The weather has gotten colder these past few days, and the elderly person seems to have caught a cold and is coughing.
The woman also coughed occasionally.
He was young and strong and didn't feel uncomfortable, but if they continued to suffer from hunger and cold like this, they would either freeze to death or starve to death.
These past few days, I've been surviving on just a few steamed buns saved up by Luo Laowu.
This can't go on forever.
"I don't know what to do anymore."
Luo Laowu couldn't even lift his head. After sitting down, he said in despair, "I can't help with anything."
Thinking back to the piece of silver the monkey threw to me ten days ago, it feels like a long time has passed.
Nothing happened after that, but at this point, Luo Laowu actually hoped that something would happen.
He brought even less food today. He wondered if Su Changsheng had discovered his connection with them and was deliberately withholding food. Each person only got one steamed bun per meal, and there were only two meals a day. They weren't getting any meat either.
Each person only received a few bites of food, and almost everyone slept in the inn while waiting.
Logan remained silent. The area around the town was desolate, and there was nothing to eat.
This can't go on.
How can we get them to leave us alone?
A little monkey dropped a silver coin at Luo Laowu's feet.
Luo Laowu looked up and saw the monkey. He picked up the silver and handed it to Luo Gen, saying, "Gen'er, go buy some food. I'm going to chase the monkey!"
He wanted to go and see who it was and what they wanted to do.
Ten taels of silver, another ten taels of silver.
They only earn about twenty taels a year, so no matter what the other party's purpose is, it's worth it for him to go and see.
Logan held the silver coins and nodded in agreement as he watched Luo Laowu's retreating figure.
Luo Laowu chased after the monkey and quickly left. He was worried that he wouldn't be able to catch up, but his worries were unnecessary. The little monkey seemed to be deliberately leading him, and it would always reappear to guide him when he lost sight of it.
Finally, they arrived at a small courtyard with earthen walls. Luo Laowu took a few deep breaths and raised his hand to knock on the door.
The little monkey had returned to Zhanqi's side and pointed to the door.
Zhan Yang got up to open the door.
After opening the door, he looked at Luo Laowu and said, "Come in and talk."
Seeing the young, unfamiliar face, Luo Laowu cautiously looked around and found that the boy had already turned back into the house.
Luo Laowu chuckled self-deprecatingly; what was there about him that made people want to take advantage of him?
Even if they want something from you, as long as you're willing to pay more money, you can take my life.
Luo Laowu walked into the courtyard and into the house, where he saw a young man open the lid of the fire grill, and a rich aroma of meat wafted out.
Luo Laowu swallowed hard, never expecting that they were actually preparing to eat.
"Give."
The boy gave him a bowl and chopsticks.
Luo Laowu was confused; he didn't know what they were up to.
I invited him over, but before saying anything else, I invited him to dinner.
"Thank you for saving me, my benefactor. Is there anything you need me to do?"
Luo Laowu asked tentatively.
Zhan Qi looked at Luo Laowu and smiled, saying, "No rush, let's eat first."
Zhan Qi and Zhan Yang waited for a long time and found that Su Changsheng was deliberately keeping them waiting and not going to hand over the work. Luo Laowu would go out every day to meet several equally thin old men and women.
Su Changsheng wasn't in a hurry, but they were.
They were so poor that they could no longer afford to stay in the inn's woodshed, so they had to move to an abandoned, dilapidated house to stay temporarily.
Ten days passed, and Su Changsheng still hadn't appeared, so Zhan Qi decided not to wait any longer.
Let the monkey deliver the silver again and see if it can bring the person over.
Luo Laowu was very savvy. In fact, they had prepared to meet last time, but Luo Laowu didn't follow them that time.
Knowing he was hungry, Zhanqi prepared a pot of meat soup.
Zhan Yang placed the still-warm pancake in Luo Laowu's hand: "Eat it."
After saying that, Zhan Yang poured meat broth and meat into Luo Laowu's bowl.
Then Zhanqi got to play, and finally it was his turn.
Luo Laowu swallowed his saliva frantically, and finally he took a big bite of the flatbread and ate it without any regard for anything else. He thought to himself, "If I can eat meat soup and flatbread, it would be worth dying for."
At least they're not starving anymore.
No one spoke during the meal; everyone focused on eating, drinking soup, and eating meat.
When there wasn't a drop of soup left in the pot, Luo Laowu wiped away a tear with reddened eyes. He had eaten too much and almost vomited from hiccups, but he quickly swallowed it back down, not caring if people laughed at him.
He looked at Zhan Qi and Zhan Yang, and asked with a look of grim determination, "What do you want me to do?"
"Why insist on cooperating with Su Changsheng, who is so unethical? Is there something the Su family has on you that they can't get their hands on?"
"I'm a straightforward person, so I won't beat around the bush. We want to cut off your cooperation with the Su family. The Su family is unethical. If it were us, we could give you a normal price. If the Su family has any leverage over you, you can tell me, and we'll deal with it first before we talk about cooperation!"
“If you cooperate with Su Changsheng, you won’t even be able to afford food. If you cooperate with me, I can guarantee you will have enough to eat. I guarantee you will receive at least one hundred taels of silver every year. If my business is successful, I will also give you ten percent of the profits.”
Zhanqi thought about it for a long time and felt that no amount of probing was as convenient as being honest and reliable.
He also sought profit, but he didn't want to drive people to the brink of despair.
Looking at them, Zhan Qi felt as if he were seeing the Zhan clan.
Luo Laowu was the only one who could understand what he was saying. He spoke to him sincerely, just like a little girl had fallen from the sky and spoken to them sincerely a month ago.
Luo Laowu was completely stunned. His eyes widened and his mind was in complete chaos. His face gradually turned red because he was too excited.
"You, I..."
For a moment, Luo Laowu couldn't even speak properly.
Zhan Qi and Zhan Yang looked at him, wondering what he was going to say!
Zhanqi took out another hundred taels and said, "This is my sincerity."
Having observed for so long, he was quite certain that Su Changsheng had not given that much.
He gave more than Su Changsheng and was more sincere; at least he treated them like human beings.
Luo Laowu's eyes reddened, and he said excitedly, "We're willing! We're willing!"
Luo Laowu agreed without hesitation because what he wanted most was to find someone more reliable than the Su family to cooperate with, but none of them wanted to see him. He was a hunchback and a slave.
Luo Laowu was so excited that tears streamed down his face. He reached for the silver notes with trembling hands, but Zhan Qi let go of his grip. He carefully put the silver notes into his pocket, then calmed himself down and said, "When will you two gentlemen go to inspect the goods? If it's convenient, let's go right now!"
Zhan Qi and Zhan Yang didn't expect things to go so smoothly.
Zhan Yang asked, puzzled, "Didn't the Su family find any evidence against you?"
Luo Laowu shook his head: "No."
They were descendants of sinners, and lived cautiously, so what leverage could the Su family possibly have against them?
The only weaknesses are communication and identity.
They refused to cooperate with local merchants because the locals knew they were descendants of criminals and would only drive the prices down further.
They considered this white flower, which could be woven, to be the only thing that could turn their family's fortunes around, so they naturally wouldn't easily leak it out. Even the Su family, with whom they had been cooperating for three years, only delivered the goods and received payment.
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