Don't panic in a famine, I live in the mountains with my golden finger

"Father, mother, please save me. There are bad guys here. I'm scared."

"Woo woo woo..."

In a closed and dark house, besides the crying of children, there was also the incessant hissing sound of sharpening knives.

"Drink it, kid. You'll be able to see your parents soon. Be good..."

"You're lying, you're lying, I don't want to drink." The little figure with his hands and feet tied lying on the table struggled desperately, as if he wanted to break free.

"Oh, you're not listening."

The blade was raised, reflecting a woman in noble and gorgeous clothes with a cold face. Her red lips were curled up, and her eyes were full of cruelty and madness.

A puddle of water slowly flowed down the table to the ground, and the crying sound stopped abruptly.

Turn around...

"Snapped"

There was a sound of something hitting the ground.

"Oh my god, I'm so scared! Gu Qinghan, what are you doing?"

Li Junyong patted his heart and looked at the man who suddenly pushed the door open, saying angrily.

"I didn't do anything, you're not doing anything wrong."

Li Junyong picked up the notebook on the ground and sat back in his chair.

"No way. I'm reading a book. It was just published today. I managed to grab it. The subject matter this time is different from the usual ones. It's a bit scary. The people in it are really bad. It makes me want to bite them."

"Oh, it's late, turn off the lights and go to bed."

"No, let me finish reading. I'll lend the book out tomorrow." Li Junyong stopped her quickly, "Go to sleep first. I won't disturb you."

"Row."

It would be better if I fell asleep first, then I wouldn't hear the disturbing snoring.

Gu Qinghan lay down on the bed and closed his eyes.

"Bang, damn, who is this person? So scary." Gu Qinghan could still hear Li Junyong's angry curse in a daze. He did not wake up. He turned over, covered the quilt to his ears, and fell into a deep sleep again.

······

"Sister, there are so few people in the county town."

"That's very strange. Isn't there a rally today?"

Early in the morning of that day, Xu Yuan brought Xu Zhi to the county town. Unexpectedly, the city gate was not checked very strictly at other times, but today it was checked very carefully. They also had to pay a deposit of two cents, calculated per person, and given a marker. After leaving the city gate, they could collect the deposit with the marker.

If something is weird, there must be something strange.

After entering the city gate, we headed straight to the destination. This time, we were going to buy a few more thick quilts. We didn't have many thick quilts at home, and some of them were worn out, with catkins flying out of them. Poor families couldn't afford cotton quilts, so most of the thick quilts they bought were filled with catkins, reed flowers, and some thatch.

Although it is not as warm as a quilt or animal fur, it is better than nothing.

They drove straight ahead. There were few pedestrians on the road, so the speed of the carriage increased a lot. Finally, they stopped in front of Hu Sanniang's shop.

"Xuyuan, you're here, come in quickly." The shop had just opened and there were no customers yet. Hu Sanniang was sorting the fabrics on the shelves in the shop. When she heard a voice coming from the door, she quickly turned around and saw a familiar figure.

"Hello, Sanniang. How is business lately?"

"That's all. Do you need anything? I'll get it for you."

"I want some thicker quilts, cheaper ones."

"By the way, isn't there a rally today? Why are the streets so deserted?"

"Alas, it's all because of those scholars. I heard that the bookstore has been selling very hot books recently. My son also likes to read them. If it doesn't affect his studies, I won't let him read these idle books."

"What kind of storybook is this? What's written in it that has such a big impact?" It's just a storybook, but why is there such a fuss? It seems like he has nothing better to do.

"My son told me that there are some child trafficking operations there. Didn't they just destroy a gangster's den last time? Only some of the lost children have returned. Are there some parents who haven't found their children yet?"

"After that, there was no further news. The content in this storybook is similar to what happened back then, so some families whose children were missing were very angry and have become more cautious."

"I heard that a child's body was found near the bandit's lair. It was so tragic. I heard that the heart was gone. Sigh."

Xu Zhi's face turned pale as he listened.

"Then, now there are rumors that it is related to the young lady who was recuperating from an illness in the county town of the former prefect. I don't know how it is related to that young lady."

"I don't know what's in the minds of these well-read people. Although no one dares to cause trouble at their house, after all, they usually look down on people like us, but they don't dare to come to the county town. It has been a lot quieter here recently."

After hearing what Hu Sanniang said, he became curious about what was written in the storybook. Unfortunately, when he went to the bookstore, he couldn't buy it and went back empty-handed.

I do have a backup plan, but unfortunately those people seem to have not made any moves recently, and the woman's voice has not been heard for a long time. Could it be that she is dead?

That's why there has been no news for so long.

After Xuyuan bought the quilt, he placed it in the shop and parked the ox cart outside the shop. He walked to the pork stall not far away and bought a few pounds of fatty pork and weighed half a pound of fat and lean pork.

"Girl, I have some tofu here, do you want to take a look?"

Just as I was about to turn around and leave, an old man in the corner called me.

"Tofu?"

The tofu that the old man took out looked a little old and not very tender. The old man saw that Xu Yuan didn't really want to buy tofu, so he quickly recommended another one, "Girl, here are some ready-made tofu pudding, smooth and tender, would you like a bowl?"

Xu Zhi looked at the white and tender tofu pudding and wanted to eat it.

"Give me three bamboo tubes and two pieces of tofu." Xu Yuan glanced at the tofu pudding, turned his eyes away instantly, took out some silver from his pocket and handed it to the old man.

Tofu pudding costs two cents for a bamboo tube, and tofu costs one cent for a piece, which is square and not very big.

This "tofu brain" was made a little too much in the previous life, and it felt a little uncomfortable. But Xu Zhi and the others seemed to have never eaten tofu, so they bought some back.

"Sister, don't you want to eat it?" Sister Xu Zhi took the tofu brain that the old man had packed in a bamboo tube, poured a layer of maltose on it, and then tied the old tofu blocks with a large leaf, tied a knot, and hung it with a rope.

"I don't want to eat it, you guys eat it."

Seeing the old man soliciting customers like this, the ladies nearby also called out to Xu Yuan.

Make a wish: Do I have the words “I’m rich” on my head?

Xu Yuan took a look and saw that they were just some random vegetables, not very fresh. He shook his head and pulled Xu Zhi away.

Carrying the things he bought, he returned to the clothing shop, put the things in his hands on the cart, then went into the shop, took out the bundled quilt, said goodbye to Hu Sanniang, and drove the ox cart away.