C161 (2/2)

Xiao Letian's original intention was to train his own direct line of descent. Anyone could understand that this so-called kindness also had a part to play, and Xiao Letian was not a pure saint.

However, in the dark era of the late Qing, those rich and resourceful nobles and Confucian officials were too lazy to even put on an act. In comparison, Xiao Letian naturally accepted the hearts of the people.

In truth, En Yangzhong did not spend much money on this initiative of his. However, it goes without saying that it would benefit the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's forces. From today onwards, Xiao Letian would no longer have any resistance if he wanted to integrate the Heaven's resources.

The education that En Yangzhong and the other children received was personally set by Xiao Letian. It was a Chinese and English picture card, an easy to understand knowledge in natural sciences, and then, it was all about the elementary school level of adding and subtracting.

These extremely interesting teaching lessons were something that no one in this era had ever seen before. Even some old people sighed and said, ”When I was young, if someone taught me like this, I wouldn't have been able to be blind.” Even adults were attracted by it, let alone these kids.

After being kidnapped by the Chun Sanshiniang, the grandson of the Jiao Si'er, Hu Diao, didn't cry nor make a ruckus. He was immediately attracted by the atmosphere here. There were some little friends here, and there was also an unprecedented amount of knowledge. Even though the child couldn't see his own mother, and he would sometimes cry, the fact that his own father was here also made the child feel a lot more at ease.

Master Jiao held his son in his arms and went through a miserable night. The next morning, the young master was called out by his kidnapper and was given the task of burning firewood in the kitchen.

”Fuck, we'll count you lucky, our boss said that you can split firewood peacefully here. You just need to do your job well for a month, then I'll let you two go home.” With that, he threw down his axe and left.

The bandits that kidnapped him didn't want gold or silver, they wanted to split firewood? No one had ever seen a foreign mirror before, and the timid young master Jiao didn't dare to refute. He could only chop firewood and boil water to help. It hadn't even been two hours and his hands were already soaked in bloody blisters.

The work was arduous and tiring, but the young master Jiao didn't dare to refute him. If he had a shred of hope, he'd have to grab onto it. However, Hu Diao didn't feel any fear or grievance. This child was indeed very smart, in just a few days of hard work, he had already become one with En Yangzhong.

At the same time that the tiger-headed father and son were imprisoned in the Jing Dong Wine House, Jiao Si'er, who was far away from the Tanggu, did not know of it at all. He continued to dream of making a fortune and worked hard for Xiao Letian in the countryside closest to the Tanggu.

”My fellow townsman, think, think again! Your two acres of dry land wouldn't sell for twenty taels of silver in the past, so we'll double the price. Do you really need to think about it? ”Even a fool would want to sell …”

”What?” You said the land is inseparable... That's easy to do, I'll trade my land with yours, as long as you nod your head and trade one mu for two mu, you don't have to go too far, it's near our Tanggu, and you won't even need twenty li to go there … ”

”Aiyo, you're accusing me unjustly. Of course the land we bought is planted, we're not here to run errands for that bullshit District. We have nothing to do with them, so don't worry, old friend …”

These few days, Jiao Si'er had brought all his henchmen and made a mess in the manor. However, what awaited them were the whites of his eyes and a cold face, these farmers who were born and bred didn't even bother to talk to them, just closing the courtyard door without saying a few words.

”F * ck, this group of stubborn fools, they really don't care about face at all. I've just come to deliver the silver and they actually gave me a cold butt …” ”F * ck, you guys come over here. We'll make our move tonight and give them a warning. Let them know how many eyes Duke Ma has …”

That night, all was quiet as everyone fell asleep. Outside of a few villas that had rejected the Jiao Si Shu during the day, tall firewood was lit up. In just a short while, raging flames shot into the sky, and the dry firewood and straw that the farmers had accumulated for the entire autumn were all engulfed by the flames.

”There's a fire, hurry up and save the fire …” Countless figures rushed out of their houses, like iron basins and wooden buckets pouring cold water over their heads. However, how could a cup of water be of any use to them? The dry firewood was the best fuel for their fires, and people could only watch helplessly as the fuel for the entire winter was turned into ashes.

In the rural areas of the north, ordinary citizens could not afford charcoal or coal. They could only collect large amounts of dry firewood and straw and hay in the fields during the summer and autumn. On the one hand, the domestic animals had to be eaten, and on the other hand, fuel had to be used for cooking and heating. The fire was so vicious that it would be difficult for farmers with their fuel cut off to survive the winter.

It was already October in the lunar calendar, and the north was already in the frozen period. In ancient times, without the greenhouse effect, it was as good as dying without fuel.

Furthermore, the northern lands were already desolate, and collecting firewood was not a realistic idea.

”Hahaha, this group of shameless bastards, I, your master, actually didn't know what to do.” Are there no firewood left? Spend money to buy it. A bunch of poor bullies don't even dare to eat their fill, and still f * cking have the money to buy firewood? ”

”Paupers, just you wait. This grandpa still has enough men to deal with all of you. I want to see how long you guys can last …”