CHAPTER 350: CHAPTER 350: THE VILLAGE ABANDONED

To get rich, first build roads.

However, building roads requires money.

Thus, it becomes a deadlock situation.

If Sanfu Village had a large population, she could offset the road construction costs with land taxes. But the problem is, Sanfu Village doesn’t have many people, and the little income from land taxes is really insufficient.

By the time Yuan Bao and her group finally navigated the rugged, difficult mountain path to reach the entrance of Sanfu Village, everyone except for Mei Jiu, who still seemed quite at ease, was utterly exhausted.

"Let’s take a break, let’s take a break!"

Having refused Mei Jiu’s kind offer to carry her on the journey, Yuan Bao, who had walked all the way on her own, was completely worn out. If it weren’t for maintaining her practice during this time, she’d definitely be too exhausted to stand straight now.

And Nanny Xue and Hu Niuniu, both the elderly and the young one, were in similar states as Yuan Bao.

After resting for a while at the village entrance, the group continued on their way and entered Sanfu Village.

Then, the four of them were dumbfounded.

This small mountain village, which should have had over thirty households, was now completely empty.

In the rural paths, one was supposed to hear the sounds of roosters and dogs, yet there were none.

The four of them walked around the village once, finally confirming that Sanfu Village was deserted with no one left.

In other words, Yuan Bao’s fief village couldn’t provide her with any land tax income. Her so-called fiefdom was in name only.

"Nanny Xue, should we report this to the government?"

The villagers of the fief village were all missing, surely an explanation was necessary.

Yuan Bao turned her head to look at Nanny Xue and blinked.

Nanny Xue thought for a moment and said, "Probably we should report it. This matter, I am not sure!"

With Sanfu Village left deserted, Yuan Bao could be said to have come in high spirits and return disappointed.

Originally, Yuan Bao planned to stay longer in Sanfu Village to avoid frequent meetings with Mrs. Xiao Li.

"Let’s go, let’s head back!"

With the village already deserted, staying for a few more days was out of the question.

"Village chief, can we rest for a night?"

"I really can’t walk anymore!"

Upon hearing Yuan Bao’s intention to go back directly, Hu Niuniu collapsed to the ground.

Though slightly older than Yuan Bao, in essence, she was still a young girl. Despite always being a little maid, since becoming one, she hadn’t done much heavy labor.

Having walked so many miles on rugged, difficult mountain paths today, her feet were already blistered.

At this point, if they turned back directly, Hu Niuniu felt she couldn’t move another step.

"Then, let’s rest for one night!"

Yuan Bao thought for a moment and didn’t press Hu Niuniu further.

With the village deserted, they had no choice but to find their own food.

Luckily, the village faced the mountain and the river, so finding some food wasn’t too difficult.

Hunting was a matter of luck, but catching fish in the river was much easier.

Mei Jiu, being a skilled person, easily caught fish from the river and brought it back.

Though the villagers had left, Yuan Bao and her group found quite a few kitchen utensils and spices during their search.

And this search made Yuan Bao realize there seemed to be hidden reasons behind the abandonment of Sanfu Village.

"Nanny Xue, why do you think the villagers left?"

Yuan Bao looked at Nanny Xue, softly asking.

Among the group, Nanny Xue was the oldest and had the deepest understanding of worldly matters.

"This, I don’t know!"

"But, I feel that the villagers probably didn’t leave voluntarily!"