Before the house is confiscated, the enemy's warehouse is emptied and exiled

Cangyu nodded and asked doubtfully, "Yes, is there any problem?"

The old people did not answer him, but just kept sighing and shaking their heads.

Among them was an old man with a striking mole on his face. He slowly shifted his gaze away from Cangyu and turned to Xiao Heng and Shen Qingge behind him.

He was stunned for a moment, then took two big steps forward, his face full of regret. After a heavy sigh, he said helplessly:

"I guess these two are the Young Master and his wife!

If you are here to buy pearls, I'm afraid you will return disappointed, alas..."

It seemed that mentioning pearl collecting had touched upon the painful memories deep in the hearts of these old men that they did not want to recall, and everyone's face was instantly filled with sorrow.

Shen Qingge walked over after hearing this. She handed the copper coins in her hand to each old man in turn and asked softly:

"Dear elders, could you please tell us what is going on here?

We have come a long way to get here, and we are unwilling to leave empty-handed!"

These old people were simple and kind-hearted by nature. At first, they wanted to politely refuse Shen Qingge's kindness and not take ill-gotten gains.

But the lady was determined and insisted on giving it to them, so they finally stretched out their trembling hands and took the strings of copper coins.

In fact, how could they not want it? Nowadays, one or two copper coins are life-saving money for them, let alone a string.

They hadn't seen such a large string of copper coins for some time. They held them in their hands and rubbed them constantly, almost shedding tears.

After receiving the copper coins, the old people's previous wariness towards strangers gradually disappeared, and they became noticeably more enthusiastic towards Shen Qingge and others.

It was still the old man with the mole who broke the silence first. He slowly raised his head, his eyes deep and distant, as if he was lost in endless memories.

After a while, the old man slowly began to tell the whole story.

"No one dares to pick these pearls nowadays. If you think about it, it's been almost ten years."

The old man's voice was filled with emotion and helplessness.

Shen Qingge's heart trembled when she heard this. She subconsciously turned her head and looked at Xiao Heng beside her. Xiao Heng also frowned slightly, and his face also showed a look of confusion.

The old man did not notice their reactions, but continued to preach:

"These luxurious and beautiful pearls are also called tribute pearls. They are so precious because they are obtained by pearl divers at the risk of their lives.

Back then, there was a group of wealthy businessmen like you who happened to pass by here.

When they saw the plump pearls, they were immediately attracted by them and said that the pearls here were better than those elsewhere. So they bought all the pearls.

"It is said that these pearls were eventually sold to the capital, where they became treasures in the hands of the rich and powerful. Especially the pampered ladies, who could not let go of these pearls.

Gradually, the fame of these pearls grew and even reached the imperial palace.

I heard that even the ladies in the palace love them so much that the Emperor, seeing this, simply listed them as tribute and required us to offer them annually!"

"What happened next?" Cangyu asked, obviously listening intently and completely immersed in it.

“Later… this should have been a happy occasion for everyone.

When the county magistrate learned about this, he was very excited and immediately organized the people to go pick pearls.

Even the neighboring counties could not hold back and started collecting pearls after hearing the news.

At that time, the pearls collected were extremely plentiful. Besides presenting some as tribute to the imperial court, there were still many left.”

"The county magistrate then had evil intentions and secretly pocketed the money to sell for profit. With this ill-gotten gains, he made a fortune.

Seeing this, some brave people began to secretly go into the sea to pick pearls on their own, and then take them to the market to sell, earning some money.

Although most ordinary people still live ordinary lives, they have more or less benefited from the reform and have gained some benefits, and their living conditions have improved to a certain extent compared to the past."

When the old man recalled this, the smile on his face suddenly seemed to be frozen and stopped abruptly.

"Alas, the good times didn't last long! As time went on, everyone gradually discovered that this seemingly calm sea was actually very dangerous. The undercurrents and whirlpools in the water often swept the pearl divers underwater.

Not only that, the water in the deep sea can easily crush the lungs of pearl divers.

Furthermore, pearls grow very slowly, far outpacing the frantic pace of harvesting. The pearls in the coastal areas were quickly depleted, forcing people to venture deeper into the ocean to continue harvesting.

As a result, the number of pearl divers who died increased, and almost every household had someone who lost their life in the pearl divers business!

Another old man, whose skin was tanned by the sun, took over the conversation and added.

At this moment, the old man with the mole had recovered and said angrily:

“But even though so many people died, the greedy county magistrate still refused to stop, and the beads he asked for became bigger and bigger.

The common people had no choice but to risk their lives by diving into the sea. Poor son and daughter-in-law, they were swept away by the sea!"

"Who says it isn't true? In the end, too many people died, and the common people were filled with hatred. Finally, someone couldn't stand it anymore, sneaked into the county magistrate's mansion in the dead of night, and cut off the head of the evil county magistrate!

The incident was so serious that it was reported to the higher authorities and even reached the capital, alarming the emperor. Upon hearing about it, the emperor was furious and immediately issued an imperial decree, ordering the emperor to stop offering pearls to the higher authorities.

The Nanhai County Magistrate at that time did not dare to be negligent and immediately issued a ban, strictly prohibiting anyone from going to the sea to collect pearls.

Since then, the ban has continued to this day, and no one dares to venture into this dangerous waters."

The story ends here, and everyone patrolling the border is sighing.

Although they are not the protagonists described in the incident, they clearly remember that when they were young, pearl jewelry was indeed popular in the capital.

Little did they know that behind every gorgeous pearl there was such a bloody story.

Cangyu was also kind-hearted, so after a moment of silence he asked:

"Well...old folks, if you don't pick pearls, you can do something else. Why is the county town so dilapidated?

Don’t you farm?”