There were many people in the fenced courtyard of the mud house. They were all villagers in tattered clothes, but most of them were silent and very quiet.
The people sitting closest to Lu Ming were a few old farmers with dark faces. Some of them were rolling their tobacco with their trembling hands like cracked dead wood, while others were silent and listened to Lu Ming's speech with their heads down. They were sitting on wooden stools or something like that. Sitting in a circle behind them were middle-aged and young people and children. Most of them were standing. Some of them listened to Lu Ming's words with agitated expressions, but did not dare to say anything.
"People are born with the right to survive. This is the most basic right of our citizens. I am not lazy and greedy, so why should I starve to death?"
"These fields were distributed to everyone by the Chengjiaji Public Office. Why don't you dare to take them? It's nothing more than fearing that the situation will change in the future and our current behavior will be a sin. Please rest assured about this. In fact, General Lu originally wanted to come here in person to make a promise to everyone, but Jiangnan is busy with military affairs, so he entrusted me to tell everyone a few words..." After a pause, Lu Ming looked at their expressions, "General Lu said that as long as he is here, Cheng Dasui will not be able to come back! As for the fields distributed to everyone, if anyone leaves them barren, they will be punished!"
I'm so tired of talking, but there's not much effect. I can only use both kindness and force.
However, seeing that some young people's eyes were bright, I think they understood the true meaning of "General Lu's" words.
"Oh, it smells good. Is the rice ready, Second Aunt?" Lu Ming looked up and asked with a smile.
There was a stove behind the fenced yard. At this time, a peasant woman in homespun clothes came around from behind the mud house. When she heard Lu Ming's question, she rubbed her apron with her hands nervously, "Is it..."
"Okay, uncles and aunts, let's go! Commissioner Zhang will visit your uncles and aunts after dinner! Third uncle, I'll help you out!" The beautiful young woman in the light blue cheongsam who spoke was Cheng Wanjun of the Cheng family.
She was from Chengjiaji and her family was poor. Because she was born beautiful, she was sold to a fool from a branch of Cheng Dasui's family as a child bride. However, she was able to convince her mother-in-law to pay for her to go to Nanping to attend middle school.
One day, Chen Rongfu went to Nanping Middle School to give a speech and fell in love with her at first sight. So she became Chen Rongfu's concubine.
Lu Ming originally felt that these experiences were deliberately fabricated, but now they seem to be true.
After all, he is educated, so his way of treating people is very different, and he seems to be very capable of doing things.
This is Cheng Wanjun’s home. There are five adobe houses with more than a dozen people living in them. Her family lives together with her second uncle’s family and their living conditions are very poor.
She had been Chen Rongfu's concubine for more than a year. The money she saved secretly was not given directly to her family. Instead, she used it to support her two brothers and the children of her second uncle's eldest cousin to go to school in Nanping. The four or five children were taken care of meticulously.
She also has a third brother and a cousin from her second uncle's family, both of whom are unable to marry. When her father and second uncle talked to her about this several times, she said that she had no money. The little money she had was used for her children's future middle school and normal school education. For this reason, several bachelors in the family and her father's and second uncle's men all called her an ungrateful person.
But nowadays, whether it is her father, second uncle or several single brothers, they are all very polite to her.
The low wooden tables, stools and other items placed in the backyard were all borrowed temporarily.
Apart from Cheng, no other woman in the Cheng family was qualified to sit at the table. Now, only Cheng's father Cheng Lao Da, second uncle Cheng Lao Er, and the eldest sons of the two families were allowed to sit at the table to entertain the guests, but they were all so restrained that they dared not even breathe.
The food was quite good, with fish and meat. I guess Cheng Wanjun paid for it.
Granny Tuolong was watching the whole cooking process and now stood far away.
"It's a rare opportunity for you to satisfy your craving for delicious food, but you won't be able to eat well when I'm here." Lu Ming glanced at Cheng and said, "How about this, I'll get 10 yuan from Granny Tuolong and give it to the family. I'll treat your family to a few days of feasting."
"Yes, thank you, sir..." Cheng Wanjun answered timidly in a low voice, which was completely different from the way she treated people just now.
Her life was as fragile as paper. Even though she worked as a clerk in the Sujing Office, her salary was directly transferred to Granny Tuolong's account. She was just the property of Commissioner Zhang's family and a criminal. No one would care even if she was tortured to death.
"I see that you are quite good at communicating with the villagers. Next, you need to do more work for them so that they don't have to be afraid of Cheng Dasui." Lu Ming frowned: "It seems that we still need to give Cheng Dasui some strength as a response to his people killing and burning here, otherwise, the villagers will still be afraid."
Hearing Lu Ming's topic, Cheng Wanjun didn't dare to say anything.
"Uncle Cheng, Second Uncle, now that you have been allocated land, do you dare to plant it?" Lu Ming's tone softened a little.
"Dare!" The one who answered in a muffled voice was Cheng Wanjun's elder brother Cheng Dazhui, "Besides, if we don't go, General Lu will issue an order, and Commissioner Zhang will also arrest us and punish us!" He lowered his head while speaking, and although his father kept touching his leg, he still finished his words.
Lu Ming looked at him and smiled: "That's right." He looked at Cheng Wanjun, "Look, your brother has a good idea."
He sighed in his heart. In this Northern Territory, even doing the work for the old farmers requires him to do it himself. This is definitely not possible.
Think about some of the political propositions I put forward in the United Matrix and the various declarations I made after coming to the Northern Territory.
Organize it carefully and add the political science of previous lives, because various political models and historical processes are much more complicated than this world, and those political philosophies are actually much more profound than this world.
From all these factors, can we summarize a political ideology that is suitable for this world
This is a big project, and we need to think about it carefully.
While daydreaming, Lu Ming picked up a piece of meat and said with a smile: "Come, eat, eat! Second Aunt, your cooking skills are good! I can tell by the fragrance." In fact, this family obviously seldom stews meat. Judging from the appearance, it is not the original taste of braised pork at all.
Outside, a young man in a black uniform and a baseball cap hurried in and whispered something to Grandma Tuolong.
Grandma Luotuo came up and whispered in her ear, "Master, Sun Chonggu has dismissed Mayor Du."
Sun Chonggu arrived at Chengjiaji this morning, but Lu Ming did not go to see him as he was busy with his own business.
"Don't worry about him. Tell Lao Du to do things the way they should be done." Lu Ming waved his hand.
"But he appointed a new mayor and brought a personal attendant with him," Grandma Tuolong continued.
Oh? Lu Ming put down the bowl quickly.
I couldn't help but sneer in my heart. It is really a world of warlords. It was like this during the warlords' melee in the previous life. Some provinces had a few high-ranking officials for a short period of time. This faction appointed one, and that faction appointed one. It was very chaotic.
There are petty warlords everywhere now, so sometimes the chaos arises in the appointment of town and county heads.
In fact, in Wanzhou Road, there is also a mayor of this town who is in exile.
After thinking for a while, he said, "Don't pay attention to him for now. Just leave him alone. Also, send a telegram back to Montenegro and tell them that it is my order. The action will be carried out at dawn as usual. Moreover, if it is possible, we should act as early as possible."
Granny Tuolong nodded: "Yes."