Chapter 43 Chapter 43 Hu people taking a bath
The laws of Dachen stipulate that iron ore cannot be mined privately, but in the early days of Dachen, private miners continued to miner iron ore despite repeated bans, so a law requiring reporting was enacted.
This is also the reason why Lin Si wanted to find the Hu people to mine.
Although the slaves he bought should not be able to escape if they were guarded all the way, Lin Si was too lazy to avoid such trouble.
The Hu people are good. They don’t understand any laws at all and can’t even speak Chinese.
Mo Jinglian and Feng Ling picked and chose, and bought more than 40 people according to Lin Si's requirements.
Mo Jinglian and Feng Ling chose carefully, and only those who were obedient were chosen.
Xubu Chuo's entire family was trembling with fear. They were led by ropes all the way to an unknown place.
Xubu Yan blinked his deep-socketed eyes and said, "Brother, I'm scared."
Xubu Chuo comforted her in Hu dialect, "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid. My brother, father, and mother are here."
The person was successfully brought back to Li County, and Lin Si was handed over to Qian Sui for care.
The manor is on track, the children have been brainwashed and don't need much money to worry about.
Qian Sui is very good at managing people and brainwashing, so Lin Si feels relieved to leave the task to her.
Qian Sui, Mo Jinglian and Feng Ling handed over the use of the rope.
Feng Ling was very enthusiastic, "Grandma Qian, these barbarians are very timid and too thin. How can they serve the county lady?"
Xubu Chuo heard the words "thin" and "small" again and subconsciously raised his head.
Qian Sui nodded, took the rope, and led the group of Hu people to several straw huts that had been prepared long ago to carry out unified management first.
It is early autumn now and the weather is not hot, so sleeping on the straw pile is not a big problem.
The biggest difficulty Qian Sui faced in management was that this group of people could not understand Chinese very well.
But she still had to show her strength and make these people afraid of her, regardless of whether they understood her or not.
Qian Sui said with a serious expression, "You are lucky to have been bought by the county lady. You must obey her orders. You will live in this thatched hut for the next few days."
Of course, no one could understand, but that didn't stop them from nodding tremblingly.
Xubu Chuo felt that he had to behave better at this moment. He had just heard the word "thin" again, and he was very afraid that his whole family would be abandoned because of their thinness.
He could probably understand a few words in what the old lady said, and guessed that she was probably asking them to be obedient.
So he tried to imitate the words he had heard the Han people say these days, "Yes...as you command." Of course, the accent and intonation were very strange.
Qian Sui was a little surprised that someone would answer her in words, so she asked in confusion, "Can you speak Chinese?"
Xubu Chuo probably guessed the meaning of this sentence, which should be a question asking him whether he can speak Chinese.
"A little..." Another answer in a strange accent.
Qian then took a step forward and memorized Xubu Chuo's appearance.
Only then did Qian Sui discover that this young Hu boy had a very good-looking face. He had big eyes, deep eye sockets, amber eyeballs, long eyelashes, and a slightly soft Han-like appearance.
It's just that the face is too dirty, you have to get closer to see it.
Xubu Chuo and his family received food and water.
All the Hu people who were bought began to eat voraciously.
Seeing that they had finished eating, Qian Sui began to brainwash them with his momentum.
"You can take a break today, but you will have to start working in a few days!"
No one understood, but everyone nodded obediently.
As soon as Qian Sui left, this group of Hu people began to chatter in the Hu language.
Although they are collectively called Hu people, there are many subdivisions among them and their languages are not exactly the same.
But it's better than Chinese which is totally incomprehensible.
After eating the biscuits that were a bit irritating to the throat, Xubu Chuo and his family just wanted to have a good rest, so they did not respond when they heard the people around them discussing in panic what this place was and how they would be treated.
I was so sleepy. This thatched hut in the rain with dry grass under me was much more comfortable than before.
Zhong Diyan and Guo Zi were watching from a distance, chatting with each other.
Guo Zi: "So this is what the Hu people look like. Not tall at all."
Zhong Diyan replied calmly, "Those are the nobles among the Hu people. Not only are they tall, they can also learn Chinese."
Since Qian Sui left, the two of them have been guarding here.
As for the reason, Qian Sui said that the county lord wanted to train their observation skills.
So Guo looked left and right, and finally pointed at Xubu Chuo who was sleeping with his eyes closed.
"This young Hu man is very handsome. The one next to him is his sister, who is also very pretty."
Zhong Diyan glanced at Guo Zi speechlessly.
Guo Zi made a joke: "But Guo Han and I both think that you are the best looking."
After joking and chatting, the two began to observe seriously.
The four people sleeping should be a family. As for the rest, some of them were shivering and talking about something, some were staring ahead in a daze with empty eyes, and one family was hugging each other and praying to God.
From current observations, there are no dishonest people.
Guo Zi: "These people seem even more scared than when we were first bought."
Zhong Diyan was too lazy to respond and just observed the group of people quietly.
The fact that the family of four chooses to sleep shows that they are content with the status quo and understand that being bought is much better than having to wait for a good price, so they will most likely work hard.
Gathering together to discuss things while trembling is a behavior of grouping together due to fear, and it is not a big problem.
Staring blankly ahead means that you are numb. You can work but cannot think, and you do whatever you are told.
Praying to God means that you feel insecure and have great distrust of the current environment.
Zhong Diyan tugged at Guo Zi's sleeve and said, "Let's go back."
Guo Zi also looked at it in detail, but not as carefully as Zhong Diyan. "Okay, we can go back now just in time for dinner."
The Hu people had no idea that they were being observed. Whether they were gathered together to discuss or just daydreaming, they all eventually succumbed to their sleepiness and fell into a deep sleep.
They haven't had a full night's sleep in many days.
*
Liang Nian felt more and more that he had boarded Lin Si's pirate ship.
After Lin Si visited the iron mine, she was in a very happy mood and hummed a tune on her way back. However, the meaning of the tune was a bit strange and she couldn't understand it.
So Liang Nian asked Lin Si again: "Is it just to build the swords, spears and guns needed for the manor?"
Unexpectedly, Lin Si winked at him and said, "Guess what, County Magistrate Liang.
Liang Nian understood it clearly, so there was more to it.
Then she recounted one by one everything Lin Si had done since he came to Li County, including concealing the actual harvest, secretly doing business to make money, raising orphans who could write, calculate, and kill, and now there was also the matter of concealing the population and illegally mining and forging weapons.
Each one is very painful to take out.
What on earth does she want to do?
Liang Nian wanted to ask but didn't dare to, and finally kept silent.
Just pretend you don't know. At worst, you'll all die together if the truth comes out. This crime is so serious that the entire family will be implicated.
None of her uncles could escape.
Thinking of this, Liang Nian suddenly felt relieved and asked, "What do you want those Hu people to do first? It's the busy farming season now, and the people are already struggling to take care of the cotton trees."
The autumn harvest is the most important time of the year, and taxes must be paid after the harvest.
Lin Si hummed, "All the girls will go take care of the cotton trees, and all the boys will go mining."
Then Lin Si added, "Although the Hu people are ignorant and capable, communication is a big problem. Grandma Qian told me that there is only one young man in the group who can speak a few words. The rest can't even understand, let alone speak."
Liang Nian is not worried about this. "As long as someone speaks Chinese to them every day, after a month or two, they will be able to understand some of it."
*
Xubu Chuo was taken out alone. When he saw the frightened expressions on Xubu Yan's, his father's, and his mother's faces, he reached out and touched his sister's head.
"It's okay, don't be afraid."
Of course, it would be a lie to say that he was not afraid. Xubu Chuo looked at the Han woman who brought two young boys.
Qian Sui said to Guo Zi and Zhong Diyan, "This young man can speak a few Chinese characters. Can you teach him some basic words in the next two days? Then he can go back and teach those Hu people."
Guo asked himself, "Grandma Qian, why did you choose us?"
Qian Sui said in a cold tone, "I just picked it randomly."
As soon as Qian Sui left, the three of them started staring at each other, and their subsequent communication was even more incomprehensible, relying entirely on body language.
Fortunately, Xubu Chuo managed to understand a few words, and in the end the teaching was of some use.
In the next few days, Xubu Chuo would talk to the two young boys every day, and his Chinese level also improved a little. At least he could understand simple words such as eating, drinking, sleeping, hunger and rest, and he could even speak them in a not very standard way.
Lin Si did not give this group of Hu people much time to adapt. After Xubu Chuo studied for a few days, he was assigned to work.
They had eaten three meals a day and slept well in the past few days, and their strength had been restored.
Xubu Chuo discovered that men and women were separated, and the men were taken to a very remote place by ox carts to dig stones.
Of course, the supervisor used body language to indicate that he didn't want any other stones, only the red ones.
Xubu Chuo and his father dug very hard, just like when they were grazing on the grassland. If they didn't work hard, the nobles would whip them.
After digging for an unknown amount of time, the supervisor signaled them to stop.
Xubu Chuo asked in broken Chinese, "What... happened?"
The yamen runner Shen Tai replied: "It's time to eat. Let's take a rest after dinner."
Xubu Chuo understood what he heard. He turned to the other Hu people and said, "Let us eat. After that we can rest for a while."
The Hu people were immediately grateful, their eyes widened in shock.
In the past, there was no time to rest. The nobles would have wanted them to work all day without sleeping.
Mining is a physically demanding job, and feeding people only wheat bread is somewhat abusive.
Therefore, their lunch consisted of two wheat cakes per person and half a spoonful of vegetables and meat fried in lard. There was more vegetables and less meat, which was cut into fine cubes.
The vegetables and meat are sandwiched between two wheat cakes, and the person eating it has a mouth full of oil.
Xubu Chuo ate while crying. Life was so good. He could eat and rest, and the food was so good.
After the meal, the Hu people hugged each other and cried bitterly, which made the yamen runners look a little stunned.
He wanted to blurt out that it was just wheat cakes and no one in Li County was eating them now, but then he thought that if the county lord had not come here, the people in Li County would not have had a better life.
After the rest, they continued mining in the afternoon. Perhaps because they had a good lunch, the Hu people worked extra hard in the afternoon.
Shen Tai finished work on time and did not rush to take the group back. Instead, he took them to the river.
This is what the county lady said. These Hu people were too dirty and smelly, and their clothes were tattered and inadequate, affecting the appearance of Li County. So today, all men and women were taken by the supervisor to wash their clothes.
Shen Tai chose to communicate with Xubu Chuo.
Soap is something that can be found everywhere in Li County and is not worth much. Chen Tai took the small pieces of soap and talked with Xubu Chuo for a long time, using both body language and words.
Xubu Chuo finally understood the meaning.
It should mean that everyone should fetch a bucket of water, hide behind a tree and take a bath with this white stuff.
Chen Tai also specifically emphasized that it must be washed clean!
The Hu people did as they were told, and their tattered clothes were thrown away.
Now many people bought cotton cloth, and there were plenty of old linen clothes that were no longer needed. When the people heard that they were going to be given to the Hu people to wear, they all washed and dried them on their own initiative.
Xubu Chuo washed for a long time and felt ashamed that he was so dirty. He thought that something white like this was really useful. He washed his hair and body clean, and then took the old linen clothes and put them on.
Chen Tai looked at the clean Xubu Chuo and the group of Hu people and nodded with satisfaction.
"It's more like this now. Before, I saw you guys like beggars."
Xubu Chuo didn't understand this sentence, and the Hu people nodded foolishly.
They themselves felt a little ashamed and embarrassed. Compared with the Han people here, they were indeed too dirty.
The Hu people were all washed clean and then pulled back by ox carts.
When he returned to the straw hut, Xubu Chuo found that his sister and mother had also taken a bath and were wearing old linen clothes. The family members looked at each other.
"Brother, what kind of place have we come to? There is meat in our lunch today."
"Today Xubu Yan and I are planting plants and fertilizing them. It's much easier than grazing. What about you?" asked Xubu Chuo's mother.
"My father and I dig red stones."
"We actually have time to rest after lunch. The nobles in the past would never let us rest." said Xubu Chuo's father.
Xubu Chuo looked at his sister's clean face and suddenly said, "The Central Plains is great. I want to stay here forever. I want to learn Chinese. I never want to go back to the grasslands."
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