novelhk Page 879
Page 879
"While digging for wild vegetables here,"
"What are the wealthy families in your village doing?"
"They're hiding in that big mansion, drinking and eating meat!"
"You've worked so hard in this field all year,"
"What about them? What did they do?"
"Why should we take the lion's share of your grain?"
"That's right! The master is absolutely right!"
"Why do the big spenders get the lion's share?"
"These fields also belonged to my family about ten years ago,"
"If it weren't for the disaster and being coerced by that wealthy man,"
"How could I possibly sell these fields to them!"
"My children used to never have enough to eat or wear,"
"If things continue like this this year,"
"I'm afraid another one or two people in the family are going to starve to death!"
.....
The people were stirred up by Sun Li.
They quickly gathered together.
They headed towards the wealthy family in the village.
Sun Li led a group of henchmen,
Following behind them,
Only the old man who was initially approached by Sun Li did not follow.
Having lived for several decades,
The old man had long ago learned that there's no such thing as a free lunch.
These poor people,
They didn't know that rich man at all.
Why should that rich man help them for free?
Moreover,
Very good,
What kind of wealthy man would casually wander around outside with dozens of people?
Look at what those people are carrying on their backs.
They were clearly all weapons or similar items.
A wealthy man? Pshaw...
The old man spat.
Nine times out of ten, they are bandits from somewhere.
I came here to scout out the location.
Let's see which big family has grain!
The old man was thinking about all sorts of random things.
He continued bending down to pick up the fallen grains of rice.
Anyway, no matter what happens,
It's all irrelevant to this old man now.
The rest of his family,
His son was drafted into the army by the government a few years ago.
He never came back after that.
His wife died of grief as a result.
The daughter-in-law also went home and remarried.
The old man lived alone.
Even if the sky falls tomorrow,
It's none of his business anymore...
Chapter 1086 Hidden Arrows
In the village,
Under Sun Lide's instigation...
More and more people gathered.
In the end, the entire village was filled with impoverished people.
There were at least three or four hundred people.
They surrounded the wealthy Zhang family.
Zhang Jiadezhuangzi
The courtyard wall that was built was more than three zhang (approximately 10 meters) high.
Seeing the crowd of people gathering around,
The wealthy man was standing on the wall.
Shouting loudly down below,
"What are you peasants doing making such a fuss for no reason!"
"If you don't get out of here, I'll have your legs broken!"
If it were usual,
Being scolded like this by this wealthy man,
Of the majority of the people,
They were all so frightened they trembled with fear.
They dared not retort.
But now everyone is gathered together,
His courage also increased significantly.
Immediately someone shouted,
"We want a rent reduction!"
"If this continues, we're all going to die of rage!"
"That's right! The government's taxes are already high, and now the rent is so high too. Are they even going to let us survive?"
"After a year of farming, not only is there no food left at home,"
"On the contrary, we still owe you and the government money and grain,"
Does such a thing even exist in this world?
"We want a rent reduction!"
"Reduce rent! Reduce rent! Reduce rent!"
.....
The crowd of people were making a ruckus.
If you want to do what Sun Li said before,
Intimidate this wealthy man.
They were kind enough to have their rent reduced or waived.
Ideals are beautiful,
Reality, however, is quite rich.
Faced with a group of menacing villagers,
But the wealthy man Zhang was not afraid at all.
He replied loudly and directly.
"You're talking about lowering the rent? Great!"
"Really? Master Zhang really agreed!"
"Great! With the rent reduced, we'll have a chance to survive this year."
"I wonder how much the rent will be reduced."
"I don't expect much more. If the rent can be reduced by 10%, that would be pretty good."
.....
The villagers were excitedly chattering here, full of anticipation.
Master Zhang, standing behind the high wall
After the villagers discussed it for a while,
Only then did he speak, his voice cold.
"You want me to lower the rent? Fine."
"You peasants, first pay back all the money and grain you owe me,"
"Starting next year, I'll lower your rent!"
The wealthy man had barely uttered those words when
The people below,
After pausing for a moment,
Immediately, everyone started making a fuss.
"We don't even have anything to eat right now,"
"Where is the money and grain? We'll have to repay your loan sharks at exorbitant interest rates!"
“I only borrowed one hundred coins before the New Year, and now, more than half a year later, it has turned into ten strings of cash,”
"With such high interest rates, how can we possibly repay them!"
"Then the grain is the same. A month ago, I borrowed a bushel of grain from the Zhang family,"
"After three months, it will have turned into one stone!"
"How are we supposed to pay this back!"
.....
The people were making a fuss.
Almost every household in this village,
They all borrowed money from the Zhang family at exorbitant interest rates.
The interest rate was outrageously high.
It can double in three to five days.
When interest compoundes and you can't pay it back...