The next day, the 24th day of the twelfth lunar month is the Little New Year.
Shen Zhengwen got up early before dawn.
He tidied himself up and dressed up like a refugee.
Then he found a baggage, put a big fish and dozens of eggs in it, picked up the baggage and set off for Qingzhou City.
He was afraid that the eggs would be damaged, so he put a lot of hay inside.
The journey into the city went smoothly. He was only stopped at the gate of Qingzhou City as a refugee.
However, after showing his household registration certificate, the guard at the door let him in.
He first walked to a busy street, took off the baggage behind him and spread it on the ground, revealing the eggs and big herring inside, and then began to wait for the customers to arrive.
Today is Xiaonian. There are many people coming and going on the street, but not many people buy his things.
But it's not that passers-by don't want to buy his stuff, it's just that they can't afford it.
The drought has caused prices to skyrocket and has wiped out many people's savings.
All their money is reserved to buy food, and there is no spare money left to buy luxury items such as eggs and fish.
Shen Zhengwen saw that no one was interested in his stall for a long time, and he realized this.
The street he was on was located in the north of the city. In the north of the city, there were all kinds of vendors and footmen. They were just common people at the bottom trying to make a living. It was normal for them to be reluctant to spend money.
So he put away his things and walked for half an hour to a prosperous area in the south of the city.
The streets in the south of the city are much cleaner and tidier than the chaos in the north of the city. Occasionally, sedan chairs and carriages will pass by.
Facts have proved that Shen Zhengwen's choice was indeed correct.
After he arrived in the south of the city, people soon came to his stall to ask about the price.
In less than half an hour, he sold all the fish and dozens of eggs.
However, this is mainly due to his reasonable price.
Nowadays, all kinds of food are very scarce, and the price of eggs remains high.
In the past, eggs only sold for ten cents each, but now the price of eggs in the city has soared to thirty cents each.
Shen Zhengwen didn't sell it so expensively. He just wanted to sell it out and go home early, so he set the price at twenty cents.
He only sold that big herring weighing more than ten kilograms for a hundred cents.
In the past, the price of a fish was not as good as an egg, but now he is very satisfied if he can sell it for a hundred cents.
After making money, he returned to the north of the city and bought some things for his family and some new year's goods.
Things in the south of the city are really expensive, and he can't afford them now.
After buying his things, he rushed home without stopping.
There are all young children in the family, and Li Rulan is the only adult at home. He is really worried.
Although I am blessed by lucky stars now, I still have worries in my heart.
Last time he took Niannian to the city, Shen Yaocai's family came to the door. This time he had to go back early.
On the way back, Shen Zhengwen didn't dare to be careless. He hid the things he bought tightly and made himself look disgraced, for fear of attracting others' attention.
But what surprised him was that he had seen refugees wandering around on the way here. Why was there not a single refugee on the way back?
Just when he was curious, he suddenly heard something moving in the grass next to him.
Shen Zhengwen didn't dare to stay, and was about to hurry up and leave when he saw a person suddenly walking out of the grass.
"Oh, I'm really exhausted." The man stretched himself and slowly walked out of the grass.
Seeing Shen Zhengwen, the man asked with some confusion: "Hey, didn't I tell you refugees to hide? Why is there still a pestle here?"
Shen Zhengwen saw that the man was dressed like a government official and was equipped with a machete, so he answered honestly.
"Guan Ye, I'm not a refugee fleeing famine. My family lives in Taoli Village. I went to the city today for some business and I'm going home now."
"Oh? Do you live in Taoli Village?" The government official became interested and asked curiously.
"I heard that there is a monster in your Taoli Village causing trouble and confusing people. Is this true or false? Have you ever seen what that monster looks like?"
Shen Zhengwen was shocked, "There are no monsters in our Taoli Village. Why did the official say this?"
The yamen officer looked Shen Zhengwen up and down, his eyes filled with suspicion.
"Are you from Taoli Village? You don't look like a villager at all, but more like a refugee."
"Early this morning, some villagers from Taoli Village went to the county government to report a crime, saying that there was a monster causing trouble in Taoli Village. Why did you tell me there was no more?"
When Shen Zhengwen saw that the government officials did not believe his identity, he took out his household registration book and said, "Master, you see, I am definitely a villager in Taoli Village."
"And I can guarantee that there are indeed no monsters in our Taoli Village."
The officer glanced at him and said, "Then why did the person who reported it to the official speak so confidently, as if he had seen a monster with his own eyes?"
Shen Zhengwen was also a little confused, so he asked: "Excuse me, the official, do you know who went to report to the official?
The yamen servant thought for a moment and said, "I can't remember the man's name, but I know his surname. My wife and I have the same surname as her family, both of whom are surnamed Shen."
When Shen Zhengwen heard that the reporter's surname was Shen, Shen Zhengwen immediately knew what was going on.
In the entire Taoli Village, except for a few children from the younger generation, he and Shen Yaocai were the only ones left.
This time it must be Shen Yao who is causing trouble again.
Needless to say why you should report to the official, it must be for your own family.
And the monster he was talking about must be Xiao Niannian.
Shen Zhengwen calmed down his emotions and continued to talk to the yamen servant.
"Then let me ask you, sir, even if there are monsters in Taoli Village, why are you driving away the refugees here?"
There was a look of reverence on the officer's face, and he clasped his fists in the direction of the city.
"That's because our honest and honest county magistrate, who is considerate of the people's hearts, felt that he should not take it lightly after hearing that there were monsters in Taoli Village, so he planned to take people to check it out in person. I heard that there were many refugees in this area, so naturally we came to clear the road.
, so as not to offend the county magistrate with some short-sightedness."
"What? The county magistrate is going to take someone to check it out in person?" Shen Zhengwen had a trace of panic on his face.
"That's right!" said the Yamen servant with an admiring look on his face, "There are not many government officials who do everything by themselves like our county magistrate."
"Thank you for informing me, sir." Shen Zhengwen saluted the yamen servant and said goodbye, "Then I will continue on my way and won't disturb my officer's work."
"Go ahead, go ahead!" The yamen servant waved his hand, "But you must remember that the county magistrate will also be walking this way later. If you hear the sound of a carriage, be sure to avoid it and don't bump into our county magistrate.