The person who bought the girl from the Mao family was the Xie family, the landlord who had rented the land to the Liu family. The Xie family was also the largest landlord in the area.
When Liu Sanwa rushed to Maojiazui, he learned that the girl from the Mao family had been taken away for two days. It was said that she was bought for the old man from the Xie family, an old man who was about to turn seventy years old. Some people said that the girl from the Mao family had a very good fortune for the old man from the Xie family, so they wanted to buy her to bring good luck to the old man and let him have a happy seventieth birthday.
Liu Sanwa relied on the fact that he had rented land from the Xie family and had some connections with them, so he asked to see the Xie family's housekeeper and begged him to take the girl from the Mao family away. As for the money to buy the girl from the Mao family, the Liu family was willing to exchange it for three acres of paddy fields. Before leaving, Liu Sanwa found out that the Xie family only spent the money for more than two acres of paddy fields to buy the girl from the Mao family.
The housekeeper of the Xie Mansion was considered their biggest acquaintance in the Xie Mansion. After all, every time they wanted to rent land, they had to ask to see the housekeeper, and the head of the Xie family didn't care about these trivial matters.
Considering their past relationship, the housekeeper agreed and asked him to wait at the back door, saying that he would be sent out shortly.
Not long after, the housekeeper ordered someone to throw a tattered mat at the back door of Xie's house. Liu Sanwa opened it tremblingly, and inside was the naked and bruised girl from the Mao family.
"This girl is unlucky. A normal girl can at least hold out for three days, but she died in one day. Otherwise, she really could have waited for you to rescue her." The housekeeper felt a little sorry. "Normally, the old man would lose interest after one day and reward us housekeepers and accountants the next day. On the third day, he would reward the grooms and servants, that is, those rough and tumble guys who didn't care about their lives. Otherwise, she could have held out for two more days."
Liu Sanwa, kneeling on the ground, wanted to see the face of the girl from the Mao family clearly. He hoped to meet this girl, but he only saw a head with all facial features missing after being disfigured by fire.
"Don't doubt it, this is the one we bought from Maojiazui, but the face is not clear. I don't know who told the old man that if a seventy-year-old man wants to live a long life, he must be prosperous. The old man suddenly became obsessed with burning things with fire, but this was the first time he burned a person. The girl had a strong temper and kept struggling. The old man was furious and poured lamp oil on her face and set her on fire. She became like this after he was rescued." The housekeeper half leaned against the door frame of the back door. Looking down, he could only see Liu Sanwa's shoulders shaking constantly. He didn't care. He had seen too many scenes like this. If it weren't for the three acres of paddy fields, he wouldn't even bother to say these things.
The housekeeper took out a handful of pumpkin seeds from his pocket and ate them while saying, "I thought the money I spent this time on wasted, but I didn't expect you to want to buy it back. Isn't this just perfect? I bought it for the price of two and a half acres of paddy field. The old man personally trained it for a whole day. Now I'm selling it to you for the price of three acres of paddy field. You've picked up a great bargain."
"But I must warn you," the housekeeper said, gradually becoming more serious. "Although this man didn't catch the old master's eye and isn't considered a member of the Xie family, he's still a member of the Xie family. While he can't be buried in the Xie family cemetery, he can't be buried in someone else's either. He can only be rolled up in a mat and thrown into a mass grave. Don't break the rules, or I won't be able to protect you, not to mention our friendship!"
"So? You were so angry that you killed the housekeeper?" Lin Hai asked at the right time.
"If it were now, I would definitely want to kill them, but at that time, my parents were still alive, and we still had more than ten acres of paddy fields. The Liu family was still the envy of the surrounding area, so I didn't dare."
"That?"
"But I still couldn't help but complain, just one sentence."
"What?"
"You don't even let people bury their dead properly. Aren't you afraid of retribution?"
"That's it?"
"That's it."
"What did they do to you?"
"The Xie family has a long tradition of poetry and literature, so they would definitely not do anything that would bring disgrace upon the family."
"on the spot?"
"Yes, a few days later, someone from the county government came and said that my family rented 20 acres of paddy fields from the Xie family, but only returned 20 acres of hillside land to them. They wanted to arrest my father and bring him to court." Liu Sanwa still told the story without regret or sadness.
"You must have proof of renting the land. We'll know once we have the proof."
"My father and I went to the county government office and saw that receipt. Back when my eldest brother was still alive, my father said the family land was left to him, so he sent me to the county office as an apprentice accountant for two years. I can read a little, and I remember that receipt said it was for renting 20 mu of sloping land for cultivation. But the county magistrate insisted it was paddy fields. The Xie family's housekeeper and legal advisor also said it was paddy fields."
"They didn't even bother to make a fake certificate, but they used the real one to call a black cat a white cat."
"I was sentenced to thirty strokes of the cane for roaring in court. My father kowtowed to the housekeeper, saying that I was the only child in the family and begged him to let me go. His head was broken and blood was all over the floor. The housekeeper said that since we had been friends for decades, he could be so kind as to let my father take the beating in my place." Liu Sanwa spoke slowly and calmly, but Lin Hai found that his chest was still heaving violently. Liu Sanwa took a deep breath and forced himself to remain calm.
"What happened next was simple. My father didn't make it to the 30th blow; he died at the 25th. I took the remaining five, which is why I'm lame. The county magistrate then ordered all of my family's paddy fields to be compensated to the Xie family. Although it was still less than 20 acres, the Xie family was generous and forgave the extra."
"I limped out of the county town, limping for more than ten miles. Hungry, tired, and in pain, I fell asleep. When I woke up, I continued to limp. When I couldn't limp anymore, I crawled. I crawled for several days. When I was hungry, I ate moss. When I was thirsty, I drank water from the paddy fields. When I returned home, our thatched hut had been occupied and a new tenant from the Xie family had moved in. My mother's body was just a few steps outside the hut. The tenant said my mother died of starvation. The Xie family said my family was thieves and would not allow the villagers to provide relief or collect the body."
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