Kang Kejing seemed to hear the sound of nature and looked excitedly.
A thin middle-aged man with a beard waved to Kang Kejing and patted the corner behind him.
Dodging left and right, Kang Kejing spent a lot of time in the crowd with nowhere to go before she reached the middle-aged man.
The latter asked him in Sogdian: "What is your last name?"
Kang Kejing replied in Sogdian: "My family name is Kang and my first name is Kejing."
The middle-aged man nodded and said in Tang Dynasty Mandarin: "I am He Tan Chong."
Kang Kejing slowly sat down against the wall. She was at the innermost side of the room. The chill subsided slightly and she finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Stretching her hand back, Kang Kejing accidentally touched someone and quickly retracted, apologizing.
The man lying next to the wall did not respond.
Kang Kejing turned her head, looked carefully, and touched it again with her hand. Only then did she realize that the man beside the wall was stiff, but he had been dead for a long time.
Suppressing the exclamation in her mouth with her hand, Kang Kejing wanted to stand up. He Tanchong saw this and said, "What's all the fuss about?"
Kang Kejing pointed to the corpse beside her and said with chattering teeth: "This man is already dead."
He Tanchong: "I know."
Kang Kejing: "Then why not move him outside and place him properly?"
He Tanchong: "Moving it is time-consuming and troublesome. If you don't pay attention, the position you occupied will be snatched away... Besides, this corpse has its uses."
Kang Kejing looked puzzled.
He Tanchong pulled the body out a little, and a cold wind suddenly came in.
Kang Kejing took a closer look and discovered that there was a big hole in the corner of the wall. The refugees in the house could not find anything to plug the hole, so they could only use corpses as fillers to block the wind and snow.
Seeing this scene, Kang Kejing felt sad in her heart. She closed her eyes and whispered: "The Tang Dynasty should not be like this, and Chang'an should not be like this..."
He Tanchong smiled sadly and said: "If this is not the case, then what should it be? Although this duckweed house is simple and crude, it can still provide shelter from the wind and rain. On the official road outside Chang'an City, there are a large number of refugees who cannot enter the city and can only live in
In the wilderness of ice and snow, countless people freeze to death and starve to death every night. Speaking of which, those of us who can enter the city are actually lucky."
Kang Kejing hugged her knees with both arms, holding back the pain in her body and the misery in her heart, and said softly: "Many years ago, my mother-in-law came to Chang'an. She said that there were flowers and music everywhere.
, everyone’s face is filled with laughter and joy. This city is not only the center of the Tang Dynasty, but also the center of the earth. All beautiful things can be found here."
He Tanchong sighed while listening: "Just eight years ago, I ran a business in Puzhou, bought a hundred acres of land, and married a Tang Dynasty woman. I lived a prosperous and comfortable life. In just a few years,
The shops were gone, the land was taken away, and the wife and children were separated."
Kang Kejing: "Why is this happening?"
He Tan Chong: "Why? The officials compete with the people, the rich take over the poor, that's all."
Kang Kejing thought of Uncle Shen and said quickly: "I have relatives I know in Chang'an City, and I would like to ask the government to help find him."
He Tanchong looked Kang Kejing up and down, shook his head and said, "The government doesn't care about the life and death of the refugees. Don't make yourself uncomfortable...Besides, tomorrow is Yuan Day, and most of the Shangguan officials in Chang'an City will attend the court meeting.
The complaint will not be accepted at all.”
When Kang Kejing heard this, he couldn't stop lamenting.
He Tanchong: "Instead of going to the government for help tomorrow, it is better to stay in the duckweed house and wait for relief."
Kang Kejing: "Relief?"
He Tanchong: "A few years ago, there was a group of refugees who were fortunate enough to be taken in by a noble man from Bachuan. Although they were sold into slavery, they lived a comfortable life with no worries about food and clothing, and their owners were also first-class good people."
Kang Kejing asked excitedly: "Bachuan? But Bachuan, who is known as the first theater company in the Tang Dynasty?"
He Tanchong was stunned: "Theatre Club? I don't usually go to the theater, but people who have been to Bachuan say that it is full of flowers and picturesque, no less than Chang'an City... Bachuan has always helped the refugees.
As a good deed, on New Year's Day every year, Bachuan will send people to the door of Duckweed House to distribute clothes, quilts and food." Kang Kejing: "Someone will come from Bachuan tomorrow? Will they still accept people there?"
He Tan Chong said mockingly: "I know what you are planning. Bachuan is such an elegant place. Now it only accepts slaves trained by officials. How can ordinary refugees have that chance?"
Kang Kejing began to think that if she met the people from Bachuan tomorrow, she might be able to find help through the reputation of the Kang family in Shicheng Town.
After thinking for a while, hunger and cold made Kang Kejing stop fantasizing and brought him back to reality.
Seeing the pain on his face, He Tanchong could naturally guess the reason. He took out a piece of paper from his arms and quietly handed it to Kang Kejing.
The latter thought there was food wrapped in the paper, and was delighted. When he opened it, he found that there was nothing, and he was greatly disappointed.
He Tanchong: "This is the talisman of Yinglong. Carry it with you to ensure safety."
Kang Kejing glanced at the paper under the moonlight, and saw a flying dragon with five claws and two wings leaping on the paper. He felt familiar and asked, "What is this?"
When this topic was brought up, He Tanchong suddenly became interested: "You don't know? Earthquakes, typhoons, floods, locusts, no matter what kind of disaster, there must be a warning from Yinglong before it occurs."
Kang Kejing shook his head: "It's just market rumors."
He Tanchong: "Really! I was doing business in Qinzhou, and when I stayed at an inn, I saw Ying Long Chengyun enter the world, hover over the state capital for several times, and then return to the sky again. The next day, Qinzhou suddenly
It rained heavily and flooded, and half of the city was flooded."
Kang Kejing was stunned when he heard this: "Have you seen it with your own eyes?"
He Tanchong: "I can swear that if any of your sentences are false, I will be willing to fall into hell!"
Kang Kejing saw that He Tanchong's face was serious and did not look like he was faking it. She looked down at the portrait of Yinglong in her hand with some doubts.
He Tanchong: "In these years, I have been wandering around, living in hardship, and seeing all the injustice in the world. Some Buddhas, some Arhats, they say they save all living beings and bring good fortune to the people. They talk nice, but they can only open their mouths.
Alchemy! Who has ever seen them come down to earth to help people? Only this Yinglong, whenever there is a big disaster, comes down to earth to warn, and never asks for anything in return."
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! Seeing that He Tan Chong's words were true, Kang Kejing thought for a moment and put the Yinglong Talisman into her arms for peace of mind.
The next day, Kang Kejing, who had been frozen all night, got up at the urging of He Tanchong and came to the door of Duckweed House tremblingly.
Looking around, the courtyard is crowded with people, and there are refugees everywhere with sallow faces and skinny muscles.
Kang Kejing didn't realize it yesterday, but she was startled when she saw so many people today, and took a few steps back unconsciously.
He Tanchong grabbed him and kept pushing forward in the crowd, saying: "Move forward, or you won't be able to grab food later."
Kang Kejing was tired and hungry, so she rushed ahead with all her last strength.
After waiting outside the duckweed house for more than half an hour, Kang Kejing was exhausted and almost fainted. A burst of cheers broke out from the crowd and they rushed forward.
He Tanchong pulled Kang Kejing and said loudly: "The relief people from Bachuan are here, go forward quickly!"
Kang Kejing stood on tiptoes and could vaguely see several large vehicles parked on the roadside. People on the vehicles were distributing clothes and quilts to ward off the wind and cold and steaming steamed cakes to the refugees.
Kang Kejing ignored the pushing of others and squeezed to the front of the car. She found an old man wearing leather armor and maintaining order, and shouted to him: "I am Kang Kejing, and my father is the guardian of Shicheng Town...
"
Before he finished speaking, a first-rate citizen stood beside him and stretched out his hand and shouted: "My ancestor is General Cheng. He has a chest that can crush rocks, a horse that can run on his shoulders, and a courage that is invincible to ten thousand men. I beg you to take me in..."
Someone else shouted: "I studied under Longhu Mountain. The innate Yuan Zhen and the acquired Gang Qi are integrated and blended. I have practiced to the point where the three flowers gather at the top and the five Qi are facing the Yuan. Soon I will be able to condense the elixir and build the foundation... Now
I plan to find a thatched cottage in Bachuan, open a temple and set up an altar, and accept three or five beautiful maidservants as my disciples. I am willing to give them elixirs as gifts!"
Kang Kejing felt dizzy as she heard these nonsense words.
Facing these people who wanted to join Bachuan and talked nonsense, the old man in leather armor just glanced at them, shook his head, took out the wine gourd from his waist, opened the stopper, and planned to leave.
Kang Kejing's heart became anxious and her mind became hot, so she opened her mouth and shouted: "I'm from Liangzhou and I know Uncle Shen from Changxingfang."
The old man suddenly paused, stopped, and turned to look at Kang Kejing.