Zhang Zhiwei quickly took the soup from the old man with both hands, handed one bowl to Zhang Jingqing, and said with a smile:
"Thank you, old man!"
Seeing that Zhang Zhiwei was polite, Zhang Jingqing nodded, which seemed reasonable.
He immediately raised the soup bowl and put it to his mouth. The so-called soup bowl was actually just a bamboo tube.
It should be a tool used by woodcutters to collect water, with some leaves floating in it.
It didn't feel too dirty, so I took a sip.
When the hot water enters the mouth, a faint astringency bursts in the mouth.
After swallowing it, a wave of heat rose up in his belly, and his whole body immediately felt a little warmer.
After drinking, Zhang Zhiwei took the bamboo tube from Zhang Jingqing, handed it to the old man together, and said, "Thank you for your hospitality, old man!"
The old man waved his hands quickly and said with a smile: "You two Taoist priests are very polite. You are used to drinking. I wonder if you would like another drink?"
Zhang Zhiwei looked at Zhang Jingqing.
Zhang Jingqing shook her head.
"No need!" Zhang Zhiwei smiled and handed the cup to the old man.
The old man held the bamboo tube and was about to return to the fire to warm himself up.
Zhang Zhiwei stopped him, took out a few pieces of dried wild boar meat from his bag and handed them to the old man.
"Eat some to fill your stomach!"
Looking at the dried meat, the old man hesitated, worried that it was a scam.
But then I thought about it, I think the worth of a few of my people is not as good as these pieces of dried meat.
He took it with a grateful expression, then went back and distributed it to other villagers.
Suddenly there was another burst of thanks.
Over the years, life has become increasingly difficult, and these villagers have not had any meat in their mouths for several months.
A group of men ate the dried meat in small bites, and a few carefully broke off a piece and hid it in their arms, saying they planned to take it back to their wives and children to taste.
For a time, the atmosphere in the stone temple became lively.
A villager extended an invitation: "Taoist priest, it's cold in the corner, why don't you come and warm yourself up?"
Zhang Zhiwei just wanted to refuse.
Zhang Jingqing dragged him over.
Since you are traveling, you naturally have to communicate with the people around you. How can it be effective if you keep traveling alone?
Zhang Zhiwei: "…………"
He wanted to meditate to refine his energy and temper his life.
"Where are the two Taoist priests going?" the old man asked.
Without waiting for Zhang Zhiwei to speak, Zhang Jingqing said: "We are Taoist priests from Youfang!"
The old man was in awe: "Wandering Taoist priests, those two Taoist priests must have real skills. After all, this world is not peaceful!"
Zhang Jingqing waved her hands and said: "No matter where you are, it's just a few tricks. If you can't survive in one place, go out and beg for food!"
"Oh, who can say otherwise? They say that in these troubled times, people are worse than dogs. This is true. The two Taoist priests still have the skills and can still make a living. We ordinary people can only stay in one place and wait. Die!"
The old man sighed, already thinking that Zhang Zhiwei and Zhang Jingqing were capable people.
Zhang Jingqing quickly asked: "Why did this old man say this?"
Zhang Zhiwei on the side looked at Zhang Jingqing calling the old man who was much younger than him, his mouth twitched slightly. He was worthy of being an old man who taught "one person" and "under". He could sympathize with him and say a few words. I became one with these villagers.
I heard the old man look bitter and say: "In the past few years, if there was chaos and no matter how bad it was, everyone would tighten their belts and it would be over. But what year is it now? There are wars outside every day. Today there will be Marshal Li, and tomorrow there will be Marshal Li." Marshal Liu, the food tax is getting higher year by year, and every time a new commander comes in to collect it, I don’t know when I will be completely unable to survive!”
Zhang Zhiwei listened silently. The years on Longhu Mountain were peaceful, but down below the mountain was in dire straits.
Now is the time of the warlords' melee. There is a Beiyang government in the north and a Nationalist government in the south.
A large group of warlords united under these two signs and fought endlessly to compete for territory.
In this situation, a territory is often snatched back and forth by various forces. Today you are from Beiyang. When you wake up, you will be from South China. The taxes you paid over there in Beiyang will not count. You will have to pay them again. .
In some places, it is common for county magistrates to be changed three or four times a year. Officials are changed like a revolving door. They all know that they will not last long, so as soon as they come to power, they want to severely cut them off. All kinds of exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous taxes are as fierce as tigers. , the leek roots are almost gone.
Zhang Jingqing frowned as she listened to the villagers' complaints, not knowing what she was thinking.
Even though the Tianshi Mansion is the top sect in the alien world, it is still powerless to deal with such major world events.
"It will get better, everything will get better!" Zhang Jingqing could only comfort her dryly.
"Getting better, maybe, but I'm afraid we won't see it!"
The old man in the village sighed: "In the past, it was only the officials who bullied us, but now, even the beasts in the mountains have begun to bully us!"
"What do you say?" Zhang Jingqing asked.
The old man in the village sighed and said, "Last winter was difficult. We had no food, so we had to go hunting in the mountains, and we disturbed a hibernating blind bear."
"The angry blind bear hurt people, so we fought it off. But we didn't expect that this bear held a grudge. From then on, it attacked the village every now and then. Sometimes it was livestock that was poisoned, and sometimes it was people!"
"We were deeply troubled by it, so we pooled our money and hired a swordsman with great martial arts skills to kill the bear. The swordsman lived up to expectations and had a great fight with the bear. He slashed the blind bear on the shoulder with his knife, almost killing the bear. Split in two, solved the scourge, and took away the bear’s body.”
"We all thought that this matter was over, but we never thought that this was just the beginning. Since then, bears have attacked the village at regular intervals late at night, and they especially prey on women and children."
"We all guessed that the bear's descendants were killed by the swordsman. The bear came for revenge, so it specifically targeted women and children."
After hearing this, Zhang Jingqing furrowed her brows, sighed, and said comfortingly: "It's indeed very difficult. What did the county say?"
The old man in the village sighed: "What can you say about the county? It collects taxes proactively and does things well? How is that possible? Our village is discussing that everyone will raise money and hire a swordsman to kill this beast. It's just a one-shot I don’t have time to pay for it, so I went into the mountains to cut firewood, hoping to take it to the city and sell it to raise money!”
Zhang Zhiwei was thinking thoughtfully on the side. Could it be that the corpse he encountered on the roadside was killed by the bear the old man said? Luckily he thought the attacker was a tiger.
Do you want to take some time to help solve the problem? Judging from the lick marks on the corpse, there is something about this bear. I'm afraid the average swordsman can't solve it...
Zhang Zhiwei secretly sent a message to Zhang Jingqing and asked if he should be allowed to solve the matter.
Zhang Jingqing sent a message to him not to worry, and then continued talking to the villagers.
Seeing this situation, Zhang Zhiwei ignored it and started meditating on his own. Instead of hearing about other people's sufferings, it was better to temper his life.
