The days of "enjoying the fruits of victory" are always particularly sweet. Li Cunfa and the monk took care of him and made a fortune. Both men have lived an "Australian life".
The hearts of the people are not enough, and the profits from the monopoly mat business can no longer satisfy their appetites. The commercial economy in the Pearl River Delta region is developed, cash crops account for a large proportion of agricultural production, and the rural loan sharking market is very active. Li Cunfa and the two of them started a loan business: they had the aura of "Australian liaisons" and were considered local powerhouses. They had the background to do this, and they had the capital accumulated from several years of mat business. Soon we were on track and business was booming. Gradually, the capital cannot be recycled. So we focused on “reasonable burdens”.
Sanliang City's reasonable burden was paid in cash - as Hu Xuefan said, it takes a while for mats to turn into silver, so Sanliang City's "reasonable burden" was recognized a few months later. Li Cunfa started to play around with the situation and delayed payment for another month from the normal delay.
In a month's time, this reasonable amount of money can be turned into a lot of interest, which is a good trick of borrowing chickens to lay eggs.
However, there is no impermeable wall in the world. Although they have not misappropriated Australian people's money, they are somewhat "inappropriate". Sun Cunfa has always been a little uneasy - he heard that Australians are very careless about money.
This time, Chief Hong suddenly wanted to establish "reasonable burden" liaison officers from various villages and towns to go to Guangzhou for a meeting, and he was a little panicked. Yet I dare not not go. After arriving in Guangzhou, I found out that it was a "mobilization rally".
This mobilization meeting was very strange. The people who presided over the meeting were all "Australian chiefs". The topic of the meeting was very simple, that is, each village must establish a special "public warehouse" to store a certain amount of stone in advance according to the grain output of each village. food. "Ready for use"
Beyond food. Each village must also prepare firewood, repair a number of boats "for standby", and ask each village to keep a register of the number of young men. This made the liaison officers in each village feel a little uneasy. This seems to be the officials' preparation for "passing the army". This Australian only came to Guangzhou a few years ago. Is he planning to come and demand "city redemption fees" again?
If someone from the Yamen came to do something like this. The villages have long been in panic: "passing the army" is not much different from being attacked by bandits. Even if the army did not pass through the village, just supplying firewood and food would be a huge burden, and they would also have to bargain with the secretary of the barracks to provide a sum of money to settle the subordinate staff in the barracks and the officials on the grain platform. Otherwise, your food will become "mouldy and stale", and the firewood will be "soaked in rain and water". In short, you will be "ignoring the military aircraft".
Because Australians have the original impression of "there is no crime in autumn" and know that in addition to reasonable burdens, all the conscripts they apply for will be paid in the end, so the people are not so afraid. But fighting is never a good thing. In case there is a stalemate between the Australians and the officers and soldiers. If the two sides fight back and forth, nothing can be guaranteed.
The liaison officers who came to the meeting all went back with full thoughts. Li Cunfa originally wanted to go back and discuss with Tao: Even if he loses the interest, he should take back the money he released - if the war breaks out, the money he released will be in danger. Unexpectedly, he received a notice telling him to stay and that an "Australian" wanted to meet him.
"Are you Li Cunfa, the liaison officer of Sanliang City?" the Australian opposite asked. Seeing that he had a kind face and could speak a slightly weird vernacular, Li Cunfa calmed down a little.
"Yes, young man Li Cunfa." He bowed.
"Sit down."
"Yes. Please take your seats, everyone."
The reason why Hong Huangnan wanted to summon Li Cunfa was not simply because of his default in arrears of reasonable burdens - in fact, this was not his business. The reason why he wanted to ask about this matter clearly. I am planning to use this as a small excuse.
Considering that he is a veteran, there is no need to use such methods against such a semi-naturalized citizen. But what he wanted to do actually had to do with store No. 82 - it was a private matter, and it wouldn't be loud if it were put on the scene.
"What do you do for a living in Sanliang City?"
"The common people make a living by selling mats." Li Cunfa said cautiously.
"The profits are good." Hong Huangnan said casually, paying attention to the other party's reaction. Sure enough, Li Cunfa trembled slightly - there was indeed something fishy.
Hong Huangnan still didn't know exactly what Li Cunfa had done, but he could see that this incident made him frightened in front of the Senate. Considering that Sanliang's reasonable burden was delayed, it was still a penny. Mostly it's a matter of using one's power to bully others, or being in a fish and meat village.
"The mat business is doing well, right?" Hong Huangnan said, "I remember that the wealthy man who was hanged was also in the mat business."
Li Cunfa gritted his teeth and said: "Master Luo is a big businessman. Xiaomin is just a small trader. There is no comparison."
"You can't compare, you know best." Hong Huangnan said without further ado, "Are you just selling mats now?"
Li Cunfa was so frightened by the previous sentence that he almost left his body. At least he stopped asking about the matter after the last sentence. Finally, his soul came back and said quickly: "In addition to selling straw mats, we also make straw mats for sale."
"There are many people in this town who depend on this for a living." Li Cunfa said, "They are ordinary women who help make straw braids and mats. After one season, they have to make some money to supplement their family income."
"Can you weave a straw mat like this?" Hong Huangnan took out a thick book, and Li Cunfa took it and took a look. It turned out to be an album of mats of various patterns, most of which he had never seen before. There are dozens of styles alone. This is probably an Australian product again! He hesitated and said: "Some are OK, some are not real objects - if there are real objects, a skilled craftsman will understand after taking them apart..."
"good."
Li Cunfa was a little confused and didn't know what "good" meant. But I heard Hong Huangnan say: "Don't make up this year's straw mats for now."
Li Cunfa was like a thunderbolt, thinking that Elder Hong was going to punish him. His face suddenly turned pale and he muttered: "This, this, if we don't sell mats or make straw mats, we won't be able to pay this year's reasonable burden. Besides... besides... ..." He had an idea, "Many people in Sanliang make a living by weaving straw mats. If they don't weave straw mats, wouldn't it be, wouldn't it be..."
"I didn't say I wouldn't weave it," Hong Huangnan said, "Gather all the craftsmen and women there to weave straw bags. When the rice comes on the scene, we will also use straw. I will send someone to deliver the straw bags."
"Yes, yes." Li Cunfa still didn't understand.
"I want a lot of straw bags. As many as you want." Hong Huangnan said, "You can rest assured that we will pay for the straw bags according to the price."
"Yes, I understand." Li Cunfa calmed down. But in an instant he understood: The Australians must be going to war!
Straw bags are mostly used to carry bulk cargo. The most commonly used items in daily life are rice and salt. Three kinds of sugar. The Australians asked him to prepare a large number of straw bags. The reason is obvious: they want to use straw bags to transport rice grains and support the army.
What on earth does this Australian want to do by putting up such a fight? Li Cunfa's hair stood on end. But at this moment, he couldn't care about that anymore. Seeing Chief Hong indicating that he could leave, he hurriedly said goodbye.
"Go back to Sanliang City quickly!" This was the only thought he had left at the moment.
"Husband, why aren't you sleeping yet?" The wife crawled out of bed sleepily and looked at Lin Ming, who was dazed in the moonlight with a piece of clothing on his back. The blue waves under his feet were probably too hot, and half of his body had crawled out of the bed, exposing his snow-white arms.
My husband, who has been away from home for a year, suddenly came home a few days ago. Lin Ming's wives and concubines could hardly recognize this handsome and heroic official from the past: he was dark and thin, wearing rags and rags, and his hands were covered with calluses. Although he didn't talk about his experience after he came back, Mrs. Lin and the four concubines all knew that her husband suffered a lot when he went out this time.
At least he finally came back safely. The wives and concubines who had been frightened finally felt relieved. My husband is the backbone of the family. Without him, there would be no family. Needless to say, receiving the wind and washing away the dust, I am afraid that I will not be considerate and considerate in daily service.
After Lin Baihu came back, as before, he went to the office to sell off his vacation, and ordered meals every day. Except that he didn't eat meat for more than half a year, and his wife and concubines slept with each other at night, there was no difference. It's just that his temper has become less talkative, and he is less interested in drinking and having fun with his wives and concubines at home. It seems that there is something on his mind.
Mrs. Lin stood up, poured a cup of warm tea for Lin Ming, covered Bibo with a quilt, and whispered, "Ms. sir, what's wrong with you?"
"Nothing." Lin Ming said.
"My husband must have suffered a lot this time." Mrs. Lin saw that it was quiet in the night and Bibo was asleep again. It was the time when the couple was talking about themselves. "Although Qianqian was not found, my husband also searched hard and could not find her. , she is also unlucky... Sir, please don’t blame yourself too much."
"I'm not worried about her." Lin Ming's mood was very complicated. After being arrested in Lingao, he had officially surrendered to Kun because he saw the strength of the Australians and was greedy for life and feared death. After a short period of political study and training, he was returned to Guangdong and asked to go home and "lurk". Wait for the messenger to tell you to act.
Although he feels that he has clearly seen the "general trend", he also knows that within a few years, Australians will sweep the mainland and aspire to dominate the Kyushu. However, he still felt vaguely humiliated that he had surrendered to the enemy. He was a member of a hundred households in the Ming Dynasty, but he had been passed down from generation to generation and had been an official for several lifetimes, and he just surrendered to the enemy? He felt very uneasy every time he thought about it.
Although the Australians didn't ask him to shave his head, they let him come back to reunite with him. But this comes at a price. Needless to say, when the Australian army arrives, he will be the natural leader. Around that time, he will have to shave his head, put on Australian short clothes, and "become a hero again." (To be continued)
