Although Leng Pingzhi had been in this valley all along, he had heard about many things happening outside. Upon hearing the surname Chen, he frowned and said, "There don't seem to be any prominent families with the surname Chen in Wuzhou."
Xu Di smiled and said, "I am from the Chen family in the capital. Our Chen family has a relatively large trading company in Wuzhou, which is responsible for various trading companies in the northwest region of Daliang. My family sent me here. I am also very competitive. When I heard that Luzhou was producing bamboo paper, I rushed over to talk to them. That's how I got the opportunity to meet the boss."
Leng Pingzhi asked with great interest, "The Chen family you mentioned, is it the Chen family of the former imperial physicians?"
Xu Di nodded and said, "Naturally, it's the Chen family. I am the second son of the eldest branch of the Chen family, and my name is Chen Yu'an."
Upon hearing this, Leng Pingzhi quickly cupped his hands in greeting and said, "I never expected that you would actually be a descendant of the Chen family. My apologies, my apologies. I see that Brother Chen is not yet thirty years old, while I am already over thirty. I am shamelessly addressing you as Brother Chen."
Xu Di quickly returned the greeting, and the two sat down according to their status as host and guest. Leng Pingzhi sighed and said, "Brother Chen, we are all relatives of the former dynasty. Back then, the Yu family ruined our ancestors' legacy, so our elders sent some of their children here to preserve our bloodline. It's been over a hundred years. Those who came in earlier years have all turned to dust, leaving only us descendants, spending our days in this valley. I don't want to live like this forever. I thought that leaving here would be a way out, so I decided to do business outside. Once I've made some money, I'll bring these people out."
Xu Di shook his head and said, "Boss, the household registration system in this dynasty is very strict. Without a household registration, you can't move an inch."
Leng Pingzhi sighed and said, "I have also considered this issue, but the most urgent problem right now is that the people in the valley do not have enough food and it is not suitable for them to continue to live in this valley."
Xu Di thought for a moment and said, "Our family is related to the Yongning Marquis's family by marriage. Otherwise, I'll ask an elder in my family to put in a good word for us with the head of the household."
Leng Pingzhi waved his hand and said, "Let's not do it yet. We don't know what the current emperor will think. We are all remnants of the previous dynasty. If the emperor does not allow us to continue to live in Daliang, we don't care. But there are still many old and weak people in the valley. We can't let them take this risk with us."
Gong Yong said impatiently, "Brother, you're overthinking it. There's hardly any food left in the village. Staying here means starving to death, and going out might also mean death, but what if we survive? I've had enough of this place. Let's go."
Leng Pingzhi scolded, "How can we just leave like that? Where will we live after we get out? With so many people, it won't be easy to find a suitable place. I think we should find a few people to go out and earn money first, then buy some food and supplies to bring back, and then stay in this valley for a few years. Then, we can gradually move everyone out of the valley."
Gong Yong thought of the nauseating food in the valley, and then of the small packet of meat strips he had just found in Xi Jing'an's revenge. Xi Jing'an had told him that the meat strips were made of pork, and that his great-aunt's cook had made them. The taste was excellent, and the more you ate, the more you loved them. It was just a pity that there were too few of them; they were gone in just a few bites.
Seeing Leng Pingzhi's cold and reprimanding expression, Gong Yong's face darkened, but he didn't say anything more. He simply left the cave with a sullen expression.
Leng Pingzhi looked at Xu Di and said sincerely, "Brother Chen, we really don't have anyone we can trust outside. You're right, we're doomed here, but we might find a way to survive outside. We need your help to find a way to survive."
Xu Di looked at Leng Pingzhi, thought for a moment, and said, "Boss, since you have entrusted me with this matter so solemnly, I will do my best. Our Chen family is related to the Yongning Marquis's Mansion. If I take on this matter, I will have to go through the Yongning Marquis's Mansion. To be honest, I have no ability to handle these matters on my own. However, if the Yongning Marquis's Mansion steps forward and helps to plead with the current emperor, it might really be able to save you a way out."
After pondering for a long time, Leng Pingzhi sighed and said, "In that case, I'll leave it to Brother Chen. We have a third brother who has gone out of the valley to take care of some business. He said he would be back today or tomorrow. Please wait here in the valley for a couple of days, Brother Chen. Once my third brother is back, we can sit down and discuss things properly."
Upon hearing that the third leader of the valley had left the valley on business, Xu Di felt that this person was not so easy to deal with. This third leader must be someone who frequently left the valley and knew more about things outside than the people in the valley. Xu Di was now praying that this third leader had never seen him before.
Seeing that it was getting late, Gong Yong said to Leng Pingzhi, "Brother, the kitchen told me this morning that they caught a pheasant in the back mountain yesterday. How about we stew it today?"
Xu Di quickly waved his hand and said, "No need. We travel all over the country all year round and are not picky about what we eat. If we want to eat something outside, there is something available upstairs. You should save it for the elderly and frail."
Upon hearing this, Gong Yong immediately said, "I can't even make a decision about a pheasant? Please wait a moment, I'll have the kitchen prepare it right away."
Before the pheasant was even cooked, the third leader of Peach Blossom Village returned.
The third leader, Xiang Jianzhou, was in his early twenties and looked quite shrewd. He was quite surprised to see Xu Di and his group. When the eldest leader, Leng Pingzhi, told him that this was the second son of the Chen family's eldest branch in the capital, his face lit up with joy. He said to Xu Di, "When I travel around, I hear the most about your Chen family. Over the years, thanks to your family's ships, we've brought back a lot of seeds from abroad. I even brought some back myself, but they haven't grown very well."
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