Chapter 150: What is the Border City Like?
Jin Sui saw the refugees hiding nearby, and they all rushed out, kowtowing towards the carriage.
This was to bid farewell to Grandpa Ling; some feelings cannot be captured by power or wealth.
When the soldiers were no longer in sight, Jin Sui sat back in the carriage, clenched her fists tightly, and looked up at the carriage roof.
Jin An said nothing, silently stepped forward, hugged her head like an adult, and repeatedly stroked her back.
Soon Jin Sui felt tears dripping on her face and the back of her hands. She looked at her younger brother and saw Jin An crying with snot and tears all over his face.
She forced a smile and said, “Are you reluctant to leave?”
Jin An shook his head, “I’m crying for my sister. I know you really want to cry.”
Jin Sui’s eyes also welled up, “Silly boy, can you cry for someone else?”
Jin Sui hugged her younger brother tightly and deliberately teased him, “At least there’s one good thing.”
Jin An asked with a sob, “What?”
“From now on, you can call me sister. ‘Prince Brother’ sounds terrible.”
Jin An burst into tears and laughter, his snot forming a large bubble.
Grandpa Ling heard the laughter from inside the carriage and let out a long sigh of relief. Although his granddaughter had changed drastically, he felt she was still very much like him in one aspect.
That is, physical torment and pain are never taken to heart. Scars heal and the pain is forgotten.
However, the wounds of the heart are extremely difficult to heal. It’s like a thorn in the chest; even after decades, it still aches faintly whenever one remembers it.
Perhaps Sui Sui hasn’t realized how sad she is yet.
The old Taoist really misjudged them; he never expected people of the royal family to be so heartless!
Alas, I hope that on this southward journey, I, her grandpa, can help Sui Sui overcome her gloom. By the time we reach Jiangnan, she will once again be that optimistic and fearless girl.
Thinking this, Grandpa Ling’s shout of ‘Giddy up!’ grew louder. They had to leave Yandi as quickly as possible before the news spread.
During her time as the fake Li King, his granddaughter had offended quite a few gentry families! At any time, there are plenty of people willing to kick someone when they’re down.
Especially the Zheng family; a centipede dies but never goes stiff. If they sent someone to cause trouble, with just the three of them—the old and the young—they wouldn’t be able to escape.
Grandpa Ling drove the carriage at full speed. Inside the carriage, Jin Sui was seizing the opportunity to teach Jin An how to use a hand crossbow:
“Hold it like this, and pull down this trigger. This hole is for the anesthetic needle; it doesn’t hurt people, it just makes them faint.
This larger hole is for the fish oil firearm. When fired, it explodes and ignites. This is what I used to burn the border city.”
Jin An’s face turned pale, “Is it safe to keep it in the carriage like this?”
Jin Sui smiled, “Don’t worry, this box is specially made. See, it doesn’t shake at all, it’s very safe.”
Jin An found it even more terrifying, “But sister, why are you teaching me this now? We won’t encounter Tartars after leaving the border city.”
Jin Sui rubbed his little head:
“It’s not just Tartars who are bad people. Have you forgotten the bandits we encountered! And wolf packs, tigers, and leopards. Grandpa is old, and I’m just a girl. You have to protect us all!”
“Do you not want to learn, or are you afraid to kill?”
Jin An immediately said, “I want to learn, and I’m not afraid to kill! If anyone dares to harm sister or grandpa, I will kill them!”
Jin Sui encouraged him, “Good! You need that spirit to succeed in anything you do.
You practice the hand crossbow with wooden arrows first. I’ll put away the anesthetic needles and fish oil.”
She herself was looking at the Yandi map nearby. She was already very proficient with the hand crossbow; it was a weapon tailor-made for her, lighter and easier to aim than a bow and arrow, and capable of multiple shots.
As Jin An practiced, he suddenly blurted out, “It would be great if Brother Hei Hu could come with us.”
Jin Sui’s heart ached dully. She believed that if she asked, Hei Hu would definitely agree to come with her. But how could she be so selfish!
“Once the Imperial edict arrives, your Brother Hei Hu will be a Seventh Rank Captain. Following us, he would only be a bodyguard and coachman. What future would he have?”
“Relying on anyone is not as good as relying on yourself! You practice shooting the crossbow for half an hour, and then study with me.”
Jin An immediately dared not speak again. He had personally witnessed his sister training the new recruits of the Black Feather Camp. At that time, his sister was full of spirit, and even he found it unbelievable that the person on horseback was his sister.
Now, the only person his sister could train was him. It seemed he would have to start studying before they even reached Jiangnan.
Jin An felt like crying but had no tears. However, he didn’t intend to back down. He only regretted that he had grown too slowly. If he were a few years older, he would never have let his sister suffer such great injustice.
They barely stopped on the road, only slowing down when the horses were tired. Jin Sui took over driving from Grandpa midway; as soon as Grandpa lay down in the carriage, he started snoring.
The old man was too tired. He had barely slept all night and had spent his time settling the refugees who had come out of the mountains with him.
The wind wasn’t yet like a knife, but it still stung their faces.
Jin Sui felt her eyes burning. She put on Grandpa’s thick hat, pulled down the brim, pulled up her scarf around her neck, and put on the laboratory goggles. Only then did she feel a little better.
It got dark too early, and there were no street lamps outside the border city. The dim light from the horses’ lanterns was not enough to travel at night.
They were already outside Yanzhou. Jin Sui wasn’t worried about others, but she feared Zheng Yun might catch up to cause trouble, and then Yan Jiu might come looking for her.
She didn’t know how to face Yan Jiu. It felt like she had just rejected a big boss who offered her a high-paying job, only to find herself begging on the street when they met again.
Never mind whether the big boss would laugh at her; she felt like a joke herself!
Fortunately, Jin Sui noticed that there were quite a few carriages traveling to and from the border city, and her tracks were quickly covered.
They didn’t dare to look for places like post stations to spend the night. They wanted to find a small forest for shelter, so the three of them could huddle in the carriage for the night and stay warm.
However, they saw several bonfires already lit in the small forest, with dozens of people gathered there for the night.
A quick glance revealed they were all common folk, including some peddlers. As soon as they saw newcomers, they immediately pulled their goods closer, watching Jin Sui warily.
There were also families with several children, the youngest only three or four years old, who curiously eyed Jin Sui. Well, mainly they were looking at the horse she was leading.
Their mother quickly pulled them closer, as if afraid of offending the ‘noble person.’ In the eyes of the common people, anyone with a fine horse pulling a carriage was a noble person.
Jin Sui woke Grandpa Ling. Grandpa was best at communicating with ordinary people, and she was worried about being recognized.
She pulled her scarf up further, first drove the carriage to an open space, and then unhitched the horse to feed it water and fodder.
This was a yellow-dappled horse retired from the battlefield. Its leg was injured, so it couldn’t go into battle, but it was certainly being put to good use pulling the carriage.
Jin Sui poured a bottle of glucose into Da Huang’s water to replenish its energy.
She also grabbed a few handfuls of good beans for fodder and whispered, “Once we leave Yandi, I’ll let you walk slowly.”
Grandpa stretched in the carriage and got out. With the friendly demeanor of an old neighbor from the Northeast, he asked with a smile:
“Oh my, I was worried that it would just be us three grandparents and grandchildren tonight and what if we encountered wolves? I didn’t expect so many fellow villagers to be here!”
Grandpa Ling had already taken off his Taoist robe. The three of them had agreed not to travel as Taoists anymore, as it was too conspicuous.
As Grandpa asked this, an elder immediately replied, “People like us can’t afford to stay at the post station, so we have to sleep in the wilderness. Sir, why aren’t you staying at the post station?”
Grandpa Ling chuckled and went to warm himself by their bonfire, “What ‘sir’ am I! I can’t even afford two meals of dry food a day.
This carriage and horse are rented. Where would I get the money to stay at a post station!”
His words resonated with everyone. Seeing that there were no adults on the carriage, only a youth and a child, they relaxed their guard and started chatting.
While Jin Sui listened to what was happening with Grandpa, she and Jin An started a fire. A woman kindly gave them a bundle of dry grass for kindling. Jin Sui naturally didn’t dare to take out her coal stove.
She gathered some firewood nearby, set up the hanging pot, and prepared to cook a simple dinner.
Thanks to Grandpa’s ample preparations, he had brought a pot of the base ingredients from the hodgepodge eatery. With the cold weather, even though it hadn’t frozen yet, it would last for three days.
Scooping a ladleful and adding water to boil made a simple soup. Then, re-roasting the flatbread and soaking it in the soup made for a proper Central Plains delicacy.
The greatest strength of the three grandparents and grandchildren was that they had all experienced hardship. It was easy to go from frugality to luxury, and not difficult to go from luxury back to frugality.
Even little Jin An was satisfied with this dinner.
However, Jin Sui secretly gave Jin An an extra meal. The child was growing, and the journey was tiring, so he needed to eat. She let him gnaw on two pieces of cooked beef in the carriage.
There were too many people outside, so they had to be low-key. Eating flatbread and soup was already much better than those eating dry rations. Eating meat would be too conspicuous.
After the soup boiled, Jin Sui first served a bowl and had Jin An deliver it to the woman who had given them dry grass, as a token of gratitude. She had two children with her.
Grandpa sat back by the pot, having gathered information on dozens of people. He glanced meaningfully at Jin Sui, his eyes filled with pride and heartache, and whispered:
“They are all going to the border city.”
Jin An asked in surprise, “What are they going to the border city for?”
Grandpa Ling said with a smile, “It’s spread throughout the Sixteen Prefectures of Yandi that the Li King is taking care of refugees. The border city is short-handed, and they can find work. Even if they can’t, the Prince won’t let them starve or freeze to death.”
“They are all people who can’t survive in their hometowns. Some had their land occupied by the gentry, some sold their property to pay the autumn taxes, some couldn’t pay the autumn taxes, their husbands were dragged away for corvée labor, and the women could only take their children to make a living.”
“They are all unfortunate souls! Not much better than refugees. I heard that the poor in the border city have a way to live, so they are all flocking there.”
Jin An also became proud. It was all his sister’s credit!
Then he thought of their current predicament and couldn’t smile anymore. He quietly asked Jin Sui, “Sister, now that we’ve left, will the Prince still be good to the people?”
Jin Sui said coldly, “That’s his border city, his people. Who knows! Eating is no longer our concern.”
Although she said this, her heart couldn’t help but look at these common people, thinking about where the woman could be assigned, and that family looked strong enough to work in the salt fields.
The old man’s calloused hands indicated he was a craftsman. Craftsmen were the most scarce in the border city. She hoped Cheng Yu would ask clearly and not reject him just because he was old…
She quickly shook her head, signaling herself to be more rational. It’s no longer your concern! If you have the leisure to worry about these things, you might as well think about the road ahead!
Perhaps because their food smelled so good, or perhaps because Grandpa Ling’s conversation technique had worked, someone loudly asked, “Old man, have you been to the border city?”
Grandpa Ling glanced at Jin Sui and smiled, “No, we are from the Yanjiao region.”
Someone else asked, “Then you must have heard! Is it true that the Li King is recruiting people, providing food and money for them to work?”
Everyone started asking questions in a flurry:
“What is the border city like?”
“Refugees are given household registration and land?”
“No gentry seizing good farmland?”
“The border city has many soldiers at the border; the soldiers won’t beat people randomly, right?”
“I heard that the Zheng family wanted to sacrifice common women, but the Li King forcefully saved the woman and even beheaded the head of the Zheng family!”
Jin Sui quickly explained, “It was the acting head of the Zheng family who was beheaded, and not solely because he wanted to sacrifice commoners. He also colluded with bandits and horse thieves to rob the people.”
The crowd was stunned for a moment. Didn’t their grandfather say he wasn’t clear? But they quickly reacted and crowded closer:
“I heard many people saw it. The Li King looked as handsome as a god, powerful and imposing. In front of the Imperial Commissioner, he cut off the head of the Zheng family head with one sword.”
“They deserved it! These aristocratic families have dominated Yandi for a hundred years; it’s time someone dealt with them.”
“I heard the Li King burned ten thousand Tartars and set the entire city ablaze! The old city is still a scorched earth, and you can still smell the blood!”
Jin Sui: …How did the rumors get so exaggerated? There were only a little over a thousand Tartars in total, not ten thousand. Ten thousand iron cavalry could have leveled Yandi.
The Imperial Court’s reward edict still hasn’t arrived. Could it be because someone exaggerated too much?
“I heard that the border city has grain seeds brought from the Western Regions that can be planted even in the dead of winter, so people won’t go hungry.”
“I heard that if you work for the Prince, you get two meals a day, and there’s meat!”
Upon hearing ‘meat,’ even the little one boldly asked, “Meat, meat, do we get meat every day? Mother, let’s go to the border city quickly!”
The woman looked at her youngest son licking his bowl and smiled apologetically at Jin Sui, indicating she would wash the bowl clean.
She then pulled her elder son, who had been asking questions, closer and said worriedly, “How can we get meat every day! I don’t know if mothers like me can find work.”
Grandpa Ling quickly said, “You’ll find it! There are plenty of women and girls setting up stalls in the market. When you get there, register at the refugee camp first. Those with household registration need to transfer it. Those without will first earn work points by completing tasks assigned by the government office, and then they will be registered.
For someone like you with two children, you’ll receive two extra subsidies.”
Everyone heard this old man start by saying he didn’t know, then that he had a slight understanding, and now he even knew how to get registered in the border city.
They all crowded around to ask questions. Jin Sui was afraid Grandpa would let something slip, yet she sympathized with these common people. She could only listen nervously from the side, ready to remind Grandpa at any moment.
She turned her head and saw Jin An quietly picking out the flatbread from his bowl to give to the child licking the bowl. Her heart softened again.
For some reason, the lingering sadness caused by Gu Changxiao, amidst the chatter of these common people and their yearning for the border city.
Jin Sui felt much better. Everything she had done in the border city might be meaningless to Gu Changxiao, and perhaps nothing would be left behind, but for the common people, the border city had become a beacon in their hearts.
Her efforts would, in another way, silently and imperceptibly spread throughout this land.
Thinking this, her gaze gradually softened, and the corners of her mouth curved upwards.
Grandpa Ling saw this and smiled inwardly, “My Sui Sui! You always say that Jin An and I are too soft-hearted, but you are the softest-hearted one of all!”
Alas, I know my writing is not good and there are many areas to improve. But the data is really, really bad, and the royalties are so low I can barely afford to eat. Please give me votes for comfort~~
