The Far Eastern Army put up numerous notices in two shantytowns outside Linqing City, and also mobilized a group of local officials to help with propaganda. Originally, because the dock had no livelihood, the porters who were in trouble in their lives all came to the spirit.

The content of the notice was very simple, that is, the Far Eastern Army would hire a large number of laborers, and hoped that they would sign up enthusiastically, and all the people who signed up would receive a bag of rice.

In the face of such conditions, few people went to sign up. Because if you want to be hired, you must be trained in the Far Eastern Army. And they were not allowed to go home during the training, which made most people lose their thoughts. In the past, the Ming Dynasty forcibly conscripted labor, and many low-level people went in a daze, but no one thought that they would follow the army to become people's husbands.

In the eyes of these low-level people, the Far Eastern Army is a thief army, and the army of the Ming Dynasty will come back sooner or later. No matter how powerful the thief army is, can it still beat the million-dollar army of the Ming Dynasty? It's good that the thief army won, at least the people can come back alive. If it fails, even your life will be put into it.

Therefore, the notice of the Far Eastern Army was posted for a day, but few people in the shantytowns signed up to respond. Although everyone's life is a little harder now, if the young and strong people in the family have three longs and two shorts, then the family will be ruined.

In the past two days, many porters on the dock have gathered at the place where the notices are posted, and they are talking noisily around.

"Why don't we give it a try, after all, we can still share a bag of terrier rice, and now everyone can't open the pot at home."

"Yes, if there are a few more days, the wives and children at home will starve to death."

"I don't care, I'll sign up for it in a while, get a bag of terrier rice first, anyway, the rice jar at home has bottomed out."

A few homeless people may not be able to survive at home, so they simply let it go, so they want to sign up. The people next to them were also shaken when they heard their words, after all, no one's life has been easy these days.

An older man suddenly said, "If you are not afraid of death, you can go, hum...... Why did people give you a bag of terrier rice first, when has there ever been such a good thing in the world. ”

After the man finished speaking, the people next to him also echoed.

"Don't do anything, I'll give you a bag of food first, who do you think you are? A bag of rice can be eaten for a few days, but if your life is gone, how will the wife and children at home live. ”

"Everyone, don't worry, now that the business in Linqing City has opened, I estimate that the canal will also be opened. At that time, everyone was still worried that they were not alive. Now that the war is in chaos, those vendors are in a hurry to transport the goods and leave, and the wages they pay must not be low. ”

After listening to their words, the homeless people who originally wanted to go out to sign up also broke off the idea of sending them to death, after all, their lives were gone, and the whole family had to starve to death.

Liu Erga stood at the back of the crowd frowning and listening to everyone, his face was also very solemn. His hometown is in Jinan Prefecture, and there are old mothers and a brother at home, plus a wife and two children.

He carried the blind old lady all the way, took his younger brother and wife and children, fled from his hometown to Linqingzhou, relying on the fact that both brothers were born tall and big, and had practiced a few hands, so a group of fellow villagers gathered around him, and he was able to stand on the dock.

His two brothers are very capable, they don't cause trouble or are not afraid of things on weekdays, they can always get some work, and they are also very popular on the docks.

Liu Erga is a righteous person, and he has a large group of fellow villagers around him, although he earns a lot of money every month, he can't stand always helping the villagers who are living a tight life in those days, so he has no money left in his hand at all.

Now there is a depression on the wharf, the canal has also been sealed by the thief army, the two brothers have no livelihood, and the family can no longer open the pot.

Liu Erga returned home, the so-called home is two shacks built with thick branches, covered with thatch, and surrounded by a few tattered reed mats and some rotten cloth strips, and the whole family has been living here for several years.

Two dirty-faced children ran out of the shack and looked at him with a look of hope in their eyes. Liu Erga looked at the expressions of several children, and couldn't help but feel a pain in his heart.

No matter how poor the family has been in the past few years, the family can be fed with it, but who would have thought that it would become such a field. The brothers had all their strength, but they couldn't do it, they couldn't get back the food, and their families starved.

He walked over and picked up the two children and walked into the dilapidated shack. The blind old lady was sitting on the ground with his wife rubbing hemp rope, this was the job he received in the grocery store in the city, and the old lady and her daughter-in-law were idle on weekdays, earning a very meager income every month to fill the family.

Liu Erga walked over, snatched the hemp rope from the blind old lady's hand and said, "Mother, don't rub it, the grocery stores in the city are no longer accepting work now, and no one wants you to rub more." ”

The blind old lady sighed and said, "I rub more with your daughter-in-law, you can use it sooner or later." Erga, did you get a job today? ”

Liu Erga looked at the blind old lady's expectant face, and his heart felt like a knife. These days, the old lady is rubbing the hemp rope day and night, and her originally shriveled hands are swollen.

He held the old lady's hand distressedly, and said with a smile: "Mother, the canal will be opened soon, wait for two days, there will be too much work on the dock to take over, and then my second child and I will be able to get back the white rice every day." ”

The blind old lady and the two children were very happy to hear this, especially the two children, who heard their father's words and ran out of the shack with cheers.

The daughter-in-law sitting next to her knew that the man was coaxing the old lady to be happy, she sighed, picked up the hemp rope and continued to rub it.

Liu Erga walked out of the shack and spat out a sullen breath. Seeing that a large family couldn't open the pot, he didn't want to mention what it was like.

At this time, his brother came back from outside and came over when he saw Liu Erga.

"Brother, I just came back from the city, and there are still no boats coming from the canal, so I can't find a job at all this time. Anyway, we won't be able to survive, so let's lead our brothers out and do a vote. ”

Liu Erga became angry when he heard this, grabbed his brother's neck, and scolded angrily: "You are such a bastard...... Our old lady is still there......"

"Brother, I can't open the pot at home, and if I hold on for a few more days, my mother won't have to starve to death......"

After listening to his brother's words, Liu Erga pushed his brother to the ground fiercely and scolded angrily: "You don't care about this, I'll find a way." In the future, I will serve my mother well, and my mother will work hard to pull the two of us up, and I have never had a good day. ”

When his brother heard his brother's words, he suddenly felt that something was wrong, and quickly got up from the ground, and said with a nervous face: "Brother, do you want to sign up?" (To be continued.) )