Late Qing Dynasty Executioner

Chapter 6 Gentleman
Every morning was the most difficult time for Chen Gu, because he only had a single layer of clothing and straw sandals on his feet. Such warming measures were too cold in this season after the New Year.

However, Chen Gu got up at dawn every day and pushed a wheelbarrow to collect wood from the wealthy families in East City.

Liu Er found three families to collect wood for Chen Gu. They were Diao, Cao and Bian. These three families were wealthy families in Jiangjin County for generations.

The ones who received the wood today are the Bian family who live at the foot of Dingshan Mountain.

The county seat of Jiangjin is surrounded by rivers on three sides and backed by mountains on one side. It is located at a strategic point along the Yangtze River, hence the name Jiangjin. Because the Yangtze River passes around the city in the shape of a Chinese character "几", the urban area is also called Jijiang.

The Bian family lives at the foot of Dingshan Mountain in the east city. The Dingshan Mountain behind them, which is nearly two hundred meters high and covers an area of ​​four to five thousand acres, belongs entirely to the Bian family. In addition, there are two townships below which are also their territory.

Even so, the Bian family is still not the most powerful and richest family in Jiangjin.

According to the ranking of the sour scholar Chen Minghua, the top ten surnames in Jiangjin during the Ming Dynasty were Jiang, Yang, Han, Xia, Li, Cao, Dong, Bian, Bai and Zhou. Now the Diao family has replaced the Li family and become one of the top ten surnames.

Although the royal family has changed dynasties, the status of these gentry remains solid, and these people have actually always been there.

In ancient times, they were princes and nobles; in the Qin and Han dynasties, they were members of aristocratic families; in the Sui and Tang dynasties, they were members of wealthy and powerful families; in the Song dynasty, they were officials; in the Ming and Qing dynasties, they were gentry; and so on.

They don't rely on the little amount of government subsidies to make a living. Since the teacher has given them the places for government students, they will give more in return to the teacher.

How unfair the world is!
Of course, none of this has anything to do with Chen the Executioner. After all, the profession of executioner is beyond the Three Realms and is not within the Five Elements.

Resources are always in the hands of a few people, as the saying goes, "emperors come and go, but the aristocratic families remain."

Even though the Li family has fallen out of the top ten surnames, it doesn't mean that they have disappeared. It's just that their strength is not as good as before. They are still a prominent family in the local area, owning many shops and fertile land, and even scholar quotas.

"Bang bang bang!"

The court gave them privileges, and they also helped local officials collect taxes.

The first-class students among the scholars are basically in the hands of big families. In fact, only by controlling them in these big families can all parties be satisfied.

It was just a hardship for ordinary people. Not only did they have to pay taxes to the court, but they were also exploited by these big families. If a war broke out, they had to fight for them.

Although the executioner's job is a job that no one cares about, he will not offend this group of people.

Thinking about things to distract himself helped to relieve the physical pain brought by the severe cold. Before he knew it, Chen Ke had arrived at the back door of the Bian family compound.

After all, the world is unpredictable, and no one knows when they or someone in their family will be executed.

Take the top ten surnames in Jiangjin County for example, the country has changed hands, but the people have not changed much.

I can’t say what happened after that.

Chen Gu stretched out his hand and knocked on the door a few times, then shouted, "Uncle Fu, open the door!"

The Bian family has three managers in this compound in the county town. Uncle Fu is in charge of the kitchen. He ranks last and gets the least money.

After all, the host family not only has a mountain behind them, but also has a large area of ​​fertile land in the countryside. Most of the food and daily necessities are self-produced, and there are not many things that need to be purchased in the kitchen. On weekdays, Chen Gu would knock on the door several times before the other party would open the door. But today, as soon as he knocked on the door, it opened, and a fat old man came out and said anxiously.

"Hey, brother, keep your voice down. My young master Shichun has to take the annual exam today. Don't dare to disturb him!"

The annual examination is a test specifically for scholars. Those who perform well will become students who can receive government stipends. If you pass the examination, you can retain your title of scholar. If you fail, you are doomed.

As for whether you can pass, that depends on your relationship with the teacher. Generally speaking, since you can obtain the title of scholar, there will be basically no problem in passing the annual examination.

Of course, there are surprises. For example, if a new teacher wants to establish his authority, he will most likely set up one or two examples. Or if something unexpected happens to the family, such as a loss of strength, he may have to give up the quota to people from other families.

Nothing happened to the Bian family, so Chen the Assassin smiled and complimented, "Haha, after this annual exam, Master Shichun will definitely be promoted to a student on the government stipend."

"Hehe, it shouldn't be a big problem!" Uncle Fu said happily.

Bian Shichun was only fifteen years old. Last year, when he was fourteen, he took part in the academy examination with the mentality of giving it a try. He thought that even if he failed to pass the examination, he could still feel the atmosphere of the imperial examination and prepare for the next one.

Who would have thought that he would pass the county examination, prefectural examination and finally the provincial examination, and won the title of scholar in one fell swoop. Unfortunately, he stopped at the metropolitan examination when he went to Beijing to take the examination, and failed to get the title of juren.

However, a scholar at the age of fourteen was enough to bring honor to the family. It was no exaggeration to call him a genius. After all, there were many people who passed the exams until they were old and gray without ever obtaining the title of scholar.

"Brother, come here, today I will help you lift the wood onto the cart, let's try to make as little noise as possible!"

Uncle Fu was very happy with Chen Gu's compliment. The old man actually helped Chen Gu, and together they carried the wood out of the yard.

These logs are all crooked branches, but they are very thick. The largest one is as thick as a thigh, and the smallest one is as thick as a wrist. You can imagine how big the real tree trunks are.

These tree branches are extremely difficult to break open, and even chopping them into several pieces takes a lot of effort. Even a strong young man can't get many in a day. The normal price is at least five cents per hundred kilograms.

However, Chen Gu only wanted three cents for a hundred kilograms. On the one hand, it was for him to practice his sword skills and build up his strength. On the other hand, it was also to please the ten major families so that Chen Gu could take over smoothly in the future.

"Thank you, Uncle Fu. I'll send it to you in the evening!" Chen Gu said, and left with difficulty pushing the wheelbarrow.

The weight of three hundred kilograms is not light. If the stone pavement in the city was not easy to walk on, Chen Gu would definitely not be able to push it away.

When passing by the gate of Bian's house, a sedan chair was just being carried out. Chen Gu quickly stopped the wheelbarrow and waited for the sedan chair to go ahead.

Sliding poles are a specialty of the Sichuan and Chongqing regions. Wooden sedan chairs are not very convenient for traveling on the hilly terrain with ups and downs.

Using bamboo, which has excellent elasticity, to tie it into a simple sedan that can just sit one person can have a good shock-absorbing effect, making the person sitting on it much more comfortable.

Sitting on the sedan chair is a young man, probably Bian Shichun who is going to take part in the annual examination.

Chen the Executioner was somewhat envious, but it was a pity that the executioner was destined to have no chance of taking the imperial examination.

Life is not easy. It is good enough to be alive in this era. It is very difficult to live well.

(End of this chapter)