Jinghong Tower

Chapter 457: The Five Tyrants of the Capital (Part )

He Xiaojiu is not the second generation of the royal family who is ignorant of the five grains. The elite education she received since childhood included going to the farm to watch farmers farming. She knows the five grains and the seedlings, but she went to the imperial farm, which was full of pastoral scenery. Before today, He Xiaojiu thought that the countryside was what she saw in the imperial farm, but from today on, she knew that what she saw in the imperial farm was the countryside described by poets, and most of the villages in the Dacheng Dynasty were like Zhaocai Village, where people could barely survive starvation.

Even if there are people who are richer than Zhaocai Village, the most they can afford is corn for every meal.

No wonder her mother always said that the greatest achievement of a king is to ensure that all the people have enough food to eat.

He Xiaojiu has never felt so empathetic as he does today.

Not to mention the common people all over the world, even the people near the capital city have not yet had enough to eat. She, as the crown princess, is so negligent in her duty. If she had known that there was a place like Zhaocai Village, she would have tried every means to solve their food problem.

There was still a commotion under the tree, and more and more people came to watch the fun, and finally the village head came.

The head of the village also fled here. Although Zhaocai Village is just a small village, it is very complicated inside. In the words of He Xiaojiu, it is divided into four major factions.

The largest faction was the Lizheng faction. They used to be from the same village, mainly people with the surnames Wang and Fu. Later, some died, some were lost, and some joined in, and finally they were all assigned to Zhaocai Village.

The second largest faction was the Zhang family. They were from the same village and clan and fled together. When they met the headman’s village, they traveled together.

The third largest faction is the Xu family and its two in-laws, the Wei family and the Yu family. The Xu family is the largest of the three families. Although only three families fled together, the family is prosperous, with a total of more than 40 people in the three families, second only to the Zhang family.

The fourth faction is individual investors like the Zhong family who are on the road of escape. They were sent here by the government and did not know the other three factions before.

It is conceivable that in Zhaocai Village, the retail investors of the fourth group have the least say.

When the village head arrived, he learned that the dispute was caused by Mrs. Zhong's greed for the children's food rations. He flew into a rage and pointed at Mrs. Zhong and said, "You have brought shame to our Zhaocai Village. If everyone is like you, who will allocate money to our Zhaocai Village when there is something good in the government in the future?"

He Xiaojiu on the tree: It turns out that I am a good person.

The head of the village said again: "These kids all brought food rations with them. Did you hear that clearly? That's their own food rations. It has nothing to do with your Zhong family. If you don't give them, who do you think you are? If you still want to save face, go get the uncle's rice and cook something for the kids. If you're too lazy to do it, just let your daughter-in-law or granddaughter do it!

If you still want to embezzle other people’s food rations, get out of here, and get out of this Fortune Village with your entire family!”

Of course, Mrs. Zhong refused to give up the food she had obtained, and simply rolled on the ground. The head of the village was so angry that his beard was shaking. Seeing San Ya standing stupidly beside him, he said, "You go cook!"

San Ya was so frightened that she dared not move. The village chief was about to glare at her when he heard a child's voice coming from the tree: "All the food is locked up."

The head of the village understood that not only was Old Lady Zhong locked up, but even the food in his own home was locked up. The key was hanging on his wife's waistband, so even he couldn't get to it.

The head of the village felt a little regretful. He couldn't order anyone else around, so he had to order San Ya around.

Everyone in the village knew that Sanya from old Zhong's family was a poor child. Her family didn't treat her as a human being. He asked Sanya to cook, but fortunately she didn't go. If she had really gone, old woman Zhong would have beaten Sanya half to death.

The head of the village looked around, trying to find a few fierce women from the same family to search for Mrs. Zhong's key, but he saw a little child slipping down from the tree and running to Mrs. Zhong. Before Mrs. Zhong could react, the key hidden in her waistband was taken away by a pair of small hands.

"Thank you, uncle Lizheng, for upholding justice. No need for help. I can cook by myself. I'll go cook!"

Although they were just children's words, the head of the village suddenly felt taller for some reason. The kids in this city were different. The words they said were exciting to listen to.

That night, while Old Lady Zhong was scolding her, He Xiaojiu ate and drank her fill. Although it was just rice porridge, she felt like she was eating delicacies from land and sea.

She gave the last half bowl of porridge to San Ya: "Eat it quickly while no one is watching."

San Ya was so moved that she drank up the half bowl of porridge: "It smells so good, so delicious."

The two little girls sat in front of the wood stove, and He Xiaojiu asked in a low voice: "Why don't your family members like you?"

San Ya lowered her head and whispered after a while: "They said I'm not from the old Zhong family."

He Xiaojiu's eyes lit up, there is gossip!

It’s not that He Xiaojiu has no sympathy, but in her opinion it’s no big deal.

"Your father isn't Zhong Lao Er? Then who is he?"

San Ya shook her head: "I don't know, and my mother doesn't know either. My second sister said that my father left with my uncle and my father, taking away all the food. The whole family was almost starving to death, so my grandmother asked my mother to sell it, and then I was born."

He Xiaojiu: I understand every sentence, but I don’t understand when you put them together.

"What are you selling?" He Xiaojiu asked.

Sanya: "That's right. Just sleeping with someone."

He Xiaojiu suddenly realized that she understood, just like the girls in the brothel.

Oh my god, it turns out that old lady Zhong is a brothel owner!
The title of the Five Hegemons of the Capital was not exaggerated; they really dared to try anything, including brothels and prostitutes' houses.

In order to be able to enter openly, they even spent money to hire a fake father.

The story of the father taking his five children to a brothel was published in the evening paper, and people all over the capital were calling the father a beast.

Now He Xiaojiu understood everything. The innocent person in this matter was San Ya!
In the troubled times, the men of the Zhong family took away the food rations that the whole family depended on for survival. Old Mrs. Zhong did not blame them, and even wanted Daya to find a son-in-law to continue the family line for those men whose lives were unknown. However, she placed all her resentment on Sanya.

In this family, San Ya has only two roles.

One is to be treated like a horse or an ox;
The second is to be a punching bag.

He Xiaojiu had an idea in mind. She patted San Ya on the shoulder and said, "Lift your head. Don't be so cowardly. It's not you who did the bad things. It's the men in the Zhong family who are worse than pigs and dogs. It's the old woman Zhong who forced good women into prostitution. It's the scumbag Zhong Lao Er who abandoned his wife and daughter. He is not worthy of being your father, but your mother is your biological mother. You are not grown up yet. She has the responsibility to support you and protect you. So it is natural for you to live here. Remember, in this family, no one has the right to abuse you. From today on, Sister Jiu will protect you!"

San Ya stared blankly at the girl in front of her who was three years younger than her, repeating He Xiaojiu's words over and over in her mind. No one had ever said this to her, and no one had ever said that they would protect her.

Ninth sister said that it was her right to live in this family, and that no one in this family had the right to abuse her. Is that true?

He Xiaojiu woke up before dawn the next day. She was woken up by holding it in.

Old Zhong's family doesn't have a toilet, but there is a toilet in the yard. Old Mrs. Zhong stipulates that the family members must either defecate in their own fields or go back home to the toilet. In short, shit is a good thing and should not be wasted, nor should it be given away cheaply to others.

He Xiaojiu hated the outhouse in Lao Zhong's house. She had only been there once and was so disgusted that she held her shit back.

Yes, He Xiaojiu hasn't pooped for two days. Today is the third day, and he finally feels it.

She pinched her nose and ran to the toilet, but unexpectedly, Mrs. Zhong jumped out from the toilet and blocked her way. "Hand over the rice before you enter the toilet!"

While He Xiaojiu was sleeping, Mrs. Zhong had already rummaged through the small bag that He Xiaojiu brought. Inside were two sets of clothes, green salt and toothbrush for brushing teeth, and a small bag of soap beans.

There is no uncle that she took away yesterday.

That was thirty kilograms of corn. After only one meal, there were at least twenty-nine kilograms left.

So much food must have been hidden by her.

Old Lady Zhong had woken up a long time ago and was just waiting to torment He Xiaojiu.

Look at He Xiaojiu running so fast, it’s clear that it’s either urine or shit.

He Xiaojiu: I want to hit someone!

"Get out of the way!" He Xiaojiu frowned, showing his might.

Old Mrs. Zhong was startled and took two steps back involuntarily. Before she could react, He Xiaojiu rushed past her and into the toilet. Without even covering his nose, he locked the toilet door from the inside.

Thank God, there was a door in the Zhong family's toilet.

Outside, I could hear the scolding from Old Lady Zhong. The scolding was so ugly that it deserved at least three times of torture.

He Xiaojiu listened with great interest. She had seen shrews swearing in the streets in the capital. The scoldings of those women in the market were also heart-wrenching, but compared with Old Lady Zhong, they were still too conservative and civilized.

Mrs. Zhong had not finished scolding He Xiaojiu until he came out of the toilet.

Finally seeing He Xiaojiu, Old Lady Zhong rushed over and tried to twist He Xiaojiu's arm, but He Xiaojiu dodged and Old Lady Zhong missed and fell to the ground with a dog-eat-shit move.

He Xiaojiu brushed off the non-existent dust on her hands. She was a penniless underage dependent on her parents and was not worthy of helping the old lady, so let Old Lady Zhong stay on the ground. Whoever wanted to help could do so. She would not help anyway.

But when He Xiaojiu returned to the house, she was furious. Not only was her small bag in a mess, but the green salt and soap beans she brought with her were also missing.

No need to ask, it was stolen by that damn old woman.

The toothbrush was not stolen because the old woman might not know what it was. She discovered yesterday that no one in the Zhong family brushed their teeth, and maybe other families in the village didn't brush their teeth either, because she saw so many big yellow teeth.

At this moment, He Xiaojiu calmed down. The evening paper had reported the benefits of brushing teeth, but so what? If you want to brush your teeth, you have to fill your stomach first. How can you brush your teeth if you can't even eat?

Oh, if only she could find the old immortal who could increase rice yields that the Emperor’s mother told her about.

He Xiaojiu was in a daze for only a short while before his thoughts were interrupted by the crying and cursing coming from outside.

Old Mrs. Zhong sat on the ground, slapping her legs and pretending to cry, cursing at the same time. Her two daughters-in-law went to persuade her, but she grabbed Second Sister-in-law Zhong's hair and slapped them twice.

"You bitch, you've been fucked by thousands of men and slept with by thousands of men, and you're hanging around me so early in the morning. Oh my God, this bitch is fed up with me living too long and wants me to die early. Why is my life so miserable? There's a jinx in my family."

He Xiaojiu: I must be the unlucky one.

She walked up to Old Lady Zhong and said, "Give me back my things!"

Old Mrs. Zhong shouted, "What do you mean by your things? This is my house. Everything in this house belongs to me!"

He Xiaojiu: "I am from Shudao Mountain!"

Old Lady Zhong: "What mountain? Mountain, your mother!"

He Xiaojiu: "How dare you scold my mother?"

Old Lady Zhong: "You are a bitch raised by a girl, I will scold you today!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a black shadow rushed in from the door and crashed into Old Lady Zhong. Old Lady Zhong was knocked flying far away and fell to the ground with a bang. Old Lady Zhong screamed like a pig being slaughtered and finally couldn't get up.

Only then did He Xiaojiu see clearly who this phantom meteor star was. It turned out to be Lu Wen.

As soon as Lu Wen entered the village, his sword was taken away by Zong Qin. He came here voluntarily to do hard labor, and prisoners were not allowed to have weapons.

It doesn’t matter if there is no sword, Young Master Lu himself is a peerless divine weapon.

"I heard her dare to scold your mother. I will help you teach her a lesson."

The seven-year-old little boy, with his hands on his hips, looked fierce and aggressive.

Lu Wen heard from the family he lived with that old lady Zhong had withheld He Xiaojiu's food rations. Lu Wen was angry all night and the first thing he did after waking up was to avenge his ninth sister.

"Is the family you live in good to you? Are you tired from working there?" He Xiaojiu asked with concern.

"Not bad." Lu Wen summarized his experiences of the past two days with just two words.

Among the five tyrants of Beijing, Lu Wen, the youngest, has always played the roles of a cold-faced killer (what he thinks he is) and a chat terminator (what others see him as). He Xiaojiu is not surprised by his answers.

"Have you seen Feng Moqiu?" Among the Five Hegemons, He Xiaojiu has not seen Feng Moqiu yet, and he doesn't know how that lazy guy is doing now. Well, He Xiaojiu really wants to see him working in the fields, it must be very nice to see him.

Lu Wen still had that expressionless look on his face that he thought was so handsome: "No."

At this time, all the members of the Zhong family gathered around and were busy carrying Old Lady Zhong into the house. Old Lady Zhong's waist was injured, but her mouth was still there. She was grimacing in pain and cursing.

San Ya was ordered by Old Lady Zhong to call the head of the village. The head of the village didn't want to come, but when he heard that the child who injured Old Lady Zhong was also from the city, he came cursing.

When the village head saw Lu Wen, he was stunned. This was the youngest child, even younger than his grandson.

The head of the village did not know the origins of these five children. The people from the yamen said that they were here to perform hard labor. As the head of the village, he had the responsibility to work for the yamen, so he let the five children stay in the village without saying a word.

However, the head of the village was well-informed. When he looked at these five children, although they were dressed in ordinary clothes, their fair and tender faces and the nobleness that emanated from their bones showed that they were definitely not children from ordinary families. In all likelihood, they had gotten into trouble in the capital, perhaps offending someone they shouldn't have, and were sent to the countryside by their families to avoid disaster.

He Xiaojiu is not ignorant of the five grains. I am. My limited knowledge of farming comes from the literature of the Ming Dynasty, so I have always avoided this field. I checked the information and found that the word "sorghum" did not appear in the literature until the late Ming Dynasty. Moreover, this is only a niche name, and most people do not call it this way. So I changed "sorghum" to "shushu". I can't type the word "shu" with Wubi 98, and I have to change the input method every time I type this word.