The head tax was crushing!
So did that mean they should just stop having children?
That wasn't possible either. No one wanted to get pregnant on purpose, but it still happened. And besides, they couldn't just let their family line end.
Without any descendants, they wouldn't know how to face their ancestors after they died.
Oppressive government was fiercer than tigers.
Fang Zichen nodded and asked a few more questions.
Lao Wang didn't think much of it. Fang Zichen looked like someone not to be trifled with, but after just this short conversation, Lao Wang felt this noble guest was actually quite approachable—calm in manner, with not a trace of condescension. When Lao Wang couldn't answer some questions, the man didn't get angry. Lao Wang just figured he was an outsider with a curious nature. He asked where Fang Zichen was from, and when he heard it was Hezhou City, he said, "No wonder you brought so many people! I hear there are bandits on some roads out there—you didn't run into any, did you?"
Fang Zichen let out a snort and said he did run into them, but it was no big deal. He threw a punch with his left hand and another with his right, and sent all those bandits tumbling to the ground.
Lao Wang chuckled, thinking he was quite the braggart. As they chatted, he found himself enjoying the conversation with Fang Zichen.
Zhao Ger listened to Fang Zichen telling tall tales, leaving Old Wang completely dumbfounded. He had to struggle hard to hold back his laughter.
When lunchtime came, they ate at Lao Wang's place. Lao Wang's eldest son wanted to catch a chicken to serve them, but Fang Zichen stopped him.
In the end, they had a pot of congee and two plates of stir-fried greens.
Lao Wang rubbed his hands—rough as tree bark—over his thighs, fidgeting nervously. "We don't have anything good at home. Please don't take offense, honored guests."
Fang Zichen found himself missing coarse brown rice again. That stuff rice scratched the throat on the way down, but at least it still looked somewhat appetizing. This bowl of sticky, murky "congee," however—its color neither green nor blue and impossible to describe—had a truly strange taste.
At this time of year, wild greens hadn't started growing yet. The ground was dry, and vegetables weren't growing well either. In past years, the villagers would harvest sweet potato leaves, chop them up, and dry them in the sun. Before eating, they'd soak them, then stew them together with greens and sweet potatoes.
Since they were guests after all, the family didn't want to appear too poor or stingy, so the eldest daughter-in-law also fried three eggs. They were cooked in lard, turning a golden-orange color and giving off a rich, fragrant smell.
At the table, the group was a mix of elderly people and young children. Fang Zichen felt too awkward to reach for any food himself. If he actually ate, he'd probably end up with indigestion. He stretched his neck and forced down the porridge, but it was bland and had a strange taste. The moment it reached his throat, it threatened to come back up—just like wild greens, both equally awful.
Zhao Ger and Guaizai, however, ate without changing expression. On a normal day, a single bowl was barely enough to fill the gap between Guaizai's teeth, but he probably knew that Lao Wang's family wasn't well-off and didn't want to eat up all their food. Old Madam Wang thought he was adorable and asked if he wanted more. Guaizai swallowed his saliva and said, "Thank you, Grandma, I'm full already."
Old Madam Wang pointed at the fried eggs and told him to eat one without being shy. Guaizai gave an "mm" of acknowledgment, knowing the eggs were made for them—if they didn't eat, the Wangs wouldn't dare touch them either. So he picked up an egg, broke it in half, and put one half in Shi Ger's bowl and the other in Xiao Zhu's bowl.
"Brother and little brother eat. Guaizai is full, no need for more."
He did the same with the remaining two eggs, giving them to the other two children, as well as Lao Wang and his wife.
Shi Ger stared at the half egg in his bowl, too afraid to eat it, and glanced nervously at his mother beside him.
The eldest daughter-in-law looked at Guaizai first, then said, "First thank the young master."
Shi Ger was about to open his mouth when Guaizai frowned first: "This is your family's egg. Guaizai is a guest in your home—eating your things means Guaizai should be the one saying thank you."
Zhao Ger patted his head with a smile.
After leaving Ronghe Village, Fang Zichen rode to Rongxing Village and Xiaping Village, inspecting several villages in succession. The situation was indeed the same as in Ronghe Village.
Along the way, the villagers they met, likely weakened by hunger and cold, all had ashen, listless faces.
The situation was even more severe than described in the reports—and seeing it in person made an even greater impact.
People say if you want to get rich, build roads first.
But for now, they'd better find a way to get water first!
They were so poor that they couldn't even fill their stomachs—building roads wouldn't do much good either.
After making the rounds, they returned to Anhe Town that evening.
They stayed at the government office.
When they got back, they found that Uncle Tang had actually brought the two children and Xiao Feng over from Hezhou City.
Zhao Ger hurried to see the children and found Gungun and Dandan with red, swollen eyes, as if they had just been crying—they were still hiccupping.
The moment they saw him, the two little ones got excited, kicking their legs and squirming.
Uncle Tang said from the side: "After you left, Zhujun, the Second Young Master and Third Young Master kept crying and wouldn't even drink their milk. There was nothing else I could do, so I brought them over."
"They remember people this early?" Fang Zichen found it surprising.
Back when they were traveling to Hezhou, Zhao Ger and Guaizai had ridden horses with him sometimes, and they'd go a whole day without returning to the carriage—the two little ones hadn't fussed then either!
Uncle Tang smiled and said: "A baby knows their mother—how could they forget? And young children remember smells." It wasn't a big deal during the day, but at night the children would cry for their parents.
Fang Zichen pinched the chubby foot of the second child: "Then my boy is even sharper than a dog."
Uncle Tang: "······"
This time, Uncle Tang had brought only Yang Ger and Xiu Ger, along with twenty guards. Even so, he had been terrified the entire journey.
They'd encountered nearly a dozen ambushes on the way here. Over the past two days, Feng momo had been trying to hire workers to repair the courtyard, but couldn't find a single person. Moreover, Feng momo felt that the moment she stepped out of the residence, the people on the street stared at her with eyes as cold and fierce as wolves'.
They were extremely hostile.
After Fang Zichen told Uncle Tang about this, Uncle Tang had been afraid to come—but Gungun and Dandan wouldn't eat anything, and no one knew when Fang Zichen and the others would return. So Uncle Tang had no choice but to sneak out of the city at night.
Dandan held onto Zhao Ger tightly with one hand and Guaizai with the other. Guaizai saw that his eyes were swollen like walnuts and felt heartbroken, calling out "little brother, little brother" over and over.
Knowing they had gone to the countryside and probably hadn't eaten all day, dinner had been prepared early.
Fang Zichen felt fine at the moment—he'd had a bowl of "porridge" at noon to tide him over—but Zhang Quan and the others had eaten nothing at all and were likely starving by now.
Yet Guaizai, who had barely eaten anything filling at noon, was now even more ravenous than Zhang Quan. He downed an entire bowl of dry rice in one breath, startling Uncle Tang, who then felt deeply distressed, saying, "My poor young master! You must have been starving today."
So the next day, Uncle Tang got up early and steamed dozens of buns for Fang Zichen to take along when he went out.
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