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The Shen family were surprised and their surprise was no less than his.
“Aren’t you guys just coming from Dashan County?” he asked.
Shen Rong explained, “Ah, yes, we did come from Dashan County. But when we left, there hadn’t been any riots by the people outside the city.”
Seeing that everyone seemed highly interested in what was happening in Dashan County, Shen Rong decided to ask further.
“I wonder if this gentleman can inform us about the situation over there?”
The man glanced at Shen Rong and the interested faces around him, then looked at the food they were carrying. His eyes rolled around for a moment.
He pretended to be weak and leaned against a tree behind him. He said, “It’s not that I don’t want to talk, but these past few days of rushing on the road have left my throat dry. I don’t have the extra strength to speak.”
The Shen family’s group twitched their lips. He had just been speaking energetically, and they didn’t see any signs of a dry throat.
Hua Ling, with an innocent face, asked, “But uncle, you didn’t seem thirsty at all when you were speaking just now.”
The man felt a little embarrassed by the remark, but it was only a slight embarrassment.
He discreetly raised one eyelid to look towards the Shen family and coughed twice, pretending.
“Oh, my throat feels like it’s smoking. I wasn’t tired just a moment ago. It must be because I spoke so much that it turned out this way,” he said.
After speaking, he glanced up to see the Shen family’s reaction. They were just looking at him without any anger.
He continued to remind them, “I don’t have much water and food left on me. Otherwise, I would definitely tell you about what happened outside Dashan County.”
“Oh, it’s truly thrilling. Tsk, tsk~ It’s such a pity you haven’t seen it,” he added.
Shen Yu’an was about to approach the man to see if he was truly as exhausted as he claimed, but Hua Ling pulled her back.
Hua Ling tugged at Shen Yu’an’s sleeve and said, “How about Sister An’an gives him some food and water? Ling’er wants to hear his stories.”
After saying that, she eagerly looked at everyone, intending to charm her way through.
Shen Grandma’s heart softened as she watched Hua Ling. She pulled the playful Hua Ling to sit by her side, closer to hear the man “tell stories.”
She glanced at Shen Yu’an and asked, “How about giving him something?”
Shen Yu’an nodded gently. She was also willing to exchange a bit of food and water for information.
Soon, Shen Dalang brought a bamboo tube of water and a few pieces of bread for the complaining man.
The man took the water and bread, smiled slyly, and stuffed them into the dirty, beyond filthy bundle he carried, patting it with his hand.
The man didn’t take advantage of the situation. As soon as he received the water and food, he began to talk about what happened outside Dashan County.
He vividly described, “You guys have no idea. The people in the city promised to provide a meal for the refugees outside the city every day. But not only did the porridge become increasingly watery, eventually it turned into once every two days.”
Hua Ling enthusiastically chimed in, “They broke their promise! They are so bad!”
The man glanced at the little girl who spoke up for him and helped him get food. She seemed quite likable to him, so he continued:
“With no food, how could the people outside the city stay put? In the end, someone instigated us, saying that the officials in the city no longer cared about our lives. I’m smart, you know. I immediately saw that person had ill intentions and suggested that we use force to make the city’s lords provide us with food.”
The man smirked with self-satisfaction and continued, “Sensing danger, I quickly ran away and hid in the back.”
Hua Ling earnestly said, “You’re really smart!”
Shen Yu’an thought to herself, “…Miss, do you realize that you’re not very smart?”
The man continued, “But not everyone outside the city is as clever as me. They actually listened to that person and went to cause trouble at the city gate. They didn’t stop to think that fighting against the officials, can they really win?”
“The people inside the city must have been prepared for us outsiders. Whoosh, I saw soldiers on the city wall holding arrows, and those arrows flew down swiftly. Quite a few troublemakers ended up dead.”
“I’m fortunate that I hid quickly; otherwise, I would have been one of those lying down.”
The man nodded to himself, seemingly pleased with his own intelligence.
From the man’s words, the Shen family learned that shortly after they left, the refugees outside the city clashed with the city’s officials and soldiers.
Zhao Shi was frightened and patted her chest, relieved that they had left early.
She asked in shock, “So, more than a thousand people outside the city died?”
The man looked at Zhao Shi as if she were a fool and replied, “How is that possible? Although they’re not as clever as me, even if people died, those who survived wouldn’t continue to move forward. They must have all run away.”
“I came along with those people. If it weren’t for my intelligence, I would have starved to death on the way.”
The faces of the crowd turned dark. This man was too self-centered, constantly repeating his own cleverness as if he feared others wouldn’t know.
There wasn’t any other useful information left. The survivors had simply come from one of the two routes.
After the man finished speaking, he contentedly left with his bundle on his back.
Once the man was gone, the Shen family quickly ate some food. After eating, they planned to continue their journey. They should be able to reach the outskirts of the next county before evening.
The refugees from Dashan County would definitely come in this direction after they left.
They had spent so much time in the forest, they had no idea if those people had arrived yet.
Moreover, if Dashan County was in such a state, would the situation here be any better?