Gu Yundong was actually very heartbroken. Twenty taels of silver was a huge sum of money for her now.
Now, they were just entering the city gate, but they actually had to hand them all over. This was simply robbery.
The soldier took the silver and looked at her again.
"Follow me." He turned around and brought her to the side to register.
When everything was done, Gu Yundong stood at the city gate before she slowly exhaled.
Madam Yang and the other two who were standing beside her also imitated her and exhaled in unison. Their relieved expressions were exactly the same, making the soldier who had been standing beside them unable to help but laugh.
Only when Gu Yundong looked over did he cough lightly and advise her, "Remember to keep a low profile after entering the city. Don't get into conflicts with anyone. There are many refugees in the city now. If you cause trouble, they will definitely arrest you first. There's nothing we can do about it."
Actually, he was not considered a soldier. His surname was Nie, and the prefectural governor was his uncle. For some reason, he was temporarily summoned here to help guard the city gate for two days.
A few days ago, the prefectural governor had received news that there was a riot in Qing'an Prefecture. Refugees had broken into the city to burn, kill, and plunder. They had killed two officials, and the city asked for reinforcements.
Commander Zhao personally led the troops to Qing'an Prefecture City to quell the chaos. This news spread like wildfire in their Xuanhe Prefecture, causing the citizens in the city to not have a good impression of the refugees.
Only then did the prefectural governor set the conditions for each person to enter the city to pay five taels per person. It was not to the extent of blocking all the refugees outside, which would cause others to see no hope and take a risk. However, at the same time, he filtered out the group of refugees who had poor conditions and would cause a burden in the city. He also persuaded the big families in the city to go out of the city to provide porridge to stabilize the refugees.
This method was quite effective. Just look at the people outside the city. They did not cause trouble and did not add much burden for the city.
Gu Yundong only nodded when she heard that. Naturally, she would not take the initiative to cause trouble. However, if others thought that they, with only children and a mother, were easy to bully, they could not blame her.
However, she was not familiar with the city yet. This soldier seemed to be quite easy to talk to, so she asked a few more questions. "Do you know which inn in the city is cheap and safe?"
Nie Cong looked at her strangely. She actually wanted to stay in an inn? She still had money on her? He couldn't tell.
"Don't even think about an inn. Even the most remote place is probably full now."
"Then are there houses for rent?"
Nie Cong smiled. "Of course, but a refugee injured someone not long ago. Everyone is very vigilant, so…"
Gu Yundong understood. People would not want to rent to refugees like her.
That would be difficult. She thought that she could finally rest after entering the city. She did not expect that there was not even a place to sleep. She might as well stay outside the city then.
Gu Yunshu and Gu Yunke looked up at her. The two little guys also looked worried.
For some reason, Nie Cong couldn't help but want to laugh when he saw them.
After hesitating for a while, he finally said, "If you really want to find a place to stay, I have a place here. My aunt's house has an empty room. She lives alone. Coincidentally, you don't have an adult man, so it's convenient for you to stay there. It's just that the rent is a little expensive, and you have to deposit your household registration certificate with me. Is that okay?"