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

Taking Qingshui Village as an example, the original Qingshui Village was able to have enough to eat. Even with the impact of the cold disaster, the villagers of Qingshui Village could survive by reducing their daily food rations.

However... this is under the condition that the government does not increase taxes.

With repeated tax increases by the government, the villagers of Qingshui Village gradually ran out of food. Many villagers either chose to leave the village to make a living elsewhere, or they stayed in the village and starved to death...

This is why Chen Dao and his companions felt the village was so desolate when they entered. The villagers had either run away or starved to death, so there was no one left in the village.

According to Lü Xiaoyi, Qingshui Village originally had more than 100 households, but now only 10 households remain, and the entire village's population has decreased by 90%.

If it were just a tax increase, it wouldn't be enough to make Lü Xiaoyi resent the King of Qing so much. The real reason why Lü Xiaoyi resents the King of Qing so much is that the King of Qing not only increased their taxes, but also took away his sister...

Lu Xiaoyi's older sister, Lu Xiaoyu, was very beautiful from a young age and was a well-known beauty in the surrounding area. As she grew older, Lu Xiaoyu became even more beautiful, and matchmakers came to her door every day to propose marriage.

However, because they couldn't bear to part with their daughter, Lü Xiaoyi's parents didn't let Lü Xiaoyu get married too early, but instead raised her until she was 18 years old.

Originally, Lü Xiaoyi's father planned to wait until Lü Xiaoyu turned 18 before marrying her off, but... before they could take any action, people from the Qingwang Mansion came to their door.

That day, a servant from the Prince Qing's mansion came to Qingshui Village, left a bag of grain, and forcibly took Lü Xiaoyu away, saying that she was to be sent to serve the Prince Qing...

Lu Xiaoyu's parents, including Lu Xiaoyi, were naturally unwilling, but the people of the Qingwang Mansion didn't care whether they were willing or not.

After the thugs were brought in and severely beat Lü Xiaoyu's parents, the men from the Qingwang Mansion forcibly took Lü Xiaoyu away. Before leaving, they threatened Lü Xiaoyu's parents: if they continued to be stubborn, they would face imprisonment.

Faced with the colossal Qingwang Mansion, Lü Xiaoyu's parents had no choice but to watch helplessly as their daughter was taken away, forever separated from their loved ones.

Two years have passed since Lü Xiaoyu left. Not long after she was forcibly taken away, her father, who had been severely injured by thugs from the Qingwang Mansion, passed away, leaving only Lü Xiaoyi and her mother to depend on each other.

This is why Lü Xiaoyi harbors such hatred for the King of Qing. The King of Qing not only stole his family's life-saving grain, but also kidnapped his most beloved sister, causing him to have an overwhelming resentment towards the King of Qing at such a young age.

"Sister, Father!"

The faces of her sister and her deceased father flashed through Lü Xiaoyi's mind, and tears welled up in her eyes.

Chen Dao and his companions felt extremely heavy-hearted. This was the tragedy of the common people. Facing a powerful figure like the King of Qing, they had no power to resist and could only let the court, government officials, and powerful people exploit them. They couldn't even protect their own relatives!

"Xiao Yi!"

Just then, a voice came from afar, and a woman hurriedly ran over, hugged Lü Xiaoyi, and looked at Chen Dao and the other three warily: "Who are you people?"

“Mother, they are merchants from Taicang County.”

Lü Xiaoyi offered an explanation on behalf of Chen Dao and the other three.

However, the woman remained vigilant, keeping Lü Xiaoyi firmly behind her, her whole body on guard.

“Auntie, we are merchants from Taicang County. We just wanted to ask Xiao Yi some questions. We mean no harm.”

Zheng Qiuyan spoke up.

Perhaps because Zheng Qiuyan was beautiful, the woman's wariness lessened slightly, and she asked, "Are you really from Taicang County?"

"Of course!"

Zheng Qiuyan smiled and handed her travel permit to the woman. The woman took it and glanced at it. She realized that she might recognize the words on it, but she didn't recognize the words on the permit. However, this somewhat eased the woman's wariness.

"So you're from Taicang County."

The woman who handed the travel permit back to Zheng Qiuyan continued, "What are you doing in our village?"

"We'd like to stay overnight in the village."

Zheng Qiuyan replied.

Chen Dao silently observed the woman's face. Lü Xiaoyi looked to be less than ten years old, and Lü Xiaoyu, who was taken away by the Qingwang Mansion, was only 20 years old. According to the marriage and childbirth age in Xia Kingdom, this woman's age was definitely no more than forty.

however……

The woman's face was deeply lined with wrinkles, like the bark of an old tree. She was also extremely thin, with sunken eye sockets and cheeks, like an old woman in her sixties or seventies.

Clearly, the woman's living conditions were not good; she even had trouble getting enough to eat.

"Oh, so you were just looking for a place to stay!"

The woman, her guard down, smiled and said warmly, "Come with me, I happen to have a spare room at home."

After saying that, the woman turned to look at Lü Xiaoyi behind her and said sternly, "You're not allowed to bring this here to chop up straw figures anymore, understand?"

As Lü Xiaoyi's mother, the woman naturally knew why Lü Xiaoyi was chopping up the straw figure. In fact, she herself harbored a deep resentment towards the King of Qing!

But she knew very well that the powerful Prince Qing was someone a woman like her could not afford to offend. Therefore, she could only bury this hatred in her heart and not let it show in the slightest, otherwise it might bring about her annihilation!

Her husband had died resisting the Qing Prince's Mansion, and her daughter had been forcibly taken away by the Qing Prince's Mansion. She no longer had any intention of resisting the Qing Prince's Mansion and only wanted to raise her son well.

"No!"

Lu Xiaoyi shook his head like a rattle drum: "I want to learn martial arts! I want to storm into the Qing King's mansion and rescue my sister!"

"Xiao Yi, be a good boy."

"I won't listen!"

Are you trying to drive me crazy?

"..."

While talking to Lü Xiaoyi, the woman frequently turned back to look at Chen Dao and the others. Only after seeing that Chen Dao and the others remained unmoved did she breathe a sigh of relief.

What Lü Xiaoyi did was a crime punishable by death; if he were reported, it would likely bring utter destruction upon his family.

"Children say things without thinking, please excuse my rudeness!"

The woman forced a smile and then said, "Come with me, my home isn't far away!"

"Okay, thank you, ma'am!"

Not long after, the woman led Chen Dao and the other three back to their thatched hut.

Looking at the house with its thatched roof and doors and pillars covered with countless wormholes, Chen Dao felt a complex mix of emotions.

He had assumed that Taiqing County, located in the center of Qingzhou, would be relatively wealthy, but the scene before him completely overturned his expectations.

The suffering of the people of Taiqing County far surpasses that of the people of Taicang County.

Even before Chen Dao transmigrated here, his old house was far better than the dilapidated house in front of him, not to mention the new houses built by the villagers after Chenjia Village became wealthy.