C2 Ten Years of Life and Death

Ten years had passed since the Shangye had returned to the primordial era. The world had changed from nine cities to eight cities, and Eight County Lords, who was also rich, was under the eight cities. For the prosperity and prosperity of their respective cities, he had built new lands, carved out mountains and carved out fields.

Compared to the city's flourishing embroidery, the refugees in the wilderness did not have much fun. Every day, they would eat a meal without a rest. Even so, they still worked hard to survive.

Today, the plaza of the Traveller Village was still filled with people looking for work. Before the foreman had walked up the stage with a sign in his hand, everyone had already flocked forward to recommend him.

Even so, there were still a lot of people who wanted to be chosen one after another. For no other reason other than the fact that their wages were much higher than in other places, and compared to the people who were sent to the brothels, they were still somewhat more respectable.

The foreman pointed with his finger as if he was picking a poultry. He felt happy when he was selected, but when he looked at his family, he felt sad. He felt that his fate was unknown, and also that he was destined to die.

Those who had not been chosen sighed, facing the tolerance of their families, they could only smile and seek alternative livelihoods.

Different from the fertile city, the Traveller Village were filled with people who did not have household registration. Every day, they would struggle on the verge of death, and every day, these kinds of things would happen, but it had nothing to do with happiness.

As they were refugees, they had to pay taxes even in the areas where they lived in groups. They had to pay taxes for their use of land and for their labor when they were in the wilderness, not to mention for the chore of hunting.

Therefore, compared to those people in the square who were unlucky, facing the sudden tax payment, the unendurable result was even more horrifying.

"What are you doing? Don't take my daughter away, don't take her away! " The woman, whose legs weren't good enough, crawled on the ground and stretched out her hand, wailing as she tried to catch the young girl who had been taken away.

"Mother!" Mother! Let me go, let me go! " The young girl cried out with tears. She wanted to return to her mother's side, but she was unable to because she was kidnapped.

"What are you crying for? "You can't pay your taxes, and yet you want to stay put. How can there be such a good thing in the world?" The leader smacked the young girl in the face, leaving a red mark. Then, he turned his head to look at the woman on the ground.

"This is the territory of Bi'an City, if you want to stay here, you have to pay taxes, and if you don't have the money, you have to scram. You should be glad that you have a daughter who you can pawn, otherwise you would have to scram from here!" The person who spoke humphed and then waved his hand to lead the person away.

"I beg you, don't take me away. My mother's legs are inconvenient. If I leave, what will she do!?" I'll make money, I'll work hard to make the embroidery, I'll go hunting, I'll … " The young girl struggled to get rid of the man's arms and legs, only to be kicked away.

"How much is it if you want to embroider something? Do you hunt? I might as well go to the city and drink with the men! If you keep the lucky ones in your room, your mom might be able to fly up to the branch as well. What else are you not satisfied with? " The young lady shook her head repeatedly when she heard the words of the speaker, who looked as if he didn't know what was good for him.

"No, my daughter can't go to that place! You can't go! " The woman's eyes became even more red. Who didn't know what kind of place Ye Yinglou was? If a good girl were to enter, it would be worse than death!

"Who cares about you!" As the leader said this, he waved his hand and was about to bring the person away. That moment of crying made everyone sad, but none of the onlookers dared to stop him.

How could he have the leisure to care about others when he was on the verge of death? Being able to live was already a miracle.

"Stop!"

Just as the sound of crying rang out, a loud shout came from somewhere and the crowd slowly parted to make a path for them. Very soon, they saw a horse cart approaching shakily, followed by a long line of people.

Because of the appearance of the caravan, the crowd immediately clamored. The originally grieving crowd had joyous expressions on their faces as they quickly surrounded the people who had jumped down from the carriage.

"Merchant Lin, you're finally back!" The older man's eyes were moist as he looked at the tall figure in front of him. He patted the latter's hands as if he saw the last straw to save his life.

"Uncle Lin!" The young children also surrounded him. Each of them twitched their mouths, but they did not cry as they tugged at each other's clothes.

Lin Xiaoxun was silent. It was hard to tell what he was thinking on his expressionless face. He just looked at the people around him and nodded. Then, he reached out his hand to touch the child's head and walked forward.

"Yo!" Isn't this Merchant Lin? "Where did you go to do business this time?" The eyes of the person who originally wanted to leave with the girl lit up when he saw Lin Xiaoxun, and then he said that with a smile.

"Manager Wu, it's not the time to collect taxes yet! "You came so often, did you hear that we were coming back?" Lin Xiaoxun didn't say anything, but a handsome youth behind him frowned and said this.

"Faang Su." Lin Xiaoxun, who heard Manager Wu's words, shouted and turned to look at Manager Wu.

"Bring me the tax paper tomorrow, and I'll prepare the rest for you." Without wasting any time, Lin Xiaoxun went straight to the point. At the same time, he took out a bit of silver from his waist and stuffed it into Manager Wu's hands.

"The matters after that can't be determined with certainty. The county governor said that although you were always punctual, you still had to accept what you had to accept. It shouldn't be a problem, right?" Manager Wu said with a smile as he put the broken silver into his pocket.

"Bring the tax paper first!" Lin Xiaoxun didn't say anything as he stopped Faang Su, who was about to step forward.

Receiving Lin Xiaoxun's reply, Manager Wu smiled in satisfaction. Then he turned around and signaled the person who was grabbing the girl with his eyes.

"Alright, we'll leave it to you today and go back first. We'll come back to find you tomorrow." After Manager Wu finished this sentence, he led his people and swaggered out of the Traveller Village.

"Mother!" The freed girl rushed to her mother's side. With great effort, she managed to help the woman up with the help of the others. Then, she sat down on a nearby stool.

"Are you alright?" Faang Su asked as he walked closer to the girl and the woman.

"It's nothing, I've troubled you." The woman pursed her lips as she looked at Faang Su with tears in her eyes.

"Tax, tax. I'll work hard to get it back." The young girl wiped the tears from the corner of her eyes, her resolute expression filled with stubbornness.

"Silly girl, don't worry about the money, there will be a way." Faang Su patted the girl's head as he spoke.

"Auntie Yu, you go back with Qingyu first! Leave the rest to us. " Faang Su smiled as he said that. The warm sunlight made the latter nod in approval.

"Then I'll come back later to help!" Qingyu said as she helped Auntie Yu up.

"Alright." Faang Su responded and then waved his hand. He turned around and walked into the busy crowd.

The merchant group had been out for more than half a year and they had brought back items that could support the livelihood of the entire Traveller Village. However, including the taxes, they didn't know if they would be able to endure through the winter. After distributing all the items, the people in charge of the merchant group gathered in a small building deep in the mountain outside of the village.

"Brother Lin, what do you think about not going out again before winter?" After considering the current revenue, some people still felt that it was a bit lacking, so they were afraid that they would have to make another trip to the merchant house.

"I won't be able to come back until that year." Someone said with a frown.

"What year is it going to be like this for us? Furthermore, during the new year, the things are much easier to sell and the price is much better. " Some people laughed at themselves but told the truth.

"No matter how good the price is, it can't be compared to the city. We're talking about buying and selling, but in reality, we're just helping the merchants transport their goods. We're only earning a meager amount of fees. Maybe even less than 10% of them." Someone snorted in dissatisfaction.

"Then it's better than not doing anything at all! I heard that a lot of people were taken away today. If they don't find a way out, then in the future … " He stopped on the spot and frowned, gritting his teeth with unwillingness.

"There's nothing we can do about it. We've already done our best just to stay in this place." The higher the taxes on land use, the more people there were on Traveller Village and the more they used them. It was already extravagant for them to be able to sit here and talk like this.

"That's why we have to work even harder!" If we go again, everyone might feel better next year. " Even if he just ate one more mouthful of rice and one more piece of meat, it would be enough.

"However, goods that come in the near winter need to be sold far away, especially the fur of wild beasts. Chiwen City is the most important, but the area with Chiwen City is the farthest, and there is even snow all year round. I'm afraid …" Someone lowered his head in embarrassment.

"Then let's go to a place closer to it. Isn't there also a place like Bi'an City?"

"However, the supply of Bi'an City is limited, and the surrounding demand is relatively large, so it's inevitable that the competition will be very intense. For people like us, we probably won't be able to earn much." After all, they were a group of refugees, and there was still a difference between them and formal merchants. When the time came, they would really just be helping others, and the chances of them earning anything would not even be considered good.

"But …" Some people wanted to say something, but they saw Lin Xiaoxun raise his hand, so everyone stopped.

"We'll talk about it when we see the tax paper tomorrow!" Lin Xiaoxun raised his head and looked at the crowd. Everyone agreed but did not object.

"That's true. If the taxes next year aren't too great, then it shouldn't be a problem even if we don't go there."

"I'm just afraid that Bi'an County Governor will ask too much."

"It's obviously a tax payment for the New Year's Eve. Only they would want us to pay it before the New Year."

"That's right!"

Everyone started discussing and accepted Lin Xiaoxun's suggestion. Then, they filed out of the room as if they had just arrived. After everyone had left, the closed door was pushed open a crack and a small head popped out.

"Father?" You guys finished talking? " As the voice rang out, a large child walked in from outside. His handsome face was clear and handsome.

"En!" Lin Xiaoxun answered and then waved his hand. The kid who got the response ran over with a laugh and jumped into Lin Xiaoxun's arms.

"How long will it be?" The child looked at Lin Xiaoxun and blinked.

"I don't know yet." Lin Xiaoxun took the fruit from the table, crushed the hard shell with one hand and handed the fruit to the child in his arms.

"You don't know?" The child responded with a frown. Then, he placed the fruit in his hand into his mouth and chewed it vigorously.

"You want to stay?" Lin Xiaoxun asked with a frown.

"No, I haven't come back for so long. My house is covered in dust, if I stay here for too long, I don't want to clean it." The kid stuck out his tongue lazily, causing Lin Xiaoxun, who didn't care to laugh, to slightly raise the corner of his mouth.

"Up to you." Lin Xiaoxun brushed the child's head in a pampering manner.