Pig Killer

Chapter 182

"I can tell the difference between old hens and seeds," the farmer sobbed. "When will this day end?"

Shen Hui'e swallowed back the words of comfort that reached the tip of her tongue, "The weather is getting warmer, and wild vegetables are growing. It's not that hard to endure."

"Alas..." The farmer held the seeds, "Sorry to bother you." He walked home with a hunched back.

Shen Hui'e looked at his staggering back with mixed feelings.

"Mother, can't you help him?" Da Chong said to her with red eyes.

"I can help one person, but I can't help a group!" Shen Hui'e said as she looked at him with her deep and bottomless eyes.

"What do you mean?" Da Chong looked at her in confusion.

"This is just the beginning." Shen Hui'e looked at him deeply and said, "Just wait and see! Things like this will happen every day in the future."

"Just let them do whatever they want." said the tiger angrily.

"The problem is not with us. Is it because we don't work hard enough? Is there a disaster? Is there no food in the fields?" Shen Hui'e narrowed her eyes and looked at the green wheat seedlings.

"Of course not. Farmers have no idle people." The tiger said immediately after hearing this, "The problem is with the higher-ups. Isn't there anyone who is advising them?"

"Advice?" Liu Ding said helplessly, "I don't have that ability. I can't even see him."

"I mean the bigwigs in the court." The big tiger blinked his black eyes and looked at them and said.

"How would we know that?" Liu Ding said with a bitter face as he looked at them. "Let's go!" He said as he walked, "Don't talk nonsense about what's happening up there! Be careful, there may be ears."

"I know that trouble comes from the mouth." The big tiger nodded obediently.

"Go home." Shen Hui'e said, holding his hand.

&*&

In order to reduce food expenditure, Shen Hui'e took her children hunting before the spring plowing.

As expected of a native dog domesticated by our ancestors, Huang Er can not only guard the house, but also catch mice, and now he serves as a hunting dog.

Whenever it found prey, it would bite Shen Hui'e's clothes, giving her enough time to draw her bow and shoot an arrow to hit the prey with one shot.

At first, Huang Er was so excited when he found his prey that he barked twice and scared the prey away.

After Shen Hui'e and Huang Er communicated in a friendly, very friendly atmosphere, this guy finally stopped barking.

There is always something to gain every time I go into the woods.

"Mother, it's better to catch fish," said the big insect, holding up the pheasant in his hand. "There's not enough to share."

"There's nothing we can do about it. Once we shoot an arrow, the other pheasants will fly away." Shen Hui'e looked at them regretfully and said, "It would be great if we could get three or four."

"It would be fine if we just practiced archery well," said the big tiger, pouting.

"This is not something that can be mastered overnight." Shen Hui'e looked at them with her deep black eyes and said, "The chance of hitting the target from a long distance is even smaller."

Now we have to ensure that Shen Yun'e is breastfeeding the child before hunting!

"We have to go deep into the woods..."

Before the big bug finished speaking, Shen Hui'e stopped and looked at them seriously and said, "Don't go deep into the forest. It's too dangerous. If we encounter wolves, tigers or leopards, we won't be enough for their dinner."

"I haven't met him!" the big tiger defended in a low voice.

"If we meet, that's it." Shen Hui'e looked at them unhappily and said, "What if we get lost?"

"Uh..." The big bug was speechless, and his black pupils rolled around as he said, "I got it, I got it, tie a hemp rope to the tree." He looked at her with a smile in his big black eyes and said, "This way you won't get lost."

Shen Hui'e looked at the clever little guy and said, "Okay! Listen to my son, let's go inside tomorrow."

"Yeah!" said the big tiger, jumping three times.

"Wish us good luck!" Shen Hui'e said as she looked at them with her crystal clear eyes.

"It will definitely happen." The big tiger said confidently.

"Kid, don't think too well. Lower your expectations. Maybe there will be a surprise." Shen Hui'e said to them with deep eyes.

The increase in grain taxes has destined this spring to be uneasy.

It was more than just unrest! Shen Hui'e was furious.

It was a lean period and there was not much food left at home.

There was simply not enough grain to pay, and the officials were very open-minded and allowed people to take valuable things from their homes.

He wanted to hide, but the police ransacked his house like bandits and took away all the valuables.

Shen Hui'e carried the game she hunted on her back with a lid closed so as not to attract hatred.

"Mom, it's my uncle." Da Chong said from afar as he looked at his uncle pacing back and forth in front of his house.

"Why are you here?" Shen Hui'e walked up to him and said, "You're back from Hezhong Prefecture." Then she opened the door and said, "Come in and talk."

"Mom, give me the backpack." Da Chong took the backpack from her hand and put it in the kitchen.

"The sun is nice today, let's sit outside!" Shen Hui'e said, pointing to the wooden table and bench under the shelf.

Shen Changsheng lifted his clothes and sat down.

Shen Hui'e simply washed her hands and face, then walked over and sat opposite him.

Shen Hui'e looked him up and down, her face not looking very good, "The trip to Hezhong Prefecture was not smooth."

"Well! There is food, but the price is so high that we can't afford it." Shen Changsheng said with a grim face.

"I've thought about it a long time ago, but it's surprising that there's still food to sell." Shen Hui'e said as she looked at him with raised eyebrows.

"There is always enough of it. The difference lies in whether we can afford it." Shen Changsheng said with a grim expression.

"Food is the most important thing in politics! Don't the higher-ups know about this?" Shen Hui'e asked him while raising her eyebrows.

"This... I..." Shen Changsheng hesitated for a moment and said, "I just heard that after the mourning period, it's even worse." He clenched his fists and said, "The whole day in the harem..." He suddenly stopped and said cryptically, "Ignoring the affairs of state."

"No one has any advice for you?" Shen Hui'e said to him, stroking her forehead.

"Of course there is. I heard that they are killing people. Anyone who dares to say it is not true will be dragged out of the hall..." Shen Changsheng ran his index finger across his neck and said, "Click..."

Shen Hui'e looked at him with a frown on her face and said, "How could this be spread?" She said in disbelief, "Really? Fake?"

"Whether it's true or not, our lives are not easy. It's true. I've experienced it myself." Shen Changsheng looked at them with his dark eyes and said, "Our county is small, and with the good harvest last year, we can barely hold on."

Da Chong brought some hot water and said, "Uncle, have some water."

"Be good!" Shen Changsheng looked at him kindly.

"Mother." Li Nu put the hot water in front of his mother.

Shen Hui'e took her hand and sat down, looking at Shen Changsheng and said, "You mean other places are worse than ours."

"Hmm!" Shen Changsheng took a sip from the earthenware bowl, then put it down and said, "If there were no additional grain taxes, we would be living the same way as before. The land would produce little, so we would have to work as laborers in the city or run small businesses to make up for it."

"Da Chong's father has gone to perform labor service. If he doesn't kill pigs, life will be tight." Shen Hui'e said with sympathy. This was when she first arrived.

"Between spring and summer, there is a shortage of crops. Right now, people are borrowing grain everywhere. If friends and relatives are having a hard time, they can only borrow money from others at high interest rates and buy grain from others at high prices." Shen Changsheng said with emotion, "In our rural areas, there are more land and fewer people. There are more people in Hezhong Prefecture than land. The land produces little, and we have to rent other people's land, pay taxes, and then rent the land to our tenants. In the end, we get nothing. We can only catch fish and shrimp, raise chickens and pigs, or work as laborers in the city to barely make ends meet and live a hard life. Now that the grain levy is being increased again and again, no one is having a good time."

"Have they changed their farm tools?" Shen Hui'e asked him with a raised eyebrow.

"It's hard to make ends meet, how can we afford to change the plow?" Shen Changsheng pursed his lips and said, "Only a very small number of people have changed it."

"This year, there will be even less farm manure." Shen Hui'e said with a gloomy look in her eyes, "The farm tools are not good, and the fertilizers cannot be rented. I'm afraid the harvest will not be good this year."

"The harvest was poor. Apart from paying taxes and rent, we didn't get much. The most terrible thing is that our relatives and friends are all in the same situation. We have no place to borrow money from." Shen Changsheng looked at them helplessly and said.

"What should we do then?" The big tiger looked at him worriedly and asked.

"Sell the land, sell the children." Shen Changsheng said to them with gloomy eyes.

"This way, the land will be concentrated in the hands of a few people." Shen Hui'e looked at them gloomily and said, land annexation, "Just like the nobles and princes in the past, they occupied large tracts of fertile land."

"This is free trade!" Da Chong looked at her in surprise and said, "Why do I feel like my mother is angry?"

"Without land, we can only rent other people's land." Shen Hui'e looked at them with deep eyes and said, "In addition to paying taxes, we also have to pay rent. The heavy rent is not enough to support the family. The poor get poorer and the rich get richer."

"Yeah!" Shen Changsheng nodded vigorously after hearing this, "It's similar to farming with the noble before. I'm just a talking beast, being driven by the noble." He pursed his lips and said, "Maybe it's better. Life and death are in my own hands."

"How is that possible?" Shen Hui'e said with cold eyes, "They are still being oppressed. They are just blood-sucking leeches, enriching themselves, but they are not so kind as to suck the last drop of blood from the farmers." She said unhappily, "They rely on their power to dominate, bully men and women, and trample on farmers."

"What mother said is too horrible." The big tiger looked at her with his eyes wide open.

"I don't believe it! Just watch." Shen Hui'e looked at him with her inky black eyes and said, "They are just like the nobles written on the bamboo slips." She raised her eyebrows slightly and said, "Now you know that only the soil can create value, right!"

"Yeah! Now even if you have gold and silver, you can't buy food." The big tiger looked at her with his black eyes and said.

"The world is full of people all seeking profit, so the pursuit of profit is what people pursue tirelessly." Shen Hui'e looked at them with deep and bright eyes and said, "How to pursue profit!"

"Of course I hope to have more land." The big tiger said without thinking.