About a quarter of an hour later, I saw Aunt Niu coming over with a steaming pot: "It's time to eat, chicken stewed with bamboo shoots."

Qiu Jintang followed behind, also holding something in her hand.

Gu Yuling felt very warm and couldn't help but glance at Xie Fu, and Xie Fu also smiled at her.

In the room, compared to the enthusiasm of Aunt Niu and Qiu Jintang, the three of them seemed reserved.

Aunt Niu said: "I'm not saying I'm hungry, let's go inside."

Several people went into the house together, and Aunt Niu stirred the wick to make the oil lamp as bright as possible.

Su Huaizhang, who had been hungry for two days, could not help but drool while staring at the pot of chicken.

A large pot of chicken and a plate of wheat cakes are already a luxury for ordinary people. It is also rich for a few people who have not had dinner yet, not to mention Su Huaizhang who has been hungry for two days.

, my mouth watered when I smelled it.

Xie Fu said with a smile: "Auntie, it's midnight, thank you for your trouble."

"No matter what you say, there is nothing to entertain. Please don't take offense."

"No, no, it's already very rich."

"Then don't be polite, everyone."

Xie Fu said: "Why don't we wait until Xiaolin comes back and then eat together."

"Don't worry about her. I don't know when she will come back. The weather will get cold after a while. Eat it while it's hot."

Seeing that Su Huaizhang was drooling all over the floor, Fu Xie decided not to let Su Huaizhang starve, so he stopped being polite.

The low table is not big, and several people sit or squat around it, very close to each other, like a close family.

As the hosts, Aunt Niu and Qiu Jintang greeted the three of them warmly. Soon the three of them lost their unfamiliarity and were chatting and laughing.

Su Huaizhang was starving. In the casual atmosphere, he didn't care about his image and wolfed down the food. While eating, he kept praising how delicious it was.

The little boy lying behind Aunt Niu probably rarely eats good food. His eyes almost bulged out from the smell, but Aunt Niu didn't even give him a mouthful of chicken soup.

When Mr. Xie saw it, he took a piece of chicken and handed it to the little boy's mouth. The little boy didn't know how to be polite, so he opened his mouth and bit it.

This greedy appearance made several people laugh.

A few people were eating happily, and there was a clanging sound outside, which was especially crisp and sweet in the silent night.

Aunt Niu said: "Xiaotang, it should be your second uncle and the others who are back."

Qiu Jintang put down the bowls and chopsticks and walked out. Aunt Niu greeted a few people while looking at the house, thinking about how to prepare a place for a few people to spend the night. Her place was small and there was only one bed in the house.

Xie Fu saw through Aunt Niu's thoughts and said with a smile: "Auntie, stop being so busy, we won't sleep tonight."

Aunt Niu asked in surprise: "Why don't you sleep?"

Xie Fu was about to talk when Qiu Jintang's voice came from outside: "Second uncle!"

The voice was full of worry and concern, and several people went out to see what was going on.

When I came to the yard next door, I saw a young man falling to the ground with a person on his back. Several barrels and two poles were scattered aside.

Aunt Niu introduced: "The man is Xiaotang's cousin, and the man behind him is her second uncle."

Qiu Jintang asked with concern: "Second uncle, how are you?"

A middle-aged man should look depressed, and that should not be the case.

But the young man suddenly became angry and scolded Qiu Jintang: "Where have you been in the past two days? The wheat in the fields is going to die from drought, do you know?"

Qiu Jintang said weakly: "Mr. Song said he would file a complaint for us, and then he was imprisoned. I have been busy rescuing Mr. Song for the past two days."

"I said he was stupid. How could you be so naive? File a complaint! Who should file a complaint? The Prince of Yudong County is king's law in Zhongzhou. It will be useless no matter how big an official comes, let alone a weak scholar."

"I think he just wants to deceive you because of your handsome appearance. Have you ever seen a man and been fascinated by his handsomeness?"

Originally, this was someone else's family matter, and it was hard for Su Huaizhang to interrupt. Hearing what the other party said, he immediately became unhappy: "Hey, hey, why are you talking?" He walked over angrily.

When the young man saw Su Huaizhang, he immediately vented his anger on Su Huaizhang: "I'm talking about you, you idiot!"

"Who are you talking about?"

"You're here. Besides eating and drinking, you've also caused a lot of trouble. What else can you do? Are you a idiot?"

Su Huaizhang was so angry that he couldn't speak. He helped out kindly, but ended up in jail. He didn't expect to be accused like this.

Qiu Jintang felt very embarrassed. She was the one who brought Su Huaizhang back. She quickly said: "Cousin, don't say that. Mr. Su also wants to help."

The young man said loudly: "Did he help? What kind of help did he help?"

If it weren't for Qiu Jintang's sake, Su Huaizhang would have really wanted to leave with his sleeves rolled up, but he couldn't help but curse: "You are an unreasonable and unreasonable person."

The young man sarcastically said: "Xiaotang, did you hear that? In the eyes of others, we are just unruly people. If he is so kind and not for your beauty, Qiu Hong will not be named Qiu!"

The sluggish middle-aged man suddenly shouted: "Okay, don't make any noise!"

The cousins ​​immediately stopped quarreling, and after a while of silence, the middle-aged man suddenly burst into tears: "All my wheat is going to die from drought."

After carrying water for several days without stopping, people were exhausted and collapsed physically and mentally.

The young man had a stern attitude on his face: "Dad, if you die of drought, you will die of drought. At worst, we will end up in the cesspool together."

Gu Yuling looked at Xie Fu in confusion and asked in a low voice: "Why do you have to end up in a manure tank if you die from drought?"

Xie Fu said calmly: "If you cannot pay the land tax, you will be jailed and sent to the army, or put to death at the worst."

Gu Yuling's cry refreshed her world view. She had never thought that this kind of thing could be so serious.

Since ancient times, failure to pay taxes has been a serious crime, and the reason has never been asked in this matter.

There are many places in this world that are not as prosperous as Jiangnan. Many people work day and night just to survive.

Gu Yuling was born in a wealthy family, so there was no way to know about these dark sufferings in the world.

The middle-aged man looked at his son sadly: "You haven't married yet, so I'm afraid our Qiu family will be cut off."

This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! Then he looked at Qiu Jintang and said lightly: "Your father gave you to me, but my second uncle failed to take good care of you."

As he talked about this stern middle-aged man, tears flowed down his cheeks. He had tried his best, but God wanted to destroy his family.

Seeing her second uncle crying, Qiu Jintang, who has always been strong, also burst into tears. She choked and didn't know what to say. She had been living a very hard life. She hoped that one day the sun would shine on this dark land.

, shine into her heart.

Her heart was filled with a strong desire, as strong as that stormy night when she thought she would die and made a pious wish.

The middle-aged man sighed.

The young man said: "Dad, we escaped far away, and we will probably be begging for a living for the rest of our lives." As he said this, he hugged his cousin Qiu Jintang tightly and scolded her, but in his heart he still regarded Qiu Jintang as a family member.

The middle-aged man said loudly: "My ancestors have been here for generations. If I leave here, there is no way!"

Gu Yuling looked surprised. Gu Yuling could not understand this kind of persistence rooted in the land, but Xie Fu could understand it.

This kind of persistence is like a historian who would rather die than surrender, and it is deeply imprinted in the bones from generation to generation.

Qiu Jintang suddenly looked at Xie Fu for help. She was willing to let go of her pride and self-esteem, and she was willing to beg humbly, as long as Xie Fu could help her.

Xie Fu knew that it was time for him to appear, so he walked over and said with a smile: "It's just that the wheat is about to die of drought. What a big deal."

The middle-aged men and young men looked at Xie Fu in surprise. Compared with Su Huaizhang, who had little experience in the world and looked weak and bookish, Xie Fu's calmness gave people a strong feeling of calmness.

Xie Fu smiled and said: "There is no need to enter the manure vat and there is no need to run away and wander."

The middle-aged man asked weakly: "Xiaotang, who is this?"

"Second uncle, this is Master Xie, Mr. Xie. Is Mr. Xie here to help us?"

The middle-aged man blurted out and asked: "Help us? How to help?"

Qiu Jintang didn't dare to say it. Mr. Xie said he wanted to dig a well, but he was afraid that his second uncle would be scared out of his wits if he heard it.

There is still a chance of survival by abandoning the field and running away. If you dare to dig a well and break the rule set by the Prince of East Henan that no well is allowed to be dug within a radius of ten miles, the whole village will be dead.

The young man originally thought that Xie Furong's demeanor was anything but ordinary. When he saw his cousin faltered and remained silent, he immediately looked away from Xie Furong, and the brightness in his eyes dimmed.

Seeing that something was wrong in the atmosphere, Aunt Niu walked over quickly and said, "It's wrong to look down on others. Mr. Xie is right!"

The middle-aged man looked surprised when he saw Aunt Niu's venomous tongue and her praising others.

Aunt Niu whispered in the middle-aged man's ear.

I saw the middle-aged man looking at Xie Fu from astonishment to surprise, and finally there was light in his eyes with humble expectation.

Xie Fu knew what Aunt Niu said without having to guess. Money can indeed solve some problems and even save lives.

But now Yinzi can only solve temporary problems. To solve the fundamental problem, he needs to stand on the side of the weak and defeat those superior class restrictions.

The middle-aged man suddenly wanted to stand up, but his body had no strength.

"Second uncle," Qiu Jintang said with concern.

"Xiaotang, help me up."

The middle-aged man stood up with Qiu Jintang's help, his body still swaying. This middle-aged man in his prime was already exhausted and exhausted, and he didn't even have the strength to stand firm.

"Please sir, help us."
To be continued...