Daiyu's wife in the Red Chamber

At that time, tens of thousands of people had gathered in front of Wei's house, old or young, male or female, all of them were dressed in rags, their faces were yellow and thin, and many of them walked supporting each other, looking very pitiful.

Zhou Kui stood guard in front of the door, his face was ashen, even if he was not good at scheming, he knew that someone must be instigating this matter.

During these two or three days in Ping'an Prefecture, he has inquired a lot of useful information. He knows that most of the people here are living a precarious life. Over the years, they have often been looted by bandits. Although there are few casualties, the robbing of property and food is all about them. Therefore, when they heard that the nobles from the capital brought large sums of property and food to help the common people, they all came here overjoyed.

Looking at a group of people in front of them shouting the honored man, all blessings, their faces are full of expectation, most of them are simple, but there are only a few people with greedy faces. Went to the barracks.

Those who instigate the common people to ask for money and food are really hateful, and they are so ruthless and fast, completely beyond their expectations.

As for the people who flocked here, Zhou Kui was not very angry. They came over when they heard the news, and their life was extremely miserable. Naturally, they would not let go of such hope, but they still couldn't bear it!

Zhou Kui scanned the crowd with sharp eyes, trying to find the person who incited the flames, but the crowd was so crowded that he couldn't find it even though he was dizzy.

Many of the people knelt on the ground and kowtowed continuously, and many of them said in a hurry: "Didn't you say that the nobles from the capital brought a lot of money and food? We have all come here, why don't you give it to us?"

"Yes, yes, yes, we are all here, where is the money? Where is the food?"

"Where's the food? I want food, I'm so hungry!"

There were even a few aggressive men and women who rushed to the front steps and shouted: "You are the ones who said that you want to distribute money and food. Why did you close the door when we came? Open the door quickly and divide the money and food." Give us!"

Zhou Kui's face was gloomy, and the matter was imminent. He couldn't wait for Niu Fang, and he couldn't go back to the house to report to Daiyu. He was afraid that it would be even worse if the people in front of him broke into the house. Hearing these words, he said loudly: "Our general He county head took office by order, who did you hear that our family wants to distribute money and silver?"

A woman at the bottom of the steps turned over, put her hands on her hips, and said, "Didn't it be that your family sent someone to tell us, otherwise how would we know? Leave everything at home and come here to collect money and food. Most of the 10 taels of silver have been donated." , helped the people who were hit by a disaster somewhere, and now you are an official in our Pingan Prefecture, shouldn’t you also help us like the people in other places? You are parents and officials. If you are an official, you should care about our life and death ?”

Zhou Kui laughed back angrily, and was about to say that their family did not pass such news out, when the door suddenly opened, and in the joyful eyes of the people, a nanny in elegant dress walked out. Zhou Kui turned around and saw that it was Nanny Liu Mom, hurry up and salute.

Niu Fang followed Nanny Liu, and there were two other young eunuchs, their expressions were very solemn.

They had never encountered such a thing before, and couldn't help but smile wryly in their hearts. Even though they were worried, they had to cheer up and settle the matter in front of them first before talking about other things.

Nanny Liu nodded to Niu Fang, and Niu Fang said loudly: "Everyone, please don't talk for now, our county lord has something to tell you."

He has profound internal strength, abundant energy, and his voice is exceptionally clear. He quickly suppressed the turmoil, and clearly conveyed every word to everyone's ears.Hearing the word county master, everyone knew that they were members of the royal family. These people couldn't help showing awe on their faces, as did the woman who robbed Bai Zhoukui under the steps, and they all fell to their knees involuntarily.

For a while, there was no sound in front of the door, and there was a strange silence.

Liu Mama took a step forward and said loudly: "I am an old palace man who is entrusted to the county magistrate by the majesty and empress. What I say today is what our county magistrate ordered."

Hearing that it was coming from the palace, the people down there were even more afraid to speak and held their breath.

Nanny Liu pointed to the woman under the steps and said, "Let me ask you, who have you heard that our family distributes money and food? It was less than a quarter of an hour after breakfast, and they came to us as if they had made an appointment." Home."

The woman had big hands and feet, and was dressed in rags. Because of the hot weather, her body smelled of sweat, and she didn't know how many days she hadn't bathed. She muttered and dared not answer Madam Liu. He said respectfully: "I don't remember who I heard it from. I didn't see anyone who spoke when I came out. I just remember hearing someone outside the door say that the old sage named Daci The great compassionate Guanyin Bodhisattva gave away several 10 taels of silver at a young age. He also said that the county lord's father donated several million and gave us a little bit through his fingers, which is enough for us to chew for a year, so That’s why I came to Ping’an Prefecture with the general to take up the post, in fact, they came to help us. We are poor here, so many officials who have been sent to the outside world come here by themselves, without family members to follow.”

With her husband taking office at a young age, there are countless cars with luggage alone. Who hasn't seen the scene when entering the city?Although the old man has the experience of looking at the ruts, he said that most of them are not money and grain, but light things, but a small half of it is a lot of money and grain.

Nanny Liu, Niu Fang, Zhoukui and the others were shocked, and immediately knew that the person who spoke in front of the woman's door was up to no good, so they hurriedly asked a few other people, and they all said the same thing as the woman, obviously someone had premeditated it.Especially Mammy Liu felt that Mrs. Zhang had ulterior motives yesterday, and wondered that when she saw Daiyu suddenly mentioning Daiyu's donation, she was afraid it was a demonstration against Daiyu.

After the people answered, they all looked at Madam Liu anxiously, not daring to speak, only the woman had a hot temper, and whispered: "Isn't the county magistrate planning to give us money and food?" When she said this, her His face couldn't help becoming grim, and so did the other common people.

Seeing them like this, afraid of riots, Madam Liu raised her hand and said, "Everyone, don't worry, just listen to me."

Hearing this sentence, the commotion in the crowd gradually stopped.

Mother Liu sighed, and asked: "Our general and the county master left the capital to take up their duties in Ping'an Prefecture. Our general was ordered to suppress bandits and wanted to restore the peace of the local people. On the way, we encountered two or three hundred robbers. Bandits, these more than two hundred thieves were all beheaded and killed by our generals. Only three or five people escaped, and they dared not come to rob us again. However, we only injured a dozen people, and none of them died. Since you are the people of the city , I must know that a few days ago, an official dragged two or three hundred heads back to the city to receive the reward?"

Hearing this remark, countless people's faces immediately changed, and they nodded in agreement.Although not everyone saw the scene at that time, everyone hated the robbers deeply in their hearts and did not dare to express their joy verbally for fear of being known by the robbers. Many people went to the Yamen to watch the excitement, and felt very relieved after returning home. It is really piled up like a mountain, and the knife in the neck is very neat.

Isn't the general who killed so many robbers more powerful than the robbers?The crowd suddenly became a little scared. If they annoyed the new general and the county mistress, the general would cut off his own head like the robbers, and some people would immediately back away quietly.

The officials of Ping'an State are well known to be powerful, even more powerful than the robbers, and officials who are not powerful can't be kept. Seeing that her words were a little shocked, Madam Liu secretly breathed a sigh of relief, saying: " Those robbers do all kinds of evil. I heard that whenever the crops are harvested, those robbers come to grab food. Dare I ask you whether you can keep the money and food from us when you go back? Maybe those robbers are watching nearby. Wait for you to share the money and food so that you can grab it all at once. Haven’t you ever thought that the robbers instigated you to come and beg our county lord for a share of the money and food so that we can take it back from you?”

The crowd was stunned for a moment, then their faces turned ashen, and they looked at each other, most of them were shaken, they said in their hearts that the bandits were cunning, but they didn't dare to say it out of their mouths.

The woman under the steps slapped her thighs and did not dare to speak loudly, for fear of being heard by the robbers, she knelt and walked two steps closer to Mammy Liu's feet, and whispered with red eyes: "That's right, our family was happy last year." It was easy to harvest a few acres of grain, but it was all robbed, not only the grain was robbed, but also the money from selling the grain was also robbed. My father-in-law who couldn’t wait for the money to treat the disease died of anger. Those The thieves have no conscience. We saw many fields were barren and no one was taking care of them, so we specially rented the land to cultivate, thinking that the strong people would not starve to death, but they were thinking about it. Now think about it, what the mother said It's not impossible. The county lord didn't give us money and food, so we came here in vain? How can we survive." He burst into tears.

It seems that the common people have a tacit understanding, and they all know what the other person is thinking, even if they haven't heard the woman's words, they can guess a little bit, sobbing one after another, guessing that what they think in their hearts is the same as what the woman said No difference.

Mother Liu hurriedly said: "Although our county master didn't plan to distribute money and food to everyone, he had an idea to help everyone before he came."

After hearing this, the woman wiped a few tears indiscriminately, and said impatiently: "How can the county lord help us? We don't need anything else, only food and clothing. Apart from money and food, we don't need anything else."

Mother Liu didn't answer and asked instead: "Are there many fields in Ping'an Prefecture that are barren and unowned?"

The woman nodded blankly, and replied: "I don't know how many people have died, and there are some families who left their homes and refused to stay in Ping'an Prefecture. It is true that a lot of fields have been abandoned. They wanted to sell them before they left, but unfortunately no one bought them. Especially after the robbery of the big family, there are more unowned fields. Although it is unowned land, it has been taken into the yamen, and the few acres of land that our family rented was rented from the yamen."

Mother Liu smiled and said: "That's it. As you know, our master donated all his family property to the imperial court for military use in northern Xinjiang and Guangdong Hai, and only left a few pieces of his wife's dowry to the imperial court. County owner. That is, our general asked our master to borrow tens of thousands of taels of silver to order his servants to do business, and earned several times the interest. Our grandma didn't keep anything except the principal, and donated it to the court for disaster relief. , When I left the court, I didn’t have much money in my hand. I saw that there was a lot of dowry, but it was actually furniture and books. This time, the whole family came here, and all the property was the dowry silver given by the saints and empresses, and our general’s ancestors. The income from the family was gathered together and brought here. I originally planned to buy a large piece of unowned land here, and lease it to everyone for cultivation as appropriate. There will be no rent for three years. You watch, don't let the robbers come and rob."

Originally heard that Daiyu doesn't divide money and food, many people can't help feeling resentful, hating these high-ranking officials and dignitaries who don't share money to save their lives, and many people don't dare to resent but are very disappointed, thinking that they came here in high spirits but it was nothing but joy, There are also people who think that if they don't get money and food, they don't have to be robbed by thieves and bandits.

Seeing the change in their expressions, Mammy Liu knew that this plan was feasible, and said: "Actually, it's not that our county lord didn't think about helping everyone, but just thought that the money and food will be in everyone's hands, and you won't be able to keep them. The bandits who came to rob for nothing, It will inevitably hurt everyone's lives, so I have to accept the original plan and buy land instead, and lease it to everyone for cultivation according to the number of diligence and kindness. Doesn’t the worry of catastrophe have long-term benefits? Our county lord also said that when we buy land and lease it to you, we will pay for the grain and seeds. Even if we collect the rent after three years, it will be [-]% lower than other houses. Rent-free."

The servants arranged by Niu Fang changed their makeup and mixed in with the common people, and took the lead in saying: "Mama is right, the county master is very considerate, this is for the sake of our common people! How many taels of silver did you get at this moment?" Doumi is naturally a good thing, but attracting robbers is a bad thing! Those robbers did all kinds of evil, and they also haunted the city. Who knows how many people they killed? We are reluctant to give them money and food, so there is no reason for them not to be ruthless Why don't we leave quietly, and when the county lord and the general buy the land, let's ask the county lord and the general for their grace to rent a few acres of land, cultivate it well, and benefit in the long run."

Immediately someone responded, and it was Niu Fang's own people who said, "That's right, those thieves and bandits are ruthless, and they ransacked the rich houses in our city to the point that they left no one behind? People are thieves, and they are really waiting for us to go back with money and food so that they can steal it away! Think about it, everyone, is there any reason for the mother to say what the county magistrate said? Is it good for us? I think it is good for me. I will go home first I’m gone, I don’t want money and food, I want to rent land to cultivate tomorrow, and the whole family is full of snacks.”

Although these people are instigated, they are not stupid. They come here to distribute money and food, and they are extremely hungry and poor. Thinking about the difference between the two, after all, the latter brings more benefits. They are not afraid of hard work, but they are afraid of a year. The hard work should be robbed by robbers when it is time to harvest.Now rent-free for three years, there are generals leading guards during the harvest, and there is no need to offend the nobles, which is a good thing they never dared to think of before.

Fortunately, the two servants that Niu Fang was looking for happened to be from Ping'an Prefecture, and they entered the capital in their early years, and their accent hadn't changed much. When they said this in the crowd, many people were tempted immediately, otherwise the difference in accent would definitely arouse suspicion.

The two people's tongues were so brilliant that eighty to ninety percent of them felt like quitting.

Mother Liu said again: "Our county master also knows that you must be very hungry, so you listen to people's instigation to ask for money and food. It happened to bring a few carts of food and was planning to choose a day to give porridge. I didn't expect you to come here today. It’s too late. It’s a coincidence that we have just packed up, and we haven’t had time to set up a shed and pile up the stove.” Speaking of this, Mammy Liu sighed, with a look of despondency on her face.

Many people panicked when they heard the words, and hurriedly said: "We don't want money and food. No matter how good the money is, food doesn't matter. Someone is robbing again. We have to talk about the land lease later. Give us a few mouthfuls of porridge first." Eat it, I'm already starving."

Grandma Liu spread her hands and said, "How can I give porridge to everyone before we set up a shed and a stove?"

At this moment, Nanny He came out from the door and said something to Nanny Liu in a low voice. Nanny Liu nodded and said to the crowd: "Our county lord has a compassionate heart and has already sent a message."

The people who had spoken before fell silent, and heard Madam Liu say, "It's really difficult to make porridge today. Even if you cook porridge, you have to hustle the rice first, right? Most of the food we bring is rice, not rice noodles." I'll share it with you and take it back for fear that you'll be robbed by robbers, and it's really impossible to give porridge. Our county lord said that we are really hungry. We will send [-] Wen to each person to buy some porridge, rice and steamed buns to satisfy our hunger. Don't think it's too little , I’m afraid you won’t be able to keep it if there are too many, wait a few days, and we will set up a porridge shed on the street to give porridge.”

Immediately afterwards, Nanny Liu ordered her family to stop the few people who wanted to quietly go home and inform others to come to collect the money, and said with a sneer: "Our county head said that only those who have come will be sent, and there will be no one who comes again. Our county Although the lord is young, he has a large family, so don't think that our county lord is a boy who spreads money, and it is natural to force our county lord to give up more property."

These words are both soft and hard, even if someone wants to go back and tell his family, relatives and friends, he is afraid. Looking behind him, there are already a dozen servants watching with swords in their hands. Dare not do anything more.

Visually, there were about 7000 to [-] people in front of the gate. Madam He first brought out a box of copper coins and asked them to line up to get them.

These copper coins were all exchanged by Daiyu after she arrived in Ping'an Prefecture, so that they could be used to reward people or buy them. At this time, she dared not carry out several boxes at once, but waited for one box to be distributed before carrying out another box. Twenty coins per person, about two hundred strings were distributed.

A string of five hundred texts, a total of one hundred and thirty forty hanging coins.

After distributing the money, the people in front of the door asked how many days later they would give out the porridge, and the party gradually dispersed, and there was no scene of thousands of people besieging the door.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, Niu Fang, Zhou Kui and others did not dare to enter the house, and led others to guard the door, while Liu Mama and He Madam went into the inner courtyard to report back to Daiyu. The maid in the house first recited a few words of Buddha.

Daiyu frowned slightly, and said: "Fortunately, they are all very afraid of the bandits, so we use the robbers to eliminate this disaster. Come and ask the steward if you can buy things for the banquet tomorrow, not many. Three or five tables are enough, Mrs. Zhang or other orders present yesterday gave me such a big gift, how can I not return it?"

Mrs. Zhang bluntly mentioned her donation of money yesterday, which seemed to show that their family has a good grasp of the affairs of the capital. Although she is not sure whether she sent someone to instigate the people, or someone else did it after hearing it, but it is always related to her .

Although Daiyu is young and tender, she is not the one to let others bully her. She had made up her mind when Mammy Liu intervened outside.

Mother Liu said: "Thirty or fifty tables must not be able to be bought. We just came here. We haven't figured out the details of the market. It's not easy to buy vegetables, meat and eggs. It's easy for three or five tables. We've been here for two or three days. Have you bought everything?"

Daiyu responded softly, pointed to the ink-stained post on the case, piled it up thickly, and said, "Mommy, you and Nanny He will take the servant girl with you, and go to Zhang's house in a car first, and then Let’s go to those Gaoming’s houses we saw yesterday, and tell them that I’ll be back tomorrow and invite them to come to our house to appreciate a few rare objects from the palace, please come over by all means.”

Nanny Liu agreed, and went to change the clothes she was going out with. She packed up with Nanny He, put the posts in a box, and went out with them, all the way to Zhang's house.

They just left when Wei Ruolan rushed in from the outside, pulled Daiyu and said, "How are you? I'll be right back when I hear the news."

Daiyu felt very wronged, tears fell down, wet the skirt of her clothes, she beat him and said, "Why did you come back? Our house almost caused those people to break into our house."

Wei Ruolan was heartbroken, apologized repeatedly, looked Daiyu carefully up and down, touched Daiyu for a long time before confirming that she was safe and sound, let go of her heart a little bit, a flash of sternness flashed in her eyes, and said: "When I entered the door, I Hearing what Niu Fang said, I wish I didn't go to the barracks today, it's good that you think of a way to solve it, if you can't solve it? Hateful! Hateful!"

Seeing Wei Ruolan coming in, the maids in the room had already retreated, and quietly put down the curtain, listening to orders from the porch outside the house, Daiyu gradually shed tears, and said with a sneer, "Don't worry, coming here is not indecent, I have a share too." Give them back."

Wei Ruolan asked what the gift was, Daiyu told him to come over, before he could finish, Wei Ruolan kept applauding.