My clone is on the other side of the starry sky

Chapter 94 Weird Xizhuang (Page 12)

Xizhuang is located in a ditch in the Songyu Mountains. It is a mountain city. It is truly surrounded by mountains on three sides. There is only one main road that leads directly to Guo County in the south. The terrain is remote and poor. Because of this, Xizhuang has been in troubled times. It has become a rare paradise in Shangyang County.

Earlier, when Guo Chang led the Guiyi Sect members to sweep through the entire Shangyang County, it did not reach this place. If a thief came, he would have to leave two taels of silver behind.

On the rammed earth city wall, when several gray-haired guards saw Lu Xuan and his entourage approaching in a menacing manner, one of the older ones was frightened to death and fell from the low earth wall to his death.

Looking at the dozen white-haired, rickety old soldiers in front of him, Lu Xuan didn't know how to speak for a moment, for fear that if his voice was even slightly louder, another one would be frightened to death.

"I want to see your county magistrate." Lu Xuan sighed, trying to make his expression gentle.

"Old... I am." An old man with a bright head came out tremblingly on crutches, trying to raise his head to look at Lu Xuan: "I have seen all the heroes~ I wonder what you have done to come here?"

After saying that, he even took a few breaths.

"Old man, are you still serving as a county magistrate at such an old age?" Yang Chong asked confused. At this age, you are probably eighty, right? It's long past time to retire.

"Alas, the court didn't send anyone to take over, and they didn't give me a document telling me to step down. I've just been here all the time." The old man sighed.

"My father-in-law, when did you come here to become an official?" Lu Xuan asked curiously.

"The eighth year of Dajing... It seems to be." The old man said uncertainly.

Lu Xuan looked at Yang Chong blankly.

"Probably more than forty years ago." Yang Chong explained in a low voice.

"What did the strong man say!?" The old man thought Yang Chong was talking to him and tilted his ears.

"Old county magistrate, we want to enter the city, can you?" Lu Xuan has been fighting for so long, and this is the first time he has attacked the city so politely.

"Okay." The old man nodded, turned around with his cane and said, "You guys can come with me, but first, let's agree to leave as soon as possible. It's best for outsiders not to stay here for a long time."

"Why is this?" Lu Xuan noticed something was wrong.

"Don't ask, just remember what I said. Old Guo, let someone prepare some food. It's been a long time since anyone came here. Let's recruit a few people to bury Old Li. Alas~" Old County Magistrate Trembling and leisurely, he led everyone towards the city.

Lu Xuan winked at San Dao. San Dao understood and led his men to quickly occupy the city wall.

Lu Xuan took Yang Chong and others and followed the old man to the city.

Xizhuang is a bit dilapidated. There is only one main road. It is not paved with bluestone like Sanyang County, but a dirt road that gets quite muddy when it rains. There are many pedestrians on the road. When I saw Lu Xuan's group of vicious rebels, there were not many. Fearful, a pair of eyes looked directly at everyone, making people a little scared.

"Old county magistrate, how many families are there in Xizhuang now?" Lu Xuan asked casually as if he didn't notice these abnormalities.

"More than three thousand households, that's about it." The old county magistrate recalled carefully.

"More than three thousand households?" Lu Xuan looked at the old county magistrate in surprise and said, "As I walked along, I saw that the terrain here is a mountain valley. I'm afraid the cultivated fields cannot support more than three thousand households, right?"

Counting four people per household, more than 3,000 households are tens of thousands of people. Sanyang County has developed transportation and a lot of fertile farmland, but just like that, there are only more than 7,000 households. This was calculated before the Guiyi Church uprising. This remote mountainous place doesn't have much arable land. How can it support more than 3,000 households?

"If you pointed to farming, all the people would have fled." The old county magistrate shook his head.

"Then what do people do for a living here?" Lu Xuanxiao asked. Everywhere he went, asking about the local income structure was a habit he had developed in his previous life. Many things were actually hidden in the economic structure.

For example, the income of people in poor areas is probably from farming and rent collection. In places like Sanyang County, where the economy is fast and commerce is relatively developed, the income structure of the people is more diverse, including long-term workers, part-time workers, carpenters, blacksmiths, etc. Coolie, accounting, weaving mats and selling shoes, of course, this refers to ordinary people, and their living standards will be relatively high.

"We rely on the mountains to eat. We cut a lot of wood here every year, and Hu Dashan takes people to other places to exchange for food. Only by relying on this business can we feed many people." The old county magistrate sighed.

"Hu Dashanren? A local wealthy family?" Lu Xuan asked with a smile.

"Those who are not wealthy are really good people." The old county magistrate looked at Lu Xuan seriously and said: "I heard that the world outside is not very peaceful, but even so, Hu Dashan did not miss everyone's food. Being able to feed so many people is all thanks to Hu Dashan!"

"How to change the method?" Lu Xuan asked curiously.

"The most common oak wood, about 20 yuan can be exchanged for one pound of coarse grain. If it is the kind of beam used to make house beams, that one can be exchanged for five hundred kilograms of coarse grain, or two hundred kilograms of refined grain." The old county magistrate He smiled and pointed to the row of empty courtyards in front of him and said: "This used to be a posthouse used to entertain officials, but we haven't seen officials come here for many years. It's big enough, and it should be enough for us to stay here for a day."

"Thank you." Lu Xuan nodded, looked at the old county magistrate and said, "Old county magistrate, I would like to meet this great man Hu Dashan. Can you recommend him?"

"What do you want to do?" The old county magistrate looked at Lu Xuan warily: "I can tell you, Mr. Hu Dashan is our great benefactor in Xizhuang. If you dare to bully him, I will fight for my life. I’m going to fight with you too~”

"No, not really." Lu Xuan looked at the ferocious look the old guy was trying to make, and wanted to laugh a little, so he comforted him: "I just heard him travel around, and I want to ask you something."

"Really?"

"Of course." Lu Xuan nodded.

"I tell you, don't mess around, otherwise, even if I die, the people of Xizhuang will not let you go!" the old county magistrate said fiercely.

"Don't worry, please recommend me on your behalf." Lu Xuan nodded.

"I'll go talk to Mr. Hu Dashan. As for whether he will see you or not, I can't say." The old county magistrate nodded, turned around and walked out slowly.

"Brother, according to the old county magistrate, Hu Dashan is not exploiting him. The price of this wood is similar to what is offered outside. Even including travel expenses, he may still lose money." Yang Chong watched the old magistrate leave and then said Look at Lu Xuandao.

"Well, that's right, but this is strange." Lu Xuan sat down and frowned.

"What's so strange?" Yang Chong asked puzzled.

"This human nature is greedy. He always wants to occupy power, talent, fame, and sex. According to him, this Hu Dashan is a wood reseller. He should be seeking profit. With such convenient conditions, he has a good heart. He could definitely make less, but according to his approach, it would be good if he didn’t lose any money.”

"Maybe he is really a kind person?" Yang Chong asked doubtfully.

"Then the question is, transport the wood and sell it to the people at the same price as the selling price. Where does the profit come from? Without profit, even if you have a huge fortune, it will be squandered in a few years, but look at this "Sir, this Hu Dashan has been rooted here for many years, but he can still maintain it. There must be profit channels that we don't know about!" Lu Xuan said with a smile.

"Also, if you care about the people so much, why don't you help them repair this broken road? Look at the dilapidated city. If you pass by and take a look, you will think it is an abandoned city."

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