Chapter 5 Slums, fees! [Please collect]

East of Anlefang

A large filthy slum is located under the bustling city of God.

The potholed muddy road is surrounded by the stinky smell of feces and urine.

A large number of hungry and cold poor people live in dilapidated shacks!

Some of them are terminally ill, and some are crippled and can only huddle in a corner and linger.

There are also children who are waiting for food with their innocent eyes open, and they are hungry and compete with wild dogs for food.

In the winding alleys, the flirtatious laughter of prostitutes can be heard from time to time, and occasionally there are the noises of various shrews cursing. It can be said that there is a lot of chaos.

Wei Hong turned a deaf ear to this and walked home on his own.

At the same time, his eyes were constantly scanning the surroundings, carefully avoiding gang members and some shady desperadoes in the slums.

"Xiao Hong is back? What are you busy with?"

"Nothing, I just came back from work at Zhuji Butcher Shop."

"Hey, are you going to be an apprentice at a butcher's shop? This is a great event."

"Thanks to you!"

Wei Hong exchanged greetings with several aunties on the road.

Deliberately revealing that he was an apprentice in a butcher's shop immediately aroused the envy, jealousy and hatred of many people, and even the prying eyes from around him were reduced.

And when he returned home, he found the door of his shack wide open.

Three big men in gray short coats with bloody tigers tattooed on their bodies were yelling at their grey-haired, stooped, kind-hearted grandfather: "Made, old Wei, don't think that we can't protect you with your old arms and legs." Go ahead, you know the consequences of not paying today."

"It's not that we don't want to pay, it's just that the money is too much. I really can't come up with it, old man!"

"I don't care whether you have money or not. Don't talk nonsense. You want to be beaten, right?"

A burly man with a scarred face grabbed Old Wei's collar and threatened him.

When Wei Hong saw this, he quickly went over to stop him, frowned and advised, "Master Dao, please tell me what you have to say."

"Hey, Xiao Hong is back." Scarface let go of his hand and said with a half-smile: "Look, look, look, this isn't me messing around, it's just that your family doesn't cooperate with the fees assigned by the boss. I It’s also difficult.”

"Don't worry, Lord Dao, we understand the rules." Wei Hong said calmly: "The monthly capitation fee is 3 yuan, the garbage fee is 1 yuan, and the night incense fee is 1 yuan, right?"

"No, no, no, this month won't last long." Scarface arched his hands towards the imperial city and said with a smile: "The Queen Mother is going to celebrate her birthday soon. The superiors have ordered the state governments to increase the longevity tax, and our Tiger Head Gang has to pay too. Help collect the money, two taels per person, your family will have to pay a total of 1 tael and 2 taels of silver.”

"One tael and two dollars?"

Wei Hong gasped in shock.

Grandfather Old Wei Tou complained even more distressedly: "Damn it, old man, I worked hard for a month and only got 1 tael and 5 cents of monthly silver. You have to leave some porridge for us, grandson and grandson, right? You collect the first half of the month, In the second half of the month, the Yamen will come to collect me, will you still let me live?"

"Damn it, it's none of my business whether you live or not." Scarface interrupted impatiently: "If you can't complete the task assigned by your superiors, will you be punished on my behalf?"

"Grandpa!" Wei Hong stopped the old man from continuing the theory, and tried to persuade him in a gentle voice: "Take the money!"

Old Wei sighed silently and took it out of his arms helplessly for a long time.

Finally, he took out a piece of silver and a bunch of copper coins and handed them to Scarface.

"That's right, Brother Hong still knows what's interesting."

Scarface turned around and left with satisfaction.

After a while, there was another wave of threats, curses and begging for mercy from next door.

Wei Hong withdrew his gaze coldly, as he was already used to this kind of thing.

The Zhou Dynasty was founded eight hundred years ago, but it has long been in decay.

Today I will charge the door and window fee, and tomorrow I will collect the charcoal fire fee!

Various gangs, large and small, are the minions of those in power, squeezing ordinary people into misery.

If you don't pay, they will have 10,000 ways to force you to do so!

Wei Hong had no way of knowing whose pocket the money ended up in. He only knew that his current status was not enough to fight against the rules.

"These bitches." Old Wei scolded his mother in a distressed voice: "They only know how to plunder the common people, and sooner or later they will give birth to children without assholes!"

"Say less, be careful. Walls have ears." Wei Hong advised him while helping him walk in: "Now I am doing well in the butcher shop. When I become a knifeman, our life will be easier."

"Yes, yes, brother Hong is hungry after a long day of work, right?" Old Wei's face was full of kindness: "The old man is going to make dinner now. There are still two kilograms of brown rice in the rice vat, and half of the dried fish will be steamed for the two of us to eat. Good meal."

"I'm too full from eating in the shop today, so I won't eat dinner." Wei Hong handed the pig lungs over and said sleepily: "This is the offal given by the stall. You can cook it yourself and eat it later in the night." I still have to go to work, so I’ll go to bed early.”

"Okay, just take a shower and go to bed when you're tired." Old Wei nodded hurriedly with a distressed look. He couldn't see how tired Wei Hong was, and he was probably suffering a lot.

"You don't have to save the pig lungs for me, you can eat them all, don't be reluctant." Wei Hong warned patiently: "I will have enough food by working in the butcher shop, and our family will save a lot of money on rations in the future. "

"Okay, okay, okay!"

The old man's tone was choked, but his eyes were bright and shining.

The child he had worked so hard to bring up finally had the capital to settle down and live a life.

Now that he is so filial and sensible, what else could he be dissatisfied with?

After chatting for a while, Old Wei began to clean the pig lungs and prepare for cooking.

Wei Hong looked around the low, dim, cluttered shack, and the wooden bed that could barely fit two people, and finally sighed silently.

The rice jar at home was empty, and the shack was still leaking!

The weather was getting colder day by day, and the charcoal-fired cotton clothes for the winter were not yet available.

Thinking about his grandfather who had to go out to beat the night watch every night at his age, and had to do odd jobs and clean up in the Dali Temple prison during the day, doing two jobs to support himself, Wei Hong couldn't help but feel depressed.

"Just hold on a little longer, life will get better and better."

"I've been through sixteen years, there's nothing I can't get through!"

Wei Hong comforted himself while fetching water to wipe his body.

Take a bath? No way!

Where can I take a bath in such a small shack?

Most people in the slums don't take a bath once a year.

"When I have money in the future, I must buy a big yard."

After a simple wash, Wei Hong lay on the bed tossing and turning.

Although he was tired and sleepy, the sore muscles all over his body made it difficult for him to fall asleep.

In desperation, Wei Hong added a little vitality to his life value, and waited until his body was wrapped in warm energy again.

He couldn't help but close his eyes comfortably and quickly fell into a deep sleep.

Please collect and fatten, and please vote