Zhurou

At the same time, several helpers were hiding inside the door of the Hongxing Grain Store located on the west side of the Baokangmen Wazi.

One of the youngest and weakest is Liu Xiaoqi.

This person was leaning towards the gate with a padded stool in his hands. Before he could get close, he was stopped by a guy in front and asked, "What are you doing?"

"Open the door." Liu Xiaoqi was stunned for a moment, "Didn't the shopkeeper tell us to open the shop at noon?"

As he said in his mouth, he raised his head and looked not far away, the shadow of the sun under the plunger was extremely positive, obviously it was noon.

The guys in the front looked sideways when they heard the two talking.

One person rushed to Liu Xiaoqi and said, "Are you blind?! What's the line up outside? We only have a few grains in our shop? Are you going to find a fight when you open the shop?"

Liu Xiaoqi moved closer to the gate and peeped out through the crack of the door. Sure enough, there were a lot of people, one next to the other, the number was innumerable, and it was a bit daunting to look at it at first glance.

He swallowed dryly, turned his head to count the rice vats and rice bags in the counter, and felt flustered - he had been working for more than a year, and he had never seen such a small amount of food in the store.

The price of grain has risen sharply recently, and the store used to be tired of counting money every night, but last night the yamen recruited the head of the grain store and went to talk with many big store owners. The price is also admonished not to increase too much by itself. Once the order is violated, it will be dealt with by the Secretary.

Naturally, the head of the Liangxing line and the owners of the big shop could not disobey their orders, they kept talking face to face, only after going out, they didn't know what they had discussed with each other, they turned their heads as if they had made an appointment, and they kept the shop in the shop all night long. All the food was shipped away.

Early this morning, posters were posted at the gates of the city and at the notices of the yamen, and it was spread in the streets and alleys, saying that from now on, the yamen has issued a regulation, and the current price of grain in the city can only be ninety yuan a bucket. If the price of food exceeds a certain number, everyone can come forward and report Yun Yun.

As soon as the news came out, it didn't take long for the grain shops to be crowded with people. Almost all the visitors were carrying bags and baskets, and they were about to go shopping when the grain shops opened.

But how would people outside know that there are only a few bags of rice left in the food store, and it will be sold out after selling to 40 to [-] people at most.

The remaining many people have waited in line for such a long time, once they know that they can only return empty-handed, how will they react?
It's a trivial matter to scold a few words, if it's not easy to make a fuss, my fellows will be the first to be beaten.

"What can we do? What does the shopkeeper say?" Liu Xiaoqi thought it over, but he didn't dare to open the door, and hurriedly put the stool aside.

Someone heard him ask the shopkeeper, but he said impatiently: "The shopkeeper, when did you see the shopkeeper in the shop these few days?"

Liu Xiaoqi thought about it, not to mention the big shopkeeper, even the second shopkeeper who likes to yell around the most on weekdays has never appeared again.

He was dumbfounded for a moment, and looking at the scene outside, he naturally knew that these shop assistants were just using it to vent their anger.

"Why don't we open this door?" Seeing the crowds outside, someone couldn't help but make a suggestion, then looked at the grain behind the counter and said, "I don't think there are a few buckets of rice here, can we share it together?" .”

The man wiped the sweat that came out of his head at some point: "I don't have much food left at home. In the past few days, my neighbors and relatives have come to ask, saying that I work in the grain shop alone, and I don't even have a little grain. Can't even buy..."

"Private distribution? If the shopkeeper knows..." Someone was timid.

"Do you know what's wrong? We don't take it for nothing, and every penny is worth it to him. Could it be that you can't buy grain if you work in the grain shop? There is no such reason to say that it is impossible!" Some people were dissatisfied.

All of a sudden, everyone in the room was excited.

If you work in a grain store, you can't count on your family's wealth. You can earn a day's grain by doing a day's work.

Grain prices have risen sharply recently, and everyone is struggling. Seeing that there is no rice to cook, who can not look forward to seeing a lot of grain this time?

Liu Xiaoqi was still flustered, pointed at the door and said, "What about the outsiders? Tell them that the shop will not be open today?"

"What are you talking about? Going out at this time? Are you stupid?? Just pretend that there is no one in the shop."

"There is a sign outside saying that the market will open at noon, so it's hard to justify it without explaining something?" Some people were also worried.

"How do I explain? I want to go to you, but I won't go."

Everyone shirked their excuses, they were not going up or down, and suddenly they heard someone knocking on the door, and one person shouted through the door: "What's the matter, it's past noon, why don't you open the door?"

Once someone raised the head, the people behind followed suit.

This one shouted: "The yamen just said yesterday that grain stores are not allowed to sell high-priced grain. What do you mean by daring to close today?"

The man continued: "What do you mean? Don't you understand the meaning? If the yamen don't give them this black-hearted money, they will smash our dining table-what time is this? Don't wait, knock the door open and look inside What virtue!"

As soon as the words came out, the people behind began to squeeze forward with all their strength. After a while, there was a loud "bang", followed by angrily shouting, but the people at the front were hit by the gate of the grain store They turned their heads and glared.

Inside the grain shop, Liu Xiaoqi heard the sound of banging on the door, and saw that the tightly bolted door was shaking at this moment, but the gap in the middle was getting bigger and bigger. It was only a matter of time before it was knocked open, but The momentum was terrifying, but he didn't even dare to open the door.

The local neighbors are okay, there are so many refugees outside at the moment, they are all homeless, barefoot and not afraid to wear shoes, if they really let them rush in and grab food, it is not impossible to cause death.

The guys in the room only glanced at each other, and they all went to move the tables and chairs beside the door to cover the door, and pressed them down with their own weight.

But the crowd blocked the door, and there was a "bang" at the window next to it, and something smashed it open, and three or four people's heads and hands came out in an instant.

Those few people only took one look, then turned their heads one after another, yelling "There is food inside" and "There is someone inside".

These words were really like poking an ant's nest, the noise outside was louder, the knocking on the door was even louder, and the window on the other side was also smashed open, and a group of people entered the grain shop through the window.

The crowd came fiercely, Liu Xiaoqi didn't know what to do, because he didn't have time to run, let alone a place to run, so he hurriedly ducked under a table with his head in his arms.

He is small and thin, shrunk into a ball, not as conspicuous as the other guys, hiding in a private corner under the table, seeing countless legs and feet going in and out in front of him, and hearing the crying outside the door, and the wailing and screaming inside the door The sound of being smashed, the sound of being smashed, the sound of the body falling to the ground, and there was even a winding blood flow to his feet.Really shivering, not even daring to move, just thinking that his life is dying.

During the fight, some guy shouted: "The food is here. I'm just a worker. I have no food at home. It's useless if you beat me to death! Don't beat me..."

Only the voice gradually weakened until there was no more movement.

I don't know how long it took, and in a daze, I finally heard someone shouting, and someone shouted: "The officers and soldiers are here!"

I don't know how long it took, Liu Xiaoqi felt his head light up, and when he looked up, the table on top of him was lifted up, and several people dressed as officers and soldiers held sticks and looked down from above.

……

When he was brought back to the Yamen and stood on the lobby, Liu Xiaoqi was still in shock.

An official in the hall pointed to the people kneeling on the ground, and asked Liu Xiaoqi and another grain store clerk with a bruised face: "You two, see clearly, who among these people in the hall broke into the grain store?" Shop, the chief envoy of smashing and looting?"

Liu Xiaoqi turned his head and saw that the clothes of the people were shabby, their cheeks were sunken, and their complexions were yellow. They looked like refugees who hadn't had enough to eat for many days.

Different from the ferocious appearance when they smashed just now, everyone is in a state of desperation and distress now, seeing Liu Xiaoqi and the two of them looking over, their faces are full of begging looks, it's really pitiful.

After identifying them for a while, Liu Xiaoqi vaguely felt that one of them seemed a little familiar, as if he jumped into the grain store from the wooden window at the beginning, although he couldn't be regarded as a leader, he could still say a few words.

While he was hesitating, he heard someone talking beside him, turned his head and saw that it was Ma Liushu who was working together in the grain store.

The other party covered the wound on his face and replied: "If you come back to the official, the small ones can't recognize it..."

Liu Xiaoqi was taken aback.

He still remembered that Uncle Ma was in front of the window when the window was broken, so he could see the person opposite him clearly, but he denied it so simply at this time, could it be that he had made a mistake?

Since someone spoke, Liu Xiaoqi shook his head accordingly.

The two victims said they couldn't recognize each other, and the people kneeling on the ground also denied it, saying that they were all pushed into the door by people behind them, and they didn't take the lead, let alone intend to make trouble.

At the end of this matter, the troublemaker was reprimanded, and for no reason it just disappeared.

As soon as he left the yamen lobby, Liu Xiaoqi couldn't help but asked the middle-aged waiter: "Uncle Ma Liu, that person just now..."

Ma Liushu replied with a cold face: "Don't talk too much, those group are all refugees, even if they are arrested, how many days can they be locked up? No matter how much you can hide at home, can all your relatives and friends also hide?"

Liu Xiaoqi was still somewhat nervous, and hurriedly asked: "If the shopkeeper pursues it..."

"What can we say when we get to the bottom of it? Just send us away. You sold your strength to the boss, not your life. You won't give you or me a cent if you earn a lot of money on weekdays. Now that something happened, can't you still Expect to fight for his life?"

Liu Xiaoqi quickly shut up, and when he turned his head to look back, there was already a crowd gathered outside the yamen, most of them were dressed as refugees, and they looked like crowds of people, and some of them had numb faces, but it made him feel terrible.

"Uncle Six, what happened to you today, do you think the boss will sell the stored food?" He rubbed his hands.

Even though it was spring, Liu Xiaoqi was still very cold, and his voice trembled when he asked in a low voice.

How could the grain store only have these few stone grains?

Although the working time was not too long, the difference between how much grain was stored and sold in the store at this time last year, and how much grain was sold now is more than ten times, so Liu Xiaoqi can naturally tell the difference.

Originally, it was to buy under pressure, and the price was high when the food was scarce.

The price of grain is obviously so much higher, but there is only a lot of grain in the warehouse. It's not that no one buys it, but that the shopkeeper refuses to sell it because of the amount. , He also understood that the owner was saving up and waiting for a higher price.

Naturally, it is not just a grain shop that does this.

How can a person not eat?

Liu Xiaoqi was working as a helper at the grain store, and the family still didn't have much food left over. He had been eating porridge for several days straight for fear of running out of food, and street vendors who sold steamed buns and pancakes didn't dare to make more. , the rest of the people are all trembling, lest one day they will starve.

Uncle Ma Liu stood beside the wall for a while, and said, "My boss is a businessman, and there is nothing to make a profit. Do you think he will do it?"

Liu Xiaoqi hesitated to speak, then said again after a long while: "But didn't the yamen say that..."

"The emperor didn't use his words in the past, and everyone was arrested and sent to Xiazhou. What's the use of the yamen?" Ma Liushu curled his lips and said, "In the past, the deputy commander was nailed with a mouthful of spit, but it's a pity that people are also stubborn now. There is no ballast stone, and now the newly appointed person named Lu is said to be a gentleman, but in fact he has never heard of the name before, do you still expect those extravagances to take care of him?"

As he talked, he didn't even bother to lower his voice, and said again: "Anyone in the city who has a few pockets in his pocket, who doesn't want to go south? Not to mention our boss, even the shopkeeper's family, has already packed their luggage. Waiting to go to Caizhou."

"I heard from people who came back from the south that the situation in Caizhou is not good at the moment. Even the officials who accompany the new emperor can't get enough food. Not only Caizhou, but also prices in Quanzhou, Lin'an, and Hongzhou. It started to skyrocket, and there are hundreds of people in the master's family. Naturally, they still want to continue to live a life of wine and meat. How can they not make money while they can make a fortune in the capital?"

He was talking in his mouth, but he kept walking towards the grain store, but along the way, he met many groups of people, besides government servants and soldiers, there were also countless people who were escorted over.

There were countless people who had no shackles in their hands but were tied with ropes and were surrounded in the middle, making a mess.

Uncle Ma took a look, and felt that one of them was very familiar, like his neighbor on the right.

The neighbor was also working in a grain store in the city, and he came to the house the day before yesterday to ask if he could buy cheap grain at the grain store where other people worked.

Because the owner of the other party also limited the daily sales of grain early, not to mention the people outside, even his own staff had nowhere to buy it.

Thinking of the scene in the grain store just now, Ma Liushu knew that the grain store where the other party was located was probably also bumped by buyers.

He still wanted to speak, but he accidentally pulled the wound on the corner of his mouth. He grinned his teeth in pain for a while, and was unable to speak for a long time.

Involuntarily, Uncle Ma slowed down his pace.

As he was walking, he looked at the situation behind him, and he saw that none of the passers-by on the street had a good face, especially those refugees in the back. Luxurious people can't go hungry, but they can't buy food anymore, those of us who work hard, I'm afraid life will be hard!"