In years of famine and drought, their village even rejected fatty meat.

Chapter 597 Just come back

The tragedy of wanting to care for one's parents but finding them no longer there is undoubtedly a human tragedy.

Skinny Monkey knelt before the grave, tears blurring his vision, his mind filled with the voices and smiles of his parents.

Zhang He stood silently before the grave for a long time, his heart filled with sorrow.

After a long while, Zhang Hecai stood up from his parents' graves, wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes, and asked the village chief, "Village chief, how many people are left in our village?"

Zhang He noticed that, besides the graves of him and Shouhou's relatives, the area was dotted with small mounds, making it seem like a mass grave, where villagers from Zhangwang Village were buried.

"population?"

The village chief paused for a moment, then sighed heavily, "Now there are less than 200 people left in the village. In the past few years, some have run away, some have died, and all the old people have died."

Upon hearing this, Zhang He glanced at the villagers gathered there. Just as the village chief had said, none of the dozens of villagers were elderly.

"Are there only 200 people left?"

Zhang He muttered to himself that when he was a child, Zhangwang Village had a population of over 700, while when he fled famine, Zhangshan Village still had about half that, around 400 people.

Now only 200 people remain. Since the cold disaster struck, the population of Zhangshan Village has decreased by 7%, which is an astonishing proportion.

Of course, not all of these missing people died; some, like Zhang He, fled to Qingzhou or other places.

But fleeing famine is not so easy, and not everyone can have Zhang He's luck and courage.

In fact, the mortality rate on the way to escape famine was no lower than that of staying in their hometown, and was even higher. Very few of those who fled famine actually survived.

"Yes!"

The village chief's eyes were filled with sorrow: "In the years before the famine, although the harvest was meager, we could still barely survive. But starting more than a year ago, not only did our stored grain run out, but the imperial court also kept increasing taxes, and the villagers could no longer make a living. I watched with my own eyes as one villager after another passed away before my very eyes..."

As the village chief of Zhangwang Village, Zhang Hao has witnessed far too many partings and deaths, to the point that he has become somewhat numb.

In fact, it wasn't just Zhang Hao; the villagers present felt the same way.

"That damned imperial court is giving us no way to survive."

“Those corrupt officials only know how to suck our blood and then enjoy it themselves.”

"Hmph! The officials have no worries about food and drink, and they don't care about our lives at all."

"..."

The villagers' faces were full of resentment. If the imperial court hadn't kept increasing taxes, Zhangwang Village would never have fallen to this state.

It should be noted that even with the impact of the cold disaster, it is still possible to cultivate crops from spring to winter. Although the amount of grain grown during this period is not much, it is barely enough to feed the people of Liangzhou.

However, the imperial court gave the people of Liangzhou no hope of survival. Instead of providing disaster relief, it increased taxes as the cold disaster swept through the region.

This was practically forcing the people to their deaths, which led the imperial court to produce Yang Zheng and countless rebellious forces across the land.

"Oh, let's not talk about this."

The village chief sighed and changed the subject, saying, "He-ge'er and Shou-hou'er have finally come back for a visit, why don't you come to my house for a simple meal?"

"no need."

Zhang He instinctively refused. These days, going to someone else's house for a free meal is a very unpleasant thing to do, and Zhang He was unwilling to suffer the disdain of the village chief's family.

The village chief didn't give Zhang He a chance to refuse. He grabbed Zhang He's wrist and forcibly led him towards his home.

"Since you're already here, you should at least do me the honor of coming to my house for a meal."

Zhang He was somewhat helpless as the village chief forcibly dragged him along, but seeing how enthusiastic the village chief was, he couldn't refuse, so he had no choice but to follow the village chief to his home.

After exchanging glances, the skinny monkey and the rest of the caravan chose to follow.

As for the villagers... they naturally went back to their own homes.

"He-ge'er, you're lucky. If you had come earlier, I really wouldn't have had any food to offer you. Fortunately, the harvest was just finished recently..."

As the village chief spoke, he glanced back at the group behind him, and his face immediately turned green.

He had subconsciously said he would treat Zhang He to a meal, but now he realized that Zhang He wasn't just himself, but dozens of men...

It's no exaggeration to say that these dozens of men could eat up most of his family's food reserves in one meal...

Realizing this, the village chief's face turned ashen, utterly perplexed. He had already spoken; refusing to entertain Zhang He and his companions would be incredibly awkward, but entertaining Zhang He...

There were too many people, and the family's meager food supplies were simply not enough to feed them all.

For a moment, the village chief's face scrunched up like a chrysanthemum.

Fortunately, Zhang He realized this as well. He said to the village chief who had stopped, "Village chief, there are many of us, so you don't need to entertain us. We brought our own food. Just lend us your kitchen."

"also."

The village chief nodded awkwardly.

Then, upon arriving at the village chief's house, under Zhang He's arrangement, several men in the caravan who were skilled in cooking unloaded grain and several yellow-feathered chickens from the truck and went into the kitchen to get busy.

The remaining caravan members mostly rested in the front yard of the village chief's house, while a small number stayed outside to guard the goods.

As for the village chief and Zhang He and the skinny monkey, they sat down in the village chief's living room and chatted.

"Old Zhang."

Just then, the village chief's wife, who had heard the commotion, came over and asked, "Have we had guests?"

"Ah."

The village chief nodded and said with a smile, "You should know these two! This is Zhang Qi's son, Zhang He, and this is Zhang Man's son, Skinny Monkey."

"Zhang He, Skinny Monkey?"

After recalling for a moment, Wang Yu, the village chief's wife, quickly showed a shocked expression on her face.

"Are you Zhang He and Skinny Monkey?"

Wang Yu looked at the two in disbelief and asked. She clearly remembered that Zhang He and the skinny monkey had left the village more than half a year ago. The villagers all said that they had gone to escape famine, but in those days, escaping famine was not so easy. Most people thought that the two had died on the way to escape famine. Wang Yu thought so too, which is why she reacted so strongly when she saw the two.

"It's us."

Zhang He nodded with a smile, "Aunt Wang, it's been a long time."

Although Wang Yuren wasn't particularly beautiful, she was kind-hearted and well-liked in the village, so Zhang He naturally didn't have a bad impression of her.

"It's really you."

Wang Yu, who had held Zhang He when she was a child, stared blankly at Zhang He's face. That face, which seemed familiar yet somewhat unfamiliar, left her in a daze for a long, long time.

After a long while, Wang Yu finally spoke, "It's good that you're back, it's good that you're back!"