The room goes through the late Ming Dynasty, and the back door leads to North America at the beginni

Chapter 26: Doing business together [please read]

"I wonder what this second thing is?" Ma Baihu asked anxiously.

"The second thing is very simple." Liu Sheng said, "Ma Baihu probably misunderstood me a few days ago and actually let the scar-faced Ma Qi from the West Fen Ridge attack my Liujiazhai."

"Misunderstanding, definitely a misunderstanding!" Cold sweat broke out on Ma Jinliang's forehead, "I am a member of a noble family, how could I let some scar-faced Ma Qi harm others?"

Liu Sheng smiled and said: "Ma Baihu, don't quibble. I have a brother here who used to be the fifth leader of the West Fen Ridge."

Wang Laowu immediately stood up and said in a buzzing voice: "Ma Baihu, your housekeeper Ma Gui personally went to the West Fenling Ridge to tell Ma Qi about the attack on Liujiazhai, and even gave him 50 taels of silver. You don't admit it? Do you want me to confront Ma Gui?"

"Hey!" Ma Jinliang immediately looked angry, "Ma Gui must have misunderstood my meaning and did it in private. I have no idea about it. This... this is really a misunderstanding!"

In fact, Ma Jinliang originally wanted to push Ma Gui out as a scapegoat, but he happened to see Ma Gui coming in. He was worried that Ma Gui would betray him and it would be self-defeating, so he tried to protect him.

Liu Sheng said: "Whether it is a misunderstanding or not, since you have done this, you have to accept the punishment. However, I think that Ma Baihu generously donated three hundred shi of food, so the punishment can be lightened.

In this way, let your housekeeper Ma Gui write a similar 'letter of commitment'.how? "

Ma Gui, who just came in, looked confused.

Thought: Letter of commitment?What the hell?

When Liu Sheng showed Ma Gui the letter of commitment written by Ma Jinliang, Ma Gui knelt down.

"Liu Zhuangshi, please spare your life. I really don't dare to write this. If I write about it, it will be a serious crime for the Yi people."

"You dare not write? Well, I will kill you now to avenge the brother who died when Ye Ma Qi attacked the village."

After saying that, Liu Sheng drew his knife to cut off Ma Gui's head.

When Ma Gui saw this, he was so frightened that he changed from his kneeling position to a paralyzed position, and hurriedly changed his words: "I'll write, I'll just write."

"It's exhausting."

Liu Sheng shook his head and sat back.

After Ma Gui finished writing the "letter of commitment" and signed and fingerprinted it, he put away both letters of commitment.

"Ma Baihu, let's talk about the third thing."

"What's the third thing?" Ma Jinliang asked tremblingly - he really scared Liu Sheng.

Liu Sheng put on a smile and said, "Don't be afraid, Ma Baihu, this third thing is a great thing. As for me, I want to do some business in partnership with Ma Baihu."

"Are you doing business in partnership with me?" Ma Jinliang blinked.

I believe you are a big-headed ghost.

Ma Jinliang felt that it was too painful for Liu Sheng to squeeze out the juice slowly, so it was better to have something refreshing, so he begged: "Liu Zhuangshi, just tell me how much money you want, and don't make any excuses with me."

Liu Sheng was unhappy when he heard this, "What did Ma Baihu say? It makes me, Liu Sheng, look like a robber."

Ma Jinliang thought to himself: You are different from a robber. You are a stronger robber than a robber.

Liu Sheng continued: "This is the first time we have dealt with each other. I only sold you 500 taels for such a good glass bottle. Do you know that I suffered a big loss?

If you find someone to kill me later, I will ignore the past and just come to ask you to borrow three hundred stones of food.Tell me, where can I find a good person like me? "

Ma Jinliang had no choice but to say: "Okay, if I said something wrong, please tell me how to cooperate."

He was already prepared to bleed heavily.

Liu Sheng said: "I still have some glassware and other treasures here, but they cannot be sold at the market around Tianmu Mountain, so I want to find a big town with Ma Baihu, or go directly to the county to sell them.

After selling all the treasures, I want to buy more food and recruit some refugees from the wasteland to return to Tianmu Mountain.

As soon as I introduced myself as a white woman, I had no acquaintances in the local area. I was afraid of being bullied in a big town or county, so I had no choice but to ask Ma Baihu to act as a person in charge, so that things could be done easily.

I won't let Ma Baihu do this in vain - you take half of the money from selling the baby as commission.How about it? "

After listening, Ma Jinliang blinked, suspecting that he heard wrongly.

Liu Sheng actually wanted to give him half of the money from selling the baby as commission?

How can this be?

Don't hold anything bad inside, right?
So he said cautiously: "Liu Zhuangshi and I have made friends, so it's right to do a favor. How can I be embarrassed to take a commission?"

Liu Sheng said seriously: "Ma Baihu, you must take this commission, because I want you to handle this matter carefully. If you don't take it, I won't worry."

'There are also people who force others to collect money. What a weirdo. '

Ma Jinliang muttered in his heart, then nodded and said: "Okay, I'll just take half of the commission. Well, I wonder when Liu Zhuangshi is going to do this business?"

Liu Sheng regained his smile and said: "Since we are friends, Ma Baihu will get into trouble no matter what he calls Liu Zhuangshi. Why don't we all change our names? I will call you Brother Ma, and you will call me Brother Liu."

"Okay, I will listen to brother Liu."

Ma Jinliang smiled and agreed, complaining in his heart: You are not my brother, you are clearly the nemesis in my life.

Liu Sheng said: "I pay attention to efficiency in my work. Today I will transport the three hundred stones of grain borrowed from Brother Ma back to the mountains. We will go to Xingji early tomorrow morning to have a look. If it doesn't work, we will go to Minggang." "Okay, it all depends on Liu. Brother’s arrangement.”

Liu Sheng stood up.

Ma Jinliang thought he was leaving and said goodbye happily.

Liu Sheng said, "I only have seven followers with me. If I want to transport [-] shi of food, I'm afraid it will be inconvenient, so I have to ask Brother Ma to lend me a few people to help me deliver food."

Ma Jinliang was slightly stunned when he heard this, and thought to himself, how can the people who deliver food be calculated on a household basis?

It was immediately understood that Liu Sheng was asking him for a population.

But Dashui Pingzhai lacks everything except people.Now it was another period of great famine, and people were starving to death every day. He couldn't bear to look at it, so he might as well give it to someone named Liu. Even if he died of starvation or exhaustion, it was Liu's fault. Ma Jinliang has nothing to do with it.

So he said, "Okay, I'll ask Ma Gui to find someone right now."

Liu Sheng waved his hand, "No need for Ma Gui to go, just ask Yang Kuiwu to help me find it."

Liu Sheng was not afraid that Ma Baihu would arrange spies, but he was worried that he would not like the person Ma Gui was looking for.

As soon as Ma Jinliang heard this, he knew that Liu Sheng and Yang Kuiwu were going to be packed away.He was eager to do so and simply nodded in agreement.

After Yang Kuiwu had eaten, Liu Sheng told him about his request to find someone.

First of all, it is natural to have young people in the family, secondly, there must be a family, and thirdly, the character must be guaranteed.Don't want it for those who are unfilial, don't want it for those who like to cheat and cheat, don't want it for those whose families have fields and surplus food.

While Yang Kuiwu was helping Liu Sheng select people, Ma Jinshui finally received the liter of millet from Ma Gui and ran back happily.

"Mom! I received a reward of one liter of millet from hundreds of households, so you can rest assured to eat!"

Ma Jinshui entered the room and said with a smile.

His family is considered a member of Ma Jinliang's clan who just came out of the fifth server. His grandfather still had more than ten acres of farmland. There were no such big famines at that time. The family's life was pretty decent, and the ancestral house was not small.

But it was his father's turn to take care of the family. On the one hand, his father lost the family through gambling, and on the other hand, his life was already in bad shape when he was still alive.

When my father kicked off his legs and passed away, not even an acre of land would be left in the family.

He can only live on the small amount of rations he receives every month as a regular soldier in the station and the money my mother sells for weaving.

Because he has some brains and is from the Ma family, he could barely get by in the past few years.

But this year's drought has been severe, food prices have been rising, the cloth I weave cannot be sold, and Ma Jinliang's rations for the regular soldiers in the station have been repeatedly reduced.Seeing that the house was about to run out of food, my mother refused to eat at all.

Now he was unexpectedly rewarded with a liter of millet, which should be able to persuade my mother to have a meal.

However, Ma Jinshui said several words in the main room, but did not hear my mother's reaction.Thinking of something, he hurriedly ran to his mother's house.

I saw my mother lying on the bed with a pale face, as if she had fallen asleep.

"mother?"

Sailor Ma Jin trembled and tried his mother's breath, but there was no breath at all.

"mother--!"

Ma Jinshui held my mother's cold and rough hand and cried loudly. The nearly thirty-year-old man cried like a child.

After crying, Ma Jinshui went to cook a pot of dry corn rice and wanted to stuff a bowl of rice into my mother's stomach, but found that she only stuffed a few mouthfuls into her mouth and couldn't get it in anyway.

So he burst into tears again.

After crying, finishing several bowls of rice and rice with tears in his eyes, and having a full stomach after eating, Ma Jinshui went out to find help from his tribe to deal with his mother's funeral affairs.

He happened to see Yang Kuiwu taking ten selected families to help Liu Sheng transport grain out of the Walled City.

He then found Liu Sheng, who was at the front of the team, and begged: "Master Liu, my mother just starved to death. I have nothing to worry about in this village anymore. Please accept me!"

Liu Sheng saw that Ma Jinshui was a bit cunning and lazy, but he was indeed clever and clever. Some things really needed this kind of person to handle.

So he nodded and said: "Okay, after finishing the funeral arrangements for your mother, come to Liujiazhai by yourself."

Ma Jinshui bowed and thanked him repeatedly, "Thank you, sir, thank you, my boss..."

　In fact, six or seven years after Chongzhen, bandits broke out in Henan, and people revolted constantly.

　　By the 13th year of Chongzhen, the control of the Ming government in Henan was limited to the county town, and the countryside was divided into two forces: one was the forts established by the landlords and gentry (including the inspection departments of towns and markets), and the other was It is a bandit stronghold established by bandits (sitting bandits), and they are constantly attacking each other.Some bandits became bandits after they became strong, and then surrendered under the official uniform. When the official uniform was weak, they became bandits again. There were also local tyrants and landlords who resisted taxes and became bandits. They were a chaotic group.

　　In the 13th year of Chongzhen, due to the severe famine, the strength of bandits began to quickly overwhelm the power of the landlords and gentry. Many forts built by the landlords and gentry were broken down and occupied by bandits. Markets and towns were also ruined and abandoned due to the war.

　　[For the needs of the plot, this article has slightly downplayed this background situation. That is, bandits are raging in the countryside, but they are not as serious and terrifying as in history.In fact, due to geographical factors, the banditry problem in Runing is slightly less than that in the west and north of Henan. 】

　　By the time Li Zicheng swept through Henan, the countryside was basically under the control of the bandits. However, facing Li Zicheng, the Henan bandits split into two categories. One was to surrender to Li Zicheng, and the other was to surrender to the government.

　　The relevant situations in Nanyang and Runing will be discussed later.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)