Chapter 85: Youth Team (Part 2)
After spreading the bedding on the wooden bed in the guesthouse room, the couple sat down. Xu Yu asked her husband, "Master, what are you thinking about?"
"Ah? I... didn't think anything." Yu Xiucai replied. Of course, this was not true. From the beginning, Yu Xiucai felt that things were getting more and more wrong. The young man who brought them here had a badge on his waist.
It is said that in the mansions of dukes and marquises, there are many people and servants. The servants will carry badges to prove their identity. Huo Chong, a merchant in a county, actually has the same style. It is annoying to think about it.
Just when he was feeling unhappy, he heard someone knocking on the door. When he opened the door, he saw a young man standing outside. Yu Xiucai asked, "What do you want?"
"Teacher Xu sent me to invite you two to dinner." The boy replied.
After hearing this, Xu Yu quickly pulled Yu Xiucai back into the house and asked in a low voice, "Master, if my sister moved to our house, would you think she would be a nuisance?"
Yu Xiucai forced a smile and said, "What are you talking about? How could I?"
"Then I'll have to trouble you to persuade my sister to go with us."
Yu Xiucai was unable to answer. After all, Yu Xiucai was a man of honor. He couldn't pat his chest and say it was okay, completely against his conscience.
Seeing her husband silent, Xu Yu lowered her head and said nothing. After a while, her eyes turned red. Before Yu Xiucai came on this trip, he really wanted to take his wife's sister to live with him. At that time, Yu Xiucai thought Huo Chong was just trying to earn a good reputation, so he helped. These people were not related to Huo Chong, so he would definitely not treat them well. Even Yu Xiucai's family was not rich, but it was better than letting his wife's sister live under someone else's roof. What's more, a single woman with a child would definitely be bullied. She might even be defiled.
Having seen the basic situation of Mengguan at this time, Yu Xiucai was greatly shaken. Seeing that his wife still insisted on taking her sister home to live, Yu Xiucai dared not agree with his wife and could only persuade her: "The people sent by your sister are still waiting outside, let's go to eat quickly. It's easier to talk at the dinner table."
Xu Yu wiped her tears and said aggrievedly, "What do you mean by treat me to a meal? Can that Huo give my sister enough to eat? Look how thin my sister is!"
The cafeteria was crowded with people, all carrying trays, ordering food and then putting it on the trays to eat at the table. I thought I would have to squeeze in with this group of people in short clothes, but I didn't expect that Sister Xu, who was wearing a long skirt, would take Yu Xiucai and his wife to a single room. There were three children inside, all wearing the same short-breasted jackets as the younger students in school. When the oldest child saw Yu Xiucai and his wife, he recognized them for a moment and immediately stepped forward to greet them, "Hello, Third Aunt, Hello, Third Uncle."
Seeing that the children were fine, Xu Yu stepped forward and held the children's hands, tears streaming down her face.
Yu Xiucai didn't want to interrupt the family reunion, so he looked carefully at his sister-in-law and the children. They were dressed neatly and their hair was neatly combed. Although their complexion was not rosy, they were not skinny. They were not even thin.
After Xu Yu's excitement had passed, Sister Xu invited everyone to take a seat. Soon, a meal consisting of rabbit meat pot, scrambled eggs, stir-fried vegetables with meat, pancakes and thick porridge was served.
Smelling the aroma of meat, Yu Xiucai secretly swallowed his saliva and hurriedly said, "Sister, please don't spend money on us."
"All teachers in the Mengguan School can order this dish. It's not expensive." Sister Xu replied.
Yu Xiucai couldn't believe it, this was a real meal for a dinner party. Except there was no wine...
While I was thinking, I saw the waiter had brought in a bottle of wine. Sister Xu opened the cork and said, "This wine is too strong. Be careful when you drink it."
The children seemed to be hungry. They ate a lot and finished half of the food. Seeing that they were full, Sister Xu asked the children to go back first. There were three adults left in the house. She raised her wine glass to toast her sister and brother-in-law, and drank a small cup of wine directly. Yu Xiucai also took a sip and felt that the wine was indeed very strong. After entering his stomach, he could not suppress it. He quickly picked up a piece of meat and ate it. The seasoning of the meat was very good, and it was fragrant. One piece was not enough. After two pieces, it completely suppressed the alcohol.
"Sister, why don't you want to come with us? Isn't it good for us to live together as a family?" Xu Yu continued to persuade.
Sister Xu's face was already red from the alcohol. She shook her head repeatedly, "Sister, let me make it clear in front of my brother-in-law. I have bad luck and am an unlucky person. If I go to your place again, I will just bring bad luck to you. It's not that I don't know that you love me. Sister, I love you too. I can't let you be unlucky with me."
Yu Xiucai was relieved to see his sister being so sensible and reasonable. He sighed, "Sister is indeed a lady from a scholar's family."
Xu Yu glared at Yu Xiucai, then turned around and advised: "Sister, you are working like a slave here..."
"You work like a slave, but at least Mr. Huo gives you a penny every month. Your three nephews and nieces are learning to read, and they have food to eat and clothes to wear. You can live a decent life."
Yu Xiucai felt a little jealous when he heard his sister say that she really got 500 wen per month. He couldn't help but confirm it again, "Does Mr. Huo really give her monthly allowance?"
After receiving the definite answer, Yu Xiucai felt even more jealous. His family had some land, and he could earn some income from renting it out. But the income was not high on weekdays. If we don't talk about the land and the rent, unless there is some money collected from lawsuits in the village, he may not be able to pocket 500 coins every month.
Looking at the food on the table, my sister’s life was not as shabby and hungry as I had initially thought.
No matter how Xu Yu persuaded her, Sister Yu refused to leave. Finally, Xu Yu started to cry, but Sister Yu remained unmoved. Yu Xiucai saw that this couldn't go on any longer, so he helped Sister Yu persuade Xu Yu. Finally, seeing that her sister really cared about her, Sister Yu said, "Sister, if you miss me, come and see me often with your brother-in-law and the children. When others see that I have relatives visiting me often, they won't think that I am a lonely and helpless person."
Xu Yushi stopped crying and agreed to her sister's request. The next day, Sister Xu saw Yu Xiucai and his wife off to the car, and both sides said goodbye in tears.
In the car, Xu Yushi looked very upset. Although Yu Xiucai felt relieved, he did not want to show his happiness. After a long silence, Xu Yushi suddenly said, "Master, can you find some evidence against Huo Chong?"
"Ah?" Yu Xiucai was shocked and didn't know how to answer.
"Master, how long can my sister stay with Huo Chong? What good intentions can Huo Chong really have? If we can't find any evidence against him, what should we do if he turns against us?"
Yu Xiucai thought his wife's request was a bit excessive, but after thinking about it, it was not completely unreasonable. Huo Chong's reputation was already very big, and most of the scholars had heard about such a craftsman who actually donated money to become an official. Many people also felt that it was not right that such a person could be so successful.
Although Yu Xiucai knew that he did not have the ability to deal with Huo Chong, with so many people gathered together, who knows, maybe someone could find something to hold against Huo Chong?
Thinking of this, Yu Xiucai responded and decided to find other scholars with official titles to talk to when he had time.
Sister Xu sent her sister and brother-in-law away and continued teaching. When the day's class was over, Director Ding called the teachers to a regular meeting. Picking up a document, Director Ding said, "Gentlemen, Mr. Huo has already prepared for this year's students' trip. Everyone, hurry up and prepare for the exam. After the exam, it will start..."
Sister Xu didn't understand for a moment. Her three children were all half grown. Listening to Director Ding's introduction, children of this age also had to participate in some kind of trip. As soon as Director Ding finished speaking, Sister Xu immediately asked about it.
Director Ding passed the document and the transcript to the teachers. The teachers, male and female, huddled together to read it. They saw that the standard for the students who were going to travel was written in a simple and clear form, including gender, age, and type of school.
Anyone who basically takes time off from work to go to school has to travel. There are four travel destinations: one is Linzi County next to Zibo County, one is Zhangdian in Zibo County, one is Muping County, and the other is Mengyin County.
Huo Chong has industries in various places, and he clearly wrote it in the purpose column of the trip, "Let the students know the industries in these places, so that when students graduate and choose the industry they want to work in, they will have room for choice."
When the teachers had finished reading, Director Ding took out a piece of paper and read: "Students need to make a living after graduation. Every student has different preferences. After seeing what these places do, they can choose the job they want to do according to their preferences. Such a long journey can also make everyone more loving. Travel thousands of miles and read thousands of books. If you have only seen pigs walk but have never eaten pork, you don't know what pork tastes like."
Hearing this, the teachers burst into laughter. One of them said jokingly, "Director Ding, you have never eaten pork, but you have never seen a pig walk. How come it's the other way around when it comes to you?"
Director Ding chuckled twice, "Teachers, do you want to eat pork or watch the pigs walk?"
After this, those who wanted to joke couldn't laugh. Director Ding's words pointed out a cruel reality. Facing this reality, there was nothing to laugh at. Even if they couldn't say it, everyone knew that they and everyone in this room liked to eat meat. It was the reality of eating meat.
Since no one objected, the plan was put into action. The young students were not allowed to travel far, and the adults already had their own jobs. They were in the cultural cram school, so they naturally would not participate in this kind of thing.
The young students formed a youth team, and before setting off, everyone had their feet measured.
After hearing what the kids said, Teacher Xu still didn't know what they were trying to do. However, within three days, the people called "Our Academy" came. They were led by Huo Chong's second apprentice Yang Wangfu and Huo Chong's sixth apprentice Liu Shiwang.
The others were a group of people from the workshop. According to the list, they took out a bunch of shoes. These shoes looked unusual, with black soles and the uppers looking like they were not made of cloth. The teachers took them and tried them, but they couldn't tell what the material was, but it was firm and not very hard.
When asked about this, Yang Wangfu replied, "This is leather made in a workshop."
"Leather?" Teacher Xu remembered that there was such a term in the textbook. It refers to leather. Although Teacher Xu was also from a wealthy family, he had only heard that horse riders used leather boots. He did not expect that leather was actually used on boots.
Looking more closely, the leather is used at the heel, which is hard and does not deform, and the upper is made of softer leather. This type of shoe is lower than cotton boots, and the part of the boot above the instep is made of a very special cloth. The cord looks very thick.
The people who came distributed new shoes to the young people according to the instructions. The young people were very happy when they put on the new shoes. Teacher Xu was also very happy. When she got home, she asked the children to take off their shoes and look at them from left to right. She wanted to imitate them with her craftsmanship. But she looked from left to right and didn't know how to imitate them.
However, the next afternoon, just as the class started, I heard the sound of iron bars being struck in the school. This was the sound for everyone to come out and gather.
Soon, all classes stopped and the teachers led the students out. Instead of gathering in the small playground, everyone lined up and headed straight to the big playground. They saw several people tied to the platform. Their faces were covered in blood from being beaten.
Students and staff lined up in the playground. When Teacher Xu saw the people on the stage, her heart sank. This tragic scene reminded her of her own relatives who were arrested and tortured by the government. Teacher Xu lowered her head and didn't dare to look.
Soon, someone on the stage shouted, "Everyone! Stand at attention!"
As the sound came, everyone stood at attention as they had to do every day. For a moment, the playground was completely silent. Then someone on the stage shouted, "We distributed boots yesterday, and someone stole them that night. These people have been caught, and there are still some who haven't been caught. Please rest assured, those people will not get away!"
There was a low wave of noise from the audience. Teacher Xu barely raised his head and saw Huo Chong's third junior brother Li Tieniu lecturing the people in the audience with an angry face.
It was obvious that Li Tieniu was really angry. His voice and expression were equally stern. "After everyone goes back, the teachers in the Mengguan will tell the students that stealing is absolutely not allowed! The team leaders of each class will tell everyone! Anyone with hands and feet, stealing! Isn't this a bad conscience!"
Teacher Xu lowered his head again, looking at the little thief who was beaten badly. However, others felt differently from Teacher Xu. Someone had already shouted, "Beat them to death!" Someone took the lead, and the voices of shouting and killing rose and fell.
"You can't beat them to death! After all, human life is much more valuable than shoes." Li Tieniu shouted, "But you can't miss this beating! I called everyone here, not only to show you how to beat these thieves! I also want to tell you that as long as you work hard, you can afford to wear shoes! With Mr. Huo here, you won't suffer! But Mr. Huo is only good to good people. If you are fooled and something is stolen, don't blame Mr. Huo for being rude. Don't say that Mr. Huo can't tolerate it, I will be the first one who can't tolerate it. Let me ask you, can you tolerate thieves?"
"No!" "It cannot be allowed!" the people below shouted.
"Everyone should tell this story when you go back. Not only should you tell it, but you should tell it clearly! We can only tolerate good people, and we will never forgive the bad guys!"
After Li Tieniu finished his words, he ordered his men to come up and execute the thieves. The sound of the boards crackling could be heard, and the captured thieves screamed in pain.
