives and get some food to save their lives!"
The man said, "Auntie, you can't go in. If you go in, you will be arrested."
Li Lanzhen whispered, "Thank you, nephew. If it weren't for you, I would be finished. I won't go in. I have to go back to my hometown."
After saying that, he pretended to be scared and quickly turned around and walked out.
Li Lanzhen came to where Xue Bao was sitting.
When Xue Bao saw Li Lanzhen coming over, he quickly stood up and went to greet her and asked, "Aunt Lanzhen, how is the situation?"
Li Lanzhen shook her head and pulled Xue Bao into the depths of the forest.
"Let's go quickly. You need a household registration certificate from Youzhou to enter the city. Otherwise, you will be thrown into jail!"
When Xue Bao heard this, he asked anxiously, "What should we do, Aunt Lanzhou?"
Li Lanzhen smiled mysteriously and said, "Follow your aunt. I have a way to get into the city."
Li Lanzhen pulled Xue Bao and came to the dog hole where Goudan took them into the city last time.
After sitting down, he said to Xue Bao, "Sit still, don't be in a hurry. Wait until it gets dark, and then we can go into the city through the dog hole here."
Xue Bao looked at the bushes surrounding the bottom of the city wall, then looked down at Li Lanzhen.
As if asking her: Are you sure there is a dog hole here now?
Li Lanzhen laughed and said, "Don't worry, I'm sure that the last time I brought Goudan and Han Yinan here, we got in through the dog hole, otherwise we wouldn't have been able to get into the city."
Xue Bao felt relieved and sat down too.
Li Lanzhen took out two wild vegetable cakes from her backpack and handed them to Xue Bao.
"Come, fill your stomach first. Once it gets dark, we'll go into the city."
Xue Bao took two wild vegetable cakes, sat down and took out a water bag from the backpack. The two of them ate and drank until they filled their stomachs.
It was getting dark. Li Lanzhen looked around. Xue Bao said, "Aunt Lanzhen, there is no danger around. It is safe. Let's go into the city quickly."
Li Lanzhen stood up, picked up the backpack, walked ahead, found the dog hole, and removed the stones and straw that filled it.
Li Lanzhen discovered that the area around the dog hole was smoother, and the dirt and rocks that Goudan had filled in underneath had been dug up, making the dog hole even bigger.
She concluded that someone often went in and out of this dog hole.
Li Lanzhen looked at the dog hole and thought it was big enough for two of them to pass through, so she didn't dig up the sand and gravel underneath the dog hole.
Just as she was about to squeeze through, Xue Bao stopped her.
"Aunt Lanzhen, I'll go over first!"
Xue Bao put down the backpack, squeezed half of his body over, looked around, and found that it was safe, then squeezed over.
Li Lanzhen handed over both backpacks and then crawled in.
After they went in, they covered the dog hole tightly with a bundle of straw.
The two men brushed off the dust on their bodies, picked up their backpacks, and left quickly.
Li Lanzhen discovered that this place was completely different from the last time the three of them came here.
The last time I came here, it was still a desolate ruin, with pale and skinny refugees everywhere.
But now, row after row of houses have been built, and there are no more sounds and scenes of adults calling out to children. Every household has lit up the lights, and there is a peaceful and harmonious look.
Li Lanzhen thought to herself, this place doesn't look like the men in black, and that's not what they said.
She was thinking, what should they do if they don't have a household registration in Youzhou City? If so, it shouldn't be possible for them to stay in a restaurant, right?
If he didn't stay at the restaurant, where else would he go? Would he go to the small courtyard he visited last time?
But looking at the current state of Youzhou City, the owner of the yard should have returned, right?
She and Snow Leopard were thinking as they walked. The lights in the shops on both sides of the street were turned on, and the two of them walked slowly on the street.
Xue Bao asked her quietly, "Aunt Lan Zhen, maybe we can't stay in the restaurant?"
Li Lanzhen nodded, "Yes. We can't stay in the restaurant. Come with me and we'll find a place to stay for the night."
Li Lanzhen brought Xue Bao to the alley they were in last time.
As soon as she entered the alley, Li Lanzhen discovered the small courtyards in the alley, and every household was occupied.
She still did not give up and took Xue Bao to the end of the alley and came to the gate of the small courtyard.
Standing outside the courtyard wall, he looked into the yard.
I found that there was no light and no one in the yard, and the gate of the courtyard was still locked.
Li Lanzhen didn't know whether the family had not returned yet or had gone out for something and would not come back until dark.
She thought for a moment and said, "Come on, let's go to the market to have a hot meal first, and then come back."
Xue Bao didn't say anything, but he knew what Li Lanzhen was planning.
I followed her out of the alley and onto the street.
Li Lanzhen found a small noodle restaurant and the waiter came up to greet her as soon as she entered.
"Auntie is here, brother is here, please sit down, what would you like to eat?"
Li Lanzhen looked at what people at other tables were eating and discovered that there were already seven or eight people eating noodles in this small noodle shop.
Their noodle bowls are very big, with lots of noodles and plenty of soup. Some of the noodle bowls are covered with two slices of fat, and some bowls contain vegetarian noodles.
Li Lanzhen said to the waiter, "Brother Xiaoer, give us two bowls of noodles."
The waiter said, "Auntie, brother, we have noodles with meat and vegetarian noodles. What would you like?"
Li Lanzhen said, "Give me two bowls of noodles with meat and a small plate of pickled vegetables."
When the waiter heard this, he sang loudly, "Add two bowls of meat noodles and a plate of side dishes."