Chapter 116: Collecting Debts (V)
According to the plan, Master Changxin would visit many places on the Zhongfu platform for two days. It was already the evening of the fourth day when the Taoist priest and his party returned to the Zibo County headquarters. When Huo Chong went out, Master Changxin, who was emitting sweat, stepped forward and held Huo Chong's arm. Without complaining about the hardship , Master Changxin said: "Mr. Huo, I am really eye-opening! If Mr. Huo helps, the believers will be saved!"
Huo Chong could only reply: "Everyone has to contribute. I can't do much by myself."
This is not a polite remark. Huo Chong only truly accepted this reality after he became a capitalist of this era. In the 21st century, urban petty bourgeoisie white-collar workers regard work as an arena to display what they have learned, and always feel that others should work hard for them.
However, there was no such good working environment in the Qing Dynasty. Every field required a lot of physical labor, most of which was unimaginable to people in the industrial age. After Huo Chong personally participated in these labors, he suddenly realized that there was a reason why those political slogans that looked like antiques could be promoted like that.
In the industrial age, when a single person can cultivate hundreds of acres of farmland by driving a tractor, tractor drivers can certainly complain that the air conditioning in the cab is not comfortable enough. In this age when people have to sweat to earn enough to eat and wear clothes, workers must be respected.
Master Changxin probably didn't understand Huo Chong's mental journey. After hearing what Huo Chong said, he answered sincerely, "Of course. If Mr. Huo had given everyone a way out this year, how many people would have been saved from ruining their families!"
Huo Chong had already decided to cooperate with Taoist Changxin, so he was not going to play any tricks with this Taoist priest. He asked Taoist Changxin and his party to return to the headquarters, where they took a shower and changed clothes. In the aroma of herbal tea, Huo Chong began to discuss the actual operation with Taoist priest.
Summer is coming to an end soon and the harvest season of autumn is approaching.
In Zichuan County, Mr. Deng heard his subordinates talking about the poor people on his side of the land joining the Zhongfutai, and sighed helplessly, "Send someone to tell Huo Chong that I also want to rent some land to him."
In Linzi County, Mr. Cheng held the letter with a frown on his face. Mrs. Cheng beside him asked nervously, "Master, what did my uncle write in the letter?"
Mr. Cheng put down the letter and answered thoughtfully, "My uncle said that the Fourteenth Master has already started preparing gifts for the Emperor's birthday. I'm afraid he will return to Beijing to celebrate the birthday this year."
Madam Cheng had no feelings about the royal family, so she continued to ask, "And then?"
"My uncle said that since Huo Chong is so capable of business, we can let him manage the land we bought here."
In Mengyin County in the Yimeng Mountains, the magistrate ordered the yamen runners and soldiers to seal the completed tax collection, and said in a serious tone: "This year, the county has collected all the tax silver that should be collected. You must be careful on the way to Jinan when you escort the tax silver. If you lose it, you will lose your life."
The escort personnel and the personnel coming from Jinan Prefecture also looked serious and assured the magistrate of Mengyin County that they would not make any mistakes along the way and would deliver the tax silver safely to the provincial capital.
The team began to move. The official from Jinan Prefecture bowed to the magistrate of Mengyin County and said enviously: "The magistrate has paid taxes for two consecutive years in such a poor county. He will definitely be promoted this year!"
In Mouping County, Li Changshou listened to the housekeeper's helpless narration about the group of farmers who owed money and took refuge on the Zhongfu platform and still owed money. He suppressed his anger and said, "Get out!"
The housekeeper didn't know what to say, and finally advised carefully: "Master, don't be angry!"
Li Changshou couldn't hold it in any longer and exploded. He pointed outside the door and yelled at the housekeeper, "Get out! Get out now!"
In the Laoshan area, the housekeeper of Mr. Huang's family squinted his eyes at the family servants and said, "What kind of blessing is this? Who dares to act wildly here and help those who owe money?"
The servant bowed his head and replied, "I heard that it was someone called by Taoist Priest Changxin, and it seems to be done by a man named Huo Chong."
Hearing the name of the Taoist priest, the butler did not scold his men. Rolling his eyes, the butler ordered: "Go and find out more."
In Dengzhou, which is Yantai. The son of Wang Jinshi who stayed at home said to his men, "Go tell Master Changxin that I want to repair my ancestral tomb and I have my eyes on a piece of land. That Huo Chong is blocking my way. Since Master Changxin brought Huo Chong here, if there is any disaster again, I have no food for Master Changxin to give away."
From the mountains to the sea, in the areas where Huo Chong's platform entered, people mentioned Huo Chong. Although Huo Chong didn't know who was intersecting with him, he knew that a lot of bad things would happen.
The growth of the platform itself is directly proportional to the difficulty of life for the ordinary people who have to cooperate with Huo Chong, and Huo Chong no longer wants to think about how much resentment he will incur. Too many people want to take advantage of the poor's crisis to make a fortune, or at least achieve small goals that they cannot achieve in normal years.
As long as Huo Chong stands with the poor, this conflict will definitely break out. Huo Chong has made the decision to stand with these poor people.
At this time, Huo Chong asked the platform to start preparing for disaster relief while sending people to the capital to collect information.
Wan Qian, the head of the Intelligence Department, was very puzzled by the order to go to the capital to collect information, but Huo Chong didn't want to explain, so Wan Qian didn't dare to ask.
After leaving the intelligence department, Huo Chong called Qian Qing and took Qian Qing to walk along the tree-lined avenue that had been planted for several years. Qian Qing followed Huo Chong and didn't say anything. Huo Chong finally adjusted his mood and saw that there was no one around who could hear him, so he asked Qian Qing, "If I want to rebel, will you follow me?"
"Rebellion?" Qian Qing's voice was full of confusion.
"Yes. The court will not let me go. It is only a matter of time before they take action against me." Huo Chong explained.
Qian Qing became a little nervous, "Sir, the court is going to use literary inquisition against you?"
"Probably not." Huo Chong shook his head.
"So... sir, are you really planning to rebel?" Qian Qing asked the beginning question, but then changed the topic.
"Yeah. If they want to deal with me, I will rebel." Huo Chong was a little surprised after saying this. This is not a group in the 21st century, where everyone is joking about "you are all Huan Ze" and saying "XX, do you want to go to Luo?" No one believes these words, whether they are saying it or hearing it.
But Huo Chong really wanted to rebel at this time, but his mood was still calm. Even Huo Chong himself was surprised.
He turned to look at his eldest disciple Qian Qing. Huo Chong felt that Qian Qing was the one who had the most reason to rebel among all his disciples, and even among all the people he knew. He knew that Qian Qing was a wanted criminal of the court, but he still brought Qian Qing with him. This was also a very important reason.
Qian Qing once attacked and killed a jailer in prison to escape, and Qian Qing once pretended to be dead to lure a hungry wolf to death in order to survive. Seeing Huo Chong turned his head, Qian Qing stared into Huo Chong's eyes, and slowly, the tense look on Qian Qing's face eased.
Huo Chong couldn't help but smile, but couldn't. If Qian Qing was like this, he might not be able to take anything away.
Just as her mood changed, Qian Qing's face showed astonishment. She swallowed her saliva and said, "Sir... Sir, you..."
"This is the first time I see you stuttering. Are you so scared of rebellion?" Huo Chong couldn't help but teasing.
In an instant, tears welled up in Qian Qing's eyes. Huo Chong was confused after seeing this. It is said that girls' minds are hard to guess. But Huo Chong always felt that Qian Qing was not an ordinary girl. In fact, Huo Chong did not even regard Qian Qing as a girl.
However, she started crying in the blink of an eye, and Huo Chong couldn't understand what the girl was thinking.
"If...if the master is still alive..." Qian Qing's voice was so excited that he sobbed.
"Qian Qing, when I rebel, you must follow me." Huo Chongming said.
Qian Qing raised her hand and wiped away her tears with the back of her hand. She knelt on the ground with both knees, kneeling straight. Her eyes were full of dazzling brilliance, and her voice was full of joy and determination. "If the master is still alive, I will definitely follow the master. I swear to follow the master until death!"
