Pig Killer

Chapter 161

"Xiao Douzi and the others are the same as when you were here." Shen Hui'e looked at Cheng Donglai and the others with her deep and penetrating eyes and assured them, "As long as we have food, they will be indispensable."

"Aunt." Cheng Donglai stood up from the bed and knelt down.

"Hey, hey!" Shen Hui'e jumped up and shouted, "Big Tiger, quickly pull your brother Cheng up." Then she added, "We don't like kneeling! A man's knees are made of gold."

Da Chong jumped down from the kang in a panic, stepped on his straw sandals, and pulled Cheng Donglai up.

Shen Hui'e looked at them and said, "The sky hasn't fallen yet! Cheer up."

Shen Hui'e's dry words could only make them force their lips to pull out a smile that was uglier than crying.

"I'm leaving." Shen Changsheng looked at them and said, "I'll go to the county government office to find out more details."

"I'll take you there." Shen Hui'e stood up and looked at him.

&*&

Shen Hui'e sent Shen Changsheng out of the house.

Shen Changsheng stood in front of the meat stall, looked around and whispered, "Don't worry too much, the people above won't be that stupid."

"I don't have that much confidence. An emperor who builds a lot of buildings will waste people's money and time." Shen Hui'e looked at him gloomily and said, "I don't think he is a wise monarch."

"Shh... shhh..." Shen Changsheng looked at her with horror and put his index finger on his lips and said, "Don't say such things anymore! You will be beheaded."

"I know." Shen Hui'e said honestly, and snorted coldly, "Does it matter whether I say it or not? We can tolerate your suicidal behavior, but there will always be people who can't tolerate it." She looked at him deeply and said, "Guess what will happen then?"

"Hiss..." Shen Changsheng took a breath and shook his head like a rattle, saying, "No, no."

"Who knows! The situation is not up to us." Shen Hui'e looked at him with cold eyes and said, "The King of Hell will let people die at three o'clock in the morning and will never let them live until five o'clock." Some people are eager to die and cannot be stopped. The current situation is not subject to human will.

"Let's not scare ourselves." Shen Changsheng looked at her with his dark eyes and said, "This iron-clad empire will last forever! It's only temporary."

Shen Hui'e moved her mouth when she heard this, and swallowed back the words that were about to come out of her mouth.

Daring to ignore the lives of the people and carry out large-scale construction at this critical juncture is truly courting death.

"Now they have to recruit civilians again. I don't think Da Chong's father will come back." Shen Hui'e looked at him with clear eyes.

"Uh..." Shen Changsheng pursed his lips when he heard that, looked at her, thought for a while and said, "He's fine, he will come back one day." He comforted her weakly.

"You should leave quickly!" Shen Hui'e looked at him and said, "Don't worry about me. I'm fine."

"If you have anything to say, let me know!" Shen Changsheng looked at her with concern and said, seeing her nod, "I'm leaving now."

"Mom, isn't Dad coming?" Da Chong said to her while leaning on the door of his house and looking at her.

Shen Hui'e bit her lip and faced the timidity in their eyes, and said honestly, "I'm afraid so!"

"I'm going too. I'll help you find out when I get to the capital." Cheng Donglai said to them with his black and white eyes.

"That's great." Da Chong and Li Nu said happily.

The words in Shen Hui'e's mind rolled on the tip of her tongue and then she swallowed them back. She didn't know where to distribute them! It was not that easy.

Forget it, give the kids something to think about.

"Let's go in! It's very cold outside." Shen Hui'e said to them gently.

&*&

The imperial edict had been posted, so the imperial grain had to be paid even if they didn't want to. Shen Hui'e and the others made preparations and pulled, carried, and pushed the grain to hand it in.

"Have you paid?" the noodle shop owner asked her as she came back pushing the wheelbarrow.

"It's all the same whether you hand it in early or late." Shen Hui'e looked at her with her deep and bottomless eyes.

"It's too early, too early." The noodle shop owner looked at her with her almond-shaped eyes and shook her head slightly, "You should have paid later."

"Is there any difference?" Shen Hui'e looked at her with raised eyebrows.

"Pay it later and eat more meals." The noodle shop owner said self-righteously, "Prepare for a few more days and let them know how hard it is for us."

Shen Hui'e looked at her in astonishment, "This is the imperial court. If they knew that people's livelihood was difficult..." She gave her a look that said you know, "You can borrow money from your relatives." She shook her head slightly and said, "It won't work with the imperial court. They are impartial."

"Uh..." The noodle shop owner was speechless because of her blocking. She looked at her stubbornly and said, "Then I will be late too." She said with a heavy nasal voice, "It's good to stay a little longer."

Shen Hui'e looked at her unhappily and said, "Your noodle shop business is going to be affected!"

"I can't live like this anymore." The noodle shop owner sat on the ground and cried loudly, "It's really unbearable."

"Mother!" Li Nu held her hand tightly and said fearfully.

Shen Hui'e patted her hands, looked at the noodle shop owner with her deep and clear eyes and said, "You can do other things. It doesn't matter if you have money."

"Really?" The noodle shop owner looked at her with tears in her eyes and wiped the tears from her face. "Food is so expensive now."

"You can also raise the price!" Shen Hui'e said simply.

"It's too expensive, so no one eats it." The noodle shop owner said with a sad face.

"I said I'd sell it to a rich man." Shen Hui'e looked at her with her bright black eyes and said, "Besides, if you can't keep this noodle shop going in the future, with your cooking skills, you can be a cook in a rich family. At least you won't starve."

"With a skill in hand, you will never have to worry about food and drink." The raccoon slave looked at her with his big blinking eyes and said with courage.

"That's right!" The noodle shop owner jumped up and said, "I have skills. The cook will never go hungry." She embarrassedly covered her face with her hands and said, "Um... I..."

"It's okay. Everyone has times when they can't hold back." Shen Hui'e looked at her with her gentle eyes and said, "No matter how difficult life is, we have to survive, right? Besides, we haven't reached the end of our rope yet!"

"I dare not think positively, things will only get worse." The noodle shop owner said very honestly, "Repairing the palace will not be completed in one or two years, or even three or five years. It may take ten or eight years." He gave her a look that you understand, "How can we collect grain only once? I'm afraid it will be the norm in the future."

Shen Hui'e put her index finger on her lips and said, "Shh... Don't say that. I know it but I won't say it." She looked at her with concern and said, "Be careful not to be punished."

"I can't even make a living with this job, so why would I care about so much?" The noodle shop owner said with an unpleasant expression, "I'm alone anyway, so what do I have to be afraid of?"

"It's better to live a miserable life than to die a good death. Even ants try to survive, so how can I give up my life so easily!" Shen Hui'e looked at her with her warm eyes and said, "If not for others, then live well for yourself."

"What's the point of this person living alone?" The noodle shop owner's eyes flickered as she heard this, "Everyone lives for others, so you have to make others remember you anyway!"

When Shen Hui'e heard this, a hint of surprise flashed in her eyes and she looked at her. Humans are social animals.

"What about you! Can you bear this increased tax?" The noodle shop owner looked at her with concern and asked.

"It's okay! Life is tough for me for only these three months." Shen Hui'e looked at her calmly and said.

"You can hunt." The noodle shop owner smiled and looked at her and said, "You won't starve."

"I see there's a long line in front of the food store. You'd better hurry up if you want to buy food." The noodle shop owner reminded her, "But the price of food has gone up."

"I don't plan to squeeze in now." Shen Hui'e's black eyes flashed and she shook her head slightly when she heard that.

"I'm afraid it will be gone if it's too late." said the noodle shop owner worriedly.

"Even if I can buy it, how much can I buy?" Shen Hui'e looked at her calmly and said, "There is always a way out when you reach the mountain. There is always a way out when you look beyond the dark clouds!"

"Why do you sound so nice?" The noodle shop owner looked at her in surprise and said, "You really know how to comfort yourself."

"If you don't comfort yourself, you won't be able to live like this." Shen Hui'e looked at her with gentle eyes and said.

"Don't buy it, don't buy it! These black-hearted profiteers. The price of grain has doubled." The noodle shop owner said angrily, "They earn money by cheating on their conscience, and they are not afraid of giving birth to a child without an anus."

"Haha..." Shen Hui'e shook her head and laughed, "Usually such black-hearted people live very well. In their hands, conscience can be weighed and has a price. They don't care about being scolded! In their eyes, we are just fools."

"Alas... I finally had a peaceful life for two days, and now..." The noodle shop owner said angrily with a dark face, "I can't run this noodle shop without food!" She waved her hand at them and said, "I won't say anything more. The more you talk, the angrier I get. There's nothing I can do to change anything." She pointed to her own noodle shop and said, "I'm going in, you guys get busy!"

"Yeah!" Shen Hui'e smiled and nodded slightly. She watched her enter the noodle shop before turning around and going home.

"Mom, do we really not have to go to the grain store to buy food?" Li Nu said worriedly, grabbing her clothes.

"I won't buy it. Not only is the price high, but the quality is also poor." Shen Hui'e said without thinking, "We don't want to get ripped off."

"Being slaughtered?" The tiger blinked its black eyes and said, "This knife is really cruel."

"Mother, mother, I want to go to the grain store and squat there. I want to see how high the grain prices can go." The big tiger looked at her with his black eyes and said.

"Go ahead! You're just sitting around doing nothing at home anyway." Shen Hui'e pointed her index finger at him and said, "Let's make a deal first. You only watch and don't talk!"

"Of course, what else can I do?" The big insect blinked at her with his round eyes and said, "I'll tell you when I get back."