The children, who had found the experience novel at first, had now lost their enthusiasm and were clamoring to go home.
“Mama, I want to eat meat buns. Here we only have steamed buns and thin porridge.”
“Husband, Nini seems to have a fever. I told you sleeping out here in the wild wasn’t good. How can children endure this…”
“I’m so itchy! I want to take a bath!”
The complaints gradually increased.
By the afternoon, the weather suddenly changed, and it began to rain.
With this turn of events, not only those without tents but even those with shelter from the rain couldn’t bear it anymore.
Given the intensity of the rain, would the tents even hold up if it rained all night?
More people clamored to leave.
The village head, remembering Yu Jin’s instructions, was red-faced and flustered: “You can’t leave! The Prince said that at most in five days, there would be an earthquake in the town. The time is almost up. Please endure a little longer, everyone.”
“Endure?” A tall, sturdy man wiped his face. “With such heavy rain, how are we supposed to sleep tonight? Village Head, if you want to endure, you do it. I’ve had enough!”
“That’s right, we’ve had enough!” Many people chimed in.
Those demanding to leave gathered together and started walking away in the rain.
Yu Jin, who had hurriedly arrived, stood before them, his clothes soaked through by the rain.
“Your Highness, these people are insisting on going back,” Long Dan reported as he approached.
Yu Jin nodded, wiping away the rain that was about to enter his eyes, and raised his voice to ask, “Do you all want to go back?”
The rain was heavy, but his voice seemed to have a penetrating quality, reaching everyone’s ears.
The tall, sturdy man shouted, “Your Highness, we’ve been staying here for several days now. Where’s the earthquake? Now it’s raining, and it’s impossible to sleep here. We want to go home.”
“If you go back now, you’ll lose the remaining half of the compensation silver,” Long Dan called out.
The sturdy man shook his head. “I’d rather give up the silver and go back. My child has a fever.”
Standing close to the sturdy man was a woman holding a young child. The child’s head was covered with a hat woven from grass leaves, and its small face seemed flushed with fever. It was staring at Yu Jin with wide eyes.
Meeting those eyes, black as grapes, Yu Jin’s cold heart softened a bit. “One tael of silver,” he said.
“What?” The crowd didn’t understand his meaning at first.
Yu Jin spoke calmly, “Per person. In addition to the previously agreed compensation, those who stay will receive one tael of silver each.”
Many who had been determined to go home wiped away the rain forcefully.
One tael of silver was equivalent to half a year’s work in the fields. Rain? They could sleep here even if it rained knives!