Nu Yalang of Tang Dynasty

The little thief in gray robe is obviously very familiar with the road to Tongshanfang.

But who is Zhou Jun? In his previous life, he was a police officer, and he is definitely a leader in arresting and interdicting people.

Coupled with the blessing of the fast horse, Zhou Jun could block the little thief's escape route every time, making the latter more and more impatient.

I saw the little thief panicking and climbing over a low stone wall, running away towards an abandoned mansion.

The terrain here is open, which is obviously more conducive to Zhou Jun's pursuit.

Zhou Jun kicked the horse's belly and the horse jumped forward.

Zhou Jun stretched out his big hand and fished it forward, catching the nasty little thief right before his eyes.

Unexpectedly, at this moment, a foot stretched out from the side, tripping the little thief and causing him to chew on the mud.

Zhou Jun's hand came up empty and he could only turn around on his horse.

A thin old man first kicked the little thief in the butt. Then he picked up Zhou Jun's money bag and said angrily: "You are doing this rat-stealing and dog-stealing thing again! Get out of here!"

The little thief got up from the ground in embarrassment, and he turned out to be a young child. He yelled at the old man and cursed: "Old monkey with a bird! I've ruined your good deeds again!"

The old man shouted again: "Get out!"

Seeing the little thief leave with hatred, the old man handed the money bag to Zhou Jun who was riding on the horse: "Little man, click a little to see if there is anything missing?"

Zhou Jun took the money bag, opened it and counted it, not a single copper was lost.

Turning over and dismounting, Zhou Jun sang to the old man: "I don't know what to call the old man."

Seeing Zhou Jun's luxurious clothes and extraordinary equipment, the old man quickly returned the favor and said, "My surname is Qu Mingzhao. He is the third eldest child in his family. He is also known as Qu San."

Zhou Jun: "It turns out to be Qu Sanweng."

Qu Sanweng glanced at the direction in which the little thief was escaping, and said to Zhou Jun: "Xiao Langjun, the child who stole your money bag has no father or mother, so he is a poor man."

Zhou Jun understood the meaning of his words.

Just then, Zhou Jun rode forward and was about to catch the little thief.

Qu Sanweng's kick seemed to be helping Zhou Jun catch the thief, but in fact he was helping the child.

It would be lucky if Zhou Jun caught the thief, took him to the government office, and sentenced him to whipping. If it were a prison sentence, such a young child would probably suffer a lot.

After thinking about this, Zhou Jun smiled at Qu Sanweng and said: "The yellow mouth has no virtue, so I won't care about it."

After hearing this, Qu Sanweng breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly saluted and thanked Zhou Jun.

Zhou Jun looked at the mansion behind Qu Sanweng and asked, "Where is this place?"

Qu Sanweng said with a smile: "I'm afraid that Mr. Young Master rarely comes to Tongshanfang. The place is called 'Duckweed House' in the place."

Zhou Jun: "Duckweed House? This name..."

Qu Sanweng: "It's weird, isn't it? How this name came about is impossible to find out. It's just that someone called it that way, and everyone called it that way."

Zhou Jun asked again: "Then who is the owner of this duckweed house?"

Qu Sanweng: "I heard that this house was once the residence of a high-ranking official in the Sui Dynasty, and then it became deserted. If you are curious, why don't you come in and have a look."

Zhou Jun wanted to go in and take a look, but he didn't dare to tie his horse outside the door of Tongshanfang.

Qu Sanweng saw his hesitation and said, "Young gentleman, please bring the horse in. It won't be in the way."

Zhou Jun followed his instructions and led his horse inside. If he had to use one word to describe the inside of the duckweed house, it would be a cold kiln with broken tiles.

Collapsed walls, scattered debris, sewage flowing everywhere, and even a few sheep tied in the open space in the front yard.

Zhou Jun walked forward a little further and entered the hall. When he looked inside, he was so shocked by the scene in front of him that he froze in place.

In that ordinary-sized hall, dozens of people of all kinds lived.

All I saw were groups of poor people, spread out on mats, huddled in the dilapidated hall.

The elderly, children, women, and infants each occupy a space of several meters square according to each household.

A family of several people ate, drank, slept, and lived in that small piece of heaven and earth, eking out a living.

The vast stagnant water is not my soil, the floating duckweeds are my body.

Seeing this, Zhou Jun finally understood why this mansion was called "Duckweed House". He had never thought that there was such a poor place in Chang'an City.

Seeing Zhou Jun's face full of surprise, Qu Sanweng said, "Xiao Langjun, there are far fewer people here now than when autumn entered last year."

Zhou Jun turned around and asked, "Why?"

Qu Sanweng: "Some died of freezing, starving, and some died of illness."

Zhou Jun clenched his fists and asked in a low voice: "The government doesn't care?"

Qu Sanweng: "Never mind, but there are so many people, how can we take care of it."

After saying that, Qu Sanweng walked forward and said, "Follow me, young man. The young man lives in front."

Following Qu Sanweng, Zhou Jun walked forward for a while.

Looking along the way, several rooms and halls are all like this.

The poor live in clusters, living in precarious conditions and struggling to survive.

Arriving at a wing in the back room, Qu Sanweng stepped over the debris on the floor. While greeting his neighbors in the same room, he walked to the farthest place, opened the curtain and faced a man lying down.

The young man shouted: "Go and help Xiao Langjun watch the horse, don't lose sight of it!"

The young man quickly got up and responded.

Zhou Jun followed the curtain and found a twelve or thirteen year old woman inside, coaxing a baby to sleep.

Qu Sanweng introduced to Zhou Jun: "This is my little girl Rou Xing."

"That baby is my grandson. His parents, my eldest son and eldest daughter-in-law, have all gone out to help with work and will not be back until the sun sets."

"Oh, by the way, the boy lying down just now is my second son."

Rou Xing glanced at Zhou Jun, blushed, and quickly turned around, facing the wall inside.

Seeing this, Zhou Jun was a little hesitant to sit down.

Qu Sanweng didn't care about this. He first tidied up the ground to make a clean space for Zhou Jun, and then poured a bowl of water.

Zhou Jun sat down helplessly, looking at the floating dust and lint floating on the water, but he was not thirsty.

Seeing that the baby had fallen asleep, Zhou Jun deliberately lowered his voice and asked Qu Sanweng: "Qu Weng is a family of six?"

There was a hint of desolation in Qu Sanweng's words: "It was originally nine people."

Zhou Jun sighed and asked again: "Where are you from?"

Qu Sanweng: "Guanzhong, close to Xinfeng."

Zhou Jun felt more and more strange: "Guanzhong is located in Gyeonggi Province and is a prosperous place. Why did you leave your hometown and live in Chang'an?"

Qu Sanweng shook his head: "The richer you are, the harder it is to live."

Zhou Jun was puzzled: “What’s the meaning of this statement?”

Qu Sanweng: "The two canals of Zheng and Bai in Guanzhong irrigate more than 40,000 hectares, and the houses of powerful people compete to occupy them."

"Princes, officials, and wealthy families will buy land and merge at will. Don't be afraid of the regulations."

Zhou Jun was stunned when he heard this and asked: "Isn't there anyone who can stop them from doing this?"

Qu Sanweng: "Before Kaiyuan, there were still concerns about annexation. After Tianbao, the laws were relaxed. The rich had tens of thousands of acres, and the poor had no room to live in, so they had to move to other places."