HLnovel Chapter 946 Negotiations in the City
Chapter 946 Negotiations in the City
When Bai Song saw him looking over, he explained:
"Not long after you left, the two groups of people arrived at the city walls one after another."
I observed that one of the families appeared to be villagers from nearby, pushing a cart and bringing their entire families along.
The other household had more people, and their procession consisted of several horse-drawn carriages, with many men guarding the area.
Those men were all very strong and looked like guards; they must have some background.
And isn't it strange that the household with more people in the back?
Upon arriving outside Dongyuan City, they surprisingly did not go to the city wall.
From the very beginning, they were stationed directly outside the city.
Look over there, not even a single tent has been pitched.
He looks like he'd leave at any moment!
As the two were talking, Lu Qingqing and Qin Lang also came over.
Lu Qingqing listened to the end of the sentence and asked:
"What do you mean by 'can leave anytime'?"
Bai Song repeated what he had just said.
After listening, a thought popped into Lu Qingqing's mind.
She turned her head to look at Qin Lang beside her, and the two said almost in unison:
"They're going into town tonight!"
Bai Song realized what they meant when he heard them say that.
"You mean, they have connections to get into the city?"
Immediately, Bai Song also became excited.
"That's great! As long as we can get into the city, spending a little more money is nothing."
Oh dear, at least I don't have to go back and take the detour anymore.
If we take another detour, not only will we run out of food.
If we travel for another month or so, how much more suffering will we endure, and how many more brothers will die!
No, it's getting dark soon, we should try to make contact with them as soon as possible.
"Don't wait until dark; by then they'll have entered the city, and we'll just be left watching helplessly."
As he spoke, he started to walk in that direction.
After taking only a few steps, he walked back to the carriage.
"We should bring something with us to show our sincerity!"
Seeing that he was overjoyed, Lu Qingqing quickly called him to stop.
"You can still see them now; there are two other groups of people over there."
"Wait a moment, let it get darker, then I'll go with you."
Upon hearing this, Bai Song quickly agreed.
"Alright, alright, Brother Lu, I feel more at ease knowing you're coming with me."
After they finished talking, Yan Xu remembered that he hadn't told him about what happened in the ditch before, so he quickly told him.
After hearing this, Bai Song's smile disappeared.
His expression turned serious.
"I knew it! We've only been here for half a day and three groups of people have already come."
It doesn't make sense that there wasn't a single person outside the city when we arrived!
There's probably something fishy going on in Dongyuan City!
I don't know what happened.
But at this point, no matter how much I think about it, it's all just speculation.
Bai Song and Lu Qingqing agreed on a time.
The two decided that after having dinner, they would go and pay a visit there.
Fifteen minutes later, it was completely dark.
The two carried their belongings and headed in that direction.
Before they could even get close, several guards spotted them.
Seeing the gleaming broadsword flashing coldly in the night, Bai Song quickly raised his hands.
"Brothers, we mean no harm."
We are the group of people who camped out to the south of you.
I've come here to discuss something with your family.
Please help pass on this message.
As he spoke, he slowed his movements, took the purse from his waist, and tossed it over.
The guard glanced at him warily and used his knife to pry open the purse.
His eyes lit up when he saw the three ingots of silver, each worth ten taels.
The guards exchanged glances, and one of them put the purse away.
"What do you have to say? I'd like to hear it first."
If possible, I will go and inform the master's family again.
Upon hearing this, Bai Song smiled and said:
"To be honest, we are villagers from nearby."
We didn't flee in a panic just because we heard about the plague.
Having finally arrived here, we were locked out of the city gates.
Seeing your extraordinary manners and behavior, I thought I'd come and ask you something.
See if there's any way to get into the city.
Don't worry, I may not have much else, but I do have some money.
The guards' expressions improved considerably after receiving the compliment and the silver ingots they had just received.
The guard who collected the money sheathed his knife and whispered:
"You've got a good eye, kid. To be honest, we do have connections to get into the city."
"But getting into the city requires some serious connections, don't you think?"
Bai Song was very perceptive and immediately took out another purse from his pocket.
The guard took the purse, opened it, and found several small gold ingots inside, which pleased him even more.
"You wait here, I'll go and call Manager Zhou right away."
As he spoke, he turned and walked toward a carriage.
Bai Song secretly breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that he had agreed.
Before long, a middle-aged man wearing a brocade robe and sporting a mustache walked over.
Beside him, two guards held torches to illuminate the area.
The middle-aged man sized up Bai Song and Lu Qingqing, noticing that although their clothes were ordinary, their demeanor was extraordinary.
At that moment, less disdain remained, and he asked:
"You want to enter the city?"
Bai Song readily agreed.
Seeing this, the middle-aged man continued:
"I won't lie to you, my master's family is the Zhou family of Dongyuan City."
"The connections aren't a problem, but the cost won't be small."
Bai Song hurriedly replied, "Don't worry about the money. As long as we can come up with it, we won't hesitate."
The middle-aged man stroked his beard with satisfaction and nodded.
He waved his hand, signaling the guards beside him to step back.
Seeing that they were some distance apart, he whispered:
"The rule for entering the city is one hundred taels per person. Can you accept that?"
Upon hearing this, Bai Song gasped.
How could that old man be so heartless!
Although he has lost quite a few men these days, the total number is still close to one hundred.
Including the villagers and the women from the east courtyard, there are about 150 people in total.
That adds up to 15,000 taels!
To be honest, he could also come up with the soldiers' money.
But the villagers probably don't have that kind of power.
After all, they had been together for so long, and he couldn't just stand by and watch them be locked up outside and wait to die.
But the thought of spending so much money just to enter the city made him feel a pang of heartache.
After thinking for a moment, he began to discuss it:
"Sir, our group has about 150 people."
There are quite a lot of people; I wonder if we could make an exception.
I know you're also working for your employer, and you've taken a huge risk by coming here.
Rest assured, we will also give you our due respect.
How does this number look to you?
As he spoke, he gestured with the amount of one thousand taels.
Manager Zhou never expected that this kid would be so savvy.
He came out to find wealthy families and, under the guise of going to the city, to collect money.
Because of what happened before, all the refugees outside the city were cleared out.
He had no choice but to head west and find a relatively wealthy family in Yuanbao Town.
When they picked up the people, they charged fifty taels per person, and they collected a total of more than a dozen people.
However, most of them died along the way.
There were only five or six people left.
After this trip, I only earned five or six hundred taels in total.
After handing over the lion's share, he himself only received a few dozen taels.
But this group of people is different!
A total of 150 people!
Even if each person only receives fifty taels, that's still seven thousand five hundred taels!
If we accept this, and I hand over five thousand taels myself, the young master will be overjoyed!
Not only did he get 2,500 taels of silver, but he also received a separate tribute from this kid!
Mother, Zhou Facai has worked so hard for so many years, he's finally going to make a fortune!
His father really made the right choice in giving him this name!
Manager Zhou thought to himself, trying hard to control the upward curve of his lips.
He looked at Bai Song and held up two fingers.
"I'll let you into the city at a price of fifty taels per person!"