Dusk, setting sun,
Red clouds.
In the tavern,
The helpers, who were dressed in brown, had finished their day's work and came over together.
They asked for the cheapest few copper coins and a bowl of watered wine. Some stood, talking and laughing loudly, while others squatted on the threshold, slightly drunk.
After a while,
They tiptoed at the door,
A man in a long robe with a plump body came,
A scholar with a pale face and a slight beard.
He looked around like a thief until he reached the door.
When he saw a group of "short robes", he coughed and puffed out his chest,
He shook his head slightly,
He walked in with his hands behind his back.
A pockmarked face,
A thin helper with a few rags hanging on his upper body tripped him,
He almost fell down. The scholar stood firm,
He coughed,
He reprimanded, "Confucius said … Cough! Go away! It's immoral, outrageous! "
Under this "outrageous", the pockmarked man should have shrunk back timidly as usual, but today, he said with a smile, "Master Scholar, why don't you say 'Confucius said'?"
In order to show that he was superior to these illiterate "hooligans", this scholar usually said "Confucius said" and "Saint Cloud".
The commoners had a natural fear of these "Confucius said" and "Saint Cloud", and often did not dare to argue.
The fat scholar's face turned red. "The words of the Saint hang high in the chest of a gentleman. It's useless to talk to a villain."
The shopkeeper fiddled with the abacus. "Pan Xiucai, you're a 'Saint' and a 'gentleman'? Then I won't be able to pay you on credit today. "
Pan Xiucai was so scared that he hurriedly waved his hand and stopped talking. His originally straight back quietly crept up again. However, he was not convinced. He only cupped his hands and patted his chest. He widened his eyes and stared at the laughing people in the hall before he walked out of the door with a red face. He did not even buy wine.
As soon as he left the tavern, he saw a young man in linen clothes. It was obvious that he was from the Revolutionary Army. He was drinking with a scholar. He grabbed him:
"Secretly hiding the Demon Book of Kong and Meng? Come with me! "
Therefore, he did not dare to wander around the streets for too long. He regretted not listening to his wife's advice and going out in this long gown. He hurriedly walked along the wall, crestfallen, and headed home.
When he walked to the alley near his house, he saw the revolutionary army posted a notice along the street, reading aloud, "Fellow villagers, all the books of Confucius and Mencius and heresy are to be confiscated. No one is allowed to buy, sell, or hide books."
"Comparable to the First Emperor's atrocities!" Pan Xiucai muttered something. "Bamboo and silk smoke dissipate the Emperor's business, the Guan River locks the Ancestral Dragon Residence." When he arrived home, he saw that his family's courtyard was in chaos. His concubine, Ayun, was weeping as she packed her bags. His yellow-faced wife was glaring at her from the side.
Was that vinegar jar going to sell Ayun again? This was incredible. He could do without alcohol, but he couldn't sell Ayun now. After he betrayed Ayun, when he was complimenting his classmates, he mentioned that there was no one at home who was willing to give him any benefits, and that he only had a jealous wife. That would be humiliating!
Pan Xiucai hurriedly squeezed through the door and held down Ayun's bags. He smiled at his wife and said humbly, "Madam, Madam, Ayun is so crude and stupid! How can she compare to you? It's just that she has always been doing needlework, starching, and embroidering. She gets up before the sun rises and serves both of us diligently. She's a good worker. Even if she doesn't have any merits, she's still worked hard … "
His wife was furious. She grabbed his ear and said, "You're full of nonsense! Who wants to sell her? Take a look for yourself! "
Pan Xiucai finally saw clearly that there was a young man wearing a Blue Silk Robe leaning against the wall at the side of the courtyard. He looked gentle and beautiful, and he was watching the farce with a smile.
When he saw that someone was watching, Pan Xiucai was afraid that he would be labeled as a henpecked husband. His face turned red before his ear was pulled. He said anxiously, "Bitch, how dare you!"
His wife was slapped in the face and pushed to the ground by him. She was stunned. After a while, she sat on the ground and cried, "How dare you hit me! You heartless person. If it wasn't for my father killing pigs and buying the land, would you be able to earn rent and study? "
Pan Xiucai felt a little guilty. He gathered his courage and ignored his wife who was throwing a tantrum. He stuck out his fat belly and cupped his hands, "May I know what business you have with me?"
The young man in the blue silk robe pointed at Ayun and smiled, "I'm here on orders to bring this girl back."
Ayun only cared about wiping her tears and crying.
His wife suddenly shouted, "You bastard. Look, who wants to sell your concubine? It's the militia lord who wants to take her away! "
Could it be that he wants to take away the beauty to provide to the militia leader?
Pan Xiucai's heart raced. His face turned ashen and he said with a pained expression, "My concubine is also from a good family … I'll pay … ten taels of silver! Brother, ten taels of silver. Nowadays, the villagers are cheap. You can buy a pretty concubine wherever you go. You see … "
He felt that he was already very loyal. He could brag about his righteous deeds in front of his colleagues tomorrow and redeem his "red sleeve". Unexpectedly, his jealous wife pinched his thigh. When he bought Ayun, how could he have bought her for ten taels of silver? Her father sold her for three taels of silver.
The young man didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Only then did he know that they had misunderstood. He explained in a gentle voice, "I'm here to redeem this girl."
This time, the husband and wife were both surprised and bewildered. Could it be that this brat had hooked up with a lover?
However, Ayun was busy from morning to night at home. After feeding the chickens and ducks, she also had to do laundry and cook. She was like a spinning top. She never had time to rest.
The mistress stared at her closely. How could she have the time to attract a lover?
Pan Xiucai felt that his infatuation had been betrayed. He was stunned and his face turned purple. "You? Redeem her? "
"Blue Silk" nodded. "To be precise, I'm 'releasing the concubine'. Didn't you see? Today, the militia had just gathered to 'reason'. Mr Shou came out of the court and put up a document. From now on, Yunnan is not allowed to buy or sell people, take concubines, and have child marriages. He ordered everyone to release the concubines. I'm here to supervise. I heard that you're the only family in the neighborhood that has a concubine. "
That was natural. In this day and age, being able to afford a concubine was a symbol of a well-off family.
After saying that, he called Ayun, who was still lowering her head and not daring to speak, "Let's go. I'll send you home."
Seeing this, Pan Family's wife scrambled to her feet. "Master, this concubine of mine is willing to do anything. She is my family's right-hand woman. If you redeem her, I … I … I … I can't bear to …"
The young man lifted his foot and walked out. Ah Yun wiped his tears, feeling uneasy and timid as he followed behind him, dawdling step by step.
Pan Xiucai's wife was born a butcher's daughter. When it came to money, she was particularly brave. Even when facing the recently famous "Blue Silk", she did not back down. He hurriedly called out, "Master, how about five taels? My family spent a lot of money to buy her. We can't go any lower! "
Pan Xiucai came back to his senses. Seeing that Blue Silk was polite and gentle, he bolstered his courage. "Brother! How can she have a home? She was the only one left in her family. She didn't even have an acre of land. Her father sold her to my family, and I don't know where he went to wander. My family treated her well. If we let Ayun go, she's a weak woman and has nowhere to live. It's better for her to stay in my family. I've always loved her. "
"Ayun, are you willing to leave? If you leave, how can you have a good future? Maybe you'll go to a brothel! "
Blue Silk finally stopped. He turned to ask Ayun, "Does he really love you?"
Ayun wanted to shake her head, but under the scholar's gaze, she shrunk her neck and hesitated. She wanted to nod, but lowered her head timidly.
When she was twelve, she was sold to the Pan Family to be a slave. She was pregnant and sick without rest. When she was thirteen, she woke up early to get water to cook. She was so tired that she fainted by the sink and had her first miscarriage.
When she was fifteen, she served the drunk Pan Xiucai. Her stomach was scalded by boiling water and she screamed in pain as she had her second miscarriage.
From then on, she could not have children. She lost an important function as a concubine. That night, she eavesdropped on the Pan Family's couple discussing selling her to a brothel so that they could buy another concubine.
For some reason, they did not sell her.
Was this love? Ayun didn't know either.
If a guest came and told her to wear good clothes, she would be told in front of the guest's amazed eyes: "Brother Pan actually has a concubine, you really have good luck with women."
Then, it would probably be love.
When Blue Silk saw her like this, he said, "Scholar, you love her? That's fine. Ayun, if you want to work as a female worker, you can go too. The factories in Yunnan always have a shortage of female workers. If you don't want to go, the countryside is taking inventory of the land and preparing to divide it. Since the Pan Family loves you so much, I'm sure they won't mind if you get a few acres of land from them. "
The Pan Family's couple was stunned. Divide the land?
.....
In a village in Yunnan, a small battle was raging.
Mr. Shou stood on a high vantage point, looking at the tall stronghold, as well as those family retainers who were poking their heads out. Lin Ruoshan, Li Yulang, Chen Yudao, and the others said, "These are the last strongholds of the local tyrants and evil gentry in Yunnan. I heard that they are related by marriage to the Family Zhang, but they are not as powerful as the Family Zhang I fought in Guangxi. Once these families are taken down, we can start taking inventory of the land. "
Among his allies, the first one to speak was a woman in a veil hat who had been following Lin Ruoshan silently all the while.
Lin Daiyu said softly, "How much land does his family have?"
Mr. Shou was a little surprised, but still replied, "Our militia has investigated the entire Yunnan. These farmers have an average of fifteen acres of land, which is 130 times less than the landlords. How much land do you think these landlords have? Moreover, there aren't many farmers who have fifteen acres of land. Many of the local tyrants, like the Family Zhang, have henchmen who run amok. Even if you rode a horse for a hundred miles, you wouldn't be able to leave his family's territory. "
When Lin Daiyu heard about the Family Zhang, hatred flashed through her eyes. She bit her lip and memorized the numbers one by one. She said coldly, "Sir, I can read and write. I know you lack people to register the land and count the crimes. Although Xiaoxiang is a woman, she has a good memory. She can also do some things like register on Weibo. "After she finished speaking, she stopped talking and retreated to the side.
"Thank you, Mr. Xiaoxiang." As Mr. Shou spoke, he saw smoke coming from the stronghold in the distance. He knew that they had succeeded, so he quickly turned around and shouted, "Brothers and sisters, please come with me!"
He cupped his hands to his allies from the Blue silk school, then turned around and led the militia away.
Li Yulang and the others from the Chamber of Commerce quickly asked the workers to push the Red Coat Cannon and follow.
Lin Ruoshan then said to Daiyu angrily, "Yu'er, after the confrontation in the court that day, you fell seriously ill because of the rumors. Why did you follow? There are no eyes on the battlefield … If the Ding family was here, they might stab you in the back. "
"It's nothing serious. Uncle, the battlefield is coming to an end. Aren't you only responsible for counting? I'll wait at the foot of the mountain with the guards. I'll go when you're done. "
Lin Ruoshan had never been able to do anything to this niece of his. Ever since she heard about the Family Zhang that day, she insisted on following. He couldn't persuade her no matter how hard he tried, so he could only let her be.
Sometimes, he really regretted his carelessness and caused this girl to be stranded in Guilin.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
