After the bitter master left, Tang Shan sat down helplessly, looking very depressed.

Seeing this, Lao Tan couldn't help but explain: "Mr. Tang doesn't have to be like this, as the old saying goes, heaven is evil, it is forgivable, self-inflicted, you can't live, why should this kind of person go to grieve for him!" ”

After speaking, Lao Tan picked up the pen and wrote the word "heavy" on the page that recorded Wang Dequan's crime, and then handed it to Tang Shan.

After Tang Shan took it, he thought for a moment, and then he also wrote down the word "heavy" with a pen.

Soon, five or six more bitter lords brought in, Lao Tan and Tang Shan questioned them, recorded their grievances, and then asked people to bring the relevant landlord and squire over.

It didn't take long for Liu Yuanwai from Liujia Village to be brought in, and a few bitter masters were quite sensible, and they didn't go up to tear up, but they couldn't help but spit on him, scolding him for lacking virtue and breaking his conscience.

Seeing them like this, Tang Shan was finally in a slightly better mood, and then asked Liu Yuanwai: "Master Liu, many bitter lords have accused you, saying that you are not friendly to neighbors, and have forced them to sell land at a low price, and the price is far lower than others, but is there such a thing?" How do you say that? ”

Liu Yuanwai looked up at Tangshan, and then at Lao Tan, and saw that they looked like Sven, not like wicked people, and he was slightly relieved in his heart, and then said: "Back to this master, they say that I don't love neighbors, it just means that I don't lend them silver, but it's not my fault that I didn't lend money!" ”

Speaking of this, Liu Yuanwai couldn't help but look at Tang Shan and Lao Tan, and saw that they looked as usual, so he couldn't help but be a little bolder, and then said: "They are all bitter haha, where can the borrowed silver be returned!" Not only that, I borrowed Zhang San today, there will be a Li Si tomorrow, and Wang Er Mazi will come the day after tomorrow, and I will borrow it or not!

I also save this silver on weekdays, don't hide it from the two masters, I usually don't even have a meat dish to eat, and I eat a few times during the New Year's holidays, raising this big family, it's not easy for me! ”

After listening to Tang Shan, he was slightly satisfied, it is no wonder that he does not borrow silver, this borrowing money is love, not borrowing is duty, where is there any reason to accuse others for this reason!

Liu Yuanwai said: "As for the matter of buying land, I pay attention to your love and my willingness, I bid a little lower, I also admit this, but I can't help it, there is a lot of land at home, it doesn't matter if you buy it or not, the price is naturally not high!" If they say that I press their hands and force them to sign and draw on the note, if they say such things in their conscience, I can die now to prove my innocence! ”

At this time, the woman who began to denounce him scolded Liu Yuanwai: "My baby is sick, and if you don't sell the land, she will die of illness, what is the difference between your bid so low and robbing my land!" Others sell five or six taels of silver per acre of land, but you only gave seven taels of silver to me for five acres of land, and you still have the face to say! Do you say you're black-hearted! Yes! ”

Lao Tan and Tang Shan couldn't help but look at Liu Yuanwai, this price is indeed too far behind, at this time, the bitter master is his son is sick and urgently needs money, this price is really suspected of taking advantage of the fire to rob!

I saw the bitter look on Liu Yuanwai's face, and said to Lao Tan and Tangshan: "Two old men Mingjian, her woman only said that others sold five or six taels of silver per acre, why didn't she say that there were still people who sold one or two taels of silver per acre, the water was turbid, the land was up and down, and her family's field couldn't produce much grain all year round, who in this township didn't know, it was a notoriously inferior field, if it wasn't for the fact that his children urgently needed silver to see a doctor, where would I ask for it!" Good guys make ghosts!

The two masters can take someone to see the five acres of land in her house to see if it is an inferior field! How can this woman compare her own inferior fields with other people's superior fields! ”

Tang Shan listened, so he asked the woman, "This aunt, what Master Liu said is the truth?" What was the harvest of your field like in a year? ”

The woman cooed for a long time, unable to utter a word.

Tang Shan also understood when he saw this, so he asked Liu Yuanwai again: "Master Liu, there are still people who accuse you of forcing you to pay the imperial grain tax, forcing his family to sell their fields and land, and finally even their own children are sold to others, but is there such a thing?" ”

Liu Yuanwai thought for a while, then gritted his teeth and said, "Master, isn't it natural for the court to collect taxes and the people to pay taxes?" Which people don't pay this imperial grain tax! This is not handed over to me, it is handed over to the imperial court! Since ancient times, there have been tens of millions of people who have been forced to hang themselves by this imperial grain! There are countless people who sell their children and daughters! This is how everyone has come over for generations, so what's wrong with me! ”

At this time, the bitter master man said, "You're right? Then why don't you pay taxes on so much land, and why do you have to pay so much for my family's few acres of land, why do you collect my family's taxes like this! ”

Liu Yuanwai took out a silk scarf from his sleeve and wiped the sweat beads on his forehead, and then said to Tangshan, Lao Tan: "Our squires are all famous, so naturally we don't need to pay this tax, where is this not the case in this world, this is the court's preferential treatment of our squire's family, if this matter is wrong, it is also the court's fault, what does it have to do with me!" ”

Tangshan Lao Tan and the two couldn't help but glance at each other, this thing is not reasonable to say, rich and powerful people don't have to pay taxes, but those who don't have money have to be forced to death by this tax, but you really can't blame the hometown gentry, because this is allowed by the imperial court! People don't have to pay it!

Hey, in the final analysis, there is a problem with the collection of this tax, and the court can only be blamed!

Then Tang Shan asked Liu Yuanwai a few questions one by one, and Liu Yuanwai answered them one by one, and what he said was also reasonable, it seems that there is nothing wrong with Liu Yuanwai in terms of morality, but there is a little bit of criticism.

But this is also the commonality of many landlords and squires, in a word, these years, many people's family style is like this, the elders are afraid that the child will lose the family, so from an early age to teach the child to be diligent and thrifty, not extravagant and wasteful, so many people have developed this habit!

In the end, Tang Shan asked Liu Yuan to take him down, and then let the sufferers go back first.

After those people left, Lao Tan couldn't help but say: "This squire is okay, and he is not a bad person, I heard that one of their bridges was built by him with money, but it is not bad!" ”