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

Chapter 5: Bribing people’s hearts, Master Li said [Please read]

After wandering around the naturally formed "human market" at Beijiekou, Liu Sheng quickly selected three more families who were selling their bodies.

In the first household, there is a husband and wife, who look to be in their 30s, and they have two boys. However, the wife and the youngest son are seriously ill, and the man wants to sell himself into slavery with his eldest son.

The second household is also a couple, younger, with a little girl and an old man.The little girl and the old man are both sick.The woman sells herself, and the man is a stonemason, looking for employment at a low price.

The third household consists of two single brothers, both of whom look to be in their 40s, with their old parents.My mother was seriously ill and my father was dying of hunger.One of the brothers was a carpenter and the other a bricklayer.The carpenter seeks employment, the bricklayer is willing to sell himself as a slave.

Whether these three families are selling themselves or looking for employment, it can be solved with one or two taels of silver.

Liu Sheng took the people who signed the contract, first bought or hired the first two households, packed up the whole family, and finally stopped in front of the two brothers.

"What is the name of this master carpenter?"

"Liu Dachuan."

Liu Sheng raised his hand and said, "Thanks to Master Liu's words just now, Mr. Mao no longer had the chance to blackmail me. Thank you?"

Liu Dachuan hurriedly avoided it and said: "Mr. Liu, there is no need to thank you. We are from the same hometown as the Zou mother and daughter. We didn't dare to help openly, so we could only remind you secretly."

Liu Sheng smiled and said: "I want to buy your brother and hire you for a long time. Come with me to work in the mountains. Is that okay?"

Mountain village?

After hearing this and looking at Liu Sheng's tall and strong body, Liu Dachuan subconsciously thought that he was going to a bandit camp in the mountains.

Three or five years ago, even if they were so depressed that they sold themselves, the brothers would not consider joining the bandits.

But now... Thinking about the scenes he had seen along the way since going south, and looking at his old parents who were dying of illness and hunger, Liu Dachuan exchanged glances with his younger brother Liu Erhe, then gritted his teeth and said: "As long as the family can survive, We are willing to follow Master Liu into the mountains!"

After packing up these three families and making a contract with Li Xiangyun, Liu Sheng bought four carts and asked them to take the patients and children to the medical clinic in the market town for treatment.

After the doctor's diagnosis, three of the five patients were suffering from hunger. They only needed to drink a few decoctions and slowly recover in a few days to recover.

Only the Liu brothers' mother, Luan, and Li Xianglan's mother, Zou, were seriously ill.Doctor Liu Sheng talked for a while, but he felt that Luan seemed to have pneumonia, and Zou seemed to have a bad cold.

If the two of them didn't get better later, he might give them some medicine from later generations to try.

During the treatment, Liu Sheng took people to a nearby food shop to buy some porridge for everyone to eat.

Even buying and hiring the whole family to pack, provide medical treatment, and provide food. After a set of operations, the four families and more than a dozen people were basically grateful and regarded Liu Sheng as a benefactor.

After seeing the doctor and having a meal, Liu Sheng found a small "B&B" in the market town and took everyone to rest for the night.

Early the next morning, Liu Sheng bought some more supplies and a fifth cart, and then led everyone to Tianmu Mountain.

In order to deter refugees on the road and possible gangsters, Liu Sheng gave the Liu brothers and men from other families a machete, which could both chop people and clear the way.

The journey of about twenty miles took Liu Sheng only more than three hours.It took more than seven hours to go back and walk to Xiaoli Village in Tianmu Mountain.

"Stop and rest."

Liu Sheng said hello and made all five carts stop.

"There are still five or six miles of mountain road to go to the destination. We may have to open a road. I'm afraid it will take several hours. Let's camp next to Xiaoli Village tonight. You guys rest first while I go to the village to do some errands."

Liu Sheng said something and went to the village.

He was not afraid of these people escaping.

One thing is that every family has a personal deed in his hand - the Ming Dynasty did not allow slaves, but "there are policies from above and countermeasures from below." Since the Hongwu Dynasty, there have been many adopted sons and daughters among the people. Keeping slaves in the name.

At the end of the dynasty, where rituals and music have collapsed, the court has even less control over local areas, and naturally has looser control over slavery. Some local officials even recognize private slaves as legal.

Therefore, the physical deed in Liu Sheng's hands has a certain deterrent effect on several companies.

Finally, even if someone escapes, Liu Sheng's ability can be easily traced.

When Zou Runniang saw Liu Sheng leaving, she lifted her weak body from the cart.

Li Xiangyun saw her and helped her steady.

Zou Runniang's illness was milder than that of the Liu brothers and their mother, Mrs. Luan. She woke up last night and has recovered somewhat today.

When she learned that her daughter had sold herself into slavery to save him, she was heartbroken and helpless, and in the end she had no choice but to accept her fate.

However, now that she saw Liu Sheng looking like he was going to take them deep into Tianmu Mountain, she had some doubts again.

"Xiangyun, do you know what Mr. Liu wants to do with us in the mountains?"

Li Xiangyun whispered: "I heard from the uncle of the Liu family that he will probably become a bandit in Tianmu Mountain." Hearing this, Zou Runniang frowned and said angrily: "Xiangyun, you are confused. The Li family is an innocent family that has been working and studying for generations. You My father even passed the examination and became the magistrate of a county. He died fighting the bandits. How can you join the bandits?"

Although Li Xiangyun was no longer in her prime, her experience of escaping from the Lu family in Henan Prefecture to Tongbai in Nanyang made her much more mature and independent.

Hearing this, she said: "Mom, I told you what happened to my daughter yesterday. In that situation, if it weren't for Mr. Liu, my daughter would either be sold into a brothel, or she would have to watch you die of illness.

You are concerned about my Li family's innocent family background and your father's loyalty and good character. However, the court not only refuses to provide compensation, but also accuses my father of losing the city.The imperial court treats my family like this, so what if I am a bandit?

What's more, my daughter sees that Mr. Liu may not be a bandit when he goes into the mountains.

If he wanted to be a bandit, there were so many refugees and he could just rob some, so why spend money to buy and hire people? "

After hearing these words, Zou Runniang was really disappointed when she thought about the court's actions.

She thought for a moment and said, "Mr. Liu does not look like a villain, but why is he taking us deep into Tianmu Mountain?"

Li Xiangyun went to other carts and said: "He bought a lot of farming supplies today. It looks like he is preparing to farm in this mountain."

"Farming in Tianmu Mountain?" Zou Runniang frowned even more when she heard this.

···
Li Changgen saw Liu Sheng at his door for the third time, and finally he was no longer as scared as the first two times.

"I wonder what the good man is here for this time?"

Liu Sheng said: "What a good man, this is not a good name. My surname is Liu, my given name is Sheng. I am a person who gets promoted and makes a fortune. From now on, please call me Mr. Liu."

After hearing this, Li Changgen couldn't help but look Liu Sheng up and down again. Seeing that even the large Taoist robe could not hide Liu Sheng's tall and burly figure, he felt that he really couldn't connect the word "Mr." to the person in front of him.

Liu Sheng continued: "I am here this time to hire someone from your village to help. You introduce a person who is prestigious in the village and can keep his word, and I will talk to him."

Li Changgen thought for a moment and said: "There are 33 families in our Xiaoli Village, and most of them are named Li. If we want to be prestige, it is naturally me, the elder of the Li clan, and the elder of the village.

This old man, Mr. Li, is greedy for money, likes to care about everything, and is not easy to talk to.

However, the village elder Mr. Li is a scholar, knowledgeable and kind-hearted. People in the village prefer to listen to him. "

Liu Sheng smiled and said: "This is easy to handle, I just need to visit both of them."

Then he asked Li Changgen to lead the way, and first went to visit Master Li at the east end of the village.

This is because the process of clearing relationships is usually easy first and then difficult - get the person who is easy to deal with, and then let them connect, and the people behind will not be so difficult to deal with.

Mr. Li's house is one of the few brick houses in the village, with three large rooms. It also has a small courtyard built with green bricks, and there are two wing rooms on the east and west sides of the courtyard.

It's just that the houses, walls, and courtyard gates look a bit old and dilapidated.

Li Changgen came over and knocked on the door, then shouted: "Master Li, there is a guest who wants to see you!"

"coming."

Someone responded, and the courtyard door was quickly opened, and a middle-aged man wearing shorts, barefoot, and with mud on his calves appeared in front of Liu Sheng.

This man's face was slightly gentle, but his skin was rough and dark. Coupled with his appearance, he was very different from the image of Master Li in Liu Sheng's imagination.

Li Changgen was obviously used to it and introduced: "Master Li, this is the good Mr. Liu who exchanged the cake for my clothes. He said he wanted to hire people from our village to do some work."

Liu Sheng then cupped his hands and said, "My Excellency, Liu Sheng, Master Li is polite."

After Master Li looked at Liu Sheng curiously, he returned the favor and said, "Friend Liu is polite, I am Li Changwen."

But it was Li Changwen who heard Li Changgen calling Liu Sheng and saw Liu Sheng wearing a Taoist robe, so he thought he was a scholar, so he called him a friend.

Liu Sheng did not explain, but said directly: "It's too chaotic outside now, I want to open up wasteland and farm in this mountain, and I need some help in front of me.

Xiaoli Village is the closest for a few miles around. I want to hire a few people from your village. I wonder if Mr. Li can be a good candidate? "

"Opening up wasteland for farming in Tianmu Mountain?" Master Li frowned slightly after hearing this, "Didn't Friend Liu go to the mountain to check? The soil in Tianmu Mountain is shallow, with many exposed rocks, and the soil is thin.

The terrain is mostly steep mountains and deep valleys - there are a few river valleys, but they have been occupied by villages for a long time. Where can Liu's friend find a suitable place when he goes into the mountains?

If there is no suitable land, the income from clearing wasteland and farming may not be able to support the farmers.

What's more, in recent years, there have been more and more bandits in Tianmu. It is easy to be robbed when entering the mountains to open up wasteland. I hope my friend Liu will think carefully about this. "

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(End of this chapter)