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

Old Man Sun was tied to a haystack with a rope. He was so thin that he was unrecognizable. When he saw Sun Dazhu, his cloudy eyes lit up.

Without saying a word, Sun Dazhu untied the rope and carried his father on his back.

Just as they were about to return the way they came, a servant came out from around the corner, yawning, seemingly getting up to urinate.

He spotted the three dark figures at the door of the woodshed at a glance.

"who?!"

The servant had barely uttered a single word when Chen Mo, already prepared, grabbed a handful of sand and threw it at him.

"Meow!"

He also imitated a shrill wildcat meow.

The servant, his eyes stung by sand, rubbed them and cursed, "Damn it, where did this dead cat come from, scurrying about in heat all the way here?"

Taking advantage of the opening, the three of them climbed over the wall and quickly disappeared into the thick darkness of the night.

Old Man Sun was temporarily placed in the cave where he had hidden potatoes.

The cave was lined with thick dry grass, and Chen Mo had also left a small bag of potatoes and flint in advance.

Old Man Sun trembled as he accepted the potatoes roasted over the fire from his son, tears streaming down his face.

"Pillar, what's this?"

Sun Dazhu choked back tears, saying, "Father, it was Chen Mo who saved you, and it was he who gave us the food. We have a way to survive!"

Old Man Sun struggled to kowtow to Chen Mo, but Chen Mo stopped him.

"Uncle Sun, please take good care of yourself. Once things calm down, I'll find a way to get you home."

Old Man Sun shook his head, tears streaming down his face: "Home, where is my home anymore?"

Chen Mo looked at him and said, word by word, "It will happen."

The next day, the Wang family was in an uproar.

When Wang Mang discovered that the person had been rescued, he was so enraged that he smashed an expensive porcelain vase on the spot, flying into a rage.

He immediately led all his servants to search the village house by house under the pretext of capturing runaway slaves.

When they searched the Chen family's house, Chen Mo opened the door and calmly allowed them to search the place.

Wang Mang personally led his men into the house, turning the already dilapidated home upside down. He even went to the stove and suspiciously pried open several blue bricks.

However, Chen Mo had already disguised the entrance to the cellar more cleverly. He had laid a thin layer of bricks under the original blue bricks, and filled the gaps with damp soil, making it look exactly the same as the surrounding ground.

Wang Mang gained nothing.

He stared intently at Chen Mo, his eyes practically spitting fire.

"Did you do it?"

Chen Mo shrugged and pointed to his leg, which was still recovering.

"Brother Mang, look at my legs, do they look like they're capable of scaling walls to rescue people?"

Wang Mang could not find any evidence, but his suspicions grew deeper and deeper.

Before leaving, he pointed at Chen Mo's nose and issued an ultimatum.

"Chen Mo, don't be so smug. The well tax is due in one day, thirty copper coins. I'll collect it at this time tomorrow. If you can't pay, the land is mine, and you're at my disposal!"

Night fell once more.

Chen Mo sat in the cellar, with a dim oil lamp in front of him.

Pay money?

He had money. In the bag in the cellar, there were five silver dollars and thirty-five copper coins, enough to pay the well tax this time.

But he didn't want to pay.

This isn't just about thirty coins. Today you pay the well tax, tomorrow there's the land tax, and the day after that, there's the poll tax. People like Wang Mang, once they get a taste of success, will endlessly bleed you dry.

We must resolve this once and for all.

Chen Moqing counted his family's assets.

There are still nearly 200 pounds of potatoes left, of which 30 pounds are seed potatoes.

Forty catties of processed wheat.

Five catties of flour made from military biscuits.

Five silver dollars, thirty-five copper coins.

Pickaxe, grappling hook, machete.

There was enough food for his family to last until spring, with some even left over. What he lacked now was not the means to survive, but an environment where he could live in peace.

The threat posed by the Wang family must be eradicated.

He took a deep breath and focused his mind.

The panel slowly emerged from the darkness.

[Daily information has been updated, please select:]

[Part 1: In the cellar beneath the bed in the main house of the Wang family, there are one hundred taels of silver and several account deeds. The cellar entrance has a mechanism, and a venomous snake is kept hidden there as a guard. (Low risk: for those who know the mechanism. High risk: for those who try to break in, they may be caught on the spot and bitten to death by the snake.)]

[Second: Officials at the county granary are colluding to resell government grain. The transaction, involving 300 jin, will take place tonight at midnight at the Earth God Temple on West Mountain outside the town. (Medium risk: The other party has armed guards; a shootout may occur.)]

[Part 3: A recent internal conflict erupted at the Black Wind Ridge bandit stronghold. The second-in-command fled with some valuables and jewelry, hiding in an abandoned bear cave in the mountains. He himself is critically injured and on the verge of death. (High Risk: Possible encounter with pursuers from the bandit stronghold, and possible being killed by the dying second-in-command)]

Chen Mo's pupils suddenly contracted.

His gaze was fixed on the first option.

The Wang Family Cellar!

One hundred taels of silver! And the ledger!

If he could obtain these things, especially the account books, he could seize upon Wang Mang's key information and even use it to blackmail him.

But the risks are also considerable. Traps, venomous snakes—any mistake could cost him his life.

Just as he was weighing the pros and cons, feeling as if two little people were fighting in his mind, a soft sound came from the entrance to the cellar.

Sun Dazhu cautiously climbed down.

With a mixture of excitement and nervousness on his face, he quickly walked to Chen Mo's side and lowered his voice.

"Chen Mo, my father, my father has woken up, and he's in better spirits than before. He... he says he knows a huge secret about the Wang family!"

Chen Mo looked up at him.

Sun Dazhu swallowed, leaned close to Chen Mo's ear, and whispered a few words.

"His cellar contained not only silver, but also letters detailing his collusion with Liu, the county clerk, in reselling government grain!"

A sudden "boom" echoed in Chen Mo's mind.

The information within the system, including Old Man Sun's secrets, fit perfectly with the previous information.

The Wang family's cellar contained not only wealth, but also a death warrant that could send Wang Laoqi, or even the county magistrate, to the guillotine.

In that instant, Chen Mo's heart pounded, and a bloodthirsty impulse surged to his head.

Go now.

With the account books and the letter in hand, he would be able to completely grasp the key to the Wang family, not to mention the well tax. He could even make the Wang family spit out everything they had swallowed.

But this impulse only lasted for three seconds.

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of the potatoes piled up in the cellar, and the only bag of food they had.

Next, he thought of his father coughing up blood on the kang (a heated brick bed), and his sister who was so hungry that she was just skin and bones.

Going to the Wang family cellar was a gamble with one's life.

If we win, we'll rise to the top in one fell swoop.

He lost. He and his family won't even see the sun tomorrow morning.

He can't afford to gamble now.

"What your father said is crucial." Chen Mo spoke in a steady voice, without any discernible inflection.

He looked at Sun Dazhu with eyes as deep and unfathomable as an ancient well.