Chapter 1961 Rules of living people, rules of living people
『You are you, your father is your father, you are not your father, and your father is not you...』
『I know, I know...but we have rules, we can’t mess with the rules, this is a matter of losing your head, if I make it easier for you, who will make it easier for me? Will you come and take my place when I lose my head? 』
『I can’t help it, it’s not that I don’t help you, it’s that I’m not in charge of this here... I’m just in charge of coal distribution, what about the rest...』
『Unless you are holding your brand, there is no way for us to issue it to you...』
『This is the rule, the rule made by the Hussar General...』
『…』
Niu Dalang''s head was buzzing, and he walked back with one deep foot and one shallow foot.
The little girl came out happily, but when she saw the empty bamboo basket, she hesitated for a while, and then didn''t ask any questions.
Night fell.
In the village, if it is summer, you can hear some crickets and grasshoppers at night, as well as some frogs and owls, one after another, so lively. But now there is only the sound of wind, howling, it seems to be squeezing and penetrating through the cracks in the earthen wall hut, trying to widen the gap, and then blow the house away.
Niu Dalang couldn''t sleep. He sat, staring at the roof that was piled up with thatch, dead branches, and stones, listening to the wind blowing on the roof. There is also the creaking and rustling sound of snow pressing on the roof, fearing that the next moment the roof will go with the wind, be blown away by the wind, or be crushed by the snow, killing them All buried alive in it.
As if startled by the howling wind, a series of gurgling sounds followed from the corners of the house.
In the corner of the hut, there are a few bunches of straw piled up messily, some of them are withered and yellow, and most of them have turned black. Lying on top of this pile of musty straw, the little girl curled up and covered her stomach with both hands. It took a long time to calm down the strongly protesting stomach.
The feeling of hunger finally eased a little. The little girl ignored the dirt and grass stalks on the corners of her mouth, and quickly lay down again, trying to suppress the rhythm of her breathing. Move a few times less, breathe a few times less, the feeling of hunger will come more slowly, and you can last longer.
Niu Dalang sighed silently, walked over, hugged the younger sister, and put his arms around the younger sister''s shoulders that seemed to be so thin that only bones were left, "Sleep... at home, I''m here... It''s okay, it''s okay..."
Niu Dalang secretly made up his mind to go to Zheng County early tomorrow morning to handle the replacement of the brand, and then go to get the coal back. He must, he must go, even if it means that Niu Dalang has to go back and forth in winter. Need to walk more than twenty miles...
Niu Dalang was ruthless to himself secretly, just like his father Niu Sixia was ruthless to him.
The next morning.
Zheng County.
The lazily yawning veteran with his head shrunk slowly opened the city gate, and then was hit by the cold wind, shivering immediately, and wanted to go back, but was suddenly caught by a cold He grabbed his feet with his hands, and almost jumped up with a cry of fright!
『Straight mother thief! ”The veteran resisted the urge to almost kick out, and shouted, “You idiot, what are you doing here…”
Niu Dalang shivered and got up, shivering from the cold, "Bo, Bo, Bobo... De, De, Teta..."
"Hi! The old soldier sighed, and pulled Niu Dalang into the city gate that was only a crack open, then pointed to a corner inside the city gate, and said, "Look, let the baby be frozen... let''s talk about it when it''s warm..."
Although the corner inside the city gate wasn’t necessarily that warm, at least it didn’t have to be blown by the cold wind. After curling up and shaking for a while, Niu Dalang finally recovered, and told the veteran about his future intentions.
The old soldier looked at Niu Dalang with an indescribable taste in his eyes. After a moment of silence, he said, "Your son, listen to Uncle. Don''t go. When the sun is brighter, go home and count the ball... 』
Niu Dalang hesitated for a moment, shook his head, and then shook his head very hard.
The old soldier sighed, and then pointed to the street in the city, "Stubborn boy, it''s up to you... Go north on this street, and you will see the red gate is the county government... Your brand, you have to go there to change it..."
Niu Dalang struggled to get up, and then wanted to thank the veteran, but the veteran had already shook his head with his hands behind his back, ignored Niu Dalang and walked away.
In winter, there are not many people on the street, only a few who are obviously laborers, holding wooden shovels and wooden sticks, pulling and pulling...
Niu Dalang staggered past, these laborers didn''t even raise their eyelids.
The two sides were silent and passed each other.
Then the laborer silently scratched away the snow-covered ground where Niu Dalang had stepped on the footprints.
The red gate of the county government office is closed tightly, no one comes in or out, but there is a row of rooms on the side wall, and many small officials come and go in and out, which is the official office for general affairs.
Indeed, the county government is not difficult to find, and there are many officials who come and go, but Niu Dalang doesn''t know who to look for. In the Han Dynasty, there were not so many rules for the people. When the Huang Lao government was implemented in the early Han Dynasty, certain Spring and Autumn customs were retained. Folk farmers could discuss politics in court, so Niu Dalang went to the official office of the county government. At that time, it was not like the feudal dynasties of the later generations strictly prohibited approaching how many meters, otherwise it would be shot to kill.
Even so, Niu Dalang still runs into walls everywhere.
"what? Change brand? I don’t care about this, you find someone else…”
『Go away! go away! Get out of the way! Don''t you see it''s busy here? go away! 』
"what brand? I don''t know... let''s go, let''s go, don''t wander around here...』
『Are you blind? This is the lobby of the county government office, is anyone allowed to enter? roll! 』
『…』
Niu Dalang held the signboard and looked at the well-dressed officials coming and going, dazed and helpless. The blood on the sign has dried up and looked a little black. I don''t know if it was stained by sweat or snow. It seems that the smudge is deeper and bigger.
『You want... well, what are you going to do? 』A young official went back and forth several times, saw Niu Dalang standing stupidly by the aisle, couldn''t help but stopped, and asked.
Niu Dalang, as if seeing a savior, quickly narrated his own affairs.
The young official blinked, "You said, you are... the son of Niu Sixia?" 』
Niu Dalang nodded.
The young official frowned slightly, looked left and right, and said softly: "To run the sign, you need to find Hu Cao... But... Hey, I advise you to wait until the spring of next year, when the county revises the roster... Now do it ...I''m afraid it''s not right...』
Niu Dalang held the sign tightly, shook his head, "No, I want to do it..."
The young official took two steps back, his eyeballs swept left and right a few times, and then forced a smile, "You, you... I have something to do, stay with me, stay with me..." When he said the last two words , the young official has already stayed away, just like Niu Dalang is a source of plague, he can''t avoid it.
『Hu Cao...』 Niu Dalang didn''t know what the name of "Hu Cao" was. He thought it was someone called "Hu Cao", so he just stubbornly found one after another, and then went to the office of "Hu Cao".
『What are you doing? Change brand? Why don''t you hand it over to the head of the Lichang Pavilion? 』
『Essential coal? Oh, give it to me, wait here..."
The little official on duty at Hucao didn''t look at Niu Dalang''s sign seriously, took it lazily, and turned his head to go in.
Niu Dalang took a deep breath, handed in the sign respectfully, and then curled up in the corner outside Hucao''s gate, as if he had seen the hope of getting coal, and a smile appeared on his frozen face.
In Hucao’s room, the chief officer frowned and stopped writing, “Change the nameplate? Why not wait until spring? 』In order to better collect taxes, every spring, when preparations for farming and planting begin, special personnel will go down to each village to check the status of the renewal of household registration. Most of the changes and revisions of household registration are carried out at that time.
『Ah...for mere coal, these troublemakers...』After hearing the report from his subordinates, Chief Hu Cao sneered, very disdainful. But the coal distributed to the civilian households was allocated directly by General Hushi, and Cao, the householder in Zheng County, was not qualified to say that he would not be allowed to receive it, so he said, "Let''s put it aside, and we will talk about it after the matter is dealt with..."
is gradually slanting westward.
Hu Cao finally finished all the matters on the desk case, he couldn''t help stretching his waist, then glanced at the wooden sign beside him, frowned slightly, reached out to take it, and immediately focused his eyes.
『Niu Sixia! 』
Chief Hu Cao can''t forget this name!
If it weren''t for this **** Niu Sixia, how could there be so many things today!
If it weren''t for this pariah who deserves to be hacked into pieces, how could my brother-in-law lose the post of county magistrate!
If it weren''t for...
Damn it, you are still thinking about changing the brand, what kind of coal do you get? !
Chief Hu Cao''s face twitched, and he wanted to throw the wooden sign out, but he finally endured it. Then he laughed twice, put the wooden sign aside gently, pushed it away, and sat down again. After finishing it, I brought back the already completed text, unfolded it, read it carefully word by word, and read it slowly...
Twilight gradually surged up, and the cold wind tightened and passed.
The number of petty officials running back and forth near the official premises gradually decreased, and finally the cloud sign sounded, and officials, big and small, began to go home one after another...
Niu Dalang trembled, and finally saw the little official who had taken away his sign, and hurriedly dragged his already numb and stiff legs, and asked.
"what? "The little official said impatiently, "I have handed over the matter to Mr. Cao for you...how do I know?" If you haven''t finished it, are you still doing it? Why is it so urgent... Your business is important, but other people''s business is not important? Do you think you are the only one in the world? ah? You just have to wait... Don''t pull me, get up! 』
Niu Dalang was at a loss and helpless. He felt that what they said seemed to make sense, but he felt that what they said seemed to be unreasonable, but what is the difference between making sense and making no sense? Niu Dalang couldn''t express it, and he couldn''t even think clearly.
what to do?
Before Niu Dalang came up with a solution, the soldiers on duty in the official house had already started to rush out, ready to clear the place and close the door.
The night wind howled, and the cold winter involuntarily flaunted his majesty.
A team of inspectors came with wind lanterns. Although these veterans had already left the battlefield, they still walked steadily. Meticulous.
『Who is here? ! 』Under the flickering lights, the leader of the patrol found that there seemed to be a dark shadow at the corner of the street.
Sombra didn''t move.
Several inspectors raised their weapons, raised the lights high, and stepped forward.
Since General Hussars was assassinated twice, although he had nothing to do with the inspection leaders, these Guanzhong inspection leaders felt that they had been slapped several times, and they gritted their teeth when talking about it in private. The abnormality in the weekdays is that he has increased his caution by 12 points, lest there will be any negligence again.
Approaching the black shadow, the leader of the patrol inspector froze for a moment, then withdrew his weapon, "How can there be a baby..."
The inspector leader stretched out the palm missing the ring finger and little finger to push Niu Dalang, but found that the tentacles were cold, and even Niu Dalang''s body became a little stiff, as if he was frozen on the corner of the street.
『Bring the wine! This baby is freezing to death! 』
The inspector leader roared, and immediately someone handed over the warm wine bag in his arms, and someone untied the cloak, and covered Niu Dalang''s body. The inspector leader poured Niu Dalang a few sips of wine, then grabbed a few handfuls of snow on the side, rubbed it on Niu Dalang''s face, hands and feet...
After a long while, Niu Dalang finally groaned and regained some consciousness.
『Son, why are you here? ’ asked the inspector leader.
『Pazi, climb... Papao...』 Niu Dalang''s teeth were shaking, he was fighting up and down, and he couldn''t explain clearly.
『Put it on your back first! Take it back and talk about it! 』
The inspector leader waved his hand, and someone stepped forward and carried Niu Dalang on his back.
Under the swaying lights, snowflakes are flying.
Niu Dalang was lying on the back of one of them, as if he had returned to his childhood in a trance, and he was lying on his father''s back like this, warm and strong...
『Woo…』
Niu Dalang bit his lip, a tear slipped from the corner of his eye, and flew into the night, it seemed to turn into a crystal snowflake, fluttering, and landed on the footprints of the pedestrians.
The next morning.
The inspector leader led Niu Dalang to the official residence again, "Where is Hu Cao?" 』
A small official came forward, nodded and bowed his head and reported: "Hu Cao is taking a rest today..."
"Ok? what! ’The inspector leader sneered.
After retiring from the battlefield, the inspection leader has gradually changed from a man who just knows how to fight to a grassroots official who knows some dark sides of officialdom. Hearing what the little official said, he naturally knows what is going on, but he also He didn''t say that he must call Hu Cao back, but nodded, and left the official residence with Niu Dalang.
Although Niu Dalang was puzzled, he still believed in the inspector who saved his life last night, and followed him out of the official residence.
『Do you know what the rules are? The inspection leader watched Niu Dalang walking forward, and said as he walked, "There are many rules in this world... The general distributes coal to you, and the leader depends on the brand. This is the rule. If your brand is wrong, you cannot give it to you. Rules... The brand is under the control of the householder Cao, ordinary people are not allowed to tamper with it, this is also a rule... you can take a bath once every ten days, this is also a rule...』
"Rules, in fact, most of them are not particularly good or bad... just like this knife... some people use it to kill people, and some use it to save people..." the inspector said in a rambling manner, laughing, " Speaking of which, the general still has a lot of rules...haha, at that time in the army, there were rules even when **** and urinating...』
『General Hussars is a good man, his rules are all good...』 Niu Dalang couldn''t help but said.
The inspector leader paused for a moment, then laughed, and patted Niu Dalang on the shoulder, "You...haha...ah, here we are..."
The inspector leader came to a courtyard, "May I ask if the Bachelor of Agriculture is here?" 』
After the soldiers on duty at the gate reported, a man came out, bowed his hands and saluted, "Sun Xunjian, I don''t know why I''m looking for someone?" 』
The chief inspector pointed to Niu Dalang, and after a few words, the agricultural scholar understood, stroked his beard with a smile and said, "Why is this so difficult?" And come with someone...」
The inspector chief bowed his hands to express his gratitude, and the Bachelor of Agriculture waved his hand and said, "It''s not a hindrance to the upright winter slack..." This is also true. If you wait until the spring of next year, even if you really come to see the Bachelor of Agriculture again, the Bachelor of Agriculture may not have time to go Do such trivial things.
After returning to the official residence, the Bachelor of Agriculture showed the official seal, retrieved the household registration documents, and then supplemented and revised the household registration content according to the changes in Niu Dalang''s family, and stamped his own small seal on the revised content, and then They asked the craftsmen in the county government office to carve a new wooden sign, and it took less than an hour to finish all the work. When the brand new sign was handed over to Niu Dalang, Niu Dalang still couldn''t believe it...
At present, in counties and townships under the rule of Huqi, those who have the right to change their household registration information, except Hucao, are agricultural bachelors. Of course, most of the time agricultural bachelors will not take the initiative to compile household registrations, but exist as supervision and supervision.
『It’s still early, so go back earlier! The inspector smiled and stopped Niu Dalang from thanking him, "Go, go..."
Niu Dalang walked a few steps, hesitated for a moment, then turned back, lowered his head and said, "Uncle Sun... If I join the army next year, what should I do if my mother and younger sister are left unattended?" 』
『You want to join the army? why? ’ the inspector leader asked, ‘You seem to be the only son, don’t you? 』
Niu Dalang nodded and said: "Yes... But I think, I want to join the army, go to the battlefield, and make meritorious service like Uncle Sun, so that I can be a patrol inspector in the future... In this way, I will understand more rules and use these rules... instead of... And my family farmer The cattle were taken to repay the debt, and the next year’s farming... I’m afraid it’s...』
"Understood...you are the only son, if you join the army, your family''s civilian farmland will become military farmland, and tax relief... There is no need to worry about farming and harvesting. Naturally, someone will farm for you, and the harvest will also belong to your mother and sister." One portion, and money and food for the family... So, it’s not bad..." the inspector leader nodded and said, and then shook his own mutilated palm in front of Niu Dalang, "But there are no eyes on the battlefield, and you go up in one piece, Even if you can survive, you may not be able to come back completely... You have thought about it well... And the rules in the army are stricter, just like last night, you just violated the curfew... The first violation, five lashes according to the law! I think you are young, and there is a reason for the incident, so you are temporarily exempted... But if you want to join the army, you are no longer a commoner, but a soldier! There is no mercy in the military law in the army. If you want to join the army, you must first receive these five whips! How dare you! 』
Speaking of the latter part, the inspector leader''s face darkened and his voice became stern.
Niu Dalang was silent, holding the wooden sign. After a long time, he raised his head and looked fixedly at the inspector leader, "I dare! 』
The inspector leader frowned slightly, and then, as if the ice and snow had melted, the severe cold turned into a smile, "Okay, I know, after the New Year, if you still have the determination, come to find me..."
(end of this chapter)