She ate very slowly. The buns were stuffed with green onions and meat and tasted average. The porridge is made from ground corn and is boiled. It is yellow and orange in color and is really watery.
When she arrived, she saw harvested corn stalks in the fields near the town.
There were only steamed buns and rice porridge in the restaurant, so there was no choice. In addition to steamed buns and porridge, there are also optional steamed buns and flatbreads on the menu.
Along the way, Lin Yan understood clearly that steamed buns and flatbreads were dry food prepared for the journey. The restaurants along the road are like this.
Although the food was simple, the people in the restaurant were very satisfied, chatting and laughing loudly, and the atmosphere was lively.
It's piping hot, adding more fireworks in the cold season.
The conversation between the two people sitting at the table in front of her attracted Lin Yan's attention.
"We're almost here in Anseong. Manpower is cheap here. If we can open a store smoothly, we'll definitely make money."
"Why are you so anxious? We'll wait until later. Ancheng is poor, so first inquire about the local situation. This is not Sun City after all. I heard that the people at the bottom were not treated as human beings in the past. I don't know what the situation is now."
The restaurant proprietress Cuihua joined the chat, "I'm from Ancheng. If you want to know anything, just ask me."
Cuihua was born and raised in Ancheng. At that time, she heard that Lin'an Town was in need of people and that as long as they settled down, they would enjoy the benefits. After much hesitation, she decided to come with her two children.
There was no way, it was too difficult to make a living in Ancheng. In order to support her children and make more money, Cuihua volunteered to open this restaurant in Ancheng.
The house in the restaurant is given away for free, and you can get it as long as you settle down. The front is the store, and the backyard is the place to live.
Cuihua also went to learn how to make steamed buns. When she first settled down, there were people who taught her how to make steamed buns. She chose cooking.
Although the restaurant was tiring, Cuihua was very satisfied. The past two years have been the most comfortable days for her. Not only can she make money to support her children, she no longer has to be bullied or afraid of losing her life.
The two men chatting were not polite and started chatting with Cuihua.
Lin Yan ate slowly, his ears never idle.
People living at the bottom can best reflect the governance level of the alliance. She has been to Ancheng several times, but she has never had time to understand the lives of the people in depth.
The three of them talked a lot, and Lin Yan got what he wanted, got up and left.
The alliance seems to be developing rapidly, but the lives of more people have not improved much and they can barely make ends meet.
The further away from Sun City, the more difficult life becomes for the people.
Lin Yan stayed in Lin'an Town, which had a population of no more than 10,000, for five days. He was busy exploring the surrounding area.
Little people like Cuihua are all too common. Those who could move out of Anseong were just doing it to survive.
The daily life of each little person makes Lin'an town full of fireworks and more vivid.
Among them, Lin Yan focused on the more than two thousand soldiers stationed there, who were a line of defense.
In mid-November, the convoy arrived in Anseong.
When Shen Tianlin saw Lin Yan, he was stunned. He was stunned for a while and then said, "Why are you here suddenly?"
In his understanding, the chairman of the alliance, who controls ten cities and has a vast territory, should take care of everything. He is sitting in Sun City, how can he move around at will. Not to mention traveling thousands of miles in the freezing cold winter.
Lin Yan laughed loudly, "Chengdu Shen is still so unfazed. I'm not giving you a surprise. Why does it look more like a shock?"
She didn't believe that Shen Tianlin didn't know that she was coming, but she suddenly appeared, leaving him unprepared.
"It's so unexpected that you showed up suddenly. Why didn't you inform me so that I could greet you."
Shen Tianlin stood up hurriedly and adjusted his facial expression. He was the lord of the city after all, so it was so embarrassing.
He did receive the news. Lin Yan came over and kept paying attention, but he didn't expect her to arrive suddenly.
"No need to greet you, everyone is busy, I can just come over by myself. City Lord Shen, when you first came in, the people in the City Lord's Mansion were in a hurry. What were they busy with?"
Shen Tianlin asked Lin Yan to sit down and then said: "The cold season in Yuncheng is difficult. Commander Shi Zhi ordered Ancheng and Hepingcheng to do their best to support. I am busy making statistics on Ancheng's situation to see if I can raise a batch of supplies. Support Yuncheng."
The three cities are neighboring countries. Anseong was the first to submit to the alliance and has the best development. The commander-in-chief has ordered Ancheng to help Yuncheng while ensuring its own conditions.
Lin Yan asked: "What materials have been raised?"
Shen Tianlin hesitated for a moment and said: "You also know that Ancheng is not rich and can barely eat, thanks to the help of the alliance. This time to support Yuncheng, we can provide up to 10,000 catties of food and 500 pieces of cloth."
"It's good to be able to come up with these." Lin Yan also knew Ancheng's difficulties and was in a transitional period. There are too many people at the bottom, and it is difficult to feed so many people on the reclaimed wasteland.
Shen Tianlin thought about why Lin Yan came and said hurriedly: "The supplies you brought here will definitely solve the crisis in Yuncheng."
Yuncheng was conquered in August, so there was not enough time to prepare. In the past, the rich and powerful only knew about enjoyment, and coupled with their own lack of supplies, it was too difficult to survive the cold season.
As far as he knew, countless people froze to death and starved to death in Yuncheng every cold season. This is not only the case in Yuncheng, but also in other cities. Human life is low and the powerful never take it seriously.
Lin Yan did not respond. She came with a convoy, bringing a large amount of food, cloth and other basic materials to solve people's livelihood, but it was still not enough to save a city.
Affected by the cold season weather, people cannot be self-sufficient and can only rely on relief.
Especially before Yuncheng, the people were fierce, private fights were chaotic, and death was normal. It is not easy to change.
Shi Zhi led his army to station in Yuncheng. Just changing the trend would take a lot of energy.
Shen Tianlin looked at her face and said cautiously: "Is there something else going on in Yuncheng?" Otherwise, how could Lin Yan come in person? Wherever she went, big things happened.
Lin Yan denied, "Nothing, I just came here to take a look. You also know about Yuncheng. Considering the situation in Ancheng and Heping City, how should City Lord Shen solve the problems in Yuncheng now?"
"Well, if we want to solve the problem, we just need to prevent the people of Yuncheng from going hungry." Shen Tianlin didn't believe it. She didn't know, but this was the hardest thing to do.
That's 300,000 people. If they don't engage in production, not everyone can afford the food they consume every day.
Why didn't Lin Yan know this? "According to the past situation, how did so many people survive?"
Shen Tianlin: "... Of course, the rich and powerful don't have to worry. The people at the bottom can only resist hard, and the hard-fought ones can survive. In the cold season, when the weather is bad, people just find a place to hold on, which consumes less, so they just have to endure it. People who are in good health can survive, but whether the elderly and children can survive depends on fate.”
"I heard that half of the forces in Yuncheng took the initiative to defect to the alliance, and the other powerful people were taken away. If the resources in the hands of the powerful people who were taken away can be distributed, it can be relieved."
Lin Yan smiled bitterly: "You don't know what Shi Zhi is talking about. That's what he did. What's hateful is that the two big families, the Yun family and the Qi family, don't store much food. They are all silver and utensils. You can see whether they can eat it or not. .”
Because of this, she came with a large amount of food. Wheat production has increased this year, and the alliance has a bumper grain harvest. There is no problem in supporting a Cloud City.
But the journey is long and it takes time to transport the food. The roads from Ancheng and Pingcheng to Yuncheng are not smooth and wide, making it difficult for the team to pass.
Shen Tianlin echoed: "Yes, Commander Shi Zhi is so smart, how could he not think of this. Water from afar cannot quench the thirst of the near, and supplies cannot be transported there."
Lin Yan's eyes lit up, "You said that supplies are dead and cannot be sent over, but people are alive. Can some of the people be dispersed?"
Ancheng is hundreds of miles away from Yuncheng, and even strong and healthy people can survive the journey. Letting these people join the transportation team to travel between Sun City and Anseong will not only provide for their own food and clothing, but also create greater value.
There are not enough carriages and horses, and the racks and carriages that were eliminated and replaced in the past can still be used. As long as they are used rationally, everything will not be a problem.
The more he thought about it, the more feasible it became. Lin Yan said hurriedly: "I'm going to see Shi Zhi, and you'll come with me."
Yuncheng is located in the southwest of Anseong, and Pingseong is in the northwest of Anseong.
Pingcheng can't count on him, so he can barely take care of himself.
In the ice and snow, it was extremely difficult for Lin Yan and his team to walk. After spending more than half a month, we finally arrived in Yuncheng.
As soon as we entered the city, there was not a soul to be seen on the streets. It was deserted and desolate, and it felt like a completely different world from Anseong.
This group of people broke the silence of Yuncheng.
As the Xu family approached the city gate, they were the first to notice the movement outside.
When Xu Yeshan went out and saw a long convoy entering the city, including horse-drawn carriages, oxen, and sheep carts, and they were fully loaded, his eyes suddenly lit up.
The supplies promised by the alliance have arrived. Before the cold season, we received supplies once, and it was like this at that time.
But when the cold season arrived, he gave up hope. The weather was bad and the journey was long. Who would risk their lives to save Yuncheng?
But at the moment when he saw the convoy, Xu Yeshan suddenly became determined, and Yuncheng did not give up.
With Shen Tianlin leading the way, the convoy arrived at the Temporary City Lord's Mansion, which was renovated from the original Yun family mansion.
Lin Yan did not ride in the carriage, but followed on both sides on foot, carefully observing Yuncheng.
This was her first time coming to Yuncheng. It might be the cold season. The whole city felt desolate and dilapidated, without fireworks and extremely cold.
People living here must not feel happy.
Lin Yan sighed, there was still a long way to go.
When entering from the city gate, someone had already delivered the news to the city lord's palace. When the motorcade arrived, Shi Zhi was already waiting at the gate.
Looking at the long motorcade, his eyes lit up.
For more than a month, life has been extremely difficult. People come to urge me every day. The entire Yuncheng is like a sky-devouring beast that needs endless supplies to feed.
Shi Zhi made full predictions and preparations before conquering Yuncheng, but the reality was more terrifying than expected.
Who would have thought that the Yun family and the Qi family have been running rampant in Yuncheng for many years and have accumulated a lot of wealth, but they have no food.
The moment he learned the true situation, Shi Zhi wanted to pull out the leaders of the Yun family and the Qi family to whip their corpses. I really didn't know what was going on in their heads.
Food is so important for survival. It is incredible that a big family that controls the life and death of a city does not store food.
After listening to the analysis of Guan Yun, Xu Yeshan and others, Shi Zhi realized that Yuncheng was a special existence.
The entire city relies on mining and blacksmithing for a living. The surrounding mountains are mountainous and there is no land suitable for farming. They can only use forged tools to trade for food from surrounding cities.
In Yuncheng, which seems affluent, people are actually living the most difficult life. In the past, before the cold season came, people worked hard to store food for the cold season, hunting and robbing by any means.
Suddenly faced with such a situation, Shi Zhi reported the situation to the Arbitration Court as early as September and waited for material assistance from the alliance.
When the first batch of supplies was delivered, Shi Zhi personally checked it and budgeted carefully. Even so, it was still stretched.
Yuncheng is in trouble, and Shi Zhi is thinking about how to solve the problem every day. He even thought about taking people to Ningcheng to rob him, but in the end he had to give up the idea.
The situation in Ningcheng is not much better than that in Yuncheng. It can be said that the entire Tianduan Mountain forces face the same predicament during the cold season, lacking food and clothing. People living at the bottom can only resist.
At the moment when he saw the motorcade, Shi Zhi's tense heartstrings finally relaxed.
When Lin Yan saw Shi Zhi for the first time, she felt dazzled. Was this the Shi Zhi she knew? He was very thin, wrapped in old cotton clothes, and looked very thin.
She stepped forward and looked at him carefully, then reached out and touched his arm, "Shi Zhi, why are you like this? You are skinny and skinny. What's going on?"
Shi Zhi remained silent and looked at Lin Yan with solemn eyes.
Lin Yan's heart skipped a beat, "What are you talking about? Even if you are short of food and clothing, you can't starve yourself to death."
In her eyes, Shi Zhi is the person who can best take on big responsibilities. He is stable and reliable. He should not change his expression even if the mountain collapses in front of him. What kind of situation can make him feel like a different person.
Seeing Lin Yan's anxious look, Shi Zhi glanced at the motorcade and said in a deep voice, "Go in and talk."
When he came to the meeting hall, it was bitingly cold, not much different from the outside. Lin Yan said, "Shi Zhi, you treat yourself so harshly, it makes me feel bad."
She knew that the situation in Yuncheng was not optimistic, but after seeing it with her own eyes, she felt more deeply and it was more difficult than she imagined.
Shi Zhi smiled bitterly, "I don't want this either. But seeing that people are dying every day, the number of deaths is increasing day by day, and so many people are hungry and suffering, how can we feel at ease."
"You are finally here. This is what has happened over the past month. Take a look."
After taking the notebook handed over by Shi Zhi, Lin Yan glanced at it, and his face became uglier as he looked at it.
It’s shocking. The death toll has been rising steadily, from a dozen per day at the beginning to hundreds per day now. Just looking at the changes in the numbers makes it difficult to breathe, let alone watching these people lose their lives with your own eyes.
Yuncheng is indeed tough. They fight privately every day and many people bleed to death.
Such a chaotic place of hunger and poverty was incompatible with other cities in the alliance, so it was naturally difficult and laborious to manage. She understood why Shi Zhi was so thin.
"Sorry for your pain. You need to rest for a few days and I'll take over." Lin Yan really couldn't bear to exploit Shi Zhi. If he continued to work so hard, if he fell, the consequences would be unpredictable.
This mess in Yuncheng is really a hot potato.
Shi Zhi nodded, "With you here, I feel relieved."
He wouldn't dare to leave it to others, but Lin Yan was different. She would definitely be able to resolve Yuncheng's predicament.
(End of chapter)
