Go to ancient times and engage in construction

Schools and colleges in Wu State have two major holidays a year, about one month each in hot summer and cold winter.

It has been almost two years since Yang He came to study in Wu State. In these two years, Yang He has never returned to Lu State to visit relatives. One is that it is not easy to go home, and the journey takes more than ten days. Working hours.

"Ah, ah! Brother Fu, why don't you raise the brazier?" Yang He, who had just returned to the dormitory of the North College, brought in a chill from outside the door. He took off the cotton hat, scarf and gloves and put them on a wooden shelf. Come on, stomp your feet and rub your hands.

"I don't feel cold when I'm wrapped in a quilt." Fu Chou's bed is close to the window, and he sits on the bed wrapped in a quilt. There is a wooden writing board on his abdomen, and a stack of manuscripts on the writing board. These manuscripts need to be proofread by Fu Chou , After proofreading, you can get a good reward.

In fact, Fu Chou was still a little cold sitting under the quilt, but the coal burned in the brazier was more expensive, so Fu Chou was reluctant to use it.

"Why don't you light the lamp? Watch out for your eyes." Yang He hurriedly found a match to light the oil lamp, and handed the oil lamp to the writing desk beside Fu Chou's bed.

Yang He and Fu Chou have lived together for nearly two years. Knowing that Fu Chou's family is not very good, he is usually quite frugal.The student dormitory of North College will burn coal for heating when the temperature is below freezing. After the students are on vacation, the heating stops. The students who still live in the dormitory without going home have to heat up by themselves in the dormitory.

The walls of the classrooms and student dormitories are surrounded by a copper pipe, and the heating is transmitted through the copper pipe.Many people were surprised when they learned that the North College used copper pipes to keep students warm, because copper is money in Daqin, and using copper to transfer heat is equivalent to using money to transfer heat. They only felt that this was too extravagant.Just when people were talking about it, there was another news that next year's primary and secondary schools will also be heated in the same way.

"I didn't notice that it was dark. Oh, I made your dinner for you. Cover it in the quilt on your bed and eat it while it's hot." Yang He went out to work and study during the day, and he would miss the meal in the college cafeteria when he came back late. Meals are one-third cheaper than restaurants outside. Yang He and Fu Chou are two students from poor families. If they can get meals in the college cafeteria, they try to eat in the college cafeteria as much as possible.Yang He didn't have time to rush back to eat, and Fu Chou would send back a copy for Yang He after he went to the cafeteria.

"I'll light up the brazier before eating." Yang He carried the brazier out of the dormitory and into the utility room in the yard, where the coal they bought was stored.

These coals come from Southeast County, but they are not the good coal from the original open-pit coal mines in Tang State, but from new coal mines more than [-] miles away from the open-pit coal mines. Living coal is very good.There are many rivers in the country of Wu. Zheng Yuming spent two years excavating and connecting the big river. There is a big river ten miles east of Kangcheng City. From the big river, you can take a boat to the coast of the East China Sea and Nanbu. Take a boat to Northeast County, and the coal from the two coal mines can be shipped to the coast of the East China Sea, Kangcheng and Nanbu as long as it travels more than a dozen miles by land.

In recent years, the winter has become particularly cold. The demand for heating fuel for the winter is strong, and the waterway transportation is convenient, so that a large amount of coal can go south. Residents in Kangcheng, Dacheng, and Nanbu all use coal for heating and cooking.

Yang He lit the coals with shredded waste paper and small pieces of wood, and returned to the dormitory with the brazier in hand. He took a crock pot, filled it with water from the well in the yard, and put it on the brazier. Face, driving away the cold.

The hot water bottle is Yang He's reward this semester, and only the top three in the grade are eligible to receive the reward.Yang He's academics are the first in the whole year, and Fu Chou is the third in the whole year. Their dormitory rewards two at once, and they are envious of the other students of Dead North College.

The hot water bottle is a new product of Nanbu. The inside is made of glass, and the outside is coated with a layer of silver. This thing is said to be called a crystal tank. The outside of the crystal tank is wrapped in cork. Hot water is placed in the crystal tank, and the water temperature is still hot overnight.Because the price of glass is too high, the price of thermos bottles is as high as one hundred gold.Although the price of thermos bottles is ridiculously high, the sales are quite good. It is not easy to make thermos bottles. Basically, they are ordered by rich nobles and businessmen before they are produced. Thermos bottles can’t be seen in the market at all. Many people are rich. Can't buy it.The thermos bottle used by North College to reward outstanding students was donated by Wu Mu, deputy director of business.

After Yang He and Fu Chou each rewarded a thermos bottle, someone offered 150 gold to resell it.After discussing with Fu Chou, Yang He and Fu Chou refused. They kept one for themselves and gave the other to Wei Zhong, the senior.Wei Zhong, a son of a wealthy family who has subjugated the country, is passionate and loyal. He has always taken good care of Yang He and Fu Chou in their lives. Rao Fu Chou is a bit disliked. After being taken care of by Wei Zhong for a long time, he was as grateful as Yang He.After knowing that Wei's family went to Nanbu to buy a thermos to no avail, they unanimously decided to give another thermos as a gift.Wei Zhong was very happy to get the hot water bottle, and went back as a New Year gift to his elders. Wei Zhong also took care of Yang He and Fu Chou more and more.

A brazier was set up in the dormitory, and it gradually became warmer.Yang He took out a cloth bag from the quilt, opened the cloth bag, inside was a rice jar that was still warm, and uncovered the lid of the rice jar, there was rice inside, and the rice was covered with fish-flavored shredded pork and vegetables.

"It's so delicious, it's really enjoyable to eat like this." Yang He has a soft spot for this dish made with pork, black fungus, carrots, and winter bamboo shoots as the main ingredients. Winter vegetables are also Yang He's favorite, and he can eat it all at once Two favorite dishes, Yang He was exhausted and dissipated.

Fu Chou, who was sitting on the bed proofreading, looked up at Yang He's expression of enjoyment, and couldn't help but pursed his lips into a smile. These two are wanderers far away from home. During the nearly two years of living together, they had a brotherly relationship emotion.

"Brother Fu, isn't the proofreading work coming to an end soon? After it's over, do you want to go to the workshop with Brother Wei?" Yang He suggested cautiously when he saw that Fu Chou was in a good mood after eating.

"No, I want to help the old dean sort out the books." Fu Chou is very appreciated by the Taifu, the dean of the North College, but because the Taifu is too old, he may retire next year and will no longer serve as the dean.

"Oh." Seeing that Fu Chou refused to work with him in the workshop, Yang He knew that Fu Chou still looked down on craftsmen, and would rather be free than lower his status as a scholar to earn high commissions in the workshop.

Since Fu Chou insisted on his own opinion, Yang He stopped persuading him, and only started writing articles under the oil lamp. Both Yang He and Fu Chou contributed to Wen Wei Po. Half of the manuscripts will be adopted, and the manuscript fee is an important income for the two. As Wen Wei Po develops from a weekly to a bidaily, Yang He's pockets are getting bigger and bigger.The remuneration from the manuscript fee has long been able to cover Yang He's daily expenses. The reason why Yang He has to go to the workshop to work hard to earn money is to supplement his family in Lu State. Lu State also has Yang He's widowed mother and younger siblings. There was a severe famine in the state of Lu, and Yang He's family was already relying on the money Yang He entrusted the businessman to return. Yang He's elder brother wrote a letter a few years ago, saying that many people in the village starved to death and froze to death.

"Brother Fu, I want to bring my family back to Wu, but if I don't try to take them out, I'm afraid they will be in danger." Yang He wrote, and suddenly threw away his pen.

"With my elder brother helping me, and not lacking in food and clothing, how could there be any danger?" Fu Chou raised his head, puzzled on his face.

"It's dangerous only if there is relief." Yang He sighed. "My brother met a familiar merchant and recruited guards in the city."

"Isn't it normal to recruit guards?" Fu Chou was even more puzzled.

Yang He looked at his roommate, and felt that his roommate was too innocent. "It's normal to recruit guards, but it's not normal to recruit two or three times as many guards."

"You mean there is danger on the road to business?" Fu Chou finally understood. "Which vassal state is in chaos?"

Fu Chou has lived in Wu State for nearly two years, and he knows the situation of Wu State very well. The people of Wu State are getting richer and richer. Even though Zheng Yuming's annual revision of Wu State's laws and regulations is more and more tolerant, the law and order in Wu State is getting better and better.In addition, Chu Chaohui often targets mountain bandits to train soldiers' combat capabilities. The bandits who occupied the mountain and robbed had no way out, and they secretly went down the mountain to transform into farmers. Merchants from the state of Wu walked on the road, fearing nothing but robbers. And the beast.Now there are post stations along the avenue, and inns are open beside the post stations, merchants no longer need to sleep in the wild, and wild animals are no threat to them.There are neither robbers robbing the road nor the threat of wild animals in the country of Wu. The merchants increase the number of guards recruited, of course, it is not necessary to travel in the country of Wu.

Yang He stared at Fu Chou and sighed again. Fu Chou was good at learning, but he didn't pay much attention to current affairs. "Except for Wu, which is relatively safe in Zhao, the other vassals are in chaos, especially Lu and Qi. The two countries have been fighting for a long time, and the people's lives are already miserable. In the past two years, there have been many famines and they cannot survive. These people are afraid of attracting tigers to wipe them out, so they dare not rob the lord, they only rob passers-by, and the merchants can only recruit more guards to strengthen their defense for safety."

There are many former tigers in Kangcheng who returned from Nanbu. These people were captured at the Ulsan crossing and were punished to build the city wall in Nanbu. These tigers lost their surrender or refuge in the capital because they followed Xi Sima to the south to attack Zheng Yuming. They also lose their qualifications to receive generous retirement benefits. After one year of hard labor, some people choose to stay in Nanbu to develop, and some still return to Cannes. Most of their homes are in and around Cannes. There were as many as 1 captives in the city, and there were [-] more laborers in Cannes, which impacted the labor market. The labor price was much cheaper than that in Ulsan. Some clever Ulsan businessmen chose to recruit guards in Cannes.

"Even if you starve to death, you can't do evil!" Fu Chou condemned the people who fell into the grass and became bandits.

"Not everyone has read the holy books like my virtuous brother. Those ordinary people who don't know the big words don't know the truth, and they have already changed their sons to eat. How can robbing businessmen be considered a crime!" Yang He smiled wryly. He is now writing The content of the comments on the manuscript is why many people in the vassal states become troublemakers.

Fu Chou was at a loss for words, and asked after half the salary: "What is the relationship between these and the relatives in Brother Yang's family?"

"The people around me are poor and starving to death, but my family has food. Brother Chou, what danger do you think they are in?" Yang He frowned. "I'm afraid that my home will be robbed like a businessman."

After hearing this, Fu Chou turned pale immediately. "Tang country can't be so bad, can it?"

"The state of Tang is not much better than Qilu. It's ridiculous that the king of Tang is planning to receive more gifts this summer."

"Add Fu? Are you serious?" Fu Chou exclaimed.

"Why don't you take it seriously? Didn't the king of Tang add a Fu to the autumn harvest last year?" Yang He looked at the screaming Fu Chou, puzzled. Being divided into Wu, since the Fu family is already Wu people, the Tang king's tax increase has nothing to do with the Fu family. Why is Fu Chou's expression so excited?

"That's for repaying Wu's indemnity." Fu Chou bit his lip, and he put the debt on Chu Chaohui's head.

"The king of Tang is fatuous to burden the people for his own selfishness!" Yang He had a very dislike for the king of Tang.

Fu Chou's face became even paler, he looked at Yang He and hesitated to speak.

"Brother Fu, do you have relatives or friends in the Tang Kingdom?" Yang He suddenly realized that once he saw Fu Chou also asked a merchant to deliver things for him. Ask the merchant to pick up something along the way.

"That's right, my uncle is in Tang." Fu Chou's uncle is in Tang, and his own family is also in Tang. It's just that Fu Chou came to Wu to study for a certain purpose, and he was afraid of being discovered, so he concealed his identity.

"If you can get them out, try to get them out as much as possible. Wu Guo is the place to live and work in peace and contentment." Yang He persuaded Fu Chou that in Wu country, as long as you have the strength to work, life will be worry-free.

"Won't Tang be so unbearable?" Fu Chou still had hope for his own country.

"I hope." Yang He saw that Fu Chou was uncomfortable, so he stopped talking about these things.

The water on the brazier was boiled, and Yang He rushed it into a thermos to be ready for tomorrow morning. Then he went to the courtyard well to fill a clay pot with water to heat it up. He washed his face and feet with Fu Chou, and did not add any more coal to the brazier. He just waited for the brazier. extinguish itself.Wen Wei Po said that it would be dangerous to use the brazier in a sealed room when falling asleep at night, and the two did not add coal before resting, and let the brazier go out by itself.As the temperature in the room became lower, Yang He and Fu Chou put two cotton beds together, squeezed them into one bed, and covered them with two quilts.Both were young and healthy, sharing a bed to keep out the cold.

That night, both of them didn't sleep well, one was thinking about how to bring his family back from Lu country, and how to make arrangements after that.One was thinking about whether to transfer his family from Tang to Wu. If he took his family to Wu, then he would be constrained from taking revenge. He might have to give up revenge because of the safety of his family. , he was very unwilling.