Reborn in the last years of Kangxi

Chapter 723 The Tenant
Counting nine weather, freezing cold.Cao Yong became tired, his body was rusty, and he didn't like to move.

On the contrary, it is Zhuangzi of Wenquan, but it is Zhenghe Xinyi.He and Chuyu and his wife went back to the east courtyard, and they had to go to the hot spring as well.Although they are old couples, after the "hot spring water to cleanse and gel the fat", it is still "the hibiscus tent to warm the night".

After tossing without any strength, the husband and wife hugged each other and fell asleep.

When Cao Yong opened his eyes again, it was already three poles the next day.

Chu Yu called her husband several times in a row, saw him open his eyes, and said with a smile: "My son-in-law, the children have been waiting outside for a long time."

Cao Yong took out his pocket watch from under the pillow and glanced at it. It was already the second quarter of the morning (08:30 in the morning).

After washing and changing clothes, Cao Yong went to the outer room, and saw Qiniang, Niuniu, and Tianyou, the four little ones, all dressed up, waiting there.

Seeing Cao Yong coming out, the children all jumped for joy, those who greeted him, those who hugged their legs, and surrounded him.

Chu Yu was standing at the door, serving breakfast, seeing such excitement, she was also in a good mood.

The children had breakfast, so Cao Yong didn't delay any more. After eating a bowl of rice in a hurry, he put down his chopsticks, took a dozen people, led a few horses, and led the children out of the village.

Today's destination is the back mountain, people were sent there at noon yesterday, and sticky nets were laid there to catch birds.Now, he is taking the children there.

Except for Qiniang, who was a little older, the other children were all young and could not walk a few steps, so the two of them walked on a horse, led by the leader following them.

Cao Yong, Wei Hei, Zheng Hu and others walked, leading the crowd to the back mountain.

It turned out that Cao Yong didn't ride a horse because he looked close. He didn't expect to walk, but it was a little far away.After walking for more than four miles, I arrived at the foot of the mountain.

It is said to be a mountain, but it is a higher soil slope, which is also the land of the Cao family. Peach trees are planted all over the mountain, and there are some thin fields in the slightly flat place below the mountain.

It was cold winter, the vegetation was withered, and there was nothing to see.

But the children were quite interested, except for Qiniang, the others seldom left the house, and it was the first time they saw the winter scenery on the mountain.Even Qiniang, who was detained in the mansion for half a year, came out now with a smile on her face and a good time.

After turning to the mountain, it is the place where the net is laid.

There are more than a dozen birds stuck to the net three or four feet long, some are still struggling, some are dying, and some have frozen to death.

What is rare is that there is still a bird eagle stuck in the northeast corner.It is said to be a bird eagle, because it is a chick, about the size of a quail.

Cao Yong stood on the side, watching the young servant with the children go to pick the birds on the sticky net, thinking of Qingliang Temple in Jiangning.Back then on the mountain behind Qingliang Temple, he and Zhiran had spoiled the pheasants, hares and birds on the mountain.

The birds available here are limited, and Xiao Man has already taken two servants to go around to the other side to pick up birds.

That's right, picking it up.On the sunny side, people came to sweep an open space yesterday, and sprinkled millet soaked with arsenic on it.This is a common method used by farmers.

Birds who eat millet will immediately die of poison.When the time comes, pick up these dead birds, remove the internal organs and fur, and fry or roast the rest, which is considered a mountain delicacy.

After a while, Xiaoman came back and took two flour bags, half filled each, it seemed that the income was quite good.

The birds here have also been plucked, they are alive enough to be put in cages, the others are put aside, and now they are all put into the flour bag in Xiaoman's hand.

Although several little guys were staring at the eagle, none of them asked for it.Long before they came, they had told Tianhui that among the birds they caught, they would pick the biggest one and leave it to Tianhui.

In the end it was cold, Cao Yong did not dare to let the children stay outside for a long time.In case of freezing, it's no joke.

It was a bit of a detour when I came here, but when I went back, everyone took the road and descended from the other side of the mountain.

Before reaching the foot of the mountain, I saw a thatched hut in the distance, surrounded by a fence.

Tianyou and the others were all curious, poised their necks, and looked over there.Even Cao Yong looked twice more. If I remember correctly, this area is still within the territory of the Cao family. Who is in this hut?

Among the stewards who came together, two were old people from Zhuangzi, and one was He Changgui, the nephew of He Maocai.He is not very old, but in his twenties, but he has eyesight.

Seeing Cao Yong looking towards the thatched hut, He Changgui said with a smile: "Master, the tenants of our Zhuangzi live there, originally from Wangjiayao Village. The surname is Guo, and there are four grandparents in a family. A few years ago, Wangjiayao Village There is less land in the practice palace over there, so he voted for our Zhuangzi. The uncle and the young man are tired after thinking about it, why don't you go to his house for a drink of hot water?"

When Cao Yong heard this, he wanted to shake his head, but seeing the hopeful expressions on the children's faces, he said: "Well, let someone speak up first, so as not to disturb them..."

While talking here, a few strong men walked out of the yard, well dressed, all leading their horses.The leader was arrogant, and the few who followed were holding chickens, ducks and other things in their hands.

Before these people got on their horses, they saw another man coming out of the yard, dressed as a farmer, holding something in his hand, not a kitchen knife, but what?
The few people in front did not appear to be in a state of panic.

As soon as the man from the village went out, he was hugged by an old woman who arrived later, and took away the kitchen knife.

At this time, Cao Yong and his party are already close, and they can hear their voices arguing.

Cao Yong's face was deep, and the good mood just now had dissipated.Since the strong men in front came out, Cao Yong recognized them as servants of the Cao family from their clothes.

The few people in front were even more proud when they saw that the farmer had no kitchen knife in his hand.The leader stepped forward and kicked the man, cursing and saying: "Damn it, you're really a troublemaker, and you don't even take pictures of yourself, what kind of a thing are you?"

The man was kicked so hard that he bent his waist, blushed, glared at the man, and was speechless.

The old woman had already knelt down and begged: "Master Hu, the few acres of land next to the mountain is Susukida. The housekeeper has given us [-]% of the rent. This year is another severe drought, and other people's homes are suffering It’s okay to be at the well, and there are some harvests. Our few acres of land are not even half-ripe. Even [-]% of the rent is difficult, how can we make up [-]%? Please forgive us, Mr. Hu. ..."

"Fart! The newly opened field is Susukita. What kind of Susukita is the field that has been planted for three years? If you want to rely on renting, you don't ask, who owns this Zhuangzi? Our master is the emperor's grandson and son-in-law. Uncle, you troublesome people, are you tired of living? Do you have to lock you up with a chain and send them to the yamen before you are willing to settle down?" The leader, wearing thick fur clothes, raised his chin and said.

Seeing that he gritted his teeth and refused to let go, the old woman couldn't help crying, "Master Hu, didn't you say that as long as, as long as... you will waive our [-]% of the rent..."

When the man surnamed Hu heard the words, he was furious, raised his foot, kicked the old woman, and said, "Grandma, when did I ever get so disappointed, Mr. Hu? Is your daughter-in-law so precious? The Lord rewarded you because he saw that you were pitiful. Fuck you bitch, you are really shameless."

The farmer gave a low growl and was about to rush forward, but was hugged tightly by the old woman.

Mr. Hu looked at him contemptuously, and said: "Guo San, you have the guts, don't you want to be a bully, don't you? You wait, if you can't pay the rent before Laba, your daughter-in-law will enter the kiln. Thousands of people ride, ten thousand I'm afraid your hat will turn black from green, haha..."

After talking about it, I couldn't help laughing out loud.The few people who accompanied him also booed.

At this time, I saw a little boy running out of the door, seven or eight years old, crying and shouting: "Grandma, daddy, mother has hanged herself..."

The farmer's man was already dumbfounded when he heard the words.It was the old woman who lived a few more years, calmed down, gave her son a hand, and said, "Hurry up and go back to the house..."

In a blink of an eye, the grandparent and grandson had already entered the courtyard.

The surname Hu felt bored, cursed "unlucky", and turned to go to the door, but felt a blur in front of his eyes, and several figures passed by.

After he reacted, those figures had flashed into the yard.

Just as this surname Hu was about to start cursing, he heard someone yell angrily: "Hu Cheng, you bastard, are you arrested?"

Hu Cheng followed the sound and saw several horses parked not far away, several children on horseback, and many long-term guards.

A person came over there, stared at him with raised eyebrows, and scolded him: "You didn't make any progress when you were young. Uncle was afraid that you would cause trouble in the city, so he interceded with Butler He and asked you to work for Zhuangzi. That's how you work. of?"

Hearing this, Hu Cheng felt his body tremble, quickly put down the reins, trotted forward, and said with a smile on his face, "Is it my cousin who came? Misunderstanding, it's true that this tenant is tricky and wants to rely on renters... ..."

Before he finished speaking, he felt something was wrong.Among the children on the backs of the horses, there were men and women, but looking at their clothes, they definitely did not look like children in charge.

It wasn't until this moment that he remembered the identity of the little cousin in front of him.

Xiaoman is Cao Yong's personal servant, how can there be such a chance to hang out all over the mountain?

Hu Cheng felt his scalp go numb, and looked into the crowd, and sure enough, he saw a few familiar people, all of whom worked beside the young master Cao Yong.

"Cousin, this is, this is..." Hu Cheng's face was pale and he was speechless.

Xiaoman snorted coldly, glared at him, and said: "Stay back to the side, wait for the uncle to come back, I'll see you!"

After hearing this, Hu Cheng quickly defended and said: "It's a misunderstanding, cousin, you can't blame me, it's all trickery. Even for uncle's sake, you have to help cousin." While speaking, he was already bowing. .

The children were on the horse, watching the farce.Tianyou leaned over and asked, "Uncle Man, who is he?"

Xiao Man stepped forward and said, "Master, he is the manager of our Zhuangzi, responsible for leading people to collect the rent."

Tianyou looked at the chickens and ducks in the hands of the people behind Hu Cheng, and asked puzzledly: "Is the rent a chicken or a duck? Isn't it grain? Then what are the warehouses in the backyard of our Zhuangzi for?"

Although Xiao Man is a servant, he rarely leaves the city.Hearing Tianyou's question, he didn't know how to answer, so he looked at Hu Cheng with some doubts.

Hu Cheng was beside him, feeling that sweat was already oozing from his forehead, bowed his body, and replied respectfully: "As far as I am concerned, this is a renter. According to the rules, when renters come to collect rents, the tenants have to prepare food and drinks to entertain them." . Those who didn’t prepare meals were served with live chickens and ducks.”

"Brother, he's a villain. That old lady's hair is all white, and he still kicks people!" Sitting behind Tianyou, Hang Sheng saw Hu Cheng's flattering appearance, disgusted in his heart, and said to Tianyou.

When Tianyou heard this, he didn't say anything, just happened to see Zuo Cheng hiding behind Zuo Zhu with his clothes tight.

Among all the people, Zuo Cheng was the weakest in body, and after several years of raising him, he was considered to be stronger.But compared with other people, it is also afraid of cold and heat.

Although Tianyou didn't like Hu Cheng in his heart, just like his younger brother.But he knew that with his father around, he didn't have to worry about his own size.

"Uncle Man, Brother Cheng is cold." Tianyou said to Xiao Man, "Shall we go into the yard too?"

But Xiao Man didn't dare to bring a few children in. When the tenant's child came to call for help, he also heard it.If someone was really hanged inside and frightened the young masters and young ladies, that would not be something he could take care of.

"Master, let's go and have a look now. If the master agrees, it won't be too late for the gentlemen to go in." Xiao Man said.

Tianyou didn't say anything, Hang Seng pointed to Qiniang and Niuniu's horses, and said, "Seventh sister and little aunt went in..."

*
In the house, a stool fell on the ground, and a rope loop made of thick rope fell to the ground, and half of the rope was still hanging from the beam.

The room is not big, and half of it is occupied by a large kang.There are two faded wooden boxes on the Kang slightly, and the quilts are neatly folded on the wooden boxes.There was a table on the ground, on which was a coarse porcelain bottle with two feather dusters stuck in it.

Although the layout is simple, the house is clean and tidy.

Lying on the kang was a young woman, aged 25 or [-], with a pale face and scum around her mouth.The child threw himself on his mother, howling already.

Wei Hei was beside him, stretched out his hand, and poked around the young woman's neck.Seeing this, the farmer was about to stop him, but Wei Hei stopped him with a look.

Wei Hei touched the young woman's neck, he couldn't help frowning, he turned his head and said to Cao Yong: "My lord, the pulse is too weak, I'm afraid it's going to die..."

The old woman supported the edge of the Kang, trembling her lips, unable to speak.

Cao Yong was by the side, and seeing this situation, he just felt out of breath.But it wasn't when he was feeling sorry for himself, he turned his head and said to Zheng Hu who was behind him: "Go and call Qiniang, that girl..."

Before the words were finished, someone jumped open the curtain and came in, it was Qiniang and Niuniu.

"That's when I thought of Qiniang, hum!" Fang Qiniang pouted her lips and gave Cao Yong a glare.

Although Niu Niu was usually naughty, she was a child after all, when she saw the young woman lying stiffly on the kang, she also felt afraid, she didn't dare to go forward, slipped to Cao Yong's side, grabbed his sleeve and did not let go.

While speaking, Qiniang had already walked to the edge of the kang, rolled the eyelids of the young woman, looked at her eyelids, and said: "The pupils are still closed, and there is still salvation..." While speaking, she had already taken out a bag from her bosom. Half a foot long silver box.

Open it, and inside are dozens of silver needles.

She had put away her naughty appearance, her face was solemn, and she quickly untied the young woman's neckline, and pricked a few needles on the young woman's body and head.

The old woman and the farmer's man didn't want to stop them, but they were shocked by this skilled acupuncture and moxibustion skills, and dared not speak.

After a while, Qiniang had finished piercing, she let out a long breath, and put the silver needle back into the needle box.

After a while, the young woman took a long breath and slowly opened her eyes.

Except for the child crying and throwing himself into his mother's arms, even the man and the old woman wept.The man fell to his knees with a "plop", and kowtowed several times to everyone.

It turned out that just now I got a message from the child that when the man entered the house to save his wife, he was so anxious that he couldn't untie the rope buckle because he was so frightened.

It was Wei Hei who followed in, with sharp eyesight and quick hands, he pulled out his saber and cut off the knot before saving the young woman.Coupled with Qiniang's skillful needle injection, this man couldn't be more grateful...

Finally, no one was killed, Cao Yong couldn't help but feel lucky, but he couldn't justly accept the man's gratitude.

He raised his feet, led the crowd out, and met Xiao Man squarely.

Cao Yong stopped and told Xiao Man, "Tell Zhao Tong to pick two people to take care of here. If there is anything wrong with this woman, send someone to deliver a letter to Zhuangzi."

Xiao Man agreed, Qiniang hesitated for a moment, and said: "Master, Qiniang should stay here. If there is nothing wrong in the afternoon, Qiniang will go back to Zhuangzi. It happens to be able to prescribe two prescriptions for them. Seeing that this woman is very Some weak symptoms. If you don't recuperate early, I'm afraid it will be an early death."

"Healer's parents' heart", seeing Qiniang's tense little face, this sentence appeared in Cao Yong's mind.

He nodded and said, "That's fine. You're just a little girl. You can't go out alone. You should ask Zhao Tong to bring two people here. Go back to Zhuangzi earlier in the evening, and someone will send you two cotton-padded jackets later. Don't freeze."

Qiniang stuck out her tongue when she heard this, and said, "Speaking of which, it's really cold in this room. Just now I saw ice hanging from the corner of the room..."

While talking, out of the yard, Zhao Tong has brought two people over to stand by.

Cao Yong explained a few words, looked back at the hut, turned around and left with everyone.

Cao Yong was walking, but Hu Cheng and the others dared to ride a horse, and they didn't dare to show their spirits. They led the horse in a despondent manner and followed the crowd.

Zheng Hu has recognized Hu Cheng, beside Cao Yong, whispered.

This Hu Cheng is the nephew of Cao Yuan, the chief steward of the Cao Mansion.Speaking of this Hu family, it is also an old man in Cao's mansion, who is Sun Taijun's companion.Hu Cheng's grandmother was used by Sun Taijun when he was young.

The Hu family and Cao Yuan's family are also related by marriage, and they are among the most respectable families in the mansion.

Although the Hu family is respectable, it is difficult to have children. In Hu Cheng's generation, there is only this one male.Because of this reason, he was so spoiled by his family that he never entered the mansion as an errand.But he didn't learn well, and became obsessed with drinking flower wine.

When he arrived in the capital, Hu Cheng was also a frequent visitor to brothels.

His parents had no choice but to ask Cao Yuan.Cao Yuan also hated this nephew, so he taught him a few times, but it didn't work.

Both Cao Yin and his son are cautious in their words and deeds, and the rules in the house are also strict.Cao Yuan really had no choice but to be begged fiercely by his father-in-law and mother-in-law. He was also afraid that he would cause trouble in the city, so he "assigned" his nephew to Zhuangzi outside the city.

I thought that the land of mountains and wilds is not a rich and noble township, so Hu Chengxue can be restrained better...

*
.At the end of the month, Xiao Jiu asked for a monthly pass. .

(End of this chapter)