Baizhang Village, as the name suggests, is a village located halfway up a mountain. The height of Baizhang is a bit exaggerated, but it does not appear too low, at least on the mountainside. Because water cannot be stored at high places, the village

Due to long-term water shortage, only some drought-tolerant crops can be grown.

Drought-resistant crops do not yield good harvests, so they can only be better than nothing. It is difficult to feed the villagers relying on the land. Not only cannot they, but they often go hungry.

Relying on mountains to eat mountains and relying on water to drink water, the villagers in this village developed a sideline business, hunting.

The land produces too little, and when you are lucky, you will catch deer, yellow sheep and other prey during hunting. The value of a yellow sheep weighing 70 to 80 kilograms is at least comparable to the annual harvest of three acres of land. Over time,

This side job has the potential to become the main job. Unfortunately, hunting is a profession that requires luck. There is little good luck and a lot of bad luck, which is very demanding on people's patience.

This is still good, but it would be really fatal if people encountered wolves, blind bears, and wild boars in the forest.

Therefore, the people in Baizhang Village are either so diligent that they never see a few idle days at home throughout the year. Or they go out for a few days, or even ten days and a half month, without seeing the men at home, but they can always come back with some meat and money.

But maybe that day will never come back.

Of course, a handsome daughter-in-law will never fall in love with a lazy, poor, and ugly mountain man. A diligent hunter will always win the favor of girls. There must be a reason for a person to be poor. He is either stupid or lazy.

, if you pick up one of these bad habits, your life will basically be tight. If you have both, you can’t hope to turn around in your life. In Baizhang Village, the poor are basically the latter, but most people are poor.

The reason is very reasonable, and the poor man is confident: "You guys can't give these 100 kilograms of meat to the wild wolves in the mountains!"

Hard-working men also have troubles. While searching for a living in the mountains and forests, they encounter wild beasts, fall off cliffs, and never come back. Leaving behind a young and beautiful wife at home...it makes me sad just thinking about it.

As a result, a very strange pattern will appear among the men in Baizhang Village. When they are not married, they are particularly light-hearted. They will work in the fields, wild fruits and game in the mountains, as long as they can get money.

After the wife and children were warmed up on the kang...each of them was lazier than the old woman and spent the whole day bragging in the village.

"Back then, your third brother was hunting in the woods, and when he was crossing a hill, he encountered a large, eye-catching insect on a narrow road. At that time, he was also very brave. He picked up the water and fire stick and rushed towards him. If the tiger hadn't run fast, your third aunt would have put on a tiger suit.

It’s so hard to hide your coat!”

The village knows how to brag, and there are many men who like to brag.

But if you really want to talk about those who are truly talented and learned, and live a low-key life, I’m afraid there won’t be a single one among them.

After dinner, Dalang stood in the courtyard gloomily.

He was kicked out of his home by Li Kui for the simple reason that Li Kui had to endorse at night and was not used to the idea of ​​sharing a bedroom with a grown man.

Looking at the lights in Li Kui's room, the orange lights were dim and jumping. Then, there were bursts of reading sounds in the room. This frightened Li Dalang. The old Li family, whose family was poor, actually wanted to cultivate scholars?

If you say this, no one will believe it.

But when reality suddenly appeared in front of him, he had no choice but to believe it. A few years ago, in order to save some food for his family and earn a penny in addition, Li Dalang went to the warehouse to help out at the age of fifteen or sixteen.

Packing, transporting, and later driving, this is basically his entire life trajectory in the past few years.

When he was away, he worried that his family would not have enough to eat.

Will I be hungry?

Li Kui has been a pot-bellied boy since he was a child. He has no way to eat, which is scary. He entrusts all the money to be delivered to his home, just thinking that his mother and brothers can make a living. Thinking that in a few years, when Li Kui waits

When he got older and could find a living on his own, it became much easier for him. But a sudden change made everything come to nothing.

He returned home with guilt and uneasiness, but was surprised to find that his family actually ate meat every meal and had enough to eat, and they were already living a well-off life happily. The little money he sent home was nothing.

It was of no use. What puzzled him even more was that Li Kui actually brought the fools from the village to his home to take care of him. To Li Kui, Li Quan was his brother in need, and he was also a clan brother who was harmed by Master Lingzhi.

Everyone has secrets. For Li Kui, if you keep Li Quan, you will keep the secrets of Master Lingzhi, and you will also keep the secrets of him.

This is a tough statement to say, but not difficult to understand.

As for the rest, he hasn't thought about it yet. The most important thing for him right now is not to hunt tigers or make a fortune, but to gain Zhou Yuan's recognition and become his disciple.

This is an opportunity that comes only once in a lifetime. Perhaps it is only once in his life that he can become a Jinshi scholar.

During the day, he has to study hard.

At night, naturally you can't go to bed early.

As for Li Dalang, Li Kui is really not used to letting a stranger with no feelings live under the same roof with him. What's more, he also has to endorse, so he can't stand any interference at all. Just let Li Dalang stay with Li Quan for one night.

Li Quan has a shack in the south of the village... it should be able to sleep two people.

The next day, Li Kui found Han Dahu, who was in full military uniform. He was wearing a hunting suit and leather armor, with a large rosewood bow on his left hand and a pot of iron arrows on his right. The steel knife in his hand was shining brightly, and he looked a bit like an inspection master.

Walking majestically out of the old patriarch's house, he met Li Kui.

As usual, Li Kui was dressed in summer clothes, but he brought a single sword instead of his Ghost King Axe. The moment he saw Han Dahu, he stood still and bowed and said, "I've seen the inspection master!"

"Brother Li Kui, you are so ashamed of me! I, a low-ranking official, don't dare to show off." Han Dahu came up to him as he spoke.

Seeing no one around, Li Kui asked: "Han Da..."

"Thanks to my brother, I don't mind, so I call you eldest brother." Han Dahu said cheerfully. He is a military general, but a low-level military general. The soldiers under his command are not even as good as the Xiang army. How can he be arrogant?

Of course, if it were another person, he might not be so enthusiastic. What he did was more because he wanted to make friends with Li Kui.

Li Kui was not the kind of person to be shy, so he immediately shouted: "Brother."

"Good brother."

"Brother, I have something to ask you."

"But it doesn't matter."

It's still early in the day, so the tiger might be hiding in that cave right now. He won't come out until he's hungry. Only then will he have the chance to drive the tiger into an ambush. If he's lucky, he can kill this annoying beast in one go.

Capture. Of course, this matter also requires help from Li Kui. Han Dahu is naturally polite when asking for help.

Li Kui said: "I have a brother who delivers goods at Tongfu Warehouse in the county. A few days ago, a car and an ox pulling the cart were lost. The car has been found, but the oxen has not been found. According to what my brother said,

It is very likely that Wang Fu, a scoundrel from Wangzhuang, slaughtered and sold them secretly. I wonder if my elder brother has any connections on the street? Can you help me ask?"

I originally thought it was a big deal, but it was just a matter of gathering information. What the patrol usually does is to gather information and scare Xiaoxiao. He naturally has channels for information about the activities of street scoundrels.

But how could Li Kui's brother drive a car in his warehouse?

Han Dahu asked in confusion: "Isn't your brother Li Quan?"

"Li Quan is my brother, and my brother is someone else." Li Kui explained.

Stroking his thick beard, Han Dahu hesitated and said: "Tongfu Warehouse is my brother's business. Brother Li Kui, please listen to me first. A few days ago, I heard from the shopkeeper that a man in the warehouse lost his cow.

I thought it was your brother. I guess the shopkeeper was relying on Han’s trust to deliberately make things difficult for your brother. It’s easy to handle now. This cow doesn’t have to pay for it anymore, and your eldest brother can continue to deliver goods to the warehouse. But this Wang Fu..."

"Does this person have a big background?" Li Kui wondered, could it be that Wang Fu was a scoundrel and that there was nothing he could do about it?

Han Dahu said disdainfully: "Fu's background is that he is a gangster who hangs out on the streets of the county town. But if he had stolen the cow, he would have been killed by now. Wang Fu is a scoundrel in catching thieves and stolen goods.

, even if you find him, you have to deny it in every possible way. This matter has been going on for some time, and the beef has been sold by him a long time ago, where can I find evidence?"

Cows in the Song Dynasty are very cheap, which refers to live cows. Healthy cows are very cheap, and you can buy one for five guan.

But beef in the Song Dynasty is very expensive, and the price is almost twice that of mutton. This means that cattle slaughter requires an astonishing tax. Mutton costs one pound per pound, and beef costs at least two pounds. A five-hundred-jin cattle costs at least two to three hundred dollars.

If you kill a cow and sell it for meat, you can buy at least forty or fifty pounds of meat. This is simply a huge profit. Not only beef, but the entire cowhide is also a strategic resource and a material for making armor. The Song Dynasty did not prohibit weapons such as swords, guns, swords and halberds.

But if it's crossbows and armor, it's a serious crime if caught.

Therefore, in order to protect the number of farm cattle, and at the same time to prevent people from buying beef and storing materials for making armor, the government strictly controls the slaughter of farm cattle. Each cow has a number, and its birth, old age, illness and death are recorded. If nothing happens, it will be checked again.

If there is a shortage, there will be a fine. And it is a large fine. Ordinary farmers cannot afford such a large sum of money, so naturally they do not dare to take risks.

The cattle stolen by cattle thieves will naturally not be raised.

It will definitely sell for money immediately. If the price is lower, both the buyer and seller will be happy.

Li Kui thought that it would be a good idea to inquire from the buyer. So he asked: "My little brother thinks that since the cattle thief killed the cattle, he will naturally sell them to a big customer. Is there a big restaurant in the county, which might be a good choice."

Han Dahu hesitated for a moment, then said sheepishly: "Well, the largest restaurant in the county is also mine."

All right.

Li Kui admitted that despite his rude appearance, this guy turned out to be a wealthy tycoon. This cow belonged to Han Dahu. Wang Fu, a bastard, was naturally well-informed and would not send it to his door stupidly. Wouldn't this be asking for trouble?

"Will it be sold to other counties?"

"He can't get out."
Chapter completed!