When Fang Sanduo and Er Niu arrived, Xiaolinzi was almost overcrowded.

It was originally a deserted forest, but after merchants started selling goods here and attracted people in need, the place immediately turned into a small market.

Fang Sanduo and the others waited for a long time to get a rough idea of ​​the buying and selling prices at this temporary market.

Most of these merchants sell daily necessities such as firewood, rice, oil, and salt.

Several merchants combined and turned this into a seller's market.

All supplies have nearly tripled in price based on previous prices at stores in the county!

I heard it only doubled in the beginning.

By the time Fang Sanduo arrived, the amount had tripled.

"What should I do if there are more than three dozen? It's so expensive, how can we afford it..."

After Erniu saw the price of food here, his expression was extremely ugly. Several villagers who came out together gathered together and discussed what to do.

"How about... let's go to the county town and buy it?"

Fang Erbao said hesitantly next to Er Niu.

The prices here scared him.

Originally, everyone was miserable, and the Erbao family was even more embarrassed.

The prices in the county town are something he can grit his teeth at, but the prices here are unaffordable even if he grits his teeth.

"What are you thinking? After you go in, you only have so little money, and you can still come out? Now that the county magistrate has made it clear that he wants to scratch our skin, if you go now, wouldn't that mean you are going to die?"

Er Niu's words directly shattered Er Bao's luck.

Erbao's face became extremely ugly.

There are still good officials, but there are none in Jiaoling.

"But...but the price here, with our little money, we really can't afford it..."

Another person from the same village also said with a bitter tone.

His family situation is similar to that of Erbao, both of whom cannot afford it.

Don't talk about a bucket of rice.

At this price, it would be good if you could buy two taels.

But how many days will two taels be enough for food? Once the money is spent, it will be gone, but then the family of five will have to eat dirt!

Among those present, the one with the least pressure was Fang Sanduo.

He is a rare family of three in the village, with no elders and only a child.

The others are all seniors and juniors, there are usually seven or eight people in the family, and the money is not much more than Fang San's. On weekdays, everyone helps each other to get through it.

"How about... we just..."

Erniu was also anxious. He lowered his head and said something in a low voice, and then made a grabbing motion with his left hand.

"You don't want your life?!"

Erbao next to him quickly held his hand and said eagerly.

"Don't even look at the guards of these merchants. They all have knives and sticks, and their necks are as thick as your thighs! It's just a few of us. If we go up to rob them, we're afraid our lives will be spared!

"

As soon as Erbao finished speaking, something unexpected happened next to them.

"Stop him!"

I saw a thin, dark man running wildly out from the crowd, holding a grain bag in his hand.

Behind him, the merchant in silk clothes was shouting angrily at his guard.

"And...you really don't want to die..."

Erbao looked at the dark and thin villager, and was quickly caught up by Kong Wu's powerful guard. Then he was pushed to the ground, and after snatching back the grain bag, the guard kicked the villager on the ground hard.

Kicked over!

The guard was wearing hard leather boots!

The dark and skinny villager obviously lived in extreme poverty. He only wore trousers, and the trousers were wrapped with a torn cloth strip, and his head was tied with a cloth strip.

The skin that has been exposed to the sun all year round is as black as wild boar skin. Without adequate nutritional intake, the whole person is as thin as a human skeleton model.

Erniu watched with his own eyes as the guard kicked this miserable man in the chest. With that kick, he could clearly see that his chest and ribs were directly sunk into a palm-sized hole, and then he saw the thin black man screaming repeatedly.

Without even shouting, he opened his mouth and spat out a mouthful of black, red, slightly viscous blood with bubbles.

He coughed up two more mouthfuls of blood and then fell to the ground on his side. His chest was rising and falling like a bellows, and he was out of breath, like a fish that had landed on the beach.

It went up and down like this for about ten times, and the amplitude of the ups and downs became smaller as it went to the back. Until it stopped completely, a trace of blood slowly flowed out from the corner of his mouth, and his eyes were dull...

He is dead...

The guard kicked the poor man to death completely, but he didn't feel any emotion about kicking the man to death. He rubbed the toe of his shoe on the ground, grabbed the grain bag and returned to Jia Shang's side.

This scene completely extinguished Erniu's little thoughts.

But just when Erniu and the others thought this was the end of the matter.

Little did I know that this was just the beginning.

These merchants overestimated the intimidating power of their own guards.

In other words, they underestimated how helpless the lives of these villagers affected by drought and famine were at this time.

Er Niu and the others had only been affected by the disaster for a month, and the famine here had just begun.

However, most of the people gathered in this grove were victims from other counties who had come to escape the famine.

These people, just like the thin black man in front of them, have already reached the point of desperation.

fear death?

It’s because I’m afraid of death that I have to give it a try!

They knew that if they did not get some food and were not beaten to death by these guards, they would slowly starve to death.

In this case, it’s better to go crazy while you still have some strength!

Some of the people present came here with the thin black man.

They all know the basics.

When the thin black man took action, they were full of hope.

If he can escape, that means they also have a chance!

But the result was not what they expected.

This miserable man failed, and just as they imagined, he died...

However, he died a little early and was kicked to death.

But people who are familiar with him can see more information that others cannot notice.

When they saw the thin black man die, the corners of his mouth were slightly raised, and the eyes before his death were said to be dull, but in fact, there was an emotion that only they could understand.

Relief...and relief...

They don't want to starve to death, because if they starve to death, they will become starving ghosts and go to hell. They don't want to commit suicide, because if they commit suicide, the hell will not accept them, and they will become lonely ghosts.

In this era of lack of entertainment, modern people cannot imagine their thirst and loyalty for faith.

What is a custom that everyone looks down upon in modern times is a truth that everyone firmly believes in here.

Because they lack knowledge and live in poverty.

When life is difficult, they want to change, but their lack of knowledge prevents them from doing so.

This cycle makes them extremely miserable.

Not only physical, but also spiritual.

Don’t think that only modern society has so-called spiritual internal friction.

And it is precisely because of this that certain beliefs and theories about ghosts and gods make them believe deeply.

Therefore, these people realize that they cannot starve to death or commit suicide, so being killed by others is a kind of relief.

It was within this logic that ordinary people could not understand that these people... broke out.

These people, who were almost the same as the thin black man, just made simple eye contact, and then they all ran towards the merchant's grain truck in unison.

The guards who were guarding were caught off guard and were knocked away by these desperate people. Then they dug their grain bags into the rice pile, filled their bags, and pulled the hemp rope around the mouth of the bag.

The mouth of the grain bag immediately tightened, and finally he turned around and ran away as soon as he raised his hands.

The whole set of movements seemed to have been rehearsed, and it was extremely fast.

But in fact, they are just relying on their own instinctive actions.
To be continued...