Xie Yanzhi said with a look of disgust: "When Mr. Liu knew there was a crack, his first reaction was very happy, and he was especially grateful to us for informing him. After that, he called the yamen and asked the people to stop their spring plowing. No matter whether the family was male or female, as long as the family had If there are more than three people in the family and the age reaches fifteen, two people must be sent to do corvee service.”
"If there is anyone who can't go, five taels of silver will be paid per person. As the saying goes, the situation of the dam is serious, so we can't just have one or two taels. If the money is less, the people will not pay attention to this issue, so we have to raise the price. Such a big deal Some people can’t afford the money, so they have to do hard labor.”
When Li Yuan heard this, she couldn't help but gasped and said: "The snow disaster in Liufeng County last year was severe. The people were severely affected and many people were killed or injured. Do you have to go if there are more than three people in a family who are old, weak, sick and disabled? It's like a family wants to If you don't go, will you get ten taels of silver? This year is a difficult time, so he is not afraid of the common people making trouble by doing this?"
"People are afraid of officials. Even if there is trouble, who will dare to make trouble if he kills a few chickens to scare monkeys? This is local government affairs. As a county official, the decisions he makes, even if they are inappropriate, we outsiders can't say anything. We I visited some places secretly and found that the people were severely affected last year, and many people were injured as a result, and the root causes of the disease were due to lack of money and food. Even so, they had to drag themselves to do hard labor. "
"Then this is all we can do, just watch him prey on the common people?"
"Then what can we do? He also said with great righteousness that it was the people of Liufeng County who worked hard for him. As long as the situation is repaired, we in Liuyun County will benefit. The reason why we came back at this time is mainly because we were on the way back. Halfway through, he turned back to check the situation on the other side of the embankment. The result was that in just five days, more than thirty people died. Some of these people were beaten to death, and some were carried on their bodies. If he couldn't hold on, he would fall from a height and die. Others would die of illness directly..."
Xie Yanzhi recalled what he saw and suddenly lost his appetite.
He took two mouthfuls of nothing and said solemnly: "The situation over there is quite bad. Mr. Liu is just taking the opportunity to make money, especially those merchants. He doesn't care about the life and death of ordinary people at all. Right now. The weather is getting hotter and hotter, and no one knows when the cracks in the dam will be repaired. In addition, I found that the people there are planting rice, so I suggested to him that the people should be allowed to grow more drought-resistant crops. He said disapprovingly. Our worries are unfounded.”
"Actually, even if the crack can be repaired, we don't worry. On the way back, I suggested Mr. Xu to make arrangements as soon as possible, that is, how to transfer the problem of the people in Liuyun County. But nothing has happened so far, and I don't Dahao said it bluntly and hinted at it, but I don't know if he understands it. At present, the new magistrate appointed by the court has not yet arrived, so Luo Tongzhi will temporarily take over. "
"After Luo Tongzhi was hypnotized before, his brain is still not working well. Even the post of temporary magistrate is not fully qualified. Before Brother Ran returned to Beijing on the first day of the lunar month, he wrote to me and told me that Luo Tongzhi could serve as temporary magistrate. In order to ensure that the imperial examination can proceed smoothly. As for the new prefect and general judge, it is estimated that they will not be announced until May or June, which is before the imperial examination."
"Xinyang Mansion is rich, and those who can come to Xinyang Mansion to serve have more or less connections in the capital. Brother Ziran said before that the problems here will have to be dealt with by the new prefect later, so we are not angry at the moment. , and can’t do anything.”
Seeing his frown, Li Yuan said: "Brother Xie, we are not saints, and we don't have great power. We have done everything we can, and let nature take its course. It's just that you went there and suffered a lot for the people of Liufeng County." Ordinary people. But it also gave those ordinary people a warning. Knowing that the dam was not good, they should have made preparations in advance. At the same time, the ordinary people in Liuyun County also knew it. No matter how bad the situation is, it is better than not knowing anything about it and it actually happened. ."
"Um!"
Xie Yanzhi responded, looked around, and asked, "Junzi and the others have set off?"
"Yes! When I came back this time, my family was also divided, that is, the families were divided but not the households. The eldest uncle took her two sisters-in-law to Fucheng, and I asked Canniang to take Caiwei and Qingsha with her. Brother Xie Are you going to wait until you have a good rest, or are you?"
"Today is the 24th. Aren't the watermelons in your Immortal Mansion not sold yet? Brother Cao is back now. I will go find him later. Yuan Niang, you go back to Lijia'ao now, and I will take him there. Wait for you These are sold. I will set off early tomorrow morning. I was supposed to train Junzi and Zhengzi well this month. Junzi is okay, mainly Zhengzi, but it ended up being delayed because of these things. I will set off early tomorrow morning and wait until later , I’ll find a few people to train Zhengzi alone.”
Li Yuan nodded, then remembered that she had not seen him driving the carriage back, so she asked: "Where is our carriage? Do you want to drive it yourself tomorrow, or leave it here and buy it then?"
"When I came back, Zhang Cong was driving the carriage. He was probably at the Yamen now. I'll come back to you later. I'll go to the carriage house early tomorrow morning to take the carriage. I just took the opportunity to take a rest. I'll leave this carriage to you. Let's go to Gongyuan in Fucheng. It’s close, even if you walk there it won’t take long.”
Xie Yanzhi said, holding Li Yuan's face with both hands, and said seriously: "Mother Yuan, I will prepare for the provincial examination next, and you will have to work hard at home. Don't worry, I will take good care of Caiwei and Qingsha. I will also try my best to let Zhengzi and Junzi pass the exams. Even if they are not admitted as scholars, they must at least be children."
"Well, let's work hard for the future together! Brother Xie, after you have eaten and washed the dishes, go to Brother Cao. I'll hire an oxcart to go back first. The fried beans and dried meat I made for you are all in our room. Here, you take it to Fucheng to eat first. I will send you another batch to Fucheng before I take the tribe away."
Whenever Xie Yanzhi thinks about it, he is a damned person.
Because of Li Yuan's existence, he was able to survive.
But for every extra day he lived, he would owe a day's worth of luck, which was really frustrating.
With just a little luck, he had to save a hundred people, and now he didn't even know how much he owed.
It can be said that every day may be the last day of his life.
He cherishes this hard-earned life very much.
If possible, he would not want to be separated from Li Yuan, but this is impossible.
He now hopes that after passing the provincial examination in one fell swoop, he will hit the top spot next year.
The current separation is only temporary. They will get back together again in August or September!
Thinking like this, Xie Yanzhi hugged Li Yuan tightly in his arms, and after a moment, he let go.
"Go!"
