"Why didn't Xiaoliu come?" Sanniang asked about the little brother who was a little stupid.

Luo Feng spread his hands helplessly, "Originally, I asked him to lead the way, but I didn't know where to run early in the morning, and I couldn't find anyone." ”

"I must have gone to the wild with Du Da and Fusan again." Xiaomei pouted on the side, Xiaoliu was only two years older than him, but many times she was more like a sister.

"Who are Du Da and Fusan?" Sanniang asked.

"Du Da and Fu San are Xiaoliu's fox friends and dog friends, and it must be nothing good for the three of them to be together." Xiaomei said.

Luo Feng didn't care, since he was just a friend and stubborn companion, he didn't have to worry, what could happen to a boy who was only half an adult.

"Where's my brother-in-law?"

"I went into the mountains to hunt, and the yamen asked your brother-in-law to hand over two deer skins, five rabbit skins and five pheasant feathers before the winter, but how can it be so easy to get, in the past two months, your brother-in-law ran to the mountains when he was a little free, but until now he has only hunted a deer and a few rabbits, and he has not gotten a single pheasant feather." Speaking of this, the third sister couldn't help but sigh again and again.

"Lianniang, who's coming?"

Zhao's mother's inquiry came from the house, her son was not at home, she was bedridden, and she couldn't help but worry when she heard the voice of an outsider.

"Mother, it's my brother who came, and the fifth brother who dug the river in Hebei came back, and he also brought three buckets of su." Luo Lian'er said in a loud voice to the house with some pride, speaking of Sandou Sugu, she has always been a little worried about it. If it weren't for the fact that all the men in the family went out to do labor, the family would not be able to open the pot, and she would not have married Zhao Scarface.

And the family is poor, and there is no dowry in the marriage, which makes her a little unable to raise her head after entering the door. Especially now that her husband goes into the mountains to hunt all day long, and the family can't take care of it, and the days are getting harder and harder day by day, and he is also about to be unable to open the pot.

When Mother Zhao heard Sandousu, she hurriedly asked, "Didn't Sandousu give you a gift to your family, why did you send it again?" Why, doesn't your brother agree with your affair, and now he wants to repent? I said the fourth daughter-in-law, you have been in my Zhao family for two months, but you can't regret it again! ”

Luo Feng listened, and hurriedly walked to the courtyard and said, "A-Niang, you misunderstood, I didn't come today to regret it, on the contrary, I came to congratulate me, I was not at home when the third sister got married, and now that I'm back, I naturally have to come and take a walk." Sandou Sugu has no other meaning, they are all relatives. ”

The Zhao family's courtyard is actually not big, and it is very old.

Luo Lian'er helped Zhao's mother to the hall and met Luo Feng and her sister, and then Luo Feng saluted and explained her intentions, which made Zhao's mother also very surprised.

"A-Niang, you see what the family needs, our Luo family has prepared ten times for my sister to dowry."

Mother Zhao didn't believe it at first, but then after listening to Lianniang tell her brother about how he made meritorious service and how he was rewarded, she was a little skeptical.

"Can you help buy a deer skin and ten pheasant feathers, and help our family hand over the dispatch from this yamen first?"

Deer are difficult to hunt, pheasants are also difficult to hunt, and if he can't finish the errand, his son will have to go to the county to eat a board and wear a flail.

Luo Feng had already heard his sister briefly talk about the task assigned by the yamen just now, and according to his understanding, this task is available in the county government, but in fact, it is already out of shape.

It is certain that the yamen will ask the hunters below for some mountain furs, but there will never be so many. Under normal circumstances, the brother-in-law would at most receive some prey fur or discount money from the yamen, but not much. It is impossible to say that ten deer skins are levied at once, and after a meal of eating and drinking, they are changed to two deer skins, and ten rabbit skins and five pheasant feathers are added.

Obviously, that Hu Cao's helper either increased the task privately, or it was caused by the increase in the upper layers.

"A-Niang, don't worry, I am now being recruited by the county order to the county government to do a fast shift and catch fast, I will help inquire about the situation when I go back, if I really want to pay so much, it will not be too late to talk about it then."

Luo Feng is actually 100% sure in his heart that the apportionment in this county yali is not so heavy, this must be added by Hu Cao's side and that gang of idlers, because there is a Cao Zuo in the county ya, which is considered a level lower than the main book.

And the entire household Cao is in charge of the county's money and grain tax collection and population household registration, etc., and the affairs are more heavy, but the entire household Cao is one Cao Zuo and the following two histories, a total of these three officials, but a county has so many people and so many things, how can they do it, so they recruited helpers and let them take charge of assistance.

But Hu Cao is the only one of the three officials who are paid, and there will be no money and food to be sent down by the helpers below, so they all have to rely on the yamen themselves, and the county doesn't care, they have to rely on Hu Cao to find a way to solve it.

What can they do, although the county has some public land and public money, but the income is to be supplied to the county order, the county Cheng, Cao Zuo and other officials, how can the helpers have this share, but Hu Cao has the power, so they use their power to add to it when collecting taxes and money.

Originally, Hu Cao was added, and when the helpers were specifically collected, another layer was added, so in this way, the burden of the people became heavier and heavier.

It's not that I don't know about this kind of thing, but it's an obvious thing, but the imperial court has always been aware of it, after all, the Great Sui Imperial Court has a territory of thousands of miles, but there are only a few thousand officials with official ranks. The imperial court is only responsible for the money and food of these thousands of people, and the rest of the various officials, whether they are servants, they don't care at all, they all rely on their own solutions, as for what they think, it is all a matter of obviousness.

This is the so-called unspoken rule of officialdom.

When it was almost dark, his brother-in-law Zhao Scarface finally returned.

He was heavy, tired, but worried, and went up the mountain for three days, but only hunted two rabbits, a bamboo pheasant, and three mountain mice.

The most desperately needed wild and pheasant was not hunted.

"Lianniang, I'm back."

Scarface walked into the house, put away the worry on his face, and forced a smile into the house, "I hunted a few rabbits, bamboo chickens and mountain mice, and I can have a meal of meat tonight." ”

He came out to greet him with a straight haired young man.

"Brother-in-law."

Zhao Scar was stunned, he hadn't seen this young man.

"You are?"

"Official, this is my fifth brother, I just came back from digging the river in Hebei yesterday, and I just sent three buckets of Sugu, by the way, my fifth brother is now the county government's catch."

Zhao Scar's face is tall and burly, and the tiger's back and bear's waist are powerful, but when he looks up, the face can scare the child into crying, and he has a big scar on the left half of his face, almost all over half of his face, even if he has a thick beard to hide, he can still see it very clearly.

"It turned out to be Xiao Wu, come here, why do you still bring Su Gu, the family has a lot of mouths, how can there be any surplus food." He smiled and stretched out his hand to pat his wife and brother, and then said, "Why do you have to go to the county to serve on an errand just after digging the river, it's not a good errand to serve on an errand in a fast shift, I've done it before, all kinds of dirty work and hard work come in turns, but there is no benefit at all." ”

He also thought that his wife and brother were recruited to serve in the county government.

Lianniang said on the side, "I don't know, don't talk nonsense, my brother saved the county order's daughter, and he was also praised by the new county, and now he was personally recruited by the county order to the county government to catch fast, not to help, let alone an errand servant." My brother just said that I can help you solve the deerskin and other errands sent by the yamen, so don't you thank my brother quickly. ”

Zhao Scarface was really shocked and surprised, his eyes widened in disbelief, "How is this possible?" ”

"How is it impossible, my brother has captured the blue-faced eighteen ghosts."

"That's even more impossible, how powerful the blue-faced eighteen ghosts are, how could your brother capture them?"

"Brother-in-law is right, I really can't catch the eighteen ghosts, but I happened to meet my uncle's second cousin Shubao in Licheng halfway, and I was lucky to catch the eighteen ghosts together with a few other fellow villagers."

"Is this true?" Zhao Scarface was surprised, and half of Scarface turned purple.

"Scarface, not at home, when will your fur be paid, tell you, there are not many days. If you can't pay it when due, don't blame me for not being emotional, tell you, the board and wooden flail of the county government are not comfortable! ”

Outside the courtyard gate, a dry and cold voice floated into the courtyard.