Zhang Xiu sat down at the old man's request, respectfully took the tea bowl and took a sip. Although ordinary farmers can't afford to drink any good tea, as a person who has not tasted tea for a long time, this cup of tea is particularly sweet at the moment. "Good tea!"

"Then I'll have another bowl!" The enthusiastic old man filled Zhang Xiu with a cup of tea and asked, "Housheng, who are you!" ”

"In the lower martial arts, the ancestors are powerful."

"Oh? It turned out to be a person from Xiliang. The old man glanced at Zhang Xiu and immediately guessed that Zhang Xiu was a pawn sent to the labor camp. However, although he saw Zhang Xiu's identity, he did not break it, and treated Zhang Xiu as warm and polite as always. "Xiliang is not close to here, homesick!"

"It's alright! When he left his hometown at a young age, he made his home all over the world, and because he had no relatives in his hometown, he had not been back for more than 20 years. I'm not afraid of your jokes, I don't even know what my hometown is like now. ”

The old man filled Zhang Xiu with another cup of tea, and said with a gentle smile on his face: "In the future...... Our Dingjiawan is your home! ”

Zhang Xiu's heart crossed a warm current, her eyes became ruddy, and her voice trembled: "Thank you very much!" ”

The old man took a sip of tea and asked casually: "Can ordinary people in Liangzhou drink this kind of tea?" ”

Zhang Xiu shook his head, "I'm just afraid it won't work." I can't eat enough, where does the money come from to buy tea! ”

"Yes, yes!" The old man laughed proudly, "Little Lao'er has just been able to drink tea since this year." Thanks to Our Lady and the Master! ”

As he spoke, the old man opened the conversation box and babbled endlessly.

The old man's surname is Ding, and when he was young, his family was also considered a wealthy family in Dingjiawan. However, in the second year of Yongshou, Xuzhou suffered a catastrophe, and there was no grain harvest for two consecutive years. Ding Laohan's family suffered heavy losses, and Laohan's mother starved to death in that famine year.

There was really no food to eat, so the family could only sell the land to Haoqiang in Xiapi County. As a result, the money and grain exchanged for the land wished them to survive the disaster year, but in the following years, they had no land, so they could only work as laborers for the landowner, and the family could not leave a few catties of grain after a year's hard work, and the life was indescribably bitter.

I can't eat enough food every day, I eat thin food every day, and I only have wild vegetable cakes for night food. After working all morning, at noon when I was really hungry, I would get some wild vegetables and tree roots and chew two bites to satisfy my hunger.

Now that I think about it, more than ten years have passed, and a "miserable" is not enough to describe the real scene.

Later, Emperor Huan died, and originally thought that the new emperor would be on the throne and his life would be better, but the result was not as good as before, he didn't even have to eat wild vegetable cakes, and he was hungry all day long.

Later, Tao Qian came.

"Tao Thorn Shi is a kind person!" Ding Laohan commented on Tao Qian, "But kindness is kindness, but there is no ability." The people are very kind, and there is no way to fill the stomachs of the people. But then again, Tao Thorn Shi is still kind, and Liu Bei is not as good as him after occupying Xuzhou. ”

Then, Ding Laohan said that after Liu Bei was appointed as the assassin of Xuzhou, the price of grain in Xuzhou rose several times, and the price skyrocketed, and how the people starved and froze.

"That dog thing doesn't give the people a way to live!" Ding Laohan sighed, "The old man thought that this life was over, and he would starve to death like his mother......" He had tears in his eyes, but there was a smile on his face, "But no, the old man is alive and well now, better than any time in this life, Liu Bei's dog thing is finally dead." The Master is here! He clicked his lips and said, "The sect leader is a man of God!" He took over the mess left by Liu Bei, transferred grain from Qingzhou to open a warehouse to help the people, reduced rents and taxes, and achieved a lot of benefits for the people. Under his influence, the gentry of Xuzhou have joined the church and become generous, giving us tenant farmers food and silver during the New Year's holidays, and the church also subsidizes the people according to their wealth, and everyone's life is getting better and better! ”

"The old man has lived for more than 70 years and has gone through three dynasties. I never thought that I would have the best days in this war-torn year. Ay! I really hope that the battle will be over soon, and then won't I have to live a fairy life? Ding Laohan burst into tears of excitement, and at the same time was greatly stunned.

Zhang Xiu snickered in her heart. According to the news he got when he was under Cao Cao's account, the reason why prices in Xuzhou increased several times within a year was actually rooted in Luan Yi. It was he who made the means to raise the price of goods in Xuzhou. Now, the people of Xuzhou are thanking him in turn and attributing the blame to the poor scapegoat - Liu Bei. has won both the hearts and minds of the people, and the means are not clever.

Such a method may not seem glamorous, but how many of them are glorious as a decisive element in political struggle!

"Resolute and ruthless! Luan Ziqi ...... It's extraordinary! ”

Zhang Xiu sipped the tea and thought for a while, and then asked Ding Laohan, "Uncle, I just walked around the village, why didn't I see Qingzhuang, and children, where did they go?" Have you let the sect leader pull you to fight? ”

"Huh!" Old Man Ding waved his hand, "The sect leader is an old man who is benevolent, but unlike those princes, he always forcibly recruits labor!" Having said that, the church guards have a high salary, 30 yuan a day, good food, and meat every day. Won battles, earned military merits and rewards. A lot of people can't go if they want to! ”

"30 Wen?" Zhang Xiu was speechless. 30 Wen a day is nothing for a big family, but for ordinary people, it is definitely a huge amount of money, after all, a stone of grain is worth 60 Wen, and one stone is earned in two days. Obedient...... I think that Dong Zhuo's salary for the soldiers was 150 wen a month, which is 3 wen a day, which is equivalent to 10% of the salary of the church guards. Cao Cao was slightly more generous, giving 5 wen per person per day. Such a military salary is high enough in history, but Luan Yi gave 6 times that of Cao Cao.

Sky...... It is said that Luan Yi is rich and rich, and sure enough! No wonder the church guards fought so hard.

Ding Laohan continued to add, swearing: "More importantly, it is glorious to be a soldier for the church!" It wasn't an ordinary soldier, with armor carved with a holy cross, but the right hand of the Virgin, you know? ”

"Right hand?"

"Haven't been to a few services?" Ding Laohan explained to Zhang Xiu as if selling treasures, "The right hand of the Virgin Mary is the hand of judgment, which is used to punish the evil in the world. You know? ”

"Oh!" Zhang Xiu nodded as if she didn't understand.

"Who doesn't cherish their right hand? The same is true of Our Lady. Therefore, once you become a mighty guardian of the Church, you will be especially pleased with the Blessed Virgin. Whether it is dying on the battlefield in battle, or returning to the field after disarming and returning to the field, as long as you don't make mistakes, you can go to heaven to live a fairy life after death. Our Lady will also give a generous reward in heaven based on her military exploits during her lifetime. Maybe you can become an archangel to dominate the heavenly soldiers and generals! ”

Speaking of this, Ding Laohan couldn't help humming the military song of the Holy Mother Sect, "It seems that there are two armies in the world that are evil and good against each other, and I must belong to one side, not in the middle." I am the personal soldier of the Great Lady, and I will be with my commander, and though the enemy is vicious, the Lord can protect it, and if there is victory, there will be no defeat. My commandments are written in the holy book, and I ask my mother to obey them and never break them. I am a soldier of the Most Holy Mother of Heaven, and I will follow my commander in the enemy, though the enemy is vicious, and the Lord can protect and win and will not be defeated. The armies of good and evil. ”

Ding Laohan's voice was hoarse, and it was very ugly to sing the song, but Zhang Xiu was excited by the euphemistic and passionate tune, and his blood was boiling.

Ding Laohan continued the topic just now, "The sect leader said, in order to continue the ancestral incense of each family. It is absolutely not possible to recruit all men from every household into the army, but at least one male to be retained. At the same time, not all young and strong people can join the army, they must go through strict assessments, weak people who can't support their hands and shoulders can't be picked can't join the army, and those who are stupid and sluggish can't join the army, they must be strong men. ”

"Oh!" Zhang Xiu nodded again, which also proved why the fighting power of the church army was so strong. "What about the young people of the village?"

"Let's get to work!" Ding Laohan took a sip of tea, "It's a farming slack now, and those who have the ability and craftsmanship go to work in the rich man's workshop." Those who have no skills and no skills have to go to Xia Cai Wharf and do some hard work; After completing their studies there, the church will place them in Xuzhou to repair canals, and they can also earn a lot of money, and those with disabilities can go to the church to do some sewing and mending things, and the church will take care of a meal every day, and give the kind of linen robe worn by the pastor of the church for half a year. Ding Laohan concluded: "Anyway, as long as the people of Xuzhou are diligent, they can make money, they have no worries about three meals a year, and they can save a lot of savings." Good days are coming! Hahaha......"

Zhang Xiu asked, "What about the child!" What are your children doing? ”

"My child!" Ding Laohan looked proud, "The eldest son is strong and strong, and he is also the most present." He joined the church army, and later was admitted to the trapping regiment, and made some military exploits, and now he has been promoted to a long rank. The second son likes to fiddle with wood when he is young, and he learned some carpenter work from the master, and the original work that did not make money has now become a fragrant nest, and the rich masters from all over Xiapi County are vying to invite him to work, and he can bring home a lot of money and food every month! The daughters-in-law of the two rooms are also diligent and filial, and now they are spinning yarn in the textile mill in the county! Thanks to the blessing of Our Lady, the old man and his three grandchildren are all studying in the church school! ”

Zhang Xiu exclaimed, "Oh? All five children went to school? That's a lot of money, right? Your son can earn it. ”

"What! The church's school costs nothing. And not only does it not cost money, but if you study well, you can go to the university in Xiapi to continue your studies in the future, and if you pass the assessment, you can also go to the saint of the holy city? Nuwa Cathedral ...... How do you say that word? Yes, further education, and further education. From St. After completing the education in the Nuwa Cathedral, you can go to the church to become a priest. That's a great honor! ”

"Literacy doesn't cost money?" Zhang Xiu's shock is overwhelming, what does that mean? The era of knowledge monopolized by the nobles has come to an end!