Sanhuai Village.

The village is quiet and empty at night.

Occasionally, there is the sound of soft footsteps on the road, mixed with the smell of earth and grass.

Li Ping'an walked to a house at the entrance of the village and knocked on the door, "Can I ask if anyone is home?"

A big yellow dog was lying at the door and barked at Li Ping'an when he saw a stranger.

There are many portraits of myself on the street now, and I will be in trouble whenever I go to a teahouse or restaurant.

I can’t spend any money I have.

A woman came out.

"Excuse me, I want to ask for a drink of water."

"Go! Go somewhere else."

The woman turned around and went back to the house.

As he walked, he muttered.

"Stinky beggar!"

There was no other way, Li Ping'an had no choice but to walk to another house.

Soon, the door opened.

A man in coarse cloth and a pair of hemp shoes came out.

"Is there a problem?"

"I am a traveler on a far journey. I wonder if I can ask for a drink of water."

The man looked at Li Ping'an and said, "Okay, please come in there."

Li Pingan drank three large bowls of cold water.

The man enthusiastically took out some melon seeds and said, "Brother, where are you going?"

"Go north."

"To the north?"

The man's expression changed slightly.

Li Ping'an heard something wrong in his tone, "What's going on in the north?"

The man smiled bitterly, "Brother, I don't know. There are only two roads in Sanhuai Village, the south and the north, but now the north road has long been inaccessible."

"The road was swallowed by a flash flood?"

The man whispered: "It's not a flash flood, but it's more terrifying than a flash flood. It's...a monster!"

Many people in the village have suffered, and now no one dares to go north."

"Does the government not care?" Li Ping'an asked.

"Who cares about these barren mountains, not to mention that this monster is only in the mountains to the north.

It'll be fine if you don't go to the north, since there's more than one way out of the village anyway."

Li Ping'an hesitated for a moment, "Then how much longer will it take to take a detour to the north?"

"At least two months."

Li Ping'an frowned slightly, "You want to go around so far?"

The man said: "There is a gap between two mountains. It takes a lot of effort to go around it. The further back you go, the harder it becomes. Besides, there is nothing to the north."

Li Pingan was in trouble.

"Brother, I advise you not to go, nothing is more important than life.

A few months ago, there was a man named Liu from our village who boldly drank some wine and went up the mountain, but he hasn't come back yet and is probably gone."

The man sighed.

Although Li Ping'an doesn't want to cause trouble, if he takes a detour

"It's too late tonight, why not stay at my house."

"Then it will be hard work."

Dinner is very simple, porridge with pickles and dumplings.

Because of Li Pingan, the man cooked two dishes.

It just doesn’t have much oil and water and tastes astringent.

The man's daughter was wearing a long coarse cloth dress. She was clean, but a little thin.

At first glance, it was caused by long-term malnutrition.

"Come on, these are potatoes grown at home."

The man is very enthusiastic.

After dinner, Li Pingan was enjoying the breeze in the yard.

The little girl came over and winked mischievously.

"Uncle, can you stay at our house for a few more days?"

"Why?"

The little girl came closer, lay in Li Pingan's ear and said, "Because you are here, daddy can make delicious food~"

Li Ping'an couldn't help but smile and touched her head.

"Then what do you usually eat?"

"Porridge and pickles." The little girl pursed her lips.

Li Ping'an couldn't help but ask the man: "Brother, are your taxes very heavy?"

The man smiled bitterly, "After paying the tax, the family could still make do.

The tax is 5 taels of silver a year, and the market price is 500 copper coins, which can be exchanged for 1 tael of silver.

You only need to pay 2,500 copper coins according to the market price to get tax deduction.

But now the court stipulates that delivery must be done in silver, but wherever people have silver, they circulate it in copper coins.

I had no choice but to go to the government office to exchange money.

The price of silver exchanged by the government is 800 copper coins, so the annual tax payment becomes 4,000 copper coins."

Li Ping'an nodded and said nothing more.

This is a common trick used by the government, and he has experienced it too.

How do you say that.

Plant one grain of millet in spring and harvest ten thousand grains in autumn.

There is no idle land all over the world, and farmers are still starving to death.

This is a shitty world.

When going to bed at night, the little girl gave Li Pingan a candy she had hidden during the New Year.

I begged him to stay for two more days so that I could have food tomorrow.

Li Pingan smiled and agreed.

The little girl went to bed happily

But the next day, Li Pingan said goodbye to the Hanzi family.

The little girl looked at Li Ping'an blankly, and then her big tears fell down.

The simple child saw the dangers of the world at this moment.

The mother asked her what was wrong, but the child refused to tell.

Li Ping'an couldn't help but touched her little nose and whispered: "Uncle, put your candy under the pillow."

"Really?" the little girl said vaguely.

"Uncle, I never lie to anyone."

The little girl puffed up her face and said, "You lied to me last night."

Li Pingan smiled and said nothing.

After Li Pingan left, the little girl ran to the bedside and took away the pillow.

Suddenly I was stunned, there were no candy bars.

"My candy~"

The little girl was about to cry when she suddenly found a small silver stone.
To be continued...