The door was kicked open with a bang, and several burly men barged into the courtyard with their arms swaying. They were all half-naked and wearing hats, and their eyebrows were raised and their eyes were straight. It was a commotion for a while.
Old man Hu rushed out in panic when he heard the sound. When he saw the big man with a bare black chest, he recognized it as Zhang Xingba, a famous rogue leader in the south of the city. He couldn't help but be shocked. He quickly stepped forward and said with a smile: "Master Zhang Wu, you
...What are you doing?"
Zhang Xingba glanced at him sideways, stretched out two fingers and slowly took out a piece of paper from his arms, shook it open, handed it under his eyelids, and said with a sinister smile: "Open your eyes wide.
Eyes, let grandpa see clearly."
Old Man Hu took two steps back, took a closer look, and recognized the loan contract he had signed with the banker Liu Zhong. He couldn't help but be shocked and said in a voiceless voice: "Master Zhang Wu, is this... is this?"
Zhang Xingba laughed evilly and said: "This is your proof of borrowing money. Mr. Liu can't afford it with you, and he doesn't want to lower his status and deal with a lowly person like you. Now you have given us this IOU."
, Grandpa is here to collect money today. I will prepare all the money for you within three days, otherwise...hehehehehe..."
Zhang Xingba sneered, and the daughter of the Hu family hurriedly ran out of the back room. Seeing this situation, she quickly supported the crumbling father Hu and called in a panic: "Dad..."
The girls from the Hu family wear cloth clothes and hairpin skirts, but they are beautiful birds from the mountains and beauties from the firewood huts. They have a unique beauty, especially the pure, kind, simple and gentle flavor, which is not seen in many city girls. No wonder
Liu Zhong, who is used to eating fat, will never forget her.
When Zhang Xingba saw Miss Hu, he couldn't help but become lustful. The Hu family dared to bring the matter to his uncle, which completely angered Liu Zhong. He would never allow such a thing to happen again. If others
If they learn from one another, how will the Liu family live happily in Sizhou in the future?
No matter what, the Liu family still has to rely on Deng Zuyang. Now that the matter has been leaked, he has put away the pity and pity in his heart and does not dare to hurt the daughter of the Hu family anymore. However, he is cruel and must let her go.
The destruction of the Hu family was a lesson to others, so Zhang Xingba had been instructed long ago to make this daring family disappear forever no matter what means he used.
With Liu Zhong's instructions, Zhang Xingba was naturally unscrupulous. He smiled lewdly and touched Miss Hu's pink cheeks, and said with a smile: "Miss Mengfei, these are becoming more and more juicy as they grow. It's heart-wrenching to see."
I'm so greedy. I heard that Mr. Liu intends to clear your family's debts and marry you as a concubine. You see, after entering the Liu family, you will be well-liked and drink spicy food. Isn't that great? I don't think so.
I know the promotion, and now I am annoyed by Mr. Liu. Well, this debt has been transferred to Mr. Zhang. Otherwise, you can marry me and become my wife, Mr. Zhang Wu. Hehehe, it is my father-in-law’s debt, I can consider it...
…I’ll give you three to five years of grace.”
Hu Mengfei's pretty face turned red with anger. She helped her father take a few steps back to avoid his clutches and glared at him. Zhang Xingba didn't feel dissatisfied and shrugged: "Old man Hu, I'm giving you face today.
But when I came to the door in person, my words were piled here. I had to repay the debt within three days, a total of forty-eight guan. If I couldn't receive the money by then, I would have to take over the house and the land. With the documents in hand, the lawsuit could be taken to the prefectural government office.
Not afraid, hum!"
Old Man Hu lost his voice and said: "Why... why did it become forty-eight strings again?"
Zhang Xingba rolled his eyes and said with a serious expression: "Isn't it a profit these days? Huh? Brothers, let's go!" He waved his hand, turned around and walked away, while his two thugs ran away.
They grabbed two old hens from the chicken coop, held their wings in their hands, and followed Zhang Xingba away, shouting.
"Daughter, let's... what shall we do now?" Old Man Hu was frightened and couldn't help but shed tears.
Miss Hu couldn't help crying. The father and daughter cried for a long time. Miss Hu wiped her tears and gritted her teeth and said: "Dad, there is no need to make it difficult. My daughter... my daughter will go find Liu Zhong and agree to him."
"How can that happen?" Old Man Hu grabbed his daughter and said, "Dad also knows who Liu Zhong is, so how can he push you into a pit of fire? Besides, you and Zheng Cai have been engaged since they were children. How can dad do this?
Was there something so spine-tingling?"
As soon as the bad actor left, the red person came. As the father and daughter were talking, a middle-aged man in a green hat with a gloomy face walked in with his hands behind his back: "Hey, it's so early in the morning, but
What happened?"
Old man Hu looked up and saw that he was a steward of the outer courtyard of the mansion of Uncle Zhou Wang, a famous tycoon in Sizhou City. The Zhou family also owned a large piece of land in the south of the city. This steward's surname was Chu, and his name was Chu Youxiao. He often hung out near the manor.
Old Man Hu recognized this noble man. He quickly wiped his tears and lowered his hands and said, "Master Chu."
"Haha, what's the problem? Tell me." Chu Youxiao smiled and took a stick and sat down.
Old Man Hu explained the matter in detail. Manager Chu glanced at Miss Hu, who was lowering her head and crying, and sighed: "Liu Zhong has a dark heart. He looked at your daughter, so you agreed at the beginning."
, this difficulty has been overcome. You go to the temple to burn incense and burn incense. Why should you use a young lady from a wealthy family to be the Guanyin Queen? You see, this matter has been brought up, and Liu Zhong is embarrassed.
Looks good, don't say you don't want to sell your daughter, even if Miss Mengfei is filial and willing to give up her life for you, Old Man Hu, Liu Zhong will never want it again. You can't tell yet, he transferred this IOU to
Zhang Xingba, he is so cruel that he wants to destroy your family!"
Old Man Hu stamped his feet and said, "I...I'll go to the government office to beat the drum and complain!"
The smile on Chu Youxiao's face did not change, but a needle-sharp light appeared in his eyes, and he laughed sinisterly: "Haha, complaining? Dare I ask where your grievance comes from? You are in debt, is it true? The words are written in black and white on the paper.
There, when you borrowed the debt, you knew it was a loan shark with compound interest, and they didn't hide it from you, right? One is willing to fight and the other is willing to suffer. Now that you can't repay the debt, you want to complain? Magistrate Deng thinks that his family
Relatives embarrassed him, so they restrained Liu Zhong and changed his creditor. According to the king's law, it is absolutely impossible for him to speak to you. Is it useful for you to file a lawsuit? Have you forgotten how many years we have been fighting with Zhu Yuanwai of Sizhou?
What is the outcome of the lawsuit?"
Old Man Hu took a few steps back in despair and sat down on the ground.
Chu Youxiao chuckled and said, "Speaking of which, I have a solution here. I don't know what you, Old Man Hu, want."
Old Man Hu's eyes lit up, and he rushed forward and said, "Manager Chu, do you have any idea? Say it, say it, I'm here to listen."
Chu Youxiao stroked his mustache and smiled slowly: "Old man Hu, you also know that in Sizhou City, the only one who is not afraid of the Liu family is us, Mr. Zhou."
"Ah!" Old Man Hu responded blankly.
Chu Youxiao said again: "Now that you have offended Liu Zhong, Liu Zhong has made it clear that he will destroy your family, why are you still waiting here to die? You can't keep this land. In my opinion, you might as well sell it
With our Lord Zhou, he took the money and ran away before Zhang Xingba came to the door. Your son-in-law is called Zhao Zheng, right? I remember it was... Oh, by the way, it was Lifu who carried the cargo bags at the Surabaya pier.
, right?”
"Ah!" Old Man Hu responded blankly again.
"Zhao Zhengcai is also a lonely man. As for you, you sold this land to our Lord Zhou and fled here with your daughter and son-in-law. From all over the world, whether it is Liu Zhong or Zhang Xingba, where can they find you? With the land sale,
With enough money, I can start a small business and support my family. Isn’t it better than sitting here and waiting for death?”
"Escape...run away...?" The honest old man Hu was forced into this situation, and he never thought that he could just run away if he owed a debt. When Chu Youxiao said it, he felt a little moved.
"Of course, once the land for your house is taken over, why don't you take your daughter and go begging along the street? How careful must you be to remove living trees and remove dead trees? Even if you escape from your hometown, is it no better than waiting to die here?"
Old Man Hu moved unconsciously and nodded as he listened to his words.
Chu Youxiao changed his tone and said: "Of course, if you sell this land to Mr. Zhou, you can't sell it at the current price. I see you are pitiful. I will help you with the matter. One acre of land costs 500 Wen. If you think
It's okay, I'll go talk to Mr. Zhou right now."
Old Man Hu was taken aback and lost his voice: "Five hundred cents per acre of land?"
Chu Youxiao rolled his eyes and said: "Zhang Xingba still has your IOU in his hand. If you sell this land to Mr. Zhou and start a lawsuit later, won't it cost money to hire a lawyer? What if the Yamen fines you a few percent of the debt?"
, don’t we, Mr. Zhou, have to compensate you? Don’t be dissatisfied. If Zhang Xingba comes to collect debts, you won’t get a penny. I, Manager Chu, feel sorry for your father and daughter today, so I have a kind heart.
, do you think the Zhou family is coveting these dozens of acres of your land? It's up to you whether you want to or not. It's none of my business in the first place, I'm leaving."
Chu Youxiao stood up, patted his butt and walked out. Seeing that he was about to walk out of the courtyard, Old Man Hu suddenly shouted urgently: "Manager Chu, please stay!"
Chu Youxiao curled up the corner of his mouth, revealing a strange smile. When he turned around again, his face had an impatient look: "Is there anything else?"
Old Man Hu gritted his teeth, stamped his feet and said, "This land... I sold it. I beg Manager Chu to be kind and do a good deed. Help me... help me tell Mr. Zhou."
There is a lot of water in the Jianghuai area and the Dragon King Temple is full of incense. This dilapidated earth temple has long been neglected. Half of the low rammed earth courtyard walls have collapsed. The courtyard is covered with weeds. The layer of brush on the top of the temple is
The yellow mud mixed with glutinous rice juice has been washed away by rain for many years but has never been repaired. The dry thatch underneath has been exposed. Many birds have built nests in the thatch. Under the eaves, there are also seven or eight swallows who have built bird's nests with mud in their mouths.
Some of the nests were empty, and only half of the nests remained. In some, little swallows poked their heads out and chirped, and the hard-working swallows flew around catching small insects and feeding them into their mouths.
Only half of the door of the Tutu Temple is left. The paint on the door has long since fallen off, and the stone steps have been removed. I don’t know what purpose they have been used for. Going further in, the windows of the Tutu Temple have long been gone.
At this time, broken bricks and rubble were piled up and sealed, presumably to keep out the cold in winter, but they were not moved away in summer.
Yang Hao and Bi Su stood at the gate of the temple and were stunned for a long time. From what they inquired about yesterday, they had already expected that Zhu Hongjun and Zhu Yuanwai, the former Sizhou Jin gentry and owner of thousands of acres of land, would have a difficult life now, but they did not expect that life would be difficult now.
It was so dilapidated that he actually lived in this ruined earth temple.
The two looked at each other and then hesitantly walked in. The Earth Temple was very desolate. They walked through the path among the weeds and walked into the door. They saw that the temple was very dark. The statue of Earth Goddess in the small Earth Park opposite was missing an arm.
The leg floor stood there, but things like the incense table and the like were no longer the same. A simple triangular stove was built with bricks and stones under the statue of the god, and a broken pot was placed on it. A pile of tattered bedding was spread under the pillars on the right side of the hall.
After the two got used to it, they realized that someone seemed to be sleeping in the pile of quilts.
Yang Hao coughed tentatively, and the pile of things moved. Only then did the two of them see clearly that there was indeed someone sleeping in the pile of tattered bedding. If it hadn't been for his movement, they wouldn't have been able to see the human form at all.
The two walked over carefully, and the man in the quilt looked at them with dull eyes. This man's hair was disheveled and his face was ashen. It was almost impossible to tell whether he was a man or a woman. Bi Su asked tentatively: "Uh...
Excuse me, are you Zhu Hongjun and Yuanwai Zhu?"
Looking at this man's appearance and calling out Yuanwai Zhu's name, Bi Su felt extremely ridiculous in his heart.
The man whispered: "Who...are you?"
Only then did Yang Hao realize that she was a woman. Yang Hao pulled Bi Su, squatted down, and said gently: "You don't have to, we don't have any ill intentions. We are here to visit Zhu Hongjun and Zhu Yuanwai. Who are you..."
…?”
"Haha..." The woman's lips twitched and she smiled: "Of course... there is no malice. What else does our husband and wife have to worry about now..."
"Are you Mrs. Zhou?" Yang Hao was very surprised. After calming down, he said: "I am the Youwu doctor of the imperial court, the defense envoy of Hezhou, the envoy of Nanyayuan, and the deputy imperial envoy who has been ordered to patrol the Jianghuai Road. This time
Following the emperor's eldest son, King Wei Wang Dezhao, he went south to Jianghuai to inspect the purchase of grain and grass in Jianghuai. He found that there were profiteers in Sizhou, and I wanted to punish the profiteers severely. However, these local snakes were well-informed and had many minions, so they could never find any evidence. I have been reviewing many years of research.
In the old case, we found many doubts about the case of Zhu Yuanwai, so we visited this place incognito. I wonder where Zhu Yuanwai is now. Can you give me some help? "
The announcement of Yang Hao's series of official titles obviously gave the woman great confidence. Her eyes suddenly lit up and she wanted to sit up excitedly: "You...are you officials from the imperial court?"
"Exactly, ma'am, may I ask, my dear husband, now..." Seeing that she couldn't struggle, Yang Hao hurriedly helped her. At this moment, someone at the door shouted angrily: "Who are you and what do you want to do?"
Yang Hao looked back and saw a beggar throwing away his broken bowl and rushing over with a stick...