Chapter 30 Small Village!

Zhu Ziyang and Jiang Nannan walked into the old man's house, only to find that the family's situation is not very good.

The layout of the house is simple, one bedroom, one main room, and one kitchen and dining room. The furnishings in the main room are very simple and clean, except for the table, chairs and cabinets, there is only an old pendulum clock.

"Mother-in-law, what's your last name? Are you the only one living in the house?" Zhu Ziyang looked at the environment in the house, while Jiang Nannan said to the old man.

"My surname is Yang, and I have a little granddaughter, she is asleep." The old man replied, and she went to the cabinet, rummaging for something.

"What about your son and daughter-in-law? Are you not at home?" Jiang Nannan asked subconsciously.

"The son died, and the daughter-in-law went with him." The old man said, his tone was flat, as if he was talking about an unimportant matter.

"Ah!" Jiang Nannan couldn't help apologizing when she heard the words, "I'm sorry, mother-in-law."

"It's okay, old lady, I'm used to it." The old man said, there was no emotion on his old face, like a piece of wood.

"Grandma, what's the name of our village? It doesn't look like there are many people?" Seeing this, Zhu Ziyang changed the subject and asked.

"The guest doesn't know, our village is called Zhangyangzhuang, and it is under the rule of Viscount Notting of Hetian Town." The old man replied calmly, "Everyone in the village has moved to other places."

"Moved to another place?" Jiang Nannan was puzzled, tilted her head, and said, "Why did you move away?"

"If we don't move away, the children won't be able to awaken their martial spirits." The old man's tone finally had some emotion, it was helplessness intertwined with pain, struggle and despair, she said.

"Why?" Jiang Nannan was puzzled, and said, "Is there no Soul Masters Association in Frank City?"

"The Soul Master Association needs to pay fifty gold soul coins to awaken the martial soul." The old man didn't speak, Zhu Ziyang answered Jiang Nannan's question, and said with a thoughtful face.

He still didn't say anything later, but Jiang Nannan is not stupid, she has already understood. Fifty gold soul coins, for a family in such a small village, may be a lifetime savings.

The Soul Masters Association, after the collapse of the Wuhun Temple, was established by various empires to take over all matters related to the Wuhun Palace and Soul Masters, including the awakening of the Wuhun. After ten thousand years, the soul master associations in various places have been controlled by nobles in various places. This is undoubtedly bad news for ordinary people. There are probably countless small Zhuangzi like Zhang Yangzhuang in the territory of the Three Great Empires.

"What the guest said is true." The old man was silent for a moment, and echoed, "When the old viscount was still alive, he would bestow gifts every year and send soul masters to every village to help children awaken their martial souls for free. But now, I It has been more than ten years since I have seen a soul master from the Viscount's Mansion."

"Nowadays, people who want to awaken their martial souls and don't want to sell themselves to the Viscount's Mansion have all moved away. The rest of the village are old guys who can't walk, and some children who haven't awakened their martial souls. What should I do..." The old man rambled on, as if he was chatterboxing, and then stopped abruptly, "The old lady is rambunctious, please forgive me."

"..." Zhu Ziyang and Jiang Nannan were silent.

He understands that this is the true portrayal of the life of ordinary people in this era.

In this era, the awakening of martial souls was controlled by the nobles of the empire. If commoners wanted to awaken their martial souls, they had to pay fifty gold soul coins to the Soul Masters Association, and the soul masters of the Soul Masters Association would awaken their martial souls. There are soul master associations; either sell yourself to the noble mansion and become a servant of the noble, and each noble will awaken the martial soul for his servant.

In addition to these two methods, when some high-level soul masters also travel to the mainland, they will also show kindness and help the children who pass by the village to awaken their martial souls.

The aristocratic class like Hong Zhen, the lord of Anyang City, is still rare after all.

This is an era of class solidification, and the only way out for common people's children is tightly blocked, with only one or two remaining gaps, but no one can touch them.

Zhu Ziyang suddenly wanted to cry, and felt sad, but he didn't know where the sadness came from.

The old man found a key from the cabinet, walked towards the locked bedroom, and said in a low voice, "Guests can rest here tonight."

"Hmm! Sorry to trouble you." Zhu Ziyang said, his face was expressionless, but his eyes were extremely deep, and he didn't know what he was thinking.

"Guest, please come in." The old man opened the bedroom door, walked in with an oil lamp, and said to the two.

The two followed the old man into the bedroom, and saw that the layout of the bedroom was very festive. There were red curtains hanging on the big red bed, and the word "囍" was pasted on the dresser beside the bed.

Such a scene made Jiang Nannan's pretty face slightly flushed.

"This is my son's and their wedding room. They only stayed for one night and never came back." The old man lit a red candle and said to himself, "The two guests can make up for it."

"Okay, thank you." Zhu Ziyang did not shirk. Although he has a compassionate heart, he will not act hypocritically because of this.

"Old lady, I won't delay the rest of the two guests." The old man said, her attitude was always alienated and in awe, obviously aware of the identities of Zhu Ziyang and the two.

"Good night, mother-in-law." Jiang Nannan said subconsciously.

The old man left the room without forgetting to close the door.

"Let's rest, we have to get up early tomorrow." Zhu Ziyang said.

"En!" Jiang Nannan nodded, folded the quilt on the bed, put it aside, then took out the quilt she brought with her from the luggage, and spread it out.

The two slept in their clothes.

Nothing to say all night.

——

The next day, early morning.

Zhu Ziyang and the two walked out of the room and found that the old man had also gotten up.

Beside her was a timid little girl who looked about four or five years old, secretly looking at Zhu Ziyang and Jiang Nannan.

"Grandmother, you got up so early!" Jiang Nannan greeted with a smile, then looked at the little girl, smiled and waved, "She is your granddaughter, she looks so cute!"

"I'm getting old, I feel shallow." The old man replied, when Jiang Nannan mentioned her granddaughter, her face showed kindness, she looked at the little girl beside her, and said, "Yes, niece, say hello to the guests."

"Hello." The little girl called weakly.

Jiang Nannan was a little surprised, leaned over and patted the little girl's head, said with a smile on her face, "Your name is Nannan, it's the same as my sister's, and my sister's name is Nan Nan."

"Really!" The little girl exclaimed in surprise, looking at Jiang Nannan with a little more affection.

"Two guests..." the old man hesitated to speak.

"Grandma, is there anything we can help with?" Zhu Ziyang noticed the old man's hesitant expression, and said aloud.

"This..." The old man hesitated for a moment, and said with a hint of expectation on his old face, "The two guests are soul masters, right?"

"That's right." Zhu Ziyang nodded and replied, already vaguely guessing what the old man was going to say.

"That's great, that's great!" the old man said repeatedly, looking at Zhu Ziyang with a pleading look on his old face, "May I ask you something, if you pass by here in the future, can you help me with this?" The poor little granddaughter has awakened her martial spirit."

The old man's words were the same as what Zhu Ziyang thought, and he fell silent.

Seeing this, the old man couldn't help feeling a little anxious, but he didn't dare to speak loudly, for fear of offending Zhu Ziyang, so he could only plead more humblely: "This child lost his parents when he was just one year old, and I am a person who is about to die It's gone, maybe it will be gone when. This child is still young, and I will be gone in the future. She has a martial soul and there is a possibility of survival..."

"Okay, old woman, you don't need to say anything." Zhu Ziyang interrupted the old man's words with a calm face.

The old man was terrified, her face was as white as paper, she thought her words had offended Zhu Ziyang, her mouth was trembling and she couldn't speak.

However, what Zhu Ziyang said next made the old man's complexion turn red.

"I promise you, old woman." Zhu Ziyang said, his face was still calm, but there was a strange brilliance in his eyes. Also as a commoner, he felt that he had to do something.

"This, this..." The old man was ecstatic, and trembling, he was about to kneel down to Zhu Ziyang, but Jiang Nannan stopped him in time.

"Grandma, I can assure you that I will definitely come again at this time next year. At that time, you can bring other school-age children from the village to come together, and I will help them awaken their martial spirits together." Zhu Ziyang said.

"Mmm! Mmmm! Thank you! Thank you!" The old man was very excited. Although Zhu Ziyang only said a few words, this was their only hope!

Zhu Ziyang and Jiang Nannan left Zhangyangzhuang with a heavy heart.