Jijiexian

Fujimine didn't remember the appearance of the Patriarch, because he kept his head down from the beginning to the end, and he didn't need to talk, he just bowed his head to salute when needed. Since he stood for too long, he walked the next day. Sometimes, the calf always trembles a little.

"Do your feet still hurt?" Han Yu who was walking beside him asked.

What Fujimine is most afraid of at the moment is to be locked in the carriage again, so he immediately replied stubbornly: "It doesn't hurt, I'm fine."

Hanyu's kindness did not get the response he deserved, so he was a little angry. Fortunately, his memory is not long. After a while, he had already forgotten this little unpleasantness, pointing at some things he hadn't seen before and yelling. .

More than ten miles south of Pengyi is the river beach, which is a tributary of the Yu River, and there is a road parallel to the river downstream.The avenue is flat and wide, and the area close to the town has been repaired densely with bricks and stones, while the road extending to the rural part is dilapidated.

When Peng Guo was first established, the officials sent by the Marquis of Peng had to regularly repair the roads, because this was directly related to the transportation of commodities such as grain, and the evaluation of the quality of the roads was also related to the future of a gentry.But looking at it now, the officials in Pengyi didn't seem to be fulfilling their duties at the moment, so it felt a bit desolate along the way.

There are often dilapidated places on the road under our feet, the lower part of the loess has turned over the masonry on the ground, and occasionally there will be a piece of cleared woods or abandoned sentry towers on the side of the road. Sing, humming as you pass by.

All of this makes Fujimine feel novel and interesting, because in the north, what you can occasionally see when you go out is either snow or desert, and it has never been so vibrant.

Going forward, he saw the staggered ridges and the vast fields. The wild flowers are like stars, and the wild fields are like dreams. They look very beautiful and seem to be full of firepower. Northland, this place is like a paradise on earth.

A little further ahead, a carriage stopped by the side of the road. When the people in the carriage saw the family flag of Fujimine's father, they jumped out of the carriage and ran to the middle of the road to block the way.

"Ah ... ah ... uh ..." That was a famous slave, and he seemed to be unable to speak.

Only then did Tengfeng's father realize that there was an old man sitting in the carriage. He hurriedly stopped Gao Ge who wanted to do something, and came to the carriage.

"Old man, what can you do?" Fujimine's father asked.

The old man smiled, and said sincerely, "Please forgive me for not being able to stand up and talk to you, my legs are failing." As he spoke, he lifted up the straw mat that was originally covered on the car, revealing the two withered legs underneath. His disfigured legs were obviously not enough to support the old man's body.

Regardless of everyone's surprised gazes, the old man bowed like Tengfeng's father in the carriage to salute—this is a common etiquette used by scholars. He completed a whole set of movements with difficulty, and then said:

"Speaking of which, I am your uncle. I have met your father. At that time, I was like him, with wives, children, retainers, and countless slaves, but the war and the plague took them all away from me. Let's go. The owner deprived me of my territory, and now I have a disabled leg. I only have this slave who can't speak, a donkey, and this broken cart. If you don't mind, these belong to you, and I will do it for you Contribute wisdom, just ask you to grant me a grave is enough."

These words sound good, but in fact, they only want Fujimine's father to take care of his life. Several retainers immediately stood up and ridiculed the old man, saying that he did not have the dignity that a scholar should have, and that he lost his territory and lived like this Thinking that it would be better to commit suicide, he persuaded Tengfeng's father to leave him alone and continue on his way.

The old man endured all this quietly, as if he had become accustomed to those ridicules. Just when he thought he was going to be disappointed again, Fujimine's father made an unexpected decision.

"Old man, you can come to live in my territory, and I will give you the necessary food and shelter. It's just that we just came from the north, and the conditions may be a bit difficult."

In this way, the old man became a member of the Fujimine family, and Fujimine's father even asked all the families to honor the old man as uncle, because he was also the elder of the Fujimine family.

Fujimine thought that his father was right, such a poor old man came to beg in a low voice, how could he not take him in!It's just that those retainers didn't understand.

The team set off again, and when it was close to noon, they finally arrived at their destination. A messenger from the master's house had already been waiting there. When he saw Fujimine's father's flag in the distance, he immediately yelled.Not long after, a few heads poked out from the warehouse and the hut, and then a group of people began to busily gather by the river beach to greet them.

The whole ground looks lush and green, but it is full of weeds. There is a dilapidated waterwheel by the river, and a mill next to it, but the roof and the wall on one side of the mill have disappeared, and the collapsed building can be seen from a long distance away. stone mill.Tengfeng walked past with his father, and a girl with a basket hurriedly came over to salute. This was one of the original four slaves in the territory. It is said that these four slaves were actually a family.

The father took the bamboo stick in the messenger's hand, with the owner's seal on it, and after a simple ceremony, this place has belonged to Fujimine's family ever since.

Fujimine's father brought a total of 36 retainers, as well as twice as many slaves, plus their families, and filled the only few huts at once, and the retainers and slaves had to Do it yourself and build some shacks urgently. Fortunately, it is summer now, and the place to live is not so urgent.

The next day, the main family sent someone to deliver a bag of crop seeds, which was probably the only assistance that the Fuji family could provide.Fujimine's mother inspected the granary first, but the result was not optimistic. Apart from two bags of damp flour and a few bags of beans, there were only a few corpses of mice left.

Most of the food they brought from the north has been consumed on the road. With so many people, they will be hungry in no time.

While Fujimine's parents were worrying about their livelihood, Fujimine felt that he had never had the happiness before. The clan's school had to wait until after the autumn harvest to start giving lectures. Before that, he could go on adventures and have fun. Together with Han Yu, he went around the entire territory. The retainers erected fences around the territory, so that outsiders dare not invade, so as long as they do not go beyond the range, they are absolutely safe.

The land in the south is different from the pure wheat fields in the north. There is quite a lot of rice planted near the river beach. This is a crop from the swamps in the south. Three harvests a year or even two harvests a year, if they can survive this winter, then they will never have to worry about food in the future.

Fujimine's father traded a few bundles of furs from the north for this kind of rice in the food from the surrounding families. After eating it, Fujimine felt uncomfortable and weak. Fortunately, the amount of rice Not much, it will be finished soon.

The labor began, and the slaves were mobilized. Under the supervision of the retainers, they had to clear the weeds on the land within a few days, complete a sowing, and start building houses. Some people were specially assigned to log, Fujimine My father inspected the abandoned mill by the river, repaired the stone mill, the newly added donkey finally came in handy, and the wheat they exchanged was finally able to be ground into flour again.

When all the weeds on the land were cleared up, the retainers who had been sent to the city before also returned one after another. They exchanged the little fur left at home for a cattle trainer and matching farm tools. The efficiency of their farming has been greatly improved.

In addition, there is an orchard in the territory. According to the four slaves, this orchard can produce more than 60 baskets of fruit every year. Usually, except for a small part of these fruits, they are eaten fresh. They made preserved fruit or brewed wine, and then sold them in the city. They also took out a few jars of the fruit wine sealed in the cellar. It tasted very light and tasted sour. few.

Just when everyone thought that the days would go on like this, the messenger of the lord's family visited again, and he also brought the king's call-up order—the war started again.