Everything Confiscated
The situation in the capital is too complicated. The Feng Clan's intention is to let her stay here.
Although life here is a bit tough, at least Feng Jiao can run away if something happens to her family.
Feng Jiao looked at Zhou Wanwan and said, "What do you think we should do now?"
Zhou Wanwan shook her head and said:
"There's no good solution right now. Just tell your brother to stockpile more food and medicine, and we'll talk about the rest later!"
Have you ever considered retiring while you're ahead? The current situation isn't favorable for your Feng Clan.
Feng Jiao stared at her, stunned:
"Yes, my brother is also considering this matter, but if we really step down, then there will be no place for our Feng Clan in the imperial court."
Our family would be like lambs to the slaughter.
Sometimes it's not that we don't want to back down, but that we can't. Our family can back down, but the entire Madam Feng clan has nowhere to retreat."
Zhou Wanwan raised an eyebrow and said:
"Okay! This is indeed quite difficult. I came here today to deliver something."
These are vegetables, charcoal, and cloth spun by ourselves in our mountain village. What do you think of this cloth?
Feng Jiao summoned her steward and said:
"You're living quite comfortably in the mountain stronghold now, but you can't stay there for the rest of your life, can you?"
I've already asked my older brother to help with Cheng Xiao's situation; let's be patient a little longer.
If all else fails, we can try another county and start over.
Zhou Wanwan waved her hand and said:
"I think things are pretty good now, and the conditions on the mountain are quite nice."
Food and lodging are provided, and I can even earn money; we can worry about other things later!
Feng Jiao sighed and said:
"You're really unlucky; how could the environment on this mountain be good?"
I know that the environment on the mountain must be extremely harsh.
If you can't endure hardship, you'd better come and live in the mansion.
Zhou Wanwan shook her head and said, "You really don't need to worry about me. Actually, the environment on the mountain is much better than here."
Just kidding, the room she lives in is even better than Feng Jiao's.
The food is all organic and pollution-free.
She still goes for walks in the mountains every now and then, and when she talks about it, she realizes it's been a long time since she went hunting in the mountains.
There are far fewer wild game options in the mountains now, but she can still find some eventually.
The Feng Clan's steward arrived quickly:
"In this famine year, vegetables are as precious as gold. Your batch of vegetables is so fresh and delicious, I'll give you thirty taels of silver!"
And this charcoal! It's cold now, and the price of charcoal is rising every day. This charcoal of yours costs two hundred and twenty taels.
But the best thing about your fabric is this! The fabrics we get from our shop can't compare to the feel and patterns of yours, woven right here in the mountains!
The colors are bright and won't fade, the weave is fine and strong, and ten bolts of cloth can fetch fifty taels. What do you think?
If these cloths were taken to the capital and sold, they would definitely fetch more than fifty taels.
Even in the capital, such cloth is a rare sight.
But in this area, this price is already considered quite high.
Zhou Wanwan nodded and said, "Okay, let's go with this price then."
The shopkeeper quickly gave her the money, and Zhou Wanwan led Gu Sinian, Zhou Qingyan, Zhou Qinghe, and Zhou Qingchen to stroll around the market.
Zhou Qingyan looked at Zhou Wanwan and said, "We're both wanted criminals, won't we get arrested?"
Zhou Wanwan laughed and said, "Don't worry! It's okay, I have a plan. We rarely get to come out, let's have some fun."
This ancient market was quite lively, but it was now filled with many beggars and vagrants.
Zhou Wanwan bought several skewers of candied hawthorn and asked, "Brothers, do you want some?"
Zhou Qingyan shook her head, directly refusing.
Gu Sinian shook his head, but Zhou Qinghe and Zhou Qingchen seemed to like it and each took a string of them.
They had only taken a few steps when they saw government officials rushing towards them.
Zhou Wanwan was startled. Could these people be so fast? They actually spotted them?
A group of constables rushed over, and Jiang Wu, the leader, shouted loudly while holding a token:
"During famine years, all grain, cloth, and charcoal in the hands of merchants shall be confiscated!"
The government will purchase the goods at 20% of the market price; those who disobey will be considered accomplices to bandits!
Zhou Wanwan pulled her brothers to a corner, where they saw Jiang Wu lead his men into the crowd.
The constables behind him rushed to the stall and said, "All of these must be handed over."
They took everything from the stalls that they could use, no matter what it was.
Yes, they just took it without asking.
Several stall owners grabbed his legs and said:
"Your Excellency, this is the hope of our entire village!"
"You can't take these medicinal herbs with you. What will we do if you do?"
Jiang Wu kicked him in the chest and said, "You old geezer, you stink! Get out of here!"
After Jiang Wu finished speaking, he led his group away.
The stall owners wept uncontrollably.
"What kind of nonsense is this? They're not giving us a way out. This is the third time this month."
I finally raised a whole bunch of rabbits, and they all stole them."
"My son... my son has a high fever, and I was planning to sell our only chicken, but that was taken away too. What am I going to do with my son?"
"The medicinal herbs—those were dug up with great effort by the villagers—are all gone now."
Zhou Wanwan sighed. It's so hard for ordinary people to survive.
Zhou Wanwan followed the woman whose son had a high fever into the village.
The woman limped home, completely numb. Her husband, drinking at home, saw her and said, "Didn't you go out to sell chickens? Where's the money?"
The woman, her face blank, said, "It was stolen, stolen by the government officials."
The man rushed over, grabbed her hair, and slapped her twice, saying, "You useless piece of trash, how dare you lose the money? What use is a woman like you?"
The woman cried, "Husband, our son has a fever. If this continues, he'll die sooner or later. Please, I beg you, could you go out and borrow some money?"
The man sneered, "That sickly kid, how much money did I spend on him from childhood to adulthood? So what if he's dead!"
After saying that, she continued drinking. The woman came into the house crying, touched the child's forehead, and said, "What should we do? Huzi, what should we do?"
Zhou Wanwan saw a pear tree in the yard, and the pear tree sighed, "Poor Huzi, he probably won't live past tonight."
A nearby weed chimed in:
"Actually, Huzi is quite cute, it's just a pity he has bad luck."
"This man is out having a good time and having affairs, how could he possibly care about his wife and child?"
"He has money to buy alcohol, but not money to save his child's life. This man is truly heartless."
"Huzi is such a lovely child, it's such a pity," Pear Tree complained.
After finishing his drink, the man rummaged through his purse, weighed it in his hand, and said, "I still have an ounce of silver left. That's enough for a night of revelry at the gambling den."