Old things in Nancheng

"Lan'er, in a few days, Lizheng will come to collect the imperial rations, and the government will also send people to distribute corvees. I will be away from home for more than ten days. Can you stay home alone?"

As long as there is no fame and fame, no one can escape from paying the emperor's grain to serve in corvée.It is good to say that the land in Wangjiazhuang is mostly high-grade land, and the tax is two dou per mu, which can also be converted into two hundred copper coins. It is easy to pay six dou of imperial grain for three mu of Wang Zimo, but corvee service is not easy. It was something that made Wang Zimo and the people in the whole village tremble with fear.

Men under the age of four are yellow, four to fifteen are young, sixteen to twenty are middle, twenty-one to fifty-nine are small, and over sixty are old.According to the rules, those who serve in corvee are men, that is, men aged 21 to 59 in the whole country, but this law will be adjusted in each era.

Now that the Northern Song Dynasty has died, the royal family has moved to the south, and the Southern Song Dynasty has just been established, and a thousand wastes are waiting for prosperity. Not only the royal family needs to build palaces in the south, but also the wars along the Yangtze River have never stopped.Yanguan County is considered a prosperous place and does not need to face the battlefield directly, but Yanguan County is adjacent to the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal in the north and the Qiantang River in the south. Most of the corvee in Guan County is to dredge rivers and strengthen seawalls.

These two errands are cumbersome and important, and require a lot of labor, and the southerners are so thin, so it is very difficult to do these heavy labor jobs.Therefore, last year, Wang Zimo, who was only 14 years old, also participated in the canal cleanup, and this year he will naturally be unable to escape.But fortunately, Xing Rong has found a good job for Wang Zimo, and arranged for her to manage the food work of the servicemen. She is competent for this job.

Wang Zimo was not worried about herself, she was only worried about Lin Zhilan, without her own care, how could she live alone at home these days.

"Don't treat me as a delicate person, okay?" Lin Zhilan felt reluctant, but still said in a very general way: "When the time comes, you can go at ease and take care of yourself. I'm at home, what can happen."

Wang Zimo thought about the same reason, so he put the matter aside.

The next day when selling rice, Chen Wangshu disliked Wang Zimo's thin arms and legs, fearing that she would exhaust him to death on the way, so he volunteered to help Wang Zimo push the grain truck and went into the city with her.

Just like selling rice last time, Wang Zimo sold the rice for a good price. Her calculations were extremely clever, and she sold the rice by herself, and a stone of rice was worth more than a thousand cash. have to earn.

Chen Wangshu was very moved when he saw Prince Mo's bulging purse, but his family had a large population and rice had to be kept for rations. If the rations were insufficient in the coming year, it would not be cost-effective to buy rice at that time, so he had to give up with red eyes.

Of course, there are things to visit in the East Market, eggs, dried bamboo shoots, dried seaweed, bacon, etc., but Wang Zimo bought some of the old and delicious things, and Chen Wangshu also counted the money in his pocket and bought a lot. The Chinese New Year will be over in a month or so. If you go to the city to buy at that time, the price will rise, and farmers will be very careful to live on a budget.

However, when Wang Zimo started to buy candied pastries, Chen Wangshu's face could not help but stink. He knew that Wang Zimo would not eat these things on a daily basis. Obviously, these were for that woman to satisfy her greed. I don't know how to save some money for Wang Zimo, eating this and that all day long, I really think of myself as the little lady of a rich family!

Chen Wangshu just thought about it, and didn't want to spoil Wang Zimo's happiness. Seeing Wang Zimo's joy, Chen Wangshu could only sigh.However, when Wang Zimo brought Chen Wangshu into the West Market, Chen Wangshu's stinky face could no longer hold back.

Buy bird's nest?Isn't Wang Zimo crazy?

"Xiao Er, what are you going to do?" Chen Wangshu saw Wang Zimo taking out money, and hurriedly grabbed her and asked with a straight face.

"Buy bird's nest." Wang Zimo said without thinking.

"These things can only be enjoyed by the masters of rich families. We can't waste the money." Chen Wangshu reminded.

"Lan'er throws up everything she eats these days. She can only eat bird's nest porridge. If she doesn't buy this, she will starve to death." Wang Zimo explained patiently.

"Bah! She is cheating on you, why are you so stupid! Think about your hard work in the field, look at the blood on your hands, these are your hard-earned money, how can you squander like this !" Seeing that Prince Mo Ming was stubborn, Chen Wangshu was so anxious that the top of his head was about to smoke.

"Brother Shu, I know it well, you don't have to worry about it."

Wang Zimo somewhat regretted letting Chen Wangshu come with her. She knew that Chen Wangshu had a bad impression of Lin Zhilan. Now, it seems that no matter what the impression is, she simply dislikes Lin Zhilan and uses her own.In Chen Wangshu's heart, Lin Zhilan was not only a shameless woman, but also a greedy woman, but Wang Zimo knew that Lin Zhilan was not such a person, but Chen Wangshu would not believe her explanation.

The clerk saw the two chattering in the store, and there was a faint tendency to quarrel, so he couldn't help stepping up and asking, "Do you buy it or not? If you don't buy it, you go out and don't look around. Is our store a cat or a dog can enter!"

The man's words made Chen Wangshu feel ashamed. In such a high-end shop, most of the nobles wearing silk came here. Wang Zimo still has a cotton gown, which is not bad, but he is a coarse cloth jacket, which is completely out of place with the shop. Wang Zimo came in. A person like him would never have the courage to walk into such a shop in his entire life.

Wang Zimo also felt the clerk's contempt, and couldn't help saying angrily: "Buy! Why don't you buy it!"

Seeing that Wang Zimo took out two taels of silver from his pocket, the clerk's face immediately changed, and his smile was indescribably bright. He quickly wrapped the Yanzhan that Wang Zimo liked, and offered it with both hands: "Guest officer, this is your bird's nest."

Wang Zimo took the bird's nest and took a deep look at the clerk. It's just money's mischief. One day, she will wear brocade clothes and swagger into this shop to let their big shopkeeper entertain her.

Chen Wangshu followed Wang Zimo and left, sighing in his heart, the price was too expensive to fight for, a whole two taels of silver~ It's just that neither of them knew that after they left, the guy's face was full of contempt, and his mouth He also cursed and said: "Slap a swollen face to pretend to be fat, bah!"

When the two arrived at the silk and satin village, they still received the same treatment. Both Chen Wangshu and Wang Zimo were stern.She was never a competitive person, but she didn't want Lin Zhilan to feel that she was useless, even though Lin Zhilan had already felt that way.

After buying silk, she went to find a tailor. Wang Zimo gave Lin Zhilan the size of her body, and asked her to make it looser.The old tailor was an honest man. Seeing that Wang Zimo was not from a rich family, he persuaded him, "Brother, it's a pity to make clothes for pregnant women with such fine silk and satin. Now the clothes are suitable, but after the baby is born, the clothes can't be worn anymore." , Even if it’s changed, it’s not decent to wear, if you don’t do it after the lady has given birth, then it’s not like you’ve buried such a good material.”

"Xiao Er, the old man is right. Such a good material is very decent for a dowry. If you make it now, you won't be able to wear it next year. Isn't it a waste?" Chen Wangshu also persuaded.

When Wang Zimo was told by the two, he was a little hesitant. The truth was true, but she really wanted Lin Zhilan to dress decently during the Chinese New Year.

"Brother, old man, I never tell lies. The fine cotton cloth you brought is also an excellent material. For poorer families, the wedding dress of a daughter is not as good. It is also very decent to wear it when visiting relatives during the New Year. " The old tailor was kind, seeing that Wang Zimo was still hesitating, he persuaded him again.

At this time, Wang Zimo was struggling in her heart. The anger she had suffered at the silk and satin shop in the bird's nest shop had not subsided, and she had already promised Lin Zhilan at home that if she felt sorry for the material and broke her promise, she would feel ashamed to see Lin Zhilan.

"Xiaoer, brother, let me tell you from the bottom of my heart, you have treated her well enough. Looking at our village, which daughter-in-law is like her, who is not short of food and clothing, and does not work. If you want to talk about it, those Don’t be crazy, woman. We are all peasants. It’s not easy to save a few dollars after a year’s hard work. Although you are a scholar and have some skills, it’s not easy to copy books one by one. You have to do business for others. Come and go in the wind and rain, you don't look like a person who lives like this."

"You like her, treat her well, brother, I understand in my heart, but life needs to flow slowly, and the days to come will be long. There will be opportunities, and when you have more money in your hand, you can spend it as you like. Nothing to say. But now the family is not well-off, and you can’t go wrong if you plan carefully. If something happens in the future and you have no money to turn around, then it will be really fatal.” Chen Wangshu said earnestly, since Wang Zimo cannot Stubborn donkey pulled back from Lin Zhilan's side, he could only teach her how to live a peaceful life, without being young and energetic, he emptied his family's wealth.

"This little brother is right, you have to think clearly, if this cloth is cut, there will be no medicine for regret." The old tailor caressed the silky and bright silk, as if he was stroking a beautiful woman, He has been a tailor all his life, so it is conceivable that he has a preference for fabrics. Although the material he has is definitely not as good as silk from wealthy families, it is pretty good in ordinary people's homes.

Wang Zimo was originally hot-headed, but now he was persuaded by two people, and he knew that he was wrong, and he only blamed himself for his incompetence.This piece of material cost her a tael of silver, because it was for making clothes for Lin Zhilan, so she didn't feel bad, but if it was for making clothes for herself, she would never be willing to buy it.

"Old man, brother tree, what you said is reasonable, this piece of material will not be made, and the other three pieces, please hurry up with the old man." Wang Zimo was very frustrated, took out his old clothes from the bag, and asked : "Old man, these clothes, can you help me change them into small clothes for a newborn child?"

The old tailor picked up the very clean old clothes, stroked the fabric with his fingertips, then shook it open and measured the size with his eyes, nodded and said, "This is no problem, the fabric is soft enough for children to wear, an old dress can be made Two small coats."

"Then trouble the old man." Wang Zimo cupped his hands and asked, "How many days will it take?"

"You can come and get it in ten days." The old tailor was very experienced, so he reported the date without even thinking about it.

"Old man, this is a deposit. After ten days, the full amount will be paid. Please be more careful, sir."

"Of course, the golden signboard of the old man has been in Yanguan City for 30 years. You can go out and inquire about it." The old tailor said proudly.

"It was after inquiring that I found the old gentleman here."

On the way back, Wang Zimo was very silent, not as excited as when he came.When she entered the city, she was full of joy and wholeheartedly wanted to buy the best things for Lin Zhilan.She felt that she had rice and books in her hand, and she could exchange them for a lot of copper. This was not wrong. She did sell the things in her hand for a good price. No, she was really proud once in the East Market.

But when she arrived in Xishi, she realized that she was a frog in a well.In the bird's nest shop, she can only choose low-grade bird's nest, and in the silk and satin shop, she can only choose the most common silk and satin. One of the mortal beings is the most ordinary commoner.

She only has three acres of land and a small yard, and she can only live a life of food and clothing. She is a great hero and an omnipotent person if she didn't save Lin Zhilan and sell rice for the village.

Thinking of what Lin Zhilan often said about her being great, Wang Zimo felt extremely ashamed. It turned out that his self-satisfied sense of accomplishment was just a beautiful illusion created by Lin Zhilan's kindness.

Although Chen Wangshu was very dissatisfied with Wang Zimo's lavishness, but seeing Wang Zimo's lost expression, he thoughtfully did not criticize her, but quietly walked home with her.

When they arrived at Liu's house, there were twinkling lights inside, and the faint light made Wang Zimo feel that it was a kind of warm call. Her depressed face gradually calmed down, and even put on a faint smile.

"Brother Shu, let's have dinner at my house tonight." Wang Zimo said expectantly.

Chen Wangshu was stunned for a moment when he heard that, before Lin Zhilan appeared, he often went to eat at Wang Zimo's house, and Wang Zimo would also go to Chen's house for dinner, but since Lin Zhilan came, the relationship between the two has become estranged.Chen Wangshu was in a panic, he would not enter Liu's house unless he could, and Wang Zimo also protected Lin Zhilan tightly, and did not invite Chen Wangshu anymore.

Today, what is Wang Zimo's plan?Chen Wangshu thought suspiciously.