Since ancient times, there was indeed such a rule. When there were guests, the male host was responsible for accompanying the guests. When it was time to eat, the male host was also responsible for accompanying the guests. As for the female host, she was responsible for serving and did not have the qualifications to sit at the table. This was the case even in the bold Tang dynasty. This was a tragedy. The status of women in ancient times was too low.
Even thousands of years later, when the status of women had greatly improved, the situation was still the same in many areas. It was just a little better.
Although the woman had been busy and did not have the opportunity to sit at the table to eat, she did not seem to have any complaints. Perhaps she felt that this was a matter of course! Because other women were also in this situation. She was not the only one who was like this.
Ang Lee wanted the woman to come over and sit, but there were no empty seats at the table. If she wanted to come over, she could only sit next to him. However, this was obviously not appropriate. Since this was the rule of this family, he could only respect other people's customs.
In order to thank Ang Lee for his help, these men toasted him one by one. Although Ang Lee could be regarded as a big drinker, drinking too much was not good for his health. Therefore, after drinking for a while, he refused to drink anymore. Naturally, the men did not dare to force Ang Lee. Since Ang Lee did not drink, everyone stopped drinking.
Because he had not revealed his identity, the men all regarded Ang Lee as a rich man or a businessman. The pressure in their hearts was not particularly great. After getting familiar with him for a while, they gradually relaxed and dared to talk to Ang Lee normally. After all, Ang Lee did not have any airs. He did not look so unattainable. For the men's inquiries, he could answer very frankly.
Chatting with these men at the bottom of the society, Ang Lee also learned a lot of things. Some things were difficult to obtain by other means. For example, if Ang Lee asked the ordinary people's views on the government, they could only sing praises. If he directly asked the ordinary people as an official, it was also difficult to obtain their true thoughts. Only by hiding his identity and contacting the ordinary people could he obtain their true thoughts.
Some of the policies were initiated by Li An. What kind of impact did these policies have on the people? How did the people perceive them? These were all questions that could only be answered through this method.
"What do you think of the current government? Say whatever you want. Say it boldly. Don't have any scruples. "
Ang Lee asked.
A man replied, "The government is good! It's getting better and better for ordinary people like us. The government will even send some food to those who don't have anything to eat during the New Year. "
"Of course the government is good. Chang 'an City has changed too much in the past few years. The ordinary people's lives are getting better and better. It's just that we were cheated by the foreman. Otherwise, our lives would be better now. Alas, it's all that cruel foreman's fault. I'll never follow him even if I have to beg for food in the future."
"Follow him? He's been exiled. Maybe he can't return to Chang 'an City in this lifetime."
"The government's policies are good. Most of the ordinary people are living a good life. Only we were cheated by the foreman. That's why we've been living such a miserable life. But now there's a benefactor helping us. The foreman has been exiled and the money that he cheated us has been returned to us. Our lives in the future will definitely be very good.
Haha! "" Yes! Now there's a table full of fish and meat in front of us. There will be many days to eat fish and meat in the future. It's not impossible to eat meat every day. Hahaha! "
At the thought of being able to live a life of fish and meat in the future, these men were very excited. They felt that there was finally something to look forward to. Life was finally full of hope.
"Now we don't have to worry about food and drink. But it's getting harder and harder to live in a decent house! In just a few years, our wages have risen a lot. But look at the price of the house. It's rising rapidly! It's rising more fiercely than our wages. Alas, it's really too expensive. "
"That's right! I'm afraid we don't have to worry about food and drink in the future. But it's getting harder and harder to live in a decent house. Moreover, even if we have the house now, we may not be able to keep it! The government only needs to give an order and our house may be demolished. Although some money will be compensated, it's too little. It's only enough to buy half a house. And we'll have to pay a lot more. The most important thing is that we don't have a yard. It's too uncomfortable to be cooped up in a cage-like house all day. We can't even breathe. "
"Yes! Old Zhang, who works with us, has the best family conditions. Recently, he bought a four-story house in the east, which is the top floor. It's so suffocating to live there! Every day when he goes back home, he feels suffocated. He always likes to stand by the window and pant. "
"There's no other way. Old Zhang's house was demolished by the government. He wanted to build it in a farther place. In the end, he was always discovered by the government and immediately demolished. They didn't allow him to build it at all! This is very bad. They're not letting the common people live! "
"You can't blame the imperial court for this. The imperial court has its own difficulties. Look at the houses outside the city. They're in a mess and don't look good. When there's a storm, the houses are easily overturned. Also, the houses built are too messy and not neatly built. Now, the area outside the city is the focus of the imperial court's development. As long as we tear down these shabby houses and build good houses, it will look good!"
"It'll look good, it'll look good. But this way, our lives will be difficult. With this house, our lives will be better. If we take back these houses, we'll have to buy a house. With the current house prices, isn't this asking for our lives?"
"What can we do? Who asked these houses to be built on the land of the government? If we bought the land for the houses ourselves, the government will definitely not shortchange us when it comes to compensation. But these lands belong to the government. We secretly built the houses on the land of the government. The government naturally has the right to take them back. Giving us some compensation is already considered benevolent. At least, it's more than the money we spent to build the houses. All in all, it's not a loss. "
"Who doesn't know this? The government naturally didn't let us suffer a loss. But the price of housing in the capital has risen too ridiculously. We're all ordinary workers and can't compare to the nobles who can casually buy a good house with a courtyard. Even if we buy the cheapest top-floor house, it's still a sum of money that we can't afford! The government wants us to leave the land that doesn't belong to us. It's reasonable, but they also have to give us a way out! "
"How can there be no way out? The government built so many five-story houses outside the city. Some are for sale, and some are rented to people like us. The rent isn't expensive at all. A month's salary can at least rent for five to six months. About two months' salary can rent for a year. Even if we work for ten months in a year, we can still save eight months' salary! Taking away the food and drink congestion, it's not a problem to save three to four months' salary, isn't it? "
"After all, renting a house doesn't belong to us. I always feel uneasy, uneasy!"
"Tsk, we're all barefooted paupers. What else do you want? You want to live in a three-story house with a courtyard? Dream on. Even if the imperial court is thinking of us, as long as we're poor, we can rent a low-rent house provided by the imperial court at a low price. This is already very good. At least the imperial court is still thinking of us, isn't it?"
"Sigh! What I mean is, it would be better if the government doesn't take away the place we're living in now. After all, we're used to living in these places. The courtyard is big enough, and it's very comfortable to live in. The cheap houses provided by the government for poor people like us are like cages. Living in them is not comfortable at all. It's so depressing. "
"That's true. I also hope that the government doesn't take back our houses. The later, the better. Besides, the government doesn't build enough houses for rent. Not everyone has the opportunity to live in these cheap houses."
The men were no longer afraid of Ang Lee. They said whatever they wanted to say, and seemed to be quite happy.
After listening to the men's conversation, Ang Lee said, "I understand what you mean. First, you don't want to leave the old houses you're living in now. Second, the government built too few cheap houses, and it's not enough at all. Third, you feel that cheap rental houses are too depressing. It's better to live in a house with a courtyard, isn't that right?"
All the men nodded their heads incessantly.
Ang Lee asked, "The houses you're living in now don't have land deeds? Why did you build houses on land without land deeds in the first place? "
Generally speaking, houses should be built on one's own land. In other words, there must be a land deed. Without a land deed, it would be illegal. However, why were these men's houses built on land that didn't belong to them? Ang Lee also had his own speculations about this. However, he still wanted to hear these men say it themselves, in case he guessed wrongly.
We came to the capital to make a living because we didn't earn much and couldn't afford to stay in the inns in the capital. We could only find a place outside the city and make do with a simple shack. After a long time, the shack was transformed into a simple house. They were all made of materials from the mountains and weren't worth much. Later, our families also came, so each family occupied a piece of land and built a simple main house. There was also a kitchen and a utility room. The courtyard was also simple and didn't cost much. What we were afraid of was that the house we worked so hard to build would suddenly be taken back by the government. That would be a great loss. "
One of the men said.
Ang Lee nodded. This was similar to what he had guessed. All the families in these slums were basically formed step by step. Before the development of the capital, the government didn't pay much attention to the land outside the city. Moreover, these people who came to the capital to work were also poor. It didn't matter much if they casually occupied some insignificant land to live temporarily. The government wouldn't deliberately drive them away. After all, the capital needed these coolies very much. Otherwise, who would do all the work in the capital and why would the nobles do it?
However, with Ang Lee's efforts, the development of the Great Wall City became faster and faster. The huge city was no longer able to accommodate enough people and various large workshops. Many buildings had to be built outside the city. This was the only right choice. As a result, the originally useless wasteland outside the city suddenly became popular. When the government needed to use these wastelands, they naturally had to drive away the poor people who privately occupied these wastelands.
However, if they were driven away without compensation, it would inevitably lead to resistance and unrest. These poor people didn't have much money. As the saying goes, those who have nothing to lose are not afraid of wearing shoes. They couldn't accept the fact that the government took back the houses they had painstakingly built without giving them any compensation. Therefore, there was a lot of unrest.
The unrest in the capital was naturally not conducive to the stability of the government. Therefore, the government could only give in a little and compensate these people. The amount of compensation was naturally not enough to buy a house, but at least it was much more than the money these poor people had spent to build these houses. In fact, the people didn't lose out. In addition, these people built their houses on land that didn't belong to them. They were already in the wrong. The only reason they asked for compensation was that they had spent a lot of money and effort to build their shacks. After receiving a certain amount of compensation, they naturally had no reason to continue to cause trouble. They could only obediently move and live in the cheap rental houses that the government had prepared for them. Although the living conditions were stifling and inconvenient, this was the best ending. After all, the land didn't belong to them. If the land that was taken back belonged to these poor people, the amount of compensation would be another story.
Ang Lee said with a smile, "It seems that this really can't be blamed on the government. After all, you have privately occupied the land of the government. You have taken advantage of them by living there for free for so many years. Think about those people who rented out their houses as soon as they came to the capital. How much have you saved over the years? I'm afraid it's not a small amount!"
The men nodded in agreement. They were indeed taking advantage of the government. However, the land was previously barren, so it was useless for the government to keep it. Moreover, their occupation didn't damage the land. Instead, through planting around the houses, the land nearby became much more fertile. Most importantly, their actions allowed the population of the capital to rapidly expand to a certain extent, allowing the various workshops in the capital to obtain a sufficient number of craftsmen. Thus, to a certain extent, it greatly promoted the prosperity and prosperity of the capital.
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