Lu Fusheng touched his empty stomach and felt extremely uncomfortable.
Although they have escaped military service, if they can't find food, and if what his mother said is true, their whole family will starve to death.
His stomach is now full of grass roots and tree bark; he hasn't eaten a single grain of rice in who knows how long.
He clutched his stomach and thought for a moment before saying, "Mom, let's go find my third cousin!"
Liao punched him in the back, wailing, "You wicked wretch! You even went after my third cousin! I've already told you he's a high-ranking official, not some poor scoundrel like you. Are you determined to kill our whole family?"
Lu Fusheng jumped aside and said, "Mom, don't hit me. Listen to me, I think that really is my third cousin. Let's go and see. If it really is, we'll never have to worry about food and drink again. If not, there's nothing to lose, right?"
"There haven't been any losses yet, but you've been talking nonsense everywhere, and now you can't even be a soldier anymore. How much more loss do I need?"
Liao cried and wailed, but in the end, Lu Fusheng persuaded her to go into the city to find Lu Shiyan.
However, they had no idea where to look or how to search in the city.
Wang Shuncai secretly followed and observed the group until they were exhausted and could not find a way out, then he went over to them.
He took out a pancake, waved it in front of Lu Fusheng, and said, "Young man, are you really Lord Lu's cousin?"
Upon seeing the pancake in Wang Shuncai's hand, Lu Fusheng's eyes lit up, and he swallowed hard, saying, "Yes, yes, we grew up in the same village. My third cousin was a promising young man; he went into the mountains alone at the age of twelve and killed a wild boar."
In order to convince Wang Shuncai that he was really Lu Shiyan's cousin, Lu Fusheng talked about Lu Shiyan's childhood and deliberately exaggerated the events.
After saying that, he started boasting about how good their relationship was.
His eyes were glued to the flatbread in Wang Shuncai's hand, and he said with a fawning expression, "Big brother, you're looking for my cousin because you need something, right? Don't worry, my cousin is very close to me. He won't refuse me if I ask."
Wang Shuncai smiled and handed over the cake. "I don't have anything to ask Lord Lu for help with. I just admire Lord Lu and heard that you are his cousin. I think you must be just as outstanding as Lord Lu. I just want to be friends with you."
Lu Fusheng took the flatbread and took a big bite, mumbling as he replied, "Brother, you really have good taste."
Seeing her eldest son devour the cakes in just a few bites, Liao felt anxious and cursed him inwardly. He didn't know how to show filial piety to his mother and love his younger brother when he had food; he only cared about his own mouth. What a curse!
After cursing his own stupid son in his heart, he started cursing Wang Shuncai for being stingy. Since they were on good terms with each other, why did he only give them a pancake? Didn't he see there were several other people here?
Liao cursed inwardly, but dared not approach Wang Shuncai to ask for the money, nor did she hide her thoughts.
That harsh face perfectly conveyed the resentment and greed in her heart.
But Wang Shuncai pretended not to see the dissatisfaction in her eyes and only talked to Lu Fusheng.
He certainly had more bread to offer, and didn't care about losing a few more. However, he understood human nature and knew that satisfying their greed at this point wouldn't do him much good in completing his mission.
To deal with this kind of person, you have to treat them like a donkey pulling a millstone, dangling a carrot in front of them and taking it one step at a time.
After finishing the pancake, Lu Fusheng looked at Wang Shuncai as if he were his own father and asked, "Brother, were you also a refugee here?"
Wang Shuncai had planned to disguise himself as a refugee to join the army, but suddenly received orders from his superior to keep an eye on Lu Fusheng's line of work.
He was still wearing the same tattered clothes. After eating the pancake, Lu Fusheng's brain, which was the size of a peanut, started working.
He looked Wang Shuncai up and down, muttering, "Your family seems well-off! Why did you join the army?"
Although Wang Shuncai was dressed in tattered clothes, he had previously worked in a garrison and had never lacked food and drink, so he was physically strong, completely different from the starving refugees.
Before pretending to be a refugee, Wang Shuncai had thought about this issue. His eyes suddenly reddened, and he said angrily, "My surname is Wang. Although my family is not very rich, we live a comfortable and carefree life."
But because those Western Rong bandits invaded, killed my parents, and robbed my family's property, I became a refugee. I joined the army to seek revenge against those Western Rong bandits!
Lu Fusheng immediately looked ashamed and quickly apologized, "It was my fault for bringing up your painful memories, elder brother. That Western Rong traitor deserves to die..."
While he was berating the Western Rong people, Wang Shuncai gradually recovered. He said he didn't mind Lu Fusheng's offense and asked casually, "Aren't you and Lord Lu from the same village? Why didn't you escape here together?"
Lu Fusheng said with a bitter expression, "We originally came out together to escape the famine, but we encountered bandits on the road and got separated from the villagers."
As if he had grasped something, Wang Shuncai asked, "Did your entire village flee together?"
Lu Fusheng didn't mention at all that on the way, they had deliberately avoided the villagers because they thought they were a burden.
He feigned sadness and said, "Yes, our village originally had more than a hundred households. We traveled together, but we got separated halfway through. Now we're the only ones left. I wonder how the other villagers are doing."
“I arrived in Puzhou a few days before you and have heard a lot about Lord Lu’s deeds. But no one has ever seen those villagers.”
Lu Fusheng felt uneasy.
He could tell that although the man in front of him was also dressed in rags, he was obviously richer than them.
He needs to believe that he is truly Lord Lu's cousin, that Lord Lu values him highly, and that Lord Lu will not abandon him, before he can continue to take food from him.
He said, "Maybe they got separated too. My cousin is a very good person. If they hadn't gotten separated, he definitely wouldn't have abandoned them."
He swallowed hard and said, "Maybe my cousin has taken care of them."
Wang Shuncai smiled and said, "Lord Lu is clearly a kind and benevolent official, that must be true. Come, tell me more about your cousin's family."
Seeing that Wang Shuncai had no suspicions, Lu Fusheng secretly wiped away a cold sweat and carefully recounted Lu Shiyan's past in Dawan Village.
After listening to him for a while, Wang Shuncai said regretfully, "You mean your cousin's son is mute? That's a pity!"
Lu Fusheng didn't feel sorry. Back in the village, he used to laugh a lot about Lu Shiyan having a mentally challenged child.
However, seeing Wang Shuncai's regretful expression, she added, "That's right. My mother always said that my third cousin is handsome and his wife is beautiful, so how come their child is stupid?"
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