101【Theatrical Performance and Complaint Conference】
Huang Shunde supported his mother and took the whole family to the threshing floor. The old father did not want to be a thief and chose to stay at home alone to look after the house.
Parents, elder brother, sister-in-law, younger brother, sister-in-law, himself and his wife, plus nephews over 12 years old, there are exactly nine people in the family. If another child grows up to 12 years old, he will reach the age of Zhao Han
standards for forced family separation.
This is also what Huang Shunde is dissatisfied with. Forcing others to divide their families and property is not in line with Confucian concepts and moral customs.
Alas, the situation is stronger than the people. If you don't become a thief, you will be doomed.
Even if Zhao Han didn't take action, those former tenants would probably bully them to death!
There were already many villagers sitting in the threshing floor, all of whom had been ordered to watch the play. One village after another, the play slowly passed by, with hundreds of people in the audience each time. No matter how many there were, no one could hear what the actors said.
When Huang Shunde's family came to the threshing floor, they didn't receive any good looks.
In the past, these cheap tenants would have rushed over and shouted "Huang Xianggong", nodding and bowing to say hello to this young boy.
Huang Shunde would rather pay more taxes to the government as before, so that he could at least live a decent life.
His eldest brother Huang Shungong thinks it is better now.
Although the farmers are not allocated land, they are still the beneficiaries. They pay less land tax, no fire consumption, no street stalls, and no labor money, and they can keep several shi of more food at home!
If his father and younger brother hadn't stopped him, Huang Shungong would have gone to Zhao Han long ago. He did the most hard work in the family's farming.
This is the complexity of reality. In the same family, one mother and one brother, the older brother is willing to support Zhao Han, but the younger brother hates Zhao Han from the bottom of his heart.
In the middle of the threshing floor, there was a temporary stage, and the whole village, young and old, sat around the stage.
Huang Shunde's family arrived a little later, so he could only sit in a seat at the back. He actually didn't want to watch the show, so he brought the whole family because the village chief said it, and what's the benefit?
After waiting for a while, more and more people gathered.
Finally, Chen Maosheng walked onto the stage, raised his hands and said: "Fellow folks, I am Chen Maosheng, the deputy mayor. How is the harvest this year?"
"good!"
Men, women, old and young all shouted, with happy smiles on their faces. They had never been so happy before.
Chen Maosheng added: "Mr. Zhao, Mayor Zhao, I still think you are suffering too much. If we divide the land evenly, each person has less than two acres of land, and this family will get an extra acre! What does that mean? For example, in your family
For a family of five and less than ten acres of land, Mr. Zhao will give you another one!"
"good!"
"Bodhisattva bless Mr. Zhao!"
"Mr. Zhao is a good man!"
"Master Zhao will live a long life!"
"..."
In the midst of the joy, many farmers knelt down directly, although Zhao Han was not present at the moment.
Based on the agricultural production efficiency of the Ming Dynasty, one acre of the best fields in the south could feed one person. Further down the level, two, three, or three or four acres of land could feed one person. The dry fields in the north were much weaker, with a yield of only
Half of the South, or even less.
There is a premise for the above data: the government collects land tax normally and does not apportion it randomly, do not levy fire consumption indiscriminately, and do not apportion labor service indiscriminately.
Including those barren mountainous areas, the total area of cultivated land in Wuxing Town is only about 20,000 acres, which equals less than five acres per person (not counting children under 12 years old).
Moreover, Zhao Han himself occupied 10,000 acres, resulting in less than 2.5 acres of cultivated land per capita.
Chen Maosheng waited for everyone to be quiet, and then continued: "Someone is going to say that the one who got the least land did not contribute in the original Landlords. Why is it that this time when the land is released, those who contributed can't get anything, and those who didn't contribute have an acre."
Many farmers nodded secretly, that's what they thought, but the folks in the countryside couldn't say it clearly.
Chen Maosheng said with a smile: "For the farmers who have been allocated an extra acre of land this time, you have to work hard. We have more than 500 soldiers, and our shoes wear out quickly during the drill. Now there are straw poles everywhere. You have to make straw shoes for the soldiers! Practice!
During this period, one person from each of your households will take turns to wash and mend the soldiers! Also, Mr. Zhao plans to open a nursing home to support the orphans, widows and disabled people in the village. You must take turns to carry water, firewood and sweep the floor for the nursing home.
.Is this good?"
"good!"
In exchange for an acre of land, doing these things is definitely worth it.
Farmers who were unable to allocate additional land felt a little more balanced.
Chen Maosheng announced again: "Mr. Zhao also said that he is here for the first time this year and sincerely wants to be friends with everyone. He thinks that everyone has worked hard, and the rent for all the land that is farmed by tenants will be reduced by another half percent! Those who have already paid the rent can go there tomorrow.
Take the rent back home."
The whole audience was in a state of excitement and dancing.
Because many of the land allocated to the villagers is not enough for their families, they still have to farm Zhao Han's land. The rent was reduced by 15% before, but now it is reduced by 50% again, which means that the land rent is only 80% of last year.
"Treacherous person!" Huang Shunde muttered.
Huang Shungong asked his brother: "What did you say?"
"Nothing." Huang Shunde shut up immediately.
Instead of directly reducing the rent by 20%, but by reducing it by 15% after spring plowing, and by another half after the rent is paid, it is nothing more than continuing to be a favor to all farmers.
Among them, there is also Lixin.
The rent that has been collected is like the meat that is eaten in the mouth. This way, it can be returned to the tenants. Zhao Han's personal credit is almost bursting!
Huang Shunde thought to himself: Such a treacherous person is used to confuse the people, and he is afraid that he will cause a big trouble. Why haven't the government come to clean it up? They are all stupid and mediocre officials! If you don't come to crack down on the thieves, you will be retrained in a few days.
Tuan Yongying, I will really become a thief.
Then I thought again: If the commotion becomes even bigger and I am recruited again, can I work as an official and a part-time official?
Never mind it, let’s make a big fuss first!
As Huang Shunde's thoughts changed, the play began to be performed on the stage.
In order to make the lower class people feel more involved, Zhao Han's adaptation of "The White-Haired Girl" did not have any literary lyrics. During the rehearsal, actors who were illiterate were also asked to modify the lines and dialogues into the local dialect.
The story is set in Huangjia Town
Yang Bailao lost his wife in his early years and had only one daughter, Xi. He was often taken care of by his neighbor Yang Dachun, his mother and son. The two families lived in harmony, and the boy and girl fell in love with each other and agreed to get married after the autumn harvest next year.
The bully landlord Huang Shiren intended to occupy Xi'er and forced Yang Bailao to repay the debt within the year with heavy rent and huge profits. On New Year's Eve, Yang Bailao was unable to repay the debt and was forced to sell his daughter. He committed suicide in grief. On the first day of the new year, Xi'er was robbed.
The Huang family was humiliated and tortured. Then, Yang Dachun, mother and son were expelled.
The male protagonist Yang Dachun died of illness after sleeping in the open when his mother was deported. He was rescued by Mr. Zhao, who heard about Huang Shiren's bad deeds and agreed to help him rescue Xi'er.
Xi'er was pregnant and was let go by a kind-hearted maid of the Huang family. She gave birth to a baby and died on the way. She hid in the mountains and her black hair turned into white hair. She was regarded as a white-haired fairy by the villagers because she stole tribute from the temple.
Mr. Zhao came back with Yang Dachun, suppressed Huang Shiren, and distributed land to the people of Huangjia Town. Hearing the rumors about the white-haired fairy, Yang Dachun went into the mountains to search for many days, and the lover finally got married.
On the stage.
Xiao Cui plays Xi'er, Chen Maosheng plays Yang Dachun, Fei Chun plays Huang Shiren in disguise, and Fei Ruhe plays the silent domestic slave throughout the whole movie. The rest of the actors are civil servants from the town office and maids and wives from Zhao Han's house.
The villagers thought it was strange to see a drama for the first time.
The lyrics are sparse, the dialogue is still in the local dialect, and the clothes are very ordinary, not the costumes worn on a serious stage.
In addition, the story takes place in Huangjia Town, and Huang Shiren is also Mr. Huang, so the sense of immersion is simply perfect.
Huang Shunde's wife enjoyed it, but he himself was full of disdain, thinking that this kind of drama was not suitable for the stage, and the lines and lyrics were vulgar.
Gradually, Huang Shunde became frightened because the surrounding villagers were restless.
On New Year's Eve, Yang Bailao was forced by Mr. Huang to sell his daughter. He couldn't figure it out and committed suicide. On New Year's Day, Xi'er was snatched away again, beaten and insulted.
On the stage, several door panels were erected, which can be regarded as Mr. Huang's bedroom.
Because Xi'er resisted, she was beaten outside the house and then dragged inside and raped.
The villagers couldn't see what was going on behind the door, but could only hear Xi'er crying bitterly. Those who were close to the stage could even hear the sound of clothes tearing.
"Beat Huang Bapi to death!"
Finally, some villagers couldn't stand it any longer, and other villagers also roared.
Then they rushed forward to count Fei Chun, who played Huang Shiren, and beat and kicked Fei Chun to rescue poor Xi'er.
"good!"
Seeing Xi'er being rescued, countless villagers cheered.
Chen Maosheng quickly led people to stop it, and kept explaining that it was an act, so that the villagers should not take it seriously.
The unlucky Fei Chun was beaten until his nose was bruised and his face was swollen, and he had to stay on stage to perform.
The plot that follows is equally depressing.
Yang Dachun was expelled, and his mother died tragically on the way. Xi'er escaped, but the child died in infancy. His white hair looked like a madman or a wild ghost wandering in the mountains.
Finally, Mr. Zhao came back with Yang Dachun!
Mr. Zhao outsmarts Mr. Huang and leads the tenants to rebel. The hero and heroine reunite and, under the auspices of Mr. Zhao, they visit the church and get married.
The long-term repression was released, and the villagers stood up and cheered. The cheers came one after another.
Although there was no performance in Shanghuangcun today, Huang Yao was still invited to watch the show.
He didn't even finish it, so he quietly hid on the edge of the threshing floor, covering his mouth and crying silently. Although his experience was only slightly similar to that of "The White-Haired Girl", he felt that he was playing himself, his story.
My childhood sweetheart also died tragically in the Huang family.
At some point, his newlywed wife came behind him and cried with Huang Yao without saying a word.
On the stage, the performance of "The White-Haired Girl" has ended, and the next part is the complaint meeting.
Jiang Dashan was the first to take the stage: "I am a person with a foreign surname, and I have a harder time than many of you. Mr. Huang... Huang Zundao specializes in bullying people with a foreign surname. My ancestors also had land, and it was all occupied by Huang Zundao's ancestors. People with a foreign surname paid the rent.
The most important thing is that you can't see the benefits and get all the bad things. It is a hard job to collect food. You have to bring your own food and take the food to the county. Corrupt officials always look for trouble and deliberately scatter the food, saying that the food I have paid is not packed.
If it is full, we who pledge food will have to make up the shortfall ourselves."
"If the Huang family's ancestral hall, ancestral house, and water canals need to be repaired, I will be involved every time. No wages or food rations will be given, and if you don't do well, you will be beaten. There was a drought more than ten years ago, and Huang Zundao sent his slaves to repair it.
Rent, robbed my family of food, my father, my brother and sister-in-law all starved to death..."
As he spoke, Jiang Dashan started crying and could not continue talking at all.
Chen Maosheng asked him to step down and asked: "Who else wants to complain? Come up and say it openly. We are all miserable people. Don't hold it in your heart and feel uncomfortable."
"Let me tell you!"
This time it was no longer a shill, an old farmer rushed onto the stage and began to tell his miserable experience.
Huang Shunde was frightened when he heard this, and at the same time he became silent. He had studied hard since he was a child. Later, the number of people in his family increased, and life gradually became difficult. And he himself had no hope of the imperial examination. He began to learn farming in his twenties and did not care much about the villagers.
life.
Only now did Huang Shunde know that his cousin had done so many bad things.
Should such a big landowner be killed to share his land?
Huang Shunde's thinking became confused. He was a scholar and did not endure much hardship. He still retained a trace of the pursuit of a scholar in his heart.
"Mom, has uncle really done so many bad things?" Huang Shunde asked in a low voice.
Huang Mu sighed: "Oh, everyone is dead, so don't ask any more questions."
That's true.
Huang Shunde didn't know what to say, so he stood there blankly, listening to the villagers come to the stage one by one to complain.
(Thanks to the leader of the friend who turned into smoke, transformed into a ghost, and has two finger patterns that don’t know how to describe the ID. Thanks also to other book friends for the tips!)