The housekeeper said with a smile: "I know, I know! They are eager to sell their children to us! After all, they have a way to survive in our house. At least they can live a decent life! If they are sold to other places, God knows what will happen. ?」
Xu Guogong nodded and didn't ask any questions. He picked up the chopsticks and pulled the last bit of food in the bowl into his mouth! He put down the bowl and chopsticks, sniffed and said, "What does it smell like? It smells sour!"
The housekeeper swung the cloth bag in his hand and said with a wry smile, "It's the smell of their clothes. These children's clothes smell so sour!"
When Xu Guogong heard this, he relaxed his brows and said, "Open it and take a look!"
The butler immediately said: "Master, I can't show you this! These clothes are very dirty, maybe there are fleas in them! Those four clothes have been thrown into the brazier and burned. This one is still the old slave's order. It was so quick that it was put away before it was burned!"
Xu Guogong said with a serious face: "Why are you so verbose! Shake your arms and take a look!"
The housekeeper didn't dare to say anything after hearing this, so he had to open the cloth bag in his hand to reveal a set of clothes! And as soon as the clothes were unfolded, a sour smell hit his face, which made Mr. Xu Guogong frown! But he still held his breath and took a closer look at the suit!
This suit of clothes is so oily and muddy that the original color cannot be seen! The key part is already patch within patch. There are some holes elsewhere! However, in Xu Guogong's view, these holes did not look like they were scratched, but rather like the clothes were a little damaged after being worn for a long time, and they tore a hole with a little more force!
It can be seen that this outfit has been worn by the original owner for a long time! Moreover, Xu Guogong compared the five children in front of him and found that this set of clothes looked a little too small for everyone! It seems that this family has reached the end of its rope!
After looking at the clothes, Xu Guogong quickly waved to the butler to put them away. He's used to being pampered, but he really can't stand the smell! The housekeeper couldn't stand it even more. Seeing his signal, he quickly gathered the dirty clothes and wrapped them in cloth, and signaled the servants to take them out and burn them quickly.
By this time, the five children had already finished the two plates of snacks! But these things seemed to be unable to satisfy their stomachs at all, and they all watched eagerly as Xu Guogong ate the leftover breakfast! But their spirit is finally much stronger than before!
Xu Guogong said with a smile: "What are your names?"
The five children were originally extremely scared, but when they saw this old man giving them snacks, they relaxed their guard! After hearing what he asked me kindly, I signed up one by one, "Zhang Huzi." "Zhao Maotou." "Li Shanfeng." "Li Xiaoshu." "Zhang Niuniu."
Xu Guogong asked again: "How old are you all? Tell grandpa."
"Ten years old." "Nine years old." "Ten years old." "Ten years old." "Ten years old!"
Xu Guogong recalled what his grandchildren looked like when they were ten years old, and found that the children in front of him were much thinner than his grandchildren! So he frowned slightly and said, "Where are your hometowns from?"
"From Shanxi!" "From Shanxi." "From Henan." "From Shandong." "From Shanxi!"
Xu Guogong then asked what they did at home. This time the children’s answers were all the same, they were all farmers and farmed!
Then Xu Guogong asked another key question: "Then why did your parents come to the capital if they don't live a good life in their hometown?"
Although the answers this time are expressed differently, the content is still the same! I just don’t have enough land to farm, so I have to go out to find a way to survive! So the whole family worked part-time all the way to the capital. I originally thought that there would be a way to survive in the capital, but I didn't expect that there were more people in the capital! The family members didn’t have any skills, and in the end they couldn’t stand it any longer and had no choice but to sell themselves!
Then Xu Guogong didn't ask for details, but asked them what they had seen along the way! This made the children who had something in their stomachs gradually relax and rush to answer his questions.
A ten-year-old child already knows a lot of things! They followed their parents all the way around, and they matured early! They knew that the old man in front of them could decide their life or death, so they tried their best to please Duke Xu! Although the methods are a bit immature, they have tried their best! .
Just when they have
After relaxing, Xu Guogong suddenly asked Zhang Niuniu: "Which health center in Shanxi are your parents from?"
Zhang Niuniu replied subconsciously: "It's Shanxi...! No, no, my family are all farmers, not people from the guardhouse!"
Xu Guogong said with a smile: "You don't have to hide it from me, I know that your family is from the self-defense station! But don't worry, I will not hold your family responsible! After all, you are not the only one who has escaped!"
Zhang Niuniu timidly stared at Xu Guogong's face and said, "You really don't want to pursue it?"
At this time, the housekeeper with a surprised look on his face said, "Just say what I told you to say! My master is a senior official in charge of the health center. If he says he won't pursue it, he won't pursue it!"
Xu Guogong waved his hand to signal the steward to be silent, and then said to Zhang Niuniu: "He is right, I am the general who leads the army! If you tell the truth to me, maybe you can return to your parents! How about it?" "
When Zhang Niuniu heard this, he immediately nodded and said, "Master, our family belongs to the health center! I don't know which health center it is, I only know that it is a thousand-household health center!"
At this time, the housekeeper said in surprise: "Sir, how did you know that his family was from Weisuo?"
Xu Guogong said with a smile: "When they first came in, the other four children stood very casually! He was the only one with a straight waist and a T-step under his feet! A child of this age will definitely not be trained, and he can only follow him regularly. Those living habits come from being in the military!"
After hearing this, the officers and soldiers nodded with sincerity and said, "Master is indeed wise!"
Xu Guogong ignored him, turned to Zhang Niuniu and said, "Your family should have public farmland in the guardhouse. How could you be considered a fugitive?"
Zhang Niuniu said: "What is public land? I've never heard of it! There has been no land in the guardhouse for a long time! In the past, my father and the others used the land as tenant farmers to farm, but there were too many people in the guardhouse. , There is not enough land! As a result, my family has been living without land for several years, and in the end I had no choice but to become a fugitive!"
When Xu Guogong heard this, his heart skipped a beat! He knew that the officers below would embezzle the public land, but what he didn't expect was that the people below could embezzle all the public land in the guard station! This completely subverts the perception of hearing!
So he went on to ask: "Then in your Qianhu Institute, except for the officers, no one else has land?"
