The First Great Ancestor of the Five Dynasties

Chapter 64
In the western suburbs of Anding County, a remote village.

A mule cart drove slowly on a muddy dirt road, heading towards the village against the wind and snow.

As Ma San drove, Zhu Xiu wrapped herself tightly in her thick robe, tightened her hood and huddled in the corner of the car, her body swaying along the bumpy road.

"Three, are we almost there?" Zhu Xiu spoke loudly, opening her mouth and pouring snow into her mouth.

Ma San put his feet up and looked out, turned around and shouted: "Hurry, we will enter the village one mile ahead!"

In the wilderness, the wind roared like a ghost crying, the sky was foggy, and fine snowflakes fell densely.

Guan Tieshi investigated the salt consumption situation of the people in Jingzhou and found something unusual.

Around Anding County, some people secretly sell salt at low prices.

This made Zhu Xiu very curious. Nowadays, the entire Changyi Town is experiencing a salt shortage. The price of salt has already exceeded [-] cents per catty, and there is often no market for it.

Under such circumstances, someone is selling salt at a low price?
And it is still in the villages surrounding the county seat, obviously intending to avoid the county seat with strict control.

Guan Tieshi sent people to visit and investigate for many days, and finally found clues in this village in the western suburbs.

To avoid alerting the enemy, Zhu Xiu and Ma San dressed up in disguise and went deep into the small village for on-the-spot investigation.

"San, don't tell anyone when you meet someone! From now on, you are my uncle and I am your eldest nephew!" Zhu Xiu warned loudly.

Ma San turned his head and grinned, his silly smile a bit shy: "How can a villain be lucky enough to be a relative of a junior official!"

Zhu Xiudao: "Uncle~"

Ma San scratched his head, his face flushed a little, and he said with a sigh: "Hey, big, big nephew!"

Zhu Xiu smiled and waved her hand, indicating that he should continue driving.

As we entered the village, we saw an oxcart driving towards us. The floor of the cart was covered with felt cloth. When the wind blew, a corner of the felt cloth lifted up, revealing several sacks covered under the felt cloth.

Seeing a stranger suddenly appear in the wind and snow, the three joking men beside the bullock cart immediately covered the felt cloth tightly in a panic, and watched the mule cart passing by vigilantly.

Zhu Xiu looked back and saw three men driving a bullock cart, hurriedly out of the village entrance and disappeared into the wind and snow.

The small village was quiet, with fenced earthen courtyards scattered at the foot of the mountain in an orderly manner. Occasionally, a few dogs barked, and then stopped quickly.

Behind the ajar door of an earthen courtyard, a child peeked through the gap with his eyes wide open in curiosity. Zhu Xiu grinned at him, and the child, whose face was red, was so frightened that he slammed the courtyard door shut.

Zhu Xiu looked around and found similar prying eyes hiding in the dark behind many doors and windows.

Occasionally, a villager carrying firewood came along the small path and bumped into Zhu Xiu and Ma San. He was taken aback for a moment, and then before Ma San came forward to ask the way, the villager hurried past with his head down, his flickering eyes full of panic, as if he was Avoid the God of Plague and don’t dare to come near.

"Young official, there is something weird in this village!" Ma San tightened his grip on the pole in his hand and whispered nervously.

Zhu Xiu also thought in his heart that there was something strange about the small village. If he had known it, he would have brought more people here.

A man wearing a sheepskin coat, who looked like a hunter, appeared out of nowhere, holding a hatchet in his hand, and stopped in front of the mule cart.

"Who are you looking for?" The man glanced at the two of them coldly. Seeing Zhu Xiu's delicate and tender face, he didn't take it to heart and instead kept a close eye on Ma San.

Ma Sanqiang calmed down and whispered: "Brother, I heard that you sell salt here?"

The man became alert, with a fierce look in his eyes: "Who did you listen to?"

Masangan smiled and said, "We also found out secretly."

The man said coldly: "No! Leave the village immediately!"

"This" Ma was speechless and winked at Zhu Xiu nervously.Zhu Xiu bowed hurriedly and said: "This eldest brother, my family is waiting for salt to save my life. If you have salt in your hands, you might as well sell some to us!"

The man became impatient: "If you say no, there will be no! Get out of here!"

Zhu Xiu turned around and looked around. On both sides of the narrow dirt road in the small village, several men appeared quietly, carrying machetes and firewood in their hands, vaguely surrounding the mule cart.

Suppressing her nervousness, Zhu Xiu pulled out a heavy bundle from under the hay mat, untied it, and revealed three copper coins.

"Brother, look, we are really here to buy salt!" Zhu Xiu begged sincerely.

When the man saw that they had brought so much money with them, he couldn't help but be stunned: "Do you really want to buy salt?"

Zhu Xiu nodded quickly.

"How much?"

Zhu Xiu scratched his head and smiled honestly: "Brother sells it cheaper, so we can naturally buy more."

The man frowned and hesitated for a while, "Follow me."

Two big men walked out from the side of the road, stood behind Zhu Xiu and Ma San without saying a word, and snatched the pole from Ma San's hand without saying a word.

Two more people led the mule cart, rummaged under the straw mat for a while, and nodded to the man.

"Let's go."

The man led the way, Ma San hugged the baggage tightly, and Zhu Xiu followed behind.

The road winds and winds through the fields, through a dry forest, and arrives at a remote large earthen courtyard at the west end of the village.

Along the way, figures appeared from hiding places from time to time, saying hello to the man and looking at Zhu Xiu and Zhu Xiu curiously.

Pushing open the gate of the fence and entering the earth courtyard, a burly man walked out of the main room. He was wearing a coarse linen robe and a short woolen coat with a slant collar. He had thick eyebrows and big eyes, and he had a dignified appearance.

"Brother, there is a big business coming!" The man who led the way stepped forward and said excitedly in a low voice.

The big man looked at Zhu Xiu and Ma San calmly.

Ma San quickly opened the baggage with a flattering smile, revealing the heavy coins.

The big man's eyes darkened, he glared at the man leading the way, and shouted: "Who asked you to bring them here?"

The man felt a little aggrieved and whispered: "Brother, here are the three pieces of money. Let's raise the price and sell some to them. No big problem will happen. The brothers worked so hard to get the salt and just went to help the villagers. They can't make a penny." , finally a fat sheep comes to your door, why don’t you kill it? Besides, brothers, you are not allowed to use money for food and clothing.”

The big man's sharp eyes flashed. The man lowered his head and did not dare to speak anymore, but his eyes were a little unconvinced.

"Come in." The big man ordered coldly, turned around and walked towards the main room.

Zhu Xiu pushed Ma San, and the two of them followed quickly.

There was a charcoal pot burning in the dilapidated main room, with a few straw dumplings placed beside it, and the room was filled with the smell of fire smoke.

"sit."

The big man pointed at the grass dumpling.

When Zhu Xiu and Ma San sat down next to each other, several men stood at the door of the house holding machetes and sticks, staring at the two men fiercely.

(End of this chapter)