PDLP Chapter 820 Precious
Chapter 820 Precious
The next day, just as dawn broke, Chen Dao and his group, who had tossed and turned all night, woke up.
At this time, most of the villagers in Jingming Village also woke up. After having a simple breakfast at home, they carried their farm tools to the fields to work!
After bidding farewell to Jing Cong's family, Yang Zheng looked at the busy people and felt deeply moved.
The people of Xia were undoubtedly extremely hardworking, working from sunrise to sunset and never slacking off in the slightest.
However, their hard work could not bring them enough to eat. The vast majority of people still suffered from hunger, unable to fill their stomachs and looking pale and sickly. Even the children were mostly thin and emaciated.
Whenever Yang Zheng sees these impoverished people, he can't help but think of the people who lived in Chenjia Village.
In Yang Zheng's view, the people of Chenjia Village looked like real people, and the lives they led were those of real people, while the people of Youzhou...
They were more like livestock to the Lu family—no, they weren't even as good as livestock!
The livestock were able to eat their fill of fodder, but the people of Youzhou, who worked tirelessly for the Lu family all day long, could not even get two meals a day!
"Only after meeting the people of Youzhou did I realize how precious Chenjia Village is!"
Yang Zheng sighed softly. Compared to the lives of the people of Youzhou, the villagers of Chenjia Village lived as if they were in a paradise. They didn't have to worry about tomorrow's food, they didn't have to fear the oppression of officials, everyone could eat their fill and stay warm, and everyone could walk proudly between heaven and earth...
Fortunately, the lives of the people of Liangzhou have improved somewhat. Yang Zheng believes that as long as the Fugui wheat matures smoothly, even if the people of Liangzhou cannot live as well as the villagers of Chenjia Village, they will at least be able to eat their fill and will not have to suffer from hunger.
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After leaving Jingming Village, the group of four headed towards Youzhou Prefecture City along the official road.
Because all four were high-level martial artists, they moved extremely fast. Before sunset, they successfully crossed the official road, which stretched for hundreds of miles, and appeared outside Youzhou Prefecture.
Looking at the magnificent city ahead, no less imposing than Qingzhou Prefecture, Chen Dao turned and asked, "This must be Youzhou Prefecture, right?"
"Yes, but this is not our destination!"
Yang Zheng nodded first, and then said, "The Lu family is not in Youzhou City, but in the Lu Family Manor, which is twenty miles north of the city. We need to rest in the city for a while before heading to the Lu Family Manor!"
Upon hearing this, Chen Dao nodded slightly. The poor lived inside the city, while the powerful and wealthy lived outside. This was probably a unique feature of the Xia Kingdom.
The Wang family back then, and the Lu family now, both follow this pattern.
"Let's go, let's enter the city first."
The four set off for the city gate, showed the city guards their forged travel permits, and successfully entered the city.
In Chen Dao's imagination, Youzhou Prefecture, as the political center of Youzhou, should have a relatively wealthy population.
However, once inside the city, Chen Dao discovered that this prefectural city was far different from what he had imagined!
Standing under the city gate and looking ahead, I saw that most of the people passing by on the street had numb expressions on their faces, and there was not a sound of shouting from the shops on the street, as if they did not care at all whether there were customers.
There were no street vendors to be seen, and the wide streets felt lifeless and devoid of any vitality.
"Although the Lu family is not located within the city, their influence on the prefecture is in no way diminished!"
Li Qiao pointed to a beautifully designed shop on the street and said, "In Youzhou City, whether it's grain shops, cloth shops, or restaurants, more than 70% of them belong to the Lu family. Most of the people living in the city also depend on the Lu family for their livelihood!"
"This……"
Chen Dao couldn't help but gasp. More than 70% of the shops were owned by the Lu family, which meant...
The people of Youzhou Prefecture rely on the Lu family for their basic needs such as food, clothing, shelter, and transportation, which is simply unbelievable.
This is like how a capitalist monopolized all the basic necessities of life in a certain city in a past life, such as rice, flour, and cooking oil. Just thinking about it makes one's scalp tingle!
Because once capitalists monopolize the necessities of life, ordinary people become like leeks that capitalists can harvest at will. The price of grain is entirely determined by capitalists; the price of clothing is also entirely determined by capitalists; even life and death may be controlled by capitalists...
Just thinking about it makes Chen Dao feel suffocated!
No wonder the entire Youzhou Prefecture is so lifeless. It's no wonder that a city where everything from agriculture to commerce is controlled by one family is so stagnant.
The four did not linger at the city gate. Soon after, they arrived at a restaurant called Shengyanlou.
The moment they stepped into the restaurant, the four of them couldn't help but freeze in surprise.
Inside this restaurant, there were several extremely powerful auras, and those auras were no less powerful than Yang Zheng's, who had just been promoted to the third-rank martial artist!
"Gentlemen, would you like to have a meal or stay the night?"
Just then, a shop assistant jogged over and greeted Chen Dao and his companions with great enthusiasm.
"Let's eat first, then check into the hotel!"
"Alright! Please come up to the second floor, sir!"
The restaurant staff were undoubtedly a very perceptive group. They immediately noticed that Chen Dao and his companions were extraordinary. Therefore, instead of having them dine in the main hall on the first floor, they led them directly to a private room on the second floor and then gestured for them to order.
After casually ordering a few dishes, Yang Zheng waved for the waiter to leave, then lowered his voice and said, "There are probably quite a few top-rank martial artists attracted by the Lu family!"
Upon hearing this, Chen Dao and the other two nodded in unison. The moment they reached the second floor, their perception of those several auras became clearer. At this moment, there were probably no fewer than three Rank 3 martial artists dining on the second floor!
"The higher one goes in martial arts, the rarer the cultivation resources become. The fact that the Lu family is willing to offer medicinal herbs naturally attracts many martial artists!"
Li Qiao wasn't surprised. Not everyone in this world is as talented as him, breaking through realms as easily as eating and drinking.
In fact, most martial artists in the Nine Provinces cannot do without the aid of medicinal herbs, especially those of the upper three ranks, who are even more dependent on them!
Because once you reach the upper three ranks, it becomes very difficult to improve your martial arts level through hard work. Unless you have exceptional martial arts talent like Li Qiao, you must have the assistance of medicinal herbs!
However, the herbs suitable for the top three grades are extremely precious and rare, which means that most martial artists have no way to obtain these herbs, and their cultivation level can only stagnate!
In this situation, the Lu family's announcement that they possessed a large quantity of medicinal herbs suitable for top-tier martial artists would naturally attract a large number of top-tier martial artists.
Li Qiao was certain that the several high-ranking martial artists in this restaurant were definitely not all of them who had been attracted by the Lu family!