I was a prince in ancient times

The people in the city hid in their homes for two or three days, and did not hear the enemy's attack. They were so hungry that they had to crawl out of dry wells and cellars to find food.

When they found that the enemy had been repulsed, they beat drums and gongs excitedly to inform others.

The people who got the news wept with joy.

They finally don't have to spend the days of hiding in the dark underground and fearing that the enemy army will attack the city and kill wantonly.

Although I don't know how long this kind of life can last, but I can live a day and earn a day.

At least this time they see hope, this time they can repel the enemy, and maybe next time they can.

But they were not happy for a long time, and new problems came again.

"Mom, I'm hungry."

He Sang, the youngest son of He Shuang's family, held his hungry stomach and said pitifully to a hunchbacked woman.

The woman is He Shuangquan's wife, Shi He. She was tidying up the few belongings at home. When she heard the voice of the youngest son, she gently rubbed his head, "Little Sang, when your father comes back, there will be something to eat." gone."

The woman looked gentle, but her eyes were full of sorrow.

Before the war, all the merchants who could run ran away, and now there are no rice sellers on the streets.

Other people's households don't have much food in storage, so even if they buy it with silver, the price will be high. The child's father hasn't earned any money this year, so how can the family's savings support the two children and the elderly.

He Sang seemed to be comforted by Mrs. He, stopped making trouble, went to the door and sat down, looked at the road outside the door from a distance, and waited for his father to come back.

Not long after, He Shuangquan came back, but he was empty-handed.

He Sang saw it, but he was sensible and didn't ask anything, just said, "Is Daddy thirsty? Xiao Sang pours water for Daddy."

He Shuangquan pinched his son's skinny face, suppressed his disappointment, and forced a smile, "Daddy is not thirsty, and Xiaosang is not hungry."

He Sang nodded, then quickly shook his head in response.

He Shuangquan sighed, picked up his son, went into the house, and saw the busy wife with guilt on his face.

"Didn't buy any food?" Mrs. He didn't understand what her husband was like.

He Shuangquan sighed and nodded, "I walked all over the city, but there was still no one in the shops selling grain. I knocked on the doors of more than a hundred households, but they refused to sell grain, but two agreed to sell grain. A tael of silver for a fight, I didn't agree."

"One liang of silver is one bucket, you must be crazy about money." He, who has always been gentle, was horrified when he heard the price, which shows how ridiculously high the price is.

He Shuangquan put down his son, covered his face, and said helplessly, "I'm afraid those businessmen won't come back in this year's situation. We can still think of other ways. There is really no way for food."

Seeing her husband like this, He comforted her in a low voice, "It's okay, I still have some miscellaneous grains at home, and I can last another three to five days. Think about it slowly, and there will always be a way out."

"En." He Shuangquan replied in embarrassment. It was because he was useless as the head of the family that he made his wife and children suffer.

In fact, the husband and wife both knew that if they couldn't think of a way, their family would probably starve to death.

"Shuangquan family, Shuangquan family."

Just when the two were silent, a rough woman's voice came from outside the house.

It was Aunt Hua who lived next door to them.

"Hey, Aunt Hua, come in." He heard the voice and responded.

Aunt Hua walked in with quick steps, and greeted her with a smile on her face.

"Shuangquan is also at home, hurry up and take your wife to the East Street, I heard that the prince from the capital is recruiting workers, and he needs good sewing skills. I remember your daughter-in-law's needlework, there is nothing to say, go try it Well, maybe it’s over, ten cents a day is enough for a meal, my eyesight is bad, otherwise I’m going to try it.”

Aunt Hua is a warm-hearted and friendly person, as soon as she entered the door, she made her visit clear with a quick chatter.

He's eyes lit up, and his heart moved. At this juncture, if he could find a job with money and food, the family would have the hope of surviving.

But after looking at her husband and children, she hesitated again. If she left, what would happen to the elderly and children at home.

Having been married for many years, He Shuangquan could tell what He was thinking just by looking at He's eyes, and said with a wry smile, "Go, I'm in everything at home, it's better than starving to death as a family."

The folk customs of the Yong dynasty were much more open than those of the previous dynasty, and there was no rule that women must stay at home to care for their husbands and raise their children, so He Shuangquan accepted it relatively quickly.

He didn't feel embarrassed because his wife was supporting the family and he was running the house.

"Then I'll try it." Mrs. He was not a hesitant person either. Seeing that her husband had agreed, she tidied up her hair neatly and tidied up her clothes, and thanked Aunt Hua repeatedly, "Thank you Aunt Hua for today." Let me tell you the news, my husband and I will try it first, no matter if it succeeds or not, we will repay your kindness when we come back."

Aunt Hua narrowed her eyes with a smile, and shook her hands, "But it's just a matter of one word, and there's no repayment or repayment. Go quickly, go and return quickly."

Aunt Hua seemed more anxious than the husband and wife, and kept urging them to go out.

The husband and wife had no choice but to tidy up the house hastily, closed the door and walked towards Dongjie.

This area of ​​East Street used to be populated by powerful families, at worst they were also big merchants, ordinary people like them were not allowed to come in and wander around, but now they can, but the residents on this street are also empty In the middle, the big empty house, with the door open, looked a bit gloomy.

The husband and wife hugged their children and came to a crowded house surrounded by many armored guards with solemn expressions. They knew it must be a good place at a glance.

They didn't dare to talk to those serious guards, so they found a woman who was queuing in front of the house and asked about the situation.

Knowing that the women who came here had to line up to try their handicrafts, they could only stay after passing the handicrafts.

The husband and wife lined up silently behind the person at home, and people continued to join in behind them, and they would explain to others.

The speed was very fast, and it didn't take long before it was He's turn. He stroked his hair nervously, followed a guard with a knife into a room with his whole clothes on.

There were a dozen or so people in the room who came to try their skills like her, and two female masters who stood aside to watch their skills.

The two master craftsmen were about the same age as her, and one of them gave each of them a small and thick cowhide, asking them to stitch money into the cowhide.

It's not difficult to make a needle, but it's rare that such a thick cowhide can't be worn without a little effort.

Fortunately, Mrs. He is often at home to fix the soles of shoes, so she still has some strength. After a short time, a small piece of cowhide in her hand was sewn.

The two masters looked at the needle and thread on her cowhide, and nodded with satisfaction, "Come to work tomorrow at Mao, and leave at You, and lunch will be arranged in the workshop at noon, so there is no need to bring food. It costs ten yuan a day. You can choose daily settlement or monthly settlement.”

After the master made it clear to Mr. He, he asked Mr. He's name and age, and wrote it down on a piece of paper with a number on the front. After registering the name, he gave Mr. He a piece of paper with the number on the paper. Exactly the same wooden sign, to prevent someone from impersonating.

Thank you very much for accepting the wooden sign, Mrs. He still couldn't hold back before leaving, and said something extra, "Excuse me...can I exchange my daily wages for grain, coarse grain is also fine."

The two masters were obviously taken aback and whispered to each other for a while. One of them went out for a while, and after a while she came back and nodded to Mrs. He, "The master said yes, but ten Wen can only be exchanged for two catties of grain."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you." He was so excited that tears welled up in his eyes. Ten cents and two catties of food were much cheaper than a bucket of silver and one tael outside. Now we don't have to worry about the whole family starving to death.

Not to mention how the He family went back to share the joy with her husband, Xie Anlan only remembered that Yicheng's business was completely paralyzed after the servants came back to report.

There is no door open for business on the street, not even small merchants and vendors setting up stalls.

In the short term, everyone has food in stock at home and nothing will go wrong. Over time, if the food stock is exhausted and there is no supply, there will be chaos.

"By the way, where's the yamen in the city?" Xie Anlan suddenly remembered that he had been in Yicheng for so long, and all he came into contact with were people in the army, but he didn't see any other officials.

"I ran away early." Chen Gui came back with a large bag of collected goose feathers, and replied when he heard Xie Anlan's question.

These days, he walked the streets and alleys every day to collect goose feathers, and he had a clear understanding of the situation in the city.

As early as when the magistrate and the others learned that Lord Hou was defeated, all the yamen in Yicheng ran away.

Xie Anlan was taken aback, "Will the county magistrate also escape?"

"Running is not bad. At most, it will be regarded as an inaction, and some will even take the lead in defecting to the enemy. I don't know if it will be wrong." Chen Gui also knew that the prince would not bother with such trivial matters in the past. He did not doubt that he took the initiative explained.

Xie Anlan raised her eyebrows, she has gained knowledge, so it can still be like this.

"Your Majesty will send a new county magistrate this time, so don't worry about it." Seeing that Xie Anlan didn't speak, Chen Gui thought that Xie Anlan was worried about it, and persuaded him.

"En." Xie Anlan replied, not thinking about it at all.

Turning his eyes, his eyes fell on the sack that Chen Guikang had returned, and he sat upright, "How many catties of goose feathers are there here?"

"Twenty catties." Chen Gui almost ran all over Yicheng, and collected these goose feathers.

Many of them were dirty and smelly, and he was asked to throw them away, leaving only the cleanest twenty catties of goose feathers.

Xie Anlan opened the sack and checked it, and found that Chen Gui was quite careful, so she said in relief, "Go find two clean and quick women to wash and dry the goose feathers, sort out the velvet inside, and then wash and dry... "

Xie Anlan talked with Chen Gui about how to deal with it, and Chen Gui wrote it down one by one, and Fu took out an oilcloth bag from his arms and presented it, "This is the seed collected by the old slave, please have a look at it, my lord."

"Okay." Xie Anlan opened the oilcloth bag and saw that there were more than a dozen packets of various seeds inside, and smiled with satisfaction, "It's done well, and I will continue to collect when I have time."

"Yes." Chen Gui was overjoyed by Xie Anlan's appreciation, and retreated energetically.

Five days later, Xie Anlan finally got the first down jacket made of goose down in ancient times.

At the end of the twenty catties of goose feathers, only two catties of high-quality goose down were selected, stuffed into the white brocade, and then flattened with needle money to prevent the down from running out. The style is the most common modern long style. For the down jacket, the zipper has been changed to a plum blossom and snowflake buckle, and a bucket hat has been made at the neckline, with a circle of white rabbit fur around the brim. The ancient style has some modern elements, not only unobtrusive, but also surprisingly pleasing to the eye.

Xie Anlan actually began to look forward to what Lu Chengjia would look like when he put on this dress.