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

Chapter 593 Two Emotions

As for whether the people of Liangzhou can afford yellow-feathered chickens and blood-feathered chickens...

Rich people exist everywhere, just like poor people. Although Liangzhou is barren, there are still many people who can afford yellow-feathered chickens and blood-feathered chickens.

"Brother Zhang, we're back."

Just then, footsteps sounded outside the door, followed by the skinny monkey's voice.

Skinny Monkey, who had returned from Ding'an County with a group of brothers, said with a smile, "Brother Zhang, our business was as profitable as ever this time. The profit was a total of 200 taels of silver."

As more and more yellow-feathered chickens and blood-feathered chickens appear in Ding'an County, the prices of these two breeds have gradually begun to stabilize, no longer as exorbitant as when Zhang He first sold blood-feathered chickens to Ding'an County.

When Zhang He first transported chickens to Ding'an County to sell, he earned nearly 2000 taels of silver in one go, but now...

Transporting chickens to Ding'an County can usually earn you around 200 to 300 taels of silver, which is why Zhang He is eager to expand the market.

Although each trip only yielded a few hundred taels of silver, the skinny monkey and his companions were undoubtedly extremely satisfied. For them, who had once suffered hardship and even become refugees going hungry, earning a few hundred taels of silver by simply spending a few days traveling to Ding'an County was an incredibly easy way to make money.

but……

Unlike the excited, skinny monkey, Zhang He's face showed no smile. Instead, he looked at the travel-worn skinny monkey and pondered, "Monkey, do you want to go home?"

Upon hearing this, the skinny monkey was immediately stunned.

Does he want to go home?

He didn't know how to answer that question for a moment.

His hometown was associated with poverty and hunger in his memory, so he instinctively resisted returning to Liangzhou, that barren and heartbreaking place.

But it's not necessarily true that Skinny Monkey didn't want to go home.

That land that gave him birth and raised him holds many wonderful childhood memories, a place that Skinny Monkey can never let go of in his heart.

Even though his relatives in his hometown had starved and frozen to death, and his acquaintances from his hometown had fled, he still could not forget the place where he was born and raised.

Not only the skinny monkey, but everyone else also had complicated expressions. During the time they fled from Liangzhou, they wished they would never go back to that place again.

But once their lives stabilize, they would occasionally have the thought of going back to visit, and even in their dreams, the voices and smiles of their relatives and neighbors from their hometown would frequently appear.

"Brother Zhang."

After a long silence, the skinny monkey spoke up: "Why are you asking this?"

"I plan to expand my business to Liangzhou."

Without hesitation, Zhang He said, "Our business in Ding'an County has now stabilized. Although our income is stable, there is no room for growth. Therefore, we must find new sales channels."

Why not go south?

The skinny monkey asked instinctively.

"Because we are not familiar with the south."

Zhang He replied, "Further south of Taicang County is Taiqing County, where the prefectural city is located. It used to be the territory of the King of Qing. Although the King of Qing is dead, the officials of the prefectural city are still there. Those officials are not good officials like Lord Xu and Lord Li. If we do business there, we will probably be eaten alive."

"Are there no officials in Liangzhou?"

The skinny monkey asked instinctively.

"Of course."

Having inquired about the situation in Liangzhou beforehand, Zhang He said, "However, unlike Taiqing County, the current ruler of Liangzhou, King Yang, is a person who attaches great importance to the rule of law. Under his rule, although the people of Liangzhou are poor, there is order. The people do not need to worry about robbers or thieves who may appear at any time to steal their money and kill them. As for merchants, the Yang family army will not deliberately exploit them. On the contrary, they will protect the merchants and maintain commercial order."

"I see."

Skinny Monkey nodded, "If that's the case, then we can indeed expand our business to Liangzhou."

At this point, the skinny monkey paused and asked, "What about Mr. Chen? Did Mr. Chen agree to let us sell the yellow-feathered chickens and red-blooded chickens to Liangzhou?"

“I already asked Mr. Chen, and he agreed.”

"That's no problem."

Thus, the decision to expand their business to Liangzhou was made. Whether it was Skinny Monkey or the others, their eyes gleamed with anticipation. The thought of returning to the land that had nurtured them filled them with excitement.

…………

…………

Two days later, early morning.

Zhang He, Shouhou, and about thirty other men, having prepared the goods, drove the wagons and embarked on the official road to Liangzhou.

Two hours later, the boundary marker at the border between Qingzhou and Liangzhou appeared before everyone's eyes. The moment they crossed the boundary marker and stepped onto the land of Liangzhou, Zhang He and his subordinates, including the skinny monkey, had extremely complicated feelings.

The mixed emotions of returning home in glory and feeling apprehensive about being close to home left them with a complex mix of feelings.

"I remember it very clearly. When I first escaped here, I was so hungry that I was dizzy and lightheaded."

A square-faced man in the group sighed, "I almost starved to death on the way. Luckily, I caught a rabbit in the woods and survived until I reached the county town on a piece of rabbit meat."

"Me too. I escaped with my parents, but they starved to death on the way. Only I made it to the county town."

“My parents and younger brother all starved to death. I survived until I reached the county town by eating tree bark.”

“I was a little better off than you. I brought more food with me and barely made it to the county town with it.”

"When we were fleeing famine, I even witnessed other refugees eating human flesh."

"..."

Standing on the land of Liangzhou, a sense of sorrow couldn't help but show on everyone's faces.

They thought of their loved ones who had died on their journey to escape famine, and couldn't help but fantasize that if their loved ones were still alive, they could live a good life like them, without having to go hungry.

"Ugh!"

Zhang He sighed softly. The relatives of his brothers had all died on the way to escape famine, and his own relatives had also perished.

Even his relatives didn't survive until the time they had to flee the famine; they had already starved to death long before they even left.

It was precisely because his loved ones had all passed away that Zhang He made up his mind to flee the famine to Qingzhou, where he eventually found a way to survive.

"I'm planning to go back to my hometown for a visit, do you want to come along?"

Zhang He composed himself, concealing the sorrow on his face, and asked the others.

The moment he stepped into Liangzhou, even though he knew that his hometown might have changed beyond recognition, he still felt a strong urge to go home and visit.

"Of course we should go together!"

The skinny monkey, who came from the same village as Zhang, was the first to nod.

"I also want to visit Brother Zhang's village."

"Sure, I'm curious about what Brother Zhang's hometown is like."

"Let's go, Brother Zhang, we'd like to see your hometown too."

"..."