I go to the ancient imperial examinations

Chapter 398
Chapter 398

"Miss." He Sheng frowned and looked not far away.

Putting down the bowls and chopsticks in his hand, Zhan Feiyu got up and looked back when he heard the noise, but saw a crowd of dark people striding towards this side quickly, among them was Da Niu's grandfather and the one who was working in the field before of several farmers.

He Nuan also became alert in an instant. Although these people looked like ordinary villagers, wearing patched jackets, with dark and rough complexions, who could guarantee that they didn't hide among them after killing people and changing their appearance.

"Please help me, sir..." The aunt who walked in the front howled and knelt down on the ground with a plop, crying uncontrollably.

Several other women also started to cry, kneeling on the ground to kowtow to Zhan Feiyu.

Grandpa Daniel and the older villagers all frowned and looked sad, wanting to speak but didn't know what to say.

As for the rest of the people, they all looked sad, and a few young people were angry, but seeing their own mothers, aunts, and sisters-in-law who were kneeling and howling, they opened their mouths, and they could only express their youthful and vigorous emotions. pressed down.

Without looking at the women kneeling on the ground, Zhan Feiyu said to Grandpa Niu whom he knew: "Old man, what happened? If you need help, I can send someone to the Yamen to report to the officials."

The skinny, wrinkled old face showed a bit of shame, but thinking of the plight of the whole village, Grandpa Daniel could only speak bitterly: "My lord, we are helpless, it is really Mr. Chen who forced us to have no way out." gone."

When Daniu came to deliver pancakes and eggs before, he mentioned Mr. Chen, who knows what is good and what is bad, and the villagers who had been working in the fields all morning came home for lunch, and whoever knew heard the bad news.

The land in Suzhou Prefecture is barren and there are not many fertile fields. Generally, barley, wheat, sorghum, soybeans and other drought-resistant crops are planted. The same is true for the village where Grandpa Daniel and the others live. In addition to renting a house, there is still some rations left, plus the maintenance of their own fields, although they are not rich, but after a year of busy work, they can at least fill their stomachs.

The reason why Daniu's family was in trouble was because his mother bled profusely when she gave birth, and the little money she saved in the family was used for medicine, but the doctor also said that to cure it, he had to add ginseng slices to it, so Daniu wanted to hit it The carriage then blackmailed some money.

The villager who stood aside saw that Zhan Feiyu was not angry, and then thought that she had given Daniu five taels of silver ingots as soon as she made a move, and bowed to Zhan Feiyu, "Forgive me, I am really cornered. That's why I asked the nobleman to help, Mr. Chen wants [-]% of the rent, as long as there is a family that is unwilling to rent, the field will be taken back, but we have already planted the seeds."

There was a lot of rain this year, and the time for planting was delayed. Fortunately, it finally cleared up these years, and the villagers hurriedly plowed the fields and fertilized them again.

A few days ago, every household planted seeds, and they have been watering and weeding for the past two days, just waiting for the seeds to emerge in a few days.

But who would have thought that Mr. Chen brought people to the village at noon, and his Chen family bought this field, and the rent has changed from the previous [-]% to [-]%.

Eighty percent of the tenants, after being so busy, the remaining [-]% ​​of the food would not be enough to eat and drink. The whole village was in a hurry. They didn't even eat, and they were all squeezed into the village official's house to find a way.

Daniel was there at the time, and when the kid got anxious, his mouth bald and he said Zhan Feiyu. Since Mr. Hu wanted to sell the land, he might as well sell it to Zhan Feiyu. He would definitely not ask for [-]% rent like Mr. Chen. .

The people in the village were also in a hurry to go to the doctor, and Daniel's words became their only hope. Not all the villagers rushed over in a hurry, lest they slow down. Zhan Feiyu had already got into the carriage and left. No, the ground is not working.

Mrs. Pang intends to leave Suzhou, so it is normal to sell this field. As for Master Chen, Zhan Feiyu also feels normal.

Pang Tongzhi committed a crime, and this group of people is still locked up in the Forbidden Dragon Guard. Any family with a background in Suzhou Prefecture will not have anything to do with the Pang family during this sensitive period. The rest of the party, that is not worth the candle.

Mr. Chen is a rich and unkind country gentry in Daniukou, and he doesn't live in the city. Even if he knows that Pang Tongzhi is in jail, he will not think there is any problem with buying the Pang family's field, and Mrs. Pang is in a hurry to sell it. , the price is estimated to be much lower, so Mr. Chen may have missed it.

Zhan Feiyu looked around sideways, "How many acres does this area have?"

"If you go back to the nobleman, this area is about 120 mu. In the past, Mr. Hu brought people to collect the rent. I heard that this field belongs to the city officials. No ruffians have ever come to make trouble." Village Zheng also He once entertained Mr. Hu with good wine and good food, but unfortunately Mr. Hu kept his mouth tight and didn't reveal anything at all.

But after all, we have been tenants for many years, and the village official knows a little bit about it. Even Mr. Chen gave a lot of money to the poor man of the yamen. Sometimes, it will still make things difficult.

But Mr. Hu never has anyone here to make trouble. The year before last, Mr. Chen was so angry that he hired local scoundrels to wreak havoc in the field. In the end, Mr. Hu came and took all those scoundrels away. Later, the village officials listened to Hu The master said something, it seems that Master Chen was fined 50 taels of silver by the Yamen, and this matter was turned over.

"My lord, please do me a favor and buy these fields. We will work hard to cultivate them and pay the rent on time every year." The woman kneeling on the ground begged, tears streaming down from the corners of her eyes.

Her family only had a few acres to farm, and they couldn't get enough to eat, let alone a large family of more than a dozen people who needed to buy oily and salty fabrics, and had human relations, let alone the younger ones who were all at the age of starting a family. Every penny is for silver.

If you are unlucky and fall ill like the big cow, you will either watch the big cow die like this, or the whole family will starve to death, so if you don’t take up five acres of land, the whole family will not have enough to eat, and the women dare not think about the future. , bang bang bang kowtow to Zhan Feiyu again.

Village Zhengxin couldn't bear to look at the women who were kneeling and crying, and looked at Zhan Feiyu pleadingly, "My lord, I have known Mr. Hu for many years, and we have some friendship. Mr. Chen's land is ten taels of silver. If you buy an acre, if you are not in a hurry to sell it, you can sell an extra two or three taels of silver per acre, and if the nobleman can buy it, he will not suffer a loss."

Ten taels of good land per mu is indeed not expensive, 120 mu is 200 taels of silver, Zhan Feiyu can indeed afford it.

Neither He Sheng nor He Nuan said anything. If Zhan Feiyu was willing to buy, they would not stop them, and if they did not intend to buy, they would not persuade them either.

Looking at the pleading villagers, Zhan Feiyu said apologetically, "Cunzheng, I'm not a member of the Longyou Taoist. I planned to leave today."

If it hadn't been for the fact that Daniel almost bumped into the carriage, and later saw the fresh shepherd's purse sprouting from the ridge of the field, Zhan Feiyu would have left already.

Hearing this, Villager Zheng and several older villagers couldn't help showing disappointment, but they could also understand that after all, it wasn't about five taels of silver, it was thousands of taels of silver. It will be a disadvantage, but this is only limited to the locals of Suzhou Prefecture.

The woman kneeling and howling was looking at Zhan Feiyu eagerly. She was stunned for a moment when she heard the refusal, and her face was full of despair. Be busy.

But if there is no tenant, more than a dozen people in the family will probably starve to death, and there will be a dead end before and after. The woman suddenly cried out in grief, "God, open your eyes, you are going to force kill us..."

The other women also began to cry. They had a difficult life, and they could support the old and the young at home with a little effort, but now this way of life is gone.

Looking at the woman crying in grief, and looking at the sad-faced Muramasa and the others, Zhan Feiyu bowed his hands in apologetic gesture.

"You don't have to be like this, it's a difficult situation for us to force others." Murong Zheng hurriedly said, originally he only had a glimmer of hope, hoping that the nobleman would be kind and willing to help.

(End of this chapter)