Dengfeng Although the small county is an important transportation thoroughfare, with frequent exchanges of businessmen from the north and the south, people's means of income are too single.
The vast majority of people live by collecting "tolls". Those who come from the south to the north, and those who go into and out of the city, they guard the roadside, which has little selling point. If they exert their strength or something, they can have enough food and clothing at the end of the day.
But days like this are too fragile.
Moreover, the wealth of the people in the county is extremely uneven, either extremely rich or extremely poor.
Those who open inns, restaurants, and casinos can be said to be making money every day.
But many more people are extremely poor. Those who live on tolls, those who work for others, and even those who are sold into slavery cannot even have enough to eat.
If you are sick and unable to work, or if a natural disaster strikes, such as a flood or a severe drought, it will be a catastrophic blow.
Sometimes Zhao Yuanzhou wants to turn into a bandit and come to wash baths and scrape the bones of the wealthy families in the county.
At this moment, inside the back office.
Zhao Yuanzhou was sitting on the main seat, with the heads of thirty-six wealthy families standing in front of him.
These people usually call the shots in the small county of Dengfeng, making the ground tremble every time they stamp their feet. But at this moment, they all lowered their heads and did not dare to express their anger, just like a group of students who made a mistake and were called in front of their teacher.
Zhao Yuanzhou glanced across the faces of those people and said in a deep voice:
"Everyone, I don't expect you to have any kind intentions."
"I just want you to hand over to me those people who sold themselves to you as slaves."
As soon as these words came out, there was an uproar on the scene.
Thirty-six people were whispering to each other, and the buzzing discussion echoed in the back office, like a swarm of wasps that had stabbed their nest.
Zhao Yuanzhou pressed his hand to signal them to be quiet.
When the discussion gradually subsided, he continued:
"Of course, I won't ask for your people in vain."
"I will redeem them for whatever price they sold themselves to you."
"It's just that you have to owe the money first."
"I will settle the settlement for you all in the autumn of next year."
After the words fell, whispering began in the back office.
Those rich people looked at me and I looked at you, their eyes flickered and their lips moved, but no one dared to speak first.
They are weighing the pros and cons and take the initiative to hand over the person, so that they can at least get their capital back.
If they don't give it, then this magistrate who is not afraid of anything may do something outrageous to them again.
They had previously checked that the county magistrate had two relatives in total, one was his god-sister who was getting married, and the other was his god-sister's mother.
Other than that, the man has no weaknesses to exploit.
Not greedy for money, not lustful, no handle, no weakness, can't even find anyone who can be bribed.
Soon, they came to a conclusion.
Taking the initiative to hand those people over seems to be the best option.
"Since everyone has no objection..."
Zhao Yuanzhou's voice became louder, he turned his head and shouted towards the door.
"Xiong Da! Xiong Er!"
"Here!" Two big men nearly two meters tall responded instantly from the outer room, their voices as loud as bells.
"Bring the voluntary form in and have them sign it."
"Yes!"
After the words fell, two people walked in with pens and ink and a "voluntary letter".
Xiong Da walked in front, with a strong back and a square face, and a pair of bright tiger eyes.
Xiong Er followed behind. He was even stronger than Xiong Da. The ground was shaking slightly as he walked.
The two put the voluntary letter on the table, laid out the pen and ink, and then stood behind Zhao Yuanzhou, one on the left and the other on the right, with their arms folded across their chests, like two iron towers.
The content written on the "voluntary letter" is very simple. The general idea is that they voluntarily freed those slaves at the original price and granted them freedom.
Just a few words, written in black and white, clearly.
A group of people looked at the words on the "Voluntary Form", and the corners of their mouths kept twitching, cursing in their hearts, but they didn't dare to show any of them on their faces.
They looked at the two big men Xiong Da and Xiong Er, and swallowed with a "dong" sound in their throats, but they did not dare to say a word "no".
These two big men were originally two rangers, one was Soul Grandmaster at level 27, and the other was Soul Grandmaster at level 29.
The two of them passed by here and learned about Zhao Yuanzhou's personality. They sighed that there were still people in this world who were willing to stand up for ordinary people. Their good feelings doubled, so they stayed to observe and see if he was real or fake.
But the more they observed, the more satisfied they were with the county magistrate Zhao Yuanzhou.
Later, when Zhao Yuanzhou was out, a few crazy lunatics suddenly took kitchen knives and chopped at Zhao Yuanzhou.
Needless to say, this must have been deliberately arranged by someone.
So, the two brothers looked at Zhao Yuanzhou who was "scared to the point of being stunned" and took action decisively, knocking the lunatics to the ground with three punches and two kicks and saving him.
From then on, they followed Zhao Yuanzhou and acted as two bodyguards.
About half an hour later.
The voluntary form was already filled with names, densely packed, line by line, with a bright red fingerprint behind each name.
Xiong Da handed the voluntary letter to Zhao Yuanzhou's hands. Zhao Yuanzhou took the voluntary letter, glanced at the names, and nodded with satisfaction.
"Okay, it's rare for you to be so honest."
He stood up, straightened his robes, and his tone was somewhat generous.
"Today I will entertain you all in the back office. After the banquet is over, I will go back with you to receive your guests."
"How?"
"Don't dare, don't dare..."
Everyone shook their heads, and the expressions on their faces were uglier than crying.
Some people cupped their hands, some bowed, and even more people lowered their heads and dared not speak.
How dare they stay to eat?
What if, while eating, Zhao Yuanzhou changes his mind again?
They bluntly said that they would go back and send the people over right away, and they would also send them the deeds of sale, ensuring that there would be a lot of them.
In just a moment, more than thirty people were gone.
The footsteps and whispers gradually went away along the corridor, and finally disappeared outside the back Yamen.
After everyone left, the back office became quiet.
Xiong Er scratched his head and said stupidly:
"Sir, now that they are gone, what will happen to the banquet?"
"How about you give me the banquet and I'll take care of it for you."
"A banquet? What banquet?"
Zhao Yuanzhou stood up, looked at the voluntary letter carefully, then nodded with satisfaction, folded it and put it in his sleeve, and said in a calm tone:
"I've never prepared a banquet."
After saying that, he walked directly outside.
"Xiong Da." Xiong Er looked at his elder brother with some confusion, and asked doubtfully, "What does Mr. Zhao mean by this?"
"I said Xiong Er, you don't understand this?"
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