The rise of the poor

Chapter 2050: Hemp Leaves Are Numb

Ma Ye was really numb this time.

Lost.

He was also numb, his hip was injured, one of his legs was numb, and there had just been a big fire in the reed marsh, his face was almost burnt, the skin was burnt and peeled off, making his face numb and without feeling.

But he was really lucky. A fire in the reed marsh burned off his messy hair but did not burn his life. Due to his injured hip, he walked with a limp and escaped from the reed marsh more slowly and fell behind, but he also avoided the Zhejiang army's ambush at the bridgehead and the chaotic trampling of the Japanese pirates.

With the help of five trusted Japanese pirates, he successfully swam across the river in the cold winter. Relying on his decades of battlefield experience, he avoided the search and arrest of the Zhejiang Army Rangers, stumbled out of Jiashan County, and set foot on an unknown deserted village in Southern Zhili.

These days, there are natural disasters and man-made disasters, such as floods, droughts, and massacres by Japanese pirates. It is not uncommon to see abandoned villages.

After finally escaping, Ma Ye sat down on the ground, but as soon as he sat down, he jumped up from the ground with a roar.

He forgot that his butt was injured. When he sat on the ground, the intense pain was so piercing that he would never forget it for the rest of his life. He jumped up reflexively.

"Damn you Zhu Ping'an, I can't get rid of this hatred in my heart unless I eat your flesh alive!"

Ma Ye covered his buttocks, his face stiff and scorched, and roared like a demon rushing out of a raging fire.

"Chief, please keep your voice down, so as not to attract the Zhejiang Army Rangers." The trusted Japanese pirate advised cautiously.

They were really afraid that Ma Ye would curse Zhu Ping'an. Every time Ma Ye cursed Zhu Ping'an, they, the Japanese pirates, would be in big trouble.

From the more than 5,000 people who set out, there are only six left now, and they can no longer afford any more bad luck.

If they get even more unlucky, I'm afraid that none of the six of them will be left.

"This is Nanzhili, and Zhu Ping'an is the governor of Zhejiang. If he dares to cross the border, he will be punished!"

Ma Ye was familiar with the Ming military system and said without any worries.

"Captain, rules are dead, but people are alive. We should be prepared for the worst. What if the Zhejiang army can't tell the difference between Zhejiang and Nanzhili and comes here? How can there be only six of us? It's better to be quiet."

The trusted Japanese pirate persuaded.

Ma Ye frowned, but noticed the expressions of several trusted Japanese pirates under his command. Thinking about his own situation, he still had to rely on these trusted pirates, so he suppressed his temper and snorted, "Look how scared you are. Zhu Ping'an is not a supernatural being. Forget it, I will settle accounts with Zhu Ping'an someday!"

Seeing that Ma Ye no longer cursed Zhu Ping'an, several trusted Japanese pirates finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Leave two people to guard, and the rest of you go search the village to see if there is anything to eat to fill your stomach."

Maya commanded.

Two pirates stayed behind to keep watch, while the other three dispersed to the village to find food.

Unfortunately, this was a deserted village with only abandoned houses with leaks on all sides and yards overgrown with weeds. The three Japanese pirates searched from east to west but did not find a single grain of food. They only found a pile of wood ears on the abandoned wooden door and a bunch of unknown wild vegetables in the abandoned yard.

Fortunately, this is the south. Even in the cold winter, there is no grass like in the north, and there are still wild vegetables.

The village was deserted, but there was still an old well with a cover. The Japanese pirates found a broken clay pot, made a rope with vines, hung the clay pot to the well to draw water, and checked the water quality, which was very clear.

So I felt relieved.

I used three green bricks to build a simple stove, used a rotten clay pot as a pot, and cooked a pot of vegetable and black fungus soup.

In order to prevent the smoke from cooking from revealing their whereabouts, Ma Ye and his companions cooked in a relatively intact house and blocked the windows with thatch.

It was like a cloud of smoke inside, and the Japanese pirates who were cooking were choking and coughing. Ma Ye would not stay in the house to endure the smoke, and he had already taken refuge in the yard.

Finally, a pot of vegetable and black fungus soup was ready.

"You have protected me and carried me all the way. You have worked hard. You drink first and I will drink last."

Ma Ye spoke enthusiastically to several trusted Japanese pirates.

Damn, this pot of black fungus and wild vegetables, who knows if they are edible? What if they get sick from eating them? I’d better let them eat it first. I’ll eat it after I’m sure they’re okay.

Maye thought so.

"The leader is injured and needs to recuperate. Let him use it first." Several confidants were grateful and asked Ma Ye to use it first.

"Don't push it. You are my saviors. I cannot do without your help to return to Tolin's nest. Eat quickly. Only after you finish eating will you have the strength to carry me back to Tolin's nest." Ma Ye insisted.

"Thank you, chief. We'll eat it first." The five trusted Japanese pirates thanked Ma Ye, and then used broken tiles as bowls. Each of them filled a tile and drank it up without caring about the heat. They were so hungry that their stomachs were sticking to their backs.

Maye Yizhen was watching them. From the time they took their first sip to the time they finished all the drink, it took about an hour of tea.

Seeing that they were fine after drinking, Ma Ye was sure that the fungus and wild vegetables they picked were edible, so he served himself a bowl of tea, and drank it up with slurps. Hmm, it tasted pretty good.

"Hey, you guys added some salt, so the soup tastes salty, not bad." Ma Ye wiped his mouth after drinking.

"Ah? There's no salt. We didn't bring any salt and we didn't put any salt in the soup." Several Japanese pirates touched the back of their heads, looking confused.

"No salt? Why is the soup salty?" Ma Ye was stunned, then he picked up the broken jar of water, stretched out his hand to take a handful, and tasted it, "This water is salty."

"I've heard that the well water in some places is salty. Today I saw that the wells in this village are salty wells."

A Japanese pirate said.

"Yes, the saltwater well is right." Ma Ye nodded, without thinking any more, and made himself a bowl of wild vegetable and black fungus soup and started making it.

Several other Japanese pirates followed closely behind, filling up several large tiles and making a lot of noise.

In fact, what Ma Ye and the others didn't know was that one of the most important and direct reasons why the village was abandoned was the problem with groundwater. No matter where they dug a well, the groundwater tasted salty. At first, they didn't care about it and thought it was a good thing as they could save salt in the future. Some people even wanted to make a profit by boiling salt. Later, the well water became saltier and saltier, and more and more people in the village were suffering from strange diseases, including men, women, young and old, and the symptoms of their diseases were surprisingly similar.

The people in the village realized later that it was caused by the well water and there was something wrong with the water under the village.

Water is the source of life. Both humans and livestock cannot live without water. The water in the village is not drinkable, so they can only go to other villages to fetch water. However, going to other villages to fetch water is not a solution. The whole village unanimously decided that this village is no longer habitable. They moved to another place and built a new village. This old village was abandoned. (End of this chapter)