Gan Fanren urged, “We must all be sharp tomorrow. It’s better to be cautious in all things.”
Gan Tian was somewhat shocked.
【Tongmen Guan!】
【Help! Why is it this place!】
【It’s over, it’s over. My eldest brother is probably doomed.】
How was he doomed?
Where was the doom coming from?
Everyone looked at Gan Tian in unison, hoping she would explain clearly.
But Gan Tian’s inner voice was extremely chaotic, and they were completely unable to extract any useful information.
【My poor eldest brother.】
【What can I do to save you, my brother?】
【According to the plot, we weren’t supposed to start Fleeing Famine until half a year from now. Now that we are half a year early, we might not necessarily encounter the events in the novel. Stay calm, stay calm!】
The Gan Family spent a restless night, their hearts clawing with anxiety, but they never heard Gan Tian speak of what would happen next.
It felt like eating until one was only half full.
Not only did they not feel satiated, but the aroma of the food made them even hungrier.
Because they hadn’t rested well, the Gan Family’s vitality was quite poor.
Li Zhi, having eaten his fill and slept well, was full of energy.
Seeing that Gan Fanren’s condition wasn’t right, he even tried to persuade Gan Fanren to rest on the cart.
From Li Zhi’s words, Gan Tian could faintly hear a trace of disdain.
It was the kind of disdain where, during a holiday gathering, someone is shunted off to the kids’ table because they can’t drink.
Gan Fanren felt it too. He stubbornly refused to get on the cart and stayed by Li Zhi’s side.
Because of Gan Tian’s inner thoughts from the day before, the Gan Family’s nerves were highly strung.
Gan Huaizhong, in particular, sat on the cart, tensely clutching Gan Tian without saying a word.
When they arrived at Tongmen Guan, they saw from a distance a long queue of people trying to enter the pass.
Many people were being seized because they had no money.
“Sir soldiers! One tael of silver per person for the entry tax is just too high. We can’t produce that much!”
“Please have mercy on us. Our homes have been destroyed; we only fled because we had no other choice.”
Facing the bitter pleas of the commoners, the city gate guards remained unmoved.
“If you don’t have money, don’t take the official road. If you take the official road, you must produce silver. One tael per person. If you can’t, you’re going to jail.”
The guard waved his hand impatiently, pushing the elderly man who was pleading with him to the ground with a single palm.
“You old bag of bones, hurry up and get the money, or I’ll arrest your whole family.”
Several guards surrounded the old man, the sharp tips of their spears pointed at their necks. If they dared to say no, those tips would pierce through their throats.
The commoners were so terrified they wanted to flee, but it was already too late.
The guards surrounded them, and anyone who tried to escape was beaten and injured on the spot.
Those further away couldn’t hear what was happening; they could only see the guards suddenly turning violent.
Some who enjoyed watching the commotion even ran to the front to inquire.
Once they inquired, they were seized. Unless they could produce silver, they could forget about leaving.
Gan Fanren originally wanted Li Zhi to go and scout the situation, but then he heard his daughter cursing in her heart.
【You don’t even have to look to know. It must be those corrupt officials forcing the commoners to give up their silver. One tael per person; those who can’t pay are dragged to the dungeon for hard labor.】
【We can’t go any further forward; we should run away quickly.】
Gan Fanren said nothing. He waved his hand to the others, and they turned around to leave.
They didn’t speak the whole way until they found a desolate mountain to settle down. Only then did Gan Fanren speak.
“I think the situation at Tongmen Guan is not quite right. Everyone should rest here for the night and plan carefully.”
Although the Gan Family was not wealthy, they weren’t short on silver either.
Seven taels of silver was something they could produce.
But it wasn’t a matter of money.
According to his daughter, the commander of Tongmen Guan might be harmful to his son.
They could not enter Tongmen Guan through the pass!
It would be best to bypass Tongmen Guan and go straight to Jianan Guan.
Gan Fanren set his sights on the small trails.
By taking the small trails, they could avoid the authorities, but it was easy to encounter bandits.
They only had two able-bodied men; taking this route meant they would likely be targeted by bandits.
Gan Fanren withheld the news that the commander might be harmful to his son, only saying he was reluctant to spend the silver, and sought everyone’s opinion.
Should they spend the money to pass through Tongmen Guan, or risk the small trails?
Li Zhi was bold due to his skills: “Wouldn’t the silver be better spent on meat? Seven taels is enough to buy meat for a whole year.”
“We’ll take the small trails. With me here, I’ll see which fool dares to bully us.”
At a time like this, fists were the source of confidence.
Gan Fanren once again felt fortunate that he could hear his daughter’s inner voice.
Otherwise, he might have missed out on an asset like Li Zhi.
The old lady also had great confidence in her son.
“Many people take the small trails; not everyone encounters bandits.”
Though she claimed not to be afraid, the old lady still prepared some fine sand and soil in her pockets beforehand.
“If anyone dares to come over, this old woman will throw a handful of sand in his face.”
The old lady was aggressive, looking every bit like a female general about to go to war.
Gan Tian was amused.
【That’s a good idea, but the offensive power of sand and soil is limited after all. If only I could develop chili water.】
【I remember in the modern era, even police officers used chili water to deal with bad guys.】
Chili water…
Gan Fanren had occasionally eaten chili before; it was a foreign food that tasted numbing and spicy, leaving the mouth burning and painful.
If that thing could be developed into a weapon, it might indeed be quite good.
Gan Fanren subconsciously touched his daughter’s swaddling clothes.
Chilis seemed to be quite expensive; he didn’t know if his silver would be enough.
Gan Tian was worried to death.
【Speaking of which, I have so many chilis, cabbages, eggplants, and potatoes; they’re almost rotting in the Xitong Cangku.】
In the Virtual City System, she had planted many vegetables in the free farmland, and these vegetables had all been tossed into the Warehouse.
It wasn’t that she didn’t want to sell them to the Xitong, but it was just too disadvantageous.
One hundred cabbages could only be sold for one Gold Coin.
Converted to silver, that was one wen.
One hundred cabbages for one wen!
That was simply too cheap.
【With so many vegetables, it’s not worth letting the Xitong take them for just one wen. It would be better to sell them in reality and then convert them into Gold Coins.】
【Anyway, Father has already accepted the blessing of the Immortal Lady. Spawning a few hundred catties of vegetables shouldn’t cause much suspicion.】
For the first time, Gan Tian realized that having too many vegetables was also a form of trouble.
Gan Fanren almost couldn’t help but curse.
They were on the road in the middle of nowhere; who could he sell them to?
If she could help it, Gan Tian didn’t want to take these vegetables out either.
The farmland that came with the Xitong matured very quickly and could be harvested in just a few hours.
Her Warehouse was already packed to the brim.
These vegetables couldn’t fetch a good price, and it really wasn’t worth expanding the Warehouse for them.
Thus, when Hui Niang was taking Gan Tian for a walk, she “coincidentally” discovered a batch of unwanted vegetables.
Seeing so many vegetables, the old lady’s mouth hung open in shock.
“This old woman has lived for sixty or seventy years, and this is the first time I’ve ever just picked up vegetables.”
“What kind of dog-shit luck is this!”