I

  Chapter 103 101 [Drama Performance and Complaint Conference]

  Huang Shunde helped his mother and took the whole family to the threshing ground. The old father refused to be a thief and chose to stay at home alone to guard the gate.

  Parents, elder brother, sister-in-law, younger brother, sister-in-law, himself and his wife, plus nephew over 12 years old, there are exactly nine people in the family. If another child grows up to 12 years old, it will meet Zhao Han's compulsory family separation standard.

  This is also what Huang Shunde is dissatisfied with. Forcing others to divide their families and properties does not conform to Confucianism or moral customs.

   Alas, the situation is stronger than people, if you don't follow the thief, you will be finished.

   Even if Zhao Han didn't do anything, those tenants in the past would probably be able to bully them to death!

  There are already many villagers sitting in the threshing ground, all of whom are ordered to watch the drama. One village after another, the performance goes slowly, and each time the audience is hundreds of people, no matter how many, the actors can't hear what they say.

  Huang Shunde's family came to the threshing ground, but did not receive any good looks.

  In the past, these low-skinned tenants would have rushed over and called "Mr. Huang", nodding and bowing to him as a boy.

  Huang Shunde would rather pay more taxes to the government as before, at least to live a decent life.

  His elder brother Huang Shungong thinks it is better now.

  Although the owner-cultivators did not get the land, they were also beneficiaries. Pay less land tax, no fire consumption, no miscellaneous stalls, no service money, and you can keep several stones of grain at home!

  If his father and younger brother hadn't stopped him, Huang Shungong would have taken refuge in Zhao Han long ago, and he was the one who did the most to farm the family.

   Here lies the complexity of reality. In the same family, one mother and two brothers, the elder brother is willing to support Zhao Han, but the younger brother hates Zhao Han from the bottom of his heart.

  In the middle of the threshing floor, there is a temporary stage, and the whole village sits around the stage.

  Huang Shunde's family came a little later, so they could only sit in the back seat. In fact, he was not in the mood to watch the theater, but because the village chief said, what good would it be, so he brought his whole family here.

  Wait for a while, more and more people gather.

  Finally, Chen Maosheng stepped onto the stage, cupped his hands and said, "Fathers and folks, I am Chen Maosheng, the deputy mayor. Is this year's harvest good?"

"it is good!"

   Men, women, old and children shouted one after another, with happy smiles on their faces. They have never been so happy now.

Chen Maosheng said again: "Mr. Zhao, Mayor Zhao, I still feel that you are suffering too much. If the land is shared equally, if each person has less than two mu of land, this family will get an extra mu of land! What do you mean? For example, your family Five people, less than ten mu of land, then Mr. Zhao will give you another mu!"

"it is good!"

   "Bodhisattva bless Mr. Zhao!"

   "Master Zhao is a good man!"

   "Master Zhao has a long life!"

   "..."

  Amidst the jubilation, many farmers knelt down directly, although Zhao Han was not present at the moment.

  Based on the agricultural production efficiency of the Ming Dynasty, one mu of the best fields in the south can support one person. Further subdividing the level, two or three mu and three or four mu of land can support one person. The dry fields in the north are much weaker, and the output is only half of that in the south, or even less.

  There is a premise for the above data: the government collects land taxes normally, don’t apportion them indiscriminately, don’t collect fire consumption indiscriminately, and don’t apportion slave labor indiscriminately.

  Counting the barren mountainous land, the total area of ​​cultivated land in Wuxing Town is only about 20,000 mu, which is less than 5 mu per capita (excluding children under the age of 12).

   Moreover, Zhao Han himself occupied 10,000 mu, resulting in less than 2.5 mu of arable land per capita.

  Chen Maosheng waited for everyone to be quiet, and continued: "Someone is going to say that the one with the least land distribution didn't contribute much in the fight against the landlords. Why this time, those who contributed did not get any land, and those who did not contribute have an acre instead."

  Many farmers nodded secretly, they thought so, but the folks in the village couldn't say it clearly.

Chen Maosheng said with a smile: "Farmers who are allocated an extra mu of land this time, you have to work hard. Our more than 500 junior soldiers wear shoes quickly during drills, and now there are straw poles everywhere. You have to make straw sandals for the junior soldiers! Drill During this period, one person from each household will take turns washing, sewing, and mending for your children! Also, Mr. Zhao plans to open a nursing home to support the orphans, widows, and disabled in the village. You have to take turns to carry water, firewood, and sweep the floor for the nursing home. .Is this good?"

"it is good!"

   In exchange for an acre of land, it is definitely worth doing these things.

  The farmers who failed to allocate additional land felt a little more balanced in their hearts.

Chen Maosheng announced again: "Mr. Zhao also said that he just arrived this year and sincerely wants to be friends with everyone. He thinks that everyone has worked very hard, and the rent of all the land that is cultivated will be reduced by half! Those who have paid the rent can go to the village tomorrow. Take the rent back home."

  The audience was sensational and dancing.

  Because most of the land allocated to the villagers was not enough for the family to eat, they still had to farm Zhao Han's field. It was reduced by 15% before, and now it is reduced by half again, which means that the land rent is only 80% of last year.

   "Traitor!" Huang Shunde muttered.

  Huang Shungong asked his brother: "What did you say?"

   "Nothing." Huang Shunde immediately shut up.

   Instead of directly reducing the rent by 20%, it will be reduced by 1.5% after spring plowing, and then halved after the rent is paid. It is nothing more than continuing to favor all farmers.

   Among them, Lixin was also brought.

  The rent that has already been collected is like eating meat in your mouth, and it can be returned to the tenants in this way. Zhao Han's personal credit is almost bursting!

  Huang Shunde thought to himself: Such a treacherous person is used to bewitching the people, and he is afraid that there will be a big trouble. Why didn't the government come to clean up? They are all stupid and mediocre officials! If you don't come to suppress the thieves, I will retrain the regiment's brave camp in a few days, and I will really follow the thieves.

   Then I thought again: If the trouble becomes bigger and I am recruited at that time, can I be a part-time official?

  Never mind him, let's talk about it first!

  While Huang Shunde was thinking a lot, the drama had begun on the stage.

  In order to make the low-level people feel more substituting, Zhao Han's adaptation of "The White-haired Girl" has no literary lyrics. During the rehearsal, illiterate actors were also asked to revise the lines and dialogues into local dialects.

  The story takes Huangjia Town as the background—

  Yang Bailao lost his wife in his early years and only had one daughter, Xier. She is often taken care of by her neighbor Yang Dachun, mother and son. The two families live in harmony.

  The tyrant landlord Huang Shiren intends to occupy Xi'er and force Yang Bailao to repay the debt within a year with heavy rent and huge profits. On New Year's Eve, Yang Bailao was unable to repay his debts, so he was forced to sell his daughter and committed suicide in agony. On the first day of the Lunar New Year, Xi'er was taken to Huang's house, where she was humiliated and tortured. Then, Yang Dachun's mother and son were expelled.

  The male protagonist Yang Dachun, when his mother was deported, died of illness while sleeping in the open. He was rescued by Mr. Zhao, who heard about Huang Shiren's bad deeds and agreed to help him rescue Xi'er.

  Xi'er was pregnant, but was let go by the kind maid of Huang's family. On the way, she gave birth to a baby and died. Hiding in the mountains, her black hair turned into white hair, and because of stealing tributes from the temple, she was regarded as a white-haired fairy by the villagers.

   Mr. Zhao came back with Yang Dachun, suppressed Huang Shiren, and distributed land to the people of Huangjia Town. Hearing the rumor of the white-haired fairy, Yang Dachun went to the mountains to search for it for many days, and the lovers finally got married.

  On the stage.

  Xiao Cui played Xi'er, Chen Maosheng played Yang Dachun, Fei Chun disguised as Huang Shiren, and Fei Ruhe played the silent house slave throughout. The rest of the actors are all civil servants of the town hall and maids of Zhao Han's house.

  The villagers felt very strange, seeing the drama for the first time.

   I won’t talk about the few libretto, the dialogue is still in the local dialect, and the clothes are very ordinary, not the costumes on the serious stage.

  In addition, the story takes place in Huangjia Town, and Huang Shiren is also Master Huang, so the sense of substitution is really full.

  Huang Shunde's wife watched it with enthusiasm, but he himself was full of disdain, thinking that this kind of drama was unworthy of the stage, and the lines and libretto were extremely vulgar.

   Gradually, Huang Shunde became frightened, because the surrounding villagers were restless.

  Yang Bailao was forced to sell his daughter by Mr. Huang on New Year's Eve, and he committed suicide after he couldn't figure it out. On the first day of the Lunar New Year, Xi'er was taken away again, beaten and humiliated.

  On the stage, several door panels were erected, which was Master Huang's bedroom.

  Because of resistance, Xi'er was first beaten outside the house, then dragged inside and raped.

  The villagers couldn't see what was going on behind the door, they only heard Xi'er crying bitterly. Those who are close to the stage can even hear the sound of clothes being torn.

   "Kill Huang Papi!"

   Finally, some villagers couldn't hold back, and other villagers also roared.

   Then he rushed up to count people, beat and kicked Fei Chun, who played Huang Shiren, and rescued poor Xi'er.

"it is good!"

  Seeing that Xi'er was rescued, countless villagers cheered.

  Chen Maosheng hurriedly led people to stop him, and kept explaining that this was acting, so that the villagers should not take it as real.

  The unlucky Fei Chun was beaten black and blue, and had to stay on stage to act.

  The following plot is equally depressing.

  Yang Dachun was expelled, and his mother died tragically halfway. Xi'er escaped to birth, but the child died young, with white hair like a madman, and like a wild ghost wandering in the mountains.

  Finally, Mr. Zhao came back with Yang Dachun!

   Mr. Zhao outwitted Master Huang and led the tenants to rebel. The hero and heroine meet again, and under the auspices of Mr. Zhao, they get married and become husband and wife.

  The long-term depression was released, and the villagers stood up and cheered, with cheers one after another.

  Although there was no performance in Shanghuang Village today, Huang Yao was invited to watch the play.

  He didn't finish reading at all, so he quietly hid at the side of the threshing floor, covering his mouth and crying silently. Although his experience was only slightly similar to "The White-haired Girl", he felt that he was playing himself, and his childhood sweetheart also died tragically in the Huang family.

   I don't know when, the newlywed wife came behind him and shed tears with Huang Yao without saying a word.

  On the stage, the performance of "The White-haired Girl" has ended, and the next part is the complaining meeting.

Jiang Dashan was the first to take the stage: "I am a person with a foreign surname, and I suffer more than many of you. Mr. Huang... Huang Zundao specializes in bullying people with a foreign surname. My ancestors also had land, which was occupied by Huang Zundao's ancestors. The rent paid by people with a foreign surname The most important thing is that the good is not seen, and all the bad things are involved. Escorting food is a hard job. I bring my own food and take the food to the county seat. Corrupt officials always find fault and spill the food on purpose, saying that the food I am holding is not full , the shortfall has to be made up by us who pledge grain.”

"If the Huang family's ancestral hall, ancestral house, and canals need to be repaired, I will take part every time. No wages, no rations, and beatings if they do not do well. There was a severe drought more than ten years ago, and Huang Zundao sent his slaves to remind them Rent, robbed my family of food, my father, my brother and sister-in-law were all starved to death..."

   As he spoke, Jiang Dashan began to cry, unable to continue talking at all.

  Chen Maosheng asked him to step down and asked: "Who else wants to complain, come up and open up and say, we are all miserable people, don't hold it in your heart."

   "Let me say it!"

  This time it was not a nursery, an old farmer rushed to the stage and began to tell his miserable experience.

  Huang Shunde was startled and became silent at the same time. He studied hard since he was a child. Later, the number of people in his family increased, and his life gradually became difficult. And he himself had no hope in the imperial examination. He started to learn farming in his twenties, and he didn't care much about the lives of the villagers.

   Until now, Huang Shunde didn't know that his cousin had done so many bad things.

  Such a big landlord, should he kill Fentian?

  Huang Shunde's thinking became confused. He is a scholar, and he doesn't suffer much. He still retains a trace of the pursuit of a scholar in his heart.

   "Mother, did uncle really do all these bad things?" Huang Shunde asked in a low voice.

  Mother Huang sighed: "Oh, everyone is dead, don't ask more questions."

   That's true.

  Huang Shunde didn't know what to say, so he stood there in a daze, listening to the villagers come to the stage to complain.

   (Thank you for the reward from the leader of the friend whose past has become smoke, who has changed suddenly, and has two finger patterns who don’t know how to describe the ID. Thank you for the rewards of other book friends!)

  (end of this chapter)