On the eighth day after Cixiang Village took in the robbed woman, there was finally the first case of someone looking for his fiancée. Unfortunately, the woman was not found, so Bai Lu left the person's name, surname, address, and information about the woman he wanted to find. Jiang Yuwa
The brothers in the family wanted to avenge the people who robbed their sisters. Su Cheng was afraid that there were many opponents, so he hesitated to send two soldiers to pretend to be children of the Jiang family to help. However, at this moment, someone from outside the village came in with a message saying that it was
A doctor named Mei came to see the eldest lady. Su Cheng immediately asked him to come in.
The person who came was indeed Dr. Mei. This man had changed into a green robe and hat, and was carrying a medicine box on his back. He seemed to have a certain air of immortality. He raised his hand to Su Cheng and said, "Miss Su."
Su Cheng had already stood up and handed over his hand: "Thank you, Doctor Mei." Then he asked him to sit down. Two maids brought tea to him.
Doctor Mei did not sit down, but bowed to the ground: "I'm here to apologize."
Su Cheng frowned: "What happened?"
"I told a rumor in the name of the eldest lady and did a private matter. Please rest assured, eldest lady, it will never be spread." He smiled bitterly and said, "The matter happened in a hurry. It's not my fault."
It turned out that the Mei family knew that he had done a good job in protecting the Bodhi Point well, and the magistrate exempted him and a group of close relatives from being married. A cousin came to ask for his help. This cousin had a wealthy family and a arrogant temper. He had raised a daughter, Love.
Ruo Zhenbao is very pampered. A few years ago, when her daughter got married, her husband's family was not bad, just not as good as the Mei family, so her daughter continued to be pampered. Now that something happened to the Mei family, it collapsed. Her husband immediately showed the Mei family's face.
, and took in two concubines. Now that the Mei family is about to move to North America, the cousin is afraid that his daughter will have an increasingly difficult life in the future, so he comes to ask Dr. Mei to help take care of her.
Doctor Mei immediately said: "I am just an ordinary doctor who will be exempted from crime. I became a scholar more than ten years ago. I can't afford such a big job. I heard that in North America, the secular rules are loose and there are many gold mines. Our family has
Don’t go empty-handed. Brother, if you don’t want your niece to suffer, just follow my advice and try to get your uncle to divorce her and return her to her parents’ family. It won’t be too late to find a good son-in-law when you go overseas.”
After hearing this, the cousin didn't close his eyes all night and didn't think about dawn. He finally thought that Dr. Mei's words were reasonable. Fortunately, the uncle was soft-eared and easily believed in rumors. So he asked someone to tell him that the matter with the Mei family was still good.
It's not over yet, if the guarantee is not complete, the married daughter's husband's family will be implicated. As expected, my uncle is planning to send Mrs. Mei a divorce letter.
Mrs. Mei was so angry that she beat her husband's two concubines to death yesterday, which angered her husband's family. Her indifferent mother-in-law tore up the divorce letter her son had written and coaxed Mrs. Mei into it with a pleasant look.
After Dr. Mei heard about it, he knew that this mother-in-law was not an economical person. Therefore, he personally spread another rumor: Mr. Su wanted to choose a son-in-law. He also listed several conditions, and this uncle could reach 80%. If his
The hexagram was calculated correctly, and the niece would get the divorce certificate within three days. So she rushed to Su Cheng to confess her guilt.
After hearing this, Su Cheng couldn't even laugh or cry. He thought for a moment and put it aside: "I wonder how Dr. Mei is doing with the resettlement of the victims?"
Doctor Mei handed over his hand and said: "They have all settled in several villages that Mr. Su pointed out, and they have fulfilled their mission. It's just that they, old and young, are suffering from minor ailments and cannot work for the time being, so they have to take care of themselves first."
Su Cheng nodded: "That's all."
Doctor Mei smiled and said, "Aren't you annoyed, Miss?"
"My father is very busy, and such idle rumors cannot reach his ears." Su Cheng said, "I think Dr. Mei has a sense of proportion."
Doctor Mei handed over his hand: "Thank you very much."
Suddenly he heard someone talking outside the door, and Su Cheng asked what was going on. He heard a maid say outside: "Miss, the man who delivered the message from Nail Lane is here again."
Su Cheng said: "Keep the list and give him the confirmed money."
The maid said: "He has some important news to tell the girl."
The eldest maid Li Xia walked out and raised her eyebrows: "I don't know what's going on. The girl has important guests and doesn't have time to see him. Ask him to go to the east wing and tell me something." The maid agreed.
When Lixia came back, he saw Su Cheng and Dr. Mei discussing about finding work for the victims. He covered his mouth and coughed twice. Su Cheng looked at her and said, "Let's talk."
Li Xia glanced at Dr. Mei and said, "He is here to inform."
Su Cheng smiled and said, "He's not here to inform."
Li Xia glanced at Dr. Mei again: "Girl, that man in Nail Alley... is the one whose mistress died."
"The one General Yang said he walked through the green forest?"
"Yes. This person has been contacting the village elders recently and wants to go to the magistrate's office to petition, begging our master to return his children to them."
Su Cheng frowned: "Does he still have this intention?"
"That's what the messenger said."
Su Cheng thought for a moment: "I will give him two hundred dollars to help keep an eye on that person. I will warn him that he walked through the green forest and will not be discovered." Li Xia agreed and left. Su Cheng lowered his head and thought for a moment, then saw Dr. Mei
He seemed to be interested, smiled wryly, and told him what happened.
After hearing this, Dr. Mei thought for a while: "What is this person's last name?"
"what."
"It's not a popular local surname."
"Obviously not." Su Cheng said, "His family is very poor. He was the second person that Brother Xiaoque confessed to in the lobby of the government office that day. Most of the people living in Nail Lane are ignorant people, but he is the only one with brains." Nai shook his head and said,
"Since I miss my dead mistress, why bother to steal the daughter of a good family?"
Doctor Mei said: "Brother He only made the mistake of robbing a girl. As a son of a human being, you must be filial to your parents. As the saying goes, there are three ways to be unfilial and the worst is not having children. Since you miss your old friend, you don't need to marry a wife, just buy one.
It would be nice if the maid had a son to renew her incense." Su Cheng frowned, but didn't know how to argue with him. He continued, "I'm afraid this man won't let it go. He had no intention of marrying, so he robbed a woman and gave birth to a son. Even if he has money in the future
, his parents will still force him to marry. It is better to get the two original children back." Nai smiled and said, "I am afraid this move will hit the eldest lady's weakness."
Su Cheng tilted his head: "How do you say this?"
Dr. Mei said: "Master Su must be in favor of rescuing the woman who was robbed. However, I dare to say that Master Su will not approve of taking away the son and the heir as well. A woman is a small matter, but an heir is a big deal, which damages the foundation of the people's family.
.As a woman, the eldest lady must be dissatisfied because she refuses to show off her eyebrows to men. Unfortunately, this is how things are in the world."
Su Cheng pursed his lips: "That's right. I didn't tell me that I rescued the child as well. If I didn't tell him, he would subconsciously think that he only saved the woman and the child was still being snatched away from others." Nai Si thought, "I don't
I think that person named He can guess what my father is thinking."
Dr. Mei said: "He must not have guessed that the eldest lady was hiding the truth from Mr. Su. But he knew that Confucian scholars like Mr. Su were tough to whom and soft to whom."
Su Cheng raised his hand and said, "Please enlighten me."
Dr. Mei smiled and said: "If it is a treacherous minister, a powerful official, a bully and a powerful man, Mr. Su will straighten his back and would rather die than surrender; if he is an old country man with a long history, a sick old Confucian..."
Su Cheng suddenly realized: "Yes, if these people cry and complain, my father will probably surrender." He clenched his fists and said, "We can't let them see my father."
Doctor Mei said: "Even if this trick is resolved, I'm afraid this person has other tricks. After all, he is a person walking through the green forest. Snakes have their own paths, rats have their own paths. The eldest lady still needs to guard her back.
.”
Su Cheng glanced at him: "It's easy to stop the village elders. I really don't know the methods of the Green Forest people. Why don't you give Dr. Mei some help?"
Doctor Mei waved his hand and said: "I don't know about the green forest. Don't you have many green forest experts under Master Su? You might as well ask them."
"That's right." Su Cheng thought to himself, what kind of green forest expert should he look for? It was obvious that Yang Guotai, the deputy commander of Jiangxi Province, was the one who came from the thieves' path. Doctor Mei stood up and said goodbye, and whispered something before leaving. Su Cheng said
Then he handed over his hand.
In the next few days, Su Cheng and Yang Guotai continued to hunt for the robbed women and children.
That afternoon, a dozen old people in Nail Lane all dressed up, got up and headed to a dilapidated City God's Temple in the western suburbs of the city. Halfway down the road, they met two groups of people fighting, blocking the road. The old men wanted to go in, but they couldn't.
After exiting and taking another path, they were trapped by those who were watching the excitement. After a while, some people went to report to the police. Just as they were about to squeeze out of the crowd, they met the policemen again, shouting that no one was allowed to leave.
After struggling like this for more than half an hour, the old men were about to escape.
Although I was helpless, I didn't dare to complain, so I had to hurry up and rush to the Chenghuang Temple. Although the temple was in disrepair, it was spacious. After finally walking to the temple, I was shocked: I had made an appointment with everyone to discuss things together, and I would go to the magistrate tomorrow morning.
When the yamen petitioned, only my group came, and the other two hundred or so old men didn't come! They looked at each other in shock.
After a long time, an old man said: "Is it possible that they have finished the discussion and think that they will all disperse if we don't come?"
The other one looked for a moment, pointed at the ground and said: "It's so thick with dust, there's not even a footprint. It's obvious that no one has been here."
Another asked: "Could it be that their legs and feet are weak and they walk slowly?"
The one in front nodded repeatedly and said: "That must be the case. Let's get closer. Or let's wait."
Having said that, in fact, everyone had a vague idea in their minds: I am afraid that no one else will come. Otherwise, they have been delayed on the road for a long time, and the others should have arrived long ago. They waited until the sun set in the west, and it was not half a day.
They came over alone. The leading old man stumbled: "They are all useless! When my son told them, they all agreed well. No one came to discuss serious matters!" Thinking of the grandson who was snatched away,
Sitting on the ground, he cried loudly. The old men next to him also cried loudly when they thought of their grandson. Suddenly, there was a burst of crying in the Chenghuang Temple, which was very pitiful under the sunset.
As everyone knows, the other old men also left the house on time and arrived at the Chenghuang Temple according to the time.
There is a road near the City God's Temple. About an hour ago, the first group of old men passed by this road and rushed to the City God's Temple. They saw three tables set up at the intersection, with the Four Treasures of the Study on the tables. Three people were sitting next to them, and two more were standing. Sit down.
There was an accountant and two stewards; standing there were two clerks. Seeing someone coming, the clerk knocked on the gong and shouted at the top of his voice: "Fellow folks, come and take a look -
We are recruiting workers from Daguangming Match Factory - our factory occupies a huge area and the wages are the highest - we welcome all fellow villagers to come and work - "
These old men all had their wives robbed at home and taken away by the government. They were all so poor that their sons had not found any serious jobs. When they heard that there was a confession in the factory, they hurriedly gathered around to inquire. A steward coughed twice and stood up.
He put his hands behind his hands and said loudly: "Our Daguangming Match Factory uses recipes and equipment from Wang's Match Factory in Lingnan, and works on the assembly line. We are planning to start construction in seven months. After it is put into operation, it will be the match factory with the largest output in Jiangnan. Now.
There is an urgent need for a lot of labor to level the site, build factories, and install equipment. Workers are required to be strong, willing to work, and listen to the foreman. They will provide three meals a day and earn 500 cash per month. If you have skills, you will earn more!"
All the old men were dumbfounded: three full meals and five hundred cents! Where can I find such a good job? They all asked in a trembling voice: "Where can I go to work?"
The clerk pointed out: "Less than half a mile to the southwest from this Sangyu Road, you can see the preparation office of our factory. Manager Wang is in charge of recruiting workers there. Many young men have gone for interviews now.
.We need to recruit about 700 workers until we are full."
There was only less than half a mile. The old men looked at each other for a moment, and one of them said: "We came very early, and half a mile is not far away. Why don't we go to their match factory to have a look?"
The clerk said: "There is a big sign at the entrance of the preparation office, and there are many people queuing up for interviews. We are the only one recruiting workers on this road, so you guys can't go wrong."
When the old men heard that someone had gone there, they became less suspicious and followed the path pointed by the waiter to find the place.
The preparation office is really easy to find. You can see a few small and dilapidated houses halfway along the road, but no one is there. There is a lot of people in front of the preparation office, and you can hear people making noises from a distance. When you get closer, you can see that it is so big.
Zhuangzi! The gate of the village is high and majestic, and there are two strings of big red lanterns hung up. There is a long queue at the door, all of them are men, young ones seventeen or eighteen, big ones forty or fifty. There are also two rows of red lanterns placed at the entrance of the village.
There was a table, and two waiters were sitting at the table. The old men gathered around and asked, and the waiters said exactly the same as those outside. Only a few additions were made: the owner is a wealthy man from the capital, and he is backed by several princes.
It is said that this time when we open a factory, we can only succeed and not fail.
The old men had already noticed that the boy was wearing a silk shirt, which showed that their boss was really rich. The boy said again: he only recruits 700 people, and there will be no need for more. There are more than seven men in Nanchang Mansion who have no work.
Hundreds? There were people in line at the door with numbers 40 or 50, and I don’t know how many people had signed up in front of me. It was such a good thing that others got to go first, wouldn’t my family be gone? An old man turned around and ran away, rushing back to report the news to his son.
He asked his son to take the job recruitment exam. As soon as he left, the old man nearby was afraid that his son would be too late to catch up, so he ran home. As for the old men discussing the matter of petitioning the prefect, who would care?
The more than 200 old men who were going to discuss matters were all coaxed away by the recruiters, and none of them entered the gate of the City God's Temple. There were also a few who thought about whether to go back after they got home. But they were all old and anxious.
They were exhausted from running back to report the news, and they really couldn't muster up the energy to go back again. Most of them were filled with joy, thinking that their sons would be employed, they would have enough to eat every day, and they would get a lot of wages; others would have given up early.