No, I was just a concubine, how did I become the queen?

Xiao Dengzi thought of his mother's eyes and felt a little anxious.

She got sick during the confinement period after giving birth to him, but she didn't have the money to see a doctor at that time, so she could only endure it like this.

Later on, I couldn’t even see people clearly, let alone small things.

As soon as he saved the first sum of money in the palace, he hurried to find someone to take it home, also for his mother's eyes.

However, although his fellow villagers helped him send money and told him about important matters at home, they were not very clear about his mother's eyesight and never told him these things.

This time when he comes back, he must take his mother to see a doctor.

After hearing what he said, Du Juan thought of her mother who passed away young. She patted his head and said, "If you really can't get better, I'll pay for you to see a doctor."

"Thank you, sister!" Xiaodengzi's face was smiling like a flower.

Normally in the palace, how can servants have the right to express joy or sorrow?

Dujuan rarely saw him like this, and she felt a little happy.

The old man driving the ox cart listened all the way and asked, "What's your surname in Wushan?"

"My last name is Li," Xiaodengzi said to him again with a smile, "There are quite a lot of people in our clan."

The old man nodded and said, "That's right. Most of the people in Wushan are named Li."

However, he was just doing some passing business at the foot of the mountain. He was not familiar with the people on the mountain and did not know anyone from Xiaodengzi's family.

When I heard him talk about how he made money outside in recent years and often supported his family, I was so envious.

He gave a thumbs-up with envy: "Young people who make money outside are really capable. It's so miserable here~~"

"What's wrong?" Xiaodengzi asked.

The old man said, "Life has been tough these past few years. First there was the flood, and that year the rice didn't even bloom, leaving us with almost no harvest."

The little stool knew that he was sold that winter.

The money from selling him should be enough to keep his parents going until the next autumn harvest.

The old man continued, "The second year was okay, but the riverbank had to be repaired, and after the autumn harvest, more taxes were collected. That winter, many old men and women died."

Du Juan was from Beijing and had no idea about these kinds of lives, so she felt a little distressed when she heard it.

She comforted Xiao Dengzi: "Fortunately, you sent money back that year. Your family will be fine."

Xiao Dengzi also thought to himself that it was a close call. After all, that was his second year in the palace, and he actually couldn't save any money at all.

But that year the Emperor was happy, and many people received extra rewards, and he was lucky enough to get some too.

It must be this bit of luck that helped his family survive.

The old man agreed, "That's right. With a son earning money outside and bringing it back, life must be better now."

"But it's been difficult for others. They've been having a harder time these past two years..."

"Hasn't it been difficult these past two years? Didn't the sweet potatoes come over?" Dujuan was a little confused.

She didn't know about other places because she hadn't been there, but all the families who grew sweet potatoes near the capital city lived a good life.

I heard that in Hebei and Tianjin, the number of children born in the past two years has increased a lot, after all, there is a surplus of food.

Although sweet potatoes were introduced here a little later, they must have been planted last year. Why are they still not doing well?

When the old man heard her mention this, he just shook his head: "Oh, isn't it the sweet potato that caused the trouble?"

"The sweet potato yield is so high, how can it be harmful to people?" Dujuan looked unhappy.

One of her master's greatest achievements is sweet potatoes. This thing has saved so many lives. It can be said that his merits are immeasurable.

In this mountain valley, some people say this is a disaster?

The old man sighed and said, "There are a lot of sweet potatoes, but they can't be sold at a high price."

"Isn't it edible? Just fill your stomach." Dujuan retorted.

Sweet potatoes were originally used to support the poor. They don’t taste very good and cannot be sold at a high price.

But that depends on comparison. If you have to eat coarse food, eating sweet potatoes would be a rare delicacy.

The old man said, "How can we eat it ourselves? The government requires every household to plant sweet potatoes, but when they collect the land tax, they collect rice."

"I worked so hard to grow so many sweet potatoes, and I want to sell them too. But that unscrupulous merchant is pushing the price down so low that we have to sell them all to barely pay the tax."

"We've been working ourselves to death all year, but haven't gotten anything yet. But we have to plant. Isn't that killing us?"

"This year's regulations are even higher than in the previous two years. People may not even be able to pay their taxes..."

He has a lot of tasks at home, otherwise he wouldn't go out to drive the bus so often at his age.

Fortunately, he was lucky today. These people were generous and gave him twenty cents to rent his car.

After this run, he can rest.

Dujuan felt something was wrong because she heard Wei Wu say that no tax was collected in the first three years of growing sweet potatoes.

Not only that, even the seeds are distributed free of charge.

Not to mention that if someone is willing to sell, the master's fan store will buy it at a uniform price.

There will not be a large amount of sweet potatoes sold, which will affect the price of sweet potatoes.

She specifically asked the old man about it, learned about the situation here, and kept it in mind.

The old man told them all this because he was feeling so miserable that he would talk to anyone he met.

After a while, they arrived at the foot of Wushan Mountain. He stopped the ox cart and collected the money, and then there was a bit of life in his eyes.

Although the topic just now was a bit heavy, Xiaodengzi's excitement about returning home has overshadowed this heaviness.

He pointed to the hillside and told Du Juan and the others, "That's Wushan Village. We'll be home soon."

Du Juan saw him picking up his things and about to leave, but she said to the old man, "Uncle, please wait here for us. We will rent your car later."

Xiao Dengzi's three older brothers are all married, so there is definitely no extra room to accommodate them.

So they still have to go back later. Instead of looking for a place to rent a car later, it is better to pay a little more money and let the old man wait.

Moreover, she had already noticed that something was wrong with this place, and it would be best if she could bring this first-hand evidence back to her master for investigation.

The old man was just about to go home and rest after finishing this job, but he didn't expect money to fall from the sky.

Not to mention that Dujuan gave him ten more cents and asked him to wait, even if she didn't give him any, he would be willing to wait just for the twenty cents.

He thanked them profusely and walked them for a while. If he had not been too old to climb the mountain, he might have helped them carry their luggage up the mountain.

But they don't need it. After all, when Xiao Dengzi thinks about going home, he is full of energy and has endless energy.

He walked briskly on the mountain roads that he had been used to walking on since he was a child.

After running for a long distance, he realized that he had forgotten Dujuan and the other one, so he jogged back.

He scratched his cheek and said embarrassedly, "Am I walking too fast?"