Glancing at this indignant little girl like an idiot, Bai Xiaoyi said indifferently:

"I said, sister, are you mistaken? If I hadn't hired them, these two children would have starved to death in the streets. Do you know how much it costs for you to eat these watermelons, and how much do those two kids make in a busy day?"

was asked by the young man like this, and Zhu Wei suddenly couldn't answer. But the girl who wanted to save face was still unconvinced:

"I ...... How do I know how much it costs, isn't it just a few pieces of watermelon, and it can be more expensive than gold!"

With a few disdainful sneers, Bai Xiaoyi said uncharacteristically seriously:

"Then I'll do a good math with you today, the chilled watermelon you eat now is indeed not more expensive than gold, and if you put it in the market to buy, it will only cost three cents a piece, and you can buy two pieces for five cents when you meet a kind store. But so what? Do you know what these five cents are equal to a poor family, which is equivalent to a person's food ration for a day. ”

Bai Xiaoyi pointed to the two children who were squatting in the corner and happily eating watermelon, and said with some excitement:

"Their two children, working in my shop every day, can earn ten cents a day, and putting them on this street is already a high salary. In ordinary stores, you won't be invited to a child of their age. Five cents, five cents can keep them from going hungry all day, and they can make their mother, who is still sick in bed, have enough to eat. ”

"This eldest lady, I know that you have been clothed and fed since you were a child, and you don't know how we poor people live. But I hope you'd better use your brain before you speak next time, and don't just spray people with blood. When I was helping the poor on this street, I guess you were still playing in the mountains and rivers somewhere, eating delicious food for a meal of dozens of taels of silver!"

The young man's heartfelt remarks suddenly said that Princess Baohui was speechless, she looked at this suddenly somewhat strange young man blankly, and she felt a little ashamed for a while.

Seeing that his apprentice reprimanded a princess like this, the Qingyi Taoist hurriedly stopped:

"Xiao Yi, that's enough!"

But his voice fell, and Zhu Yuanzhang, who had been listening to the young man's remarks on the side, said in a deep voice:

"Xi Zhenren, Xiao Yi, this kid is right. It was Wei'er who was offended, and I, the father, did not accompany her. ”

Seeing that this monarch of a country actually apologized to himself, Bai Xiaoyi suddenly panicked. He said at a loss:

"Old man Zhu, where are you talking about this, I just said it casually, how can you be wrong......

Seeing that her father actually stood on Bai Xiaoyi's side, Princess Baohui, who was already a little unconvinced, felt even more aggrieved, she lowered her head and silently twisted the corners of her clothes, and tears swirled in her eyes.

At this moment, a small hand gently tugged at the corner of the girl's clothes. The sensible little girl Wufu came to the side of this good-looking sister and said in a milky voice:

"Sister, sister, are you okay? Brother Bai spoke a little heavier, he was unintentional. Sister, don't be angry......"

Looking at the immature face of the little girl, Princess Baohui's heart softened, and she suddenly burst into tears and smiled:

"Okay, okay, my sister won't be angry anymore. Fang Cai's sister is not good, and she has wronged a good person. She pointed to the watermelon on the table and said, "Do you like watermelon?"

The well-behaved Wufu nodded slightly.

Seeing the little girl's reaction, Zhu Wei discussed softly:

"Since you like to eat, why don't you give you a watermelon? By the way, I heard that your mother is still sick, and my sister doesn't know what she can do to help you. ”

As she spoke, the girl took out a dozen taels of silver from her purse.

Seeing that the good-looking sister in front of him was going to stuff so much money into his hands, the sensible Xiao Wufu immediately panicked, he looked at his brother with some help, and then the older Sixi hurriedly ran over and blocked the money bag handed over by Zhu Wei.

"This sister, our brother and sister thank you for your kindness. But Brother Bai told us that you have to have backbone to be a man, and if you want to get something, you have to rely on your own ability to earn it. We are poor, but we still have dignity. If the money is not ours, we will not ask for it. If you are kind enough to help us, then the leftover watermelon rinds on the table will be good for us, and we will still be useful. ”

Looking at the two overly sensible children in some astonishment, Zhu Wei took back the money bag in disdain. She put the leftover watermelon rind on a plate and handed it to the two siblings, watching them happily take the watermelon rind away with a puzzled expression.

After being stunned for a long time, Princess Baohui asked suspiciously:

"They...... What do you want watermelon rind to do......"

Bai Xiaoyi's face twitched unnaturally, he just wanted to explain it for this princess in fine clothes and fine food, but suddenly heard Zhu Yuanzhang, who had been silent on the side, say a little hoarsely:

"Watermelon rind washed and sliced, can be stir-fried and eaten......"

Looking at her father with a stunned face, Zhu Wei said in disbelief:

"Those watermelon rinds, you can actually eat them?!"

Showing a bitter smile, the long-faced old man continued in a hoarse voice:

"It's not just watermelon rinds, but also the vegetable leaves that have been thrown away, and the wild vegetables on the roadside. Poor people often rely on picking up some vegetable leaves and melons and fruits that others have thrown away. If there is a famine, even the bark of the tree can be removed to make soup and drink......"

As he spoke, a tear appeared in the old man's eyes. He muttered bitterly:

"It's my emperor who hasn't done well enough, there are still many people in the world who are suffering and still starving......"

Seeing that the founding emperor blamed himself so much, several people present suddenly fell silent.

I don't know how long it took, Bai Xiaoyi boldly asked:

"Old man, listen to Fang Cai's words, did you suffer a lot when you were a child?"

Qiang squeezed out a bitter smile, and the long-faced old man said with some nostalgia:

"Not only suffering, what I experienced when I was a child was purgatory on earth. At that time, my family was just an ordinary farmer. My father was a tenant for the landlord Liu De's family, and although he was poor, he could get by. Unexpectedly, one year, there was a locust plague in the local area, and there was no harvest. I watched my father, my eldest brother, and my nephew starve to death right under my nose. It's a taste you young people who will never understand it for the rest of your life......"

Looking at the old man's somewhat painful expression, Bai Xiaoyi asked tentatively:

"And then?"

"Later, because my family was poor, I didn't even have money for my family's funeral. I went to beg Liu De to see if I could borrow some money from him for my family to bury. But because I had a conflict with his family when I was young, Liu De has always held a grudge and refused to lend me money. If it weren't for his brother Liu Jizu who saw me pitiful and helped me, I'm afraid I wouldn't even be able to bury my family. ”

Seeing that Zhu Yuanzhang's expression had recovered a little, Bai Xiaoyi continued to ask:

"Old man, after you become the emperor, will you behead Liu De and his family?"

Because this was the first time the old man had talked about his life experience, everyone at the table focused their attention on him. At this time, when Bai Xiaoyi asked, everyone looked over curiously.

Snorted softly, Zhu Yuanzhang said angrily:

"Do you think I'm the kind of tyrant who kills people without blinking? Although I have some resentment against Liu De, what he does is also in line with common sense. What's more, if his brother hadn't helped me back then, I guess I would have starved to death. So, instead of punishing them, I rewarded them with dozens of acres of land and let them live in peace. ”

Looking at the old man with some astonishment, Bai Xiaoyi said in disbelief:

"No, you just let him go? But how can you be so merciful to a landlord if you are so cruel to those corrupt officials and corrupt officials, either cutting off your head for public display, or peeling and peeling (xuàn) grass?"

Coughing a few times in embarrassment, the old man, who was the emperor of the dynasty, glanced at this open-mouthed young man angrily, and explained in a deep voice:

"Can that be the same? My family's starvation to death is a natural disaster, and it's none of Liu De's business, why do I hate him......? But what...... I did hold a grudge against him for a while. But then I figured it out that it was not these landlords and businessmen who caused us poor people to have no way to live, but those corrupt officials. Because they are insatiable, they increase taxes and rents to force us to desperation. Therefore, the day I sat on the throne of this emperor, I vowed to severely punish all corrupt officials. If the punishment fails, they will be killed, and if they are not afraid of killing, Lao Tzu will pick their skins and hang them in the county office, I think those officials who succeed are afraid of it!"

As he spoke, the old man's body couldn't help but exude a bloodthirsty killing intent. This can startle the people at the same table, this emperor is really not in vain, don't look at the old age of more than fifty, but he is still murderous.

Smiled a little fearfully, Bai Xiaoyi still said fearlessly:

"But old man, isn't it too harsh for you to do this? I've heard that those seven-grade county lords only have a dozen taels of taels every month, and when converted into silver, it's only five or six taels, isn't this too little?"

The long-faced old man raised his eyebrows, and said a little angrily:

"Where is the shortage! Isn't a dozen stones of food enough for his family of three?"