Wen Qing stepped forward and knocked on the door, and after a while, footsteps came from the courtyard, the door creaked open, and a tall and thin man with dark skin and wearing a dozen linen straw shoes poked his head out.

"Who are you looking for?" The man looked at the three unfamiliar faces outside the door suspiciously.

Wen Qing looked back and looked around, this was already the end of the alley, only the household in front of him, and the courtyard walls of the neighbors on the left and right were dilapidated, and there were no traces of inhabitation.

After making sure that the surrounding environment was safe, Wen Qing whispered to the man: "The Heavenly King covers the Tiger of the Earth." ”

The man's cloudy eyes lit up, his dark face instantly swelled red, his breathing became short, and he cautiously replied tentatively: "The river demon of Pagoda Town? ”

Wen Qing smiled and nodded, raised his hand and quickly performed a military salute of the Xu family.

The man in front of the door raised his eyes excitedly and looked at Xu Yue and the others, "It's a fellow Daoist, please come in quickly!" ”

While letting the door open and inviting the three people to enter the door, he cautiously looked at the surrounding situation until everyone entered the courtyard, quickly closed the door, turned to the three of them, and asked excitedly:

"My name is Shanzi, the mountain of the big mountain, I don't know where the three Taoist friends came from? How to call it? ”

Asking, beckoning to a pair of wives and children who poked their heads out of the house, the young woman and a seven or eight-year-old boy in the room came out with a bench and invited Xu Yue and the three of them to sit down.

The woman told her son not to be naughty, got up and went to the simple thatched kitchen, where she lit hot water and prepared something for the guests to drink.

Xu Yue gave Wen Qing a look, Wen Qing understood, got up and went to the kitchen, and stopped the busy woman, "Little sister-in-law, don't move, let's just come and sit." ”

Xu Yue's side introduced to Shanzi: "My name is Xu Youniang, next to me is Wenqing Daoyou, in front of me is my brother Xu Dalang, we came from Zhuo County, we are not familiar with the place, I want to come to find Daoyou, you know the situation in Yi County, don't you know if it is convenient?" ”

After speaking, Xu Yue looked at the dark man in front of him with a surprised look on his face, and knew that he didn't know the true identity of himself and his brother.

Shanzi really didn't know that the person in front of him was the leader of the Xu family's army, because he felt that such an inconspicuous little person as himself would not meet the leader.

But the surname Xu has a lot of weight in the Xu family's army, and it is Shanzi's guess that the identity of the brother and sister in front of them in the Xu family's army is definitely not simple.

Shanzi nodded, indicating that it was convenient for him.

"What do the two Daoists want to know?" Shanzi asked worriedly.

Xu Yue first glanced at the dilapidated and narrow courtyard in front of her, as well as the young lady in the kitchen who was about to light a fire but was stopped by Wen Qing, and asked with concern:

"Haven't you had breakfast yet?"

The young woman whispered in an embarrassed voice, "This is about to be done, it's still early, and we're eating late." ”

As he spoke, his eyes unconsciously glanced at the rice jar covered with a wooden board beside him, which was already empty.

Shanzi's son unconsciously licked the corners of his mouth, and touched his stomach with his little hand, and it was also empty.

Xu Yue looked at Shanzi, who shook his head, saying that his wife and children didn't know that he was doing things for the Xu family.

Xu Yue smiled and said to Wen Qing: "I want to eat the steamed buns from the steamed bun shop on the road when I just came, and I want meat." ”

"You road idiot shouldn't remember the road, please sister-in-law, take him out to buy some back."

When Shanzi's son heard the words meat buns, his godless eyes instantly lit up, staring at Wen Qing fidely, and his eyes, which looked extraordinarily big because of his thinness, were full of desire for food.

Shanzi's daughter-in-law glanced at Shanzi at a loss, and when she saw her husband nodding, she called her son and led Wenqing out.

"The buns are spread on the other side of the main street, Master Wen, come with me, and I'll take you over."

"Sister-in-law is polite, just call me Wen Qing, I'm just the head of a drama troupe, and I can't be a master."

Wen Qing's explanation gradually faded away, and when she heard that there was no movement outside, Xu Yue asked suspiciously:

"I see that the city is very lively, and there are so many people working outside the city, Shanzi, you have the craft of pankang, it should be very easy to go out to work, how is the life at home?"

Shanzi also thought that Xu Yue was going to ask himself who the county commander of Yi County was, and what were the movements of the officers and soldiers in the city.

Unexpectedly, the first thing to ask was his living situation, and he really didn't react for a while.

Seeing that Xu Yue was patiently waiting for his reply, Shanzi smiled dismally and scratched his head uncomfortably,

"The city is quite lively, there are more people, and the money is easier to earn than before, but this year's levy is more than in previous years, and all kinds of taxes have been paid wave after wave, from the year to the present, in less than three months, I have paid an Andong tax, two road taxes, and a Ding tax."

"Pay 100 yuan to 300 yuan at a time, so that as soon as you get it, all the income saved by the family last year will be paid."

"Last month, the county decree said that they would recruit laborers to open a limestone mine in the mine, and I took out all the money from my family, and borrowed more than 100 yuan from my country brothers to advance the mine labor, and finally stayed......

Shanzi looked in the direction of the main street in the middle of the city, and the cheerful noise came from there, but it had nothing to do with the people who lived in the alley.

"Those who come from outside can only see the prosperity of this city, but they do not know that this prosperity is based on the suffering of the majority."

Shanzi frowned and worried: "Our Huokang Gang has many brothers who can't make up the money, so they can only be taken to the mine, I heard that there was an accident in the mine a few days ago, and I don't know if the brothers are okay." ”

Speaking of this, Shanzi covered his face with his hands, buried his head, and said enviously:

"If it weren't for the fact that my ancestors have been here for generations, I would have wanted to go to Youzhou with fellow Daoists...... I heard that our Xu Jiajun only collects agricultural taxes and commercial taxes, and does not levy forced labor, but is it true? ”

He raised his head and looked at the Xu Yue brothers and sisters expectantly.

Xu Yue nodded.

Xu Dalang added: "Although there is no forced labor, if you want to live a good life, you have to rely on yourself, and everyone has to work in Youzhou." ”

"But I think you're motivated, you should be able to live well."

When Shanzi heard this, he couldn't help laughing, but after laughing, he remembered that it was impossible for him to abandon his hometown and leave his hometown to go to Youzhou, and he lowered his head and sighed.

He is tired of saying the word envy, and now the only thought is that Xu Jiajun will come over quickly, if Xu Jiajun takes Jizhou down, then they can all live a good life and not have to leave their hometown.

"I'll tell you the truth, the rice jar at my house has been empty for a long time, and I was just about to go back to the countryside to borrow some food from my father and mother, but fortunately you came early, otherwise we wouldn't have met today." Shanzi said with a wry smile.

"How's the situation in the surrounding villages?" Xu Yue asked.

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