The snow is still falling.

fluttering and sprinkling, one after another.

Like clumps of catkins, and like clumps of reed flowers.

All night, the snow did not stop, covering the earth in a layer of silver.

I don't know how long it took.

The snow finally stopped.

The vast fields were snow-white.

Zooming out of sight.

In front of a mine somewhere in Suishui County.

Hundreds of laborers, wrapped in fur, built houses.

"Don't be idle, come and identify the ore!"

The foreman stood in the middle of the crowd, holding a small piece of iron ore in his hand, and said loudly:

"It's useless to dig up anything else! Gotta dig this! ”

"The court gives us food, and we have to serve the court well!"

"If only there wasn't enough iron ore dug this winter! We won't have such a good job to do next year! ”

The voice fell.

The laborers felt a surge of strength all over their bodies.

For them, the poor.

Surviving the winter is not easy.

There is no other source of income other than going out hunting in the right weather.

If you have enough food, it's fine.

The question is......

Storing enough food is not an easy task.

If you can't survive the spring, you can only borrow grain from the gentry and old men, and the borrowed grain generally has two cents of interest, and the burden is heavy.

This year's winter has been unusually cold.

They thought it would be very difficult.

Unexpectedly, the imperial court suddenly ordered them to be hired to mine ore.

You can eat and live, and you can bring your family, and as long as you do some chores, you can get food.

In this way, even if the original storage of grain is small, it will be no problem to survive until the beginning of spring.

This was undoubtedly a great surprise for them.

Therefore.

In just a few days, almost all the laborers in the county signed up, dragging their families to the mine to mine ore.

I've been building a residence for half a month.

The government would bring in grain every day and distribute it to them.

And warned them that they must dig up enough ore, otherwise this opportunity will be given to other counties in the coming year.

No doubt.

When the laborers heard the news, they cherished this opportunity more and more, and they were eager to sleep directly in the mine, full of motivation to work.

In the blink of an eye, it was noon.

The dwellings are all set up.

The foreman looked at these laborers and shouted at the top of his voice: "The excavation will officially start this afternoon!" ”

"Get pickaxes!"

When the laborers heard this, their eyes were shining, and they lined up to lead pickaxes.

"After so many days, it's finally time to mine!"

"I finally have a good job, so that the family can eat in winter, and we must not be robbed by others!"

With this belief, the laborers' eyes burst with a strong fighting spirit.

Not far away.

There are children playing around.

The women set up the cauldron and put the wood on it.

A moment later.

The pot begins to boil.

The women also talked about the washed sweet potatoes cut into pieces, mixed with corn and put in the pot.

Less than a stick of incense.

The aroma is so fragrant that you can't help but swallow your saliva.

Even the children who were chasing and playing stopped, gathered to the side of the pot, and looked at the sweet potato porridge in the pot with watery eyes, swallowing saliva.

An eight- or nine-year-old boy smelled the porridge, his eyes showed longing, looked at the woman on the side, and asked with some urgency: "Mother, how long will it take?" ”

The woman glanced at him and smiled, "Just go out for a run and come back......"

When the little boy heard this, he did not leave, but watched and waited quietly.

The rest of the children obediently lined up behind them, not the slightest bit naughty.

Because they know that here, rules are the most important.

If you don't follow the rules at home, you will be beaten at most.

If you don't follow the rules here, you won't have anything to eat.

These children often go hungry and know how difficult it is to be able to drink fragrant porridge every day, so they cherish it very much.

Not for a while.

The aroma of the porridge is getting stronger and stronger.

The woman took a large iron spoon, scooped a bowl of porridge, and handed it to her son, who was at the front of the line:

"Cool down for a while before eating."

The little boy nodded heavily:

"Got it, mother."

After speaking, he stretched out his little hand, carefully took the porcelain bowl, and stood aside.

Soon.

The children all received a bowl of fragrant sweet potato porridge.

Then came the laborers.

And then there are the women.

The food sent by the government was sufficient.

Everyone present was given enough food to fill their stomachs.

The woman held the porcelain bowl and looked at her husband and son who were devouring it in front of her, and her face showed happiness.

The man glanced at the woman and said, "Why don't you eat it?" ”

The woman smiled, "Not hungry." ”

The man said: "After a morning of work, how can you not be hungry, eat quickly, clean up the house assigned to us in the afternoon, and you can live in it tonight." ”

"Hmm!"

The woman nodded heavily.

A cold wind blew.

His rough face was red from the cold, and his ears were covered with chilblains, and he was in pain.

Even so, after swallowing the sweet potato porridge, she still smiled very happily, as if she had tasted the most delicious delicacy in the world.

A pair of eyes looked at the dark-skinned man next to him, revealing a look of satisfaction.

The man gobbled up some corn at the bottom of the bowl.

Putting down the porcelain bowl, I exhaled a long breath, only to feel that the fatigue of the morning was swept away.

When he turned his head to see his wife's eyes, he was stunned at first.

Immediately, his heart trembled, he reached out and held her rough hand full of chilblains, lowered his voice, and said with some guilt: "When I married you, I said that I wanted you to live a good life......

Speaking of this, I suddenly choked up a little, and it took a while before I spit out five words:

"I'm sorry for you."

The woman was stunned, also held his hand, and said softly: "The head of the house has done a good job, and there is nothing to be satisfied with living like this." ”

The man said: "I heard that if you do a good job, at the end of the year, you can still receive three coins of silver, and then buy meat to eat." ”

When the woman heard the three coins of silver, her eyes lit up, and she was overjoyed: "The court is really good to us, working here, there is food, drink, and silver." ”

After a pause, he said softly: "In charge, you have to work hard and be worthy of the court." ”

The man nodded heavily and mumbled.

Immediately, there was a look of firmness in his eyes, as if he was reading some vow:

"Sooner or later, one day, I will let you two live a good life!"

A smile appeared between the woman's eyebrows, and she said softly, "I believe in the master." ”

As he spoke, he picked up Kuaizi and gave him the sweet potato porridge in the bowl:

"The head of the house is doing manual work, so eat more ......"

The man wanted to refuse, but when he saw her bright eyes, he was speechless for a while.

buried his head in the bowl and devoured it, but his eyes couldn't help but moisten.

After eating, the foreman gathered everyone together and asked each of them to identify the iron ore.

Only when you know can you go to the mine.

Immediately after that, he told some more things.

"That's it! That's all, take a pickaxe and go to the mine! ”

Order.

Laborers lined up to walk into the mine with pickaxes.

Because of the pressure of production, they worked hard as if they were dying.

I had to dry until my arm was sore, and then I stopped to rest.

Feel a little more relaxed, it doesn't hurt so much, and then continue to work.

Less than half a month.

The excavated iron ore has piled up into a small hill.

After a while, someone will pull them away.

Time passes.

In the blink of an eye, the end of the year is approaching.

The mining area is as hot as ever.

this day.

It's time for lunch.

The miners gathered together, staring at the pork tumbling in the pot and swallowing their saliva.

It is a luxury to have enough to eat on weekdays.

Not to mention meat.

At this moment, smelling the smell of meat in the air, I feel that my hard work has paid off.

"I wish I could stay in the mine forever."

The miners looked at the boiling cauldron and all had the same thought.

Not far away.

A middle-aged man dressed in cloth clothes with a good face walked over step by step with a crutch in his hand.

This person is Hai Jui, who is patrolling the states and capitals.

"It's finally here!"

Hai Rui looked at the orderly array of miners, his eyes burst into a gleam, and he walked up.

"Who are you? What are you doing here? ”

The foreman stopped in front of Hai Rui, frowned slightly, and asked.

Hai Rui replied: "In Xia Yan Song, I heard that the mine is recruiting, come and have a look." ”

When the foreman heard this, his eyes showed a suspicious look, and he said, "If you want to come to the mine, why don't you register with the government?" ”

The lord of the government specially ordered.

No suspicious person is allowed to approach the mine.

Especially those who are richly dressed and have a noble temperament, they must be strictly guarded.

If the man pestered him to ask some strange questions, he answered them as the master commanded.

That's why.

The foreman will be so vigilant in the face of Hai Rui.

Hai Rui was stunned and said, "What does registration mean?" ”

The foreman opened his mouth to say something, but before he could open his mouth, he heard Hai Rui say:

"I've also heard people say that as long as you can stay in the mine, you will have food.

This winter is cold, and the food stored at home has been stolen by rats, so there is really no way, so I want to come here to find a way to live.

Sir, you can be kind and take me in, I don't want anything, just give me a bite to eat. ”

As he spoke, his eyes were full of tears, and he looked desperate and pitiful.

Hearing this, the foreman, who was about the same age as Hai Rui, couldn't help but feel compassion.

He glanced Hai Rui up and down.

Seeing the vicissitudes of his face and his plain clothes, the vigilance in his heart was also relaxed, and he said in his heart: This person has chilblains on his face and patches on his clothes, how can he be the "master" sent down from above......

Take him in for one night, and then register with the government tomorrow, it should not be in the way.

With that in mind.

The foreman stretched out his hand to the crowd and said:

"First go get a bowl of porridge to drink, then get a pickaxe for me, and mine together in the afternoon."

Hai Rui hurriedly said: "Thank you, master!" Thank you, sir! ”

The foreman waved his hand: "Go ahead." ”

Hai Rui nodded, walked to the crowd, followed behind them, and received a bowl of hot porridge.

Take two sips along the edge of the bowl.

The taste is not bad.

Immediately after, I found a random place to squat.

While drinking porridge, he asked:

"I heard that there is porridge to drink every day in the mine, and there is a nest to eat, and you can eat three meals a day, but we are like this here?"

The miner next to him glanced at him and said, "New here?" ”

Hai Rui snorted.

The miner said: "It's all spread by people outside, and there is indeed porridge to drink every day, but Wotou is not every day, and there are thousands of people here, if you eat Wotou every day, you must not empty the government." ”

Hai Rui smiled innocently, and said: "I also heard that if you dig out more ore, you can still get one or two pieces of silver every month, and in one mine, there are thousands of people who can receive silver." ”

When the miner heard this, he was stunned at first, then laughed, and after a while, he wiped the corners of his eyes and said:

"It's too evil outside, there are a lot of stones dug up, and there is indeed silver, but it is only three coins, and how can there be a thousand people."

"One tael of silver a month, a thousand people, one thousand taels of silver a month, can the government come up with so much silver."

Hai Rui looked curious and asked, "How many people can get the silver?" ”

The miner thought for a moment and said, "It's only two or three hundred people." ”

I got the answer I wanted.

Hai Rui nodded, stopped talking, and buried himself in porridge.

In the days that followed, he ate and lived with the miners, and went down to the mine together.

It can basically prove that everything the miners say is true.

Seven days later.

On a warmer afternoon.

Hai Rui quietly left the mining area and went to the Yamen of Suishui County.

Now.

Suishui County Yamen.

Qian Mengchuang, the county magistrate, looked at the account book in his hand, still proud.

It was so serious.

It seems that once this silver is deducted, it will fall into the abyss, and it will never be able to be reborn.

The result?

Now more than a month has passed, and it is not that his head has not been found.

Not only did he not find his head, but there was no news of any investigation in the states and prefectures.

He didn't believe that all the parents and officials of the great cadre were ice and jade, and they were not stained out of the mud.

There must be someone like him, who is greedy for some money and food.

However, none of them were found.

It shows that what Fang Xiang said before was just to scare and scare them.

I didn't want to get it real at all.

"If I really listened to Lord Thorn Shi's words, I would have to earn a lot less money."

Qian Mengchuang thought of this, raised his eyebrows, and felt that he had made a wise decision in his life.

That's when it happened.

Suddenly, there was a rush of footsteps outside the house.

This was followed by panicked shouts.

"My lord! Big things are wrong! ”

A servant pushed open the door and walked in, looking at Qian Mengchuang with a panicked face.

Qian Mengchuang looked at him, his brows furrowed slightly, he snorted coldly, and said angrily:

"The county government is heavy, noisy and noisy, what kind of system!"

The official was stunned, but he was speechless.

Seeing this, Qian Mengchuang suddenly realized something, his brows furrowed even tighter, and he asked:

"What's going on!"

The official calmed down his emotions and replied:

"A group of guards with knives came outside, saying that they were ordered to arrest the adults!"

Qian Mengchuang was slightly stunned, his eyes showed anger, and he said loudly:

"This official is an official of the imperial court! For no reason, who would dare to arrest this official! ”

Ya Gong Dao:

"The person at the head claims to be the Zuodu Yu Shi Hairui!"

Hai Jui.

Hear the name.

Qian Mengchuang was momentarily stunned.

After a while, he realized what was happening, his face turned pale, and a fear surged in his heart, and he was speechless for a while.

There was only one thought in my head.

"The dignified Zuodu Imperial History, the princes of the court, how could they appear in a small Suishui County!"