Lin Gao Qiming

Chapter 1380 Rice disturbance

One day at the beginning of August in 1633, outside the city gate of Lin’an County, Hangzhou Prefecture, there was a lifeless and desolate scene everywhere. There was no sound of livestock and poultry, no laughter and laughter of people. During the day, the villages were dead and empty, and occasionally some old people could be seen. And the children, both looked disheveled and listless.Men and women were exhausted after a day of hard work under the scorching sun, and they had to carry vegetable baskets to pick wild vegetables to satisfy their hunger.However, there are fewer and fewer wild vegetables, and they are almost gone.

Summer grain is about to appear, but the grain stocks of each household are already in full swing, and the price of grain is rising day by day. The farmers who barely survived the drought last year began to struggle for their livelihood again.

The relief food distributed by the government has been exhausted, and the price of raw silk cocoons in spring has plummeted, completely destroying the hope of respite for some sericulture households.Seeing that Xia Liang hadn't appeared yet, he was about to starve to death.It doesn't count if you sell the young crops reluctantly, you have to sell the land, the house, the sons and the daughters... a poor man has done everything he can to survive.Although this year seems to be going well, the shadow of famine is getting heavier and heavier on their heads.In fact, many families have lost their food, and the number of tenants fleeing the famine and living in the soup kitchens in the city has begun to increase again.There are more roads on the side of the road.

In front of the rice store in Dongguan Town outside the county seat, it was crowded with villagers in quail clothes.On the door frame of the rice store, there is a water plate hanging on which the price of rice and the prices of various grains have been changed many times.From the beginning of spring, each bucket of rice sold for three yuan, and then fell back for a while.After entering the summer, it has risen for more than ten days in a row, and it is already three cents and eight cents.

Teahouses and restaurants are still full of seats.The skyrocketing price of food was nothing less than a bolt from the blue for the ordinary people in Shengdou, but it had no effect on the rich—many of them more or less benefited from this catastrophe, and some used money lending They got fields and houses, and some bought cheap servants.The sound of punching and shouting, and the sound of triumphant and obscene laughter, spread from the window of the shop to the street, mixed with the begging of the hungry people outside, and the cries of the flesh and blood of the slaves who were sold as slaves.

The villagers gathered at the entrance of the rice store, each with a small pocket.After eating too much wild vegetables, his ashen face was full of sorrow.The hoards full of rice and miscellaneous grains were piled up sharply, giving their stomachs, which had been empty for a long time, a tingling burning sensation.

Although they want to eat rice day and night, they have to exchange the last bit of brown rice at home for miscellaneous grains.

"There's really no way out." After hesitating for a long time, a person handed in a bag of rice in his hand. Everyone rolled their eyes impatiently and said, "You old bastard, you think we're a beggar? Want you What do you do with this liter of rice?"

"Please do me a favor!" The person who brought in the rice bowed and begged, and finally got the other person to take the rice in and come out with a bag of miscellaneous grains.

"This is too little change..." someone muttered.

"Don't change it if you think it's too little." The clerk stared at the cow-like eyes with disdain on his face. "Our shopkeeper is willing to change your rice because of his kindness. If you want to change it or not, don't block the door to hinder our business."

The people outside murmured for a while, although the exchange rate for miscellaneous grains in this store is a bit ruthless, but this store is the only one in the vicinity that is willing to exchange their half-liter and half bucket of brown rice. If it is a nearby store, they will bring I really don't even bother to look at this rice.

In desperation, Laideren had no choice but to go to the rice store to accept the "gift" one by one.After taking a bag of miscellaneous grains, I couldn't help cursing the greed of the store in my heart.

When it was the last one's turn, she was a half-old woman in ragged clothes. If you got close to her, you could tell that she was not old, but her skin was gray and loose due to long-term malnutrition and overwork.

In her hand, she held a wooden stick like a beggar. Judging from the way she was panting after walking a few steps, she probably couldn't get here without relying on this wooden stick.

Because she had no strength, she was the last one to reach the counter, tremblingly took out a small rag bag from her arms and handed it over.

This rice is only about half a cup.The guy didn't even want to pick up the connection, so he smiled at everyone with his mouth curled up, "Look, this little rice is not even a heap, and it's still used for miscellaneous grains. Although we do good deeds in our shop, we can't do that. Sister-in-law You better take this little rice back and feed it to **."

"I beg the shopkeeper to show kindness—" the woman begged, saying that her land and house had just been confiscated by the creditor, and the whole family lived in a ruined temple, without even a pot.The man in the family died again, only the old man and the child were too hungry to get up, and only this little rice could be exchanged for miscellaneous grains...

The man just refused, and the woman cried and begged, and finally knelt down and begged.Seeing that the crowd of onlookers increased.The guy was so upset that he raised his hand and threw the bag of rice on the counter out.

It is said to be a rice bag, but it is actually just a piece of rag wrapped in rice. When it fell to the ground, it immediately fell apart, and the white rice splashed all over the ground.
The woman uttered a hoarse scream, and staggered over to pick up the rice, but the rice was originally very little, and was splashed everywhere when it fell.I saw the woman stuffing rice grains into her bosom while crying, tears and dust mixed together, like a crazy woman.The people on the side couldn't bear to watch.

"This is so bullying..."

Someone finally couldn't stand it anymore and muttered.

"Bullying people? Who would say that you have the guts to stand up and don't be locked behind and be a turtle!" The guy yelled with his eyes wide open.

The owner of this rice shop is a bully in the town—except for him, no one in the town dares to open a rice shop.The guys in the store are all used to people.After being stared at by him, none of the idlers watching the excitement dared to speak any more.

An old man came out to smooth things over: "Shopkeeper Liu, please show mercy. For the sake of her orphans and widows, she can exchange some grains. Anyway, it's not for nothing—"

The boss, who had been sneering and picking his teeth, probably felt that there was too much movement at the door of his store, so he got up impatiently and took out a few bran cakes from under the counter and threw them out.

"Bran cakes..." Dissatisfied voices sounded from the crowd.

"What's wrong with the bran cake?" The shopkeeper's eyes widened, "I think all of you are rich and powerful, eating and drinking rice and white flour every day, and look down on this bran cake?"

The woman quickly picked up the bran cakes one by one and stuffed them into the basket.

The shopkeeper said with a smile: "Look - you despise bran cakes, but people don't. That's why you're asking for help. If it wasn't for the folks in the village, I would still keep these bran cakes to feed the pigs. "

"What kind of fellow from the village, you liar!" A deep voice rang out from the crowd, "You are a bastard who eats people and doesn't spit out bones!"

The shopkeeper's whole body froze, and his mouth opened in surprise. Over the years, he has been domineering in the town, monopolizing the rice shop business, lending usury, bullying men and women, and doing all kinds of bad things. No one has ever dared to say a word .The people in the county, except for the gentry gentleman whom he couldn't afford to offend, even the police officers and squad leaders from the county would talk to him politely, let alone dare to scold him in front of him.

"What are you, get out and let me see!" the shopkeeper roared.

The crowd backed away, but someone stood up.He was about 27 or [-] years old, tall, with pale skin, a somewhat stooped figure, and bowed legs—like a silk weaver sitting in front of a silk loom.Looks average.His face was calm and he looked very stable.

"Who are you to be so presumptuous to Master Liu!" The guys in the shop also reacted from their surprise and shouted.

"Hao Yuan." The visitor spoke very calmly, without any intention of picking a show.

A clerk suddenly jumped out from behind the counter. On his fleshy face, from the right corner of the forehead to the left cheek, there was a deep scar slanted. This is where he "set the plate" with shopkeeper Liu imprints left by time.He said he was a buddy, but he was actually shopkeeper Liu's thug.

He looked at the opponent up and down, as if estimating the opponent's weight.He didn't say anything, and just punched Hao Yuan in the chest, and the opponent immediately fell ten steps away, and fell onto the tea shop table opposite.

The guys in the rice store burst into laughter immediately: "Good fight! Let him see how much he weighs!"

The clerk clasped his hands triumphantly, and stood leisurely in the shop with a smile on his distorted face, admiring the effect of his punch.

At this moment, Hao Yuan shook and struggled on the ground.His face was cut by the fragments of the tea set, and a trace of blood flowed out.The people around immediately fell silent.In the silence, suddenly there was a burst of a high-rise cannon.A strange atmosphere suddenly surrounded the scene, and many people had the same feeling—this matter is endless.

The footsteps on the street came and went, it seemed that many people were rushing here, and the entrance of the rice store was surrounded in a short time.

As soon as Hao Yuan turned around and stepped on the bench in front of the tea shop, he faced the people gathered below and shouted loudly: "Everyone has seen that we poor people have no way out, even a bastard who sells rice wants us to go!" Dead! If you don’t want to watch your family starve to death, follow me!” He waved his arms:

"If you don't want to die, grab the rice!"

Hao Yuan's shout was like a thunderbolt falling from the clear sky, waking up those people who were in a state of ignorance!They are all common people living in the lower class. The disaster years made their already difficult life worse. They can only earn a living by selling everything they own bit by bit. Now they are begging for something to the point where even grace cannot.

Now someone suddenly woke them up: Since you can't ask for it on your knees, let's grab it with your fists!

Several people who looked like mechanics shouted together:
The crowd suddenly became agitated: "If you don't want to die, grab the rice!" One sentence became ten sentences, and ten sentences became one hundred sentences. Everyone roared like a demon.

(End of this chapter)