After everyone came out, they drove the horses and other items to the backyard of a teahouse, paid some management fees, and planned to see if they could find anything in the town.
A group of people walked together in twos and threes.
Ji Xuan, Fang Wu, Qin Sihan, and Bai An were all together, Qin Sihan was pushed by Eunuch Bai.
Zhang Xuan, Bai Xi, Ye Zhuqing and a few other painters were lagging behind, while Zhou She was looking for a place to live.
It rained for a long time and it was inconvenient to go back and forth. So I decided to live nearby, otherwise I would spend all my time on the road. Where would I have the energy to solve the case?
The road that Qin Sihan walked left a shallow layer of wheel marks. Fang Wu followed and looked left and right. She always felt that there was a trace of sadness in his eyebrows, which was different from Ji Xuan's deserted and lazy look.
"There are footprints over there, but there is some shallow water, so I'm afraid it's not easy to walk on," Fang Wu said.
Ji Xuan also looked over. There was a narrow path between the yellow and green vegetation, barely enough for two people to walk side by side.
But at first glance it was just dirt and it was raining, so it was not easy to walk.
"Let's go, I'm here to investigate the case and watch the fun, not to show off. I don't even have anyone to wait on me, so who can I show it to?"
Qin Sihan smiled because he was afraid of inconvenience.
He broke away from Shiraishi, turned his wheelchair and headed towards that road.
Bai Shi followed up with two trots, pushed steadily and said: "Master, I am here to serve you."
Qin Sihan let go of his hand, just paralyzed it in the air and said nothing, looking ahead with his eyes.
When Fang Wu and Ji Xuan saw this, they also followed.
"Why do I feel that the atmosphere is weird?" Fang Wu whispered.
"Look at the young master, and then look at Mr. Bai. It looks like there is a Yellow River between them." Ji Xuan pressed even lower.
As he spoke, he looked at both sides of the road. He didn't know why he always felt like someone was staring at them.
It was just a feeling, no one could be seen, and he didn't know if it was an illusion, so he didn't say anything.
Fang Wu looked around and seemed to understand something.
She fell behind, squatted down, broke off half of the corn, was stunned, picked it up and handed it to Bai Xi and said: "Is this chopped or broken?"
Bai Xi looked at it and said, "Mu Qing."
He threw it to Mu Qing.
"It doesn't look like it was broken off," he said as he threw it over. This is the roadside, and the corn in autumn is not good to begin with. Why would farmers break off half of the corn when passing by? No.
Take everyone out?
"It's chopped off. The knife is very fast. It should be someone who uses the knife frequently." Mu Qing said lightly. Fang Wu turned around when he heard the voice and looked over. The man had his head lowered, his eyes seemed to be closed, and he was holding corn with one hand.
groping carefully.
She asked: "Master Bai, why don't you go to the front?"
"I'm covered in moisture, so it's easier than our father. Besides, isn't there someone to take care of me?" Bai Xi took the corn without caring and shook it, "Tell me, who cut this?"
Fang Wu shook his head, it was really hard to say.
Common people? Officials? It could be anyone. Half a piece of corn doesn't mean anything.
Ji Xuan also took it and took a look, but none of the three of them saw anything.
"No, master, this corn is unusual."
Hearing them talking about corn, Bai An turned around and looked at it, stopped, and said to Ji Xuan.
For a moment, everyone's eyes were fixed on Bai An, who blushed and couldn't speak properly: "The corn picked from the field at this time should be old and dry, used for grinding."
It's cornmeal, but this one is tender, look." As he spoke, Bai An crushed a corn kernel with his fingertips, and the juice inside immediately splashed out.
Zhang Xuan also came over, nodded and said, "That's the truth."
When he was in Xuefu County, Bai An often helped the people in the county with farm work because of his big size and strength. Naturally, he understood this truth. As for Zhang Xuan, he was a general scholar himself and knew more.
But Bai Xi, Fang Wu, and Ji Xuan are not the same. The former eats high-quality food, and the latter two do not do farm work. They usually eat whatever is sold outside, so it is normal to not know what is natural.
.
"Then..." Several people stopped and even turned back.
This piece of land is lonely, and the crops on it are not very good. There are not many corns planted, but this kind of non-stewing is not the only one.
"Is it a problem here?" Qin Sihan asked.
Zhang Xuan nodded: "Yes, but this land is not suitable for planting. Those with more land will look down upon it, while those with less land will find it rare."
All things grow in a cycle, and they will naturally grow old over time, but this is the right time.
What does that mean? Either it was planted late, or there is something different from those.
Qin Sihan turned to look at several painters: "Who owns this land?" They had government records in their hands, which recorded who owned the entire cultivated land in Yancheng Town.
One of the painters looked around and immediately started searching.
There was a sound of Shasha turning the pages of books, and then a faint voice was heard. He pointed to a farmhouse not far away: "Zhang Wei. This is it."
Everyone looked over.
It's a solitary house, and maybe it's dusk, but you can actually see the smoke from the kitchen.
Several people carefully crossed the farmland and came to the door.
"Bang bang bang." Eunuch Bai stepped forward and knocked on the door.
Only footsteps could be heard inside, not shouts.
Several people looked at each other and felt strange.
Fang Wu also went up and knocked on the door: "Is anyone here?" A soft female voice broke the peace in the mountain, which actually brought people a bit of joy.
However, there was still no answer. All I could see was that the door was pushed open a small crack, and there was a pair of eyes peeking out from inside.
"kid?"
Fang Wu said with a smile. His eyes only reached her waist, so he squatted down and said.
"Mom, it's the government." The child didn't open the door, but closed the door, leaned against the door, and shouted inside.
"Everyone, please go back. We are not selling our land." Soon, a female voice came out, particularly tough, with a hint of disgust.
Several people were stunned. They didn't say anything. Why did they just say that they wanted to buy land, and weren't they afraid that they would get the wrong idea?
A few of them, Ji Xuan, Ye Zhuqing and others, were wearing official robes, but there were also some wearing regular clothes. Why were they so disliked? They didn't even open the door.
"Auntie, I don't want to buy land, I just want water to drink." Tan Sihan said.
"I'm in poor health. It's raining today and I'm catching a cold. I'm just passing by if I want some hot water. These are all with me," Qin Sihan said again.
He believed that the child saw him and saw him in a wheelchair, so he spoke.
Bai Xi took two steps forward, holding the knife handle with one hand and looking at the wooden door with his eyes, as if he was ready to break in at any time.
"Come in." A little woman opened the door and looked at them.
Looking in from the outside, there are three houses inside. It seems that they were all built by themselves, with no specifications. There are also some vegetables grown in the yard, leaving only a small space for walking.
A woman stood in front of several people. She was wearing coarse clothes. She was petite and had a big belly. She was holding her waist with one hand. She was not moving fast, but her eyes were looking at them with evil eyes.
At the same time, two men stepped out of a room. They were both about fifteen or sixteen years old. They were dressed in rags and had stern eyes, as if they were about to attack them at any time.