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 people's 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 managed to squeeze out a glimmer of light.
The wind carrying moisture in the mountain forest howled 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 his ancestors served as a governor and another as an editor for the Hanlin Academy.
The descendants of the Fang family continued to flee south to escape the war.
One of them hid in a 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 that there is a major disaster, the villagers themselves don’t have enough to eat, let alone send their children to study.
As a result, the Fang family's life became increasingly difficult.
Years of military disasters, banditry and heavy taxes have left rural villagers breathless.
This year's disasters have already killed a large number of people.
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 basic 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 age, 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.
"Mom, Dad, our family has been without food for three days. We still owe food. Now there is a famine. 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 a 'two-legged sheep'..."
Speaking of this, Fang Yang was a little speechless.
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 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 at the side, couldn't bear it anymore, pounded her heart, and began to cry.
"Father, mother, the child is not filial, so he will not be able to serve his parents all the time 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 "dong dong dong...".
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 desolate.
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 they are well-known rogues 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 earn some money.
If others didn't obey, they would use their superficial skills to buy and sell by force, and even injured several people.
Tulin Village is backed by mountains, there are many hunters, and the Fang family is quite respected, so these two scoundrels do not dare to make trouble here.
"Is Mr. Fang at home?" Zhang Erhua's sharp voice sounded like a weasel, which made people feel uncomfortable.
At this time, Fang Yang took several pieces of broken luggage wrapped in rags and pushed open the shaky wooden door.
Fang Yan and Wang followed behind, looking sad.
Mrs. Wang sobbed softly, while Fang Yang turned his head and did not dare to look at his mother.
As for sister Fang Yue and brother Fang Mu, because they are young, they cried most of the night yesterday and are still awake.
Seeing Fang Yang bring the package, Zhang Erhua was a little happy.
But at this time, Mrs. Wang grabbed her son and refused to let her son leave.
"Mr. Fang, let your family Fang Yang come with me. I will give you eight coins and half a bag of brown rice, which is enough for your family to tide over the difficulties. Besides, Fang Yang is also going to the city to enjoy the blessings."
As Zhang Erhua said this, he also imitated the scholar's manner and stepped forward to bow to Fang Yan.
This person is quite cunning and knows that using some etiquette towards scholars can make it easier for him to succeed.
Although Zhang Erhua's salute looked vaguely familiar and even a little funny, Fang Yan still returned the salute seriously.
Eight cents of silver, although it is only the price of a decent banquet in the city, can really feed a remote farm family for more than half a year.
This money can indeed help the Fang family tide over the current difficulties.
Fang Yan looked at his young children sleeping on the straw mat in the house, and then at his sensible eldest son, and was caught in a dilemma.
"No, we won't sell!" Fang Yang's mother sobbed, but said very firmly.
"Didn't we agree last time? Scholars should also be reasonable!"
As he said this, Zhang Erhua showed a ferocious look on his face.