It had to be said that Gu Chaobei's caution was well-founded. After observing for a while, the three of them discovered that every commoner entering the city had their travel permits checked and had to pay a fee.
Those entering empty-handed paid one wen, while those bringing goods to sell had to pay anywhere from two to five wen, presumably based on the volume of the cargo.
Before long, they saw two commoners, one without a permit and the other without money, attempting to force their way through. They were immediately apprehended by the soldiers and bound hand and foot before being taken away.
"What should we do? Husband, we don't have any copper coins. We won't be able to get in without money, will we?"
Hu Lanfang was worried sick.
"How about I ask the guards if they'll accept goods in lieu of money? Like rice?"
Gu Chaobei thought of their substantial rice reserves.
"Dad, Mom, don't worry. I have an ounce of silver here, but no copper coins. I wonder if they'll give me change if I give them an ounce of silver?"
Gu Qingcheng's words made Hu Lanfang chuckle. "How could they give you change? They'd pocket it all, for sure."
In reality, for Gu Qingcheng, an ounce of silver was only equivalent to about 200 yuan.
Compared to the "satisfaction points" she gained, which could bring in hundreds or thousands of yuan a day, an ounce of silver was a minor matter for Gu Qingcheng.
Gu Chaobei also knew of his daughter's "spending power." "There's no place to exchange currency here anyway. Forget it, we'll have to sacrifice."
Gu Qingcheng then handed the silver ingot to Gu Chaobei, and then, after a moment's thought, gave her father and mother two one-ounce silver ingots each.
This way, they would have money on hand, and if they got separated in the city for any unexpected reason, they wouldn't be penniless.
Money is the courage of a man. With the silver ingots, Gu Chaobei immediately took out the travel permit written by Village Chief Gu from his bundle and led his wife and daughter towards the city gate for inspection.
"Officer, this is our travel permit. We are a family of three, going to the city to work."
Gu Chaobei mimicked the tone of the other commoners and spoke respectfully.
The travel permit not only specified their household registration and names but also included rough sketches of the three of them. It was a difficult task for Village Chief Gu; he drew them so crudely that even they could barely recognize themselves.
Seeing that the three were dressed in ragged clothes, patched and travel-worn, looking like impoverished peasants, the soldiers didn't pay them much special attention.
Most commoners these days dressed and looked like this. Apart from merchants and officials, few people had clothes without patches.
When the soldiers' gazes fell on Gu Qingcheng and Hu Lanfang, they glanced a few times before dismissively looking away.
Knowing they were entering the city today, Gu Qingcheng had intentionally not cleaned herself up. She had even smeared the wood ash from cooking onto her hands and rubbed it on her face, her mother's face, and their exposed skin.
As a result, both mother and daughter had grimy faces, making them look quite unattractive.
The soldier glanced at them with little interest and said, "Entering the city for work, two wen per person. That's 6 wen for three of you."
"Officer, you see, I exchanged my copper coins for silver before leaving."
Gu Chaobei produced the silver ingot.
The soldier's eyes lit up. He took the silver ingot, bit it, and upon confirming by taste that it was indeed silver, waved his hand and said, "You may enter!"
Gu Chaobei looked at the silver ingot in his hand but ultimately put on a show of being afraid to ask for change. He then took a heavy step and walked away, looking back regretfully several times.
Gu Chaobei's series of actions and expressions were so convincing that he deserved an acting award.
If Gu Qingcheng hadn't been standing next to the soldier, she would have wanted to applaud her father's performance.
If Gu Chaobei hadn't appeared reluctant to part with the silver ingot, it would have been too strange:
A peasant dressed so poorly, yet willing to spend so generously, and not even caring about the lack of change.
Gu Chaobei perfectly portrayed a man who was deeply distressed but also possessed the timidity of a commoner, afraid to demand change from a soldier.
Only when they were out of the soldier's sight did Gu Chaobei drop the overly emotional pretense and happily enter the city.
Their family of three had moved so quickly, leaving the villagers about half an hour behind. They had lingered at the city gate for quite some time. Shortly after they entered the city, the people from Taoyuan Village finally caught up.
"Why so many people? Are you trying to storm Jinsha City?"
The guards at the gate, seeing hundreds of people appearing en masse, immediately became alert and shouted.
"Officer, we are villagers from Taoyuan Village, Zhoulu Town, Great Zhou Dynasty. Because our village suffers from drought every year, we have no way to survive and have been forced to leave as refugees. We intend to migrate south. Here is the official document issued by our government for migration. I am the village chief."
Village Chief Gu quickly pulled out the document he had been carrying.
The soldier flipped through it. It was indeed an official document from the local government of Zhoulu Town. However, he disdainfully threw it back to Village Chief Gu and said, "The document only states that you can migrate south, but it does not permit you to enter the city for rest and recuperation.
You have too many people with you. If you enter the city rashly, it will disrupt the city's order. I cannot let you in."
Village Chief Gu froze upon hearing this.
He had never expected such a rule.
"Then, can we have a few villagers enter the city to buy some food and drink? We've been stranded in the mountains all this way, and some villagers have run out of food and water."
Village Chief Gu humbled himself and pleaded with the soldier, who was more than ten years younger than him.
"I can't make that decision. You can camp two li outside the city first. I will report to my superiors, and they will decide."
Saying that, the soldier pointed to an open space outside the city gate.
Village Chief Gu was dumbfounded. Now, they had reached Jinsha City but still couldn't get in. If they had to spend the night in an open field, what was the difference from sleeping in the forest?
In fact, the forest offered better conditions; they could gather wood to start a fire for warmth and hunt wild animals for meat.
Village Chief Gu explained their predicament with difficulty, hoping the soldier would show some leniency. He promised to keep the villagers in check and ensure they wouldn't commit any crimes upon entering the city.
The soldier remained unmoved. After Village Chief Gu exhausted all his pleasantries and finally bribed him with ten wen, the soldier finally pointed them in a direction and said, "If you find the conditions in the wilderness too primitive, you can walk another two li to the left. There's a village called Pukou Village. You can seek lodging there or find a way to get some food."
Due to the large number of people from Taoyuan Village, the soldier was indeed worried that they might cause trouble if they entered the city, and he was very strict.
Village Chief Gu had no more money to offer as a bribe, so he had no choice but to return and explain the situation to the villagers.
The villagers were helpless and disappointed. They had come all this way with great hope, intending to find work in Jinsha City to earn travel expenses.
Now, they had been stopped by the soldiers.
Seeing that the villagers were getting agitated, Village Chief Gu quickly comforted them, "Everyone, please don't be anxious. Let's listen to the officer and go to Pukou Village first. We'll decide on our next steps later."
Seeing that Village Chief Gu seemed to have a plan, the villagers could only nod and, dejected, headed towards Pukou Village.