Chapter 2530

I'll go to Tuo City then. Anyway, as long as I leave Baishong City, that's fine.

There's food and drink here. You work as a waiter at the noodle shop—doesn't the shopkeeper pay you your wages?

Shopkeeper Liu treats us well.

What's wrong with you then? Why must you flee the city at all costs?

Xiaolong sniffed: "If I tell the truth, can you take me out of the city?"

Dong Rui pointed at him: "Don't push your luck!"

"What if I hire you to take me out of the city?"

Ling Jinbao laughed: "How much money do you have?"

"Two years ago, an out-of-town merchant fell seriously ill and died in the city. Before he died, I was the one bringing him food and medicine. He was very grateful and told me where he hid his money—at least ten taels of gold!" Xiaolong said solemnly, "Take me out, and this money is yours."

"We're asking questions—you must answer truthfully." Ling Jinbao pointed at himself, then at him, "Once we're satisfied, we'll naturally take you out of the city."

Xiaolong could only nod, then said:

"You outsiders all envy life in Baishong City, but I know this place is deeply strange—not as happy as it seems on the surface."

"How so?"

Xiaolong pondered for a moment, as if considering where to begin, then countered:

"How many times have you been to Baishong City?"

"This is our first time—just yesterday evening we walked a few streets."

"No wonder you know nothing about Baishong City." Xiaolong asked again, "As you walked around, didn't you notice anything strange?"

Dong Rui looked at Ling Jinbao: "No. Stop being mysterious, or we'll hand you over to the authorities."

"Fine then." Xiaolong muttered, "On your way here, did you see any children?"

Children? The two stared at each other. Ling Jinbao suddenly slapped his palm: "That's why I felt something was off—I just couldn't put my finger on it. So many young men and women on the street, yet not one was holding a child!"

Dong Rui blinked. This was truly a remark that woke the dreamer. He thought carefully and realized it was indeed true.

"We passed so many shops and market stalls, yet it seemed no one sold toys or children's clothes." Dong Rui recalled, "Not even a woven grasshopper!"

In the outside world, whether in the countryside or the city, small stalls and vendors always set up piles of woven grass animals for sale—rabbits, monkeys, tigers, bears...

Everyone knows children's money is the easiest to earn.

Grass leaves aren't worth anything—it's just about earning a little labor fee. With so many skilled artisans in Baishong City, didn't anyone think of making money from dolls?

Unless, this trade doesn't make money.

No customers, naturally no demand.

After Xiaolong said that, the two understood. Ling Jinbao wore a strange expression:

"Hundreds of thousands of young men and women, yet they can't have children?"

That's utterly unreasonable.

"Don't even mention you—I've seen so few children in the city over the past ten years, they're pitifully few."

Dong Rui also said: "No wonder the city is full of red-thread elm trees—it seems Baishong City is also worried about its citizens' infertility."

Xiaolong didn't understand: "What are red-thread elms?"

"Nothing." Dong Rui yawned, "Whether people can't have children has nothing to do with you, you little brat—why are you so eager to leave the city?"

Even if Baishong City's low birth rate is a bit strange, these ten- or eleven-year-old kids haven't even figured out life yet—how could they worry about birth rates?

Ling Jinbao then asked: "With such low birth rates, do the city's residents know about it? How do they cope?"

"Some people have moved away from Baishong City, but most, after thinking it over, still refuse to leave. Outside is too dangerous!"

Most people here have food and drink, and security. In this age of great conflict, this is already a refuge most small states dare not imagine.

"Are all the residents of Baishong City from Song State?"

"Not all—many have come from nearby small states." Xiaolong replied, "Even more people want to move in from outside—endlessly, of course—but they must first pass the city government's review to settle. Baishong City never lacks people."

Outsiders still fight to squeeze in, which makes the city's residents feel even more strongly about their identity as citizens.

Only places that aren't short of people attract people.

"Why are you in such a hurry to leave?"

Xiaolong stayed silent for a long while before saying: "I told you—you wouldn't believe me."

"Say it anyway—let's hear it."

"Have you heard of the 'Peach Blossom Mark'?" Xiaolong asked, then immediately shook his head, "No, you've only been here a day—you wouldn't know this."

Dong Rui immediately said: "I heard passersby mention it today—rumor says it's a kind of illness, but I don't know the details."

He also knows a bit of medicine, but before coming to Baishong City, he'd never heard of the 'Peach Blossom Mark' and is very interested to see it.

"Once someone contracts this illness, their face swells and they develop patches of red marks, the color very like peach blossoms—hence the name 'Peach Blossom Mark'." Xiaolong added, "Oh, only women get this disease."

"What harm does this disease do to the body?"

"It causes lower back and leg pain, weakness in the limbs, and general fatigue. Severe cases leave one bedridden—I've seen my mother suffer from it four or five times." Xiaolong said, "The physicians at the medicine hall say it's due to damp and gloomy earth qi, making one prone to exhaustion."

"Is there a corresponding prescription in the medicine hall?"

"Yes, there is. Peach Blossom Mark is a common ailment in Baishong City—pharmacies have ready-made medicines. Take them home, decoct and drink, and the marks fade within a few days. After about half a month, the discomfort eases. If you don't take medicine, recovery is just slower."

Dong Rui's heart stirred: "Wait. Do you have a medicine hall here? Is the physician young or old?"

"The medicine hall does have elderly physicians—forty or fifty years old, fifty or sixty." Xiaolong said, "Only in the government office and the medicine hall can you see white-bearded elders. My mother used to be particular—she insisted on going to the medicine hall for treatment, but the elderly physician's prescription for Peach Blossom Mark was hardly different from the pharmacy's."

Ling Jinbao looked at Dong Rui, who also became interested: "Later I'll go to the pharmacy and get a prescription to examine."

One land's water and soil harm its people; one prescription saves them all?

"Do only Baishong City residents get this strange illness?"

"I've heard it's like that." Xiaolong looked at the two, "You came from outside—do people in your hometown get this illness?"

Both shook their heads. Dong Rui continued: "Is it contagious?"

"That won't happen, but the more times one gets the peach blossom mark, the easier it is to become exhausted." Xiao Long recalled, "My mother's body grew weaker each time, and one day she simply couldn't get out of bed."

Dong Rui gave a light cough: "You're a man, and you won't get the peach blossom mark, so why insist on leaving the city?"

"My neighbor's Er Pang is two years younger than me, and we've played together since we were little." Xiao Long's voice unconsciously lowered, "Last winter, he told me something. At that time, his mother also had the peach blossom mark and planned to go to the medicine shop the next day to buy medicine. The whole family was sleeping soundly that night, but Er Pang woke up from holding his urine, and just as he opened his eyes, he actually heard some rustling sounds from the neighbor's house."