The old man took a sip of tea and sighed: "The old man is 60 this year, his name is Xu Shan, he grew up in this Xujia Village since he was a child, and he also knew a few words, when he was 20 years old, he entered the palace to be a caretaker, because of his poor family, he married a wife at the age of 24, and had his first child at the age of 25, and then gave birth to a second son for four years.

But when the eldest son was 15 years old, Xia Yanguo and the narrator's Yu Rao Guo fought, and began to arrest the strong man on a large scale. The bad news came that the eldest son had died on the front line".

"I was in great pain, hating why I didn't go to the front line by myself, and my wife fell ill because of this. At this time, the second son was also 16 years old, and in order to prevent the country from arresting the second son again, he introduced the second son to the palace. Then in the second year, the front line was lost, and the country began a more stringent military service, where those over 14 years old and under 50 years old must go to the front, how to live without a strong man at home, at this time the palace reached out again, saying that there is a task as long as you are willing to accept it can help my family to be exempted from military service, I thought about it and accepted it, even if the task is dangerous, you can save your family. ”

"For the next five years, I went on this mission, delivering goods in a place known as the Little Maze Mountains, and nothing major happened. However, at this time, I was already 50 years old, and I was forced to retire, so the Wang family forced my second son to come to replace the post, otherwise I would report my family to the country and send them to the front. Anyway, it's all hard work, it's better to continue to sell in the Wang family, and the eldest son died on the front line, which has always made me angry, so I agreed to the Wang family, and the second son is also 21 years old at this time, thinking that it is okay, I will go back to take care of Xiao Xiu'er, who was born not long ago. ”

"However, within a few months, news came from the Wang family that there was a monster turmoil in the Xiaomi Mountain Range, and everyone in that area died, and none of them came back alive... Including my second son, poor Xiu'er lost her father before she was 1 year old."

The old man said that he didn't feel that he was old and cold, he was old and had a son, and the clinker was old and lost his son, and fate was too cruel to this old man.

"My wife's body has finally gotten better over the years, and when I heard the news, I couldn't afford to get sick directly, and I left me two years ago... The old man raised his palm like pine bark and wiped his tears and continued: "If it weren't for the fact that there was still a Xiu'er, my daughter-in-law wouldn't want to leave Xiu'er alone, and she would have supported the family strongly, and the old man would have gone with Humble Jing."

"Now Xiu'er is only ten years old, the palace actually sent someone to grab the maid, only give three coins of silver to buy it, how can Xiu'er and his mother agree?

"This Wang family indirectly killed your second son, and it is also reasonable to refuse to give your daughter to it, but only giving three coins of silver is no different from robbing," Daochen sighed.

"En's tolerance, it's not a matter of silver, if Xiu'er can get a good place, it will naturally be fine, but if you go to the Wang family, it is better to die," the old man said hatefully.

"Why is this?" Dao Chen didn't see many Yahuan, and the Yahuan in the Heart Cultivation Sect was okay, and asked preconceivedly.

"Alas, legend has it that the Wang family was gifted by an immortal ten years ago, and there was a six-year-old doll named Yi Fan in the house, who was taken by the immortals, and left a pill for the Wang family. Three years ago, the Wang family came out with a smart little doll, named Wang Bufan, after eating the elixir left by the immortals, I heard that I could cultivate immortals, and it was really taken by the nearby immortals. Alas"

"There are 6 maids in the village who have served in the palace, one is said to have been given to dignitaries and nobles, and their life and death are unknown; one was cut off because he lost a teacup, and he couldn't sell it, and he was beaten and sent back to his hometown; two made the companion maid ring, one of them had a son who was thrown to death in the main room, and he gave it to his subordinates; the other two were sold to the Qinglou to be the Hongchen woman after the age of 24, and there is no money to redeem it until now" The old man lamented, his eyes were full of exhaustion and helplessness.

Daochen frowned, and a wave of sympathy and anger surged into his heart, although he never recognized these Yahuan, but he was taken care of by Yahuan of the Heart Sect since he was a child, and he had a good impression of Yahuan, and he felt sad and indignant for what happened to them, and his heart was cold, and there were really many sins in the outside world. He picked up the teacup and sighed, "Brother Wang, if it's inconvenient for you to deal with the family, then let me come; ”

After a while, Xiao Xiu'er also came back from the field, and went to the stove to help the master and his mother make a fire, and the cooking in the countryside was often close to an hour, so Daochen got up and walked around casually, accompanied by the old man.

The village is not big, and after more than 20 minutes, Daochen asked: "Have all the men in the village gone to work in the fields?

The old man glanced at Daochen and said, "Engong, the people who work in the fields are all women and men... Buried in the back mountain... In the past few years, they have been killed one after another." Dao Chen was startled and sensed the past on the back mountain pointed by the old man, and sure enough, he saw dozens of new graves, with white paper hanging on them, obviously often taken care of, but no matter how they were cared for, the deceased would not come back.

The old man continued: "In addition to the men under the age of ten and over the age of fifty in the village, there are only two disabled people left, and they are also lucky to survive and fall on the front line. Alas, I don't know when this kind of day will come to an end, last year even the fifty-year-old man in the next village began to arrest, and my childhood playmate, who ran to my house overnight to take refuge, alas".

The cruelty of the war was far beyond Dao Chen's imagination, and he didn't feel good in his heart, and asked, "Does the old man know why Xia Yanguo wants to fight the Yurao Kingdom next door?"

"Then it's not for the old man to know, it's nothing more than money, food, and land," the old man shook his head.

Daochen bowed his head and said: "But I have traveled all the way, Xia Yanguo's agriculture is very good, the crops are growing very well, there should be no shortage of food; there are not many people, and the men are all gone, what is the use of asking for land? I am afraid that the money I have stolen has not been consumed much."

"Yes, the old man has lived all his life and never understood, why can't this battlefield stop? And why can those high-ranking officials and nobles eat so much? The official food is 9 times that of private food, so they still have to grab food to eat" The old man sighed, and suddenly asked nervously: "Engong, how much do you eat in one meal?"

"It's okay, I'll eat two bowls" Dao Chen comforted him, and asked: "The official grain is 9 times that of the private grain? Isn't it that 90% of Xia Yanguo's grain fields are growing official grain?

"Isn't it, I've seen several nearby villages, and the official grain accounts for ninety percent, but the official lord doesn't even have one percent of the total number of people, do they want to eat so much?" the old man shook his head and sighed puzzled.

"Is there also official food near Xujia Village?" Daochen asked, "Is it convenient to take me to see it?"

"Of course you can, Engong, I'll take you to see it in the afternoon after dinner, but don't touch it, it's a big crime to break it, and the state sent someone to arrest it," the old man reminded.

"Okay," Daochen replied with a smile. Slowly walked back with the old man, glanced at Xinle Town, and suppressed his anger for the time being.