Poor monk is awesome

Chapter 103
Time flies, time flies, and the time in the small town always slips away quietly. The leaves of the old locust tree at the entrance of the alley grow and fall, and when they fall, they grow longer. In a blink of an eye, it is early winter again. The leaves have almost fallen, and it has been a year.

During this year, the old Nie's family discovered that the family of the stonemason next door, Old Wang, had moved out long ago and replaced it with a butcher named Zhang Daniu, who was said to be from another place.

This butcher named Zhang Daniu didn't see him slaughtering pigs every day, but he sold pork every day, and the pork was fresh. What's more, even the City Lord's Mansion only orders pork from his family. This big cow has become a famous butcher in this small town less than a year after it appeared.

And at the beginning, this big cow was very kind to their old Nie family. He would send a pork leg or some pork ribs every now and then. As a result, the food of the old Nie family improved a lot, and it was meaty almost every day.

It's just that this big cow seems to have a lot of opinions on their old Nie's baby Nie Hongzheng. Every time I come to the old Nie's house and see Nie Hongzheng, I have to stare at him first, and the big eyes like copper bells make Nie Hongzheng cry every time. Calling her mother, so that when Nie Hongzheng heard a knock on the door in the yard, she quickly hid in the house and said nothing.

Nie Hongzheng's mother didn't know why Zhang Da Niu liked to tease her son so much, but Jiu Jie always came with something, so she couldn't say anything, so she smiled and told Nie Hongzheng that Uncle Zhang was just playing with him. But Nie Hongzheng was still afraid of this savage butcher with a fierce face.

Later, during a festival, the old Nie family felt that they had to show that they were always taken care of by others, so they invited Zhang Daniu to his house for dinner.

In the past, Zhang Daniu was unwilling, but that time when the daughter of the old Nie family, Nie Hongling, went with her, Zhang Daniu agreed for the first time.

During the meal, Nie Hong was hiding and refused to go to the table. Nie Shi coaxed for a long time and refused to leave the back room. Nie Hongling moved a small stool very habitually, picked up some vegetables and hid in a small corner to eat. Zhang Daniu glanced around, paused briefly on Nie Hongling's thin figure, and then chatted with the Nie family couple without saying a word.

During the dinner, Zhang Daniu jokingly said to them that he liked the boy from their old Nie family very much. He might as well consider this boy as his godson. He was going to visit relatives in Yunzhou next door. It was not good to be alone. He hoped to take Nie Hongzheng with him. .

After hearing this, Ms. Nie and her husband hesitated for a long time. Finally, they smiled apologetically and said that their daughter had never traveled far since she was young and declined politely.

Zhang Daniu smiled and didn't care, and continued to chat with the Nie family. When the meal was almost over, Zhang Daniu pointed to Nie Hongling and said that he also liked the girl from the Nie family. I went to Yunzhou to visit relatives together.

The Nie family and his wife took a look at each other this time. It is true that children in this small town are always getting lost for no reason recently, and although Yunzhou sounds like it is next to Zhenzhou, they have never been out a few times in their lives like them. Those who are far away don't know how long it will take to go. Recently, they heard that there was a fight on the front line. It is really not safe to go out at this time.

But Zhang Daniu usually treats his family well. He sends pork here as if he doesn’t need any money. His family has already rejected him once just now. manage?
Old Nie's family is not rich, and the family's income is only the amount of money that Nie Hongling's father makes as a bricklayer. In the past, it was good for the family to see meat and fish once or twice a month, but now when they meet the generous butcher Zhang Daniu, Neighbors, that’s almost meat every meal.

Thinking about the taste of that meat, Nie glanced at Nie Hongling and found that Nie Hongling was also looking at her.

"Mother, Hongling doesn't want to go to Yunzhou." Nie Hongling lowered her head and whispered.

"Silly boy, there are a lot of fun things in Yunzhou that you haven't seen before. Listen to me, go to Yunzhou with Uncle Zhang for a while and then come back." Nie said with a smile.

Nie Hongling lowered her head and did not speak, so Nie Shi took it as her consent, and said to Zhang Daniu with a smile: "That's all right, big brother, our Hongling will follow you to Yunzhou to visit relatives."

But Zhang Daniu didn't speak, he glanced at Mrs. Zhang, turned around and left, which confused the Nie family couple.

After that, Zhang Da Niu never sent pork over again, and he never mentioned the matter of visiting relatives in Yunzhou.

Seeing that Zhang Daniu hadn't sent any more pork over for a long time, Mrs. Nie felt aggrieved, and ran to Zhang Daniu's door and sneered, "If you don't want to send any more, just tell me, everyone is in the neighborhood, who cares about your little pork?" , and even made an excuse to tease us, isn’t it a pork seller.”

Nie's yelling outside the door should not be too much, causing a lot of people in the alley to watch and chat, pointing and chatting, but the big cow didn't come out.

. . . . . .

. . . . . .

With the progress of the war ahead, the price of goods in the small town is getting higher and higher, and the food is getting less and less.The City Lord's Mansion promulgated the war tax, saying that the war ahead is tight, and every household is counted by population, and each person has to pay ten catties of grain per month as a tax to support the war.

Ten catties of grain is enough for a baby for more than half a month. Paying ten catties of grain per person is like a disaster for most families in the city, not to mention that the price of grain in the city is soaring now, and the surplus grain of the common people is not enough. too much.

For a while, the people in the small town were full of resentment, but no one dared to stand up and resist, because the city lord's mansion raised all monks, monks who could fly into the sky, escape from the ground, and break rocks into mountains. How could mortals like them dare to make trouble.

The courtyard door of Lao Nie's house was kicked open by several tax collectors from the city lord's mansion. Nie Hong was so frightened that he hid in the house. The Nie family's couple cried like father and mother:
"My lord, our family doesn't have much food. If you take it away, our family will starve to death."

"Don't fucking talk nonsense with me here. The city lord has ordered that everyone has to pay this war tax. If you dare not pay it, it's because you're tired of life and want to rebel." The leader of the tax officer kicked Nie away, pulled He pointed at them with a knife and said viciously.

"Don't hit my parents." Nie Hongling, who was hiding in the same fright as Nie Hongzheng, ran out immediately after seeing this scene, crying while hugging the tax official's leg.

"Where did you come from, go die, or I will chop you off with one knife." The tax official kicked Nie Hongling away with his eyes wide open, pointing the tip of the knife at Nie Hongling.

At this moment, a voice sounded outside the yard.

"My lord, there is no need to be like this. I, Zhang Butcher, paid the food for their family." Zhang Daniu appeared outside the Nie's courtyard. At this moment, he sighed in his heart, but he couldn't hold back after all.

"So it's Butcher Zhang." The tax official turned his head and saw Zhang Daniu, his face softened a lot.

Because of the high quality of the pork he sells, this butcher is highly appreciated by their food-loving city lord. Moreover, they, the officials of the city lord’s palace, often use this butcher’s pork for free, and they are always happy. not angry.

"I said Butcher Zhang, you have already paid the grain yourself. Now that the grain price is so expensive, why do you help them pay the grain?" The tax official seemed to be trying to persuade Zhang Daniu not to pay taxes for the old Nie's family, and even gave him the money. wink.

But Zhang Daniu pretended not to see the tax official's wink, but said with a smile: "We are all neighbors, so it's okay to help."

Seeing that the tax official had a bad face, Zhang Daniu said again: "I also prepared pork legs and pig ears, which the city lord likes to eat, and I will send them to make a good dish for the city lord tonight."

After hearing this, the tax collector's expression softened a lot, and he asked with a sneer: "You butcher can also cook?"

"If you eat a lot of meat, you will naturally figure out how to eat it." Butcher Zhang still smiled.

"Okay, then you can pay the grain for their family." The tax official glanced at Butcher Zhang and left with several other tax officials to the next family.

Soon the yard next door was full of howling ghosts and howling wolves again.

Butcher Zhang glanced at the Nie family couple sitting on the ground, then turned his head to look at Nie Hongling, who was sitting on the ground with a footprint on his clothes.

Little Nie Hongling looked at the butcher's back and thought it was very familiar, but that person was completely different from the hulking butcher Zhang.

Little brother, didn't you say you would come back to see Hong Ling?

Little Nie Hongling called softly in her heart, and reached out to touch the jade pendant hidden in her bosom through the clothes.

(End of this chapter)