To Rule in a Turbulent World

The two stood in front of Xiaoer City, a row full of people, all unkempt, staring at You Miao and Qiao Jue all the time.You Miao was finally shocked.I have never seen it before, but now I have really come into contact with it once. This is selling people.Men and women, old and young, with clearly marked prices, tall and short, young and strong, as long as you have money, you can buy them.

This is not the same as Ren Yazi who trafficked people. Ren Yazi was going to be arrested by the government. People here voluntarily sold their bodies just to make a living. You Miao felt a little speechless for a long time.

Qiao Jue touched You Miao with her elbow and said, "What about you, do you want a boy or a girl?"

You Miao said, "I... I don't know."

You Miao suddenly felt a little sad when he saw it. His fate is really good. If he was born in this kind of family, he would probably be waiting to be betrayed by his parents.

You Miao said: "Buy a boy."

"Choose our family." A man in his thirties hurriedly said, "My wife is gone, and there are only two sons. You take us with you. I will take care of the garden for you. If I can farm, I will give you all the sons." handle."

When You Miao was tempted, Qiao Jue said, "How old is your little son, what can he do?"

The man smiled and said, "You're all obedient, and I'm 11 years old this year."

You Miao said, "Where's the eldest son?"

The man said: "The older one is sixteen."

Qiao Jue asked the child to open his mouth to see if his teeth were straight. The older boy led a younger boy, both of whom were very tanned, and looked at You Miao warily.

"Call the master quickly." The man whispered.

The two children just kept silent.

You Miao said, "Just take it."

Qiao Jue asked the man, "What's your last name? Have you brought your household registration certificate? Are you in debt?"

The man apologized and said with a smile: "If you go back to the master, my surname is Song, and I am from Jiaozhou. I am in debt, and I owe the landlord's family seven slings..."

The man took out the IOU to show, Qiao Jue said to You Miao, "It's not worth it, go over there and have a look."

Qiao Jue dragged You Miao away, but You Miao turned around and asked, "Why did you come to Yangzhou?"

"Go." Qiao Jue whispered in You Miao's ear: "You are here to recruit people, not to be a living Bodhisattva."

The man surnamed Song chased You Miao and said, "Young Master! Young Master! My daughter-in-law died of illness, and my father passed on my two acres of Susukida. She couldn't pay the rent, and the landlord confiscated it. I couldn't afford to hire a doctor to borrow the money... ...I don't even have the money to bury my son's mother...Young Master, take pity on me, give me something to eat..."

Qiao Jue said with a smile: "Don't believe them all, they are half-truths and half-false, just listen to them."

You Miao nodded, and simply stopped talking. The two walked half a street, and every household was either selling themselves or looking for a job.Only then did You Miao realize that there are so many people who have no land and can't even support a family.Qiao Jue explained to You Miao that these people had lost their land and ran out to make a living.

These days, it doesn't mean that there is food for a few acres of land. When people grow things, they have to sell the harvest, and the price of rice is all controlled by the merchants. Can only support the family.And in case of drought, floods, bad harvests, and excessive donations for handymen, they had to use the land to offset it and borrow money from the landlord.There was no money to repay the interest, and the land was confiscated, so he went to work as a long-term laborer, but he couldn't pay the rent, owed a lot of debts, and couldn't pay the rent from the court, so he had to leave his hometown and beg for food in another place.

If you stay in your place of origin and cannot pay off your debts, you have to pay with your children.

You Miao's heart twitched when he heard that, the joy at the beginning disappeared, the two of them walked through the market, and suddenly saw a tall man standing in the wind, eating something, at the west end of Ershi. It's Li Zhifeng.

Li Zhifeng was eating a sesame seed cake, while looking down at the two children kneeling in front of him.

"Li Zhifeng!" You Miao said.

When Li Zhifeng saw You Miao coming, he took out a bunch of candied haws from his arms and gave it to him. You Miao took out the fried fish bought for him, and Li Zhifeng took it and ate it.

Qiao Jue was watching people from the other side, and You Miao asked, "Have you hired the boat?"

Li Zhifeng nodded and said, "I'm hired, I can leave tomorrow morning."

You Miao was eating candied haws, and Li Zhifeng was eating fried fish. Both of them were looking at the children kneeling in front of them. The two children were twins, holding a wooden board with the words "Sell yourself to bury your father" on it.There was a dead man behind him. The dead man was covered with a sackcloth, and flies were buzzing.

"Why did you come here?" You Miao said.

Li Zhifeng said: "I heard that there are job seekers here, I want to come over and buy you some servants, and put them around in the yard."

You Miao squeezed her eyes and said, "Are you impatient to serve me?"

Li Zhifeng ate on his own, and said: "I am alone, I can't look after you, and you make me go to work outside, and there is no one around, find two young men, let them do the chores, I can follow you .”

You Miao nodded, and stretched out her hand to hold Li Zhifeng's palm. The two held hands intertwined, shook them, and said, "You used to hold a sign and wait for someone to buy it?"

"Hehe." Li Zhifeng held the corner of his mouth with a half-smile.

You Miao couldn't help but want to tease him, Li Zhifeng said: "Give them a tael of silver and let them bury Dad."

You Miao saw the two boys, although they were thin and small, they were very energetic, so they reached out to touch the money, and Li Zhifeng asked, "How old are you?"

"Fifteen." A boy replied.

"What's your name?" Li Zhifeng asked again.

"My name is Mu Yan, and his name is Mu Feng." The other boy looked at his brother, then at Li Zhifeng, and You Miao said, "Who is the elder brother and who is the younger brother?"

The person who spoke first pointed to himself and said, "I am brother."

"Go and bury your father." You Miao gave them a tael of silver, and the older twin got up and left immediately. Li Zhifeng said, "This is your young master. After finishing the work, I will go to Yangzhou Riverside early tomorrow morning." Come and wait at the pier.”

Mu Feng respectfully kowtowed three times to You Miao, and You Miao helped him up, and then went to the east of the market with Li Zhifeng.

"I'll carry you." Li Zhifeng said, "The floor is dirty."

"Don't." You Miao felt a little embarrassed on the contrary. It was really unreasonable to be called by a group of people and carried by the servants.Seeing Li Zhifeng, Qiao Jue waved him over and said, "How is this kid?"

The young man stood quietly, only a little taller than Li Zhifeng, wearing a pair of torn straw sandals, with long hands and long feet, his eyes were not like ordinary people's, they were very bright, and said: "I will not sell myself. My brother committed a crime and went to the army. , I will find an errand so that Qian can make connections."

"What's your name?" You Miao asked.

"Why are you asking people's names?" Qiao Jue joked, "You guys bring them home, why don't you name them yourself?"

The boy said: "My name is Cheng Guangwu."

You Miao looked at it for a while, and Li Zhifeng held Cheng Guangwu's wrist with two fingers, and picked up his arm, which was thin and bony, with slender fingers and dark skin.

"You have a good personality in martial arts." Li Zhifeng said casually.

Cheng Guangwu was about to throw Li Zhifeng's hand away, but Li Zhifeng exerted a little force, his fingers were like pincers, Cheng Guangwu's facial features twitched immediately, and he bowed down with a muffled groan in pain.

"Don't bully him." You Miao smiled, and Li Zhifeng let go of his hand with a faint smile.

Cheng Guangwu held his wrists and said, "Give me half a penny in January, and I will follow you."

Qiao Jue glanced at You Miao, and said to Cheng Guangwu, "Okay, you can go early tomorrow and wait at the Yangzhou pier."