The higher you go up the mountain, the better the houses become, and the dilapidated shacks turn into brick houses.
Looking at the top of the mountain, Zhang Yi saw a large castle built of rocks, which was the lair of the overlord General Cao.
At a glance, Mopan City is divided into three levels.
The upper-class people are General Cao and his cronies, the middle-class people are the landlords, bullies and profiteers, the lower-class people are the tenant farmers and craftsmen, and the hard-working slaves and two-legged sheep are not considered human beings.
Mopan City is like a big millstone, which must squeeze out people's flesh and blood.
Zhang Ping'an was tortured until he was physically and mentally haggard. He was wearing his most decent clothes, which were washed white and covered with patches. His thin body fluttered when he walked in the wind.
Zhang Yi felt uncomfortable in his heart.
Step into a large courtyard house.
A group of thugs looked at the uncle and nephew with disdain.
The housekeeper went to report it and stood in the yard waiting for more than ten minutes before being called in.
…
"Is he your nephew?" Li Guaizi stared at Zhang Yi sideways and said arrogantly.
This middle-aged man is severely obese, with the flesh of his cheeks drooping down. A string of gold chains hangs around his thick neck. He is wearing a light yellow gown, exuding a strong sense of local tyranny.
He sat on the Taishi chair with his legs crossed, holding a two-foot-long golden cigarette rod in his hand, smoking dry cigarettes.
"Yes, Mr. Li, he is my nephew Zhang Yi," Zhang Ping'an nodded habitually and said, "More than ten years ago, he met a stranger in the barren mountains of the north and taught him his skills. My nephew studied
Breaking through a thousand volumes..."
"Hmph!" Li Guaizi interrupted Zhang Ping'an and said coldly, "You said this this morning, don't be verbose. If you want to find a job for your nephew, just say it clearly and don't make up stories to deceive the uncle."
Zhang Yi looked at Li Guaizi and said, neither humble nor arrogant.
"Master Li, I'm not here to beg for food. I advise you not to use bad words and be respectful to my uncle. Anyone who is well fed will lie to you. He can't lie to you."
puff!
Li Guaizi puffed out a puff of smoke, choked, and said angrily.
"You, a wild boy from the mountains, dare to talk to me like this? Huh? You are against me! If you say it is true, then tell me which thousand volumes of books it is. If you can't tell me, you will become my slave!
"
"Okay, you heard me clearly."
Zhang Yi looked up to the sky and smiled, reciting a series of book titles.
He was well-read, reading at least hundreds of books a year, more than a thousand volumes from junior high school to university. He was very curious about knowledge, and dabbled in Chinese studies, history, religion, philosophy, physics, military affairs and celebrity biographies.
It can be said that he has a huge knowledge base in his mind, and he has a comprehensive understanding of ancient and modern Chinese and foreign knowledge. If he had not traveled through time, he would have studied for a doctorate.
Even in the civilized era, he was an outstanding existence, not to mention coming to a wasteland world where even writing was almost lost. This was the confidence for him to carry out dimensionality reduction attacks on evil people.
…
Zhang Yi kept talking. Li Guaizi was dumbfounded. Erlang lowered his legs and there was no more smoke in the pot.
Zhang Ping'an looked at his nephew in surprise, there really was something special in the old Zhang family!
Zhang Yi read hundreds of books at once. When he saw that the arrogance on Li Guaizi's face had completely disappeared, he stopped and asked.
"Is there any water to drink?"
"You want to drink water, right?" Li Guaizi's attitude improved and he said, "Come here, serve some tea and bring out my good tea!"
He waved to Zhang Yi to sit down and talk.
That was enough. Zhang Yi pulled Zhang Pingan and sat down on the guest chair. He noticed that his uncle's arms were trembling. He had never enjoyed such treatment in his life.
"I don't know whether it's true or not, but even if you make it up, it's not easy," Li Guaizi said nonsensically, "You said it for a long time, but I haven't heard about Journey to the West, Water Margin, let alone Jin Ping Mei. But I have heard about Zhouyi , have you also read the sacred book Zhouyi?"
"Master Li, I have read all the books you mentioned." Zhang Yi said calmly.
"Awesome, young junior, I'm here to test you," Li Guaizi looked directly at Zhang Yida and said, "You recite a passage from the Book of Changes for me."
"The sixty-four hexagrams of the Book of Changes are all about the affairs of the world. Let me take the six lines of the Qian hexagram as an example," Zhang Yilang said, "Don't use the hidden dragon, because the yang energy is hidden. If you see a dragon in the field, the world is civilized. Work hard all day long. , walking with the times. Or leaping in the abyss, the main road is broken. The flying dragon is in the sky, which is the virtue of heaven. The dragon has regrets, and it goes with the times. He who is vigorous in the movement of heaven and constantly strives for self-improvement is a gentleman; he who observes the current events and knows the advancement and retreat of life and death For a saint."
Li Guaizi was dumbfounded. He didn't understand, but he couldn't believe it was true.
"Okay, young man," he nodded again and again after regaining his composure, "Let's be practical, let me ask you, I have one hundred acres of crop land, and the yield of corn per acres is five hundred and fifty kilograms, can I get it? If it reaches 30% of the income, then I can harvest it in a year..."
"Sixteen thousand five hundred catties." Zhang Yi blurted out.
"Ah? How did you calculate it if you didn't do the calculation or pinch your fingers?" Li Guaizi asked in astonishment.
It’s so funny, this is a math problem that even primary school students can do mental arithmetic.
"It's not difficult, Mr. Li." Zhang Yi said calmly.
Li Guaizi's complexion improved a lot. He knocked the ashes from the mouth of the pot, stuffed the tobacco into it again, and lit it with a fire stick.
During this gap, Zhang Yi quickly calculated another account in his mind.
On the way here, he asked his uncle that there were more than a dozen landowners like Li Guaizi in Mopan City, each adding up to only a thousand acres of land. Li Guaizi was the largest landowner.
Crops cannot be grown in the wasteland world. The fields that can be used must be improved and covered with uncontaminated soil dug from the depths of the earth. Not to mention the effort, the yield is not high.
One thousand acres of land produces 550,000 jins of grain per year, 50% of which is given to the overlord, General Cao, and 30% is owned by the landlord. In other words, a very small number of people get something for nothing, netting 80% of 440,000 jins of grain, and live a life of ample food and clothing. .
However, the thousands of poor people who really contributed were only left with 21,000 kilograms. There was not enough food to eat, not even enough to stuff between teeth. Even with potatoes, sweet potatoes and wild vegetables as supplements, they could only make ends meet.
As for the hard-working slaves, as Niu Ben said, they will even eat grass when they are so hungry. It is good to have grass to eat, but the fate of thousands of hard-working slaves is to become two-legged sheep!
The root of evil lies in the dark order, violent rule, land monopoly and abnormal distribution, which are like shackles around the necks of the masses. They are worse than dogs when they live, and they are buried in their stomachs when they die.
The more Zhang Yi thought about it, the angrier he became and he gritted his teeth.
…
"Are you hungry?" Li Guaizi misunderstood and turned around to shout, "Here, bring me a plate of steamed buns and a bowl of old pickles."
Soon a female slave served it.
"eat!"
The landlord's meal was not free, so Zhang Yi grabbed a steamed bun and handed it to his uncle, and the two of them ate it with pickles and dumplings.
"You have studied a lot, but it's a pity that you are a savage from the mountains. Otherwise, I would have betrothed my daughter to you." Li Guaizi said regretfully, "No, it's not right. Everyone will see the old Li family's jokes and not tell them. Already."
This is because he dislikes Zhang Yi’s poor background.
Pull her down, the landlord's daughter is too lazy to cook, so I won't even pay you any money.
Zhang Yi said nothing and just ate.
"Let's see, Zhang Yi, I think you are a talented person. Come and be my accountant. I will give you two hundred kilograms of grain a year, which is equivalent to your uncle working for two years." Li Guaizi persuaded him.
Zhang Yi shook his head.
"If it's too little, add fifty kilograms. No more." Li Guaizi said as he increased the weight.
"No need," Zhang Yi refused flatly, "Master Li, I got sidetracked. I came here to ask you to have a word with General Cao. I want to find a job with General Cao."
Li Guaizi showed an angry expression. He had never seen a mountain man so disrespectful. He was given a generous salary of 250 kilograms of grain a year and ignored him. It was a loss of face.
"To put it nicely, Zhang Yi, have you planted land or carried water for me? Why should I help you talk to General Cao?" Li Guaizi said angrily.
"It's good for you." Zhang Yi said steadily.
"What's the benefit?" Li Guaizi wondered.
"Master Li, I think you are smart but confused for a while," Zhang Yi said with a smile, "Once I am reused by General Cao, I will help you in turn. Don't you want to own more fields?"
Of course I thought about it.
Zhang Yi's words touched Li Guaizi's heart. He had long planned to annex other landowners' lands, but the matter was quite difficult. If Zhang Yi could become a celebrity around General Cao and help him, then things would be much easier to handle.
.
"Oh my, I just said that Zhang Yi is a talent. Mr. Accountant is so wronged. I think you can be General Cao's great military advisor! That's a good thing, brother Zhang Yi... do you keep your word?"
Zhang Yi smiled and nodded, and the two discussed and reached a cooperation.