C154
C154
The man looked at her warily, as if he was afraid she would run away.
"I'm just a weak scholar with no strength to tie up a chicken. How could I have the ability to escape?" Hua Ruge forced a smile.
She was not fully recovered yet, and being held like this was too much for her.
The two of them looked at each other for a moment before releasing her. One of them even shouted, "Be more honest."
"Yes, yes." Hua Ruge nodded obediently.
As she walked, she observed both sides of the street. There were soldiers sprinkling quicklime, and most of them were covering their mouths and noses.
It was recorded in the books that people used this method to prevent the spread of the disease.
It seemed like there was some kind of epidemic disease spreading around, so her peaceful days were not going to end well.
Hua Ruge's face was bitter as he reminisced about his own soft bed and Lan Bing'er's cooking.
A soldier who was next to her couldn't bear to see her depressed look: "This project will only last for three days. You can go home after the work is finished and you will be rewarded with money."
Hua Ruge then caught someone who could speak and immediately pretended to say: "It's great to have rewards, it's just that my body is weak, I don't know if I can still work here?"
She wanted to find out what she was doing.
Currently, her physical strength had yet to recover. The reason why she was so strong was definitely because she couldn't do it. She could only think of other ways.
"This is something that any man can do. It's as easy as paving the way." The man tapped her on the shoulder.
Perhaps it was because she was young and weak, but she also had a handsome appearance, so she said a few more words.
"Paving the way?" Hua Ruge was stupefied, there was an epidemic in the city, these people still want to pave the way?
The soldier wanted to say something, but the person beside him reminded him, "Fourth Bro, don't talk nonsense."
Hua Ruge hated her to the point that the roots of her teeth were itching.
She was pressed to the east side of the city gate, where hundreds of people were already gathered. She was shoved into one of the small teams.
The other squads also had other officers and soldiers guarding them.
Presumably, the thirty of them were responsible for capturing the thirty people on each team.
Most of the people here were in their prime, but there were also a few who were slightly older. They were probably there to make up the number of people.
"Be honest, whoever wants to run away will be killed." A soldier walked past them. Maybe because he felt that Hua Ruge was too much of a hindrance to her, he pushed her away.
Hua Ruge staggered forward, and was supported by a person who looked to be around sixty years old.
She frowned. These soldiers were truly domineering.
"Young man, it shouldn't be a problem." The old man asked with concern.
This old man's clothes were in tatters, and there were countless patches on his body. However, his clothes were clean and tidy, and he had a friendly face, so it seemed that he was not a scholar.
"Thank you for your concern, uncle. I'm fine." Hua Ruge said politely.
"That's good. As long as you listen to me obediently and do more work, nothing will happen to you." the old man said soothingly.
Hua Ruge could tell that the old man knew something, so he nodded his head and said, "Thank you for your advice, Uncle.
Her attitude was very humble, and the smile on the old man's face became even friendlier.
"Do you know what road we're going to build?" Hua Ruge lowered her voice. She felt that it was time to ask.
The old man looked around. Because the two of them were standing at the back of the line and each of them had their own thoughts, they had no time to eavesdrop.
"This is a path that must be taken to Yang City. Rumor has it that in a couple of days, important people will be patrolling here, which is why they are in such a hurry to cultivate."
Looking at the bluestone path on the ground, he said doubtfully, "Even though it is full of holes, some of it is old and worn out and won't affect the passage of important people."
In her heart, she wondered if the great man was too delicate, and was afraid of taking such a road.
"You must be from a foreign land." the old man asked.
Hua Ruge nodded: "Yes."
"No wonder you don't know about us. You look like you haven't had enough time to fix it for a long time, but actually, it was just repaired last year. Furthermore, it has to be fixed again every year." The old man sighed as he explained.
Hua Ruge immediately said: Are you trying to take advantage of me?
The old man nodded and lowered his voice, "The mayor of this city uses this excuse to ask the imperial government for money every year. He wants the citizens in the city to pay taxes, but they just can't let us live peacefully."
Hua Ruge was clear now that this was corruption due to the corruption of officials. Even though he had received two funds at the same time, he had still taken the easy way and put most of the money into his own pocket.
However, this was just a method to amass wealth. What did it have to do with that big shot?
"Actually, every year, there would be a later date for the cultivation. However, it is said that a grand character has suddenly arrived. Isn't it because they fear being caught red-handed?" The old man continued.
Hua Ruge now understood that the officials were trying to cover up their crimes.
"Uncle, do you know who the big shot is?" Hua Ruge asked curiously.
The mayor was not a small official, and he was located in a city near the border. Even if he was a government official, there shouldn't be many people afraid of him.
"We commoners don't know about this. I heard that it was sent down by the imperial government. Looking at how scared the mayor is, he must be a powerful figure." The old man guessed.
Hua Ruge saw that he had a clear understanding of the situation and understood that this was definitely not a normal citizen.
"Uncle, I don't think you're a laborer. Why are you still doing such hard work at such an age?" Hua Ruge asked.
When the old man heard this, he sighed.
Just this one sigh was enough for Hua Ruge to hear the infinite pain and sadness in his heart.
"Hurry up and leave. What are you waiting for?" At this time, there were soldiers shouting down below.
Hua Ruge had already noticed before that there were no materials on this side, so he thought that he would start his road cultivation from the other side.
The old man silently lowered his head and resigned himself to his fate as he walked forward.
Hua Ruge did not dare to speak anymore, she had no choice but to lower her head, if she got whipped twice, she would be at a disadvantage.
There were ten teams in this group. According to the thirty people that the previous person had mentioned, there would be three hundred people in this group. The commotion caused by so many people repairing the road was not small at all.
Twenty or so officers and men were walking towards the other end of the road.
The road was not short, about ten li in total. By the time this group of people arrived, it was already almost dark.
The raw materials had already been delivered. The soldiers ordered everyone to rest here and start working tomorrow.
Hua Ruge realized that there was no rest in the workshop here and it was actually for everyone to sleep on the spot.
It was winter right now, so normal people couldn't stand it when they were in the wild. Furthermore, they didn't seem to have any plans to take care of the food either.
Hua Ruge thought to himself, coming out for a trip had really broadened his horizons, there was actually someone who could exploit others like that.
The old man pulled, signalling Hua Ruge not to make a sound.
Hua Ruge nodded, he knew that he would only end up suffering.
The old man found a tree by the side of the road and cleaned the snow on it, gesturing for Hua Ruge to go over.
"Uncle, you seem to be very experienced." Hua Ruge asked.
The old man nodded. "I've already spent five years on this road, so what they want to do can't be clearer."
Hua Ruge looked at the old man's frail body, and felt that the officials here were too inhumane.
"Close your eyes and don't speak." The old man immediately said when the soldiers were about to pass by.
Hua Ruge did as instructed.
The officer walked past the two of them. When he saw the two people in front whispering to each other, he stretched out his hand and whipped them. "Shut up. It's good to have this place to sleep. If you keep talking, we'll pull you out and chop you down."
Everyone was silent. Regardless of whether they were asleep or not, they did not dare to speak anymore.
The soldiers patrolled the area for another week before they started to take their positions and doze off.
Hua Ruge opened his eyes early on, the black eyes that had been ordering him looked around the crowd of people, searching for the positions of the soldiers.
In order to prevent these laborers from escaping, these people were sitting in different directions, guarding a few escape routes. Wanting to escape was somewhat difficult.
The old man also opened his eyes. He took out an oily paper package from his sleeve and quietly opened it. Inside was a snow-white steamed bun.
Hua Ruge thought to himself, this old man had some experience, he knew that the people here would not give food.
The old man picked up a steamed bun, broke off half, and gave it to Hua Ruge: "Here, eat some stomach padding. Although it's not much, it's better than being hungry."
Looking at the half bun in the old man's hand, Hua Ruge was stunned.
She hadn't thought that a person she had met by chance would treat her with such sincerity.
"Eat," the old man offered again.
Hua Ruge did not want to disappoint the old man and took the bun.
Stretching her hand behind her back, she took out a few wild fruits that she had prepared previously and handed them to the old man in front of her.
The old man asked curiously, "You also know that they don't give you food to eat?"
"Today, I only picked a few when I passed by the forest. I've eaten very sweet food." Hua Ruge said.
The old man nodded, he did not eat the steamed bun and looked at Hua Ruge, but started to cry when he saw it.
"Uncle, what happened to you?" Hua Ruge asked in concern.
"You look even better than my son. That's great." The old man said while wiping away his tears.
"Your son?"
"If he had lived a bit longer than you, he would have been around your height. He would be clean and white, and he would look good when he smiles." The old man mumbled as tears streamed down his face.
"Old man, I'm sorry." Hua Ruge could only advise.
This old man had lost his son, and now he had fallen to such a state. It was truly pitiful.
"Young man, I have a warning for you. You must listen to it, or else you won't be able to escape this calamity." The old man suddenly said seriously.
Hua Ruge was startled, and subconsciously asked: "What?"
"Do you know how my son died?" The old man sighed.
Hua Ruge, of course, shook his head.
"Because of his good looks, he was forced to his death by the City Lord!"
Hua Ruge was even more confused, her heart thinking, what's so good about her?
"How many good-looking young people in the city die like this?"
Hua Ruge was baffled.