Wen Qing stepped forward and knocked on the door. After a while, footsteps came from the courtyard, the door creaked open, and a tall, thin man with dark skin, wearing short linen clothes and straw sandals, poked his head out.
"Who are you looking for?" The man looked at the three unfamiliar faces outside the door in confusion.
Wen Qing turned around and looked around. This was already at the end of the alley, with the only household in front of him. The walls of the neighbors' homes on the left and right were in dilapidated condition, and there were no traces of human habitation.
After making sure that the surrounding environment was safe, Wen Qing whispered to the man: "The king of heaven and the tiger of earth."
The man's cloudy eyes lit up, his dark face suddenly turned red, and his breathing became rapid. He cautiously and tentatively replied: "Pagoda to suppress the river monster?"
Wen Qing smiled and nodded, raised his hand and quickly performed the military salute of Xu Jiajun.
The man in front of the door looked up at Xu Yue and the others excitedly, "It's fellow Taoist, please come in quickly!"
While letting the door open and inviting the three people in, he carefully looked at the surrounding situation until everyone entered the yard. He quickly closed the door, turned around and came to the three people, and asked excitedly:
"My name is Shanzi, the mountain of Da Gaoshan. I wonder where these three Taoist friends come from? How should I call them?"
After asking, he waved to a pair of wives and children who poked their heads out of the room. The young woman and a seven or eight-year-old boy in the room brought out benches and asked Xu Yue and the others to sit down.
The woman told her son not to be naughty, got up and went to the simple kitchen built with thatch to light a fire and hot water to prepare something to drink for the guests.
Xu Yue glanced at Wen Qing, and Wen Qing understood, got up, went to the kitchen, and stopped the busy woman, "Sister-in-law, please don't move, we are just here to sit down."
Xu Yue introduced Shanzi: "My name is Xu Youniang. Next to me is fellow Taoist Wenqing. In front of me is my brother Xu Dalang. We came from Zhuo County. We are not familiar with the place. I want to come see you, fellow Taoist."
Wouldn’t it be convenient to learn about the situation in Yixian County?”
After speaking, Xu Yue looked at the surprised look on the face of the dark man in front of her and knew that he did not know the true identities of herself and her brother.
Shanzi really didn't know that the person in front of him was the leader of the Xu family army, because he felt that it was impossible for an inconspicuous person like himself to meet the leader.
But the surname Xu is very important in the Xu family army, so Shanzi guessed that the status of the brother and sister in front of him in the Xu family army must not be simple.
Shanzi nodded, indicating that it was very convenient for him.
"What do you two fellow Taoists want to know?" Shanzi asked anxiously.
Xu Yue first glanced at the dilapidated and narrow courtyard in front of her, as well as the young lady in the kitchen who was about to light a fire but was stopped by Wen Qing, and asked with concern:
"Have you not had breakfast yet?"
The young woman replied in a low voice with some embarrassment, "We are just about to do this. It is still early and we will eat late."
As he spoke, his eyes unconsciously glanced at the rice vat next to him that was covered with wooden boards. It was already empty.
Shanzi's son unconsciously licked the corner of his mouth and touched his belly with his little hand. It was also empty.
Xu Yue looked at Shan Zi, who shook his head and said that his wife and children did not know that he was working for Xu Jiajun.
Xu Yue smiled clearly and said to Wen Qing: "I want to eat the meat buns from the bun shop on the way here."
"You are such a roadie that you probably don't remember the way. Sister-in-law, please take him out to buy some."
When Shanzi's son heard the words "roubaozi", his dull eyes suddenly lit up and he stared at Wen Qing passionately, his eyes that were extraordinarily big because of his thinness were filled with the desire for food.
Shanzi's wife looked at Shanzi at a loss, and when her husband nodded, she called her son and led Wenqing out.
"The bun shop is over there on the main street. Master Wen, please come with me and I will take you there."
"Sister-in-law, you're welcome. Just call me Wen Qing. I'm just the leader of a theater troupe. I can't be a master."
Wen Qing's explanation voice gradually faded away, and when there was no movement outside, Xu Yue asked doubtfully:
"I see that the city is quite lively, and there are so many people working outside the city. Shanzi, you have the skills of making a kang, so it should be easy for you to go out and work. How are you doing at home?"
Shanzi thought Xu Yue was going to ask him questions such as who was the magistrate of Yi County and what were the movements of the officers and soldiers in the city.
But I didn't expect that the first person to ask was about my living situation. I was really stunned for a while and didn't respond.
Seeing Xu Yue patiently waiting for his reply, Shanzi smiled sadly and scratched his head uncomfortably.
"The city is quite lively, there are more people, and money is easier to earn than before, but this year more corvees have been levied than in previous years, and various taxes have been paid one after another. From two years ago to now, less than three
In this month, I paid once the Andong tax, twice the road tax, and once the Ding tax."
"The one-time payment ranges from 100 to 300 yuan. Once this is done, all the income saved by the family last year will be paid."
"Last month, the county magistrate said that he would recruit laborers to mine for limestone. I spent all my family's money and borrowed more than 100 yuan from my brothers in the country to pay for the mining labor. It was not easy for me to stay.
....”
Shanzi looked toward the main street in the city. The cheerful noise was coming from there, but it had nothing to do with the people living in the alley.
"People from outside can only see the prosperity of this city, but they don't know that this prosperity is based on the suffering of the majority of people."
Shanzi frowned and said worriedly: "Many brothers from our Huokang Gang couldn't get the money, so they had to be taken to the mine. I heard that there was an accident in the mine a few days ago, and I don't know if anything happened to the brothers."
Speaking of this, Shanzi covered his face with his hands, buried his head, and said with envy:
"If my ancestors hadn't been here for generations, I would have wanted to go to Youzhou with you fellow Taoists... I heard that our Xu Jiajun only collects agricultural taxes and commercial taxes and does not collect corvee labor. Is this true?"
He raised his head and looked at the Xu Yue brothers and sisters expectantly.
Xu Yue nodded.
Xu Dalang added: "Although there is no corvee, you have to rely on yourself if you want to live a good life. Everyone in Youzhou has to work."
"But I think you'll be able to live a good life if you make progress."
After Shanzi heard this, he couldn't help laughing, but after laughing, he remembered that he could not abandon his father and fellow villagers in his hometown and leave his hometown for Youzhou, so he lowered his head and sighed.
He was tired of using the word envy. His only thought now was that the Xu Jiajun came over quickly. If the Xu Jiajun captured Jizhou, then they could all live a good life without having to leave their hometown.
"To tell you the truth, the rice vat at my house has been empty for a long time. I was just about to go back to the countryside to borrow some food from my parents. Fortunately, you came early, otherwise we wouldn't have met today." Shanzi said with a wry smile.
.
"How is the situation in the surrounding villages?" Xu Yue asked.
