August is here, and the Mid-Autumn Festival is coming soon.

There are fewer ships passing by on the Fenshui River. The world is not peaceful. Even profit-seeking merchants dare not go out to trade. It is not worth risking their lives to make a few dollars. There are fewer ships coming and going at the wharf. The men waiting for work at the wharf have gone home day after day without getting any work. Even the wharf that used to be bustling has become much quieter.

Most of Cao Ji's business depends on the people coming and going at the wharf. Now that the wharf is deserted, Cao Ji's business is not very good. The store is still open for business every day, and it still makes some money, so it can survive closing.

Most of the shops in the town are not doing well. Those who are open for business don't make a penny at the end of the day.

In previous years, when the crops were harvested, the town was very busy. Any family with extra crops would transport them to the town to sell. But this year, the harvest was not good. There was not enough food at home, so how could there be any extra to sell? There

were fewer stalls on the street, and only a few people were walking around, and even fewer people were buying things.

The grain stores were all closed, and the shops were empty.

Cao Xiangnan knew that the situation in the world was not good, so he went to buy a lot of grain. When he bought it, the price was still as high as it is now. He was an old customer, and the boss gave him the price he knew. I think it is too late for the boss to regret it now.

On the way back from the town, Cao Xiangnan bought some salt oil as his family was short of it.

"Is this enough? Is there anything else missing?"

"Nothing is missing, that's all."

The Mid-Autumn Festival is coming in two days. In previous years, everyone who worked for him would receive a generous gift to go home for the festival. This year, Cao Xiangnan did not prepare gifts for everyone. He just gave everyone a few more coins as a holiday fee.

The moon cakes made at Yipinzhai in the town were not as many as in previous years. Several wealthy families ordered some. The common people had no money in their pockets and were reluctant to spend it to buy these snacks. Cao Xiangnan went to sit with the shopkeeper Zhao and drink a cup of tea. The shopkeeper Zhao sighed when he talked about the business in the store. But by comparison, the prosperous places in Nanyang were not affected that much, after all, the people there were more affluent and didn't need a little money.

"That's fine." Qi Wanfeng listened to her husband and thought it was okay.

At this time, no one had much food, and they couldn't be as lavish as they were in previous years. It wouldn't be good to be too extravagant at this time. This year, there was more land to be cultivated, and the harvested food was more than the previous two years, but there were also more people to eat.

"Why don't we just cook a few simple dishes and ask Bai Lian to bring a few kids over for dinner, instead of doing it the same way as in previous years." The two discussed the holiday dinner. In the past two years, their family had invited a few familiar families to come over. This year was not a good year, and they still had some money in their hands, but being too outstanding at this time might cause unnecessary trouble.

Not everyone can see that others are better than them, so it is better to be low-key at this time. When everyone is doing well, if you are good, others will also be good, and others will not think that your goodness is dazzling. At this time, if everyone is not doing well, and only you are left, then others may not be able to see that you are good.

"Well, let's do this. I'll go and tell Bai Lian later to ask him not to cook at home that day and come over to eat with us." Qi Wanfeng replied.

The two agreed on the festival, and Qi Wanfeng went to call Bailian to come and have dinner together. The two families used to have dinner together during the New Year and other festivals. This year, her husband was not at home, so Wanfeng came to call him to bring the children to have dinner together on the 15th, and Sun Bailian also agreed. As soon

as it got dark at night, every household closed their doors.

A group of masked men rode horses in the night, holding large knives in their hands, flashing a cold light. I don't know how many people's blood was touched by the knives. That night, many rich families in the town were broken into by thieves, who stole the gold, silver, and jewelry in the houses, moved away the food in the houses, and killed many people.

By the time the government received the report, the bandits had already run away.

They just robbed things and ran away, leaving no trace.

"Master, you must help us..."

"Too lawless!" When Zhao Xianzhi learned about this, he slammed the table and cursed, "Go and check, you must find those bandits for me and arrest them!" These bandits really openly defied the law and dared to rob and kill people so boldly.

"Yes!"

This world is in chaos, and there are always people who take advantage of the chaos and fish in troubled waters, and they hope that this world will be more chaotic so that they can make a fortune.

The yamen runners only get a few dollars a month, barely enough to support their families, and most men would not be willing to work for them. They don't know how many people there are in this group, and they don't have much chance of winning against them. Even if they find someone, it's impossible for them to encircle and suppress those bandits, unless he can borrow soldiers and catch them all in one fell swoop! The

nearest way here is to ask the governor of Nanyang to borrow soldiers, but Nanyang is not peaceful now, what will he do if he borrows people from Nanyang? This is also impossible. After thinking about it, Zhao Xianzhi couldn't think of a solution. For the first time, he felt that Qianlu was out of ideas and didn't know what to do.

He remembered a person. Yes, there must be a way to find him.

"Let's go to Caojia Village!"

Such a thing happened in the town that day, and even in broad daylight, people in the town dared not open their doors. The streets were empty, and there was not even a single person walking around. The wind blew up, bringing a cloud of dust, and the day was indescribably cold.

Cao's shop was not open for business today, and the workers in the shop were on holiday. Cao Dapeng harnessed a horse-drawn carriage and took Sun Yanshan back to the village from the town. When they came back, they went to Cao Xiangnan and talked about what happened in the town.

"There was blood everywhere. I heard that people's heads were chopped off with swords, and the chopped heads were rolling on the ground in circles..." Cao Dapeng didn't see it with his own eyes, but he heard about it from others. He heard that the door of the rich man's house was open and there were corpses lying inside. "Those people really killed people like flies."

"I think the town is not peaceful, so I closed the shop for the time being. I'll talk about it later." Cao Xiangnan also knew that the business of the shop in the town was not good. He had said before that if he couldn't continue, he would close the shop first. But Cao Dapeng also said that he would work for a few more days if he could, and make as much money as he could.

But it seems that now that this has happened in the town, the shop might as well close its doors for the time being.

After hearing what Cao Dapeng said to him, Cao Xiangnan's face was solemn.

What he was worried about had come true, and what happened in the town was a signal. With the current state of Caojia Village, the most feared thing is that it will become a target of thieves. There are only a few yamen runners in the government office, and they may not be able to deal with thieves. Do you still want to rely on those yamen to save your life? Thinking of this, Cao Xiangnan narrowed his eyes.

Someone knocked on the door outside the yard.

"Master." As soon as Liu Guizhong opened the door, he saw that the person who came was an official, and his attitude was very fearful. The elder had come to their place several times before, so he recognized him and was about to kneel down to greet him. "I have seen the elder before."

"No need to be polite, I'm here to see your master." Zhao Xianzhi knew.

When he heard the eldest master asking if their master was at home, he hurriedly replied, "Yes, yes, our master is inside."

Hearing the sound outside, Cao Xiangnan stood up and walked over to take a look, and saw that it was Zhao Xianzhi who came, so he hurriedly went to greet him. No matter what his private relationship with Zhao Xianzhi was, he had to put on a good show in front of outsiders.

"I greet you, sir..." Cao Xiangnan was about to kneel down to pay his respects, but was held back by a hand. Zhao Xianzhi was dressed in casual clothes, with a gentle smile on his face, and said, "I am the official who came to disturb you, everyone, no need to be polite, please stand up quickly." Yes. "Everyone got up.

Seeing that even the official had come to Xiangnan, Cao Dapeng took a look at the official. He had no white beard and looked more handsome than his brother. He didn't dare to look at him any more. Knowing that it was not convenient for Silang to stay here, he didn't dare to stay here any longer, so he said goodbye and went back. When he left, he looked back and went back home. After returning

home, Cao Dapeng whispered to his wife that even the official had come to Xiangnan. Chen Hong reminded her husband again. Wake up, probably means to let her husband work hard with Cao Silang. Their family is lucky to follow Cao Silang, and now their family is one of the best in the village.

However, Chen Hong is still uneasy about the robbery, but fortunately her husband has returned from the town.

Cao Xiangnan took Zhao Xianzhi to the back, and the servants in the family brought tea and went downstairs. There were only two of them left here, so it was convenient for them to talk. When dealing with Zhao Xianzhi, Cao Xiangnan couldn't help but have some respect in his heart. After all, the other party was an official and he was a civilian, and he couldn't treat the other party with disrespect in terms of etiquette.

Needless to say, he knew why Zhao Xianzhi came to him.

The two talked about the robbers who robbed and killed people in the town today. The goal of these people was also very clear, that is, to rob houses, but these people not only wanted money but also killed people. This method was too cruel.

Zhao Xianzhi didn't leave him any room . It took too long. The two talked about the bandits. Cao Xiangnan had no way to help Zhao the Prophet. Their biggest contradiction now was that no one could fight against the bandits. In other words, even if someone went to fight against the bandits, they would not have much chance of winning against the brutal bandits.

But it was not entirely impossible. Cao Xiangnan hesitated in his heart. The thought flashed through his mind, but he did not say it out loud. "Goodbye, sir."

After seeing off Zhao the Prophet, Cao Xiangnan took Wanfeng's hand, asked someone to close the door, and went inside.

After walking two steps, Cao Xiangnan remembered what he had just forgotten, and ordered, "Qiang boy, go do something. "He told the young man from the Liu family to do it. Liu Qiang took the task from his master and left quickly.