Her belly growing heavier by the day, Juhua sat in the shade of a tree, trimming vegetables. Hearing the low murmur of voices from inside the house, she sighed inwardly. 'Huai Zi's third uncle came this afternoon. I wonder if he's here to borrow money.'
Ever since Qinghui County got a new County Magistrate, things had changed drastically. To put it simply, the gap between the rich and poor had widened at a shocking rate.
In the past, even when there were corrupt officials, everyone was poor together, so they all just scraped by. But now, with Xiatang Market flourishing, the number of wealthy people had grown. There were those who had made their fortunes locally, others who had moved in from elsewhere, and even gentry like the Li Family. The poor households started by selling their fields, and then their children. They became tenants or servants, or they went to work in the Fang family's workshops at the market. More and more people were losing their land.
