To Liu Baiyu's surprise, Gou'er's father, who had always been flattering him, actually talked back to him:

"Everyone knows that the master is kind-hearted. I have been Gou'er's father for half my life. Only after I became your slave can anyone know that my name is Liu Fugui! I am not just Gou'er's father! You are the master of the family and you are the one who promoted me.

As a noble person in charge, I shouldn’t disobey you! It’s just that, master, I have given too many favors to people, so it’s not okay, and you treat them to food again.

You gave them a job again, but these people don't know how to be grateful. Last night, there was a group of people planning to escape wearing the clothes you rewarded, and then sell the clothes to start a small business! These people are simply

They are beasts! They are worse than beasts! If you give them to cats, you can catch mice, and if you give them to dogs, you can look after the home! They are given to these people! Alas!"

"This..." Liu Baiyu didn't know what to say, so he could only sigh.

Bang bang bang, several consecutive kowtows attracted Liu Baiyu's attention. Liu Baiyu looked at him and saw that he was very jealous. He did not bring it out by himself. Judging from the skinny body, he should be a refugee, but he was wearing clothes.

The same blue cloth clothes as his slaves, but he is the only one among this group of people.

Who is this??? Liu Baiyu gave Liu Fugui a confused look, and Liu Fugui hurriedly stepped forward to explain:

"Master, his name is Liu Hongyu. He is the boy who came to inform us last night. He is quite conscientious! So I gave him a new suit of clothes!"

Informer? Isn't it something similar to a traitor? With this thought, Liu Baiyu realized that he actually regarded himself as a devil. He couldn't help but shake his head. He is a kind person! Then this Liu Hongyu is also a righteous servant, isn't it?

, and immediately became pleased with him, pointed and started to speak.

"Thank you, sir! Sir, I don't think they are bad people, they just can't think clearly at the moment. How about you let me try to persuade them?"

"Then go ahead!" Liu Baiyu also figured out that many of his ideas were not practical and it was better to leave them to professionals, so he encouraged him.

Liu Hongyu was encouraged, stood up high, and cleared her throat to the refugees:

"Everyone, I know some people hate me for snitching! Just hate me if you hate me, I can't control it! But there are some things I want to say clearly!"

"Have you thought clearly before running away? Where are you going? Can you keep these clothes? There are more good guys robbing than cattle hair everywhere! Can you hide away? I'm afraid your clothes will be stripped by the good guys and then you will be dragged away.

Be the cannon fodder who lives today and dies tomorrow!"

"Even if you evade the heroes and go to the neighboring county, will you be able to enter the county? There is no government to provide porridge to the refugees there! They arrest people in gangs and eat meat directly! People will die sooner or later, but they are treated like cattle.

Are you willing to be eaten like sheep?"

"Even if you are lucky enough to arrive in a neighboring county, what can you do as a foreigner without a guarantor? Let alone doing business, migrant workers will not hire you!"

"I can't insist that I went to tell the truth to save everyone, but... in this troubled world, a good man like Mr. Liu may not be obtained by others even if he burns incense and kowtows. With such a man, what else do you ask for?

Oh! If you are greedy, you are like a snake swallowing an elephant, so don’t push yourself to death!”

Liu Hongyu shouted at the top of his lungs, tears streaming down his face.

This man spoke in a coherent manner and seemed to be a scholar. Liu Baiyu looked carefully at this man. Although his complexion was dark, his hands and feet were not thick. He did not look like a man from a poor background.

Seeing that Liu Baiyu seemed to be sizing him up, Liu Hongyu guessed Liu Baiyu's thoughts and sighed self-deprecatingly: "This little man can't study well, which makes the master laugh. My family is originally a native of a neighboring county. We have been farming for generations, and we have several acres passed down from our ancestors.

Tiandi. There is a big surname in the village.

, because there were several wealthy families in the clan who could talk to the bookkeepers in the yamen, and they became tyrannical in the village. My father was angry, so he sent me to study in the hope that I could gain fame and support the family without being influenced by his family.

Bullying. But the villain is useless and he keeps failing the exam."

He probably felt that it was really embarrassing to become a refugee, and his face turned red: "It costs money to study. My family sold several acres of land, and the family income was already a bit tight. The family's cattle suddenly died. Everyone said that was...

His family did it well, but we had no evidence and no power to file a lawsuit with him. My father was angry and anxious, and got angry.

I was seriously ill. After studying, my family had no money left, so I had no choice but to sell the remaining forty acres of land with a written agreement. I could have sold it for a few more bucks, but I relied on my familiarity with the book office in the yamen.

, forcibly prevented other large households from buying, and severely suppressed the land price. The money received from selling the land was not even half of the usual amount..."

"Collusion between government and businessmen! Forced buying and selling!" Liu Baiyu nodded sympathetically.

"The land was sold, but when my father found out about it, he became even more angry and said that I was a prodigal. As a result, after a few months of delay, all the money was spent and no one was alive." Liu Hongyu wiped away her tears, "This is not enough.

After all, who knew that his family would be so evil-minded that they colluded with the master in charge of money and food in the yamen and never transferred the four acres of money and food. My land has been sold, and we still have to pay money and food every summer and autumn. How can this happen in the world?

Something unreasonable?"

Is there such a thing? Liu Baiyu was surprised at first. After thinking about it later, he realized that this was the so-called field skin and field bone trick. In fact, this was a very common thing in the rural areas in the middle and late Ming Dynasty. It was called production to remove grain storage: land

Sell ​​it, but the tax burden will be small, and the buyer will not have to pay taxes and grain. This often results in farmers being forced to flee after losing their land, and at the same time, a large amount of national tax revenue will be lost.

"In recent years, the money and food provided by the imperial court have been extremely heavy, so why add Liao's salary? This is very difficult for a small family like mine! The villain went to the buyer and asked why he didn't transfer the money and food? It was clearly written in the document. The head of his family

He said that he had told the senior officials in charge of money and food in the Yamen that he had nothing to do with the money and food not being transferred. I went to the city a few times, but was scolded by the senior officials, saying that I was a troublesome person."

"You have to pay money and food for the land sold. How can you pay for it? Once the deadline for collecting the food comes, the government officials will go to the countryside to arrest people with summons, water and fire sticks, iron chains, and handcuffs, like wolves.

Tiger. Once at home, it will not tolerate

He said that he would beat people when he saw them, smash pots and bowls when he saw them, and take the villain to the county to recover his money and food every three days. He would beat the villain until his body was completely bruised, and he would have to shackle the public... This villain would not survive.

Yes, fortunately I studied at that time

Xueyou, a few of them who were studying in the county school, begged the old teacher Yu to intercede to spare their lives. When they returned home, the big family colluded with the servants, and threatened them in the name of paying the taxes and grains of the villains.

A villain, empty money but a real contract

He took over some of the homestead and grave foundations of the little family. Unfortunately, all the ancestral graves of my family were burned directly by him..." Speaking of this, Liu Hongyu completely brought back memories. He banged his head on the ground and cried incessantly.

.

"What is the name of the head of this family? He bullies good people like this! Tell me, Liu Hongyu. Although I can't make the decision for you now, I will give you an explanation in as little as three years or as many as five years!" Liu Baiyu looked at Yang Bailao and

Huang Shiren felt that it was already miserable enough, but he didn't expect that compared with these landlords in the late Ming Dynasty, Huang Shiren was really not a bad person.

"Thank you, sir, but this family is too bad. Everyone in the village has been bullied by his family, and their resentment has long been high. A group of bandits passed through the border half a year ago, and their family was killed and burned. They are already extinct!"

What Liu Hongyu said was actually half true and half false. In fact, several young children ran away and were beaten to death by the villagers and thrown into mass graves. However, this had nothing to do with the bandits.

Is this retribution? Liu Baiyu was speechless for a long time, and finally said to Liu Hongyu:

"I think you are eloquent and know how to win the hearts of the refugees! Let's do this. For two coins a month, Wu Dianshi will catch the homeless people who come here and take care of them first. If there are enough people, send them to Zhuangzi! Well done and there will be more

It’s a reward, do you understand?!”

"Thank you so much, sir, for being willing to do your best for me!" Liu Hongyu knew that this was the time when the master wanted to try him out as a steward, and he couldn't help but be overjoyed. This man had a kind heart and was a kind man. It was a blessing to be his steward, but this man couldn't do anything.
Chapter completed!