"You filthy farmer! I'm giving you three more days. If you don't pay this month's land tax, I'll send you to meet the King of Hell!"
Inside a thatched hut, a soldier in armor stood with a fierce expression, his foot planted on a boy dressed in coarse cloth.
The boy mustered his courage, "But...but, I already handed in next month's at the beginning of the month..."
"Bang!"
Before the boy could finish speaking, a soldier kicked him in the face, knocking out several teeth and causing blood to flow freely.
"Still talking nonsense! Let me tell you, remember this: if you don't hand over the land tax in three days, I'll kill you!"
The officers gave a cold threat, turned and left to collect land taxes from other households.
The boy clenched his fists, his body trembling, not from fear, but from anger.
His name is Jiang Ping'an, he is fourteen years old, and he lives in Dahe Village, where his family has been farmers for generations.
Life was alright until a few years ago when the country went to war and began to impose taxes on people like crazy.
Local tax, poll tax, city entry tax... in short, they all want money.
My mother died from overwork, and my father was eaten by a tiger in the mountains while he was hunting.
Now, he is the only one left in his family, but these people still don't want to let him, a mere fourteen-year-old boy, go.
He was so tired that he wanted to die, but his parents kept telling him to live.
He didn't know what the meaning of living was. If he had to say what his goal was, it would be to kill these bastards who oppressed the people.
However, he was only fourteen years old and suffered from malnutrition for many years, making him extremely thin and weak. He was no match for these martial arts taxi soldiers, and it was said that some of the soldiers even possessed superhuman strength.
Jiang Ping'an stood up with a limp. He hadn't eaten all day, and the beating he had received had taken its toll on his body.
The thatched hut was empty; all the tables and benches that could be sold had been sold.
Jiang Ping'an's gaze fell on the broken basin next to the stove.
This is the only thing left in the house. It's a bronze basin that my father picked up by the river. It's covered in cracks and was used to hold water. It's a little bigger than my head.
Jiang Ping'an limped to the broken bronze basin. This was the only one left that could be sold, and he didn't know how many copper coins it could fetch.
No matter what, let's sell them first and get some sesame cakes. Even if we die, we'll die with a full stomach.
Just as he picked up the bronze basin, a drop of blood fell on it, and a dazzling blue light flashed from inside the basin.
Jiang Ping'an was stunned. What was going on? Why was the bronze basin glowing?
Was he hallucinating because he was beaten?
"Brother Ping An!"
Just then, a chubby-faced little girl appeared at the door. She was about eight years old, and her clothes were patched and mended, barely covering her body.
"Tiger Girl," Jiang Ping'an responded instinctively.
The other person's real name is Li Yueyue, and Hu Niu is her nickname.
Li Yueyue ran in quickly, opened her snow-white little hand, and swiftly placed a copper coin into the basin in Jiang Ping'an's hand, saying in her childish voice:
"Brother Ping An, this is what I stole from my dad. You'd better hurry up and collect the taxes."
Immediately afterwards, she pulled half a steaming hot bun from her pocket and stuffed it into the other person's hand, saying, "Eat it quickly, it's what I just left."
"No, this money..."
Before Jiang Ping'an could finish speaking, Li Yueyue ran off with a grin.
Looking at the copper coin and half a steamed bun in front of him, Jiang Ping'an, who hadn't cried even when beaten by the soldiers, now had tears welling up in his eyes.
The world is not lacking in adding flowers to brocade, but it lacks in providing charcoal in the snow.
In such a desperate situation, it's hard to describe the feeling of someone caring about you.
Suddenly, a blue light flashed in the bronze basin.
Then, to Jiang Ping'an's astonishment, a number of copper coins suddenly appeared in the broken bronze basin.
He stood there stunned for a while, then suddenly shuddered and cautiously closed the door quickly.
Looking down at the bronze basin again, the copper coins inside were still there!
Hallucination? No, absolutely not!
Jiang Ping'an reached into the bronze basin with trembling hands and picked out the copper coins inside.
Not counting the one Li Yueyue gave me, there are ten in total!
Why?
Why are there suddenly so many copper coins?
He suddenly remembered the fairy tales his father had told him, saying that the fairy was extremely powerful, able to summon wind and rain, and could conjure money at will, so he would never have to worry about food or clothing.
Some immortals also possess powerful magical artifacts that can conjure money, such as a treasure basin, where money placed inside can continuously generate more money.
Could this be the immortal's treasure bowl?
Jiang Ping'an was young and quick to understand, and he was so excited that his heart almost jumped out of his chest.
With this magic weapon, he will never be short of money again! He will also have enough money to pay his taxes!
Jiang Ping'an threw in another copper coin, preparing to duplicate it into more copper coins.
However, after a long time, the copper coins inside remained unchanged.
"Can it only be copied once? Or is there a time interval?"
It would be too painful if it only happened once.
Jiang Ping'an ate the half-steamed bun that Hu Niu gave him, but it didn't satisfy his hunger; in fact, it made him even hungrier.
Looking at the ten copper coins in his hand, he realized that this was just enough to pay the land tax.
Jiang Ping'an decided to make sure he ate well first and then went to get some food to fill his stomach.
He wanted to take the bronze basin out, but he was afraid of attracting attention and having it stolen.
If I leave it at home, I'm afraid it will be stolen.
I didn't know how powerful bronze basins were before, so I just left them at home. Now that I know they're treasures, I feel unsafe leaving them anywhere.
As if sensing something, the bronze basin in his hand transformed into a beam of green light and entered Jiang Ping'an's body.
Jiang Ping'an was startled and quickly checked his body.
"What happened? Where is my bronze basin?"
The moment this thought crossed his mind, the bronze basin transformed into a streak of blue light and appeared in his hand.
Jiang Ping'an paused for a moment, as if he understood something, and said, "Put it away."
The bronze basin transformed into a beam of blue light and disappeared into the body.
"come out."
A bronze basin appeared in his hand.
Jiang Ping'an was overjoyed; just as he had thought, he could put it away at will.
After trying it a few times, he was completely relieved and became even more certain that this treasure was definitely not a one-time use item!
My stomach is growling so loudly I can't stand it anymore.
He quickly grabbed the money and ran to Uncle Li's house next door.
At that moment, Li Min was scolding Li Yueyue, "You little brat, you even know how to steal money! Who taught you that!"
"Nobody taught me, I just didn't want Brother Ping An to get beaten up." Li Yueyue clenched her small hands together, tears welling up in her eyes.
"You…" Li Min picked up the stick to hit her, but seeing Li Yueyue's pitiful appearance, he ultimately did not go through with it.
At the same time, he also saw Jiang Ping'an at the door.
Li Min said coldly, "Get out."
Jiang Ping'an quickly said, "Uncle Li, I'm here to return the money."
"No need, get out of here," Li Min continued to scold.
His family wasn't wealthy; they had been ransacked several times, leaving them with very little. But he knew Jiang Ping'an was even poorer.
Li Min felt sorry for the other party, but also didn't want to have too much contact with them or take on more responsibility.
Jiang Ping'an did not leave. Instead, he opened his hand, revealing five copper coins.
"I'll return one to you, and I'll use the remaining four to buy four steamed buns."
Li Min was stunned. "How do you have so much money?"