The old man asked anxiously, "What about the current people of Yulan?" ”

Sister-in-law Wang said: "It's still in the field, I want to drive the cattle back, so I don't have the hands to help Yulan." ”

Du Wenhao listened to all the ridicule, it seems that in the eyes of this woman, animals are much more important than people.

The old man was in a hurry, and he was about to go out on crutches, Lin Qingdai stopped the old man and said: "Your eyes are not good, don't fall and make it more troublesome, it's better to stay at home, and besides, if you go, you won't take Yulan back, or I'll go." ”

The woman hurriedly said, "That's it, that's it, I'll give this aunt...... No, the eldest sister will lead the way. ”

The old man knew that what Lin Qingdai said was right, men and women could not kiss, let alone father-in-law and daughter-in-law, and said gratefully: "Then why are you embarrassed to trouble you again, it's getting late, and you have to rush back to the inn." ”

Du Wenhao said: "You're welcome, your eyes are not good, let's go and carry my sister-in-law back, if the condition is critical, I will help immediately." Rest assured! ”

The old man had to watch them go out with a thousand thanks, and he didn't forget to keep telling them, lest the people in the city take the road that they were not used to, after all, it was not good to delay and trouble people too much for their own affairs.

Du Wenhao, Lin Qingdai and the sister-in-law of the Wang family went out and walked along a country road towards the east, and after walking for a while, the woman looked at Du Wenhao and Lin Qingdai, and said flatteringly: "You two don't seem to be doing farm work, and the rich and noble people are young and have good foot strength." ”

Lin Qingdaili didn't pay attention to the sister-in-law of the Wang family, her steps were faster, and the sister-in-law of the Wang family was not interesting, so she had to follow. After a while, the sister-in-law of the Wang family pointed to a field and said loudly: "Look, Yulan is still lying here." ”

Du Wenhao saw that it was a paddy field, but the drought had become a muddy field, and Yulan was lying in this mud, presumably soaking wet. The woman in front of her was so hateful that she had put a living person in a paddy field for so long for the sake of her livestock.

The sister-in-law of the Wang family saw Du Wenhao and them standing still in the sky, thinking that she was delicate and did not dare to go to the field, after all, there are snakes and locusts in this field, where do ordinary women in the city make such rough work?

"Eldest sister, why don't I go down, it's just that my shoes are watery, I'm afraid they're going to break, so I have to buy a new pair, hehe......"

Before the sister-in-law of the Wang family finished speaking, she saw that Lin Qingdai had already picked up a big stone on the ground and threw it out, and it was falling next to the woman who had fainted in the field, and then she flew up, jumped onto the stone, grabbed the woman with one hand, and jumped back reflexively. The sister-in-law of the Wang family had straight eyes, and she couldn't believe that what happened to a delicate woman just now.

Lin Qingdai put the woman on the edge of the ridge and probed her nose: "Still alive!" ”

The woman smiled and said, "Of course she is still alive, I called her a few times just now, and she agreed." ”

Du Wenhao touched the woman's forehead, took her hand to check the pulse, and after a moment, reached out and pinched her acupoint, and said, "She is too tired, she has eaten too little, and she is physically exhausted and has passed out." Go back and drink some sugar water, eat something, and recuperate for a while. ”

After a while, the woman slowly woke up, and then in the moonlight, she saw a man touching her face with her hand, holding her mouth, and sat up in fright, pushed Du Wenhao's hand away, and sat back with her hands in horror: "You? Who are you? What are you doing? ”

The woman next to her smiled: "Magnolia, don't be afraid, this is a guest from your house!" ”

Lin Qingdai also said: "Yes, eldest sister, don't be afraid, this is my younger brother, a doctor, just now we were treating your husband at your house, I heard that you passed out in the field, I came to save you." Just now, my brother was pinching your acupoint to wake you up. “

There were two women next to her, one of whom was still her neighbor, Yulan quickly calmed down, a little embarrassed: "I ......, what's wrong with me?" ”

"You're fainting from exhaustion!" Du Wenhao said, glancing around, "Do you have anything to eat?" ”

Lin Qingdai saw at a glance that there was a clay pot and a basket under a tree on the edge of the ridge, and pointed with her hand: "Where is it?" ”

"Hmmm......"

Lin Qingdai ran over and lifted the basket and jug, lifted the blue cloth covering the basket, revealing the small half of the cake inside, took it out, it was as hard as a stone, frowned, and handed it to Du Wenhao: "Bran cake." ”

Du Wenhao traveled to the Northern Song Dynasty for a long time, and also experienced hard days, not less saw poor people, knew that this kind of bran cake is made of wheat husk ground bran, mixed with sifted wheat husks and crumbs, and then mixed with wild vegetables, steamed into bran cakes, many poor people, most days of the year, use this as a staple food.

Du Wenhao threw the bran cake back into the basket, took a clay bowl from it, took the clay pot, removed the lid, poured a small half bowl of water, and handed it to the woman: "Sister-in-law, drink some water first!" ”

Magnolia nodded gratefully, took the bowl, took two sips, and poured the rest of the water back into the clay pot and closed the lid.

Lin Qingdai knew that now that there was a great drought and a lack of water, the woman was reluctant to drink more, and she was afraid that she would have to take it back to the elderly, her husband and children. With a sour heart, he turned to the sister-in-law and said, "This sister-in-law, do you have anything to eat at home?" ”

"Yes, there is, but we are also a family, but we are not enough......"

"You have a cow in your hand, and your family should be relatively well-off, do you have chickens and ducks? Hurry up and stew one and take it to Sister Yulan's house, and get a few more steamed buns. All right? After that, Lin Qingdai took out a small piece of broken silver from her arms and handed it to her, "Is this silver enough?" ”

Sister-in-law Wang took the broken silver, put it on the pad, put it in her mouth and bit it, and suddenly her eyes lit up: "It's really silver!" ”

Du Wenhao said impatiently: "Nonsense! Can you still be deceived with stones? Is it enough? If that's enough, hurry up and do it, and wait to save people! ”

"Enough! This silver can afford a large table of banquets! Hehehehe, you are really generous, rest assured, my Wang family is not a person who takes advantage of the neighbors, I immediately went back to stew the old hen, take the steamed buns, and bring a bag of white noodles to his family! A few cuts of pork belly dumplings! The rest of the silver has been returned to me,—— the money he borrowed from me has not been repaid for many years! Yulan, you have such generous relatives in your family, why do you still cry poor every day! ”

"No, it's not! Sister-in-law! Magnolia waved her hand again and again, "I can't ask for their money, they're not ......"

Sister-in-law Wang saw Du Wenhao's cold gaze, for fear that Du Wenhao would take the silver back, so she got up and said, "Okay, you go home slowly!" I'll go back and stew the old hen for you, and I'll be fine in a while! Just a while! Hee-hee-hee-hee......"

Before Yulan finished speaking, Sister-in-law Wang had already trotted away.

Yulan said: "Two, I ......, I can't ask for your money!" ”

Du Wenhao knew that this family was very hard-hearted, and said: "I didn't give it to you, I lent it to you temporarily, and when I enter the city tomorrow, I will return the money you were trapped by the black-hearted medicine shop, and I will pay it back." ”

Magnolia didn't know the reason and looked at him suspiciously. Lin Qingdai briefly told the story, and after listening to it, Yulan was sad and angry, and grateful, covering her face and crying.

Lin Qingdai helped Yulan get up and slowly returned home.

The old man and Zao'er waited eagerly at the gate of the courtyard, and when they saw them coming from afar, they all greeted them.

After a while, sister-in-law Wang and a man came over with a noodle bag and basket, with a smile on their faces: "The old hen is stewed, and the white noodles are also here!" And a jug of wine! Yulan, your family has a guest, there must be nothing to prepare, so I am the master to prepare for you, this little brother has enough money for you, what is missing, ask Zao'er to come and get it! Drink slowly, let's go back! ”

After that, the sister-in-law said goodbye and left.

Du Wenhao asked Lin Qingdai to feed Yulan a bowl of chicken soup, and after eating a few pieces of chicken, Yulan's spirit really improved a lot. Du Wenhao thought that this woman was tired day and night for the livelihood of her family, and she actually fainted in the field, which is really admirable, and she also felt the hardships of the lives of the poor people.

The old man and his son had already heard Yulan say that Du Wenhao gave the silver to call Wang's sister-in-law stewed chicken, and said that he would get the money back and return it to him, and this meal was considered to be thanks to Du Wenhao and them, so the small low table that was busy eating was put on the bed, and a large pot of stewed old hen was put on the table from the basket, and a few plates of dishes, as well as a cup of wine and a few wine glasses. During this period, the daughter-in-law Yulan took a small broom and swept all three sides of the kang.

The old man took Du Wenhao's hand and said, "Come!" Go to the kang, drink two cups, and the old man wants to thank the two benefactors! Sit in the kang! ”

According to the rules, the left is the main and the right is the guest, and the inside seat is the guest, Du Wenhao was busy and humbly refused, and the old man couldn't help but drag him to the kang and sit cross-legged, and let Lin Qingdai sit on the right guest seat. But the old man himself sat on the edge of the bed.

Although the daughter-in-law Yulan worked hard for the family, she really wanted to sit down to eat, but she couldn't, she had to eat in the kitchen according to the rules, and she couldn't even enter the house.

Du Wenhao did not forget the purpose of this trip, and after a few glasses of wine, he asked, "How are the crops in your fields?" ”

Yulan looked at her husband and didn't speak. The man smiled and said, "It's okay." ”

The old man was old and overwhelmed with alcohol, and after drinking two glasses, he was slightly drunk, and after listening to his son's words, he slammed the wine glass on the table: "Okay?" Son! You're talking nonsense with your eyes open! If you want to say that in previous years, the crops were okay, I nodded accurately, but since the beginning of the change, our family's life is not as ......good as day by day! ”

"Daddy!" The man winked at his father, "Don't talk nonsense! Good raw drink bar! ”

"Afraid of what?!" The old man picked up the wine glass and took a sip, "Your father and I have lived to be in our sixties, who hasn't seen it?" They are good people at first glance, they don't need money to help you treat your illness, and they also help you find out why the old and sick can't be cured. Knowing the reason, the doctor also said that this disease is still relatively easy to treat, so our family will have hope in the future, and the two of them will be the benefactors of our family! When they asked about the things in the field, Dad naturally had to tell the truth and lie to his benefactor, and the sky thundered! ”

Du Wenhao smiled: "The old man's words, I can't afford it." ”

The old man stroked his white beard and shook his head, "A benefactor is a benefactor!" What can't afford it. Zao'er, come and kowtow to your benefactor! ”

Zao'er was holding a chicken leg in her hand and gnawing on it, and when she heard this, she agreed with a milky voice, put the chicken leg in her mother's bowl, put her fingers in her mouth and sucked it clean, and then she stepped forward and knelt on the ground, knocking her head three times.

Du Wenhao and Lin Qingdai were both in the kang, and both sides of the road were blocked and they couldn't get out, and they couldn't help them, so they could only shout in their mouths: "Okay, okay!" Hurry up! ”

Du Wenhao asked the old man: "I am doing business in the capital, and I heard that this change is for the people to live a good life, but listening to the old man's words, the change is unsatisfactory?" ”

The old man spat on the ground fiercely: "Live a good life for us? Bah! It's almost the same to have a good life for those dog officials! ”

"Why is that?"

"Eun Gong, don't you know ......?"

The man interjected with a smile: "Dad! You have a grace on the left and a grace on the right, and you don't even know the name of the grace father! ”

"Yes, yes!" The old man patted his head and arched his hand: "Didn't you ask the names of the two Engongs?" ”

Du Wenhao introduced himself and Lin Qingdai, and asked their family surname, only to learn that the surname was Gan, and the sick man was the son of the old man, the third in line.

After seeing the ceremony again, Gan Laohan continued: "Duke Duen, don't you know, our family is very poor now, it's not just that my son is sick, my son was sick last year, when there was no change more than ten years ago, our family was still passable, not rich in the village, and we can have food and clothing all year round." After the change, he tossed and turned, and by the time his son was sick, he had no more property. ”

"What's the toss? Was it made by the Seedlings Method? ”

Gan Laohan glanced at Du Wenhao: "Listening to this, Du Engong also knows a little bit about changing the law, that's right, the Qingmiao method!" There is also the Fangtian Tax Law! Plus natural disasters! ”

"Fang Tian Average Tax Law?" Du Wenhao and Lin Qingdai glanced at each other, "What does this method mean?" ”

"That is, after the autumn harvest every year, the county magistrate re-measures the land of the county, divides it into five grades according to the fertility of the land, and re-determines the tax collection according to this result!"

Du Wenhao was a little impressed, the middle school history teacher had told him, and he didn't think there was anything particularly bad at the time, and asked: "Is this method bad?" ”

"Okay?! How bad! For those officials, this method is too good! You can use this to make a lot of money! Is the field fertile or barren, that's not a matter of the county lord's words? If you send money, even if it is a yield of 500 catties per mu, it is a barren field that looks at the sky in the middle of the slope! If you don't send money, hehe, even if you can't harvest a basket of wheat a year, it is still an extremely fertile field, and the grain harvested in a year is not enough to pay the tax on this field! ”

Du Wenhao frowned and said, "Can't make ends meet?" It's really boring, it's really not good, it's a big deal not to plant, the land is barren, can he still come to collect taxes? ”

The old man picked up the wine glass, drank most of it with a squeak, and said with drunken eyes: "Duenren, what is the official master of Dongming County?" That's a villain who eats people and doesn't spit out bones! What has happened to your land? Take it! How much is how much! No food to pay? Okay, pull the pig to pick the grain, and then you can't demolish the house! If it doesn't work, then arrest someone! In order to pay for the food, his father and I squatted in the prison cell, and it was the daughter-in-law who thought of how to smash the pot and sell iron to find money to fill the hole and ransom us. ”

Du Wenhao thought to himself, this evil old society is really evil. Later, they asked about other situations, and when they said it, they were all forcibly apportioned by the Qingmiao Law, with high interest rates and the like, which was similar to what they heard earlier.

Du Wenhao saw that it was not early, got up and said goodbye, considering that Song Shenzong got up late and set off slowly, he asked Gan Laohan to wait at the gate of Dongming County early tomorrow morning, and repeatedly told him not to go to the pharmacy by himself, so as not to startle the snake. Gan Laohan solemnly agreed.

Back at the inn, Song Shenzong listened to what Du Wenhao said, especially after listening to the evaluation of the other party's Tianjun tax law, he was really stunned, and Wang Anshi was also depressed, standing by the window, looking at the bright moon outside the window, stupid.

The next day, Song Shenzong didn't get up until noon, and slowly washed up, and then set off for Dongming County.

Gan Laohan was indeed waiting at the gate of the city, and Du Wenhao gestured for him to follow their carriage.

Dongming County is very small, and it is not a strategic point, because there has been no war for many years, the entire city defense has been deserted, the city gate is dilapidated, and there is no handle for soldiers, and they can enter and exit freely, even at night. So, in the afternoon they went into town and were not cross-examined.

When I entered the city, all I saw along the way were people fleeing the famine, which made everyone feel very heavy.

The place where they stayed was the best inn in Dongming County, and they heard about it after entering the city, but this so-called best inn was only a third-rate commodity in the capital. Fortunately, it was relatively clean, and I found the best upper room for Song Shenzong to settle in.

As Du Wenhao expected, the things that Song Shenzong encountered along the way made him very unhappy, so he was lazy when he entered the county seat, and what he could hear in the county was naturally not as good as what he heard in the countryside, so Song Shenzong didn't plan to hear more things from the county, and was going to stay for two days, see the situation, and then decide where to go next.

He called Yu Ge'er to the room, muttered for a long time, called Du Wenhao and them, and didn't speak, and asked Father-in-law Ning to set the table and feast.

Du Wenhao knew as soon as he saw this posture, but he was afraid that it would not be finished for a while, it seemed that Song Shenzong was a little discouraged and a little unwilling, this banquet was not only to borrow wine to drown his sorrows, but also to cheer him up.

Therefore, while the banquet was not yet good, Du Wenhao sneaked out of the thatched house under the pretext of the excuse, found the old man Gan who was waiting opposite the inn, and told him to find a place to live first, don't worry, and wait for him here at noon the next day, and emphasized that this was part of his plan, and he must not disrupt the deployment. Gan Laohan is naturally obedient.

Back in the house, the food and drinks were ready.

The misfortune of the common people is the blessing and misfortune of Song Shenzong, the emperor, at least he himself should be depressed and sad when he thinks about it in this way, and no matter how good the delicacies are, they can't cover everyone's sadness.

A few people closed the door, saying that they could hear what they saw along the way, and the more they talked about Song Shenzong, the more depressed they became, and Wang Anshi even borrowed wine to drown his sorrows, and he was drunk. It was already afternoon when they entered the city, and this time they drank until the palm lamp.

At the banquet, the emperor rarely spoke except for discussing the changes he heard on the road, he didn't say anything, naturally no one spoke, he only drank. A table of good dishes is almost not moved, and these are the ones who let the guys of the inn pick up the cheapness on weekdays, and now the people are like fire and water, and the guys take the opportunity to pack up these things and take them home to give their wives and children old snacks, these, Song Shenzong naturally does not know, once sitting in the Jinluan Palace, how do you know that the people outside the palace are suffering. Now that it has come out, what should be seen or not has been seen by this emperor, and his heart is panicked.

Seeing the guys happily coming over to clean up the table, Song Shenzong opened a pair of drunken eyes, pointed at the two guys, and said vaguely: "Keep these for us, we will eat them tomorrow, don't pour them for us, pour them ...... It's a pity. ”

When the two of them heard this, they were stunned at first, and then the smile on their faces was gone, more than a dozen dishes and two people had already discussed it, and half of the family was still waiting for the tooth sacrifice, why did this master look arrogant, how could he pity a few leftovers?

"Master, look, the weather has been getting hotter and hotter recently, I'm afraid I'm going to be spoiled if I stay until tomorrow, my lord's body is expensive, and I'm afraid it will be uncomfortable if I eat it." A guy approached Song Shenzong and said carefully, still holding a plate in his hand, reluctant to let go.

"That's it, master, let the cook make some for you again tomorrow, I see that the kitchen bought some fresh things today, so don't eat these." Another guy chimed in.

Du Wenhao felt that today's daughter was particularly intoxicating, and he was a little dizzy with some alcohol, but he still understood in his heart, he saw these two guys pack up their leftover meals and take them away, although he didn't ask, but he probably knew the reason, and when he saw the two of them say this today, he understood it even more. Then he said: "Fifth master, forget it, what the guys said is reasonable, it's hot, where will this weather be put until tomorrow?" If you eat badly, your stomach will not be good. ”

"Fifth master, what Shopkeeper Du said is that it is not good to eat a bad stomach." Father-in-law Ning was also a little drunk, in order to take care of Song Shenzong on weekdays, he rarely drank alcohol, but today Song Shenzong let everyone drink, so he was also a little sober.

Song Shenzong slapped the table and said sharply: "I said, stay all!" No one is allowed to move! Didn't you hear that? Do you want to destroy the Nine Clans? ”

Du Wenhao and the others were all shocked, and those guys were also frightened, isn't it just leftovers, as for it? In a hurry, Nono left in a hurry.

Song Shenzong said to Ning Gong: "You! I took out all these leftovers and gave them to the victims on the street! ”

After saying that, Song Shenzong waved his hand and tilted his body to Yu Ge'er on the side. Yu Ge'er fortunately didn't drink much, and had been taking care of Song Shenzong, and when she saw Song Shenzong leaning over, she hurriedly held him up.

"Steward Ning, it's not early, let's help the fifth master go back and rest first." Yu Ge'er looked worriedly at Song Shenzong, who was about to fall asleep leaning on him, and said to Gonggong Ning.

Father-in-law Ning nodded: "Okay, I'm tired from the journey, and it's not too early, so let's go back to the room to rest." I brought these meals to the victims outside. ”