Sheng He: "...Where in the world do people get paid before doing any work? We won't argue about this, we will give you half first as a deposit."
Jiang Jin shook her head. "No, I want it all. Whenever your goods arrive is when we will make our move."
Sheng He felt like he was going to cough up blood. "There is no such logic anywhere. Giving half as a deposit already shows our utmost sincerity."
Jiang Jin still shook her head. "No."
Sheng He: "...Our Sheng family is an aristocratic family with hundreds of years of history, do you think we would shortchange you on these things?"
Sheng Shang was full of arrogance. "That's right, our noble families value integrity the most. On the contrary, what if we give you the provisions and you don't take action?"
Jiang Jin wasn't angry, smiling as she replied, "Our Gefeng is just a small place. If you go back on your word, we wouldn't have the strength to fight against you."
"However," she changed the subject, "although our Gefeng is a small place, you can rest assured about our integrity. Once we collect the money and provisions, we will definitely get the job done."
Theoretically speaking, giving half as a deposit upfront and the other half upon completion was extremely reasonable.
However, Jiang Jin was worried that if the Sheng family found out later that the outcome of the feigned attack was slightly different, they might renege on the debt.
Sheng He: "..." He realized it now; there really wasn't a single good person in Gefeng.
Coming out of the county magistrate's office, Sheng He and his companion rode their horses out of Gefeng City. After traveling a distance, the two of them coincidentally turned their heads back to look at Gefeng, their eyes filled with obscure emotions.
Sheng Shang couldn't help but feel his pockets. They were completely empty; in fact, he still owed Gefeng a few taels of silver.
He and Sheng He had brought thirty taels of silver with them, but after staying just one night in Gefeng, it was all gone.
Regardless, he couldn't figure out how they calculated it, medical fees, wall demolition fees, artisan fees, accommodation fees, food fees, water fees, lamp oil fees...
In short, when they checked out in the morning, the two of them emptied their entire net worth and it still wasn't enough.
They didn't know if the family head would reimburse them; this was over thirty taels of silver, after all.
Both of them let out a heavy sigh, turned around, and spurred their horses back to Ze'a County.
They would let the family head and the others make the specific decisions. To put it bluntly, the two of them were just scouts and messengers.
Over in Gefeng, many crops were gradually ripening.
Mu Qing led the farmers to begin the harvest, busy beyond belief.
While Gefeng was having a bumper harvest, the number of people who had to abandon their homes and flee the famine because the drought left them with no harvest was increasing.
On the mountain trails and official roads, commoners who had starved to death could be seen everywhere. A foul stench emanated from all around, and even more tragic were those who had been devoured by wild beasts or even other humans.
At noon, the scorching sun blurred one's vision. A few figures staggered along the official road.
Tian Erniang's consciousness was a bit blurry, and the scene before her eyes was swaying, but she couldn't stop. She knew that once she stopped, she would never be able to get up again.
She didn't understand why people came into this world. Was it just to suffer?
She also didn't understand why the man who was supposed to be her pillar of support could, just for a bite of food, trade their own child to be eaten.
That was the child she had carried for ten months, his child too, yet he had agreed without hesitation to his father's suggestion to swap children for food.
"Er, Erniang, ahead, is there a city ahead? Gefeng, have we reached Gefeng?"
The woman following behind Tian Erniang spoke with an excited tone, but her voice was terribly hoarse. If one didn't listen carefully, it was impossible to hear what she was saying.
Since leaving the group a few days ago, they hadn't had a single drop of water to drink, only digging up some grass roots along the way to eat.
Unfortunately, due to the drought, there was barely a blade of grass left. The ground was covered with traces of digging, making it extremely difficult for them to find unearthing grass roots to appease their hunger.
After leaving the group, not knowing which direction to take, she suddenly remembered something she had overheard: Gefeng was now under the control of the Han people, and as long as one entered Gefeng, there would be food in exchange for labor.
She wasn't afraid of hard work. As long as there was food, she would do any job and endure any hardship.
So, the few of them headed in what they believed might be the direction of Gefeng, though she wasn't sure if they were right.
Right or wrong, they had to keep walking. It was their only hope for survival.
Tian Erniang looked up somewhat numbly. Through her blurred vision, she could faintly make out what looked like the silhouette of a city ahead.
Her spirits lifted. She hoisted the tiny bundle on her back higher and urged, Keep walking, keep walking, it's a city.
Whether it was Gefeng or not, she didn't know, but there was definitely a city ahead.
Her cracked lips tore as she spoke, oozing traces of blood, but she felt no pain at all.
She was about to quicken her pace when a wave of dizziness hit her. She stumbled forward, nearly falling.
A tiny body grabbed hold of her. Mother, Mother, what's wrong?
Tian Erniang steadied herself, panting heavily. Looking down at her emaciated daughter, whose hair was sparse and sallow, she comforted her, I'm fine, let's go.
Daya's hand was as thin and bony as a claw, yet she gripped her mother tightly, afraid she would fall.
Seeing that her mother was alright, she released her trembling hand. The strength she had just mustered suddenly vanished, and her body went limp, collapsing to the ground.
Prolonged hunger and thirst had made Tian Erniang's reactions sluggish. She took two steps forward before realizing her daughter hadn't kept up.
She turned her head numbly, only to see Daya lying motionless on the ground.
Startled, she staggered to Daya's side. Daya, Daya, get up, get up. There's a city ahead, cough, cough, cough, a city.
Tian Erniang was about to crouch down to check on her daughter when the woman who had spoken earlier said, Don't. You're carrying Erya; if you kneel, you won't have the strength to get back up. Let me... let me take a look.
The woman was Tian Erniang's sister-in-law, Tian Cuihua. They were originally from the same village and had been close friends before getting married, eventually marrying brothers from the same family.
Daya's consciousness was fading. She only felt how incredibly comfortable it was to lie there, light as a feather. She didn't want to walk anymore; she just wanted to lie there forever.
But her mother's voice sounded so frantic, and she didn't want to make her mother sad.
She struggled to prop herself up, but despite several attempts, she couldn't rise.
Tian Cuihua bent over and painstakingly pulled Daya up. Let's go, it's right ahead. We're almost there.
Xie Nanxiao stood on the city tower, looking at the distant figures. Those must be refugees fleeing from the disaster. It looks like they're on their last legs.
The soldier standing next to him took a look. Yes, should we go and check?
Remembering the plague Jiang Jin had mentioned, he put down his lifted foot. Go notify the medical clinic. Let them handle it.
He couldn't let a momentary bout of soft-heartedness lead to disastrous consequences. After all, his duties were solely defending the city and training troops.
If he contracted the plague, it would inevitably spread through the military camp, and the consequences would be unimaginable.
By the time Liu Mi arrived with two apothecary apprentices, Tian Erniang and her group had made it to within a hundred or two hundred meters of the city gates.
Suo Qian and Mu Zhuo were busy with the penicillin project suggested by Jiang Jin, and since they were getting on in years, she handled the refugees outside the city herself.
"Who are you?" Per Jiang Jin's instructions, she wore a specially made mask and an outer layer of long clothing with cinched cuffs and hems.
In her Lord's words, this was a protective suit.
As she drew closer, she realized that the woman ahead was carrying a child on her back. No wonder she had been walking hunched over; otherwise, the child would have slipped right off.
However, when Liu Mi caught sight of the child, her gaze froze.
The toddler looked to be only a year or two old, and despite the thick layer of grime covering its face, an unnatural, sickly pallor was still glaringly obvious.
