Venerated Venomous Consort

“Clan leader, are you not happy?” Deeply absorbed in his thoughts, the clan leader did not notice the question. Tie Dan had to repeat the question twice to get his attention.

“I am happy.” He forced a smile. He looked around and sighed before continuing, “After all, this is where I was born.”

They passed by a huge mansion on their way. Hesitantly, the clan leader paused to look inside. The greenish copper gate was wide open, and there was a wall made with many bricks of green jade. On the wall, there was a painting depicting a large bird that appeared to be extending its wings in flight.

The mansion was obviously occupied. When the clan leader paused to look inside, the four guards at the gate quickly dismissed him. “Go away! Go away! This is the residence of the general. It is not meant for people like you.”

The clan leader did not know what to say. Quietly, he took a few quick steps to catch up with the rest of the villagers. Gu Xijiu and Di Fuyi were walking behind the rest of the group. Seeing the clan leader walking away at a fast pace gave Gu Xijiu a sense of bewilderment.

Furthermore, the so-called residential area on the southern part of the city was more like a slum. Shabby tents were raised right next to one another. At the entrance, many things were placed in a mess. The people there appeared to be dirty and unkempt.

The leader of the soldiers guided them all the way to the core of this heavy populated area and pointed at 30 vacant tents. “The governor is kind enough to have granted you these places to live. You have to learn to appreciate his kindness by working hard and working well.” The villagers agreed, and soon, the soldiers left them alone.

Chun Cao looked at the small and shabby tents and was unhappy. “These broken houses are not even as good as the ones we once had.”

Tie Niu agreed with a frown. “I highly doubt that I can stand up straight in these tents.”

A man emerged from the tent beside and heard their conversation. “Be grateful for what you have. At least you have a place to stay. Many people in the city sleep in the bushes without a roof.”

The villagers looked at each other, not knowing what to say. Along their way, they had indeed seen some people sleeping in the streets.

“The city is in such a state of poverty,” Chun Cao commented.

“The city is not. We are the ones in poverty,” the man hissed to express his disapproval.

He shook his head and quickly entered his tent as if he had just said something he should not have said. Soon, the man reemerged in a hurry.

“Where are you going?” Chun Cao was curious.

“To work!”

“Do you really have to work at this hour?” It was already time for dinner.

The man did not even look back at her, but he did reply. “People like us are only entitled to sleep for three hours a day. We have to work, if not eat, for the rest of the day.”

“Where should we eat? Do we make our own food?” The villagers were famished. They would love to try the food in the city.

The man stopped and answered her in all seriousness, “We are not allowed to cook our own food. Cooking is only allowed in the kitchen owned by people with the ranking of ‘commanding officer’ and above. People like us can only get our food from the canteen. Do you have Luo Hua Tickets? You need Luo Hua Tickets to buy food from the canteen.”

The villagers were obviously surprised. They looked at one another helplessly.

The man heaved a sigh and took out a crumpled ticket from his pocket. “Here you go. This is the ticket for the common people. If you work a full day, you will receive a ticket.”

The clan leader took it to observe it carefully. The ticket looked somewhat like a piece of banknote. On the ticket, there was a ‘500’ printed on it.

“How many things can you buy with this ticket?”

“How many things?” The man was disappointed. “You can only get three buns, three bowls of porridge, and two dishes of pickles.”