Xi'an has recovered well in the past two years, but walking on the country roads, you can still feel that it is sparsely populated.

Mao Wenlong and Hong Chengchou stood on the top of the field under the arch of the guard, looking up, the fertile land that should have been a piece of land was still more than half of it was abandoned.

"It's been two years since the restoration, but there are still so many fields left in ruin." Mao Wenlong said with emotion.

"Yes! It is still twenty miles away from Xi'an, and it is conceivable that the current Jingshi and Shanxi have to be deserted. Hong Chengchou also sighed lightly.

The current situation is much worse than when he was on duty in Shaanxi a few years ago. And this is all due to Li Zicheng's fault, it is precisely because of his confusion that the whole of Shaanxi has almost become a barren land.

In front of him was an old man working in the fields, a lonely, thin figure, wielding a hoe in a large field. Although the weather at the end of autumn is not very cold, when the wind rises, it is still freezing.

And the old man that Mao Wenlong saw was already soaked and sweating profusely.

Mao Wenlong walked over with some doubts, and Hong Chengchou and others followed.

The old man was soon disturbed by the movement behind him, he stopped what he was doing, and looked up at Mao Wenlong walking towards him.

Mao Wenlong came to the old man, arched his hand and asked with a smile: "Why does the old man work here alone, is there no one else in the family who can help?" ”

The old man looked Mao Wenlong up and down clearly, and saw that he was dressed extraordinarily, and there were officers and soldiers behind him. Immediately knew that it was the young master of the official family, and the old man immediately returned the salute: "Son, there is no need to be polite, there are only good wives and me left in the little old man's family, and the good wives in the family are unfortunately infected with the wind cold and now can't come out to help." Seeing that winter is coming, the little second child must harvest all the sweet potatoes in this field before the winter comes. ”

Mao Wenlong looked around at the field under his feet and found that the old man's land was about five acres. With such a large sweet potato field, when will it be harvested by the old man alone?

"Don't you have any children at home to help?" Mao Wenlong frowned and asked.

"Alas......"

A deep sigh, full of sadness.

The old man's eyes suddenly turned red, and he said in a choked voice: "Little Lao'er originally had two sons and two daughters under his knees. They have all grown up, and their two daughters encountered accidents when they fled because of the war. One of the two sons died in the war, and the other joined the army and never returned. ”

The old man looked lonely, looked at the field under his feet, and continued: "If it weren't for the good wife at home, the little old man would not want to live in this world now. The white-haired man sends the black-haired man, what hope is there for life. ”

Mao Wenlong thought in his heart, in the troubled times, human life is as cheap as ants, every time there is one more war and one more death, there will be one more family like the old man in this world, how can I bear to watch the old man go down like this.

Rolling up his sleeves, Mao Wenlong did not comfort the old man with any words. Things have come to this point, and no amount of comfort can only reveal people's scars.

"Come, we'll help you get rid of these sweet potatoes." Just do it, Mao Wenlong rolled up his sleeves and walked down the field.

The general soldiers all started, and as a guard, they naturally couldn't stand and watch, so the ten guards didn't dare to slack off and immediately followed down the field. Then there was the vastness, and the last Hong Chengchou hesitated for a moment and followed.

Without a hoe, they dug directly with a saber, and after the thirteen people went to the ground, they worked hard and were not lazy at all.

The old man was still in stunned, he didn't expect Mao Wenlong, a young master of an official family, to help an old man like him who had never met before? By the time he reacted, Mao Wenlong and the others had already turned out a lot of sweet potatoes.

The old man's heart suddenly became hot, and since the troubled times emerged, people have become much stranger to each other. In a desperate situation, people will always show all kinds of dark sides that they don't usually show.

There are not a few people who are suspicious of each other, guard against each other, and even kill people and take money for a bite to eat. The old man didn't expect that today he would be able to meet a young master like Mao Wenlong!

"Childe, the little old man can't afford it, so don't do it." After the old man reacted, he hurriedly stepped forward to dissuade Mao Wenlong.

"Sir, don't worry too much, we have packed all the sweet potatoes in this field for you today." Mao Wenlong was covered in mud at the moment.

Although the old man did not persuade Mao Wenlong again, he was still a little panicked in his expression.

Mao Wenlong didn't say anything more, just worked with his stuffy head.

The sweet potatoes in the field are growing well, the old man has cultivated this land well, and there has been no disaster in Xi'an this year, and the crops have been able to have a good harvest.

As the day went by, when it was almost dusk, Chen Lan and Hong Ziyan also came over. Mao Wenlong was overjoyed when he saw this, and gave an order, and the rest of the guards went down to the field to help, so that all the sweet potatoes in the field were collected before dark.

When parting, the old man said that he would not leave Mao Wenlong, and asked Mao Wenlong and others to come to his home as guests, saying that he wanted to entertain them well and express his gratitude!

It was difficult to resist the enthusiasm, and it was not easy to refuse the warm invitation of the old man, so Mao Wenlong and Hong Chengchou agreed readily after discussing it.

The old man's home is on the outskirts of Bailu Town, less than a mile away from his field, and he followed the old man's guidance to the old man's somewhat dilapidated earthen house yard. There were four houses inside, and a woman was busy in the courtyard at the moment.

A few chickens were surrounding the woman pecking at the spilled food, and the woman looked panicked when she saw a large group of people outside the door. It wasn't until she saw her husband come back with her that she hurriedly ran up, pulled her wife to the side and asked in a low voice, "What are these officials here for?" ”

The old man smiled and comforted his mother-in-law, and explained to her, and the woman was relieved. Looking at the chickens that were pecking, she even proposed to the old man to kill the chickens to greet the guests.

Of course, the old man agreed, and asked his wife to use all the good things in the house, and don't neglect the guests.

Mao Wenlong could hear the muttering of the second elder on the side, but he did not go up to stop the old man's generosity. The simplicity of the villagers is like this, and when they receive the favor, they will give it back with all their might.

There are such people in the world, but Chongzhen made Daming such a miasma. Although the demise of the Ming Dynasty is not much directly related to Chongzhen, as the king of a country, he is sure to wear this hat.