After the founding of Daliang for more than 200 years, chaos began to appear, and disasters occurred frequently in the north, especially in Ningxi.

In the first year of Tianfu: "There is a severe drought in Ningxi. Three coins are spent on rice. People eat each other and the dead sleep in their homes."

In the third year of Tianfu: "In March of the third year, I reported that last year, there was a drought in Ningxi and He province. The houses were like hanging chimes, there was no green grass in the fields, and a square meter of rice cost as much as four cents. The army and the people were in dire straits."

In the first year of Qianyou: "In the great wasteland of Ningxi, a fight of rice costs eight cents. People began to dig up grass roots, willow leaves, and tree barks. Then they pounded rocks and ate them. They fell from their stomachs and died. People killed each other and thieves, and zombies were everywhere."

…

July of the second year of Qianyou.

In Celadon Lane, Xijing City, the third courtyard from the left, Cao Xin returned home and was frightened for a while: "Fortunately, I ran away early when I saw the situation was not going well!"

In the past few days, I have been hearing discussions about the drought in Ningxi one after another in the streets and alleys. The miserable conditions are shocking.

For the people in Xijing, Ningxi is too far away after all. Xijing is one of the five capitals in the Liang Dynasty and the most prosperous city in the world. It is difficult for the people in the capital to experience it personally.

But Cao Xin is different.

In his previous life, he was killed in a car accident while traveling. In this life, he lived in Ningxi until he was five years old. Later, his family couldn't survive, so his father, Cao Kun, took his family and ran away.

Exit Ningxi and enter Tanxi.

Pass through Tanxi and enter Shangjiang River.

Finally, he came to Xijing City from Shangjiang Province.

Three years later, after going through untold hardships, three of the seven sons and two daughters of the Cao family died. Even Cao Kun, the mainstay of the family, died of illness last year and died in the river.

When they arrived at Xijing City, only the mother Cao Zhang, the eldest brother Cao Ren, the eldest sister Cao Xian, the seventh eldest Cao Liang, and the fifth eldest Cao Xin were left in the family of eleven.

"well!"

Thinking of these three years of life and death, Cao Xin couldn't help but sigh.

He spent three years fleeing famine and wandering around.

The hardships cannot be appreciated by outsiders.

Although he has now settled in Xijing City and has become a "city dweller" that is envied by everyone, the hard days are still not over.

"Poor!"

Cao Xin went back to the house and opened the rice vat. It was so empty that he could run a horse, but he was so poor that he had to wait for the rice to be put into the pot.

wrong!

Where can I eat rice?

The drought is severe in the north. Although Xijing City is still prosperous and luxurious, it has been affected to some extent. The most obvious one is the rise in food prices.

Four or five years ago, one tael of silver could buy two stones of rice in Xijing City, and a pound was as low as four cents.

This year it has increased to 14 yuan per pound, more than three times.

Baimian 17 Wen also increased three or four times.

But people's wages have not increased.

In the past, a strong labor force earned 40 to 50 cents a day, which could buy ten kilograms of rice or nine kilograms of white flour, enough to feed a family of five.

But now, ordinary people in Xijing City can no longer afford rice and white noodles.

They mainly eat whole grains——

Corn crumbs 10 articles.

Red sweet potato 2 articles.

…

Visible decrease in quality of life.

Even the people who were born and raised in Xijing City had a difficult time, and it was even more common for the Cao family who had just fled from the northwest to go hungry for nine meals in three days.

After eating one meal, I worry about the next meal.

Life is too difficult.

Even if there is only a tile to cover the current day, it was the eldest brother Cao Ren who fought for it.

When the family came outside Xijing City and Cao Ren was looking for work at the Caishui River Pier, he happened to save a small leader of the Caishui Gang and was later taken under his command.

The little boss gave Cao Ren 200 yuan as a living allowance, and through the Caishui Gang's relationship with the Sun family, a wealthy businessman in the city, he vacated two empty rooms in a large courtyard owned by the Sun family.

Although the inverted house does not see sunlight all year round, at least it has roots and can protect it from wind and rain.

It stands to reason that this has surpassed countless disaster victims, and even surpassed many people in Xijing City.

For ordinary people, especially the victims of the disaster in the north, one humble life can be exchanged for two houses and two hundred cash to live in. Money for selling one's life is something that no one can hope for.

But Cao Ren is Cao Xin's eldest brother. Even though Cao Xin was older than Cao Ren in his previous life, in this life, Cao Xin still admired and respected his half-brother's character.

He couldn't bear to watch the sixteen-year-old Cao Ren live a life of licking blood in a gang and lose his life one day.

"make money!"

In the end, it comes back to ‘money’.

If you have money, you can travel all over the world, but if you don't have money, you can't move anywhere.

"How to make money?"

The Cao family was extremely poor. Without capital, it was impossible to do business, and even small businesses were difficult to do.

handicraft?

Technical work?

Won't!

If you have a certain skill, you won’t be reduced to running away thousands of miles.

"Begging!"

Cao Xin thought of the only skill he had honed along the way that could make money, and then thought of the bustle of Maxing Street Market in Xijing City. If he could place a bowl there and beg, with his "Lotus Flower Falling" accent, he could make hundreds of dollars a day.

Literature is not a dream.

But if the eldest brother joins a gang and goes begging on his own, the reputation of the Cao family will be completely ruined. The two houses may not be saved, and they may be kicked out jointly by the residents of the courtyard.

"It's hard, it's hard!"

The world is not easy, Cao Xin sighed.

…

As the sun sets in the west, the courtyard gradually becomes lively.

Including the newly moved Cao family, this large courtyard houses a total of 16 households with nearly 100 people, most of whom are clerks, workers, masters, and shopkeepers of the Sun family. They are scattered among the many properties under the Sun family's name.

As colleagues and neighbors, the relationship is naturally close.

They talked in twos and threes, and their mental outlook was completely different from that of the people in the three northern provinces.

However, the excitement belongs to them and has nothing to do with the Cao family.

The Cao family fled from famine, and the people in the city were proud and xenophobic.

On the other hand, the Cao family does not have a regular business, and Cao, the boss of the family, is a member of a gang, and no one wants to get involved.

New here.

Poor enough to eat dirt.

The courtyard is deserted.

This is the current situation of the Cao family.

…

"Fifth brother, fifth brother."

Cao Xin was sitting while his younger brother Cao Liang trotted back, holding a handful of peanuts in both hands.

Cao Liang is six years old today, two years younger than Cao Xin. He is thin and small. Year-round malnutrition makes him look like he is only four or five years old, and he is so thin that he loses his appearance.

The clothes he wore were also in tatters, and Cao Xin had forgotten where he picked them up.

When I first arrived at the hospital, I was laughed at a lot.

However, after three years of hard work, he now has a place to live in Xijing City and does not have to travel all day long. Although he was ostracized in the yard at home and no children wanted to play with him. If it were not for his two older brothers, he would have been bullied.

But Cao Liang has long been accustomed to it, and he can do well alone.

"Fifth brother, look!"

"I dug up earthworms and brought them to the backyard. Sister Xiaoyan gave them to me."

Cao Liang's face was dirty, dusty and sweaty, and his lips were white, but he was in high spirits.

He got the idea yesterday when he saw several children of the same age in the courtyard catching insects and sending them to Xu Dazhi and Fang Xiaoyan's home in the backyard, bringing back a few handfuls of wilted vegetable leaves.

This morning he excitedly dug up earthworms and sent them to the backyard again and again. He actually got a handful of peanuts in exchange for them, which made him very happy.
To be continued...