But Su Shi and the others followed the farmer to turn left and right, crossed the Qianmo path, and finally came to a dilapidated earthen house. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 infoThis earthen house is made of adobe bricks, and it is now ventilated on all sides. The beam is a log, which is relatively strong. The roof is made of hay.

Outside, there is a small courtyard, but it is only covered with firewood. There is also a kennel in the yard, but there are no dogs to guard the house. Probably because the owner can't afford to raise it, a dog eats no less than a person!

Qin Ming, who has more experience, can see that this house was originally a roof made of tiles. It is probably because the owner of the house is shy and has no money to repair it, which has led to today's predicament.

The farmer seemed to know that the house was too dilapidated and embarrassed. There were no chairs and stools to sit on, and the largest piece of furniture was a bed, a table, a bench, and that's it. In the house, the best shelter from the wind and rain is occupied by a large clay pot, which is supposed to be a place to store food, and the people take food as the sky!

The peasant farmer said curtly: "There is no place to sit at home, so I have to grieve the officials." ”

Su Shi looked at the earthen house with four walls, and was quite surprised. Originally, he thought that the peasant households wore this garment just to do farm work and not stain other clothes, but now it seems that he thinks too much. It is clear that people only have this set of clothes, and they wear them out to work in order to cover their bodies.

Seeing such a poor life, Qin Ming was also a little touched, and the previous anger completely disappeared, and he asked with a little apology: "Big brother, where is your son?" ”

The peasant put the hoe into the house, smiled bitterly, and said, "To tell you the officials, I have two sons and three daughters, and they have all been sold. ”

When Su Shi heard this, his eyes widened, and he said in disbelief: "What? ”

The farmer smiled self-deprecatingly, sat down on the bench dejectedly, and said: "But it's okay, it's just sold to Master Song at the head of the village, and the others are good, seeing that the Hun family and I really can't support these children, they all accept it." If it is from a neighboring village, it is all sold to outsiders, and you don't want to see each other again in this life. ”

Not only Su Shi, but even Qin Ming and the others were extremely shocked when they heard this, and blurted out: "How many acres of land do you have, why can't you support a family of seven?" ”

The farmer suddenly said angrily: "How many acres of land? Even if there are dozens of acres of land, it is not the same as it is today? Don't hide it from all the officials, my ancestors were also rich and prosperous, and they once had 100 acres of fertile land. But I can't stand his sons, each person gets a little bit, and when it comes to me, it only gets one acre and eight points of land, which is still a thin field! Marrying a Hun family, I thought that more people would be better, but unexpectedly, the bride price spent all my savings. With five children left, how much grain can be found in one acre and eight points of land? It's only about 300 pounds! After paying the tax, there are still more than 200 catties left. If you don't sell them, will you let them suffer and suffer together with my useless father? They are at Mr. Song's house, they eat well, dress well, and live much better than my kennel. My Hun family helps Master Song raise silkworms and weave cloth every day, mix a mouthful of rice to eat, and by the way, you can meet them, which is already very good! ”

Su Shi listened to his complaint quietly, and found that he didn't seem to have said the point. After he finished venting, Su Shi asked slowly: "Since the eldest brother said that he is good, what about the bad one?" ”

The farmer sneered and said, "If your fate is not good, give birth to a child, raise it until it is three or four years old, and sell it to the old men in Zizhou City." Girls are easy to sell, but if they are boys, they have to pick and choose. The price is not as high as a sheep! ”

When Su Shi heard this, he finally figured out some taste. It turned out that it was not human traffickers who were rampant, but these homesteaders, who were really desperate, so they sold their children in exchange for their children's chance to survive.

In these years, there is no common sense of hygiene and contraception, and after the peasants marry their wives, they seem to have become a machine that makes and makes people, and they can't stop at all. Like this farmer, five is already a few. If the rest, there are not seven or eight, they are not conspicuous.

One more mouth is one more ration, but there are so many fields, so much food, not enough to feed a large family, what should I do? Tiger poison does not eat children, people's hearts are flesh and blood, in exchange for the survival of children, they can only sell their daughters, which is also a way to do it. If you can feed them, who will sell their children!

Su Shi didn't give up, and continued to probe: "Isn't there no human trafficker abducting and selling?" ”

The farmer seemed to have heard the funniest joke and laughed: "Do you still need to be trafficked?" At this same price, a large family is just eating a sheep. If it's a boy, it's better than a sheep! Big families, do you care about this money? Hahaha......"

Even Qin Ming and other big bosses can hear the helplessness, grief, pain and helplessness in the laughter. Su Shi was upright by nature, and suddenly said in a loud voice: "Big brother, don't you know that Your Majesty has decreed a national tax reduction?" ”

The farmer shook his head and said, "What if you know, what if you don't know?" The fields are so small, where can the tax cuts be reduced? ”

Su Shi was stunned, he really didn't think that the "tax reduction" that had always been regarded as benevolent government could not save these homesteaders with little land and little land.

The farmer seemed to tear away the conversation and continued: "If I don't send all the children to Master Song, then it won't be long before I have all this land. At that time, not to mention my children, even I was going to become a tenant of Master Song. Even if I am a little poor, I can still have tiles to cover my head and food to eat. If you are a tenant farmer, you will work hard for more than half a year, and in the end you will not even be able to support yourself, and in the end, you will not sell yourself into slavery? What is the difference between this sooner or later? ”

Listening to the resentment of the farmers, Su Shi finally understood. It's not that traffickers want to abduct and sell children, it's that these farmers are forced to sell their children and daughters, otherwise they won't even be able to survive. They thought about fighting, but they didn't have the capital to fight. They have no money to study, they can't afford to read a book, and they can't change their fate. As the generations passed, the less land was divided, and the poorer it became. In the end, he can only be like this farmer, in order not to completely become a slave and a maid, but also to survive, he can only endure the pain and sell his daughter......

Su Shi suddenly sighed: "In the previous dynasty, Liuliuzhou once wrote an article, called "The Snake Catcher Said", which was harsh and fiercer than a tiger. Who knows that today, it is not a harsh government, but also a tiger? Is this a natural disaster or a man-made disaster? ”

The farmers, Qin Ming and the others didn't know what Su Shi was sighing, but they all knew that Su Shi seemed to be very touched. There's no way, they don't know much, where do they know that Liu Liuzhou is a great poet and a great writer Liu Zongyuan? His "Snake Catcher Says" is also a famous article that has been passed down through the ages!

After listening to the farmers' complaints, Su Shi finally understood what it meant to be a people's suffering. I saw him take out his purse from his sleeve, pour out a few hundred copper coins on the table, push it in front of the farmer, and say: "Big brother, I can't help you a lot, I can only talk about my heart." Thank you for your outspokenness, I'm about to say goodbye......" (To be continued.) )