Jinghong Tower

The fat aunt looked at the two little boys in front of her. Although they were wearing coarse linen clothes, there were no patches on their clothes, and the shoes on their feet even had thick thousand-layer soles.

Look at the two children’s faces again. The fat one is so happy, white and plump, just like a cooked glutinous rice ball.

Although the other one was thin, he did not look sick. The fat aunt actually thought of the four words "Yang Liu Yi Yi". Oh my God, if this one was sent to a brothel, it would be a treasure.

As for the little fat boy, although he is not suitable to be a prostitute, he is a golden grandson sent from heaven. If he is sold to a family who wants to buy a son to inherit the family line, they will be very happy.

In just a moment, the fat aunt found a market for Feng Moqiu and Dong Jinbao. The fat aunt looked at the two of them with a more loving gaze, as if she was looking at two piles of silver ingots.

Dong Jinbao was obviously moved. He sniffed and said, "We can't find our home. Can you take us home?"

The fat aunt's eyes lit up and she said quickly, "Yes, yes, I'll take you home right away."

The thin uncle also came over and asked, "Where is your home?"

Dong Jinbao pointed in the direction of the capital: "That's over there."

The thin uncle said, "Okay, okay, I'll take you back right away. Ouch, you're sweating, I'll wipe it off for you."

As he said that, he took out a handkerchief with a strange fragrance. The skinny guy looked weak, but the fat guy seemed to have some strength, so he knocked him out first.

But the next moment, the handkerchief was in Dong Jinbao's hand. Before the thin uncle could react, Dong Jinbao was already using the handkerchief to wipe the soles of his shoes.

"Oh, my new shoes are dirty. My mother will definitely beat me to death if she sees them. Uncle, I'll clean my shoes and you can take me back."

Thin uncle.
Feng Moqiu stretched, stood up, and suddenly stretched out his arms. The thin uncle was startled and thought he was going to hit someone: "What are you going to do?"

Feng Moqiu: "I asked you to carry me."

"Carry you? Why should I carry you?" the thin uncle was puzzled.

Feng Moqiu said lazily: "Aren't you going to take us home? How can you take me home if you don't carry me on your back?"

The fat aunt winked at the thin uncle, then said to Feng Moqiu with a smile: "Yes, yes, let your uncle carry you. Oh, you look so delicate and weak, it makes my aunt feel distressed."

The little boy, who was about eight or nine years old, was so thin that he seemed like he could be blown away by the wind, but the thin uncle easily carried him on his back.

Dong Jinbao saw this and followed Feng Moqiu's example, stretching out his little paws towards the fat auntie: "Auntie, please carry me. I can't walk either."

Fat lady: "You are in such good shape, but you can't walk?"

Dong Jinbao: "Aunt, do you know my name? My name is Jinbao, Jin Yuanbao. Have you ever seen a walking Jin Yuanbao?"

Fat aunt.
The thin uncle glared at her. This woman's whining was really annoying. "Just carry me if I tell you to. How heavy can a child be? Hurry up and carry him on your back, just like you're carrying a gold ingot."

The fat aunt thought so too. Isn't this little fat boy a gold ingot? Landlord Wang was looking forward to having a son so much that his eyes were shining. If he didn't have a son, his huge fortune would be eaten up by others sooner or later. If Landlord Wang saw this little fat boy, he would definitely be satisfied.

Thinking of this, the fat lady immediately gained strength, but the moment Dong Jinbao lay on her back, she still staggered a few times. This little fat boy must have eaten so many good things. He was like a small mountain.

Dong Jinbao: I am Jinshan!

The thin uncle carried Feng Moqiu on his back and walked briskly, while the fat aunt carried Dong Jinbao on her back and panted, they were both indomitable mules and horses.

Feng Moqiu: "My home is not in this direction."

The thin uncle said: "Uncle will take you on a shortcut and send you home earlier."

Feng Moqiu: "Uncle, you are a very nice person."

Dong Jinbao: "Aunt, if you are tired, don't carry me anymore. Just leave me on the side of the road."

The fat aunt shook off the sweat on her forehead and said, "I'm not tired. If you behave well, I'll carry you home."

Dong Jinbao: "Aunt, when we get home, I'll ask my mom to make you some steamed wowotou. The steamed wowotou we make is really delicious."

Fat Auntie: If I sell you, I will eat steamed buns with meat.

Needless to say, with a means of transportation, one can walk fast. After walking another four or five miles, they saw a tea stall in front of them. Dong Jinbao had good eyesight and realized that the person posing in front of the tea stall was Feng Jingchun.

The person sitting next to him and eating dry food is He Xiaojiu.

Dong Jinbao was happy: "Aunt, I'm thirsty."

The fat aunt glanced at the tea stall in front of her. There were people and horses. No, she couldn't go to this place.

"You don't want to go home early, let's go quickly and you can drink some water when we get home."

Feng Moqiu took a look and thought, Fat baby, you can’t do it, it still has to be your brother Qiu.

"Uncle, that little sister is so pretty. Hey, there's no adult around her."

The thin uncle took a look and found that it was true. Oh, there were not one but two little girls without adults around them.

They were photographers with sharp eyes. Even though there were other people at the tea stall, it was obvious at first glance that they were not from the same family as the two little girls and did not even look alike.

Besides, these two little girls, just like these two boys, although they are wearing coarse linen clothes, they have fair skin and tender flesh. It can be seen at a glance that they were born in a family that loves children and were brought up in pampering.

The two little girls are about eight or nine years old, which is the best age. They can be sold to families who raise skinny horses. After training them for three or four years, they can make money. These two little girls may be easier to sell than these two boys.

The thin uncle coughed lightly, and the fat aunt immediately understood, and the two of them walked towards the two pitiful little girls.

He Xiaojiu had already seen Feng Moqiu and Dong Jinbao riding on other people's backs.

what happened?

These two guys found two mules for themselves?
Before the thin uncle and the fat aunt came close, Dong Jinbao shouted: "Little sister, are you lost?"

Zong Qin, who was sitting not far away and taking a nap, was startled and looked over here intently. He heard his little sister, the Crown Princess, say aggrievedly, "Little brother, how did you know that my sister and I couldn't find our home?"

Before he finished speaking, a child crying came from the corner: "Wow, I can't find my home either."

The thin uncle and the fat aunt looked in the direction of the sound and saw a child about six or seven years old walking towards them crying. This child was so cute.

The thin uncle and the fat aunt swallowed their saliva at the same time. What happened today? Their luck was too good. They got five people at once, and they were all top-notch stuff.

At this time, a man who was drinking tea said in a muffled voice: "These three children have been eating and drinking here for most of the day. They must have been abandoned here by their parents, who probably can't afford to support them."

The thin uncle and the fat aunt's mouths were grinning from head to toe, and they no longer had any doubts, so when they left the tea stall, the team expanded from four to seven people.

The five children's mouths are never idle.

Little girl 1: "You fat boy, get down and let the aunt carry me."

Little girl 2: "You skinny guy, get down and let the uncle carry me."

The youngest boy: "I am the youngest, so if you want to carry me, carry me first."

Little girl 1: "Yes, if you don't carry us, we won't leave. We will go with whoever carries us."

The thin uncle and the fat aunt did not want to upset the children, so they took turns carrying one of the children every mile. Just when they were so tired that their legs were shaking and they were about to stop, they finally saw the place they wanted to go. "Let's go to that village to rest for a while and have something to eat. Then uncle and aunt will go to the village to hire a bullock cart. The bullock cart is very comfortable to sit in, and you can all sit in it."

The five children said: "We don't want to ride in the bullock cart. We will let you carry us on your back."

Thin uncle and fat aunt, no, these five little brats are going to cause trouble.

Just as the thin uncle was about to threaten, a cold voice came from behind him: "Uncle, look what this is."

The thin uncle looked down and saw, oh my god, there was a knife on his neck.

"Uncle, don't move. My knife is not sure."

The thin uncle quickly looked at the fat aunt. There was no knife on the fat aunt's neck, but there was a rope. It was not an ordinary rope, but a noose, and the knot was held in the hand of the little girl behind her.

Zong Qin and his men rode past them on horseback. The thin uncle looked pleading and wanted to call for help, but he felt the pain of a knife scratching his neck and he dared not shout.

Zongqin rode away on his horse as if he had seen nothing.

The two beggars were in despair. Who could tell them how all this happened?
"You are all good children. Good children don't play with knives. Put your knives down quickly. I will go to the front to buy you something delicious."

"You're lying. No one has ever said that we are good kids since we were little."

Shoot flowers.
"What on earth do you want to do?"

He Xiaojiu: "Of course I want you to carry us on your back. Don't you understand such a simple thing?"

The two beggars breathed a sigh of relief. Children are just children. They didn't know how to blackmail someone with a knife in their hands, but just asked him to carry them on his back and walk. They were so naive.

The sun was setting in the west, and the two beggars were so tired that their eyes were blurry. At this time, Feng Moqiu said, "Go west along the path in front, quickly!"

Want to take the side road?

The two beggars immediately perked up. It would be better to take the small path. When the kids on their backs weren't paying attention, they would throw them far away. Then they would run into the grass that was more than one meter high. There was no way these kids would catch up with them.

Yes, now the two beggars no longer have any illusions about catching these five children and selling them. Now they just want to escape for their lives. These five are not children, but five evil spirits.

But as soon as they stepped onto the path, they saw the people who had ridden past them before standing on the path, as if waiting for them.

Zong Qin: "Can we catch him now?"

Feng Moqiu: "If we catch them, who will carry me?"

Dong Jinbao: "And me."

He Xiaojiu, Feng Jingchun, and Lu Wen: "And us."

Zong Qin: "Forget it, let them carry you."

This time, there was no need to take a knife or put on ropes. The two beggars resigned themselves to their fate and took turns carrying these five little villains.

With a "pu" sound, the fat lady spat out a mouthful of blood. Feng Jingchun on her back stretched out his hand and gave her a big slap: "Hold it in, don't vomit again!"

With a "pu" sound, the thin uncle also spat out a mouthful of blood. Feng Moqiu covered his nose and said, "So dirty, so disgusting."

Just like that, when they finally reached their destination, the small village at the foot of the mountain, the two photographers were finally freed, and they lay on the ground unable to get up.

He Xiaojiu: "They can't die. With them here, all the big mules and horses in the village can have a rest."

Two beggars: We'd better die.

The hard labor life of He Xiaojiu and his friends officially began.

On the first night in the village, they were separated and five people were taken away by five different families. The five people waved to each other, said good night and saw each other tomorrow.

In addition to taking away their people, these five families also took away their food rations.

The ration was thirty kilograms of coarse grains per person.

Zong Qin said that this was one month's rations, and after one month, he would send someone to deliver next month's rations.

Thirty kilograms of food a month, an average of one kilogram of food a day.

He Xiaojiu felt that it was enough. Most of the time, she only ate one bowl of rice every day, which definitely weighed less than one kilogram, so she could save the rations and give them to her fellow villagers. You see, she was really a good princess who loved her people like her own children.

The other four children had almost the same idea. Although Dong Jinbao was fat, he only ate two bowls of rice a day at most. He learned how to measure and knew that two bowls of rice were at most half a pound, so he could save half of the food.

As for Feng Moqiu, he didn't even bother to calculate how much he ate. He was a picky eater and there was nothing he liked to eat. He could go hungry all the time.

As for Feng Jingchun and Lu Wen, well, they had no concept of scales, but they wouldn't starve anyway, and they hadn't heard of any prisoners starving to death.

However, after they arrived at the village, they were still a little surprised.

In their perception, all the villages near the capital city were very wealthy. Just by hearing the name of this village called Zhaocai Village, one could tell that even if it was not extremely rich, it was not too bad either.

Besides, this village is only thirty miles away from the capital. Villagers can go to the capital to work, or grow vegetables and sell them to the capital. Among their servants, there are people from villages near the capital.

But after arriving at the village, they soon discovered that the best houses in the village were stone houses, while most of them were thatched houses.

There is not even a single brick and tile house in the entire village.

He Xiaojiu soon found out what was going on.

It turns out that the people in this village are not locals, they fled here.

In the early years, there were many refugees due to wars and famines. Later, when the world was peaceful, many refugees returned to their hometowns, but many could not go back because either their houses and fields in their hometowns had long been destroyed in the war, or the journey was too long and they had no money.

The government offices in various places made arrangements for these refugees who could not return home, allowing them to reclaim wasteland and cultivate land, and settle down there.

Zhaocai Village is such a refugee village, and all the villagers used to be refugees.

Although they have lived here for more than ten years, the villagers in the nearby villages still cannot accept them, are unwilling to marry them, and will not associate with them.

As for the reasons why they refused to accept them, on the one hand, they looked down on these refugees, and on the other hand, they hated them for stealing their land.

Yes, this place used to be wasteland. The imperial court encouraged farming, and whoever reclaimed the wasteland owned it.

But even so, the native villagers are too lazy to reclaim the wasteland.

Their place is very close to the capital, and the vegetables and fruits that are not eaten at home can be taken to the capital to sell. What's more, anyone who is strong and healthy will go to the capital to find a job. Even if they work as a waiter in a restaurant, they can earn much more than farming in the countryside.

They would like to rent out their family's fertile farmland to others for farming, so that they can use the time to go to the capital to make a fortune, not to mention spending time and effort to reclaim wasteland. Isn't that stupid?

People are often like this. They can leave the wasteland there without reclaiming it themselves, but if outsiders reclaim it, they will feel that they are being taken advantage of, and feel as if their things have been stolen.

Therefore, although the people of Zhaocai Village had their own fields, they were still restricted in many ways. For example, water for irrigation was a big problem. Every year, they were bullied by people from other villages because of water use. (End of this chapter)