There was silence around. Chu Huan finally sat down and said to Hexigu with a smile: "Old man, it seems that we are afraid we can't get out for a while."

He Xigu sighed, "We have implicated you." His expression was filled with worry.

Chu Huan observed his expression and asked, "The old man seems to have something to worry about."

He Xigu smiled bitterly and said, "Dake, it's no big deal for me to go to prison, but... it's just that the people of Daqimeng are still waiting for us. If we don't return, we're afraid that something will happen."

Chu Huan said: "Old man, I think you have always been tolerant, as if you are worried about offending the government. Could it be that you are very afraid of the government?"

He Xigu shook his head and said, "Dake, I am old and don't care about life and death, and I will not be afraid of any government. But now we have to ask for it now and have to compromise. I tried my best to avoid conflicts with the government, but I was worried that once there was a conflict, they would use this as an excuse to completely redeem our accounts. But the old man didn't expect that although I tried my best tolerate it, they were unreasonable..."

"The old man and the government have any accounts?"

Hexigu nodded, "Dake is a foreigner, and I don't know that for more than a hundred years, we Guifang people have lived in the continuous Daqimeng. Although the Central Plains are vast and rich in resources, only Daqimeng is our place to live. Although Daqimeng has many mountains and forests, there are many things in addition to mountain goods. After his ancestors lived in Daqimeng, they were not worried about food. There were many beast fruits in the mountains. Men hunted and women collected fruits, and they were still peaceful."

"Is the situation changing now?"

"Yes." He Xigu nodded and sighed: "For more than a hundred years, Guifang people have relied on the things of Daqimeng to survive. The wild beasts on the mountain are now extremely rare and are not enough to support the food of the tribe. Moreover, there are fewer and fewer fruit trees in the Daqimeng Mountains. As early as a few decades ago, we Guifang people began to change their survival methods."

Chu Huan sat opposite Hexi Valley and listened carefully.

"Dake may also know that a long time ago, we Guifang people and the Central Plains people had conflicts, and the relationship between the two sides was not harmonious. The Daqimeng Mountains were caused by our ancestors who exhausted all their wealth. The government had already issued an order that the Central Plains people should not easily enter Daqimeng to affect our lives, and we cannot make trouble in the Central Plains people's territory."

Chu Huan nodded slightly and said, "I have heard of it at this time."

"So after moving into Daqimeng, our ancestors had not come out of the mountain for many years and did not interact with the people in the Central Plains." Hexigu said helplessly: "And the people in the Central Plains have a deep prejudice against us Guifang people. Once we came out of the mountain, we were full of dangers. Later, the food on the mountain could not meet our needs, and the food we needed could only be obtained from the people in the Central Plains. The government prohibited us Guifang people from doing business and did not allow us to open shops in the city. Naturally, we had no money to buy food. In the end, there was only one way, which was to barter."

"Trade food for food?"

"To be more precise, it is to exchange mountain silk and medicinal materials for food." Hexigu said: "Although we are not harmonious with the people of the Central Plains, it is related to the livelihood of tens of thousands of people in the Sixteen Caves of Daqimeng. In the winter of eight years ago, Daqimeng suffered a snow disaster and a grain shortage. In the total of the Sixteen Caves of Daqimeng, hundreds of people starved to death. We know that if we continue, the Guifang people may starve to death, so we finally discussed and contacted the people of the Central Plains. At that time, the business of Anyi Road was controlled by the Huang clans of Anyi, and the head of the Ministry of Revenue Department was the Huang clan, named Huang Zhigui!"

Chu Huan nodded. He understood this point. Since the Huang clan was powerful in the court and was also a local snake on Anyi Road, there were naturally Huang clan officials in some important yamen in Anyi Road. At that time, Duke of Anguo Huang Ju controlled the Ministry of Revenue, and almost all the officials from the Ministry of Revenue from top to bottom were involved with Duke Anguo. As the old nest of the Huang clan, the Ministry of Revenue from the Yellow clan was naturally controlled by the Huang clan.

"We found Huang Zhigui, gave him a generous gift, and discussed with him about exchanging mountain goods for grain." Hexigu said slowly: "At first, Huang Zhigui did not agree. Later, we sent a batch of mountain silk, which is a specialty of the Daqimeng Mountain. The Daqimeng Mountain was born with Qimeng Mountain silkworms. Our ancestors learned the skills of making silk from the people of the Central Plains. After discovering mountain silkworms in the Daqimeng Mountain, they began to breed mountain silkworms and make mountain silk." After a pause, he pondered a little, and finally said: "After the mountain silk was sent, not long after, Huang Zhigui gave us an answer, agreeing that we could use mountain silk to exchange grain, but the two parties agreed that all mountain silk could only be handed over to the Ministry of Revenue Department. After accounting, the Ministry of Revenue Department would provide grain like us..."

Chu Huan said: "When Huang Zhigui was able to agree, it was naturally because Shansi had huge benefits."

He Xigu said: "Actually, we later realized that the price of mountain silk is very expensive, and the benefits we get are only 10% of them. However, as long as we can exchange food, we don't care. At the beginning, we mainly use mountain silk to supply grain, supply twice a year. After each supply of mountain silk, within a month, they will hand over the food source to us. The source of Guifang people mainly relies on the transactions of these two seasons a year. It is difficult to make mountain silk, and the output is not large every year. Although we will not starve to death with this transaction, we cannot eat completely. Later, we specially planted medicinal materials, so that the people of the Sixteen Caves can have a full stomach."

"It is a respectable thing to support yourself by relying on your own hard work." Chu Huan nodded and said, "This time you came to Taiyuan Prefecture to ask for food?"

Hexigu nodded and said, "That is, we will transport food back every summer and winter. Three months ago, we delivered all the mountain silk and medicinal materials for the second half of the year to the Ministry of Revenue Department. Huang Zhigui has accepted it. Less than two months ago, we sent people to transport the food they should have delivered to us, but after the sent people returned, they were empty-handed. We sent people several times later, and Huang Zhigui avoided it. Until one day, we got news that a big incident happened in Taiyuan Prefecture, the Huang clan members rebelled, and Huang Zhigui had also fled from Taiyuan City. The old man knew that things were not good, but there was no food. How could the tribe members survive this winter?"

"Why doesn't the newly appointed chief teacher deliver food?"

"Yes." He Xigu smiled bitterly: "We have been here for more than half a month. Almost every day, we went to the Ministry of Revenue Department to look for the headmaster, but the reply we received was always busy with official duties and we didn't see us. Seeing that it was getting colder and colder, if we were not transported back in time, there would be a risk of food shortage in the Sixteen Caves. Today's situation, Dake, you have also seen it. We have been waiting in front of the Ministry of Revenue Department last night, and waited until the headmaster came out, but he...!" He sighed, "He said those goods."

It was all accepted by Huang Zhigui. Since Huang Zhigui rebelled, the Ministry of Revenue Department had nothing to do with him. If we wanted food, we wanted to ask Huang Zhigui for it." He had anger in his eyes, "Dake, we were not doing business with the Huang clan, but were banned by the government. So we went to the Ministry of Revenue Department's Office, hoping that they would open a new relationship. The subsequent contracts were signed directly with the Ministry of Revenue Department's Office, not with Huang Zhigui personally... You said that we wanted food now, but if we didn't find the Ministry of Revenue Department, who could we find?"

Chu Huanxin is now facing a desperate situation, but the government's control over the ghost people is considered powerful. The lifeline of the ghost people is actually controlled by the government.

As Hexigu said, the transactions for two seasons a year are the basis for the survival of the ghost party. Once the transaction is wrong, the survival problems of the ghost party become serious.

No wonder Hexigu has been compromising. Behind him is the survival of the Guifang tribe. Once he has had a feud with the government and cut off their food supply, Guifang people will fall into a desperate situation.

Chu Huan was also quite disgusted with the evil deeds of the ancestors of the Guifang people, but a hundred years have passed, and Guifang people are now obedient and survive on their own, which is also sympathetic when people sigh.

Chu Huan pondered for a moment and finally asked, "Old man, I heard that your ancestors came from the Western Regions?"

Hexigu nodded and said, "That's right. Our ancestors were a caravan from the Western Regions. At that time, the countries in the Western Regions had trade with the Central Plains. Although our hometown was far away from the Central Plains, some warriors led the caravan to the Central Plains thousands of miles away. It is said that when they came here, there were only more than 300 people, but they brought a large number of goods. It was those goods that allowed them to quickly lay their foundation in the Central Plains. After coming to the Central Plains, they never went back to their hometown again...!"

"Then can you send someone back to your hometown now?" Chu Huan asked, "But do you still remember where your hometown is?"

Hexigu shook his head, "After living in the Central Plains, we adapted to the living habits of the people of the Central Plains. Although we still retain some of the customs of our ancestors, there are not much left. As for our hometown, it is said that our ancestors had been walking for a long time before coming to the Central Plains. We no longer know where our hometown is, maybe we keep walking west and reaching the end..." He sighed, feeling a little melancholy.

Chu Huan hesitated for a moment and suddenly asked, "Do you still remember the language of your ancestors? Since your ancestors came from the Western Regions, they should have their own language."

Hexigu nodded and said, "Of course there are. However, after coming to the Central Plains, our ancestors gradually communicated in the language of the Central Plains... I also learned a little when I was young, but I didn't remember much."

Chu Huan lowered his voice, whispered an extremely strange language, and then asked, "Old man, do you understand what I said just now?"

He Xigu's eyes showed a look of surprise and said in a dismay: "Dake, how could you... understand our language?"

Chu Huan was shocked. He heard that the Ghost Square people came from the Western Regions, so he had an idea in his heart. Chu Huan always remembered the [Demon Suppression Mantra] taught by Master Ghost. However, Chu Huan was puzzled by the strange language. He thought in his heart that since the Ghost Square people came from the Western Regions, he did not know whether he understood the meaning of the [Demon Suppression Mantra].

Chu Huan also knew that the Western Regions were not one or two countries, and there were countless countries in the Western Regions, and their languages ​​were naturally diverse. Although the ghosts came from the Western Regions, they might not be able to solve the secret of the [Demon Suppression Mantra]. He just gave it a try casually, holding a blind cat and hitting a dead mouse. Who knew that Hexigu said this, and it seemed that he understood what he said just now, which made Chu Huan feel excited.
Chapter completed!