In years of famine and drought, their village even rejected fatty meat.

To be honest, Wu Han's recent accumulation of wealth has not escaped the notice of those with ulterior motives. In the past, Wu Han might not have been able to keep such wealth.

Fortunately... his business with white-feathered chickens established some connections between him and the Fuhu Boxing Gym. Relying on the Fuhu Boxing Gym's reputation, he was able to barely retain his meager wealth.

"Please sit down first, I'll go make you some tea."

Zhang Ya didn't linger in the living room. She quickly and enthusiastically ran into the kitchen to boil water and make tea.

Soon after, the tea was served. Zhang Ya knew that it was not appropriate for her to stay in the living room with so many men for a while, so she returned to her bedroom.

Chen Dao picked up the tea and took a sip. He felt that it was not much different from plain water. Wu Han's tea was definitely not a famous or high-quality tea. The tea tasted bland and was even a little bitter.

"Is this tea?"

Li Dadan took a sip of tea and glanced at the tea leaves floating in the cup. He was fairly satisfied with the taste of the tea, at least it was better than plain water, although it was a little bitter.

"The tea at home isn't very good, so please make do with it."

Wu Han also took a sip of tea. He knew very well that his family's tea was of the lowest quality, and it was somewhat inappropriate to use this tea to entertain Chen Dao, such a distinguished guest.

But there was nothing he could do, since those expensive, top-quality teas were beyond the reach of someone like Wu Han.

“That’s pretty good!”

Chen Dao didn't say much about the matter, but suddenly asked, "Brother Wu, has something big happened in the city recently?"

"Brother Chen, you don't know?"

Wu Han asked the question instinctively, then realized that Chen Dao was not from the county town.

After thinking for a moment, Wu Han said in a deep voice, "A while ago, refugees rushed into the city!"

"what?"

Chen Dao, including Chen Da and others, were all shocked. Refugees entering the city was no small matter!

Those starving refugees, if they were to rush into the city, would undoubtedly cause a huge disaster.

"It happened the day I visited Brother Chen's house."

Wu Han seemed unsurprised by the crowd's astonishment and slowly said, "That night, a group of thieves stole the city guards' weapons, killed them on the spot, and then rushed into the city. Other refugees followed suit and looted the city extensively."

hiss!

Chen Dao and the others gasped in shock. No wonder they had seen so few refugees outside the city earlier; something so serious had happened.

"Brother Wu, your family shouldn't have suffered any disaster, right?"

Chen Dao couldn't help but ask with concern. Wu Han was his only business partner at the moment, and he was quite concerned about his partner's safety.

"Nothing's wrong at home."

Wu Han shook his head and said, "But those families living near the North Gate suffered terribly! Many families had their stored grain and money looted, the men were swarmed and killed by the refugees, and the women..."

Wu Han sighed softly, "The women didn't fare any better; they were all abused by those refugees!"

"..."

Chen Dao fell silent; he was both surprised and not particularly surprised.

Chen Dao had always believed that the refugees outside the city were a ticking time bomb for Taiping County. Once the bomb exploded, the resulting turmoil would be enormous.

What Wu Han said also confirmed Chen Dao's judgment, that is... when these originally honest and simple refugees rise up, the ones who suffer the most are always the ordinary people at the bottom.

Those wealthy and powerful families had their own guards and servants to protect their safety, while the common people at the bottom of society... could only be preyed upon by the sudden uprising of the refugees.

"Brother Chen, you're a little late."

Wu Han continued, "If you had come here a few days ago, you would have seen that every household near the North Gate was dressed in mourning. I heard from a government official I know that at least several hundred people died when the refugees entered the city that night, and no fewer than a thousand households had their money and grain stolen by the refugees!"

"Such a huge impact?"

Li Dadan's eyes widened in disbelief. Hundreds of people had died at once, which was equivalent to the entire population of Xiahe Village. In other words, the casualties caused by a single influx of migrants into the city were equivalent to the massacre of an entire village!

"you do not say!"

Wu Han then revealed a shocking incident: "Not only the people near the North Gate, but even the Zhu family in the city suffered a disaster. That night, the Zhu family was celebrating the patriarch's 90th birthday, and there were many guests. However... neither the Zhu family members nor the guests who went to the Zhu family for the birthday banquet could escape the slaughter of the refugees. They were all killed."

"what?!"

At this point, Chen Dao could no longer sit still. He knew about the Zhu family; they were one of the three major families in Taiping County, along with the Yuan and Fang families. They had existed in Taiping County for over a century, and not only were they large and powerful, but they also had a large number of martial artists within their clan. Yet, such a family…

But they were all slaughtered by a group of insignificant vagrants?

This was something Chen Dao found hard to believe.

Not only Chen Dao, but also Chen Da and the others were dumbfounded.

The Zhu family was a well-known name in Taiping County. They were one of the most powerful families in Taiping County. How could they have been wiped out by a group of migrants who came to the city?

"Brother Wu, are you joking with me?"

Chen Dao couldn't help but ask, "The Zhu family has many martial artists, how could a group of refugees have broken in and been completely wiped out?"

"To be honest, when I first heard this news, I didn't believe it either, just like you, Brother Chen!"

Wu Han said, "But the news that came later proved that the Zhu family... was indeed wiped out. A couple of days ago, I went to take a look near the Zhu family's house. It was completely empty, like a haunted house!"

"hiss!"

Chen Dao gasped, wondering if he had overestimated the martial artists or underestimated the fighting power of the refugees outside the city. If the Zhu family, which had so many martial artists, could be wiped out, the fighting power of those refugees was probably no less than that of the army!

only……

Chen Dao was still somewhat suspicious. He had seen those refugees outside the city before. They were all emaciated and starving. It was no exaggeration to say that Chen Dao could easily take on 20 of them by himself!

How could these starving and weak refugees possibly have the ability to wipe out the Zhu family?

There must be some reason that I don't understand!

Chen Dao pondered silently, unable to resist considering conspiracy theories. The massacre of the Zhu family must have involved other forces, otherwise…

Chen Dao didn't believe that the refugees outside the city had the power to wipe out the Zhu family.

But this isn’t right either!

In the entire Taiping County, only the Yuan and Fang families, both of the three major clans, had the power to wipe out the Zhu family. Even the county government did not have that capability.

As for the Yuan and Fang families... according to what Chen Dao learned from his conversation with Li Hu, these two families and the Zhu family have always been closely connected, so there is absolutely no reason for them to exterminate the Zhu family!