Langcheng, Shu Commandery.

Low, dilapidated houses can be seen everywhere, and people come and go on crowded, narrow streets.

A peddler, dressed entirely in black and appearing to be in his sixties or seventies, pushed a tarpaulin-covered cart along a bumpy, potholed road, going from house to house asking if anyone needed his goods.

He was selling charcoal, which was in high demand during the winter.

A pound of high-quality charcoal costs 25 copper coins, which is not expensive, strictly speaking.

Unfortunately, for the vast majority of people living in Langcheng, this price was still unaffordable; they simply couldn't afford it and could only spend 5-10 coins to buy inferior charcoal.

Knocking on the door of a house, a middle-aged man with a limp and dark circles under his eyes came out.

The middle-aged man was called Black Bull. His hands were covered in calluses, and his weathered face held a faint air of pride.

This is a unique quality that only those who have served in the military and been on the battlefield possess.

"Old Hu, do you have any cheaper charcoal?"

"Hehe, you still think it's too expensive? I have some inferior charcoal here, do you want it? I'll charge you seven coins."

"Wasn't it only five coins the day before yesterday? Why is it seven coins today?"

"There's nothing we can do, the weather is getting colder and colder, and there's a lot of demand for charcoal. You know, the mountains have been closed off by heavy snow recently."

Fewer and fewer people are burning charcoal, and the government has increased our charcoal tax by three fen. We can't survive without that extra tax.

"Fine, seven coins it is. Give me five jin."

Okay.

Old Hu immediately and quickly placed five jin of inferior charcoal in front of the door.

At the same time, Black Bull pulled out a money bag from his waist and, almost touching the bag, pressed the money into his palm one coin at a time.

However, no matter how he calculated it, he only had twenty-nine coins in his hand.

For a moment, Hei Niu's face was full of embarrassment. Just as he was about to tell Lao Hu that he only wanted four catties, Lao Hu directly took the money from his palm.

"Forget it, no one's having an easy time these days, so let's skip the few coins."

"No way!" Black Ox was very stubborn. "I, Black Ox, have never taken advantage of anyone in my life. Old Hu, it's not easy for you to burn charcoal. How can I let you suffer a loss? You wait and see."

After saying that, he turned and went into the kitchen. A short while later, he carried a small bag of millet and stuffed it into Lao Hu's arms.

"This is two liters of millet, is that enough to pay for the charcoal?"

"Old Hei, what are you doing? Take it back. I've heard your family is almost starving. How can I take your life-saving food..."

"Which bastard is spouting nonsense? I'm just asking you, is this enough to pay for your charcoal? If it is, then shut up and take it!"

"well……"

Seeing how persistent the black ox was, Old Hu sighed, put away the grain sack, and pushed the cart to the next house.

After closing the door, Black Ox groped around and picked up the charcoal pieces one by one, putting them into a bamboo basket and carrying it into the inner room.

Just then, a woman and a child wearing an apron passed by, glanced at the charcoal in the black ox's bamboo basket, and casually asked, "Did you buy the charcoal?"

"Um."

Black Bull responded with a sound but remained silent.

The woman didn't say much and went straight into the kitchen to boil water and cook lunch.

Suddenly, the woman rushed out carrying a two-finger-high earthenware rice jar and asked, "Where's the rice? There were two or three liters yesterday, how come it's all gone?"

Black Ox didn't say anything, he just silently threw charcoal into the brazier.

As the charcoal burned, a thick plume of smoke shot up, choking people and causing them to cough incessantly and their eyes to water.

With his eyes closed, Black Bull quickly used a palm-leaf fan with a broken corner to speed up the burning of the charcoal. Finally, after the charcoal was completely burned, the choking smoke dissipated considerably.

But a pungent smell still lingered in the air.

"I'm asking you, where's the rice? Where did it go?"

The woman persisted in pressing the issue.

After being asked three or four times, Black Bull got annoyed and yelled, "What are you asking for! I've already exchanged it all for charcoal!"

Upon hearing this, the woman was stunned for a long time before smashing the earthenware jar heavily on the ground, shattering it into pieces.

Looking at the shattered tiles scattered on the ground, Old Hei was instantly filled with rage.

But before he could react, he heard the woman's sorrowful sobs:

"I must have been blind to marry a man like you!"

I've been with you for almost twenty years, but have we ever had a single decent day together?

Since I followed you into Sichuan, I haven't had a proper meal in all these years!

But have I ever complained about anything? Isn't it all because I bore your children and took care of this whole family from dawn till dusk every day?

But now, I just want to ask, how can we possibly survive? We're out of rice! What are we going to eat?

Snap—

Before the woman could finish speaking, she was slapped hard across the face by Black Bull, sending her flying to the ground.

"You bitch, you've got some nerve, haven't you? I'll beat you to death!"

Black Bull swung his cane and struck the woman hard.

He's a man who cares a lot about his reputation; how could he allow a woman to criticize him? He must uphold the dignity of the head of the household.

Soon, the woman's painful and shrill cries could be heard from inside the room.

Neighbors passing by the house heard the commotion inside and couldn't help but shake their heads and sigh.

Clearly, people seem to have become accustomed to this situation.

After a long while, Black Bull got tired of fighting and plopped down on a stool.

The woman was beaten until she was covered in bruises, her face swollen and bruised.

"Go cook for me."

Black Bull said something while holding his head.

"No rice."

The woman endured the pain, got up, and replied.

"Did you enjoy the beating? If you've got the guts, why didn't you just kill me?"

"You want a beating, don't you?!"

"Will there be rice after the beating?"

The woman simply took off her apron and threw it on the ground.

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