Yangzhou is still prosperous and prosperous at this time, a quiet and peaceful prosperous scene. However, the scene on the canal in the east of the city is different, not far from the river is a dilapidated residential area, most of which are thatched houses, and most of these courtyards are not fenced, but surrounded by some wooden fences.

Some of the residents built some straw huts in front of the house, and put some messy things in them; In some homes, there was no door, only a thick curtain of shabby and dirty, and the window paper was broken; The streets are also high-lying and filthy, with both domestic garbage and waste, as well as human and animal feces, and sometimes a pungent stench comes out; From time to time, a few children ran in and out of the street, in tattered clothes, some bare-bottomed and barefoot.

It's a slum, and this is where the boatmen and sailors live, most of them are people from Jingdong East Road, who beg for a living on the river and wander here.

Meng Ming went to the Grand Canal today to visit, it was also a field trip, he knew that the canal's shipping will decline, but it will not die, after all, the short-distance transportation along the river is still relatively convenient, and the freight is cheap.

In fact, Caoyun will decline because it is a shipping group run by the imperial court, which is full of maladministration, high cost, considerable cost, and serious corruption, especially along the river, which has caused serious disturbance and harm to the people. Therefore, as long as the country sees the benefits of railway transportation, it will inevitably give up and abolish water transportation.

Meng Ming was deeply touched when he saw that the homes of boatmen and sailors along the canal were so dilapidated and extremely poor.

People in the world are struggling for life, and some people are trying their best, suffering all their lives, or living in hunger and cold; Some people don't know how to work hard, they don't have to work, and they will live a life of fine clothes and food.

In his previous life, Meng Ming also lived a frustrated and embarrassed life, but in the Red Dynasty era, there were many jobs, as long as people were willing to work and not lazy, it was no problem to have no worries about food and clothing.

As the saying goes, "small wealth depends on diligence, and big wealth depends on life." ”

At this time, there was a roar, the sound of fighting, and crying from time to time. Meng Ming hurriedly rushed over to take a look, in a courtyard, there were a lot of people gathered outside, all dressed as sailors, all of them just gathered on the side of the road on the opposite side of the courtyard, and they saw that their faces were all angry and did not dare to speak.

Meng Ming looked over and saw that there was a burly, meaty man standing outside the gate of the courtyard, with his hair scattered and his clothes disheveled, as if he had been torn. He wore a jade wrench on his hand, his face was bloody, and he kept scolding in his mouth.

In the courtyard, there were three men who looked like servants beating a middle-aged man, and there was a man on the side who went to arrest and pull a young girl, only to see the girl crying again and again. The man outside the door was supposed to be the leader of the group, and he shouted as he commanded.

Meng Ming hurriedly asked the onlookers about the situation, preparing to stop this kind of bullying behavior of bullying the weak with the strong.

One of the older shipwrights said: "You are a young man, and it seems that you are out of town, so it is better not to meddle in your affairs and not get caught on fire." Speaking of this Teng Dalang is also pitiful, just came to drag his family to Yangzhou for three years, his wife was seriously ill. In order to treat his mother's illness, he worked day and night to earn money, which was also a drop in the bucket, so he had to borrow a loan shark from the Yangzhou Boat Gang. ”

As soon as Meng Ming heard it, the current version of "Huang Shiren and Yang Bailao" reappeared, Meng Ming was most disgusted with these loan sharks, and they often forced the lender's family to die. Moreover, usury was legal in the Great Song Dynasty, and Meng Ming felt the urgency of establishing a bank.

Meng Ming asked the guards to move forward to stop these people's murderous behavior, only to see that the man was quite arrogant, and he actually wanted to make a move on the guards, these guards were all guards of the political hall, all of them were skilled, and it was no problem for one person to deal with seven or eight ordinary men in the prime of life.

This time Meng Ming went out, Lu Yijian sent him three guards to protect his safety.

No, two guards stepped forward, one rescued the middle-aged man who was beaten, and the other rescued the girl who was kidnapped.

Three times five divided by two, the gang of perpetrators were all put to the ground, at this time the man led by him was still not convinced, lying on the ground and looking at Meng Ming viciously.

I only heard him say arrogantly: "Boy, you have a big deal, you don't know what your master does, you are also a member of the Yangzhou Boat Gang, if you dare to provoke the people of my Boat Gang, you just want to get out of Yangzhou." ”

Meng Ming gave the guard a look, and the guard picked him up from the ground like a chicken, probably hurting him, and he immediately screamed miserably.

Before Meng Ming could react, the guards immediately gave the man two big mouths, and suddenly his mouth and face were swollen, and blood came out of his mouth, only to see him recover for a while, and then spit out a few mouthfuls of blood foam from his mouth with a poof, and spit out a few teeth. At this time, he was much more honest, and stood there with his head bowed and his ears bowed.

Meng Ming asked, "How much does he still owe you, I'll pay it back for me." ”

The man looked at Meng Ming in fear, but he didn't squeak, Meng Ming asked again, and the guard gave him another unkind look.

He said vaguely: "He Teng Liqun, borrowed thirty yuan, two gross profits a month, it has been four months, donkey rolling, profit rolling, a total of sixty-two two two hundred wen." ”

At this time, Teng Liqun said angrily at this time: "Niu Dayou, you are talking nonsense, I only borrowed twenty-five yuan from you, and today is just three months, you are too cheating." Meng Ming said to the surnamed Niu again: "Take out the IOU, I'll take a look, if it's true, I'll return the money to you and compensate you for your medical expenses." ”

Niu Dayou saw that the situation was pressing, and he couldn't help himself on his neck, so he took out the IOU and handed it to Meng Ming, Meng Ming saw that it was really as Teng Linqun said, in fact, some debt collectors said that the amount of repayment was high, so as to make a profit from it.

Meng Ming calculated that he had to repay a total of forty-four yuan, he gave Niu Da seventy-four yuan, and the rest was used as the medical expenses of their gang, and finally Meng Ming burned the IOU casually.

Meng Ming asked the guards to release these murderers.

These debt collectors supported each other and walked away in embarrassment, and those onlookers dared to move forward, many of whom were familiar with Teng Liqun, most of them greeted him with shame, and they were also helpless, after all, those people were people from the boat gang, and they were the head snakes of the land, and they couldn't afford to offend.

Teng Liqun knew that they had a weak heart, and of course he didn't blame them, and besides, they usually helped themselves.

In this group of people, the old boatman who was talking to Meng Ming stood up with a worried look on his face

I saw him say to Meng Ming: "This Xiao Langjun is really a good man, he has solved a big trouble for Teng Dalang, otherwise his daughter will be arrested and sold into the Qinglou." But I still advise you to leave quickly and leave Yangzhou, there are thousands of people in Yangzhou Boat Gang, and even the government is afraid of them. ”

At this time, Teng Liqun led his daughter to Meng Ming, and then bowed to him.

I only heard him say: "Engong Da En is not grateful, but I also hope that Engong will know his name, and good people will know it, and I will repay him as a spring in the future." ”

Meng Ming hurriedly helped the two of them up. said to him: "Uncle Teng, you don't have to be polite, Lu saw the injustice and roared, the surname is Meng, the word "Ming", his ancestral home is Weizhou, Beihai, and he now lives in Bianliang, Tokyo. ”

I saw Teng Liqun said with a look of surprise: "It turns out that Engong is a fellow countryman, and I am also from Weizhou, Beihai." ”

He then said with a gloomy expression: "I was abducted and trafficked since I was a child, and I have never returned to my hometown. ”

Meng Ming was also quite sympathetic to him, and then asked him about the situation.

Meng Ming learned that he was still a showman, and came to Yangzhou three years ago in order to treat his wife's illness. Because he knows a lot of arithmetic, he works as a bookkeeper in a shop on the dock, and in his spare time, he also ships to deliver some goods to fill the family.

Meng Ming let the onlookers disperse at this time, so he asked to go to Teng Liqun's house to have a look, and Meng Ming saw the shabby house as soon as he entered the courtyard.

The door of the house was ajar, and Meng Ming followed him into the house, the room was a little dim and unclear, but he felt that the house was still relatively clean, and there was a bad smell of herbs.

Meng Ming wanted to see his wife's condition, but saw Teng Liqun take out the fire sickle and light the oil lamp.

Meng Ming saw a woman lying on the kang in the house at this time, she also heard the movement outside, and she looked at Teng Liqun with worry.

She hurriedly asked, "Xianggong, how are things handled, they didn't do anything to you and Zhen'er, I dragged you down." ”

As soon as she said that, she began to sob, and Teng Liqun hurriedly moved forward to persuade her, but she didn't notice Meng Ming behind Teng Liqun at that time.

At this time, Teng Liqun told her what happened, and she saw Meng Ming, she was anxious to thank him, and Meng Ming also returned the gift.

Meng Ming observed Teng Liqun's lady, only to see that her face was pale and her body was emaciated, and she was short of breath, coughing and wheezing.

Meng Ming inquired about her symptoms in detail, and saw that there were blood streaks in the sputum of her cough, and heard the doctor's diagnosis of tuberculosis, but she was not sure, after all, she had been ill for three years, and the usual tuberculosis patients had already died.

At this time, Meng Ming felt that she had chronic tuberculosis. Now this disease is a terminal disease, and he can only wait to die, Meng Ming has cultivated a population of penicillin at this time, and he has also extracted it, he wants to try to treat her, and the tuberculosis virus at this time is not drug resistant.

Meng Ming said at this time: "Auntie's disease is indeed tuberculosis, but it is chronic. When Teng Liqun heard this, he looked desperate.

Meng Ming added: "Uncle Teng doesn't have to be like this, Xiaosheng has a method, and he has a sixty percent cure certainty, even if it can't be cured, it can be controlled and won't deteriorate." ”

When he heard this, he was overjoyed, and asked Meng Ming to heal him.

Meng Ming said: "This disease can only be treated in Tokyo, there is a Tokyo Medical College there, I will make arrangements, you had better leave immediately, no longer delayed." ”

At this time, Teng Liqun's face was embarrassed, and Meng Ming knew that he had no money.

Meng Ming said: "You can go by train this time, but for isolation and treatment, it is a great luck that my aunt has not transmitted this disease to you in the past three years." I talk to the Tokyo side and don't charge my aunt for treatment. I can give you another 100 to maintain your expenses in Tokyo. What do you think? ”

Teng Liqun hurriedly excused himself, and Meng Ming said that he borrowed the power and treated his wife first.