Yatou Mountain, Yonghe County, Xizhou, Shanxi.
On the top of the mountain, Liu Chengzong looked westward and saw Wei Qian'er coming from the mountain road riding a mule.
He leaned forward and shouted towards the hillside: "How are you? You didn't sue the official, did you? If you don't sue the official, come up and eat the stuffed skin."
Wei Qian'er responded with a smile at the foot of the mountain, drove his mule twice, and called the people around him to leave quickly.
The mule carried two baskets of pottery bowls, and carrying a man like him couldn't move fast at all. In the end, he got so angry that he got down and dragged the mule up to the mountains along the winding road.
When Cao Yao heard the sound of the mule swaying, he ran out of the dilapidated cave dwelling: "Quick, quick, share the bowls, mother, you can have a bowl."
A group like a bandit's den, no, a group of big and small bandits who emerged from the bandit's den laughed.
It has been four days since they arrived in Shanxi. They ate fried noodles for two days and steamed pancakes for one day. Today they finally had something to eat in a bowl.
The place where they are currently recuperating is a huge mountain with only one family living there. All the villagers fled during the last drought, and they occupied the magpie's nest and turned it into a temporary camp.
To the north of this place is the Inspection Department of Yonghe Pass, and to the south are the two ferries of Xingde Pass and Tieluo Pass, all of which are guarded by imperial officers and soldiers and local people.
There are not many troops, but in the past few days, I have inquired about the situation. Even though there is only a Yellow River across the country, the situation in Shanxi is indeed much better, a little better than Yanchuan.
Last year's drought was slightly milder in Shanxi than in Shaanxi.
It rained in Yanchuan this year. Although it didn't rain in Yonghe County, it also rained in Xizhou.
In northern Shaanxi, where public security is very bad, Liu Chengzong dared to say bluntly that the Lion Battalion was a rebel army based on the military discipline of never disturbing the people and robbing villages.
But here, they are thieves.
Otherwise, why would the last remaining household in the village run away as soon as they saw them coming?
This family of two, brought back by Wei Qian'er, ran away for the second time.
He ran away once the night before yesterday, and Cao Yao went out to hunt for four miles before chasing him back; he ran away again today, and was found again by Wei Qian'er who went to buy a bowl.
"Uncle Qian, why are you running away? Didn't I tell you...here."
Liu Chengzong squatted on the stone grinder in the yard. Wei Qian'er gave him a bowl of stuffed skin. He handed it out and said, "Eat while talking, eat."
The villagers who escaped were a father and son. The father was in his late fifties and the son was in his early thirties.
When the two were brought back, they squatted next to Shi Nianzi's head, like two criminal suspects.
They were squatting because Liu Chengzong was not allowed to kneel.
"Okay, stop pretending. It was like this the last time I was found. Kneeling down in the room seems like you have been wronged a lot."
Liu Chengzong handed the stuffed skin over again. Lao Qian raised his eyes and looked at it carefully before catching it.
"I don't understand. Why are you two running away? I made it clear last time. I will just borrow a place to live for a while without harming anyone. Besides, your house has a total of five walls, and even the tile roofs are sold. Break them open. My neighbor just put together the doors of three houses, what are you worried about me robbing you two of?"
The father and son looked up aggrievedly, then lowered their heads to snort the stuffed skin in the bowl without saying anything.
Liu Chengzong thought that the father and son were really interesting. They couldn't beat them with three sticks, and they didn't know what they were thinking.
If you say you are timid, you are really timid. If you go out alone, you don't need to take out a knife. If you see him, he will stay on the ground obediently and follow him back.
But the tired father and son dared to run twice.
Liu Chengzong became anxious when he saw their wilting appearance, and said: "There is a severe drought, and you two have left even though everyone else has left. I have done nothing wrong with you and still take care of the food, but you two ran away. You must explain to me clearly today what the hell you two are doing." Why are you running away? Do you really want to sue the police?"
The life of the father and son was really not easy. All the villagers ran away. The only way they could survive was by digging ungerminated seeds in other people's fields.
Dig one grain at a time every day, dig it out and eat it, and then dig it out again the next day.
Until Liu Chengzong came over, the father and son lived like this.
He is not afraid of being sued, he just wants to find out where the people's resistance to him comes from.
Old Man Qian never wastes food, eats whatever is given to him, eats quickly, and never talks to anyone while eating.
This habit has also been passed down to his son. Watching the father and son eat, you can definitely feel that food is a gift from God.
After the old man finished eating, he looked at Liu Chengzong cautiously, slowly pushed the pottery bowl out from in front of him, rubbing it with the loess, and then whispered: "Well, you two seem to be scared."
There is no obvious dialect dividing line between northern Shaanxi and Shanxi. They only have different intonations in some words, so communication does not pose a big problem.
Liu Chengzong said helplessly: "What are you afraid of? I've run away twice. If I were a bad coward, I would have buried you two."
Cao Yao clicked his tongue from the side and glared at Liu Chengzong.
He made this suggestion twice.
"The year before last, I just found my baby's aunt. Life was good, but the victims of the disaster in Shaanxi crossed the river. But due to the drought, my baby lost his aunt."
Old Man Qian was not afraid of being buried in the hills. He said: "If you don't come, the drought will not come. The hungry people in Shaanxi are coming, and the drought is not far away. You are not hungry people."
Qian, an old man from Shanxi, has a way of treating disaster victims in Shaanxi as weather forecasters.
The co-author is Liu Chengzong's arrival, which shattered the hopes of the last watchman of Yatou Mountain.
He looked at Liu Chengzong, then at the Lion Battalion soldiers who were sitting or squatting in the yard eating, and in a determined, serious and cautious tone, he whispered: "There is a big trouble in Shaanxi."
Different people have their own philosophy of life in the world.
People benefit from this, but they are also limited by it.
"We are not hungry people, but we are not bad people either. We are still in charge of food. How can there be such a good thing in the world?"
"The big boss is not bad, but if you don't stay long, others will come after you leave. I dare to gamble with God, but I can't afford to offend others. I can't stay in Yatou Mountain any longer."
Liu Chengzong also finished his meal and put the bowl aside: "What if I want you to come with me?"
"We don't want to go to Shaanxi, and we don't want to harm Shanxi."
After saying this, Old Man Qian was a little scared. He lowered his head and buried it in his knees, not daring to raise it up.
"Okay, I understand. If you had just said no, it would have been over."
Liu Chengzong waved his hand and said: "You two go home and stay for a few more days. It's raining in Yanchuan. No thieves will come recently. If you want to leave, wait until I leave and leave some food for you two."
Old man Qian and his son were relieved, and they slowly walked out of the yard and went home.
After they left, Cao Yaocai stepped forward and said, "Hey, lion, what's the matter with you? It's safer to kill these two. If you don't kill them, you'll be fine. But will you leave food for them after we leave?"
Cao Yao looked around, then came closer and said, "The food we brought is only enough for another twenty days."
"It's not enough for those few days of rations. I want them to help us buy medicine. I can't be trusted."
Liu Chengzong shook his head in distress: "Fortunately, it is cold early this year. If the injured brother is not treated, his arms and legs will be disabled. In the past two days, we will have to find a kind person to go to the county with them to buy medicine, and we will also need to find a doctor."
After that, he waved his hand, stood up from the roller, and said to the people around him: "We have finished eating. Let's all go inside. Let's discuss morale, training, and reorganization."
