Chapter 1 0001 The Years Are Hard
Liang Guo.

In the winter of the 455th year of the reign of Emperor Han, a meteor fell from the sky and landed in Tianduan Mountain, shocking the State of Liang!
In the 458th year of the Han Dynasty, it was midsummer, at dusk.

South of Liang State, west of Xiangyang Prefecture, Yufeng County, Jinqiao Village…

"flutter…"

A dull thud, like a heavy object falling to the ground, was heard at the door of an old house.

As the dust rose, a few beads of sweat as big as beans fell and hit the dirt road, splashing some more dust and forming a few small mud pits.

"Open the door!"

Cheng Guanghai, wearing a gray cloth sweat shirt, a black sweat towel around his neck, and straw sandals, shouted towards the door, then took off his old straw hat which had turned black, bent down, took off the shoulder pole, and hung it on the basket.

There were two large baskets on the ground, each containing a burlap bag filled with something.

Cheng Guanghai looked at the things in the basket and breathed a sigh of relief.

Finally I'm back safely.

This was the grain he borrowed from his brother's family in the county.

In these years of famine, this is life-saving food and is extremely precious!
"Hurry, hurry, your dad is back!"

I heard the shouting outside the door, and a woman's hurried shouting came from inside the yard:

"Second brother, go open the door, your father is back."

Soon, accompanied by a long friction "creaking" sound, the old, paint-chipped wooden door that had been exposed to wind and sun for many years was opened from the inside.

A thin boy, about eleven or twelve years old, wearing a gray patched vest, walked out with bare, dusty feet.

The little boy looked at the man standing at the door, fanning himself with his straw hat, and shouted excitedly, "Dad!"

The man looked at his second son Cheng Zongliang, nodded with a smile, and casually put a straw hat on his son's head. Then he bent down, picked up the shoulder pole and basket, and walked in laboriously, not forgetting to ask:

"Where's your elder brother?"

Cheng Zongliang, whose head was almost completely covered by the straw hat, quickly took off his hat and ran inside while responding:
"Dad, when you went to the county, my eldest brother went into the mountains."

"Dad, Dad, drink some water."

At this time, in the main room, a little kid with a baby voice, holding a ceramic bowl in his little hands, was walking out step by step.

His steps were unsteady and a lot of water spilled out of the ceramic bowl in his hand.

"Oh, my dear daughter, be careful, don't fall!"

When Cheng Guanghai saw his little daughter with two pigtails, he was so happy about her thoughtful gesture.

He quickly put the things down and ran over, took the ceramic bowl from his little daughter's hand, and gulped the liquid into his mouth.

Although most of the water in the bowl had been spilled, there wasn't much left.

"It's delicious. Yun'er is amazing. She can even pour water for Daddy."

Cheng Guanghai happily picked up Cheng Zongyun, who was smiling, and kissed her little face, making the little girl giggle with joy.

"Did you listen to your mother today?"

"Yeah, I play by myself." Cheng Zongyun nodded his head and laughed.

"Your second brother didn't accompany you..."

Before Cheng Guanghai could finish his words, he turned around and saw Cheng Zongliang rummaging through the basket.

"Hey, you little bastard, didn't you take good care of your sister?" Cheng Guanghai was not polite to his son and knocked him on the head with his hand.

Cheng Zongliang covered his head and nodded quickly: "Yes, yes, today my mother went to the fields, and I was the one who kept an eye on my sister at home."

"Okay, hurry up and wash up. It will be almost time for dinner when Yang'er comes back."

At this time, the child's mother Zhou Xiao'e came out of the kitchen.

"It's so hot... why don't you help your mother light the fire?"

Cheng Guanghai looked at his wife whose hair was stuck to her temples with sweat, and called out to his second son with concern.

"Oh..." Cheng Zongliang responded and prepared to go to the kitchen.

"Dad, you're back."

At this time, a young man carrying a sack in his hand and a bow and arrow on his back walked in from outside the door.

The boy was also wearing a gray patched sweatshirt and trousers, and black cloth shoes with his thumbs exposed. He was about five and a half feet tall (one foot ≈ 30 cm here).

Unlike the other people in the family, the boy has a slightly sturdy build, and some muscle lines can be seen on his exposed arms.

The one who reacted the fastest when seeing the person coming in was the little girl in Cheng Guanghai's arms.

“Big pot…!” She couldn’t even speak clearly as she struggled to get out of her father’s arms and stumbled towards the door on her short legs.

This scene made Cheng Guanghai feel a little jealous.

This girl is still closer to her older brother.

"Cauldron, Cauldron, I missed you."

The little girl ran and shouted, and the two braids on her head swayed.

"Haha."

Cheng Zongyang threw the sack in his hand aside with a smile and picked up the little girl.

Cheng Zongliang stared at the bulging sack and hurried over to open it for a look.

Cheng Guanghai didn't pay much attention to it and walked towards the wellhead. After some effort, he managed to draw less than half a bucket of water.

This scene made him frown.

There is less water again!

"Brother, since there are fewer people today, will it be harder to fight?"

Cheng Zongliang's voice rang out, attracting everyone's attention.

Cheng Zongyang nodded slightly and gestured behind him.

Seeing this, Cheng Zongliang went over and closed the door.

"I walked a lot in the outer mountains today, and I encountered a long worm coming out of the ground and a pheasant."

"Normal." Cheng Guanghai looked at the turbid well water that was less than one-third full in the bucket on the ground with a serious expression.

"Due to the drought in the past two years, the rivers outside the country have almost dried up and the crops have almost disappeared. Now even the well water is getting less and less.

Li Ming said that everyone wanted to risk going into the inner mountain to divert water, but they never expected that the river at the junction of the inner and outer mountains had already dried up. Several people were poisoned to death by poisonous insects.

In order to survive and pay taxes, people with connections go to the county to borrow money to survive. It doesn't matter, not only our village, but also the nearby villages go to the mountains to find food.

It will be even more difficult in the future, and I don’t know when this disaster will end.

Also, when I went to the county today, your second uncle mentioned to me that the whole Xiangyang Prefecture is in a similar situation, and there are more and more beggars in the city. I'm afraid they are refugees from other places.

Even in the neighboring Luoyang Prefecture, it hasn’t rained for half a year since the beginning of this year. I’m afraid it will be even more difficult in the future. I don’t know what’s going on in Linchuan and Beiding Prefectures. If that day really comes, I won’t know where to escape to.”

Speaking of this, Cheng Guanghai sighed.

Their family also made a living from the fields and mountains.

Fortunately, each family could still draw some water from underground wells, and with the savings earned from hunting by himself and his eldest son in recent years, plus some money that could be borrowed from his younger brother in the county, their family was relatively stable and did not lack food.

But the food is still quite different.

"It's okay, it will be fine."

Cheng Zongyang smiled, put his little sister down, pinched her chubby little face, and said:
"I'll take care of these two first. Go play by yourself."

"I want to see the chicken being slaughtered in a big pot." The three-year-old girl said with her little face raised without any fear.

Seeing this, Cheng Guanghai shook his head and went to wash up.

The eldest brother has loved this girl since she was born, and always gives her all the delicious food, so they are naturally close.

Cheng Zongliang also followed his elder brother, watching the pheasants and snakes being processed, and completely forgot about the fire.

Looking at the pheasant's hair gradually becoming bald, the little girl squatting beside her swallowed her saliva, and then asked her elder brother in a low voice:

"Big Pot, chicken tonight?"

Hearing this, Cheng Zongyang smiled and said, "Well, eat. I'll leave one chicken leg for you. Just eat steamed chicken, this way you can save fuel."

"Hehe, thank you big pot." The girl squatted contentedly aside and continued to watch quietly.

Cheng Zongliang opened his mouth, wanting to say something.

Cheng Zongyang noticed this and smiled secretly in his heart, but the next second he was rushed to make a fire.

"Hey, what is this?"

Suddenly, when I was handling the rat snake, I felt something hard in its belly.

It is about the size of an adult's thumb and is a stone ring.

　The contract has been signed, please feel free to invest! I wish you all get rich after the New Year...!
　　Note: Due to the plot requirements, the timeline progresses slowly in the early stage. It will speed up normally later.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)