Clam Pearl

In the winter of the eighth year of Tiancheng, a heavy snow fell for three consecutive days, the weather was suddenly cold, and the outdoors were frozen.Today, the older Ji Gu people in the city stay in their houses and dare not go out.A heavy snowfall brings countless problems. Fortunately, the past few years have not been the same as before, and any rain or snow that is slightly heavier will inevitably cause disasters.

Seeing that the income of the household department is increasing, the city is now getting angry when it comes to spending money.When it snowed heavily, the Fourth Lieutenant Office of Shangjing went to get the sign from it one after another, and took the money to the Qianding Division to call the residents to clear the snow and clean the streets.Nowadays, all kinds of work in Beijing, such as collecting manure, cleaning waterways, and cleaning alleys, etc., must be used by people from the Qianding Division, and it is not for other reasons, just to find food for the refugees outside the city.

But I didn't want to, the fourth lieutenant took the sign to call the population, but the job was pushed back to the afternoon.

There is no way, no one is available this morning. Early this morning, the official of Qiandingsi went to the Au Residential Area to post a notice saying that the carbon has been in place this winter, and ordered the heads of households to take the records and go to Qiandingsi City. Outside the big warehouse collar charcoal rice grain.

Speaking of the slum dwellers, they were the slum dwellers in the past. Mr. Gu, who moved to the Ding Division in Tiancheng for four years, came up with a good trick, ordering all the refugees in all states and counties to live in the squatter areas according to the plan and receive the refugee household registration.The dwellings in the Wa Residential Area are very interesting. They dig eight-foot-deep hollows in the ground, and build a four-to-five-foot-high wooden wall on the ground. Once the top is built, it becomes a hollow that is warm in winter and cool in summer.Therefore, shed people have a new name since then, Au people.

Since the Aomin were managed by the yamen, the life of the Aomin has become easier.How to put it, it's a hundred times better than begging, stealing, and prostitution in the past.At the beginning, they dug wazi and fed Gankou twice a day. Later, the aunts were collectively managed by counties and prefectures, and they began to build roads up and down the girders. Since then, the aunts have made a living.

People from all over the country, no matter what their status or occupation, walk on the roads built by the people, and they have to pay fifty miles to buy the roads.There are too many people from all over the world, fifty miles and ten dollars is not expensive, but this move has found a way out for the poor people in the world.Of course, the imperial court will not distribute the road money directly. This money is managed and allocated by the Qian Ding Division.

Nowadays, every family of the Au people has a book that is distributed according to the head. There are regulations on how much cloth and grain they receive each year, and how much to provide. The lonely, widowed and poor children can only guarantee the minimum standard of living, and they can't die of hunger or cold.

It has been snowing for three days, the weather is cold and the roads are slippery. Finally, the charcoal from the out-of-town Qianding Division has been transported to Dacang. Early this morning, Lu Guizi, the head of the [-]th household in Jiadao in the Au residential area, got up early and put on a few clothes first. Layer thick clothes to keep out the cold, and when he was about to go out, his wife was worried, so she took the quilt from home and told him to go out wrapped up.

Guizi looked at the children curled up and rolling on the kang, and couldn't bear it, he said to his wife Ling, "Wrap the children up, I'll get food and charcoal later, and we'll have enough to eat too. "

The noble son and daughter-in-law smiled, turned around and took out a cloth bag from under a turned brick on the kang in the house, and opened seven or eight layers layer by layer to reveal a hard leather book.This is the lifeblood of all the people, the bottom line of the people.Food, drink and flowers at home all depend on this book.Lu Guizi is capable, knows some carpentry skills, and can read a few words, so his family lives in Jiadao, and he also has first-class rations every month.

Not long after Guizi went out, someone came to the house, Ling Shi was a man of few words, so when he saw the distinguished guest in satin, he trembled in fright.

The person standing at the door of the house is not someone else, but the prostitutes transferred by Qian Ding from the tooth shop these few days. Because they are official matchmakers, these prostitutes are more decent than private ones. They can wear silk and get a monthly salary. .

"This... noble lady... my man is not at home." Ling raised her head tremblingly to greet people.

The concave is lower than the ground, so you have to raise your head to speak.

The official matchmaker who came to the door today is surnamed Chen, and everyone around her calls her Aunt Chen.

Aunt Chen covered her mouth and laughed a few times: "That's what I said! If I don't look for your man, I'll look for you!" After speaking, she went down the steps without waiting.

The sunken place didn't see the sun all the year round, so it was a bit dark, so Aunt Chen stood still after stepping down the hole.Ling hesitated for a long time, but still gritted her teeth and took the last small candle in the house and lit it.

There is Minger in the recess, but Aunt Chen is still standing. The smell of the house is really bad. She is covering her nose with a handkerchief, spreading the smell with her hands. There is no way she will make [-] pairs this month. The ratio, every pair is a full matchmaker's money.

Ling Shi was a little embarrassed, and hurriedly threw the scraps on the kang aside, drove the children to a corner, covered them with quilts, and didn't allow them to move around, for fear of offending the nobleman.After finishing her work, Ling wiped the surface of the kang with her sleeve, and took out a piece of new cloth that the new brush at home was reluctant to wear, and spread it out.Aunt Chen just smiled and sat on the kang chatting with Ling.

Ling said: "It's called... Your nobleman's joke."

Aunt Chen said: "It's a joke. My family was also a slum dweller a few years ago. I haven't seen anything. I don't know the truth here anymore! In the early years, a 13-year-old girl among our slum dwellers sold it for three hundred yuan. Well, now that the price has gone up, it would cost two hundred dollars for those who are exactly the right age, right?"

Ling Shi showed a bit of timidity, her family does not sell children, so she looked around, but no one could speak for her, so she could only say: "Yes yes yes, you are knowledgeable." After finishing speaking, In my heart, I was afraid that this nobleman would buy his own children. Although the people are cheap, they are also free people. If they sell them, they will become slaves.

Aunt Chen smiled and said, "Hey, if it wasn't for the sake of living, you would think that I would like to eat this bowl of rice!" Having said that, Aunt Chen still proudly patted the copper tooth plate on her waist and said, "You are also afraid, I am an official media, and what I do is to make a living for the official family. Those who are forced to pull are those who are not in the top. I can't come to the business of cutting off children and grandchildren..."

Ling was illiterate, didn't understand what the waist badge represented, and didn't understand why the nobleman condescendingly came to sit at home, she just murmured with a smile, waiting for the nobleman to order her.Because the nobleman said that she would not pull and pull, she felt a little safe.

Aunt Chen nagged for a while, then said: "I'm a straightforward person, now that I'm here, I don't go around in circles. You don't know me, and now I'm eating at the dental shop, everyone calls me Aunt Chen!"

Ling nodded, and it took a long time to react, and hurriedly said: "Hello, Auntie."

But Aunt Chen didn't return the courtesy, she still sat on the kang and said: "Yesterday the chief of the yamen passed it on, and each of them distributed a copy of the booklet. As for me... I have important things in my hand, and I have more than ten pairs this year. There were only three or four auspicious days a year ago, so I have this free time!

But the officer said, what you people are doing is this kind of business, and it is also doing good deeds and accumulating good things.If you are a matchmaker for a wealthy family, they may not remember you. There are many poor girls outside the city who cannot marry because they have no dowry. It is a good thing to accumulate good deeds, right? "

Ling's face was overjoyed when she heard the words, her family now has two daughters, the eldest is eighteen, and the youngest is sixteen, and now these two girls are doing mending business in the city gate, and they come home only in the dark .Hey, even if a girl from another family has three or five pens in her hand, she can find a similar family.But her family couldn't do it, because her family was an outsider.Second, her family is rootless.Three times, her family couldn't afford the dowry.

The daughters of so many families in this rural area have been delayed in this way. Although there are intermarriages among the residents, they also want to marry a good girl who has a dowry or two in her hand. Her family is so poor, so naturally No one came to ask.

Ling hurriedly went down deeply and asked: "But I don't know which family my aunt told me about? You have seen my family now... My family is poor now, and I don't have a dowry for my daughter."

Aunt Chen smiled: "What are you talking about! If your family has a dowry and didn't come here with me, it's because your family is lucky that you have met Shengjun! It's a good time! Big sister, there is such a good thing now , I will discuss with you."

With a smile on her face, Ling wanted to hold a bowl of water, but she was afraid that her aunt would dislike her bowl, so she could only murmur, "Don't hesitate to order, aunt."

Aunt Chen smiled, took a handkerchief to disperse the dust that was not in front of her, and said, "Well, it's a good thing. Now that the government has a new policy, please be merciful! It is said that this year, the old army will be expelled from the army of several routes in Shangjing. All households were sent home. Even though they were sent away, they all had meritorious service, and the court could not use them in vain, so each military grandfather gave away one hundred acres of top-grade farmland."

When Aunt Chen said this, she looked at Ling Shi who was bewildered, and continued with a smile: "The old generals in the court heard this, and they were very happy, but they were also worried. What are you worried about?"

After Aunt Chen finished speaking, she waited for Ling Shi to answer.Ling Shi is an honest person, how can he look at the height of his eyebrows, so he still stands stupidly.

Aunt Chen had no choice but to talk to herself: "Does General Gu know about it?"

Ling shook her head.

Aunt Chen looked proud, as if the old General Gu had something to do with his family and said: "Oh, you don't know that? Oh, his family lives in Pingzhou Alley in the city! That's the one! You don't know Oh, hey, that's a pair of males and six princes, one of the best respectable masters in the city, he's the one who loves the poor and cares about the old, he's a good guy."

Ling replied a series of words in a hurry, but she still didn't know who the decent master was: "Oh, yes yes yes!"

Aunt Chen said triumphantly: "The old man said, these soldiers have sacrificed their lives to the court for so many years, so they can't just return home like this? Isn't that chilling?"

"Yes Yes Yes Yes."

"The Holy Majesty asked, what should I do?"

"Yes Yes Yes Yes!"

"The old man just said, then no matter what, you have to make a wife for those people, right?"

Ling's eyes lit up, and she immediately raised her head and asked, "Auntie, you said...you mean?"

Aunt Chen naturally knew what she wanted to say, so she took a sip and said, "You think too much, where do people know you from? Nowadays, you have to go for relationships, go for a walk, the younger brother of Mr. Gu, the younger brother of the Gu family. Isn't Master Seven taking care of you poor people now, and he is also giving favors to his brother, otherwise who cares about you!"

"Yes, yes, but you don't know?"

"Now, Lord Long Live has issued a decree that all women of the right age who are willing to marry military households will receive a dowry from the imperial court, which will be used as travel expenses to Ganzhou and money for the settlement of the family. All the land allocated by the military lords is in Ganzhou." , saying that there will be no tax increase for ten years, this is a great thing, right?"

After Aunt Chen finished speaking, Ling was stunned. What good did she do? Ganzhou is a county of Juehu.Ling Shi is reluctant to marry her daughter so far away.

Aunt Chen naturally knew what Ling was thinking. She stood up, patted the dust behind her buttocks, smiled and said indifferently: "I brought the words with me. As for the matter, it's just like this. Your daughter married You are free if you don’t marry. Let me say it first, you will never want to set up a household in the floor of Shangjing in your life. The concave people are the refugees, and the refugees are just floating around. Wherever you go, you don’t live! Marry The daughter who goes out, you are done for, and you are good, marrying it is not bad! It is your turn to dislike it... Huh, the military master in the army, whoever does not have three melons and two jujubes in stock, is just too old Some, but it will hurt when you get older, right?"

Ling's smile accompanied her for a while: "Yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes!"

Aunt Chen finished nagging, talked about the date, arranged things, left the receipt and stood up, leaving Ling Shi tossing and worrying at home. Very contradictory.

This year's weather was too cold, and a heavy snowfall was not over yet. The chief of Qianding Division, Lord Pingzhou Gu Zhao suffered from a foot problem and stayed at home.

Gu Zhaoxie was at home, and his heart was too busy to calm down.Qian Ding Division is the unit he bought alone, and now it is still dominated by his family, and no one's influence should be mixed in.In the past few years, Qian Ding Si had no income, but it is okay to say that since he had tolls two years ago, he has earned millions of dollars this year. Immediately, the company became a favorite.For a while, all the gods and Buddhas wanted to come in and scoop up some oil residue. Thanks to Gu Zhao, he is a bastard, otherwise, if it were someone else, there would be no bone residue left.

Today, there are about 36 households of shack dwellers in various places, and this does not refer to households but households. Behind the 36 is a huge population of one million.

Millions of people have to pay for food, clothing and flowers from the tolls. This is not an easy task. Gu Zhao has no choice but to use a method from his previous life, which is to distribute them uniformly by receipts.As much as you do, you will earn as many work points as you will have as many receipts.Since then, this huge refugee population has been completely preserved by Gu Zhao, and the death rate has been decreasing year by year. If it is not an accident, it is difficult to go to see a dead person in the slum area nowadays.

After four years of operation, who would dare to underestimate Qian Ding Division?Now even the great grand master Jinshan said, Gu Zhao, that's a capable minister!

cut!

Gu Zhaocai didn't want to talk to that old thing, he was just a talker.However, in the past few years, all aspects have looked at Gu Zhao with admiration, and they have increasingly regarded him as a character.Also, who can support millions of refugees?Gu Zhao can do it, but he doesn't know how his head grows.

The wind and snow were blowing outside, and in the temporary office of the county government, four large stoves were burning, and the sound of abacus was crackling in the room. Today, the big warehouse issued grain and charcoal, and Gu Zhao must clear the account today.He couldn't walk clearly, and he couldn't sleep well.

Carrying the food box, Xizai stepped on the snow all the way to the outer courtyard, he stomped the snow on his feet outside the wing room, lifted the curtain and entered the room.No one in the room looked at him, everyone was busy with their own business.Even Qi Ye who was sitting on the soft couch was holding his chin, but his heart didn't know where it went.

Gu Zhao had something on his mind, but he just lay on the kang and thought about it for a long time.In the past few days, his feet have been sore and itchy, so his temper is not very good.

Although there is a pillow under his body, a warm quilt covering his body, his hair is not neatly tidied, and he is so lazily crooked, and he wants to walk on his feet without using anything, but why did he suffer from foot problems again?The day before yesterday, Ah Run sent people up the mountain to pick up Huiyi's old magic stick, but he didn't want that old thing to build a new temple in another county now.

There is no other way, Ah Run can only send someone to pick up the old monk quickly, based on how many temples you have built, and now his family Ah Zhao has a foot problem, you have to put things aside and come back quickly.

While drinking tea, Gu Zhao talked to several officials from the Ministry of War.His nephew Gu Maochang is also here now, and these things today have something to do with the left-behind department he manages.He arrived just after he arrived. Seeing that the little uncle had been in a daze and didn't dare to disturb him, he laughed with him and sat aside and waited.

The left-behind department led by Gu Maochang is a pilot project. There are about 4000 old brothers who have come down from his place for this disarmament. These people should have returned to their hometowns, but they don't want new policies from above.In the past, military households returning to their hometowns were only given [-] acres of fertile land, exempted from paying taxes for five years, and they were given the same travel expenses for returning home.

Now the new policy is that if you go to Ganzhou, you will give a hundred acres of fertile land and a daughter-in-law, and ten dowry silver, which will be used as settling expenses and travel expenses.This is a great thing! What kindness!Serve the imperial court, the imperial court will return the fertile land, and marry you a daughter-in-law, such a good thing has never happened before.Therefore, out of [-] retired soldiers, there are now about [-] old bachelors waiting for news.

Seeing that his little uncle had been ignoring him, Gu Maochang finally couldn't hold back any longer. He rubbed his hands and said with a smile, "Little uncle, you should talk to me now! Look, has anyone signed up? I don't care." Up and down, the old brothers have been with me for seven or eight years. Now that the words have been spoken, they are willing. It doesn’t matter if they go home to Ganzhou. Can my son come?"

Gu Zhao smiled, stretched out his hand to take the medicine bowl that Xizai handed over, squeezed his nose and poured down the decoction, and took two sips of water before suppressing the unsteady taste. After putting down the water bowl, Gu Zhaocai said: "Why are you panicking? There are too many girls outside the city who can't get married. Last year, Fu Ji was nagging me. The old girls from Aomin's house are now squatting at home. Speaking of which, these men are really ignorant! I have the ability to earn a fortune by myself Come out, what are you doing looking at your daughter-in-law's dowry?"

Gu Maochang accompanied the smiling face, and hurriedly said: "That's, that's, but 23 is too big, who wouldn't want a [-] or [-] year old with pearls in it?"

Hearing this, Gu Zhao rolled his eyes: "They have money in their hands, so they went to marry themselves, and now the dowry must be at least ten guan, right? I don't dislike your old military family, a 35-year-old bachelor, but you also dislike my peasants. Do you want to marry or not? Your father has been holding on to it for a long time! Also, Li Zhai wanted to pry your corner in private yesterday. Now who has to explain to my old brother, why is your family demanding so much?"

Gu Maochang scolded as soon as he took the case: "What kind of person is Li Zhai, and he also came to our house to pry the corner of the wall? Then...hehe, little uncle, our family is relatives, and you are my uncle, so this elbow has to be abducted from my own house." no?"

Gu Zhao snorted, and said in a low tone: "Don't say I don't take care of you, this batch of dental workers I'm looking for are all under [-]... Don't go out and talk about it."

Gu Maochang was overjoyed when he heard the words, no more nonsense, no more ink marks, he stood up and looked around, coughed, and ran away, all the way outside the county mansion, all the old brothers under his family gathered together They surrounded him and asked in a hurry: "Major General, how is it?"

"Major General, what did Master Seven say?"

"Major General, I'm full of rough people here. I'm in my 30s and I don't pick and choose. Can I be in the front row? I got married a year ago, and I can take my hometown for a walk before going to Ganzhou...Major General... "

Gu Maochang waved his hand in a very arrogant manner, raised his chin and said: "You don't even look at who is out, my little uncle and I are not outsiders, come on, stay at home, and make those decent clothes these few days, Shave your beard, and then go to the soup in the city to make a good soak in the old mud! In a few days, you can see each other freely, don’t be a fool to go out and lose your master!"

As soon as Gu Maochang's words fell, there was a burst of cheers around him. These people were shouting loudly, but they didn't expect that two more masters came to the intersection. The first ones were Fengtian General Li Zhai and Zhengbei General Li Qi. two people.

As soon as Gu Maochang waved his hand, his subordinates immediately shut up.

"General Li, what a coincidence today? Why are you willing to go to my seventh uncle's door?" Gu Maochang was proud of himself, and it was inevitable that he showed some villainous attitude.

It's also strange today, Li Qi, who often fights with him, didn't say anything, just endured with a stinky face.

After Li Zhai got off his horse and greeted Gu Maochang, he asked, "It is said that Mr. Gu has a foot disease. In the past, the sergeants in my place also had frozen feet. It is a coincidence that the ointment was just prepared this year. I will also use it as much as possible." Colleagues, you and I are not outsiders, so I'll come and visit."

Gu Maochang didn't take advantage of the victory to pursue the smiling face even if he didn't reach out to hit the smiling face.

"Brother, what is he that deserves your smile?" Li Qi refused to accept it and babbled.

Li Zhai didn't take it seriously, and said with a light smile, "Hey! I never thought that such a person would come out of his family. If I knew that I didn't quarrel with his family in the past few years, it was just a cheap talk. I didn't say that You, the old Gu family is very proud now, there is no way, the old brothers have been with me for many years, I am not worried about Gu Lao Qi being fooled by me, the above is still watching. Do you think I watch him? I am worried about the Dudu Mansion What's the matter with these disabled old brothers, we have to find a place for them, don't we?"

Li Qi nodded, and said: "Brother can see it clearly, no matter, since I saw Gu Lao Si, I ran away, and he just spit on my face, and I waited for it to do it, so it's over?"

Li Zhai smiled, patted his brother on the shoulder and nodded.Brother Laba finished gossiping, and then handed over a message asking to see Gu Zhao.