I came to the world of the heavens

Chapter 380 Prosperity
The Yellow River is very long. It is said that the source is only a few small streams, but because it is too far away, no one can accurately find it.

Where Hetou Village is located, the Yellow River is still rushing. The terrain here is good, suitable for growing crops, and there is no need to be so afraid of disasters such as floods.

Looking at the Yellow River, Chen Chuchu thought of the round monster that slipped away during the sacrifice in Hejia Village. Now that he thought of it, it was probably a bastard. That thing was very vigilant. When he left, he searched again, but found nothing.

The carriage entered Hetou Village. Although almost all the villagers here were working in the fields, they were all sallow and emaciated, and it seemed that they couldn't fill their stomachs.

Horse-drawn carriages are only available in county towns, and they are high-end luxury goods in villages, and it would be nice to have a small cart in a farmer's home.If there is an ox cart, it must be the top existence in the village. The ox can farm and pull carts, it is a treasure!
An old man led a few men to stop Chen Shishi's way, and asked loudly, "Where did you come from, and why did you come to our poor village?"

They talk so directly, eat twice a day, and have to eat sparingly, their brains are buzzing, and they don't have time to talk so much nonsense...

Chen Shishi clasped his fists together: "Poverty Daoist is a wandering Taoist priest. Chen Chu, travel is also experience. Many years ago when I was a child, I followed my master and passed by Guicun. Recently, I went north alone. I happened to pass by again. I hope the old man will forgive me for disturbing me."

Du Shiniang in the carriage was a little nervous. The ashes of an old man who was called an old man in Chen Chu's previous life did not know where to fly.

Chen Shishi stretched out his hand to flick his bangs, his pupils flickered in an instant, and his smile was much gentler: "Old man, Pindao remembers that everyone in your village is farming, and even if there is a flood in this terrain, there is no place to be submerged. Why did Pindao see the villagers With a sallow complexion, could it be that there is something hidden in it?"

The old village head hesitated to speak.

The man next to him looked Chen Shishi up and down, and couldn't help saying: "The Taoist priest is a monk who doesn't care about firewood, rice, oil and salt. I don't know that it's normal! In the prosperous age of Kangxi, eating bran and drinking water, the officials in the county posted notices every day saying that it was a prosperous age. Anyway, our village I didn't feel it."

The old village head was taken aback: "Don't talk nonsense!"

The man seemed to have had a grudge for a long time. He pointed to Chen Shishi and said, "The village chief is just a Taoist priest. Is it worth sending someone to visit our poor village? Although we all make a living by farming, the harvest is not bad, but this is not enough. Don't let the government raise taxes every year, and pay food if you can't pay the money!
After working hard for a year, the food I handed over was not enough to cover the tax. I already owe the government tens of taels of silver. "

Another man next to the village head also said: "Yes, no matter how much you pay, it's not enough! The bucket used by the official to measure rice, in fact, can hold a lot, even two buckets, two and a half buckets! Who will accept it? Come on, plus the people who measure the bucket kept shaking back and forth, and the rice was scattered on the ground, and it doesn’t count if the rice is dropped on the ground...

This day is simply unbearable, his mother's official errand!
The annual payment of grain has become semi-annual, and we have never heard that the emperor said to pay half-yearly tax!There are two buckets of rice for one bucket, and even then they will be exploited layer by layer, and in the end it will not be enough, so everyone in our village owes tax money..."

The old village chief couldn't take it anymore, and he slapped the man with the crutch in his hand, "I tell you nonsense, nonsense, nonsense every day, we all live a good life, so there is nothing wrong with it!" Turning his head to look at Chen Chushi: "These young people are ignorant, and what they say is based on stories."

The two men were beaten by the village chief, and they dared not dodge, so they could only raise their hands to hug their vitals.

How could Chen Chuchu not know the truth of the matter? The old village head's reaction was nothing more than fearing that he was a member of the government, secretly reporting to them to wear small shoes.

Chen Shishi didn't go out of his way to explain, he was just a stranger, and sometimes the more he explained, the darker he became.

He laughed and said: "When I came with Master, I sat on a stone at the door of a family in Guicun and got two bowls of clear water. Time has passed, and Pindao still remembers the name of that family, but he forgot where it is."

The old village head froze for a moment, and the panic in his heart subsided a little. Is it really just an ordinary wandering Taoist priest?But there are no Taoist priests who drive a carriage to travel, and none of them ride horses. Anyway, the Taoist priests he saw were all on foot.

"I don't know who the long talker is?"

"It's Zhang Dahe and Aunt Li."

"Ah, they..."

"what happened?"

The two names mentioned by Chen Shichu are exactly the parents of Zhang Ergou recorded in He Ahshui's diary.

The old village chief's face was ugly, he held back for a long time, and finally spit out a sentence: "They are still there, but they are getting old... Their physical condition and their brains are not working well... Forget it, I will show the Taoist chief to see."

Chen Shishi used the prop "body shell" to change Zhang Ergou's appearance, and restored him to normal skin color and appearance. He looked like a good-looking middle-aged man. Unfortunately, the composition of the wine tank on Zhang Ergou's body was complex and mysterious. Affected by the technique, the body props cannot change the shape of the wine tank...

The wine tank must be there.

There is really no way.

Chen Shishi moved the wine vat to Zhang Ergou's back, making it look like he was carrying a big vat.He thought about cutting it off with a sword, but Zhang Ergou's viscera were all connected to the wine tank. If he cut it off, he would be gone...

He invited the old village chief to get in the car and introduced Du Shiniang and Zhang Ergou. Du Shiniang confessed honestly that they were the little girl rescued from Hebo's sacrifice in Hejia Village.But Zhang Ergou lied that he was a wine merchant, walking around with good wine on his back, selling word of mouth.The old village head would never think that someone has a wine jar growing on his body, so he would believe it.

On the way to Zhang Dahe's house, the old village chief sat upright in the middle of the car, and he didn't dare to touch it, because the car was very delicate, and he couldn't afford to pay for anything broken...

Chen Shishi didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but also understood him.

Not long after, Zhang Dahe’s house arrived, and the old village head jumped off the carriage with a relieved expression on his face. At the same time, he was slightly nostalgic for the short carriage ride just now, and he quickly calmed down. He was old and dying, and he could have a novel experience enough is enough...

Beside the carriage parked was a house made of chaotic stones, the roof was covered with homemade mud tiles, which were rough and cracked everywhere.

The old village head asked Chen Shishi to wait a while.

He knocked on the door vigorously and shouted, "Old Zhang, Old Zhang, someone is coming to see you!"

There was no answer for a long time knocking on the door.

He said with some embarrassment: "There was an accident in Dahe's family 30 years ago. Dahe's mother-in-law can no longer work normally. He can only rely on Dahe to support three people's taxes. He already owes a lot of money and is working hard every day. Work, I think he should be in the field with his wife at this time..."

Du Shiniang asked suspiciously: "But, you just said that Dahe's wife can't work."

The village chief said with a sad expression: "Yes, but this woman must be with me, otherwise Da He will spend all his time looking for where the woman is..."

Zhang Ergou suddenly asked: "There are only two people in this couple, how can there be taxes for the three of them?"

The old village head said: "The officials said that their missing son is also counted. Who knows if they are secretly hiding to avoid taxation?"

(End of this chapter)