The old man was stunned, pursed his lips, and looked at Shen Yong with some embarrassment.
"Your Excellency, you may not know that Menglan City... cannot be visited."
"The military pay is so high, it's a scam. If I really go, I'm afraid I won't get a single grain of rice back."
Who doesn’t know the prefect Zhou Baopining and the village near Menglan City?
In the past, many people in the village joined the army, and their annual salary was less than 500 coins.
And the number is getting smaller every year. I have never seen any soldier who is worse off than the people in their village.
I heard that most of the soldiers' salaries were withheld by Governor Ning.
Even if everyone knows, what can we do?
How can a mere commoner fight against the prefect? He won’t even have his head chopped off.
The old man looked at Chen Yong hesitantly, not daring to say it out loud.
It is said that officials protect each other, but who knows what the relationship is between the nobleman in front of him and Prefect Ning.
What if the noble man is a relative of Prefect Ning, and he says something bad about Prefect Ning, wouldn’t it be a big trouble?
It's not possible that just because someone gave him a few buns, he would just blurt out the truth.
Once you say this, you can't take it back.
Chen Yong curled his lips and smiled.
"Master, I heard that the prefect of Menglan City has been stripped of his official hat."
"Menglan City is now heavily guarded, and the city is opening its warehouses to provide disaster relief. You can go and take a look, sir."
"You're all stuck in the village anyway, why not go and see if this is the case?"
"If it's true, then there's something to look forward to in the future."
"...Ah? Is this really true?" The old man looked at Shen Yong in shock.
How is this possible?
That's the prefect. I heard that he has backers in the capital. How could he be stripped of his official hat so easily?
Although he hoped in his heart that this was true, he did not dare to show any joy on his face.
The human heart is unpredictable. If this person was deliberately sent by Governor Ning to test...
The old man frowned, glanced at the impoverished Waibo Village, and gave a wry smile.
What is he thinking about?
What else is there in Waibo Village that is worth Governor Ning's exploration? The only people left are poor people.
They searched the whole village but couldn't find a single bag of food.
In the past month, one or two elderly people died in the village every day.
The old man can't walk, and the young man wants to go to the south, but he can't enter Menglan City, so it's useless if he can't get through.
Many young people also went up the big mountain in the village.
The old man sighed and looked up at the mountain.
The side of Crooked Neck Mountain facing the village has almost been eaten up by the villagers.
Some young people crossed the mountain, but no one knows whether they succeeded or not. It is estimated that they were in great danger.
The old man turned his head tremblingly and looked at Chen Yong.
"Thank you for your advice, I will send my son to Menglan City to try it out."
"As long as there is hope to survive, who wouldn't want to live well..."
The old man sighed deeply and looked at the dry and cracked farmland with cloudy eyes.
“Natural disasters and man-made disasters are unavoidable, unavoidable…”
"The village wells and the water from the mountains are barely enough for people to drink. There is no extra water to irrigate the fields..."
As the old man spoke, his voice choked and a tear fell from his cloudy eyes.
The imperial court's disaster relief grain has been delayed. If it continues, everyone in Waibo Village will die...
Hey~
It would be fine to die all of a sudden, but dying in agony day after day is really too torturous.
"Uncle~" Shen Yong followed the uncle's gaze and looked at the dry and cracked fields.
"The situation will be better soon. You guys go to Menglan City first and try to survive first..."
"These dry days should be over soon."
"I hope so~" There was no hope in the old man's desperate eyes.
The villagers waited day by day, but nothing came of it.
There is no sign of rain today.
There is no point in raining now. It is freezing cold and there is nothing to grow in the fields.
The village is short of food, and the government won't distribute it, so they can only endure it.
However, the situation in their village is considered good.
Perhaps because the village is right next to the Crooked Neck Mountain, the water is still drinkable.
It is said that there was no drinking water in the villages near Danyun City, and many people died of thirst.
Chen Yong smiled faintly, "Let's go and have a look. If we keep waiting in the village, we will definitely get nothing."
After saying that, Shen Yong pinched the horse's belly and said, "Gee!"
The old man looked at the man and horse running away, and a light slowly flashed in his cloudy eyes.
“Let’s go and take a look…”
The old man touched the warm buns in his arms with his hands as dry as tree bark, and a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
He looked around and pinched his collar tightly to prevent the smell from escaping and causing the villagers to scramble for food.
After making sure that there was no smell, the old man hurried home quickly, taking one step at a time.
"My dear, come on, eat quickly..."
The old man closed the door gently, sat down next to the torn quilt that was emitting a foul smell, held up his wife's head, took out the bun from his arms and stuffed it into her mouth.
The starving old lady smelled the delicious smell of buns that made her mouth water without even opening her eyes.
The corners of the old lady's mouth trembled and she raised a bitter smile.
It seems that she is dying and is showing signs of a last-minute recovery.
There was not even enough coarse grains to eat in the village, yet she could smell the scent of white bread.
Although she knew in her heart that it was fake, she still opened her mouth tremblingly and took a bite.
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