Just half a quarter of an hour later, Jia Chao, who had been so excited before, was now a little lost.
No wonder the prison guard there asked him if he had received the letter as soon as he saw him. No wonder his elder brother lamented how quickly he came when he heard his voice. No wonder his sister-in-law thought of money as soon as he heard that he was back... It turns out that his widowhood
My mother didn't survive this winter. Just when she was struggling in Lulongsai, she was already dead!
Moreover, in order to treat the mother's illness and bury her, the family borrowed money from Ma's husband, a wealthy family in Sanmali next door, through the village chief last year. Yes, it was a typical loan shark. For this reason, it cost the family's only 30 acres.
field!
The eldest brother had written a letter asking him to come back before. Not only did he hope that he could come to attend the funeral for his mother, but he also hoped that he could bring money back to pay off the debt, and at least save the family's ancestral farmland... He is an honest farmer.
There is no way.
"It's also my fault." After a long time, the eldest brother Jia Ping let out a breath of cold air and spoke first. "Actually, my mother was a little ill before winter. It was just that the immortal master of Taiping Dao happened to come to Lizhong to give a lecture. I sincerely begged for one.
I drank a bowl of Fu Shui and rested it overnight, so I didn’t care. But when the cold came in winter and my mother fell ill again, I got so confused that I listened to other people’s nonsense and went to borrow money to seek medical advice.
!Actually, that day I should have gone to the countryside to find the immortal master of Taiping Dao, and begged him to reward me with a piece of talisman water. Later, the immortal master still came, but by that time I had already sought medical advice, probably from Huang Tian.
I feel like I’m not sincere, so the talisman water is useless... It’s all my fault for being unfilial!”
"Brother, these words really make me feel ashamed." Jia Chao, holding the handle of the knife at his waist, came to his senses and was extremely ashamed. "My mother is seriously ill, and you and your sister-in-law are waiting here day and night without saying a word, asking for medicine and talismans.
Shui, if this is considered unfilial, then who am I?"
At this point, Jia Chao managed to regain his composure and said, "Since things are like this, there is no need to say anything more. Besides, brother and sister-in-law, since I'm back, you don't have to worry about the Ma family's persecution. This time I'm here."
Lulongsaili was rewarded for his meritorious service, and met noble people to take care of him, so he brought enough wealth. It was only a few thousand dollars. This afternoon we went to pay homage to our parents first, and we will go to the village chief early tomorrow morning to pay homage to him.
Man, just give him the money back."
"That's good, that's good." The elder brother Jia Ping nodded repeatedly, and his face became a little more colorful. "I really didn't expect that my second brother, you would be so successful if you joined the army. Not only did you bring such a
When I come back with a lot of money, there are two pieces of silk that are so slippery, and there is actually a horse... Don't worry, since my mother has left, the family should be divided according to the rules. After paying off the debt, the money will still be yours.
of……"
"Cough!" Sister-in-law Jia Chao, who was sitting at the table, suddenly coughed, then stood up and picked up the clay pot beside her. "This soup has gone cold. I'll heat it up again."
"No need." Jia Chao didn't have time to worry about this at this time. "Sister-in-law, please do your best to heat up the meat and cook some dry rice so that I can take it over to pay homage to my mother."
The two brothers and sister-in-law were naturally speechless, and the three of them immediately started to gather together, planning to let Jia Chao go to the grave to cry and sacrifice for his dead mother while the soil was still wet. However, it was just a poor family, and it was just a poor family.
Where do those scholar families have so many rules? They just cook some dried meat and rice... If Jia Chao comes back without dried meat, he may have to cook rice... Then the three of them talked about it roughly
The old linen cloth can be regarded as wearing filial piety.
However, just when the three of them were ready to lock the door and go to the tomb to cry and offer sacrifices, unexpectedly, an evil guest suddenly came to the door.
"Jia Chao, I heard that you are back with a fortune?!" An old fat man who is really rare these days, in his forties or fifties, with small eyes and short stature, walked straight from the door with his eyes twirled and his beard twirled.
There were five or six sword-crossing companions behind him, and the head of the local Dasangli also followed behind this person with a submissive look.
Yes, this man is the only rich man in the neighborhood, the big man Ma in Sanmali next door, who is the one who gave money to the Jia family. He is known as Mr. Ma in the neighborhood... This man claims to be born in
Hongnong Ma's name is Ma Fei. In fact, everyone knows that this guy is a local, and he is just a rich man who started his family only three generations ago.
"Husband Ma, long time no see!" Upon seeing this, Jia Chao quickly put down the things in his hands and stepped forward to salute. No matter what, the person he met was a fellow villager or an elder.
As for Jia Ping and his wife, they were so shocked that they took a few steps back, while Nono did not dare to speak.
"Sure enough, he has made a fortune." The horse's husband ignored the other party's salute, but directly looked at the Northland horse in the courtyard. "What a good horse. Did you bring it from Youzhou?"
"Yes." Jia Chao answered patiently.
"Did you borrow it from the army, or is it your own horse?"
"Returning to the prince, this was given to me by a promising comrade when he returned from the army. I didn't know he could be so heroic and generous."
"I see." Mr. Ma rolled his eyes and said, "I know that the rangers in Youzhou are always poor and generous, and I don't want you to have such luck."
"It's really luck."
"Do you know why I came to your house? Your brother and sister-in-law should have told you... While you were away, your mother got sick first and then was buried..."
"Yes, I already know." Jia Chao quickly replied. "Please don't worry, Mr. Ma. I came back this time because I achieved military exploits in western Liaoning and was rewarded. I brought enough money with me. You go home to rest first and wait for me."
After I went to the grave to cry and offer sacrifices, I will personally take the money to your hometown early tomorrow morning to settle the debt..."
"I'm a fellow countryman, why bother with tomorrow?" Mr. Ma walked half a circle around the horse that was taller than him. "That's good. I've brought the debt deed, so I'll treat you well."
Now, I'll take the horse away, and we won't owe anything to each other, how about that?! Look, how fun it is for Mr. Ma to take the horse?"
As he said this, the two companions behind the horse's husband actually stepped forward to untie the reins.
Jia Chao was shocked and angry... You must know that his brother had just calculated it clearly for him. Even if it was a loan shark, including principal and interest, he only owed the other party a mere five thousand dollars at this time. And such a legitimate horse
Even in front of the Wuhuan camp in western Liaoning, it would cost 10,000 yuan to get a steed from the Northland. To sell it all the way to Jizhou, it would cost at least 5,000 yuan more, which is 15,000 yuan!
Besides, he kept this horse just to get a job as a rider in the pavilion to make a living... If he really wanted to sell it for money, he could quickly follow the young master of the Gongsun family's motorcade all the way.
Then we went to Hanoi, south of the Yellow River. Over there, such a fine horse cost at least 20,000 yuan!
In short, how can such a good horse pay off a debt deed of more than 5,000 yuan and still not owe anything? Just because your surname is Ma? This is too bullying!
Not to mention Jia Chao, even Jia Ping and his wife understood the power of this, so they quickly stepped forward to stop the two Ma family companions.
Jia Chao also hurriedly gritted his teeth and knelt down in the yard: "Mr. Ma, don't worry, I'm not afraid of trouble. You can do the crying ceremony tomorrow. The money is in the house. I will withdraw the money and settle it with you. It must be
A lot of money."
By the way, as I said before, it was the off-season of farming and the first month of the year. Many people were chatting outside in a sheltered place facing the sun. After hearing the commotion, many people curiously gathered in front of the door to look around.
.
The head of the local Dasang Village also hurriedly came to persuade him, saying that since he had the cash and the debt deed, he might as well just settle it.
The horse's husband looked out the door, rolled his eyes, and shook his head: "That's all, even though we are not from the same place, we are still fellow villagers. If you don't know, you might think I'm trying to get your horse. That's it.
Okay, I won’t lead the horse, I won’t stop you from fulfilling your filial piety, and I won’t rush into money matters... Well, let me do the math, these three days... no, four days! I have these four days
If you are busy with things, don't come to me. Wait until the fifth day. Calculate the time by yourself, and don't forget to bring money to my house to settle accounts. That's it, I have other accounts to settle!"
After saying that, the horse's husband didn't stay too much. He just went out with his beard and short legs, and he didn't know which family he was going to harm again.
The three members of the Jia family were shocked and doubtful. They quickly pulled the horse into the house and tied it in front of their own stove. Only then did they dare to set off to pay homage to their deceased mother. After a lot of trouble, they returned to the house in the evening and met the man from a distance.
The two powerful men met each other and hid around each other for a while before they dared to return home.
By the way, Jia Chao has been working abroad for several years after all. There are so many brothers in the army who always have various insights, so he has more concerns in his heart, so he couldn't help but ask questions as soon as he returned home.
: "I remember when I left that day, this horse's husband was just a rich man. I haven't seen him for several years. Why was he so tyrannical? If we hadn't been surrounded by so many villagers in Dasangli today, I'm afraid they would have robbed him... But is there anything to rely on?"
"
"Brother is right, this husband Ma is really becoming more and more careless about his face. It's okay here, but there are many people in Sanmali who have been destroyed by him... As for what you said about his support, he really doesn't have that much.
Something." Jia Ping thought for a moment and then told something that Mr. Ma did when his brother was away.
It turns out that in this southern part of Jizhou, there is such a family that you must not mess with. It is not Zhang Jiao, the great sage, but the Zhao family of Zhao Zhong... Yes, it is the one who was called Ah by the emperor.
Zhao Zhong, the leader of his mother's ten constant attendants.
This power has dominated the government and the public. Counting from the time he killed the general Liang Ji, he has been in power for sixteen or seventeen years.
Therefore, after such a long period of time, even though the common people in the countryside did not know about eunuchs or Shi Changshi, they also knew how tyrannical this family was. No one could control how many powerful people could get along with Zhao Zhong and Zhao Changshi's family.
Of course, Mr. Ma, a rich man in the township, cannot reach the real Zhao family anyway, but he can reach the Zhao family's dogs... A descendant of the Zhao family built a manor in Zedong, mainland China.
, and also grabbed a large piece of fertile farmland and passed the household registration. Naturally, the man named Zhao did not care about anything. He just had fun in Yecheng all day long. The person in charge of this manor was one of his confidants named Liu, and people from several nearby counties were
Call him Manager Liu.
Mr. Ma got in touch with a nephew of Manager Liu.
"Second brother, I still remember that there was a very poor family in the Ma Huanggong clan. The whole family almost died during the epidemic, but they left a daughter, who is considered the niece of Ma Husband. And Ma Husband is the patriarch of the clan, so she can't escape.
So I had to keep her at home... In fact, she was raised as a maid... But she was born white and very beautiful. Speaking of which, before you left that day, your mother was still thinking of asking for her to be your wife!"
"Of course I remember." Jia Chao looked dazed, and he didn't know if he was remembering something from the past.
"That's her." Jia Ping shook his head and said. "The nephew in charge came to Mr. Ma's place as a guest a few years ago... I heard the villagers in Sanmali talking about it... The nephew in charge probably just looked at the girl on the way.
After a quick glance, it turned out that Ma's husband stripped his niece naked that night and sent her to the bed of Manager Han's nephew, making her a concubine. Then he told the people in the house that she was his own daughter, and anyone who dared to talk nonsense would be beaten.
Death... From then on, no matter in the village, in the pavilion, or even some nobles in the county, they no longer dared to interfere with Husband Ma's affairs, and many of them seemed to be quite flattering.
Mr. Ma, I don’t know what these noble people think?”
"How can you not be flattering?" Jia Chao said with a bitter smile after hearing this. "That's the Zhao family. A single word can make all the nobles destroy their families. Even if they are only indirectly involved with the Zhao family,
Even if you are disrespectful, you have to hide."
"I don't understand these things." Jia Ping shook his head repeatedly. "But it's great that you can come back, second brother... You don't know that in just two years, seven or eight miles of fertile land in our village has been taken care of by this husband."
The French bought more than 20% of it. If you don't come back, our thirty acres of fertile land will probably be lost."
"Maybe?" Jia Chaoqiang said with a smile. "Let's not talk about this anymore. I also asked my sister-in-law to cook quickly. While there is still light, let's have a rest early today."
"Yes, yes," the honest Jia Ping nodded repeatedly. "Brother, you just came back. I think you were very tired along the way. Eat and rest quickly. If you have anything to say, we will talk tomorrow."
In this way, the three people of the Zhang family had dinner. Jia Chao first let his eldest brother and sister-in-law live in the main house, and then said that he would take care of the horse, so he and the horse moved into a side room early. However, poor families these days,
I didn’t have any money to light any candles or oil lamps, so of course I worked when the sun rose and rested when the sun came in.
So soon, the entire Dasangli became dark, except for a place in Sanmali opposite that was brightly lit, as if it was the home of a wealthy family.
But at this moment, the cavalryman Jia Chao, who had returned from Lulongsai, suddenly turned over and sat up from the bed... his eyes were shining brightly in the night.
Having been in the frontier army for a long time, he does not suffer from night blindness!
That's right, Jia Chao originally felt that the horse husband let go of his horse too quickly and insisted on waiting for a few days before paying back the money. There must be something weird in this!
It's not that I didn't think that the other party was just worried, so he let him go, but after listening to his brother's explanation, he realized that he had such a tough background, so how could Jia Chao dare to think better?
With this thought, he decided to use his skills and go to Nama's husband's house tonight to check out the situation so that he could make preparations in advance.
Wearing a waist knife, wrapping leggings, and changing into the black clothes in the bag... These are all some methods learned in Liaoxi. When he was ready, Jia Chaohao didn't hesitate and went straight to his destination.
Jizhou has been at peace for a long time, and Mr. Ma's house is the only local emperor in the nearby miles. How can he be prepared? So, Jia Chao easily came to Sanmali, and then climbed over the wall to Mr. Ma's house, and soon
I casually found the target of my trip - several guests from Mr. Ma's house, Tufu, were gathering in front of a fire pit at the second door concierge, keeping warm, drinking and keeping vigil.
Jia Chao didn't say anything, and he stopped sneaking in. He just squatted in a blind corner with no light, braving the cold and quietly listening to these people's nonsense.
These few people started talking about the outstanding young ladies in the village, and then talked about the prostitutes in the county. They talked about it all over the place. They finally talked about some serious things, but they didn't know how many hands the news had changed, and whether it was still possible.
Letter. But in the end, the topic inevitably turned to what happened this afternoon...
"Brother Jia Ping and Jia Chao are in trouble. My husband has fallen in love with his horse and just offered it to him. How dare he stop it?" A hoarse voice sounded. Listening to the previous conversation, this person should be the leader here. "Yes.
In a few days, when everything is ready, his family's fields and horses, as well as the money that Jia Chao brought, may be gone. I don't know who the Jia Ping family's daughter-in-law will take advantage of... That was also our Dahuangli.
I can’t even beat a famous girl!”
"If you are interested in me, brother, when this matter is over, just ask your husband to reward you. What's the point?"
"I want it!" The hoarse voice of the leader seemed to be deliberately provoking the conversation. "This time, we have to ask the poor people from the pavilion and the county to come over and help. Those people are all as ruthless as sheep.
, where can we leave any benefit?"
"Brother, what does it mean to be as cruel as a sheep?" Another person asked. "What is so cruel about this sheep?"
"You, the ranger from the county, just don't have the knowledge." The hoarse voice said with a smile. "The so-called fierce as a tiger, ruthless as a sheep, greedy as a wolf... they are all about eating. A tiger pounces on food and does not move for a long time.
Killing, violent or not? When wolves are fighting for food, they swallow it directly without even chewing it. Are they greedy or not?"
Everyone agreed.
"What about being ruthless as a sheep? Haven't you seen that the sheep here are all tied up? Why? Because sheep eat grass, even roots, leaves and bark, even thatched houses.
Fall off a piece of wall...Farmers, who doesn't know how ruthless sheep eat?"
Everyone suddenly realized it and said one after another: "This is quite appropriate. Aren't those people in the county pavilion as ruthless as sheep? It is estimated that even the Zhang family's thatched cottages will be demolished and sold."
"You guys!" the hoarse voice laughed again. "Don't just think about others... Our master has taken a fancy to others' horses and fields, but he endures and waits for the opportunity. Isn't it like a tiger pounces on food?
"
Everyone agreed again.
"That's right, our master's family is as fierce as tigers, and the people in the palace are as ruthless as sheep. If we want to grab food, we have to be as greedy as wolves... When the time comes, we must act quickly and get whatever we can!"
Do you understand?"
Everyone agreed in a loud voice, and one person who saw the opportunity pointed out the leader's intention: "Brother, don't worry, when Jia Chao and Jia Ping come over in a few days to throw themselves into the trap, we won't wait for the people in the county.
Just use the name of a neighbor to deceive Jia Ping's wife, take advantage of her, and kidnap her, which will definitely make you proud..."
The hoarse voice immediately burst into laughter: "I'm just feeling proud. I'm just a married woman. If I serve her well, how about sending her back? It's just that after I go back, my family falls into decline, and Jia Ping is so honest, so it's inevitable
If those gentlemen succeed again... you don't know that the director of our pavilion, Du Ju, is notoriously lecherous, and I just want to get ahead of him."
At this point, the hoarse voice said again: "It's a pity that Jia Chao... I saw him like this today because he was hanging around in the north. He is considered capable and capable, but a common man is not guilty. It is a crime to have money, horses and land."
...After three or five days, he threw him into the prison in the pavilion. In this big world, there was no place for him to race."
A group of scoundrels were drinking and having fun over there, but Jia Chao, who was hiding aside, was shocked and angry... Although the words were intermittent, he also heard some content - it turned out that the horse's husband failed to steal the horse, so he ignored it
Because of the affection in the village, he directly wanted to hook up with the people in the county pavilion to arrest him on charges, and then slowly drain his whole family. What's even more hateful is that this group of scoundrels who lived with Mr. Ma actually took a fancy to him.
My sister-in-law wants to commit fraud!
Jia Chao was frightened and angry, and began to think of a way out. However, after much deliberation, he still couldn't figure out where to find a way out - although Husband Ma was short in stature and could pick up things with one hand, he had a backstage and was using dirty tricks.
, is indeed a fierce tiger in the countryside! Although I have never seen the man in the county pavilion, since he is willing to accept the instructions of this horse husband, I guess he is indeed the kind of person who is as ruthless as a sheep! As for the man in front of me,
The scoundrels among the three or five liars who only listen to these words must be the real greedy wolves!
So, what this guy said after drinking was actually not bad at all! And I actually had no way out!
At this moment, a drunken scoundrel stood up unsteadily, and while untying his clothes, he came over to him, as if he wanted to relieve himself. Jia Chao, almost out of a soldier's instinct,
He actually touched the knife handle at his waist!
The next moment, he suddenly realized - yes, this is his only way out!
"As fierce as a tiger, as weak as a sheep, as greedy as a wolf, and as strong as a wolf, I will kill them all." - "Historical Records". The Anthology of Xiang Yu
