Just as he was thinking about it, a middle-aged man in Tsing Yi came over. As soon as he stood still, the coolies squatting at the base of the wall cheered and surrounded him, "Do you need someone? I have the strength." The old posture,”….
Dakui was dumbfounded. He was not chosen by someone else, and he even brought a live snatcher. Looking at the noisy crowd, Dakui scratched his head. There were more wolves and less meat, what should he do?
The middle-aged man chose a few stronger laborers and agreed to pay twenty cents a day and take care of the food. The few coolies happily nodded in agreement and then followed the middle-aged man away. Those who were not selected were filled with envy. They all went back to the wall and squatted down to continue basking in the sun.
Perhaps it was fate, four or five employers came one after another, and Da Kui and his gang couldn't get any jobs. Da Kui couldn't help but get angry. Next time the customers come, they must get jobs, otherwise how can they survive here? At the moment, Da Kui squatted With his eyes against the flow of people on the street, he finally saw a butler walking towards him, and Dakui was the first to rush forward.
"Master, are you looking for someone to do the work? I'm strong and can endure hardships, but you need less money. How about it?" Dakui asked in a loud voice. The housekeeper looked Dakui up and down and asked, "Can you deliver babies?" I'm looking for two stable women, my young mistress is about to give birth," he said with a sneer on his face as he walked past Dakui and walked away. Dakui's actions naturally made others laugh, and Dakui stood there with a burning feeling on his face. , I wish I could find a crack in the ground and crawl into it.
When Gou Sheng, the stone, the broom, the dustpan, and the bench saw the five people, they got up and came to the coolies. Gou Sheng shouted: "Whoever laughs again, I will knock out his teeth and stop laughing." Gou Sheng The five people standing there, including stones, brooms, dustpans, and benches, looked like five iron towers. Gou Sheng shouted with a stern voice, and everyone immediately became silent and did not dare to laugh anymore.
Gou Sheng turned around and said to Dakui: "Master Dan, please rest, I will take over the job if there are any more recruits." Then he turned to the coolies and said: "Don't rush to grab them again, otherwise don't blame me." You’re welcome,”
Seeing this, Dakui quickly stopped and said, "Don't be rude. We are here to find work. How can we bully others maliciously?"
Gou Sheng and other five people stopped talking when they heard the words, and each returned to the wall and squatted down. Dakui immediately clasped his fists towards the coolies and said: "Everyone, my six brothers came to your place for the first time. They just want to make a living here. We have just had a lot of fun." Please don’t take offense if I offend you,”
All the coolies said nothing, and all looked at the person sitting at the end. This man was short in stature and dressed in homespun linen clothes. Every time he came to the employer, he was never seen grabbing work, but he always closed his eyes and meditated, collecting dog leftovers, stones, brooms, and dustpans. , even when the bench threatened everyone, he didn't move. At this time, the man in linen clothes actually spoke after Dakui's words.
"This is Mr. Hou's territory. If you come here to make a living, you can go through the dock," the man in sackcloth asked first.
Dakui couldn't help being stunned when he heard this, and couldn't help but asked: "I and several brothers came here for the first time, and we haven't met Mr. Hou yet. I would like to ask this eldest brother to introduce me to him." After a pause, Dakui asked again: "Dare I ask? This eldest brother has a distinguished surname,"
The man in linen clothes still looked indifferent and said: "Just call me Brother Lin. You and others can see Mr. Hou at will. But although people can't see him, this filial piety is indispensable. You six Let me give you two strings of money each. I will tell Mr. Hou later that I will take more care of you,"
The five people squatting at the foot of the wall with stones, brooms, dustpans, and benches were furious when they heard this. Not to mention that there was no work to do here, even if they had work, they could earn more than ten or twenty cents a day. This bitch They only ask for two strings of money per person. Doesn't it take ten days and a half of work to earn it? This is obviously blackmail and bullying.
Gou Sheng couldn't help but stood up and cursed: "You little bitch, your head is broken, your mouth is not big, your tone is not small..."
When Dakui heard this, he looked at him angrily. When Gou Sheng saw Dakui's unkind expression, he didn't dare to speak any more and quickly shrunk his neck and squatted back.
Unexpectedly, the man in sackcloth surnamed Lin was not a good person either. He slowly stood up and said, "You want to settle down here without paying filial piety. I will report it to Mr. Hou right now. Just wait here." The man patted his butt and walked away proudly.
Seeing that things had come to this, Dakui had no choice but to go back to the wall and squat down.
Seeing that no one was paying attention, Dakui said in a loud voice: "Listen carefully, follow my eyes and act, don't act recklessly,"
The other five people took the order and squatted there without saying a word.
Less than half an hour later, more than a dozen strong men rushed out of the goods yard, carrying whistle sticks and iron rulers in their hands, and headed straight to where Dakui and others were.
When this group of people approached Dakui and others, the man named Lin in linen pointed at Dakui and the others and said, "That's them."
A red-faced man walked out of this group of fierce and strong men, and asked in a loud voice to Dakui and others: "You are new here,"
Da Kui stood up with a smile and said: "Ah, this big brother, we are from out of town, and we want to do some part-time work here to make ends meet."
The red-faced man sneered: "Do you know the rules here?"
Before Dakui could say anything, the man named Lin, who was in line with Mai Yi, said first, "I told them the rules a long time ago. If they don't follow the rules, they will hurt others with their mouths. That's the one with the big eyes." He pointed at Gou Sheng.
The red-faced man nodded when he heard this, with a sinister look on his face, and squeezed out three words between his teeth: "Hit me,"
As soon as he finished speaking, a group of strong men behind him surrounded the six people of Dakui and gave them a slap in the face.
Dakui just gritted his teeth and endured the pain. When the others saw that Dakui was silent, no one dared to get up and take action. The six of them stayed together until they were knocked to the ground by these strong men. Although the stone was named Hard, it was the first Someone had his head broken.
None of these strong men were gentlemen, and besides, they were beating several men. With all the big sticks, the whistle stick in one guy's hand was discounted.
When the red-faced man saw the blood, he told everyone to stop. He came to Dakui's side and knelt down with a smile: "It's okay. After this beating, each of you will be exempted from two strings of money. But if you do it here, You have to pay fifty cents a month as a filial piety, remember,"
Dakui was still holding his head in his hands, his mouth was hurting when he screamed, but he could not speak.
After the red-faced man finished explaining, he stood up and shouted: "Okay, okay, everyone, go back."
A group of strong men cursed and returned to the warehouse. Dakui and others managed to get up and look at the stone. There was a hole in the stone's forehead, and the dustpan was being covered with a sweat towel, which was soaked with blood.
Dakui asked Dustpan to carry the stone and go back to see the doctor. He took the leftover dog, broom and bench and continued to wait here.
The three of them, Gou Sheng, Broom, and Bench, were holding back their anger but did not dare to let it out. Looking at Dakui, he still looked like a loser. He was dressed like a beggar. At this moment, he was looking at the warehouse with dull eyes, but he didn't know. What are you thinking about.
The four of them squatted under the wall of the goods yard and waited all afternoon. Even after dark, they did not wait for the work to start. In desperation, the four of them helped each other back to their residence. After entering the door, Gou Shen and others complained to Dakui. .
Just listen to the bench say: "Sir, why are we like this? A man of seven feet can't serve on the battlefield but goes to work with the market. Your Excellency is in a high position but is so self-satisfied..." Before the bench finished his sentence, Then Gou Sheng beside him reached out and poked him, signaling him to stop talking.
Dakui was walking towards the side room. Hearing this, he stopped and turned around and asked solemnly, "Are you willing to fall for yourself?" The bench slumped and he lowered his head.
Dakui said coldly: "Come in with me," and then he entered the wing first, followed closely by the dog, the broom, and the bench.
At this moment, Shitou was boiling soup in the room. Shitou was lying on the bed with the dustpan standing aside. When he saw Dakui coming in, Dustpan quickly got up to greet him. Shitou struggled to get up. Dakui quickly went over to stop Shitou and said, "Just rest in peace. "
Dakui asked with concern: "What did the doctor say?"
Dustpan said: "The doctor said it was just a trauma, nothing to worry about." He lowered his head. Naturally, Dakui could see the grievance between him and Shitou. He looked around at the other three people, who also had normal expressions.
Dakui said solemnly: "You all feel aggrieved, right? If you have anything to say, say it now. Don't hold it in your heart."
Everyone looked at each other, and Gou Sheng was the first to speak: "Sir, we are all soldiers, we are not afraid of bloodshed, let alone death, but what happened today is hard for me to think about."
Dakui smiled when he heard this. Everyone couldn't help but feel unsure when they saw Dakui's expression.
Dakui smiled and said: "You are all selected from the left and right armies, so let me ask you, why do you join the army?"
Gou Sheng looked at the others and said first: "In order to drive Yuan Gou out and let the people live a good life,"
Dakui nodded and asked: "Then why do you come to follow me?"
Gou Sheng replied: "Brother Tang said when we came here, he told us to follow your master and listen to your words. He didn't say anything else."
Dakui smiled and said: "As an official envoy to the south of the Yangtze River, I am responsible for the integrity of all officials in the south of the Yangtze River. Naturally, I investigate corrupt officials and bring them to justice. When officials take bribes, the common people will suffer. If If corrupt officials are not punished, what difference will there be between our Ming Dynasty and Yuanting?"
When Gou Sheng and others heard this, they looked at each other and said nothing.
Dakui continued: "Don't think that only fighting for your life on the battlefield is for the country and the people. What we do is not for the common people." Dakui continued: "Pan Ke, the governor of Raozhou, embezzled millions of taels. This does not mean that you will understand it once you capture it. You also need to capture its accomplices and dirty money. How can you get it if you don't go deep into the tiger's den?"
Everyone lowered their heads in shame after hearing this, and Dakui said again: "I have made the truth very clear. Now I will give you a chance. If you are willing to leave, I will write a letter. You can take it back to the army. I guarantee that General Tang or General Chang will not embarrass you,"
Everyone looked at each other again, and all clasped their hands and said, "We are willing to follow you, your Majesty, and we will go through fire and water without hesitation."
Dakui laughed and said: "Okay, they are all good," and then Dakui ordered: "I have to comfort everyone tonight, go and prepare food and drinks, I will drink with you all," everyone bowed their hands and accepted the order... …,