A daily intelligence report; in chaotic times and famine years, grain is plentiful.

Outside the door, Wang Mang's pounding grew louder and louder, as if he were trying to smash through the two wooden planks.

"Open the door! Chen Mo! If you don't open it, I'll run it over!"

Inside the cellar, the flame of the oil lamp flickered on Sun Dazhu's face, reflecting his pale complexion and rapid breathing.

Chen Mo didn't make a sound at all, not even changing the frequency of her breathing; she just stared at him quietly.

His gaze was like a deep well, which Sun Dazhu could not see through, only feeling that ice was hidden beneath it.

To live or to die?

No, it's about choosing how to live.

Suddenly, Sun Dazhu gritted his teeth, and the greed and fear in his eyes disappeared with a fierce force.

He didn't look at Chen Mo, but instead turned around and crawled towards the cellar entrance using both hands and feet.

He picked up the brick that had been lifted and quickly and gently put it back, carefully smoothing out the gaps along the edges with his fingers.

After doing all this, he lowered his voice and said to the shadows behind the oil lamp, "Trust me this once."

His voice was trembling, but very firm.

After finishing speaking, without waiting for Chen Mo's response, he grabbed a handful of ash from the ground and vigorously rubbed it on his face and neck, messing up his already greasy hair, making himself look as if he had just been dug out of a pile of dirt.

He took a deep breath and crawled out of the cellar using both his hands and feet.

boom!

The courtyard gate slammed shut with tremendous force, howling in pain.

"I'll do it!" Sun Dazhu shouted, rushing ahead of Chen Mo and scrambling to the courtyard gate, where he pulled open the latch.

Wang Mang, who was outside the door, was preparing to charge in a second time when the door suddenly opened. He didn't have time to stop and almost fell headfirst inside.

"Oh shit!"

After regaining his balance, Wang Mang kicked the door frame. Behind him were Zhao Si, Sun Gouzi, and two tall servants, each holding a stick and looking extremely fierce.

Before Wang Mang could take any action, Sun Dazhu knelt down with a thud, immediately grabbed Wang Mang's leg, and his face was instantly covered in snot and tears.

"Brother Mang! I was wrong! I shouldn't have stolen your pickled vegetables! Brother Mang!"

He cried until he was hoarse.

"My family is completely out of food. My father is starving to death. I acted foolishly for a moment. Please, have mercy on me this time! I'll kneel down and kowtow to you!"

Wang Mang was completely stunned.

The script is wrong.

The report received by the village head clearly stated that Chen Mo's family had hidden stolen goods, so how did the protagonist become Sun Dazhu? And it was even about stealing pickled vegetables.

Sun Dazhu didn't care what he was thinking. He just hugged his thigh tightly and cried loudly, banging his head against the muddy ground.

Chen Mo limped out of the house, perfectly displaying a hint of surprise and anger, and grabbed Sun Dazhu.

"Dazhu! What are you doing! You think you can justify stealing?"

As he cursed, he winked at Sun Dazhu, using considerable force as if he really wanted to pull him away.

Wang Mang was completely bewildered by this master-servant dynamic.

He felt like a roughneck who had barged onto a stage and punched cotton.

wrong.

Wang Mang suddenly realized what was happening and shoved Sun Dazhu away. Sun Dazhu then rolled to the side and lay on the ground crying.

"Stop pretending." Wang Mang's face showed a hint of ferocity. "Search them!"

"If we don't find anything today, you two will be in deep trouble!"

Zhao Si and Sun Gouzi immediately rushed into the house.

Two servants stood guard in the courtyard, keeping an eye on Chen Mo and Sun Dazhu.

Chen Mo's heart was in his throat.

His gaze involuntarily drifted towards the stove.

The bricks have been put back in their place, but the marks of the old and new bricks are not quite the same. If you look closely, you will definitely find the problem.

A clanging and rummaging sound came from inside the house; the pot was overturned and the jar was smashed—it was quite a commotion.

Zhao Si had a pointed mouth and monkey-like face, and his eyes were particularly sharp. He quickly noticed the stove. The color of that blue brick was newer than the ones next to it, and the soil on the edge looked as if it had just been embedded.

He grinned and reached out to touch the brick.

Just then.

"Brother Mang!"

Sun Dazhu suddenly jumped up from the ground, pulled out half a dark, hard object from his tattered clothes, and held it high above his head.

"I only stole this! Really, just this one! I didn't take anything else!"

His shout drew everyone's attention.

Zhao Si's hand froze in mid-air, and he looked over curiously.

Wang Mang frowned and immediately snatched the object from Sun Dazhu's hand.

It's extremely heavy and as hard as a stone.

What the hell is this thing? He tried to pry it open, but it didn't budge.

Chen Mo spoke at the right moment, his tone very ordinary: "Military rations, as hard as rocks, can be used to hit people. Da Zhu picked them up from the back mountain, originally thinking they were edible, and brought them back to give to my father, but I didn't take them."

Wang Mang looked at the half-eaten cake with suspicion, then at Sun Dazhu, whose face was covered in tears like a cat's.

"This is it?"

Sun Dazhu kowtowed even louder: "That's it! If I steal any more grain, may I be struck by lightning and run over by a car!"

That's a really vicious oath.

Wang Mang walked around inside and outside the house to check, but apart from being so poor that he had nothing, there was nothing else. He had originally come here to make some money after hearing about this, but now he was in an awkward situation.

Unable to find food, yet unwilling to simply leave.

He raised his foot and kicked Sun Dazhu hard in the waist.

"Get lost! If you dare steal again, I'll break your legs!"

Sun Dazhu screamed and curled up, clutching his stomach.

Wang Mang spat and left, his eyes dark and fixed on Chen Mo.

"Chen Mo, don't think this is the end of it."

"Three days from now is the day your family pays the well tax. You need to pay thirty coins. If you pay even one coin less, your dilapidated courtyard and the well will belong to me."

After saying that, he led his men away.

The courtyard gate closed, and the world instantly fell silent.

Chen Mo walked over and helped Sun Dazhu, who was still pretending to be dead on the ground, up.

"Well done."

Sun Dazhu grinned as he rubbed his lower back, a smile still on his face. He wiped the dust and tears from his face, revealing a row of white teeth.

"My father taught me that if a poor family's child wants to survive, they must know how to act pitiful, the more pitiful the better."

The two looked at each other and saw the relief of escaping death in each other's eyes, and couldn't help but laugh.

The atmosphere that felt like it could crush a person was finally gone.

Chen Mo didn't say anything more. He turned around and walked to the stove. He lifted the blue brick again and crawled inside without a sound.

Sun Dazhu followed closely behind.

The cellar contained all the necessary supplies: food, money, and weapons.

In the firelight, these things exuded a deadly allure.

Chen Mo scooped out two jin of prepared wheat grains from the sack, put them into a small cloth bag, and handed it to Sun Dazhu.