Xu Laiyun was very enthusiastic, and Zhou Zhi naturally didn't want to refuse, so he looked at him gratefully. Xu Laiyun was overjoyed, and continued, "The villain's friend is called Liu Liang, and the villain has a lifelong friendship with him.

The villain came to the north from Changsha, and at first he was not in Baoding Mansion, but went directly to Shanxi. In Shanxi, the villain is also doing the baked cake business, but that place is not as good as Baoding Mansion, located in a remote and desolate place, the people are very poor, and the villain has not earned silver.

But even then, there were thieves in the villain's store, and it was thanks to Liu Liang, the neighbor at the time, who appeared in time and shouted loudly, so that the thieves did not hurt the villain's family.

Since then, the villain has met Liu Liang and has become friends who have nothing to say and have a good relationship.

Speaking of which, Liu Liang is a shrewd man, he is in the horse business, and he made some money in a few years, Liu Liang simply went to the capital and continued to do business. And the villain also came to this Baoding Mansion.

Although the villain and Liu Liang are on their own side, they often exchange letters. This time, Young Master Zhou Zhi, you go to the capital, as long as the villain's name is mentioned, then Liu Liang will definitely treat him politely and take care of him as a distinguished guest. ”

Zhou Zhi nodded lightly and said with a smile, "Thank you for the kindness of Shopkeeper Xu, I will go to the capital here, and if I have the opportunity, I will definitely visit this Liu Liang." ”

"Good!" Xu Laiyun was even more delighted. Then he informed Zhou Zhi of Liu Liang's address in the capital, and Zhou Zhi kept it in mind.

Zhou Zhi then said goodbye to Xu Laiyun, and then got into the carriage and continued north.

There was nothing to say all the way, and it was nearly dusk, and the carriage entered the territory of Ansu County. Ansu County is only seventy or eighty miles away from Baoding Mansion, but the scene here is very different from Baoding Mansion. The territory of Baoding Mansion can be described as very prosperous, but this Ansu County is desolate and dilapidated.

Passing through a small village, the village is full of low-rise adobe houses, ruined and dilapidated. From time to time, you can see farmers who have just returned from the fields, wearing tattered clothes with patches on top of them, covered in mud and dirty.

Behind the peasants, small children were occasionally visible, and they were all black and covered with black mud, as if they had just been dug out of the mud.

This place is obviously very poor, far from the villages in Gyeongdo County. Zhou Zhi wondered, it stands to reason that this is less than 300 miles away from the capital, and it is quite close to Baoding Mansion, why are the people so poor?

In fact, Zhou Zhi didn't know that Ansu County has always been barren land, and there are many people and little land, and Rensheng, the magistrate of Ansu County, is a guy who does not learn and has no skills, because there is silver at home and there are people in the court, so he donated a county.

At this time, the phenomenon of donating officials was not small, but most of them were fictitious positions with no power. For example, if you can get a real power official like the magistrate, the people in the court must have a considerable status.

This Rensheng is relying on the support of the court, although he has done nothing, and the people are prey, but no one dares to do anything to him. Whenever the prefect Peng Ze came to Ansu County, he frowned. But if he wanted to get rid of Rensheng, he couldn't do it with his ability. There is no choice but to let it go and lament that the people are in dire straits.

What makes Zhou Zhi even more puzzled is the people here, it's just that they are poor, is the water also poor? Why don't you wash your body and pay attention to hygiene!

Alas! This is the people of the Ming Dynasty now, they need to improve not only their lives, but also their spiritual thoughts, and the people's wisdom needs to be developed urgently.

Zhou Zhi immediately thought of himself, it seems that he wants to make a difference in this Ming Dynasty in the future, and there is a long way to go to do something for the people.

Thinking so crankily in his heart, the carriage unconsciously drove away from the village, and then headed straight north.

Although it was late, Zhou Zhi estimated that it would only take half an hour to reach Ansu County. In this way, when you get to the county seat, you will not be delayed in finding an inn to stay and eat.

Under his feet is a straight official road, but because no one has repaired it, it is just uneven. With the bump of the carriage, Zhou Zhi lifted the curtain and poked his head out.

In the dim night, Zhou Zhi suddenly saw a child with unkempt hair curled up in the place where the carriage had just passed. Beside the child, there seemed to be an old man lying upright. The old man's beard was white, and the child seemed to be lying on top of the old man, choking.

Zhou Zhi was slightly stunned, so he asked the coachman to stop the carriage, and he jumped out of the carriage.

Qi Yanwu rode a horse and followed the carriage all the time, and at this time his tiger eyes were staring at the small child. However, without thoughtful instructions just now, he didn't dare to hold the horse's reins, but just let the horse walk slowly.

Seeing Zhou Zhi get out of the car at this time, Qi Yanwu hurriedly said, "Brother Zhou Zhi, the old man just now may be ...... Maybe dead, the kid was crying! ”

Qi Yanwu jumped off the horse as he spoke, and followed Zhou Zhi towards the child.

When I got closer, I could see it more clearly.

The old man on the ground was wearing a shabby short coat, and there were many holes in his clothes. At this time, the old man's body was stiff, and Zhou Zhi reached out and gently tested under the old man's nose, as if he was not breathing. The folds on the old man's face seemed to be stretched, but the old eyes were round, giving people the feeling that they were dead.

When the child saw Zhou Zhi and the others, he was so frightened that he immediately stopped sobbing, and his body involuntarily retreated, staring at Zhou Zhi and Qi Yanwu with a pair of frightened eyes.

The child's facial features are still very good, but his face is covered with mud, similar to a mud monkey, and he looks very pitiful. Zhou Zhi squatted down and asked softly, "Little brother, where are you from, and who is this person?" ”

"He is my grandfather, we came from Datong, Shanxi, but my grandfather died suddenly here at noon." The child's voice was hoarse, and he didn't know how long he cried. However, Zhou Zhi could still clearly hear that the child's voice was immature and sharp. She turned out to be a little girl.

It is not difficult to tell from their clothing and appearance that they must have come here begging. Zhou Zhi's heart couldn't help but tremble, "Zhumen's wine and meat stink, and there are frozen bones on the road." Such a scene is similar to this poem. I didn't expect such a thing to happen in this so-called Hongzhi Zhongxing period of the Ming Dynasty.

"Brother Zhou Zhi, what should we do?" Qi Yanwu asked softly.

Qi Yanwu came from a poor background, and he was obviously too concerned about this poor person, and he had already moved his heart of compassion at this time.

There is no village in front of this place, and there is no store in the back. What's more, this little girl is only five or six years old. How can you ignore such a thing? If you ignore them at this time, it is estimated that it will not be long before this little girl will die.

Zhou Zhi gently touched the little girl's head and said softly, "Little sister, don't cry, grandpa is dead, no matter how much you cry, he won't survive, if you listen to your brother now, we will bury him, and the little sister will go with us!" ”