An eight-year-old kid emptied his scumbag father's warehouse and followed his grandparents into

"The government collects tea instead of land tax?"

Jing Chunxi frowned and asked again, still a little confused, her eyes full of confusion. She always felt that the government's use of tea instead of land tax might be a benefit for the tea farmers. After all, tea is a local specialty, and it might alleviate some of the burden.

But when I think about what Tao Jin said about the miserable situation of the people in Jian'an County, I feel that it is not right.

"Little girl, you think too simply! If only it were this way!" The male shopkeeper sighed, his tone filled with helplessness and bitterness. He raised his head, a hint of sadness flashing in his eyes, as if he was recalling the past that was too painful to look back on.

"The rice that should be paid has to be paid, and the tea is calculated separately. The government forces tea farmers to hand over tea, and the amount is twice as much as before; those who are not tea farmers have to pay tea per person after paying rice, forcing so many people to sell their children, and the parents of newborn babies have to drown themselves in urine buckets!" He said with a sad face, as if those tragic scenes were right in front of him.

"It's so tragic! Have we even been paying rice in the last two years? Weren't there tax reductions after the disaster? With drought and floods, how could we possibly harvest rice?" Jing Chunxi felt heavy-hearted. Isn't this driving people crazy? They can't even afford to eat, so what's the point of paying with old grain?

She simply couldn't believe how anyone could afford such heavy taxes. She had heard of the suffering of the people in some places before, but she had never imagined that Jian'an County would be so severe.

"Only you outsiders would say we are suffering from drought. In our Jian'an County, there have always been floods, not droughts." The proprietress took over the conversation, her tone carrying a hint of sarcasm and helplessness.

"A lot of people died in last year's flood, but this year the rice harvest is good. What can we do? With those corrupt officials around and the Japanese pressuring us, the better the harvest, the less food we can eat." Anger flashed in her eyes as she accused the unreasonable taxes and greedy officials.

The proprietress spoke with righteous indignation, and even picked up the kitchen knife and chopped it on the chopping board. The knife and the chopping board made a "dong dong" sound, which shook the whole shop slightly.

She completely treated the chopping board as a dog official and wanted to vent all her anger on it. Her face flushed red, and the veins on her forehead bulged slightly. It was obvious that she had been suppressing her anger for a long time.

Seeing his wife start talking, the male shopkeeper also started talking and said to them: "After harvesting rice, we harvest tea. It's all forced out. Anyway, tea is harvested every ten days now, and each household has a fixed amount. If a household can't harvest enough, the Japanese will break into the house and rob people. In many families, children and young men have been abducted." He paused, sighed, his eyes full of helplessness and sadness.

"Hey! It's better not to give birth to a child than to have it abused by others." As soon as she said this, the boss lady wiped away tears, which swirled in her eyes and eventually fell onto the chopping board. Judging from her expression, her family must have suffered a lot.

Jing Chunxi watched this scene with a wave of pity. She had only wanted to get some information, but she hadn't expected to hear something so heartbreaking. She felt her heart being yanked, a mixture of powerlessness and anger swirling within her.

The others wanted to say something, but didn't know how to start. In the end, they could only bow their heads and pray silently in their hearts, hoping that these people's lives would be better.

After finishing the Dingbianhu and paying the bill, the proprietress looked at Jing Chunxi with certainty and asked, "You came here by boat, right? Are you a daughter of an official?"

Thinking that the proprietress was probably judging people by appearance, Jing Chunxi shook his head and explained softly, "I just came to visit relatives."

After hearing this, the proprietress's expression instantly turned to disappointment, even a little angry. "I thought you were daughters of an official family, with your family protecting you. Now ordinary people don't even have time to hide, but you came here instead. Go back quickly before anything happens, so your parents don't have to worry about you."

There was a hint of blame in her words, but more of a concern for these outsiders. Jian'an County was not a peaceful place, and without the support of officials, the longer they stayed, the more dangerous it would be.

When they walked out of the narrow and deep alley and turned back to the main street, the originally bustling teahouses, restaurants and several large shops had all closed and turned off the lights, leaving only a dark silence.

The night was like a huge black curtain, covering the entire street tightly. There was no pedestrian on the street. Only the occasional sound of the night wind rustled the leaves on the street, adding a bit of desolation.

Everyone was in a very heavy mood. They had thought that in Jian'an County, they could still find a way to save the people from the disaster, just like in Xunyang City, by finding an honest, trustworthy, and kind merchant like Mr. Liu, who could sell the grain at a fair price.

Jing Chunxi had originally planned to buy some local tea at a fair price, and then easily collect the fine tea and treasures hidden in the warehouses of the corrupt officials, and then return home with a full load. However, the reality was far worse than they had imagined.

It seems that doing good things in this place is not an easy task. Comparing the information originally provided by Tao Jin with the current situation, the situation in Jian'an County seems to have changed a lot.

Could this be the reason why Tao Jin asked her to come quickly? Jing Chunxi had a headache.

Chengrui and Chengzhi didn't come back until they fell asleep.

When the two brothers went out, they both changed into a half-worn fine cotton robe and wore a square scarf on their heads. At first glance, they looked like scholars from ordinary families and did not attract any attention at all.

At first, they were a bit lost, unsure where to begin. Trying to find a few beggars through their usual channels proved difficult. They could only wander the nearby alleys, casually observing their surroundings like ordinary passersby.

In a remote little shop, they each ate two flatbreads and drank a bowl of hot fish ball soup. While enjoying their simple fare, they overheard some gossip from the shopkeeper and the complaints of several locals. They heard almost the same information as Jing Chunxi and the others.

Knowing Jian'anqing's current situation, they felt heavy in their hearts, as if a huge stone had been placed on them. So, they made a plan.

The two walked towards the edge of the town. As the night deepened and the surroundings became quieter, they finally found a small village not far from the city, almost connected to it.

Most of the houses in the village were low, adobe-built structures that looked rather dilapidated. At this time, the villagers had already begun to turn off the lights and go to sleep early. Only the occasional barking of dogs broke the silence of the night.

The two walked towards a house they had long admired. This house was located in a remote location near the entrance of the village. It was a small house. In addition to the two main rooms, there were only two low houses on the side, which were probably used as a kitchen and firewood storage.

A small courtyard surrounded by a bamboo fence, so simple that it didn't even have a door. There was only a small vegetable patch in the yard, with a few vegetables growing sparsely, looking a little pitiful.

Judging from the simple courtyard and house, we can tell that there are probably not many people living in this house and they live a very poor life.

There are not many houses around, and the nearest neighbor is about 20 to 30 feet away, making it seem particularly lonely.