The surrounding scenery was still familiar. Xu Sheng looked at it intently and felt a lot more at ease. He breathed heavily and wiped the sweat from his forehead. He was slightly in a daze. When he raised his head, he was met with the dazzling sunlight.
"What time is it?"
Xu Sheng asked himself. In fact, it is completely unnecessary. The mountains and forests here are empty and there is no one. Besides, there is no need to ask. Just look at the scene. The sun is shining now and it is slightly tilted to the west. It is almost late.
"Just now...!?" Xu Sheng's voice was a little hoarse. He had been busy and panicked for a long time and didn't drink any water. He only felt that his mouth was dry and he whispered: "Is that a dream?"
What a strange dream!
Xu Sheng himself didn't quite believe it. It was too real. Looking back now, it felt like it was a lifetime ago. All the details were still clearly visible and vivid in his mind.
"Do people think so clearly in dreams? Will they have memories as clear as mine after waking up?" Xu Sheng asked again, but he was destined to have no answer. For some reason, he was frightened by the dream, but he still couldn't.
Afraid that it was all just a dream.
What a contradictory mentality! I am afraid that it is a dream, but I am also afraid that it is not a dream.
"Don't think about it anymore." Xu Sheng shook his head and stood up unsteadily, holding on to a big tree as thick as a bowl.
"It's time to go back," he said to himself, feeling dizzy and exhausted both physically and mentally.
It took an hour to enter the mountain, but it took twice as much time to get out. Under the moonlit night, Xu Sheng walked fairly smoothly, but now under the clear sky and daylight, he stumbled and stumbled.
Hungry!
I have been hungry since last night, and I was frightened by a bloody stone and strange dreams. I am afraid that no one can walk as fast as flying.
All the way down the mountain, the scenery is superb. In early summer, everything is lush, with luxuriant branches and leaves, and full of vitality. When we arrive at the village, it is even more enlightened and clear and beautiful. At this time, it is almost evening, and it can be said that there is traffic on the small roads,
The flowing water flows in a circle. Dogs lie on the firewood, and chickens perch on the roadside. There are many mulberry trees connected to the green grassland, and their colors reflect the evening sky. The breeze comes slowly, the cool air is blowing, the birds are singing and the flowers are fragrant, and it is peaceful and peaceful.
This village is a great place! Not only this village, but also Pingling County where this village is located, and even the entire Nan County where Pingling County is located, are great places!
This is Nanjun.
In ancient times, it was called Nandu, the capital of the huge empire that has almost been forgotten by the world. The empire that used to be covered in endless glory has disappeared, but Nanjun City still exists.
, even full of vitality and prosperity as before.
Perhaps, it is not as good as Tianjing, the current capital, and slightly inferior to Shangjing, the great capital in the northwest, but it is the well-deserved leader in Zhongzhou and even in the vast territory of thousands of miles.
Not to mention the three war-torn areas of Kanto; the year-round bitter cold and snow in the north; and the mountains full of poisonous insects. Compared with Yue Erzhou alone, compared with other counties in Zhongzhou, which is said to be a fertile soil, Nanjun is a head above water, maybe even more.
One mile!
No wonder, some well-known storytellers and songwriters praised:
Nandu has been a scenic spot since ancient times.
Outstanding people emerge one after another.
Stretching for hundreds of thousands of feet from north to south,
It is eight hundred miles wide from east to west.
The farmland exceeds half a state every year,
Granaries and ships piled on the river bank.
Even though farming is difficult for farmers,
Don’t worry about having three meals a day.
The words are concise and the meaning is clear.
The life of people in Nanjun is actually not bad. If a person has no ambition, there will be no problem in farming, eating and drinking every year, and at least there will be some surplus. If he is more diligent, he can work for ten or eight years, build a house, and marry.
Daughter-in-law, if you buy some property, you won’t be left behind.
Many people think that way, and naturally they act that way. The Xu Sheng family originally did the same, but later...
As soon as the weather cools down, people become lively. Especially at this time of year, the villagers don't do much farm work. They gather in groups of three or five, and soon they start to make noises and chatter.
Bragging and nonsense seems to be a man's nature, especially when there are many people, and there are several older girls and younger wives around, this nature becomes more obvious.
This group of farmers, who rarely go out to the village, chatted about the general trend of the world.
"Have you heard?" A young man raised his head first: "The Chixiao Army has five hundred thousand soldiers, and it has completely surrounded Sishui Pass. There are three floors inside and three floors outside. I heard that the Chixiao Army is one by one.
They are all skinned and drank blood, with green faces and fangs. There are so many people, so don’t really knock down Sishui Pass."
"What year and month have you heard about this?" A tall and thin man raised his eyebrows and said with his head tilted; "The Red Sky Army has been around for many years. Now, it is the world of the Green Forest Army.
A friend of mine just retreated from Sishui Pass and said that the Green Forest Army destroyed the Chixiao Army. After reorganization, there were a total of 800,000 people! Now 800,000 people are besieging Sishui Pass!"
"Eight hundred thousand? Even eight million is not that rare." An old man with white hair knocked on his pipe, coughed twice and said: "Isn't it true that everyone in the world is the same in this world? You and I are just farming as usual.
, Nowadays, those government officials who eat people without spitting out their bones are better than the green-faced and fanged rebels? I don’t think so.”
"That's true." A big man nodded in agreement, and then took over the topic: "I went into the city yesterday and heard that taxes are going to increase again."
"What!?" said in unison, and everyone was shocked. The expressions of those present suddenly changed, and they were whispering. Even a few who were silent were leaning forward and listening attentively.
Obviously, compared with the general trend of the world, personal gains and losses are more attention-grabbing.
"How much?" the tall and thin man asked first.
"Alas" the big man sighed, and then slowly stretched out three fingers.
Three out of ten!
"Fuck!" someone immediately scolded her; "Does this mean that no one can survive? Will half of the food have to be handed over in a few days?"
"But it's not good. My family of seven has a hard time, and this makes it even more difficult."
"Your situation is pretty good. There are seven people in your family, and you still have a helper. What should we do if we are orphans and widowed?"
Almost everyone complains, as is expected, but no one can come up with any solution. In fact, if you think about it carefully, what solution can the farmers have?
"Hey, Hehua, what you said is wrong. As long as you are willing, all the young and old men in the village will be eager to help you two!"
"Ha ha ha ha!"
Someone made a joke at this time. After all, the farmers had simple thoughts. They forgot most of the former's sorrow and burst into laughter.
"Fuck you, if a dog can't spit out a tusk, it will spit out feces." A middle-aged woman with a decent appearance pinched her waist and cursed, but she didn't look very angry.
"Okay, let me tell you guys, this matter is not that difficult." The old man knocked on his cigarette again, took a long puff, and then said slowly: "After all, the tax increase is just a rumor, not to mention these
The weather has been good this year, and everyone has some surplus food. If taxes are really raised, everyone will tighten their belts, and we will be able to survive."
"What Mr. Zhang said is not bad." The big man took over the conversation again and said: "If we can't survive, how will the people in other counties survive? How will the Xu family survive?"
Xu family!
Everyone couldn't help but smile knowingly when they heard this. You have to throw away when comparing goods, and you have to die when comparing yourself to others. Everything is afraid of comparison. Life is indeed a bit difficult after the tax increase, but it seems that it is not that difficult when compared with the Xu family.
It doesn't matter if I'm not good enough, there are people who are worse than me. Ordinary people will probably think this way.
"Ahem!" Just when everyone was about to have another heated discussion, someone coughed twice at an inappropriate time, and the sound was very loud. Everyone followed the sound and saw a half-grown man sitting under a big willow tree, pinching
He raised his voice and lowered his head in silence. Behind the boy, there was clearly a person standing next to the big willow tree.
Everyone watched intently.
Oh, isn’t it Xu Sheng!
At this moment, he looked ugly. He was a scholar after all, and his ears were red.
Embarrassing, really fucking embarrassing. Everyone looked at Xu Sheng, not knowing what to do for a moment.
"Xu Sheng, have you eaten?" Someone broke the silence first, trying to ease the awkward atmosphere.
"I've eaten," Xu Sheng replied vaguely. As soon as he said it, his intestines turned green with regret.