When someone was splashed, they scolded the people who transported the goods. Not all of them spoke Mandarin, but many of them were dialects from the previous Zeguo. All in all, it was a mixed bag!
Sweaty, fishy, and rotten smells mixed together.
This is the truest appearance of the capital of Zeguo.
Xie Linlang carefully avoided the delivery car and watched around in the crowd.
There were many fugitive slaves in the capital city of Zeguo, some of them fled to other places, and some of them were mixed with the people at the bottom.
Except for some of the slaves with particularly dark skin and generally no features, as long as the neck is covered with a cloth, the slave character can be covered.
Many low-level slaves will have a word slave tattooed on their foreheads, which is difficult to hide, but the middle and upper-level slaves will not.
So Xie Linlang saw this kind of weather and even wrapped his neck around his neck, basically he could be judged to be a fugitive slave.
If they came to work for their masters, or were hired slaves, they would be watched over at all times, and there was no chance for them to act alone.
Just when Xie Linlang wanted to follow one of the men around her neck, a super loud voice stunned her!
I saw not far away, an old woman with a big shoulder and a round waist was pinching her waist and cursing.
"Check, check, check? My mother's taxes are fully paid!"
The official across from her looked at the woman with a face full of flesh, and was also a little trembling, but he was still talking with a piece of paper.
"Someone reported that you were hiding fugitive slaves on board. We are also doing it routinely. Don't make it difficult for us!"
Hearing the words, the old woman shouted even louder.
"Fugitive slaves? There are no one thousand or eight hundred slaves that run away every day in the capital, and my mother has so many ships. When you finish your investigation, it will be dark. Do you still want today's harvest? Will you pay for the lost money? !"
In the face of the aggressive attitude of the old woman, these officials had nothing to do, because the nephew of the old aunt in front of him was the commander of the capital city, that is, their boss, and they didn't want to make trouble too ugly.
So the leader walked over, pulled the old woman's sleeve, and discussed it.
"It's not all about checking, just checking one or two ships, the meaning is, we might as well go back and do business..."
The old woman slammed her eyes, "There's not even half of it! The old lady is about to go out to sea, so get out of the way, and don't get in the way here!"
After she finished speaking, she turned her head and left with a snort, while the dozen or so strong slaves behind her quickly followed, carrying the cargo and boarding the ship.
Seeing that the old lady and a dozen ships were about to leave the port, the officials had no choice.
One of them said, "Brother, there must be a lot of fugitive slaves hidden on this old aunt's ship, what should I do? So many slave owners are waiting for dignitaries!"
The headed official gritted his teeth and looked at the ships angrily.
"Go back and report it directly, and ask the top to issue a compulsory execution order. I don't believe it. There is a letter from the official family. This old woman dares to be so arrogant!"
After he finished speaking, he walked away angrily. At this time, someone beside Xie Linlang sighed.
"Hey, I guess Mrs. Yu won't be able to hide this time... There are many children on her boat. If she is caught, it will be a crime... "
Xie Linlang turned her head and saw that there were many people with vegetable baskets discussing around them. They may not be from Lianyugang. It is estimated that the food here is cheap, so they came here to buy.
They also seemed to know that there were runaway slaves on the old woman's boat, but they didn't report it, but rather sympathized.
Xie Linlang couldn't help but leaned over and asked, "Are there really many fugitive slaves on the auntie's boat?"
Seeing them looking at him vigilantly, Xie Linlang said quickly, "I don't mean anything else, I'll just ask."
One of the women looked at Xie Linlang and said with a basket.
"Not many, just some children. When Mrs. Yu was young, she gave birth to three sons, all of whom died in battle. Later, her husband also went away. It's been a few good years.
And don't look at her fierce, she is actually a kind person.
Most of those child slaves escaped with the help of adults. Once they are captured, they are either sold to the kiln or sold to the Colosseum as bait, and the fate of them can be imagined.
So those who reported it are really rotten, what can this kid get in their way? "
"You can't say that..." said another woman with a basket on her back. "Look at the Dongsan family. Their ancestors all made fishing nets. As a result, some slave owners let their slaves learn this craft and came to grab them. business.
The fishnets made by slaves are only half the money of other companies, so who else would go to Dongsanjia to buy fishnets? I heard that his family broke up business and owed debts again, and it's almost impossible to open the pot these days..."
"It's not just their family, there have been more and more slaves in recent years, and the slave owners are involved in everything, forcing ordinary people to have no way out! So it's normal for some people to hate slaves and report them. If Mrs. Yu's slaves are all taken away , she doesn't have to be so tired anymore.
After all, not all slaves are obedient. Recently, slaves often beat their employers to death! "
Xie Linlang listened to their discussions and gained a deeper understanding of the psychology of ordinary people.
They both sympathized with the slaves, and were forced to live by the slaves, all because there were too many slaves in the capital.
Originally, they only did rough work, but gradually, when the young slave owners could not get the strength to work, they naturally turned their attention to other industries.
No wonder the old emperor was in such a hurry to sell all the slaves. First, there were too many slaves, and social contradictions surged. Second, the slaves were saturated, and they couldn't sell any more slaves.
I just want to use this method to solve the problems that Zeguo has accumulated for decades. I don't know if this group of people is too smart or too stupid.
Just when Xie Linlang was thinking secretly, suddenly, she heard a loud roar.
"Not good! The people from Shibo Division are here!"
As soon as this sound came out, the market, which was still not crowded, began to flow with a bang!
The people who delivered the goods ran more quickly, and the merchants on both sides were also swiftly collecting fish.
Xie Linlang was squeezed by a group of people all the way forward, and she didn't understand why Shibosi was so terrifying for a while
She was crowded into the south lane where the people of Lianyugang lived. There were densely packed houses, and the roads were twisted and twisted. Many people did not know where they got into and disappeared in a flash.
Every household also closed the doors and windows. Just when Xie Linlang heard the sound of horse hooves behind her, the door of a low house beside her suddenly opened!
Someone reached out and pulled her in, then slammed the door shut. Soon, the sound of horse hooves disappeared.
Xie Linlang turned around and saw an old woman clutching her sleeves tightly in the dim room. Even though the sound of the hooves was gone, she did not relax, but pursed the corners of her lips tightly.