Stage [Republic of China]

The threshers, whose heads were tied with hemp rope like fried sparrows, murmured again. "However, the women and children at home are still hungry."

The soldier laughed out loud.

Amidst the overwhelming sound of cicadas, Shui Jiu was locked with a hemp rope and strung at the end.Their team was mighty, and twenty or thirty young and thin boys joined in one after another.

- "We're not thrashers!"

- "My lord, what did we do wrong?"

The last ones caught were obviously not convinced, but in the end they were hit hard by the butts of the guns a few times.After being beaten hard, he stopped struggling and walked along with the big team with a dull expression.

In this gamble, Shui Jiu didn't know how many chances he had to win on the flop, but if he didn't gamble, he would have no chance of winning at all.

Shui Jiu and the others were led to a large open area with mudflats under their feet, and there was no barrier in all directions.In the distance, the roar of the Yellow River can already be heard from here.

29, 29

◎"Has the hair not even grown yet?"◎

As the old saying goes, rice in the south and wheat in the north, boats in the south and horses in the north, are divided by the vast Qinling Mountains.

Shui Jiu looked up at the vast Qinling Mountains that were still shrouded in clouds and mist even on a hot day, frowning slightly.If he can really cross the Yellow River this time and go straight to Jingxi Mansion, he will arrive first in less than half a month at most.Perhaps, earlier than the others.

For Yu Shuijiu, the stories about old friends in Jibei City feel quite far away at this moment.

He lowered his eyes, mixed in with a group of people, squatting timidly, his back was hot from the sun, as if there were sparks scorching his skin.

Until six or seven o'clock in the afternoon, the sky was dusk, and the rosy clouds covered the river.Suddenly a soldier came over with a gun, and shouted at them with disgust: "Hey, get up! Get up!"

Everyone got up one after another, dragged their feet, and followed the soldier forward.There are many twists and turns, and I don't know why I have to go around a lot.

"Where did you come from?" Several threshers who were squatting with Shui Jiu came over after hearing the reputation.

Shui Jiu took a look, and the man who asked him was so thin that his ribs were sticking out from under his ragged clothes.Shui Jiu replied in a low voice, "from Xinxiang County."

"Xinxiang? The accent is a bit similar, but you look like this..." The man looked Shui Jiu up and down.

Shui Jiu lowered his eyes and sighed heavily. "Hey, my family wanted to send me to be a clerk in a pawn shop, but unfortunately, last spring, even the shopkeeper ran away. I have no choice but to come out to beg for a living."

The man let out a long "Oh" and stopped talking.

The men next to him also withdrew their curious gazes, chatting with each other.

After a while, the person who spoke to him earlier bumped Shui Jiu with his elbow. "Why did you come out alone? There are no brothers in the family? Outsiders are thresh wheat outside. If they die, no one will report the funeral!"

Shui Jiu sighed again. "Everyone in the village was arrested and sent to serve as a soldier, and I was the only one left. I was in the pawn shop in the town, and I fled to the countryside with shopkeeper Song. When I got home, the village had been burned to the ground. What's the matter? I really can't help it. Besides, I picked up another girl who was in distress on the road this spring."

Shui Jiu laughed while talking, nine parts of what he said were false and one part was true. "That girl is good-looking, and she smiles like crazy, but when she smiles...it's so pretty."

He was talking about Lulu.

But the man thought he really picked up a crazy woman on the road, so he also laughed and said, "Why do you come out to beg for a living when you have a woman? Are you really afraid of dying outside?"

"It can't be helped, the mother-in-law is pregnant!" Shui Jiu sighed again.

The man also sighed, his hands were tied by the rope, and he took out a piece of cigarette from his pocket fumbled. "Do you eat or not?"

"I have." Shui Jiu also followed his example, taking out the box given to him by the women of Guijia Village from his arms with both hands tied together with ropes. "Look, it hasn't moved yet! I'm going to have a bite when I go to work in the field."

Hearing what he said, the man glanced at Ke Eryan hesitantly, and put it back in his arms very solemnly like a baby. "What's more, if you catch us here to squat, maybe we'll be lucky enough to let us cross the river!"

"Or we can do some other errands for us, and we can share the food money, so that the mothers and children at home will not be hungry." A few men next to me interjected with sad faces.

At two or three o'clock in the middle of the night, Shui Jiu and the others were squatting in groups with their hands tied against the corner by ropes. They could neither lie down and sleep comfortably, nor could they nest under the bridge hole.But even so, there was still Mike Sleeping's snoring that shook the sky.

Shui Jiu was sensitive by nature and couldn't sleep well, especially now.The buzzing of insects and the buzzing of mosquitoes in the ear, as well as the sound of people's footsteps in the middle of the night, are all clearly heard.

Suddenly there was a sound of a landing wearing military boots.

Shui Jiu immediately raised her ears, blended in with the crowd, carefully opened her eyes, only to see a soldier walking towards them.

"Hey!" The soldier smacked the foremost McKee with the butt of his gun. "Where did you come from? Report your name, place of origin, and age."

The first thug was hit on the shoulder by the butt of his gun, and suddenly woke up with an ouch, but the rest of the thugs were still snoring loudly.The soldier became impatient and kicked desperately with his boots.

This kick woke up another seven or eight.

Shui Jiu hurriedly stood up, pretending to have just woken up, nodded and bowed and shouted: "Guan Ye!"

He yelled loudly, and coupled with the movement he just got up, he instantly pulled up the four or five Macs who were tied to him.

The soldier ignored him, and kicked the next Mike with his military boots, cursing in a dirty voice: "Grandma's bad luck! I'm on duty at this point, damn it, how the hell did you sleep?" Like a dead pig!"

Shui Jiu hurriedly shouted: "Get up, everyone is up!"

A few Macs who had already woken up also yelled for help, and after a while, everyone began to wake up one after another.About three to five minutes later, most of the thumpers were kicked and shouted, and they all woke up, and stood up with sleepy eyes.

"My lord, what's the matter?"

Seeing that it was almost done, the soldier spat on the ground in satisfaction, and said, "Report your name, age, and place of origin, and come one by one, each of them... huh?"

The soldier paused as he spoke. "Is there anyone among you who can read?"

Shui Jiu waited and saw that no one signed up, so he raised his face and shouted at the soldier: "Guard, I can read."

The soldier looked over at him.

"My lord, I have worked as a clerk in a pawn shop for a few days, so I can read a few words."

The soldier looked him up and down.This night, luckily the moon was still bright, and Shui Jiu stood in the crowd with a gray face like black charcoal.

The soldier looked down on Shui Jiu, but he couldn't bear to register one by one, so he waved his hands away. "Okay, come here!"

Shui Jiu raised his tied hands.

The soldier became even more impatient, and pulled out a dagger from his boot, wiped it, cut off the rope tied to Shui Jiu, lifted Shui Jiu out individually, and then re-tied the person behind him. one place.The soldier said to Shui Jiu: "Let them line up and report up one by one. Remember, I will watch from the side."

Shui Jiu responded, then looked at the soldier eagerly, put his hands forward, and said cautiously: "Master, do you have a pen and paper?"

The soldier grumbled even more impatiently, and with a snap, he threw the paper and pen from his pocket, and threw them directly on Shui Jiu's face.

Shui Jiu brought a pen and paper and began to register one by one.By the time the group of threshers had registered, the sky had already brightened, and it was about five o'clock in the morning.Most of the mikes don't even have a proper name. Names like Damaoergousanqi can be found everywhere, and most of them are from the same township.Shui Jiu was afraid that the soldier would be impatient, so he made a note behind each other. This one is the tall and thin Ergou from Tongcun, and the other is the black and fat Ergou from Weinan County.After doing this, he registered his age again, and carefully handed the book to the soldier.

The soldier glanced up and down. "All registered?"

"It's all over."

The soldier put it in his arms and said, "All right, you guys continue to squat here." After a pause, he glanced at Shui Jiu as if giving charity. "You and I come here."

Shui Jiu followed behind the soldier, turning around and passing a slope behind the gravel beach.At the back of the slope, Shui Jiu saw the place where these soldiers were stationed.

The soldier pursed his lips, glanced at Shui Jiu up and down, and said to him, "Go in later, ask questions and answer questions. Be honest!"

"Yes, it's the official."

Shui Jiu lowered her head and slumped her shoulders, looking shy.

The soldier sneered with his mouth crooked, and led Shui Jiu in.The camp was orderly, completely different from the rumors outside that the court soldiers were scattered.It can be seen that even if half of the country is about to collapse, the general of the Right Banner is still a hero.

Shui Jiu thought about how many soldiers sent back and forth, how many steps they took after entering, and how many corners they turned.When he arrived in front of a large temporary tent, the soldier spat loudly on the ground. "Just wait here!"

"Yes, sir."

The soldier straightened his coat and hat, and buttoned his uniform up to his neckline to seal his Adam's apple. Then he straightened his appearance and walked in with military steps.

Shui Jiu stood where he was, afraid that someone would trouble him, so he lowered his eyelids and remained silent.After a while, the soldier came out again, waving at the water and shouting