It was only half a quarter of an hour later, and Jia Chao, who was still full of excitement before, was already a little lost at this time.

No wonder the prison door there asked him if he had received the letter as soon as he saw him, no wonder his eldest brother felt that he had come quickly when he heard his voice, and no wonder his sister-in-law thought of money when he heard that he had returned...... It turned out that her widowed mother didn't survive this winter, and when she was desperately working in Lulongse, her old man was already dying!

Moreover, in order to treat and bury his mother, the family also borrowed money from the husband of the middle and large family in the three Mali next door last year through the lieutenant chief, yes, a typical usury, for which he also pressed his own only thirty acres of land!

The eldest brother wrote a letter to let him come back before, not only hoping that he would come to his mother's funeral, but also hoping that he could bring money back to pay off the debt, at least to keep the ancestral fertile land in the family...... He is an honest farmer, and he can't help it.

"Blame me, too." After a long time, the eldest brother Jia Ping took a cold breath and took the lead in opening his mouth. "Actually, my mother was a little sick before the winter, but the immortal master of Taiping Dao happened to come to Lizhong to teach the Fa, I sincerely asked for a rune water, and a bowl went down to rest overnight, so I didn't care. And when the winter cold came, my mother fell ill again, and I listened to other people's nonsense in a daze, and went to borrow money to seek medical advice! In fact, he should have gone to the township to find the immortal master of Taiping Dao that day, and knelt down and begged him to reward a piece of talisman water. Later, the immortal master still came, but at that time, I had already sought medical treatment first, and it was estimated that Huang Tian felt that I was insincere, so Fu Shui was useless...... It's all my fault that I'm not filial! ”

"Big brother's words really make me embarrassed." Holding the handle of the knife at his waist, Jia Chao, who came back to his senses, was ashamed. "Mother is seriously ill, you and your sister-in-law are here day and night, not to mention, and they are begging for medicine and water, if this is considered unfilial piety, then what am I?"

At this point, Jia Chao reluctantly cheered up his tone: "Since this is the case, there is no need to say anything more, and brother and sister-in-law, since I am back, you don't have to worry about the persecution of the Ma family." This time I was rewarded for my meritorious service in Luronseri, and I was taken care of by nobles, so I brought with me enough goods. It's just a few thousand dollars, and this afternoon we went to worship our parents, and tomorrow morning we will find the chief to be a middle-aged person, and return the money to him. ”

"That's good, that's good." Jia Ping, who was the elder brother, nodded again and again, and his face was a little more colorful. "I really didn't think that the second brother would have such a good job when you went to join the army, not only did you come back with so much money, but also two silks that were so slippery, and there was even a horse...... Don't worry, since our mother has left, then according to the rules, we should also divide the family, pay off the debt, and the money is still yours......"

"Ahem!" Jia's sister-in-law, who was sitting at the table, suddenly coughed, and then got up and picked up the clay pot on the side. "This soup is already cold, I'll go and heat it up again."

"No need." Jia Chao still had the heart to think about this at this time. "Sister-in-law work hard, heat up the meat, and cook some dry rice, so that I can take it to mourn my mother."

The brother and sister-in-law naturally had nothing to say, and the three of them immediately got up, preparing to let Jia Chao go to the grave to cry and sacrifice their dead mother while the grave was not dry. However, if it is Zhang Luo, it is just a poor Zhang Luo, a poor family, not those scholar families, where are there so many rules? It's nothing more than boiling some jerky and rice...... If Jia Chao comes back without jerky, I'm afraid he will only have to cook dry rice...... Then the three of them roughly pulled some old linen cloth, which was regarded as wearing filial piety.

However, just as the three of them were about to stop and lock the gate and go to the grave to cry and sacrifice, they suddenly came to the door with a wicked guest.

"Jia Chao, I heard that you have made a fortune and come back?!" An old fat man who was really rare in this year, forty or fifty years old, with small eyes, five short figures, twisted his beard and squinted his eyes, walked straight from the door, followed by five or six cross-knife companions, and the lieutenant chief of the local Da Sangli also followed behind this person.

That's right, this person is the only local tyrant in the neighborhood, the big Ma family in the three horses next door, that is, the one who lent money to the Jia family, and the existence of the husband Ma in the nearby places...... This person claims to be from Hongnong Ma's family, what is Ma Fei, in fact, everyone knows that this guy is a local, purely a local tyrant who has only started for three generations.

"Husband Ma, long time no see!" Seeing this, Jia Chao hurriedly put down the things in his hand and saluted, no matter what, the other party was a villager or an elder.

As for Jia Ping and his wife, they were already so shocked that they took a few steps back, and Nuo Nuo didn't dare to speak.

"Sure enough, I got rich." The husband didn't pay attention to the other party's salute at all, but directly set his eyes on the northland horse in the courtyard. "What a good horse, you brought it from Youzhou?"

"Yes." Jia Chao replied patiently.

"Did you borrow it from the army, or did you have your own horse?"

"Back to the prince, this is a gift from a comrade who had a future when he returned from the army, and I didn't know that he was so arrogant and generous."

"I see." Ma's husband rolled his eyes and said. "I also know that the rangers over there in Youzhou have always been poor and generous, and I don't want you to have such luck."

"Luck indeed."

"Do you know what I'm doing at your house? Your brother and sister-in-law should have told you...... In your absence, your mother fell ill and was buried......"

"Yes, I already know." Jia Chao hurriedly replied. "Please rest assured, Husband Ma, I came back this time after making military achievements in Liaoxi and being rewarded, and I brought enough money. You go home and rest first, and when I go to the grave to cry and sacrifice, I will personally go to your hometown with the money to settle the payment early tomorrow morning......"

"Folks, where is it so troublesome, tomorrow?" The husband walked around the horse that was taller than himself. "That's good, I've brought the debt deed, I'll be with you, I'll take this horse away, and I don't owe each other, how about it?! You see, how interesting is it for the horse's husband to lead the horse? ”

Saying this, the two companions behind the horse's husband actually stepped forward directly to untie the reins.

Jia Chao was shocked and angry...... You must know that my brother just calculated clearly for himself, even if it is a usury, even with interest, at this time, he only owes the other party more than 5,000 dollars. And a horse in the north of such a year, even before the camp of the Wuhuan people in Liaoxi, it would take 10,000 yuan to win, and sell it all the way to Jizhou, at least 5,000 yuan, that is, 15,000 yuan!

Besides, he kept the horse to get a job as a knight in the pavilion to make ends meet...... If he really wanted to sell for money, now he could quickly follow the convoy of the young monarch of the Gongsun family, and follow him all the way to Hanoi on the south side of the Yellow River, where such a horse would cost 20,000 yuan!

In short, how can such a good horse have to pay off the debt deed of more than 5,000 yuan, and the two do not owe each other? Just because your surname is Ma? That's too much of a bully!

Don't talk about Jia Chao, even Jia Ping and his wife understand the power of this, so they hurriedly stepped forward to stop the two Ma family's companions.

And Jia Chao also quickly gritted his teeth and knelt down in the courtyard: "Husband Ma, don't worry, I'm not afraid of trouble, it's okay to go tomorrow for the crying sacrifice, the money is in the house, I will take the money and calculate it with you, it must be a lot of money." ”

In other words, as I said before, it was the agricultural leisure at this time, and it was the New Year, and many people were originally gossiping about the place outside to shelter from the wind and the sun, and at this time, after listening to the movement, many people gathered curiously to look at the door.

And the governor of the local Dasangli also hurriedly came to persuade him, saying that since there was cash and the debt deed was there, it was better to settle it.

The husband of the horse glanced out of the door, his eyes turned, but he shook his head again and again: "That's it, although I am not a person, but I am also a fellow villager, and those who don't know think I am trying to figure out your horse." That's good, I won't lead the horse, I won't stop you from doing your filial piety, and I won't be in a hurry about money...... Well, I'll do the math, these three days...... No, four days! I have something to do for these four days, so don't come to me, and wait until the fifth day, calculate the time yourself, and don't forget to bring money to my house to settle accounts. That said, I have other accounts to settle! ”

After saying that, the husband of the horse didn't stay much, and went out directly with his beard and short legs, and he didn't know which family he was going to harm again.

The three members of the Jia family were shocked, and quickly pulled the horse into the house and tied it to their own stove, so they dared to set off to pay tribute to their deceased mother. And after some tossing, he returned to the middle school in the evening, and took a picture with the big horse from a distance, and hid around the other party for a while, so he dared to return home.

In other words, Jia Chao has been out for a few years after all, and there are so many brothers in the army who can always have all kinds of knowledge, so he has more plans in his heart, so as soon as he got home, he couldn't help but ask: "I remember that when I left, this husband was just a local tyrant, and he hadn't seen him for a few years, why was he so domineering?" If it weren't for the fact that there were many people in our Dasanli today, I am afraid that we would have robbed it...... Is there anything to rely on? ”

"Brother is right, this husband is really getting more and more disregarded about his face now, we are okay here, there are a lot of people who have been destroyed by him in Sanmari over there...... As for what you said about his dependence, there is really such a thing. Jia Ping thought about it for a while, and then said something that this husband did when his younger brother was away.

It turns out that in this southern part of Jizhou, there is such a family that must not be provoked. It is not the great sage and good teacher Zhang Jiao Zhang, but the Zhao family of Zhao Zhong...... That's right, it is Zhao Zhong, the leader of the Ten Standing Servants who is called Auntie today.

This right leans towards the government and the opposition, and it has been sixteen or seven years since the killing of the general Liang Ji.

Therefore, for such a long time, although the common people in the countryside don't know what eunuchs and what ten permanent servants, they also know the strength of this family, how strong and powerful as long as they can catch up with Zhao Zhong and Zhao Changshi's family, then no one can control it.

Of course, Ma's husband is a big local tyrant in the township, and he can't reach the real Zhao family anyway, but he can reach the Zhao family's dog...... A son of the Zhao family, a side sect, built a manor in the east of the mainland, and also robbed a large piece of good land in the past, and this surnamed Zhao himself naturally doesn't care, just have fun in Yecheng all day long, in charge of this manor is one of his cronies surnamed Liu, and people in several nearby counties call him Liu Steward.

And Ma's husband got in touch with a nephew of this willow steward.

"The second brother still remembers that there is a particularly poor family in this Ma husband's family, and the whole family is almost dead in the epidemic, but he left a daughter, which is the niece of this Ma husband, and Ma Lao is the patriarch, so he can't get out, so he has to be adopted at home to raise ...... In fact, it was raised as a maid...... But it is white and pure, and very beautiful. Speaking of which, when you didn't leave that day, your mother still wanted to ask to be your daughter-in-law! ”

"Naturally, I remember." Jia Chao's face was in a trance, and he didn't know if he remembered something from the past.

"That's her." Jia Ping shook his head and said. "The nephew who was in charge of the house came to my husband's place a year ago...... Listen to the villagers on the other side of Samari...... The nephew in charge probably just glanced at the little lady halfway, but the husband stripped his niece and sent it to the bed of the nephew of the Han steward that night, which can be regarded as a concubine. and then said to the people in the middle that it was his own daughter, and he would be killed if he dared to talk nonsense...... Since then, whether it is in the township, in the pavilion, or even some nobles in the county, they don't dare to care more about the affairs of this horse husband, and many of them seem to be quite stammering with the horse husband, and I don't know what these nobles think? ”

"How can this not be stuttered?" Jia Chao smiled bitterly when he heard this. "That's the Zhao family, the Zhao family that can make the nobles break through and destroy the clan with one sentence, even if it is just a twist and turn with the Zhao family's family, and they have to hide if they are disrespectful."

"I don't know that." Jia Ping shook his head again and again. "But it's great that you're back, second brother...... You don't know, it's only been two years, and the seven or eight miles of fertile land in our township have been bought by this horse husband who thinks of the law, and if you don't come back, I'm afraid that our family's thirty acres of fertile land will be gone. ”

"Perhaps?" Jia Chaoqiang said with a smile. "Don't talk about this, please ask my sister-in-law to cook quickly, while there is still light, let's rest early today."

"Yes, yes," the honest Jia Ping also nodded again and again. "Brother, you just came back, I think you're too tired to come all the way, hurry up and eat and rest, if you have anything to say tomorrow."

In this way, after the three members of the Zhang family had dinner, Jia Chao first let his eldest brother and sister-in-law live in the main house, and then said that he wanted to take care of the horse, so he lived in a side house with the horse early. And the poor families in these years have no money to light candles and oil lamps, so of course they earn and rest at sunrise.

Soon, it was dark in the whole Da Sangli, and only one place in the opposite Sanmari was brightly lit, as if it was the home of a large family.

And at this moment, Jia Chao, the rider who came back from Lu Longsai, suddenly turned over and sat up from the bed...... The eyes sparkle in the night.

After a long time in the border army, he has no night blindness!

That's right, Jia Chao originally felt that the horse's husband let go of his war horse too quickly, and he had to wait a few days to repay the money, there must be something strange in the middle!

It's not that I didn't think that the other party just had scruples, so I let go, but after listening to my brother, I realized that people have such a hard background, so where does Jia Chao dare to think better?

As soon as he thought of this, he decided to use his skills and go to Nama's husband's house tonight to explore the wind, so as to prepare early.

Equipped with a waist knife, wrap up the leggings, and change into the black clothes in the baggage...... These are all some methods learned in Liaoxi, ready to stop, Jia Chaohao did not hesitate, and went directly to the destination.

Jizhou has been peaceful here for a long time, and Ma's husband's house is the only soil emperor in the vicinity, where will there be any precautions? Therefore, Jia Chao easily came to Sanmali, and then climbed over the wall to the Ma husband's house, and found the target of this trip very casually - several guests and disciples from the Ma husband's house were gathering in front of a fire pit at the second gatehouse, drinking and keeping vigil while keeping warm.

Jia Chao didn't make a sound, and he didn't sneak in anymore, but just squatted in a blind corner without light, braving the cold and quietly listening to these people's nonsense.

These people, starting from the outstanding ladies in the township, and then talking about the prostitutes in the county, are full of meat talk. finally said something serious, but I don't know if I can believe the news after a few hands. But in the end, the topic inevitably came to this afternoon's events......

"Then Brother Jia Ping and Jia Chao are going to be unlucky, my husband took a fancy to his horse, and he just offered it directly, and he dared to stop it?" A hoarse voice sounded, listening to the previous conversation, this man should be the leader here. "In a few days, when the preparations are ready, his family's fields and horses, as well as the money brought by Na Jia Chao, will probably be gone. I don't know who the daughter-in-law of the Jia Ping family will be cheaper...... At the beginning, it was also a famous little lady in our rhubarb, and I didn't have it! ”

"If the eldest brother takes a fancy to it, when this time it happens, just ask your husband to reward you, what's this?"

"I want it!" The lead husky voice seemed to be deliberately provoking the conversation. "This time, I want to invite the group of sitting tigers in the pavilion and the county to come over to help, those people are all as ruthless as sheep, where can they leave us benefits?"

"Big brother, what do you mean by being as ruthless as a sheep?" Another asked. "What's so cruel about this sheep?"

"You rangers from this county just don't know anything." The hoarse voice laughed. "The so-called fierce as a tiger, as ruthless as a sheep, and as greedy as a wolf...... It's all about eating. The tiger pounces on food, does not move for a long time, kills when it moves, is it fierce or not? When the wolves grab food, they don't chew it, they swallow it directly, are they greedy or not? ”

The crowd chimed in.

"But as fierce as a sheep, don't you see all the sheep in tether here? Why? Because the sheep eat grass and even the roots, and gnaw the leaves and even the bark of the tree, even the thatched house can gnaw off a piece of the wall skin...... Crop man, who doesn't know how ruthless sheep eat? ”

Everyone suddenly realized and said: "This is appropriate, aren't the people in the county pavilion as ruthless as sheep?" It is estimated that even a few of the thatched houses of the Zhang family will be demolished and sold. ”

"You guys!" The hoarse voice laughed again. "Don't just think about people...... Our master family has fallen in love with other people's horses and fields, but he can't stand still and wait for the opportunity, like a tiger pounced on food? ”

Again, the crowd agreed.

"That's right, our master's family is as fierce as a tiger, and the people in the public gate are as greedy as sheep, if we want to grab food, we can only be greedy like wolves...... When the time comes, start quickly, and get what you can get! Got it? ”

Everyone suddenly agreed, and a person who saw the opportunity quickly pointed out the leader's intentions: "Don't worry, eldest brother, when Jia Chao and Jia Ping come to the net in a few days, we don't wait for the people in the county, we will first run to deceive Na Jia Ping's daughter-in-law in the name of the neighbors, and strike first to take her away, which will inevitably make you proud of the eldest brother......."

The hoarse voice immediately laughed: "I'm just proud, a married woman, if she serves her well, how about sending her back?" It's just that after going back, the family was ruined, and Jia Ping was so honest that he would inevitably be taken by those public again...... You don't know, Du Ju, the pavilion chief of this pavilion, is notoriously lustful, and I just want to grab him. ”

At this point, the hoarse voice said again: "It's a pity that Jia Chao...... I see that he is also mixed up in the north like that today, and he is considered to be a strong and capable man, but he is not guilty, and it is a sin to have money, horses, and fields...... After waiting for three or five days, he threw himself into the prison in the pavilion, and the world was so big, but there was no place for him to run his horse. ”

A group of scoundrels over there drank and had fun, but Jia Chao, who was hiding on the side, was shocked and angry...... Although this was intermittent, he also heard some content - it turned out that the husband of the horse couldn't rob the horse, so he ignored the feelings of the township, and directly wanted to hook up with the people in the county pavilion to arrest him on a charge, and then slowly squeeze his whole family. And what's even more hateful is that this group of scoundrels who follow Ma's husband to mess around actually took a fancy to their sister-in-law and wanted to cheat and commit adultery!

Jia Chao was furious, and began to think about it, but after thinking about it, he never thought of a way out - although his husband is five short and can pick up the goods with one hand, he has a backstage and is indeed a tiger in the township! And the duke in the county pavilion, although he has never seen it, but since he is willing to be instructed by this horse husband, he is indeed the kind of character who is as ruthless as a sheep! As for the scoundrels in front of him, just listening to these words, he must be a real greedy wolf!

Therefore, what this guy said after drinking is not bad at all! And he really has no way out!

And at this moment, a scoundrel who had drunk too much staggered up, and was about to come to himself while untying his clothes, as if he wanted to relieve himself, and Jia Chao almost out of the instinct of a soldier, he actually touched the handle of the knife on his waist directly!

In the next moment, he suddenly realized - yes, this is the only way out for his family!

"Fierce as a tiger, very like a sheep, greedy as a wolf, and those who cannot be supplied, all of them will be beheaded." - "Historical Records". Xiang Yu Benji