Chapter 152
Shen Jiao and the others spent half a day trying to find their way out.
She invited Ma Qianli to drink a bowl of roadside tea and gave him a few taels of silver to thank him. He accepted the tea but did not dare to ask for the silver.
But perhaps because he saw that they were indeed different from the rich people in the town, he still talked to Shen Jiao for a while and told her some things.
The great-grandson of Master Ma San, the man holding the bone-cutting knife, is called Ma Qianli. He has an older brother named Ma Wanli and a younger sister named Ma Shi Tu.
For those who have not received an education, the names they choose are simple, clear and easy to understand.
I hope my brother is as good as a thousand-mile horse and can go far. I hope he is as good as a thousand-mile horse and can go far. I hope my sister knows the way and can find home no matter where she goes in the future.
The names were all chosen by Master Ma San. Ma Qianli felt more than once that he was biased, giving the best name to his brother. He even remembered to ask his sister to come home, why didn't he call him?
Poor him, he is neither as expected as his brother nor as liked as his sister, right?
Because of this, he always quarreled with his family. When the three brothers and sisters shared the porridge, he would pick up the bowl to see how much rice was in each person's bowl. Was the grandfather partial?
The crying child gets candy. Don't listen to his loud shouting. In fact, he is the one who has benefited the most since childhood.
The brother was too lazy to argue with him, and the sister...she died very early.
He was craving for meat, so he went to catch fish to exchange for meat, but he drowned in the water.
The grandfather said, no wonder.
Horses run on the ground, so it's not surprising that they are not good at swimming. But calling them "know the way" is too unlucky to sound dull, so this name is not a good one.
At that time, Ma Qianli almost believed it.
But what does my brother say?
As time went by, they grew up to be teenagers, and he had not even walked a thousand miles, but he was stepped on by someone just to pick up the wedding money thrown by a young man on his wedding day.
At first, the grandfather was reluctant to kill horses for meat, and he lost his sister. This time, he was not reluctant, so he sold the two old horses and a pony in the family, but he still couldn't save his brother.
Life must go on.
It was impossible for him to walk a thousand miles, so he had to stay to serve his grandfather, pack up his belongings, sell the house and land in the countryside, and move into the houses built by the wealthy families on that street.
The rent is not expensive, but it is too small to move around.
They said it was to do a good thing, so that everyone would have a place to live.
In fact, they were encouraging everyone to sell their land to them.
They had to be coaxed beforehand, saying they would be given work once they got to the town.
Ma Qianli believed it to be true.
But when it really comes, it won’t be that beautiful anymore.
He cried, made a fuss, and was even kicked twice by his grandfather.
Then he used the remaining money to buy fishing nets and a boat.
If there is no work, then there is no work. He would be more comfortable setting up a stall to sell fish.
But damn, God just doesn't leave people a way to survive. The hall demands stall fees and taxes, and those tycoons who run restaurants and teahouses claim that they are stealing customers and demand some land occupation fees. If you don't pay, they will find a group of ruffians to cause trouble. They will steal a few fish from you today and rob your fishing boat tomorrow.
Even if he was brought to justice, he would be released within a few days.
Ma Qianli naturally couldn't compete with them, so he just gave it to them if they wanted it. It's better to earn less than to starve to death, right?
But these people went too far. What we agreed upon was no longer valid, and the rent of the house kept rising.
If you don’t give it to me, just move out. If you can’t afford it and don’t want to move out, that’s easy to do. This is your own house. You’re the one who owns it, so you can live in it as you please. Bring me the deed of sale. Will you sign it or not?
The grandfather and grandson of the Ma family would never sign the contract. Not only did they refuse to sign themselves, they also urged others not to accept the money.
A living person cannot be killed by holding his urine.
If there is no other way, they have to find a way. If others don't let them live, they have to make themselves live.
At worst, you can't rent their place to set up a stall, but set it up in front of your own house, right?
Ma Qianli and his father were afraid that no one would come, but as more and more people set up stalls here, they really started to do business. People came and went every day, and it was as lively as a market. But this made those people unhappy. They said that if they did this, they couldn't use the place like this even if they rented it to them.
These were all unreasonable words, and Ma Qianli and the others didn't listen.
But so far, there have been three waves of troublemakers.
The first time was when he said he bought something here and got a stomachache, and was extorted for money.
The second time, the same trick was used. Even the people sent did not change. They refused to give anything no matter what.
The third time he just flipped the tables.
The people in charge of the hall protected them, interrogated them over and over again, and finally ordered them not to set up stalls anymore. Ma Qianli and the others were naturally unhappy about this.
Taking advantage of the fact that some important people came to the dock and they had no time to look after the place, they quietly set up their stall. Business hadn't picked up yet, and when they saw Shen Jiao and the others driving a carriage across the middle of the road, they were worried and scared, thinking that they were here to cause trouble again.
Ma Qianli wanted to fight to the death at that time, but fortunately it didn't happen.
He drank the last bit of tea, including the dregs and water, burped, wiped his mouth, and said kindly, "You want to see the Never-Sleeping City, but I'm afraid it's impossible. The more money those people make, the more stingy they become. They don't even light a few lights, let alone the Never-Sleeping City. If you stay for a long time, you might find it during the New Year and other festivals. And don't go to the Yonghe Restaurant. They specialize in ripping off outsiders like you. Just wander around.
To get to the pier, go straight along this road and you'll see the water soon. Then ask where you want to go."
Shen Jiao nodded and said, "Thank you, Brother Ma, but I still need your help in showing us the way. We need to go to Yonghe Restaurant and Taihe Casino. We also need to find Quanfu's parents in Gutongli Street and Li Yan's brother in Musong Village."
Ma Qianli is not stupid.
The people and vendors on Gutongli Street are not stupid either.
They just couldn't be sure whether Shen Jiao and the others were good or bad, nor were they sure whether they could take care of these injustices. After all, they only had two people, a horse and a carriage. They didn't look like they were powerful, and more like they were sneaking out to play, so they chose to keep quiet.
But Shen Jiao asked again and again, so Ma Qianli told her everything.
I didn't expect that after I finished speaking, I would get such words.
He was stunned for a moment, and moved his mouth twice but no sound came out. He finally opened his mouth, but couldn't help but guess the worst: "You are not here to cause trouble, are you? Uncle Quan and Aunt Liu are already pitiful enough, their sons are..."
"We know," Shen Jiao said, not letting him continue. "Young Master and I are here for justice. We didn't speak directly just now because we didn't know who you were. We were also afraid that if I told you, you would be hesitant and unable to speak freely. Please forgive me for my impoliteness."
Shen Jiao said that Xue Shun was a frail young lady, and was also worried that these people would force Xue Shun to go out and meet them, and if something happened again, it would be safer to stay in the carriage anyway.
Ma Qianli's eyes lit up, and he wanted to say something eagerly, but he looked at Shen Jiao and then at the carriage: "But there are only two of you, what can you do?"
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