"What's your name?"

Seeing that the boy didn't eat his own buns, he was no longer reluctant, and asked casually. Pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info

"My surname is Sun Xinger, just call me Sun Eryang."

"My name is Xiqing, because in the year I was brought home, Director Zheng's family had a year of happy events, so he changed his name, which is quite nice. - By the way, what about the rest of your family? ”

Sun Erlang looked at Jin Shuihe and said in a low voice: "My father went to pull fibers for people, and he had to make a few copper coins to wrap up." ”

Xiqing stuck out his tongue: "Pull fiber, it's such a hard job." Alas, where are you from? How did you get here in Octagonal Town? Are you going to the capital? The capital is very lively! ”

"I am from Heyin County, Mengzhou, and I can't survive this year. I heard that there are many big families in Kaifeng Mansion recruiting people, so Daddy brought a family here, so he could find a place to fill the stomach of the whole family. ”

Hearing this, Xiqing moved his buttocks, moved away from Sun Erlang, and said: "Look at your young age, how can you lie and deceive people!" Let me tell you, I am also from Heyin County, and I have known that it is on the edge of the Yellow River since I was a child, and no matter how dry it is, it will not be confiscated in the field! Also, don't think that I'm young and ignorant, I work in the third division, and I know that the wheat in the field is confiscated this season, how can your family walk? Could it be that he escaped by committing a crime! ”

Sun Erlang hurriedly waved his hand and said, "Don't guess!" This year's drought, the Yellow River went to the north bank again, you don't know, in previous years, the Yellow River was under the Guangwu Mountain, this year the river bank is almost ten miles away from the foot of the mountain, how can the south bank of the ground be watered? Without water, the wheat ripened early, and it didn't harvest much anyway, so it ripened a month earlier than usual. ”

Speaking of this, Sun Erlang's voice lowered: "Our family harvested wheat early, and shared the harvest with the owner before we started to move." However, the harvest was not good, and it was just a distribution of chaff. ”

The festive general was suspicious, looking at Sun Erlang with a look of disbelief.

He knows that the waterways of the Yellow River are unpredictable, but the rainy season has always been close to the foot of the Guangwu Mountain, but in the dry season it will leave a large river beach. At that time, his family was hit by a disaster and lost the harvest because of the Yellow River, and begged all the way to the capital.

And listening to Sun Erlang's tone, his family should be a customer there, otherwise the main household rents the land and generally pays rent, and will not share the harvest with the main family. Although there was an edict in the Tiansheng year, the landlord was not allowed to obstruct the relocation of the villagers, but it was required to be done only after the grain in the field was harvested and the harvest was shared, otherwise it would be regarded as a flight for no reason.

Seeing that he didn't believe it, Sun Erlang turned his head and said, "If you don't believe it, forget it, hurry up and get busy!" ”

Xiqing thought for a while and said, "It's not that I don't believe it, it's just that it's too early to finish harvesting the summer grain now." ”

"What's so early, it's been either water or drought in the past few years, and the harvest has always been like this, is it unusual? If it weren't for the fact that there are many large manors here in Kaifeng Mansion, and there is a lack of manpower, our family would still be staying there! ”

Xiqing couldn't think of any benefit for a child to deceive himself, so he sat down again and said to Sun Erlang: "There are disasters every year, but I haven't heard of any homeless people in the Mengzhou area in the capital, but there are many in Jingdong Road." ”

"We have few people there, and there are not many people in the county, so if there is no harvest, we can go to the mountains to pick some wild dates and persimmons, and pick up some acorn chestnuts to make up a year. It's just that there is no meal, and life is difficult. ”

Xiqing sighed: "Yes, we are like this there, and we don't support people at all." By the way, natural disasters happen every year, so if you can deal with it and survive, maybe it will be a good harvest next year, why should the whole family move away? ”

Sun Erlang sighed: "In previous years, when the Yellow River embankment was repaired, my father was already sick from exhaustion, and I heard that this year what canal will be opened to divert water from the Luo River, which one can withstand this kind of heavy labor?" It's better to move out as soon as possible. ”

"Ah, you still have land! If you go away like this, won't you be able to sell for a price! ”

Only the main household bears the labor, and Sun Erlang's family has to serve the service of repairing the river, so naturally they have fields in the local area. I can't imagine that I can make up my mind to go, just leave, such a year, go in such a hurry, this land can only be sold cheaply.

I don't want Sun Erlang to shake his head: "Where is there any land?" It's just two huts! The tax money for a year is only three cents, and it is better to be a floating guest, at least free of labor every year. ”

Hearing this, Xiqing nodded sympathetically to Sun Erlang. This kind of main household is really not as good as the floating guests hired in the big family, at least the people do not pay taxes, and they eat as much as they earn. The two taxes are levied on a land-by-land basis, and the houses and homesteads in the countryside are calculated in the same way as the cultivated land, and the tax is paid as much as the area is. Two thatched huts only cost two or three cents a year in tax.

The ancients often said that the rich and the poor in the world are uneven, the rich have no land, and the poor have no place to stand. But the current system, it is better to have a place for a cone than not. A small thatched hut or two can only shelter from the wind and rain, and it is worthless, and it will pay a few pennies in taxes a year according to the area. But with the tax of these pennies, the nature of household registration has changed.

As long as you pay taxes, even if it is just one penny or two a year, you are the main household, so the main household is also called a tax household. No matter how poor the main household is, it also has to bear the labor, although it is not the turn of the heavy labor that can ruin the family in front of the Li Zheng Yaqian, but the labor of repairing the river embankment and digging the canal cannot be escaped, and it is also a heavy burden for the poor family.

The year is bad, and there are many people who are facing universal servitude, and there are many people who have abandoned their homes and fled. The Yellow River and the Bianhe River have to be dredged every year, and there are many people fleeing from the prefectures and counties on both sides of the river. It is better to flee to another country and be hired as a farmer and be exempted from hard labor, than to be tired and tired of guarding two huts at home.

Although there are also Zhuangke in Xu Pingzhuang, who start a family and rent land to farm, the houses they have always lived in are all owned by the Xu family, and Xu Ping has never let them own their own land, which is the reason. It's not that Xu Ping is stingy, it's really good for the villagers.

When they were young, they grew up in the countryside like Sun Erlang, and the heavy burden of this different household registration left an indelible impression on them, and when they said it, they felt the same way.

After a while, Xiqing asked Sun Erlang, "Where is your home?" Tell me, maybe I remember the place! ”

"Caojiaao at the foot of Guangwu Mountain, not far from Biankou, have you heard of it?"

Festively slapped his thigh: "Cao Jiaao!" Of course I know! It's not far from my house. By the way, there is a Jiang Yuanwai in Caojiaao, his heart is extremely dark, and how many people in the surrounding villages have cursed him to death! - Is he dead? ”

Sun Erlang shook his head gloomily: "It's a good life." My family is planting his family's land, alas, if it is a reasonable person, this kind of year will inevitably be rent-free, and most of the families in Heyin County are exempt from taxes. ”

"How can this kind of black-hearted employee be rent-free? Since I was a child in Heyin County, people in the county said that the Jiang family had the most conscience! The people around him want to drink his blood! ”

Speaking of their hometown, the two immediately became close.

When the flood occurred, there were large families in other places who put grain for disaster relief, and the Jiang family did not go out for a grain of rice, and his family reported the most to the affected fields. Even most of the Miao rice sent by the government for disaster relief was brought to their homes by the Jiang family by various means, forcing many families to flee. The festive parents also took him to escape to the capital at that time, and both of them died of cold and starvation.

was chatting energetically, and Xiqing suddenly saw people from the third division wandering around the street, and suddenly remembered that Director Zheng and Director Chen were still waiting to buy buns to fill their stomachs.

jumped up from the ground and said happily: "Ah, it's not good, I just cared about chatting with you, and I forgot to bring the buns back first!" By the way, where do you stay at night? I'm coming to play with you. ”

Sun Erlang smiled lightly: "I live here, now the weather is warmer, the night is not very cold, under this willow tree, before you know it, the sky will be bright!" ”

Xiqing was taken aback: "Isn't that sleeping on the streets?" What about the people in your family? ”

"Daddy pulls fiber, and he won't come back until noon tomorrow, and Mom cooks for people on the boat, and I'm the only one in town."

Xiqing touched his head, thought for a while and said: "It's only the weather in early May now, don't look at the hot and dry during the day, but it's too cold at night." Well, we've got a room there tonight, and I'm the only one to sleep in. The room is big, and there is a big bed in it, so you can come and sleep with me, and wait until dawn to wait for your family. ”

"Where can this be done? You are also working under other people's roofs, and you will be scolded if you take someone back. ”

"Don't worry, although Director Zheng is more serious on his face, he is the most kind-hearted and won't say anything about you."

Sun Erlang had the heart not to go, but he was still a little afraid after all. And the festive face is charitable, and he is not a bad person at first glance. After thinking about it, he said to Xiqing: "Then I will bother you, and I will report it later!" ”

Festive smiled: "People in one of our places should naturally help each other when they are outcast, and they can't report anything." ”

After speaking, he took Sun Erlang's hand and walked towards the inn where he lived.

At this time, the sun had just slipped to the horizon, obscuring the fierce light of the day, and the whole thing was soft.

Walking to the road, Xiqing found that he still had half a bun in his hand, took out a bun from the paper bag, handed it to Sun Erlang and said, "Give you a bun to fill your stomach, this is a chicken juice bun, so fragrant!" ”

Sun Erlang just shook his head.

Xiqing said: "You don't have to worry, I still have a bun corner in my hand, as long as I go back and tell Director Zheng, I can't help but eat one on the way, he won't say anything." ”

"Then I don't eat it, Daddy often says that people's stomach is the most pampered, if you are used to eating good food and meat, you can no longer eat bran vegetables. People like us, where do we get the meat to eat? If you eat badly, how can you do something bad? (To be continued.) )