"The imperial court collects grain and hunts down tigers and wolves."
"I haven't seen any tigers or wolves come to Jiangdu."
"When there is rice, there is no food before there is food."
"Without food, prices are rising."
“There are tigers and wolves everywhere in Jiangdu!”
Shen Yi was very patient and taught these children to sing these jingles word for word.
These jingles were something he came up with during his free time these days, and it took a lot of effort.
It’s not that this thing requires a high degree of literary literacy. On the contrary, it shouldn’t be particularly profound. It’s better to be easy to understand and catchy. Not only can these beggars remember it, but it can also be listened to by others. You can understand it, and you can even memorize it quickly after hearing it, and write it down. This is a qualified jingle.
From afternoon to evening, Shen Yi taught these children to sing jingles in this alley.
When it was getting dark, these children had almost remembered it. Shen Yi took a look at these children and said: "After you remember it, you can sing it when you go out tomorrow. It should be noted that you cannot sing all the time. After singing for a while, you have to change places."
Among the group of beggars, the leader looked to be about twelve or thirteen years old. Although his clothes were ragged and his skin was a little dark, his eyes were quite smart. He looked at Shen Yi and said in authentic Jiangdu dialect: "This Young Master, will it be dangerous if we go and sing these songs?"
"There will be some."
Shen Yi looked calm and said quietly: "That's why I asked you to sing in a different place for a while. If others ask, just say that an old beggar taught you to sing. Even if someone wants to ask, they will track down the old beggar." I won’t pursue you anymore, of course…”
Shen Yi chuckled and said: "Those people may be very capable. It's hard for you to lie in front of them. If you encounter difficulties, you don't have to cover up for me. Just tell them that I taught you."
After saying this, Shen Yi stood up from the ground, glanced at the six children, and exhaled slightly: "You are doing me a favor in this matter. If this matter is done well, no matter what you have If you don't give me up, I will find you a place to eat afterwards, or lead you to make a living by eating. I can't guarantee anything else. At the very least, I will ensure that you have enough food, clothing, and a roof over your head before winter comes. residence.”
It's May now, it's summer, and it's a relatively easy season for poor people.
After all, in this season, let alone ragged clothes, even if you are naked, there will be no problem. But when winter comes, it will be the fatal season. Then it will not only be a shortage of food, but also a lack of thick clothes. Without a place to live, without quilts, any of these could kill these children.
Among these children, the oldest one stood up. He looked at Shen Yi and stretched out his dirty hands.
Shen Yi was stunned for a moment, then smiled dumbly, reached out and gave the young man a high-five, and said with a low eyebrow: "Don't worry, I won't lie to you."
The young man raised his head, looked at Shen Yi, and said, "My surname is Xu, Xu Fu."
Shen Yi was a little surprised.
I'm surprised that this kid living on the street actually has a name.
Then he understood what the child meant and said with a smile: "My last name is..."
As soon as he said these two words, the boy named Xu Fu shook his head and said in Jiangdu dialect: "I tell you my name because I want to tell you that the few of us will do what you asked us to do well. Tell you, as for your name..."
Xu Fu looked at the five children around him who were younger than him, and said, "If we find out, I can promise not to tell anyone. They are still young, so we can't guarantee it."
Hearing Xu Fu's words, Shen Yi glanced at the child thoughtfully, and then said: "I didn't expect to meet a child with a story, so let's do what you want."
Having said this, Shen Yi took out a piece of silver worth about one or two and a half from his arms, handed it to the young man named Xu Fu, and said: "You can use this money for them to eat in the past few days. , remember, if you are caught and they use any means to force you to question you, you don’t have to grit your teeth and say nothing. Since I came out to do this, I will be sure to deal with it."
After saying this, Shen Yi took a few steps outside and waved to the young man Xu Fu.
"You come."
Xu Fu took two or three steps forward, and Shen Yi said his name in his ear.
"Remember, don't hold on."
Xu Fu raised his head and looked at Shen Yi: "The government will arrest us, right?"
"If you do well enough, the government won't be able to catch you."
Now, it is an ironclad fact that the price of food in Jiangdu City has soared. Although the people of Jiangdu are relatively wealthy and can survive for a while, once this nursery rhyme is spread, it will definitely resonate in Jiangdu. It won't take long. It was sung throughout Jiangdu.
By then, even if the government wants to trace the origin, it will be difficult to trace it back.
Of course, doing so is not without risks of exposure.
Therefore, Shen Yi also thought of a way to deal with it. Once this matter was really found out on his own head, he would be sure to escape.
After all, the nursery rhyme he wrote was apparently aimed at the imperial court and the government, but in fact it was aimed at the grain merchants of Jiangdu.
Because the imperial court did not "requisition" grain, but bought grain!
The imperial court never talked about requisitioning grain. From the beginning to the end, it was the grain merchants in Jiangdu who talked about the imperial court requisitioning grain. It was just that the prefect's Yamen turned a blind eye, which led to the current situation.
Once the matter gets serious and the nursery rhyme spreads widely, the government will have no way to deal with it completely and will have to deal with the original "rumour-mongers".
That is, those grain merchants.
From this point of view, even if the matter was traced to Shen Yi, Shen Yi was not at fault. At most, he was deceived by those grain merchants and "misunderstood" the court.
Xu Fu nodded to Shen Yi. He turned to look at the little guys behind him, lowered his head to Shen Yi, and whispered: "Mr. Shen, I hope you can keep your promise and give them everything before winter comes. Find a place to stay where they can have food and clothing."
Xu Fu is thirteen years old this year.
He has been wandering in Jiangdu for five years. Five years of wandering has caused his mind to become abnormally precocious, because he has seen too many unpredictable things in the world.
Last winter, he saw two people freezing to death in a ruined temple outside the city because they had no clothes to keep out the cold.
For wandering beggars like them, Shen Yi's promise is too tempting.
Shen Yi looked at the young man Xu Fu, then at the five children behind him, and nodded solemnly: "Don't worry, I will keep my promise. Not only will I give you a place to live and solve your food and clothing problems, I will also Teach you some livelihood that is enough for you to survive."
Xu Fu glanced at Shen Yi, nodded silently, then turned around and walked into the group of five beggars. He took the five children with him and began to discuss where to sing nursery rhymes tomorrow.
Shen Yi stood there for a while, and after a while, he also put his hands behind his back and left the alley.
Today he was just looking for a few microphones to "speak" for him, but unexpectedly he met a young man with a story.
This is also an unexpected surprise.
If used well, these young men might become one of his important helpers in Jiangdu.
Thinking of this, Shen Yi looked up at the moon in the sky and stretched out.
"pity…"
"It's a pity that I'm not hard-hearted enough."
Mr. Shen yawned again and whispered in his heart.
"Otherwise, if I help you raise the price of food, a few people will starve to death, and you will have to confiscate your homes..."