"yes!!"

The soldier following behind agreed and then quickly stepped forward, rushing into the house.

Seeing this, the old man could only tremble and hide to the side, not daring to say anything more.

He knew that these tax collectors wouldn't reason with ordinary people like them, and if he dared to say another word, he would probably be beaten to death immediately.

Soon, the sounds of rummaging through drawers and cabinets could be heard from inside the house.

Before long, the soldiers who had rushed into the house came out looking rather uninterested.

A soldier carrying a cloth bag approached the officer.

"Captain, this family is really too poor. They only have half a bag of coarse flour, and they don't even have a few decent clothes in the house!"

"Um?"

The officer frowned. This coarse flour was made by crushing and mixing grains with tree bark and leaves. Even livestock wouldn't eat it, let alone the Xianbei people.

Thinking of this, the officer looked up at the two girls hiding to the side.

"Taking them away will allow us to sell them for a good price to offset taxes!"

"Sir, no! They're only ten years old, so young! Please spare them!"

Seeing that the other party had set their sights on his granddaughter, the old man panicked and immediately knelt on the ground, pleading desperately.

"If you have nothing, use people as collateral. If you let them go today, they will suffer the same fate if the country falls tomorrow. Take them away!"

As he spoke, the officer ignored the old man's pleas and ordered his soldiers to snatch the two girls away.