Qingyuan Immortal Palace

The army was in chaos, and people died of hunger everywhere.

This year, wars raged one after another, thieves appeared everywhere, and the people were in dire straits.

This season, natural disasters continue, locusts are everywhere, and fertile fields are deserted.

This month, heavy rains caused disasters in Dafeng City, Fanzhou Prefecture, and 30% of the households had no harvest.

One hundred and thirty miles east of Dafeng City.

Tulin Village.

late at night.

The moonlight struggled hard among the thick dark clouds, but only squeezed out a glimmer of light.

The wind carrying moisture in the forest roared wildly.

At the foot of the mountain to the east of Tulin Village, bursts of shrill cries came from a dilapidated thatched house.

"Dad, sell me for food."

The young Fang Yang looked at his brother and sister who were sobbing from hunger and said firmly.

"Yang'er, don't talk nonsense!" Fang Yang's father, Fang Yan, felt like a knife was twisting in his heart.

Fang Yan's face, which was originally less than forty years old, suddenly looked a bit older, and it actually looked a bit haggard.

The Fang family was originally a scholarly family in the north.

It is said that 11 generations ago in the Fang family, one of the ancestors was an official and became a governor, and another ancestor was an editor of the Hanlin Academy.

The descendants of the Fang family continued to flee south to escape the war.

One of them hid in the mountain col outside Fengcheng, and is now the third generation.

The Fang family has always been a scholar in the village.

Fang Yang's father, Fang Yan, is a teacher in the village and also works as a farmer. Life in the village is pretty good.

But now, amid the disaster, the villagers themselves don’t have enough to eat, let alone send their children to study.

Therefore, the Fang family's life is getting more and more difficult.

Years of military disasters, banditry and heavy taxes have left rural villagers breathless.

A large number of people have died in this year's disasters.

Although the Fang family was the only scholarly family in the village and was respected by everyone, it was at the end of its rope at this time.

"I don't want my brother to leave! I would rather go hungry..."

"I don't want my brother to leave either... wuwu..."

Fang Yang's brother and sister cried.

Seeing the two children being so sensible, Fang Yang's mother, Wang, couldn't help but burst into tears and sobbed silently.

Fang Yang is the eldest son of Fang. Although he is only 11 years old, he is extremely smart.

He began to read and write with his father when he was two or three years old.

He is extremely talented and very hardworking. He has been studying for more than eight years now.

Although Fang Yang is not yet well versed in poetry, he still has some skills.

In a prosperous age, with Fang Yang's hard work, he would probably be able to become a scholar.

It's just that Fang Yang looked very thin because he didn't have enough to eat for a long time, and he looked like he was only eight or nine years old.

Fang Yang's sister Fang Yue is only 7 years old, and the youngest brother Fang Mu is only 4 years old and even more skinny.

"Hey...Yang'er, you are very smart in reading. If you were in a peaceful and prosperous time, you would definitely be able to obtain fame. It's a pity that you were born in this troubled time..."

"Yang'er, hey... Dad is sorry for you!"

As Fang Yan spoke, two lines of tears welled up in his somewhat hollow eyes.

"Dad, sell me for some silver. This will be enough to survive this year's famine. Otherwise, if this continues, my brothers and sisters will starve to death!"

After a pause, Fang Yang said firmly: "I am the eldest son in the family, and I should think about my younger brothers and sisters."

"Yang'er, let dad think of another solution!" Fang Yan shook his head helplessly.

"Dad, Mom, our family has been without food for three days, and we still owe food. Now there is a famine, and there are not many wild vegetables and grass roots nearby..."

"Father, mother, my brother and sister are young. If they are sold, they are afraid of being regarded as 'two-legged sheep'..."

Speaking of this, Fang Yang couldn't go on.

Hearing Fang Yang's words, Fang Yan and his wife couldn't help but tremble.

Fang Yang said slowly: "My younger brothers and sisters were sold. Even if they can escape with their lives, they can't remember the way home!"

"I'm different. I'm already sensible. If I go out and try my best, I might have a chance to get ahead."

In order to protect his younger brother and sister, Fang Yang begged his father to sell him.

Fang Yang's well-behaved and sensible person makes people feel heartbroken to see him.

"Yang'er..." Fang Yang's words silenced his father for a while.

"Ugh...Yang'er, you are also my mother's favorite, how can I let you go..."

Mrs. Wang, who was sobbing on the side, couldn't help it, hit her heart, and started to cry.

"Father, mother, the child is unfilial. He cannot always serve his parents in the future. The child must work hard to be successful and respect his parents well from now on."

Fang Yang knelt down with a plop and kowtowed three times to his parents.

The intermittent crying continued until dawn.

Everyone in the village who heard the crying burst into lamentation.

Living in troubled times, people have long been accustomed to such things.

But the heart-wrenching crying tonight should keep many people awake all night.

Early the next morning, there was a light mist in the sky.

The cool mist in the mountains was originally refreshing, but today it made the Fang family feel even more sad.

Crunch - crunch -

The sound of decaying wheels broke the tranquility of the small mountain village.

I saw a guy with a sharp mouth and monkey cheeks, driving a covered donkey cart, slowly walked to the door of Fang's house.

There was also a burly man in the car who was looking after four or five children who were as old as Fang Yang.

The man with the sharp mouth and monkey cheeks was called Zhang Erhua, and the big man was called Zhang Bao.

These two are cousins ​​and are notorious scoundrels in Dafeng City.

This time they heard about the flood, so they planned to buy some people at a low price and sell them to the city to make some money.

If others refused, they would rely on their shallow skills to force them to buy and sell, and even injured several people.

Tulin Village is backed by mountains and has many hunters. The Fang family is quite respected, so these two rogues dare not make trouble here.

"Is Mr. Fang at home?" Zhang Erhua's sharp voice was like a weasel, which made people uncomfortable.

At this time, Fang Yang took a few pieces of broken luggage wrapped in rags and pushed open the shaky wooden door.

Fang Yan and Wang followed behind, with worried faces.

Wang sobbed softly, and Fang Yang turned his head away and dared not look at his mother.

As for his sister Fang Yue and brother Fang Mu, because they were young, they cried most of the night yesterday and have not woken up yet.

Seeing Fang Yang bring the package, Zhang Erhua was a little happy.

But at this time, Wang grabbed her son and didn't want him to leave.

"Mr. Fang, let your Fang Yang go with me. I will pay eight coins of silver and send half a bag of brown rice. It is enough for your family to get through the difficulties. Besides, Fang Yang is also going to the city to enjoy life."

Zhang Erhua said, and he bowed to Fang Yan like a scholar.

This man is quite cunning. He knows that using some etiquette to scholars can make it easier for him to succeed.

Although Zhang Erhua's bow looked like a fake, even a little funny, Fang Yan still returned the greeting seriously.

Eight coins of silver, although only the price of a decent banquet in the city, can really feed a remote farmer for more than half a year.

This money can indeed help the Fang family get through the current difficulties.

Fang Yan looked at the young children sleeping on the straw mat in the house, and then looked at his sensible eldest son, and was in a dilemma for a while.

"No, we won't sell it!" Fang Yang's mother sobbed, but said very firmly.

"Didn't we agree on this last time? Scholars should also be reasonable!"

As he spoke, Zhang Erhua's face showed a vicious look.