Reborn girl from poor family

Chapter 13 There are ears in the book to repay God (1)

The two pages of the storybook that Shen Huai turned to told a story in Xiaoji Township by Baima Lake.

Mr. Sun, a wealthy gentry in Xiaoji Township, is one of the most powerful local chiefs.

The li chief was not an official position. After the imperial court counted the villagers, one hundred and ten households were divided into one li, and they were sorted according to the amount of Ding Liang. The ten households with the largest number took turns to be the li chief. As an assistant to the local government, he was in charge of verifying local household registration and urging Collect taxes and services, and manage and preside over internal affairs.

Called yamen officials, in fact, without the cooperation of the district chief, it would be difficult for local officials who had studied in the imperial examination to govern.

To put it bluntly, the county magistrate is not as good as the current one.

Now, although Mr. Sun is celebrating his sixtieth birthday, which was originally a normal thing, the timing and pomp of his birthday are unusual.

It happened to be the first February of the new year, and the autumn grain collection was coming to an end. Baima Lake had been hit by floods the previous year, and the fertile fields were flooded and households were damaged. The autumn harvest was naturally bleak. Many families relied on ice fishing to make ends meet during the New Year. How can there be surplus food?

But the villagers carried the tables and chairs themselves and gathered wine and food to support Mr. Sun. They stood at the banquet table without sitting down or using chopsticks. They had dishes on their faces and were dressed in ragged clothes. It was really grand and weird.

Master Sun took his new beautiful concubine in hand and let her enjoy the banquet to herself. Unexpectedly, the concubine fell to the ground just after eating half the table. It turned out that she was the yellow demon that climbed up from the bottom of the White Horse Lake. I was confused. Master Sun has done harm to everyone.

Under the guidance of the master, the villagers put magic spells and herbs to defeat the demon in the food and wine. Finally, the yellow demon was killed and bit off half of Mr. Sun before he died.

——It is really an ordinary and bizarre story.

However, Shen Huai carefully commented on the side, to the effect that:

"This story has a detailed location, time and events. It can only be believed if it is true. It shows that there is a lot of detail in it. So why was this story about natural and man-made disasters chosen to be compiled in a famous place by the Baima Lake?

Is there any other metaphor in it?

Su Ya held the storybook and looked at the annotations, thinking that although Mr. Zhou was a bit bookish this time, his mind was quite sharp.

When others read this story, they mostly see the novelty and weirdness in it, but he wants to follow the story and inquire about the reasons and basis for the fabrication.

But he really got it right.

"Young Master, do you know the Baima Lake and Xiaoji Township in this story?"

"Although I have never been back before, Huai'an is my ancestral home after all. I have often heard my elders talk about the local customs since I was a child. Xie Lingyun of the Eastern Jin Dynasty also wrote "Zheng Fu", writing about White Horse Lake. The side is open and the sun shines through it, looking at the Hangou ditch, which leads to the Yangtze River and the Huaihe River, and to Bojiao City. It can be seen that this place is mostly facilitated by canals and can be said to be rich."

I hate people who drop their book bags the most. Your family is the only one who reads a lot. What poem do you suddenly memorize?

To speak directly to people, just say that Baima Lake is close to the Grand Canal and has a long history. It is good for fishing, hunting and farming, right?

Su Ya was forced to answer the question, but she was quite reluctant to do so, so she smiled and scolded her, and responded gently, "Young master is indeed well-read, so he naturally knows about the consequences of the Yellow River taking over the Huaihe River, right?"

"Well, it is recorded in the book that since the Yellow River changed its course in the Southern Song Dynasty and took over the Huaihe River, the lower reaches of the Yangtze and Huaihe Rivers have often been harmed by sand from the Yellow River, and the people have also suffered from floods."

Shen Huai responded fluently, but he was puzzled: "But when the local area was hit by a disaster, the court naturally took measures to reduce or reduce taxes. Changyingcang is also close at hand. After opening it several times, the local people did not have to bear the burden of taxes and could still receive disaster relief materials." , Jianghuai is rich and prosperous, so the people should not be in ragged clothes and cut ice for food, right?"

Shen Huai has a good appearance. When he wants to show his sincerity, even if he says things that he takes for granted, he still looks like he is listening carefully, making it impossible for people to continue to hate him.

Su Ya owed him a favor and was too embarrassed to dislike him, so she could only tell everything in limited places, for fear that she might mislead a good official in the future.

"Of course the court has tax exemptions and disaster relief, but there are countless losses from the court to the hands of the villagers. How much can be distributed to each household?"

She recalled the floods in the past and couldn't help but feel a little angry. "When floods occurred, villagers often not only had their fields washed away, but also their houses were often destroyed. After the floods, the mud walls of the thatched huts were empty. They were so lucky." This place is close to water, and there is still fish and meat to eat."

As she spoke, she poured some tea from Shen Huai's cup on the table, dipped her hand in the water and traced on the table.

"You see, Baima Lake is thirty miles southeast of Huai'an City. It is not only at the intersection of Huai'an and Yangzhou, but also connected to waterways such as Hongze Lake and the surrounding Gaoyou Lake. The terrain is low-lying and the islands are connected. When the flood comes, those The open spaces between the waterways were flooded first."

She used tea to draw the city of Huai'an on the table, and then drew waterways and lakes. Finally, she dropped many small dots in Baima Lake to represent small islands. It was very intuitive, and it turned out to be a terrain that was about to be flooded.

"Oh, it turns out that in this story, it is said that Mr. Sun's concubine is a yellow demon that climbed up from the bottom of White Horse Lake. That's what it means." Shen Huai suddenly realized.

"Yes, there are ninety-nine small islands in Baima Lake. They seem to be connected to each other as the water rises and falls. The villagers live scattered on the islands. It is difficult for outsiders who are not familiar with the waterways to find them all."

Su Ya pointed to the dotted islands, "Master Sun is the head of Xiaoji Township. How many people are there in each family, how many taxes and grains should be paid, and how many corvees should be paid, are all under the control of Master Sun." He is reported to the statistics, so he is the overlord in that area. If he wants to bully the superiors and conceal the inferiors, how many of the scattered and weak villagers will dare to resist?"

"Who would want to resist if they couldn't survive?" She couldn't help but sigh, "Look at the ending written in the story, it actually has a profound meaning: the monster died, Mr. Sun was eaten by the monster, but these are not The abilities of the villagers depend on the guidance of experts behind them. But in this world, where are there so many experts who love to go to the countryside?"

"...It turns out that even in a prosperous land, there is still the pain of being closed off."

In fact, how could Shen Huai not know this? He was just doing a show to numb Su Ya, and he was not really a nerd.

Seeing that Su Ya suddenly spoke truthfully at this moment, he couldn't help but think of his travels and experiences, and was a little silent for a moment.

"It's very common that there are corners under the sun where dirt hides." Su Ya noticed that the atmosphere was dull and immediately cheered up.

She smiled and said: "Actually, you are right. The story must be fascinating. Of course, it is best to have familiar parts in it, so that the audience can easily get involved in the play. This story is about rural anecdotes, so it will naturally If you choose a place that ordinary people are not familiar with, it may not necessarily be a metaphor."

After saying that, she wiped away the tea on the table and took a step back, "I don't have much knowledge. I just happened to hear the shopkeeper say this paragraph in the bookstore. I will tell it to you according to the gourd painting. There may be some things that I haven't memorized yet. Master, please listen. Just believe half and half."

"Your shopkeeper is a very knowledgeable person," Shen Huai nodded in agreement, "If you really want to understand the world, you should read more storybooks!"

Su Ya's interpretation is actually very good. It has a unique and effective perspective and a simple topographic map comparison. If you are not really familiar with local affairs and have a deep understanding of the local affairs, you will definitely not be able to explain this.

But she was not arrogant and complacent, but made an excuse by saying that she had recited the shopkeeper's comments. Shen Huai couldn't help but look at her deeply.

"The Reborn Girl from a Poor Family" was highly recommended today!

I was so excited when I read the news last night that I didn't go to bed until early in the morning. I was afraid that the story was not good enough and if it could not stand the test of the treasures, how could it be worthy of the people who trusted me.

From the preparation to the draft, Su Ya and Shen Huai have been in my heart. They are very good. What I can do is to record it carefully and carefully with my limited writing power and respect for all readers who read this story. Download their stories.

Finally, to celebrate the strong recommendation, I decided to start updating it from today on, I’m so excited!

(End of chapter)