It's really hard to just farm peacefully.

Chapter 147

It was the hottest afternoon when we approached the North City Gate with great caution.

The north gate was wide open, guarded by two rows of soldiers with swords drawn. Jiang Yan and the others observed for a long time, but saw no civilians entering or leaving.

Before they could make up their minds to ask, their slightly sneaky behavior was discovered by the soldiers, who then shouted at them, "What are you guys doing hiding in the corner?"

This attitude was more serious than they had ever seen before... After a brief eye contact, Jiang Yan handed the hatchet in his hand to Chunying, raised his hands and approached the soldiers with an innocent look on his face.

A skinny girl with a pale face and no weapons was unable to pose a threat, so the soldiers quietly put down their knives when they were about to be approached by someone.

Seeing this, Jiang Yan simply tried her best to highlight her weakness, and asked them in a low voice with a fearful look on her face but having to muster up the courage to leave the city.

After saying that, Jiang Yan secretly observed the expressions of the soldiers, wondering what excuse would be easier to come by if they were to interrogate them about why they wanted to leave the city during such a chaotic time.

Is it because everyone has nothing to eat and wants to go out to see if they can dig some wild vegetables to fill their stomachs, or is it because the city is too chaotic and they are afraid and plan to go to their relatives outside the city for help?

Unexpectedly, the soldiers didn't ask or care at all, and only offered three copper coins per person as the price to leave the city.

Such a huge increase? Jiang Yan was shocked, but her face was still bitter. She said that they were too many people to afford such a high city fee and asked if they could be more tolerant.

Jiang Yan regretted not bringing Huanyan with her. She racked her brains to come up with a few words of pleading and praise without any sarcasm, and then repeated them over and over for at least a quarter of an hour before the leading soldier agreed to lower the price for them.

The fee for leaving the city plummeted from 21 cents to 9 cents, which was exactly the amount of savings that Jiang Yan "accidentally" revealed to all of them.

Jiang Yan left gratefully, planning to go and "collect" the city fare with her friends, but then she suddenly realized something and turned around and asked nervously, "Then...then how much will we have to pay for the city entrance fee when we come back?"

"Ten cents." The leading soldier spoke indifferently.

Jiang Yan heard her own voice tinged with tears: "Seven people, ten cents?"

"What good things are you thinking about? Ten cents each." The leading soldier rolled his eyes and spoke in a bad tone.

Seeing Jiang Yan stunned, he kindly reminded her, "The other three city gates are the same. Don't think you can avoid them by going through them. They will only charge a higher price."

Jiang Yan turned her back and walked heavily, but she couldn't help cursing in her heart: Outrageous, the price is too high, how many people can afford it? Then she thought, maybe they are "bargaining" because they are opening a business?

After a long delay, they finally came with nine copper coins to pay the city exit fee, and were asked to return 70% of the food they had brought with them, as well as the two hatchets they had brought back from Xiding Prefecture.

The wooden stick was lucky enough to be kept by hand for self-defense because it was too common and not valued.

Jiang Yan no longer cared about Yile and the others' reactions. She was furious anyway. If they were strong enough to defeat her, she would have rushed out without handing over a single penny or anything.

A few people hurriedly passed through the gate of the city tower and saw several military camps stationed next to the city wall.

Jiang Yan, stared at by all the soldiers in the camp, suddenly calmed down: No wonder they let the inner city be in such chaos. It's not because they lack troops or ability, they just changed their tactics and wanted to control everyone so that they can plunder them one by one...