"Who the hell is this? How dare you humiliate a government official like this? Is there any way to do it?"
Pang Yu poked his head out from behind the corner door in fear and asked He Xianya who was also hiding in.
The group of men in purple lingered at the door, but finally did not pursue them into the county government office to arrest the officials, which saved some face for the grassroots government of the Ming Dynasty.
"Their king's law is more powerful."
He Xianya touched his red and swollen cheeks and said, "The one in purple is called Mr. Zheng. He is a slave of Wu Yingqi, a township official in the city. The other one is Kang Jin, a slave of township official Ye Can. I don't know the others."
.”
"House slave?"
Pang Yu turned to look at He Xianya in surprise, "Is the domestic slave a domestic servant?
I have one in my family too, who could let him be so arrogant?"
"Second brother, are you kidding me?
In your family, they are called domestic servants, but in the squire's family, they are called domestic slaves. All the masters in the family have achieved fame, and the clan is so powerful that no one in the government dares to take care of them."
"Can't the county magistrate even control them?"
He Xianya said patiently: "They are all officials who came back from their careers. They are of the third and fourth grades. Their disciples are all over the world. The county magistrate is only the seventh grade. If they offend these people, in case there is a censor among their old friends, a book will be included.
Go to the cabinet, or go to the governor, and file a complaint there, and tell the county magistrate what will happen to you."
Pang Yu touched his nose and saw that it was similar in any era. These gentry were the powerful local faction, and the domestic slaves were probably their servants. With their momentum, the government did not dare to manage, and became more and more arrogant.
But Pang Yu hid and observed that those domestic slaves were extremely friendly with some of the government officials nearby, and they were not here to target all tolerances.
He Xianya touched his swollen cheek and said, "Mr. Zheng, Kang Jin and their group are considered the most powerful in Tongcheng. No one dares to provoke them.
Since there were so many of them, most of them were domestic slaves of various families. They all made a lot of money by relying on the momentum of the heads of each family.
In the past, there were two or three groups in Tongcheng, some of them were domestic slaves of the Xiao family. Now they are all suppressed by Mr. Zheng and his group. The less money they make, the weaker their momentum will be. It all depends on Mr. Zheng and the others' faces." "They all rely on
What do you make money from?"
"There are many ways, but the three most important ones are gambling stalls, pawn shops, and dental shops. These can be mixed together."
Pang Yu nodded. It goes without saying that gambling stalls make money. The pawn industry does not just mortgage one thing. Most of them require loans, and they must be usury. However, the tricks in the pawn shop are not clear yet.
Mr. Zheng and his gang were similar to the later underworld, monopolizing Tongcheng's high-profit industries.
He Xianya pointed at the two calligraphers who were talking to the man in purple and said, "Have you seen those few? They are all from the household. Half of those who were beaten today were those who offended the household."
Pang Yuqi asked, "Our eldest brother is on duty on the fast shift, how could he offend the household?"
"Jiao Guo... the eldest brother didn't listen to our advice. Just because the execution room was a few cents cheaper, he went to the execution room to buy cards. That was all. He also took nearly half of the people who were on the fast shift and took away the household.
Houses are the way to make money. If you say the household doesn't hate him, who does he hate?
Mr. Zheng and the others usually have the most connections with households, so of course they are here to take the opportunity to humiliate people."
"How do domestic slaves connect with each other?"
"That's more than just a few words."
He Xianya spat out a mouthful of bloody phlegm and said, "If you, second brother, are good enough in the future, you will know if you go to the household to work as an errand. Hey, if you can go to the household, my little brother and I will have someone to rely on. It's a pity..."
Hearing He Xianya's tone, Pang Yu still looked down upon herself. She wanted to scold He Xianya, but thinking back on these short two days, she had not gained any benefits, and she had offended her immediate boss. Today, she even got into trouble with a group of domestic slaves for no reason.
You really should do some self-reflection.
"Can't be too high-profile, it's his grandma's."
After Pang Yu finished speaking in his mind, he looked outside again.
At this time, family members from various families came after getting the news and carried people away one after another. Some of them had no one to pick them up and paid money to find someone. There happened to be a lot of people watching, so they took the work one after another. There were only a few people left on the ground, watching the excitement.
People are also gradually disappearing.
Mr. Zheng and his group finally had enough fun and went to the east gate with laughter. Pang Yu breathed a sigh of relief. The two walked out of the gate and saw Jiao Guozha still lying down in the field. Pang Yu didn't dare to help him.
To avoid provoking the faction of the county magistrate and Hufang again.
"Third brother, go to Qingfeng City and hire two porters to help the eldest brother back."
He Xianya took two steps away and said, "Second brother, please spare me. I don't dare to interfere anymore. When the Jiao family gets the news, they will naturally come back to provoke him. That's all for today. I have other things to do, little brother."
Without waiting for Pang Yu to greet him, He Xianya ran away as if he was running for his life. Pang Yu knew that He Xianya was afraid of getting into trouble, but it was not a problem to leave Jiao Guozhao alone. When he was unable to do anything, he felt someone tugging on his sleeve and turned his head.
When I saw it, it turned out to be the female helper Zhou Yueru. There were so many things going on today that I almost forgot about the female helper.
Zhou Yueru blushed and said, "I, what, the person carrying him came out without pants... It's embarrassing, I don't dare to be at the door."
"Then you dare to come here now."
"I just heard them say that the yamen servant was beaten. My family... came here to see if you were there."
Pang Yu turned her head and looked at Zhou Yueru with a smile and said, "Master, look at me. I didn't get beaten. Are you very happy?"
Zhou Yueru blushed, "A villain like you will only be happy if you get beaten."
Pang Yu waved, took Zhou Yueru out of the circle of people, and then took out a few pieces of silver and gave them to her.
Zhou Yueru asked in surprise when she saw Yinzi, "What kind of bonus was given to me?"
"You get bonuses for whatever you do. Bonuses are so easy to get."
Pang Yu quietly pointed at Jiao Guozha on the ground, "Master, I'll be a good person for once. You go farther away and find two porters and ask them to carry Jiao Guozha home.
Don't come here with the porters. Don't let anyone know that it was me who called the young master. Just say that you are Jiao Guozha's sister or madam, or whatever. In short, just tell them to carry Jiao Guozha."
When Zhou Yueru heard that the money was not for her, she immediately stopped smiling and went to Qingfeng City with a snort. Pang Yu saw her walking in long strides. Her gait was completely different from other women he usually saw. She thought of people like Aunt Liu.
She has her feet bound, and she walks with small steps. Could it be that this woman didn’t have her feet bound this week?
Pang Yu didn't pay attention to her emotions. She lowered her head and found that Jiang Guoyong was not far away from his feet. No family members came to pick him up. He was crawling out without saying a word. There were people coming and going around, but no one came to help.
Give him a handful.
Even though this man was a bit stubborn, he was still loyal just now. At least he was more loyal than the government servants present. However, no matter how loyal he was, Pang Yu did not dare to help him.
After all, everyone in the Yamen knew that Jiao Guozhao was his sworn brother, so even if the matter was leaked, things could still be turned around.
And Jiang Guoyong was the public enemy of the yamen. Helping him was tantamount to ousting himself from the yamen. The risks and benefits were seriously out of proportion.
So Pang Yu just stood there, watching Jiang Guoyong's lonely back slowly crawling away on the crowded county front street.
When Jiang Guoyong was about to disappear on the street, two people came over and asked loudly who was Jiao Guozha. Jiao Guozha answered in tears and was carried away by the two men.
Zhou Yueru followed behind and waited until Jiao Guozhao had gone far before coming over.
Pang Yu casually praised her and said, "You do things very quickly. Do you have enough money?"
Zhou Yueru looked at Pang Yu and said dissatisfiedly: "How much money did you give, but it was all given to those two people and they were still reluctant. I had to talk hard before I agreed."
"That's it. I'll give you a little more next time. I'm off work."
Pang Yu scratched his head and headed back home.
Seeing Pang Yu walking in front, Zhou Yueru secretly breathed a sigh of relief, touched the two remaining pieces of silver in her hand, and said softly: "Fortunately, a fool can't even use silver, and I have enough money for meals these days."
Already."
Zhou Yueru has been doing business at home for a long time, and there are some small traders who are greedy for petty gains, but Tan Mo has never done anything with money. Even if he thinks that Tan Mo Pang Yu's money is not wrong, he really can't get over this hurdle.
Seeing Pang Yu shaking his head in front of him, Zhou Yueru's face turned red and white, and he was sweating holding two small pieces of silver in his hands.
Pang Yu had no idea about this. Today was his first day at work in ancient times, and he happened to meet a rare county magistrate sitting in court, so he had a lot to digest.
Fortunately, Pang Yu had complicated experiences in his previous life, so he didn't take offending a few slaves as a big deal. He just kept reviewing today's encounter in his mind. Thinking of the scene where the county magistrate showed his power, Pang Yu waved his fists twice with a sense of empathy.
, I didn’t know that the female secretary was fighting behind the scenes.
When she finally reached the door of Pang Yu's house, Zhou Yueru bit her lip and shouted in a low voice: "Hey, Pang's family..." Pang Yu woke up from her thoughts, stopped and turned around and said, "What's the matter."
"well."
Zhou Yueru spread out her hands to reveal two broken pieces of silver, "I just put them in the wrong purse. These two pieces are left over. I'll give them back to you."
Pang Yu yelled, grabbed the money back, and said: "Master, do you think I don't know how much money it costs to hire someone? The master is here to test you. Tell me, did you just try to embezzle my money?"
"
Zhou Yueru was ashamed and angry, standing there with a red face. If he had known the result, he would not have returned the money to Pang Yu.
Pang Yu looked at her with a peach-like face, and her lustful heart was ready to move, "Since you are quite honest, I am still satisfied with your work performance. Even if the probation period is passed, I can continue to hire you."
"Hiring or not, my family is still the same. If nothing happens today, I will go back early. There is only Lao Liang in the shop, so I have to go back and take care of dad."
Pang Yu thought of Shopkeeper Zhou and couldn't help but ask: "Well, how is your father doing after he returns?"
Zhou Yueru looked downcast and whispered as he walked: "Dad was frightened in prison. He hasn't gotten up since he came home. He screams whenever he hears any noise and eats and drinks very little."
"His condition is called post-traumatic stress disorder. Please give him some guidance on weekdays and don't irritate him if nothing happens. He will get better after a while."
"How could I provoke him, but life is so difficult that he can't help but be annoyed.
You see, I have to come here to help you every day. The shop relies on Lao Liang. After hearing about this, many former customers did not dare to buy from us. There are only some copper coins left in the shop. Seeing that they can’t open the pot, how can they afford it?
Your two taels of silver per month."
"What does it have to do with me, young master? Who told your father to beat someone?
By saying this, are you implying that I won't accept your two taels of monthly payment?"
Pang Yu saw Zhou Yueru starting to cry again, and said nonchalantly: "If you want to blame, you should first blame your father for being so cruel. How many times does it touch you to take advantage? You ancient people insist on caring about it, so that's the way it is. I squeezed you before."
If you take the subway, you will die hundreds of times."
Zhou Yueru naturally didn't understand, but knowing that Pang Yu didn't want a grace period for repayment, she lowered her head and just wiped her tears.
Pang Yuxin looked at Zhou Yueru itchingly, and said in a calm tone: "There's no point in pretending to be pitiful with me, we have to strictly abide by the contract.
If you want to repay your debt, you have to show your ability. If you are really capable, the young master will not be afraid to give you money.
Having said that, Master, I am a good person after all, and I can’t just watch you guys fail to uncover the pot.”
Zhou Yueru was stunned for a moment and looked at Pang Yu suspiciously, "Really?"
While they were talking, the two of them had arrived at the door of Pang's house, and suddenly they heard Pang Yu say again, "But!"
Zhou Yueru's heart became excited again, and she looked at Pang Yu carefully, only to hear Pang Yu raise her finger and say: "But there is no love for no reason in the world, and there will be no pie in the sky.
Master, I have a simple principle, everything in this world is a transaction, if I give you a benefit, you must also give me some benefit, Master, so that the business can last long."
Zhou Yueru folded her hands in front of her chest in panic, "What do you want to do?"
Pang Yu saw this and said angrily, "You are still afraid that the young master will take advantage of you. Originally I just wanted you to give the young master a massage, but now I have changed my mind and go to my store to cut and collect the medicine."
"you!"
"What are you doing? You're going to do some odd jobs for my mother. You can only leave after she says she's allowed to leave."
Zhou Yueru took a few breaths and said, "Then if your mother knew it was my father who beat you and she didn't beat me half to death, I wouldn't dare go."
Pang Yu snorted and walked towards the back room, "My mother is the most open-minded and kind-hearted among villains... Hey, why is no one at home? Where did my mother go?"
..."Sister Zhang, come here and take a look at Aunt Xu's satin. It is said to be made by Dongcheng Yushou Nanhuo. I have never seen this color before."
"Oh, it's true. The color gradually turns white and red, which is comparable to that peach blossom."
"I heard it's the same as Su. Let's go and take a look tomorrow."
"Sister Zhang wants to be a peach blossom, so she should dress herself up like a peach blossom first."
"Go, go, talk nonsense.
If you commit any crimes at the age of several decades, it doesn’t have to be a matter of children.”
In Chenggen Alley in Zhenyang Gate, Tongcheng, a family of two entered the courtyard and boiled two pots of tea. There were pine nuts and jujubes floating on the water respectively. A group of women were divided into several piles, chattering incessantly. They were following
A tea party was held here once every ten days, which was a social event for women in the Ming Dynasty.
At this time, tea can be brewed or boiled, but women's gatherings require more time. They usually add some dried fruits and the like to boil, and then mix it with tea and eat it all together, so it is also called tea.
In the Ming Dynasty, the economy in the south was developed. Women participated in many economic activities, but social activities were still restricted. However, women also had social needs. This kind of tea party was often held in the neighborhood. The participants were all women's families. It was because the parents were short-tongued.
A great place for gossip.
Aunt Xu took over the conversation and lowered her voice mysteriously, "Hey, speaking of the children, the engagement between the Pang family and the Liu family has been terminated. Aunt Liu's face has been as dark as the bottom of a pot these past two days. Did you know that?
Why can’t you figure it out?”
"I heard that brother Pang Jiayu had his head broken and was possessed by evil spirits. He is very strange now. When I was in charge of the family, I went to visit him a few days ago. He said that his beard had been shaved off. He also asked people everywhere if he was acting for a while.
I don’t know how famous Lin Yan is, but two out of three sentences are nonsense, so naturally the Liu family can’t push their daughter into the pit of fire again.”
"When did you say this? What we heard was that something was wrong with the Pang family. Brother Yu quietly found an outhouse and brought it to the door of Liu's house yesterday. I saw this with my own eyes.
You said you didn't have access to this big house, so you dared to bring an out-law to anger your father-in-law, how could the Liu family swallow this breath?"
"That's not right. It seems that the Pang family's medicine storehouse collapsed and the pot can hardly be opened. The Liu family is already snobbish and had to come to break off the engagement. That's why Brother Yu found an outhouse."
"In short, this Pang's Pharmacy is really going to be defeated by Brother Yu.
This morning, I saw the sister-in-law of the Pang family buying incense, and her voice was quite loud. Do you want to ask a wandering monk to exorcise Brother Yu..." "We are talking about the marriage of the Liu family and the Pang family. Why are you talking about exorcism again?
, will the two companies withdraw or not?"
Several women were discussing in low voices while quietly looking at Aunt Liu who was standing in another group. She was immersed in the joy of exploring the truth when she didn't expect a sudden sound behind her.
"Return."
Several women were startled and turned around to see that it was Pang Yu's mother who had arrived behind them at some unknown time.
Several people showed awkward smiles at the same time. Aunt Xu pulled Pang Yu's mother and said, "Oh, sister Pang, don't worry too much. We also care about our neighbors and we all look out for the children of the younger generation, okay?"
"I know you are looking forward to it, so I just tell you so that you don't have to worry too much."
Mrs. Pang Yu raised her voice, and all the women in the courtyard turned around and listened carefully, including Aunt Liu.
Pang Yu's mother patted the medicine dregs on her apron and said angrily, "At Old Pang's house, the medicine warehouse has collapsed, 70% of the medicine has been soaked up, and the remaining 30% can only be sold at a discount. Yu
The son was beaten on the head, and some people said that the Pang family was going to be ruined and that they no longer looked down on our family. I fulfilled her wish and it was also a good way to get back together and dissolve the engagement. We just waited for the middle-aged man to come and witness it. In the meantime,
Ah, our Pang family didn't even say too much."
Everyone sighed after hearing this, some even tried to comfort Aunt Pang, and some secretly went to see Aunt Liu.
Aunt Liu was drinking tea from a porcelain bowl. She spat out a date core on the ground with a sound and flicked her tongue a few times in her mouth. She didn't even look at Pang Yu's mother, looking disdainful.
After everyone calmed down a bit, Pang Yu's mother turned her head and continued, "But, no one would have guessed that our Yu'er had a blessing in disguise. Now he can read and write. He speaks and does things in such a way that he is not a scholar.
It’s also incomparable.”
As she spoke, her mouth became flat and her eyes turned red. She choked and said: "We, Yu'er, are fine. Our old Pang family has nothing to fear now. We will collect the medicine when it is gone. We will make money again when the money is gone.
I have to risk my life to support this family. The Pang Family Pharmacy has been open for three generations..." Pang Yu's mother's legs softened when she said this, and everyone around her quickly stopped her. The Zhang family's daughter-in-law brought over a cup of tea, "Sister Pang Yu
Let’s take a break. Let’s take a sip of the freshly brewed pine nut tea to relax your mind. There’s nothing you can’t handle.”
Pang Yu's mother pushed away the tea cup and cried loudly to the sky, "Lao Pang's Third Pharmacy has never sold fake or useless medicines, and has never done anything wrong. How pitiful God... it rained down from the white-bearded god...
My son has been blessed with good fortune. He is both capable and kind-hearted. He even forgave him for the Zhou family who injured him. Where can you find such a good person? There are many people who don’t want you..." All the grievances that had been suppressed in my heart for many years were released.
In the midst of this wailing and excitement, my mother actually fainted. There was a lot of commotion in the courtyard. It was such a tea party that everyone was on their feet. Everyone was helping, but Aunt Liu stood aside with a pale face and no one paid attention.
.
"I wonder how this Pang dog is so good at talking. It turns out that meeting a god really enlightened me. My family only has more than twenty taels of silver, and they earned it by getting up early and working hard."
The more Aunt Liu thought about it, the angrier she became. She felt a tightness in her chest that could not be released, and fell down in the courtyard with a thud.