From Chief to Ball

Ou was stunned for a long time, after recollecting the last sentence that was loud but seemingly plain, I am three people, nodded firmly and said: "It's him."

The whole afternoon, the three words "I am human" echoed in her mind. Just when she decided to forget these three words that were out of reach for her, the door of Yucheng City Hall, which had been closed all the time, was opened. , Many people from Xiacheng wearing furs came out from the inside, seeming to be discussing something, and many of them didn't look very happy.

Indistinctly, lotus root heard a few words.Words such as slave, person, public property, future, private workshop, hired labor, etc.Then in the evening, an earth-shattering rule was sung in Onozawa: "Anyone who enters the Xiacheng within ten miles of Onozawa will no longer be a slave, but a human being."

This rule was written on clay tablets, and the new female slaves were very numb, while those who had killed their masters and fled to the Onozawa shouted loudly. Although they were already human, this It was the first time it was written on a clay tablet.

But this group of female slaves who have long been used to everything don't know the difference, all they think is that people have to eat, what will they eat tomorrow?Without a master, who will support us?

However, their worries did not last long, because a new decree was issued early the next morning.

The rule is called the Charity Act, which stipulates that anyone in Yucheng whose property and land does not exceed a certain amount—an amount that sounds out of reach to these slaves—if he does not work within a month, he will be punished for The kindness of the Xiacheng people forced them to arrange labor to prevent them from starving to death.That's why it's called the Charity Act.

However, there is another sentence at the end of the decree: If you do not accept the assigned labor, you will be sent directly to a distant place for mining; anyone who wants to live in Xiacheng must come to Xiacheng to file a record, and must not reclaim the surrounding land privately, otherwise He was deemed to have stolen Xiacheng's public property and was hanged.

Mining is something that these slaves don't know when they hear about it. The mining area is a place where bones are buried, and there are no children who can live in the mining area beyond [-] years. Therefore, the good-sounding charity decrees always have a smell of blood.

Lotus root and lotus were also assigned to a place called Dyeing and Textile Department on the second day. They were in charge of washing wool, peeling hemp skin, etc. They were raised as playthings and thought that lotus root and lotus were their value, but they didn't expect them I didn't use these, I used my own hands.

He has to work for more than eight hours a day. Apart from not being able to kill people at will, sometimes he is even more exhausted than when he was a slave.

Only ten days later, those female slaves who were raised as playthings felt a little resentful, complaining that it would be better to be a plaything slave if they continued to do so.

But here, you need to work for about eight hours a day, and the money you earn every day can only buy food that will be enough to survive today. You will not be hungry, but you will definitely not be able to eat good things, especially when there is a comparison.

After being soaked in alkaline water, lotus root's hands are no longer white and tender. Instead, there are cracks in the spring wind. My sister Lian always mutters that it is not as good as when she was a slave girl.

Ou sometimes has doubts, but when asked those who escaped here who are no longer slaves, how did they persevere and still laugh every day.

The answer given was simple: "Because we are human beings now."

A short sentence touched Ou's heart, just like the man who held his head up and told her a few days ago that he was not a slave but a human being.Afterwards, these people told her the story of the struggle and the past when they negotiated conditions with the leader as a person, and she was fascinated by it.

Yes, talents are qualified to negotiate conditions with others.

She really wanted to persuade her sister not to complain so much, but just when she was about to talk to her sister, the leader of the city brought people to the place where these female slaves lived.

"I heard many of you complain that life here is not as good as being a slave. I want to say that I have given you human status. If you are not willing to be human, it proves that you are not qualified to be human."

"Many of you used to be playthings of your master, using your body to please men. Now that this is the case, you can choose to be such playthings again. You only need to lie down and stretch your legs to earn taubei, and exchange your body for Your life. In addition to five days of rest every month, one more day of rest every ten days, the food is definitely better than here, but you are human in name, but you have become a kind of plaything, a thing that can only be used to please men Appendages, like clay pot cats and dogs."

"One side is human identity, and the other side is a better life than today without hard work. I hope you can make your own choices."

Soon, a few female playthings who had had enough of this high-intensity labor stood up and looked at the inconceivable expressions of the female workshop workers next to them, but their faces were not red. There was not much sex at this time. taboo or morality.

The workshop workers are amazed why these women are willing to give up their identities as human beings to make objects.

After hesitating for a moment, Lian also stood up, but her sister tried to hold her but she broke away.

"Is there any difference between exchanging our body for food and exchanging our hands for food? What is the difference between you want our strength and our body?"

Faced with such a question, the leader of the city spread his hands and said: "The difference is that your hands can support yourself. But your body can only be supported by others. Without others, you can live with your hands; without others, you can live with your hands." The body can't survive. Xia Cheng don't want to be a person."

Lian tilted her head and smiled lightly: "Just for a simple person? To live, what difference does it make to be a cat or a dog?"

"But you can still live if you work here."

Lotus root couldn't help shouting loudly, but the younger sister shrugged and said, "Tired. I feel that there is no difference between strength and body. They are the same in the end. If being a dog can eat enough without working every day, I would like to be a dog." , anything can be done. You are now human beings, yes, human beings are more noble than dogs... Ha, but you work eight hours a day, and the food you eat every day can only satisfy your hunger. You are really comparable to those adopted by the leaders Minions and falcons? Is it worth it just for a character?"

She thought it would be silence, but what she got was the unanimous rebuttal of those escaped slaves who risked their beheading and fled to Onozawa.

"worth!"

Lian snorted and stopped talking. Ou really wanted to hold back her sister, but was stopped by someone in the end, saying that it was her own choice.

Two days later, there were six hundred female slaves who were "voluntarily" used as playthings in Yucheng. At this time, there was no sexual taboo or morality. It's just a change of owner.

There are a lot of people, but there are still more than 400 female slaves who want to be human. This is the most precious wealth. At least they still have a little energy to stand up.

More than 600 people understand what they want to do, and the other party has fulfilled their promise. The food is indeed much better than when they were working, and they can take a bath in a special place every day, and put on clean clothes without working hard.

Since they want to do the same thing, they naturally have to be divided into grades. It is very clear that these people are now playthings, so they have to be separated according to their appearance and figure, just like picking calves, because there is no need for hands and brains. Two things that differentiate any animal.

Lian's appearance is very good. As a gift, she is a higher-level slave, who can sing and has a gentle figure, so she has been compiled with a dozen people who are all good-looking. It is said that a batch of the remaining ones have been sent to the mine. In the form of a camp, a shop was opened in the city, and this talking tool can be used as long as it costs Taobei.

One morning after the compilation was completed, Lian and the dozen or so people were called together, and they were given a set of very coquettish clothes and a pair of weird shoes. Keep your body upright so you don't fall.

They have seen this kind of shoes before, some women who seem to be of high status in the city seem to wear them, they look good.

Lian once again saw the leader of the city, and after coming, he only said a few words and left.

"Since you choose to be tools, you must do it well. Dogs must be able to hunt, sheep must be able to produce milk, and you are the same. Everything is for the sake of pleasing those who want to use you."

"The shoes are for you. You have beautiful faces, and you can sell them for a higher price. Why do you have to wear these shoes? Why do some women in the city also wear these shoes? What is the relationship between you?" different?"

"Women who wear this kind of shoes in the city can calculate and plan, and can support themselves without legs. It is their own choice to wear them, just because they look good."

"You are forced to wear it, you have to wear it. Because wearing this, your legs and hips are constantly working hard, which can not only look good, but also make your bottom tighten. No one wants to use yours. Sometimes it feels loose like a trouser waist. You will be used many times in the future, and the only value is that it is very tight, so you wear this kind of shoes to better serve as such a tool, and this is the difference.”

"Someone suggested that it's better to wrap your feet with small tangled bones. Anyway, you don't rely on your feet to do it, and it will have the same effect, and it's not afraid that you won't wear it. But I'm afraid that one day all women will wear it. When it becomes a tool, it’s better to get out these shoes in advance to save them from thinking about foot binding. I also hope that one day women are forced to have their feet bound or when they wear this kind of shoes, they think about what happened today - binding themselves Wearing it by yourself is a choice you like. If you are forced to wear it by others, it will be the same as you. It becomes just a tool for venting and having children. You are humble."

After saying these rather vicious words, he left, leaving a few women behind, asking them when they will have menstruation, and telling them which day they can do it and which day it is best not to do it, and then the few women Then teach Lian and others to sing a very tempting ballad about the Pregnancy Festival, or some unheard of methods that make people blush.

When Lian was learning to sing those blushing tunes on the wooden shoes on the boat, the elder sister lotus was sewing wooden-heeled shoes in the dyeing and spinning department. She didn't know that the pair she sewed might be worn by her younger sister.

The leader of the city also came to the lotus root and said a very simple sentence to these new female workers.

"You choose to be human, so no one supports you, you can only support yourself. Survive."

It was also from this day that the lives of the two sisters and their memories after many years have become different. Each has its own life, and it is difficult to recall the moments experienced in those few days.

After that, it has been a long time since the two met again. It was the summer of the 35th year of the Chinese calendar at that time, and a full year and two months had passed since the last meeting.

At that time, a major event happened in Yucheng, which changed many things and the fate of many people.

The two sisters rarely stood together and recalled the scene when they came to Yucheng a year ago.The younger sister is as delicate and beautiful as a year ago, but the older sister is a little tired.But the delicate and beautiful face was a little numb, but the tired face was full of joy.

"Sister, take off your shoes."

"It's useless, the shoes on your feet are off, where are the shoes in your heart?"

"Yes, you can, now you have the opportunity, there are many things you can do."

"Sister, our paths were destined to be different a year ago. In order to be a human being, you can endure those hardships. What about me? I also want to be a human being now, but I am so hypocritical that I have enough food and clothing. For you , When people are like salt. For me, when people are like sugar, it’s a condiment after getting tired of eating salt.”

She looked at her still fair hand, took her sister's somewhat rough hand, compared it, and sighed: "Sister, I want to be a human being, but I don't want to work. Do you have such a way?" ?”

Ou shook her head. Lian seemed to know the answer a long time ago. She squeezed her sister's hand tightly, smiled sadly, and left with her hand: "My heart is rotten, there is no way to save it. Help me revive my rotten heart." go down."