The old man Song drove the mule cart through the streets and alleys, and the more remote he went, the houses on the street became more and more dilapidated and low, which formed a strong contrast with the prosperity scene on the main street opposite the city gate.

Some of the low houses on the side of the street have no courtyard walls, and some do not even have doors, and if you pass by the street, you can see the movement of the people in the houses if you pay a little attention.

Ling'er was a little curious and a little surprised to observe, these dilapidated houses are either rickety old women and decrepit, or slightly ill middle-aged women, and there are also poor and destitute men or men with missing arms and legs, but there are no young people, and children are also very rare.

Along the way, they met a mother and son sitting on the side of the street, the mother was in her early twenties but sick, and the crying child beside her was only five or six years old.

The child pulled the woman and shook it vigorously: "Mother! Mother, don't sell me, I will be filial to you, mother, don't sell me......"

Ling'er looked sad, and wanted to go down to ask about the situation, but Old Man Song stopped her:

"Don't be nosy, that woman was originally the palace maid of Baihua Palace, and she took the male slave and fled down the mountain, and the male slave abandoned them and ran away without a trace as soon as she got off the mountain.

You've seen the power of the Hundred Flowers Palace, do you want to get into this big trouble? ”

Ling'er immediately shook her head like pounding garlic, although she pity the mother and son, but doing good deeds depends on how capable she is, and she will definitely not be able to resist the Hundred Flowers Palace.

Ling'er looked at the mother and son getting farther and farther away, sighed lightly, and turned around and asked, "Grandpa Song, these houses are so broken." Why are there still people living there? Why are all these people sick and crooked, where are the young people? ”

Old Man Song said with some disdain: "Don't look at them pitiful now, they used to be beautiful." ”

"Huh? What do you mean by that? ”

"Most of these have been spent in the brothels of Qinglou on the street in front of the city gate. Many of them have been smash hits, but new people come in every day, who can be popular for how long? What's more, if you do too much of that kind of thing, sooner or later you will have to hollow out your body and get sick or something. ”

Ling'er was very surprised, thinking of those ugly and dirty old men and old women she had just seen, they were also the top brands of the brothel in the Qinglou? This...... That's too much of a contrast, isn't it?

"Grandpa Song. They're all sick like this, why don't they leave? ”

"They've been here for most of their lives, and they're used to it. Even if you are down now, there are always a few familiar people who can always get some silver and go out by borrowing or asking or begging? Where can they go? And what do you live on? Rather than go out and suffer, starve to death, and freeze to death, it is better to stay here and survive. ”

Ling'er opened her mouth to refute, wanting to say that there is always a way to survive outside. Maybe I can get rid of my illness. Old Man Song sighed and said: "That's it, don't mention it, those who can go have already left, and those who don't want to do this business will go outside to find work to do, and those who are willing to do it will sell themselves early and go to that place."

Alas, this place is not as good as a year after year, when will it be clean? ”

The old man sighed, and Ling'er's mood became much heavier. Unconsciously, after walking for a while, Brother Song stood up happily: "It's here." We're home! ”

Ling'er looked up, saw the cart out of the alley, the eyes suddenly opened, a small square in front, there is a memorial arch in the middle, on the book 'Lotus Village'. The houses in the village are neatly arranged, one by one, row by row, all of them are brick and wood structures, with high eaves and arches, just like the ancient streets of modern tourist areas.

Ling'er looked back, the houses behind her were still dilapidated, but the house buildings in Lotus Village were extremely similar to the style of the main street of the city gate. Hey, are the villagers of Lotus Village so rich? Why did Grandpa Song still go to work as a servant for others?

Brother Song happily jumped off the cart and ran to the village, greeting people when he saw them, and the people in the village were also very enthusiastic about them, and they were quite familiar with each other at a glance.

"Grandpa Song, did you build these houses by yourself?"

The old man smiled: "Where can we afford it?" Our village was originally on the edge of Lianhu Lake, but a few years ago someone bought the entire lake, and several big boats came to it, and the palace was also repaired.

It may be that the master thinks that the houses in our Lotus Village are too simple and unsightly, and the villagers go to the lake to fish and disturb their cleanliness, so he talks to the village chief to negotiate the conditions, saying that each of us will build a yard in the city, and then subsidize 20 taels of silver per person, on the condition that the Lotus Village will be demolished, and we can no longer go to the Lotus Lake to fish and pick lotus seeds. ”

"Oh? And such a good thing? ”

"Hmph, what's a good thing? Let's move out, it's better to say, if we don't let us fish and pick lotus seeds, it will cut off our livelihood, no matter how good the house is, what's the use of not having food and clothing? ”

Uh, this... It's true, why did you accidentally say the wrong thing again?

As soon as the old man entered the village, the surrounding neighbors greeted him happily, and the woman who saw Ling'er smiled and quipped: "Old man, is this your granddaughter-in-law?" You're so handsome! ”

"No, no, it's just that I met on the road and came to my house to spend the night."

"Hey~~ The old man is still embarrassed? We won't rob your granddaughter-in-law. ”

The old man explained again and again, Ling'er was embarrassed, why was this like this? I remember the first time I went to East Lake, Aunt Zhu took herself out, and the women also said the same, these people are really imaginative, can they be daughters-in-law by grabbing a young girl?

The cart stopped in front of a small courtyard in the middle of the village, and Brother Song brought a middle-aged woman out with a smile, unloaded his things and beckoned Ling'er to take a seat.

Ling'er followed the old man to the hall and sat down to drink tea, the old man enjoyed sniffing the tea vigorously, and then snorted and drank two sips, looking happy like a fairy.

Ling'er thought it was funny, but she didn't make fun of him, the two boxes on the cart had been moved to the courtyard, and she thought that she was lucky to know Old Man Song, a native of Liancheng, if she slammed into the city, I don't know how much she would lose? It is not necessary to be targeted by people to use means to get into the green building, it seems that the next time you go to a place, you must find a local to inquire clearly.

The old man said, "Miss Bai, how long do you plan to stay in Lotus City?" ”

"I heard that Lianhu, I wanted to go to play, but in the situation of Liancheng, I'm afraid it's not safe for me to go out alone, Grandpa Song, which direction is the owner of your delivery? Shall I go out of town with you? ”

"This ...... I'm going to the south, if you go to the capital, you have to go to the north, the direction is different, there is a lotus lake in the middle, and you can't turn around the city! ”

"Huh? So what to do? ”

The old man thought for a while: "In this way, you will stay at my house for two days, and then I will come back after I have delivered the goods to the owner, and then I will send you to Gongcheng, which is closer to Beijing." ”

"So... It's okay, then thank you Grandpa Song! (To be continued......)