One Piece of Song Dynasty

Walking on the street, Li Xin looked here and there. All kinds of red lanterns were hung up, couplets and window grilles were pasted, and people took to the street to buy new year's goods, creating a Chinese New Year atmosphere.

Walking into a grain store, Li Xin took a look inside, touched the rice, looked at the noodles and peeled corn kernels. The waiter in the store saw Li Xin looking around and asked: "Sir, do you want to buy some?" "What?"

Hearing this, Li Xin asked: "Waiter, how do we sell this rice, noodles, corn kernels, and how do we sell it?"

The waiter introduced: "Sir, my rice is all new rice shipped from the south of the Yangtze River. Today's New Year rice is half a dozen Chinese dollars per catty cheaper than usual, noodles are more expensive than rice, fifteen Chinese dollars per catty, and corn is cheaper than usual." The cheapest price is eight Chinese yuan per catty."

Li Xin probably thought about it for a moment. Twenty years ago, when Li Xin first came to the Song Dynasty, the price of goods was about two to three guan per stone of rice, which was equivalent to sixteen to twenty-five Chinese dollars per catty. After Jingkang, Li Xin said: During the Xin Mutiny, the price of rice and noodles in Jiangnan was about five or six guans per kilogram, which is equivalent to forty to fifty Chinese dollars per catty. It seems that today's prices have dropped a lot, but compared with the lowest price of a few pennies per kilogram in the former Tang Dynasty. The period of Doumi is much higher.

After checking the price of rice noodles, Li Xin went to the wine shop and asked about the price of wine. The lowest-end wine is now six Chinese yuan per catty, which is about the same price as Song Dynasty wine decades ago, but the quality of the wine now is It is much better than that of the Song Dynasty, especially the mid-to-high-end wines, and the production of wine is also much higher than that of the Song Dynasty.

After hanging out in a wine shop, Li Xin continued to wander on the street.

"Selling mutton skewers, grilled mutton skewers."

Hearing the shouts, Li Xin walked forward consciously. Of course, the smell of mutton skewers also attracted Li Xin.

Walking to a small shop selling mutton kebabs on the roadside, Li Xin said, "How do you sell these mutton kebabs?"

The boy who was grilling mutton skewers replied: "Sir, the mutton skewers in this shop are ten Chinese dollars each. The mutton is freshly slaughtered that day. How many skewers would you like, sir?"

Li Xin looked at the guard beside him and said: "Thirty strings, here, here are three hundred Chinese coins." After saying that, Li Xin took out three one hundred Chinese coins and handed them to the boy.

The boy took the money and said, "Okay, sir, wait a moment. There are a few guests in front of you who have twenty skewers. When they finish grilling, they will grill them for you. Do you like spicy food?"

Li Xin nodded and said, "Well, put less chili pepper."

Li Xin watched the boy grilling mutton skewers from the side. The boy was quite skillful in his skills and seemed to be a veteran. Li Xin asked: "Little brother, how long have you been doing this mutton skewers job?"

The boy smiled and said: "Hey, sir, these little lamb kebabs have been roasting for a year."

Li Xin asked again: "How many kebabs can you bake in a day?"

The boy replied: "It's hard to say. When the sales are good, we can sell a thousand strings a day, but when the sales are not good, we can only sell five or six hundred strings a day."

Li Xin said: "That's good. A bunch of ten Chinese coins can be sold for ten thousand dollars a day on good days and five or six thousand dollars on bad days. Then your boss will make a lot of money this year. Little brother, your boss will make a lot of money in a month." How much salary will I give you?”

The boy replied: "Two thousand Chinese coins a month."

Li Xin then asked: "Does your boss provide food and accommodation?"

The waiter nodded and said, "It's all covered. I live in the backyard of this shop. Come on, sir, your thirty skewers of mutton are ready."

Li Xin took the mutton skewers and counted twenty-five skewers and handed them to Cao Long and said, "Give five skewers to each of the brothers. Eat the mutton skewers before leaving."

Including Li Xin, there were six guards who came out with Li Xin. Li Xin usually didn’t take many people with him when traveling secretly. Taking too many people would easily attract others’ attention. Moreover, Li Xin paid for all the food and drinks during the trip, so he took many people with him. The cost is also high, so Li Xin usually only travels with five or six people.

Li Xin and others were eating mutton skewers. Suddenly, Li Xin saw a familiar figure approaching from a distance. Li Xin looked closely and saw that it was his sister Li Jing's family. So Li Xin held on to the bamboo hat and Li Xin went out incognito. Everyone wears a hat, because it can easily cover their face to prevent themselves from being exposed.

After eating the mutton skewers, Li Xin decided to tease his sister, so Li Xin quietly chased her sister wearing a bamboo hat. When she got closer, Li Xin saw clearly that her sister's family was purchasing new year's goods, and both Li Shifu and his son Li Zhongqing were carrying things in their hands.

Li Xin quietly walked forward and patted her sister on the shoulder. Li Jing noticed someone patting her and turned around to see that it was a man covering his face with a bamboo hat, so he said slightly angrily: "Who are you?"

Li Xin lifted the bamboo hat up, revealing a full-face smile. Li Jing covered her mouth after seeing her face clearly and pointed at Li Xin and said: "You, you, you." Li Jing quickly looked around, but luckily no one noticed this. side.

Li Xin put down Li Jing's finger and said, "What are you doing? You don't want me to come and see my sister?"

At this time, Li Shifu and Li Zhongqing, father and son, also saw Li Xin's face clearly and were about to salute. Li Xin signaled to stop him and said, "Okay, we won't do that anymore outside."

Li Jing snorted coldly: "Tsk, brother, you didn't come out just to see me."

Li Xin smiled and said: "I was eating mutton skewers over there just now. When I saw you, I came over to see you. You guys bought a lot of things."

Li Jing said: "Aren't you here to buy new year's goods? Shifu's father has just come back a few days ago, so he won't have a good time this year."

Li Xin nodded and said: "Well, then you can go back. I will go back after a while."

Li Jing signaled Li Shifu to give the things to her and said: "Zhongqing and I will go back with the new year's goods first. You can stay with my brother."

Li Shifu handed the things in his hands to Li Jing and said, "Well, okay, then you can go back first."

Li Xin understood that it was his sister who was worried about his own safety that made Li Shifu stay, so he did not object.

Li Xin took Li Shifu, Cao Long and others to continue shopping. As they walked, Li Xin asked: "Shifu, how is the cavalry training going?"

Li Shifu replied: "There is no problem with the training. The soldiers are now thinking about going to the battlefield to practice."

Li Xin said with a smile: "Then their wish will come true. There won't be any wars in the next few years. If they really have time, they can do exercises."

Li Shifu asked doubtfully: "I asked my brother to teach me about the drill. What is a drill?"

Li Xin explained: "It is a drill that is close to actual combat. The soldiers are divided into two groups and simulated battlefield conditions for drills. However, the weapons must be replaced with wooden swords or wooden knives that will not hurt people. Of course, the drills also have judgment criteria."

Li Shifu said thoughtfully: "I understand somewhat."

Li Xin said: "Well, after the new year, I will distribute the information about the exercise, and then conduct a large-scale exercise every year to test the training results of each department every year, so that we will not be in a hurry when the war actually starts. .”

Li Shifu nodded and said, "Yes, brother."