The weather was growing hotter by the day. By mid-July, not a single drop of rain had fallen, and the ground in some places had dried up and cracked.
Jiang Jin had several more wells dug in the city. Due to the drought, the wells were dug deeper this time.
Added to the wells dug previously, Gefeng now had quite a few, which was completely enough for the city's commoners to use for drinking and daily life.
Some wealthy families even dug wells in their own homes, such as the He family, the Guan family, the Mei clan, and the Zhang family.
Mei Cai had arrived in Gefeng with his clansmen about ten days ago.
The Mei clan consisted of six or seven households, large and small, totaling five to six hundred people including servants and guards.
The houses they rented were also in Changliu Mountain, though they rented in the Second Alley.
Mei Cai lay comfortably in a rocking chair while a servant fanned him.
"This rocking chair is really comfortable. Coming to Gefeng was indeed the right choice; there are truly a lot of good things here," he said in a relaxed tone, carrying a hint of laziness.
The servant smiled ingratiatingly. "What the Master chooses is naturally good."
Mei Cai laughed heartily. "I wasn't the only one who chose it. Speaking of which, I wonder how Ah Sheng and Ah Ren are doing now?"
The servant's hands did not stop moving. "The two young masters have the protection of the Jinyang Army, so everything will definitely go smoothly."
He was an old servant who had followed Mei Cai for a long time and had greatly earned his trust.
He knew about Mei Sheng and Mei Ren going out to sell slaves. Of course, he only thought it was an ordinary slave-selling trip.
The Mei family was in the slave trade, so traveling for business was the most normal thing and would not arouse anyone's suspicion.
The old servant sighed in admiration inwardly at how capable his master was. Just after arriving in Gefeng, he was able to get the care of the Jinyang Army of Gefeng City, who specially sent people to escort them.
Mei Cai, however, was faintly worried. Although they had some connections, cities nowadays were not so easy to enter, and even if one entered, they might not be able to come out.
Just as he was thinking, he saw the steward come in to report. "Master, the First Master and Second Master are here."
The two people he spoke of were the fathers of Mei Sheng and Mei Ren, Mei Qian and Mei Yong respectively.
Mei Cai hurriedly got up. Just as he was about to go to the outer courtyard to welcome them, he saw that his two elder cousins had already walked in.
"How do you two brothers have the free time to come over today?" Mei Cai smoothed out his slightly wrinkled clothes, his face full of smiles.
Mei Qian glanced at him. "We came to talk to you."
"Then let's go to the study to talk." Mei Cai made a gesture of invitation.
The three of them quickly arrived at the study.
Mei Cai asked with a smile, "Are you brothers getting used to living in Gefeng? Have the water wells been dug?"
Speaking of this, Mei Qian sighed. "They have been dug, but this year's weather... Alas, the days for the common people will probably be even harder."
Although they were merchants, under such a grand situation, how could they not also be ordinary commoners?
Every time they traveled for business, they tied their lives to their waistbands. If they were killed, there would be nowhere to appeal; they would die in vain, and perhaps not even their bones could be found.
The study fell into silence. This topic was too heavy.
A moment later, Mei Cai shook his head and sighed. "The world is in chaos. It is already not easy for us to stay alive. Let the people in power get headaches over the rest."
Speaking of people in power, they couldn't help but think of Jiang Jin of Gefeng, as well as Gefeng's Jinyang Army.
They had been in Gefeng for ten days and had gotten to know Gefeng quite well. They had never seen such a person in power, nor had they ever seen such an army.
The army had strict discipline. They did not harass women, did not bully the commoners, and paid normally when buying things...
The person in power did not exploit the commoners. One must know that in the place they originally came from, the higher-ups would use various excuses every few days to make them hand over money and grain.
In fact, more than half of their family's wealth had already been exploited away, otherwise they wouldn't have followed along to Gefeng so readily.
Returning from his thoughts, Mei Yong stated the purpose of this trip. "Fifth Brother, we came just to ask, what exactly did Ah Ren and Ah Sheng go to do?"
Earlier, when Mei Cai brought back the letters from Mei Sheng and Mei Ren, they said they had found a safe place to settle down, and Mei Cai also told them the general situation of Gefeng.
After they discussed it with their clansmen, considering that their days were getting harder and harder, they finally decided to relocate the entire clan.
It had been ten days since they arrived in Gefeng, yet Mei Ren and the others still hadn't returned. The more the two thought about it, the more they felt something was wrong.
Mei Cai had said back then that Mei Ren and the others set off almost at the same time as him. That was still in June, and now it was already mid-July.
This time, the two, including Mei Ren, went to Donghu Commandery to sell slaves. Donghu Commandery was right next to Liuxiang Commandery; no matter what, it shouldn't take that long.
Mei Cai was actually not surprised by their question, but he cried out bitterly in his heart.
Although Jiang Jin didn't tell them to keep it a secret, this kind of thing didn't need to be explained at all. It was absolutely a matter of certain death if spoken about.
Even though they were clansmen, he also believed that his two elder cousins would definitely keep the secret for the sake of their sons.
But, he didn't want to drag his two cousins into it.
Mei Cai deliberated slightly and said, "Since you asked, I won't hide it from you. Besides selling slaves, they also promised the City Lord of Gefeng to help them go buy salt. I estimate the salt buying is not going smoothly."
Mei Qian frowned. "Salt? We don't have channels for salt, we can't help with that."
The salt business was not that easy to do, nor was it something just anyone could or dared to touch.
Mei Yong remembered something and said, "No, don't the He family and the Guan family have this connection? I saw they opened a grocery store, and there is salt for sale inside."
As several of the current major wealthy merchants in Gefeng, they were acquainted and had even visited each other.
Mei Cai was helpless. "Gefeng has such a large population. They probably want to buy salt from the closer Donghu Commandery. The south is too chaotic right now."
"They probably thought that since Ah Ren and the others frequently travel for business and know many people, they could more or less introduce some acquaintances. After all, most of the merchants in a commandery or county know each other."
Meanwhile, the Mei Sheng and Mei Ren the three of them were talking about were currently sitting in a carriage, nervously watching the confrontation scene outside.
They had finally managed to use their business connections and paved the way with gold and silver to arrange Jiang Jin's people into several counties. Of course, this gold and silver was provided by Jiang Jin.
Who would have thought that they would actually encounter a group of refugees on their return journey.
No, it should be said that they encountered a gang of refugees who only looked like refugees.
Mu Ning, who was leading the team, was very cautious. Seeing the 'refugees' approaching from afar, she had already made preparations.
She had been appointed as the captain of the guards this time to execute this protection mission.
The faces of the 'refugees' were covered in dirt, making it almost impossible to see their original appearances. One could only judge from their body shapes that they were not considered thin and weak.
Several of the 'refugees' walking in the front suddenly knelt down towards Mu Ning, begging incessantly.
"Noble ones, please have mercy and give us a little food, just a little bit. The young children and elderly in our families are about to starve to death."
Mu Ning looked coldly at them kowtowing with loud thuds. "You are begging the wrong people. We have no grain."
The kowtowing 'refugee' paused his movements, but quickly returned to normal and continued to kowtow. "I beg the noble ones to give us a way to live. I beg you, just a little grain."
The 'refugees' behind him all sized up the merchant caravan with obscure gazes.
Jiang Jin had only assigned them 50 Dragon Shadow Guards, along with the twenty or thirty guards belonging to Mei Sheng and the others.
The 'slaves' had all been arranged and sent out, so the number of people in the team at this time was not large, less than a hundred.
However, the 'refugee' group had three to four hundred people, and all of them were young and strong men; none were children or elderly.
Chen Xi rode over on a horse. "Leave immediately, otherwise don't blame us for being impolite."
The 'refugees' standing in the back saw that the caravan's attitude was unyielding, showing not a single trace of pity.
Someone gave a cold sneer, "Isn't the food you nobles eat grown by us commoners? War is raging everywhere right now. What does it matter if you spare some to save our lives?"
"That's right! You have so many carts of grain. Giving away just a little bit won't cost you anything, but it could save our lives."
The 'refugee' who had been kowtowing kept his head bowed. Taking advantage of the caravan being distracted by his companions' words, he suddenly drew a dagger from his waist and thrust it toward the horse Mu Ning was riding.
