Chapter 299: Twice as Many People
Yu Yingying, who had gone hungry for several days under Chang Huilan’s discipline, had finally been subdued.
Now, even with a broken leg, she would do what she could—tending the fire, sitting at the cave entrance scrubbing clothes, or picking vegetables. Her arrogance had finally been worn down after several times of having her bowl snatched away by Chang Huilan. But whether she had truly accepted her place in her heart remained unknown.
“I don’t know about that, but I’ve seen the city from the outside. It’s grand and vast. Now that Yu Luo has started renting out shopfronts, I imagine that the city will eventually resemble what we saw in the capital. Even if it can’t match the capital’s prosperity, it must be better than living in this cave, right?”
Hearing Yu Xiaoxuan’s words, Yu Yingying’s eyes lit up, and she nodded repeatedly in agreement.
“Mother, let’s start a business! We can’t work as laborers for Yu Luo, and our silver will run out eventually. If we do business, we won’t have to worry about living in a cave anymore. No more wild animals barging in at night. Plus, money makes more money, doesn’t it?”
Listening to her two children whispering to each other, Chang Huilan, who was stirring a pot of porridge, suddenly threw down the wooden ladles and glared at them with frustration.
“And where will you get the capital? Which one of you is going to provide it?”
“Mother, don’t you have any private savings left?”
Chang Huilan’s temper had been flaring more than usual lately. The gentle and refined demeanor of a noblewoman had long disappeared from her.
Seeing their mother’s anger, Yu Yingying tentatively asked, unwilling to believe that her mother wouldn’t have set something aside for herself.
“Heh, my last bit of silver was given to your eldest brother to find your father. I have nothing left! We only have ten or so pounds of grain left. If your father and brother don’t return before we run out, we’ll have to rely on your second brother’s hunting.
And you’re still thinking about business? Ha! We were once people who never dirtied our hands with manual labor. What kind of business do you think we can do? Embroidery? But in this place, who cares about embroidered handkerchiefs or fancy clothes? Right now, we should be thinking about how to survive the winter!”
Upon hearing Chang Huilan’s words, the siblings’ hope shattered completely.
If they had to rely on hunted meat for an entire winter, wouldn’t they develop sores all over their mouths? That was assuming there was even game to hunt. If the snow fell for half a year, leaving them unable to find food, they would simply starve to death.
“Mother, we can’t lose hope! The second branch always tried to curry favor with us before. Their family is large—why don’t we ask them to lend us some silver? We really have to start a business and move into the city. If everyone else leaves, our family will be the only ones left in these caves.”
Yu Xiaoxuan thought about how everyone else was discussing starting businesses. He imagined how desolate the caves would become in a few months when winter arrived, when the workers moved into the city. The once-bustling caves would be left empty.
Hearing her son’s suggestion, Chang Huilan’s expression darkened further, full of worry but lacking a solution.
She was certain that the second branch wouldn’t extend a helping hand at this time.
Meanwhile, Yu Luo led a group of people onto the city walls, her face illuminated by the flickering torchlight.
By early evening, the temperatures in the wasteland had already dropped significantly. During the day, she could get by with a single thin dress, but by this time, she needed a light cotton jacket.
Below the city walls, those hoping to enter were already shivering, huddled together around their fires.
Wang Er peered over the edge, but as soon as he did, he quickly shrank back, his mouth hanging open in shock as he turned to Yu Luo.
Seeing his reaction, Yu Luo immediately sensed something was wrong and leaned forward to take a look herself.
To her surprise, there were now at least twice as many people gathered near the city walls.
The newcomers, seemingly seeking shelter from the cold, were pressed closely against the walls, huddled together around fires.
Amidst the howling wind, faint cries of infants could even be heard.
“How are you people standing guard? When did this many more people arrive? And no one reported it?”
Yu Luo’s voice carried a stern edge. Liu Can, who had just taken over the shift, trembled and quickly replied, “Miss, these people arrived about two hours ago, mostly on foot. I thought since you already knew there were people outside, there was no need to report it.”
“You idiot! Our job on the city walls is to observe every movement outside. Over a hundred more people arrived suddenly, and you didn’t think that was worth reporting?”
Wang Xiao, standing nearby, smacked Liu Can on the head in frustration, his expression full of disappointment.
Liu Can, now ashamed, lowered his head even further, not daring to meet Yu Luo’s gaze.
“Enough, don’t let it happen again. Once I have time, I’ll write a proper city gate patrol guide for you all. For now, just focus on guarding the gate properly. Ask every single person about their background, and charge a symbolic entry fee—two copper coins per person.”
“That cheap? If we only charge two copper coins per person, how much could we even collect in a day? But Xiao Luo, think about it—many of these people are exiles. They might not even have two copper coins to spare.”
Yu Haojie, who had come along, was surprised by the low fee. After hearing about the exorbitant fees in Feng City, he couldn’t help but consider the hardships of fellow exiles.
“Then don’t charge anything for now. It’s not like we’d make much anyway. We can implement this system later, once Luo City becomes well-known.”
“Alright, let’s do that. In the future, if there are people who can’t afford to pay, they can work for a day in exchange for entry. There’s never a shortage of work in this city.”
Hearing this, Yu Haojie gave his daughter a thumbs-up. “Looks like you’re the right person to be running this city. This will not only boost the city’s population but also ensure they stay.”
The group reached the city gate. The moment the doors creaked open, it was an unexpected delight for those waiting outside.
But when they saw a group of armed men emerging from within, their excitement quickly turned to nervous apprehension.
It wasn’t until Yu Haojie led Yu Luo and the rest of the team outside that the wary expressions on the newcomers’ faces slowly eased.
