Pig Killer

Chapter 183

"So! Now they are taking advantage of the situation and the farmers should be grateful and show their kindness." Shen Hui'e looked at them with a cold gaze and said, "They might even kneel down and beg."

"Uh..." Shen Changsheng stroked his forehead lightly, pursed his lips and looked at them.

"Look at your situation. I saw it with my own eyes." Shen Hui'e raised her eyebrows slightly.

"Well!" Shen Changsheng said with mixed feelings, "Kneel in front of the great man, thanking him non-stop for saving my life!"

"Wait! No one is farming! So many fields are useless!" The raccoon asked with innocent eyes, blinking and saying, "A Niang is always worried about no one farming."

Shen Hui'e tapped her head with her fingers and said, "If the land is sold, the farmers will become landless. They have no other skills to make a living and can only farm. Then they can only rent land, and then there will be people."

"Isn't this great?" The raccoon said in confusion, looking at her with his childish face.

"I've said before: All the people in the world come for profit." Shen Hui'e looked at them with her deep eyes and said, "They will squeeze the farmers to death. In addition to paying taxes, the harvest is divided into 28 or 19. After working hard for a year, they don't even have a meal."

"Just like how the nobles treated us before." Shen Changsheng said with a pout.

"Moreover, this kind of people collude with local officials and don't have to pay taxes." Shen Hui'e said as she looked at them with raised eyebrows.

"What? They don't have to pay taxes." Da Chong stood up and said after hearing that.

"Why are you so surprised?" Shen Hui'e looked at them with her deep black eyes and stroked her forehead. "Although it's not appropriate to say this, our family used silver to pay for the additional grain. Where do you think the silver went?"

"Hand it in!" Da Chong looked at her honestly and said.

"You are so honest. Too honest." Shen Hui'e looked at him with deep and penetrating eyes and said, "I have kept all the jewels in my pocket. How can I possibly hand them over?"

"They deceive their superiors and subordinates, oppress the peasants, and try every possible means to turn the court's taxes into their own. This is how they can get rich." Shen Hui'e looked at them with her deep and bright eyes and said, "The court is impoverished, but we are rich."

"Ah!" Da Chong and the others stared at their mother in a daze.

Shen Hui'e looked at them in a daze with her inky black eyes and said, "Why was your uncle able to buy the food in Hezhong Prefecture?"

"The collected grain was sold privately." Da Chong said with his eyes wide open.

"This is just our city, what about other places? Do you think those county magistrates and prefects are honest people?" Shen Hui'e said as she looked at them with raised eyebrows.

"Hiss..." Shen Changsheng took a breath when he heard this.

"The upper-level local officials are more informed than us." Shen Hui'e snorted, "We common people know nothing."

"Does the people above know?" The big tiger asked her with his dark eyes.

"How should I know? Maybe I know, maybe I don't. Regardless, it's a sign of incompetence." Shen Hui'e stroked her brow with her index finger and looked at them and said, "I only know that what goes up is what goes down, and a glimpse of a small part can tell the whole picture."

Shen Hui'e picked up the bowl and took a sip of warm water, then looked at Shen Changsheng and said, "So, the land has been sold in Hezhong Prefecture."

"Well! Since I couldn't bear to sell the land, I sold my daughter as a slave." Shen Changsheng said as he looked at them with his black eyes flashing.

"Why sell your daughter?" Li Nu asked him with innocent eyes.

"Because my son is the strong laborer of the family, he cannot be sold." Shen Changsheng said, looking directly at her with his dark eyes.

Li Nu nervously grabbed his mother's hand, "Mother."

"Don't be nervous." Shen Hui'e gently stroked the back of her hand and comforted her, "Our family will not sell our children."

"But..." Li Nu looked at her fearfully and said.

"How is business in Hezhong Prefecture?" Shen Hui'e asked Shen Changsheng with bright eyes.

"It's definitely affected. No one is raising pigs anymore, and there's no pig bristles to make toothbrushes." Shen Changsheng hesitated for a moment, then spoke frankly, pinching his brows and asking, "What's the situation with pig slaughtering now?"

Shen Hui'e tightened her jaw and shook her head slightly, "Not at the moment."

"Where are the Xiong brothers?" Shen Changsheng asked anxiously.

"I asked, and there is no answer." Shen Hui'e looked at him with her deep black eyes and said, "How dare we raise pigs in this situation? People are running out of food." She controlled her temper.

"What should we do next?" Da Chong asked them worriedly.

"Aren't the people above afraid that there will be chaos below?" Shen Hui'e looked at Shen Changsheng with deep eyes and said, "People who are desperate and hungry can do anything."

Shen Changsheng's eyes flickered when he heard this, "No way! That would cost you your head."

"What if the majority of them? Just like the pig farmers united to fight against the restaurants and wine shops in the city before the Lunar New Year!" Shen Hui'e looked at him with her dark eyes and said, "They buy the ingredients at the pig farmers' price."

"This is treason. The emperor will be angry and millions of people will die." Shen Changsheng shuddered when he heard it, "It's impossible. A mob can't accomplish anything. They are all acquaintances, and even the seventh and eighth companies are relatives. The more people there are, the more trouble there is. The more people there are, the more they think." He looked at her with amusement and said, "You really dare to think!"

"It's not that I dare to think about it, but I can't live like this anymore." Shen Hui'e took a deep breath and looked at him and said.

"It will be fine after the summer harvest." Shen Changsheng said optimistically and positively. What else could he do if he didn't comfort himself like this?

"How much grain will we have left from this summer harvest?" Shen Hui'e said without much confidence.

"Just leave some food for us. We don't ask for much." Shen Changsheng said hopefully.

Shen Hui'e moved her mouth, but swallowed the words that were about to come out of her mouth.

"I'll just try my best to hunt!" Shen Hui'e said at last. "I hunted four chickens. You can take one and I'll give half to my third brother!"

"How did you do that?" Shen Changsheng looked at her in surprise.

"I caught it with a bow and arrow. I don't have the ability to catch it with my bare hands." Shen Hui'e looked at him with amusement and said, "I have to hunt! There are fewer and fewer fish in the river. I can only keep my eyes on the sky."

"But this kind of hunting is not easy. After one arrow is shot, the other prey will be startled and run away." Shen Hui'e said with great regret.

"It's good to have something to eat." Shen Changsheng looked at her gently and said.

"Spring plowing is about to begin, why don't you go out?" Shen Hui'e looked at him with concern and asked.

"I'm not going. Everything is for the spring ploughing." Shen Changsheng looked at her softly and said, "I'm leaving. I won't keep you any longer."

"What's the delay? I'm so free now that I can kill a mosquito." Shen Hui'e looked at him with her bright eyes.

"Aren't you tired of hunting?" Shen Changsheng said to her gently.

"Da Chong, get a chicken for your uncle." Shen Hui'e said to Da Chong with her eyes as gentle as jade.

"Hey!" Da Chong took out a tied chicken from the backpack and handed it to his uncle.

"It's quite big." Shen Changsheng took the pheasant and said with a smile, "It's also fat."

"Because of the thick feathers, there is not much meat after plucking the feathers. It is not enough for us to eat." Shen Hui'e said with a pout, not very satisfied.

"There are so many of us, and there really isn't enough food." Shen Changsheng said helplessly. This is an objective fact.

"Okay, I'm leaving." Shen Changsheng walked out holding the chicken feet.

"I'll take you there." Shen Hui'e and the others sent Shen Changsheng out of the house.

Shen Hui'e asked Da Chong and Li Nu to send the remaining two chickens, one to the Huang family and the other to Shen Yun'e.

Shen Hui'e slaughtered the remaining chicken at home and stewed it.

Cornmeal cakes stuck to the side of a large iron pot.

"Mother, if you eat like this, we won't have enough food." The tiger said worriedly, "We should eat sparingly."

"A steady diet means starvation." Shen Hui'e shook her head firmly, "No! We'll talk about it when we really run out of food." She pointed at them with her index finger and said, "You must eat enough, otherwise you won't have the energy to practice your boxing and kicking moves."

"Eat quickly!" Shen Hui'e pointed at the pancakes in their bowls and said, "You must finish both. No leftovers are allowed."

"Are you going hunting tomorrow?" asked the big tiger after he had finished his meal.

"In spring, we should plant the land first and not delay the farming season." Shen Hui'e said, looking at him with her eyes like black jade.

This feeling was really bad. Shen Hui'e clenched her fists and crackled them. She really wanted to overturn the table. She didn't want to follow the rules and stay within them. She felt aggrieved!

When have I ever suffered such an injustice? If I were alone, I would have no scruples, but not now!

Once you bear the responsibilities of the indigenous people, you cannot act arbitrarily.

&*&

"Mother, this year's spring ploughing doesn't seem as lively as last year." The big insect said as he sat on the edge of the field, holding a coarse pottery bowl.

Holding the plow, I walked for half the morning. Then I took a break and drank some water.

"What do you mean?" Li Nu looked at him puzzledly and asked.

"Before, the adults were plowing the fields, and the children were running all over the fields." The tiger pointed around the field and said, "Look, there's no one shouting or yelling!"

"I'm not full, so I'm plowing slowly." Shen Hui'e took a sip of water and said, "I'm tired, so how can I dare to run around like crazy? I have to conserve my energy, right?"

"I feel listless." Li Nu blinked and looked at her and said.

"I don't think we have any energy. We don't know how much of the crops we grow can be saved." The big insect pouted and said unhappily, "Humph... Anyway, I would never be happy if it were me!"

"You guys!" Shen Hui'e looked at them with amusement and said, "Maybe they don't have the same idea as you do?"

"How is that possible?" the tiger said angrily, "I am almost mad to death. Everyone must be angry, but perhaps they dare not speak out!"

"Hehe..." Shen Hui'e shook her head and laughed when she heard that.

"Mother, you said the situation is getting worse and worse. What should we do then?" Da Chong asked her with curious eyes.

Chinese people are very docile and tolerant. As long as they can live with a stutter, they will not do anything out of the ordinary.

But after turning the table over, the methods used were extremely brutal and cruel. They would kill gods and Buddhas if they met one.

If no one offends me, I will not offend anyone. If someone offends me, I will throw him into my ancestral grave.