Saratov, a city on the lower Volga River with a population of 200,000, was the center of the Romanov kingdom's grain and timber trade, where you could buy cheap timber and buy more than half of the timber needed for the reconstruction of Mosk.

It is precisely because of the timber and grain trade that the houses in this city are different from other cities, and most of them are made of wood, and brick houses have become a rare sight, and only some rich lords will build houses with bricks and tiles.

Since the thaw on the river, the port of Saratov has also come to life, and every day a large amount of timber and grain is transported to the cities of the upper Volga.

Although business in the port of Saratov was booming, as a serf of an aristocratic old man's family, Skotkin was not at all happy.

He squatted on the edge of the ridge, with a hoe on his shoulder, and sighed as he looked at the black fields that had been ploughed several times in front of him, and in the distance was a sawmill billowing with smoke.

"It's a good thing that the war was won, and it's a good thing that no one starved to death in the winter, but we ate all the seeds, how can we farm the land?"

Scottkin had a sad face, his swarthy loose skin twisted together, and his eyes bloodshot.

He hadn't slept well for two or three days because they couldn't get any seeds at home that could be used for farming.

It is now May, and if we don't plant seeds, we won't be able to grow grain, and even if we can plant them, the harvest won't be very good.

When it came to his family's food for the next year, Scottkin had to cheer up and think about borrowing some more money from the noble lord.... It's enough to borrow some seeds ....

As he wished, after pressing his handprint on an incomprehensible treaty, Scottkin managed to get a small bag of seeds, and although he was saddled with a debt, he was very optimistic, because this year the weather was good, the rain was abundant, and the harvest would not be too bad if the seeds were sown as soon as possible.

Wait for the harvest after the autumn, harvest the golden wheat field, beat it into grains, three percent of the transaction tax, three percent to the noble lord to pay off the debt, and there can be four percent left.... Buy a new pair of shoes for Chekariva, her shoes are in tatters, anyway, the shoes on the second-hand market are very cheap, so I would like to give her 12th birthday gift....

Full of hope for a life ahead, Scottkin arrived at the rented field with a sack full of seeds in one hand and a hoe in the other.

Braving the warm sun, he began to bury the seeds in the ground little by little, covered the fertile black soil, and watered it a little....

Everything was going on in an orderly manner, and Scottkin was so familiar with the work in the field that he dared to pat his chest and say that he knew better than anyone else about the things in the field, when the rain was abundant and he couldn't water more, and when to guard against strong winds.

When the sun was setting, and at dusk, Scottkin finally planted the seeds, and he stood on the ridges of the fields observing his masterpiece, humming the song he heard out of nowhere, and picked up his hoe and prepared to go home.

His wife and Chekariva are waiting for him...

When he arrived in the village, Scottkin suddenly saw a group of people gathered at the entrance of the village, talking about it, as if something big had happened.

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【Father Ma Wei】 【】

He squeezed into the crowd and saw an officer in a blue uniform standing by a low wall, holding a slurry and sticking a large poster to the wall.

"What's wrong?" Scottkin couldn't read, so he grabbed the only literate man in the village.

The pale, obviously malnourished man squinted his eyes and whispered the handwriting on the poster, and everyone was silent, holding their breath to hear what he had to say.

"The king signed a new law, the General Decree of the Peasants Alienated from Serf Dependence...."

"With immediate effect, serfdom shall be abolished, all serfs shall be restored to the status of free persons, shall enjoy general citizenship, the landlords shall not buy, sell and exchange peasants, and the peasants shall have the right to own property, hold public office or engage in industry and commerce ...."

"The peasant may own a certain amount of land, but must pay a ransom to the landlord, and before signing the redemption contract, he must also perform labor and pay the rent in lieu of labor for the landlord, and set up village and township organizations controlled by the aristocracy...."

No one, including Scottkin, did not quite understand the meaning of this decree, and they only heard the first sentence: abolish serfdom.

For a while, the crowd was noisy, and everyone was extremely surprised that they were suddenly restored to the status of free people, which meant that they were free and no longer had to work for the landlord!

What's more, they don't have to pay a ransom to become freedmen!

Gratis!

Scottkin was also very happy, he hated to go home immediately, and told his wife and daughter Chekariva the good news, which meant that Chekariva was eligible to go to school in the city....

The literate man's brows furrowed even tighter, and he kept chewing on the second half of the decree, when he suddenly lowered his head and let out a long sigh.

"It's going to change...."

"You should be happy!" Someone pushed him on the shoulder.

"Happy?" The malnourished man looked at them with pity: "Don't you know what kind of turmoil this decree will bring? ”

Everyone was at a loss.

"Alas.... Although you are no longer serfs of the noble lord's family, it means that the land you are cultivating now will also be taken back by the noble lord, and if you want to cultivate the land, you will have to pay a heavy ransom to the noble lord..... Which of you will be able to pay the ransom? ”

The crowd gradually fell silent, and Scottkin asked, "Can't the noble lord give us the land to cultivate first, and then charge a fee?" ”

"If you are still serfs, then of course you can, but now you are free people, and the nobles must fulfill the decree and take back the fields that were given to you for free, and then redeem and sell them to you."

"That, that.... And what about the seeds I borrowed from the noble lord this morning? Scottkin was in a hurry: "I just sowed it!" ”

"It's all the property of the noble lord...."The man shook his head: "Everyone, listen to my advice, if you don't have money and food at home, you will soon be unable to open the pot, hurry up and go to the city, it's late, there will be no work." ”

Scottkin didn't know how he got home, let alone what he had for dinner, and judging by his hunger, he didn't seem to have eaten anything.

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【Father Ma Wei】 【】

The next morning, as soon as it was dawn, Scottkin got up from his bed, picked up the hoe in the corner, remembered something as soon as he walked out the door, and quickly put the hoe home, and trotted all the way into the city.

The city was overcrowded, Saratov was a small city, and it was originally very peaceful, but suddenly a large influx of people made the small city congested.

Everyone is looking for a job, and some people even came last night and slept in front of the factory, trying to catch up with the earliest time to see if they could find a job.

Scottkin blended in with the crowd, being squeezed around, his eyes full of confusion, his mind blank, numbly following the people around him with his arms raised high, shouting strange voices in his mouth.

He doesn't know what's going on, it's obviously a good year for a good harvest.... Why don't you farm all of a sudden.... Oh, there's no land to plant for him .... The doglegs of the noble lords have sealed the fields ....

Until noon, the sun was shining, Scottkin did not find a job, he was dark and thin, he could only farm, the factory did not want him at all, even if the salary fell again and again, everyone could only get 10 kopecks for working hard all day, not enough to buy a piece of bread, but everyone still squeezed their heads and pushed .... Crowded....

Scott King was walking on the road in a daze, he didn't know where he was going, he didn't know what he was supposed to do, he was so hungry.... Hungry stomach pain.... My eyes are also a little hard to see....

He sat on the steps of a tailor's shop, gasping for breath before he felt a little stronger, clutching his short, yellowed hair and weeping under his breath.

Suddenly, a pair of clean cloth shoes appeared in his field of vision.

Scottkin looked up and saw a young man in a priest's robe, holding a thick book, palms pressed to his chest, bowing to his chin:

"This gentleman, you.... Do you believe in the truth? ”