Seed dealers in ancient times

In the hot summer season, the days are hot. There is a small bayberry grove outside Jincheng. This year the fruit grows particularly well, red and big. The first batch of ripe ones have no insects. They can be picked from the tree and eaten directly. The taste is sweet With a slight acid, it is very delicious.

Chu Xian was invited by Hu Changzhi, and the two took a sedan chair to the garden outside the city to pick them early in the morning.

"I wanted to come here last year, but it's a pity that the bayberry didn't grow well last year, and there was heavy rain again, and the ripe fruits were all destroyed."

Hu Changzhi carried the basket and jumped out of the carriage step by step. He didn't look like a rich man at all, but more like a wild boy who was seeing the world for the first time.

"I heard that the fruiting trees are good every year and bad every year. They have to take turns to rest. They can't grow well every year."

"That's right, it will grow well this year anyway." Hu Changzhi couldn't wait to rush under the tree to pick two red bayberries, and he didn't hesitate to bite on them: "Mmm, it's sweeter than the ones sold in the city, Brother Xiaoxian You should try it too."

Chu Xian picked the plums and placed them carefully in the basket. Ripe plums are easy to bruise and the pulp will flow out red juice.

"After picking the plums, go back and put the bayberry juice in sugar, and then put it in ice cubes to drink it. Then let Master Zheng buy a lamb, and eat it in the garden at night?"

Hu Changzhi was overjoyed: "That's the deal! Let's eat tonight."

"You said that the wind is the rain." Chu Xian smiled and said, "It depends on you."

Hu Changzhi clasped his hands together: "I only want brother Xiaoxian to be the best to me."

"Hey, the big one on the tree over there is red, I'll go and pick it off."

Seeing the people running over regardless of the weeds, Chu Xian said helplessly, "Run slowly, don't fall."

As soon as the words fell, Hu Changzhi, who was running like a butterfly, suddenly fell to the ground as if he had lost his wings. Chu Xian was startled, fearing that the grass in the garden was too deep, hiding insects and snakes to bite people. The grass has been mowed, and there is a shallow pile of grass on the ground. If it falls on it, it will be fine.

He subconsciously wanted to run over, but he saw a stalwart figure flashing ahead of him one step ahead, grabbing Hu Changzhi's back collar with his bare hands, and pulling him up visibly with the naked eye.

Chu Xian's eyes moved: "Chang Zhi, are you okay!"

Hu Changzhi looked at the straight weeds on the ground, his feet left the ground for a moment, still in shock.

It took him a while to recover, only to feel that his neck was strangled badly, only then did he realize that someone was still pulling his collar, without even thinking about how embarrassed he was now, Hu Changzhi turned his head and stared at him, wondering what it meant? Pity the fragrance and cherish the jade.

"Let go soon!"

The man gave Hu Changzhi a condescending look, and let go of his hand in response. Hu Changzhi, who had stabilized his feet, staggered under the influence of the force.

Chu Xian quickly supported the person.

Hu Changzhi hurriedly hid behind Chu Xian and sorted out the wrinkled clothes, blushed and said angrily, "Why are you like this, how can you pull my brother's clothes!"

"Then I should hold your hand?"

"You!" Seeing the person's expressionless and frivolous words, Hu Changzhi was furious: "Who are you!"

The man didn't answer, put on a face that didn't argue with fools, turned around and walked away with a few strides.

Hu Changzhi felt humiliated, and chased after him two steps: "Why are you running!"

Chu Xian stopped him: "Chang Zhi, don't make a fuss, at least they helped you, so you made a fuss."

Hu Changzhi's almond eyes widened: "He should be grateful for helping me, but he even lifted me up, and I almost couldn't catch my breath."

Chu Xian looked at the red marks on Hu Changzhi's neck, and pursed her lips: "I saw that the man is tall, maybe he has more strength. Don't worry about it, okay, go back to the carriage and rest , let the servants pick it up."

Hu Changzhi hugged the basket, sprinkled the few plums he had finally picked, and returned to the carriage discouraged.

Hu Changzhi was unhappy, and when he returned, Chu Xian sent him to Hu's house before turning back.

"You guys take these plums to dry first."

Chu Xian asked his servants to take the plums to the back kitchen.

"The master is back!"

"Xiaoju, it's just in time to come. I went to wash the plums with Zheng Huan, and make plum soup at noon. By the way, is there any sugar at home?"

The little girl had a bitter face: "Master, we have a guest today."

Chu Xian showed doubts on her face, and then thought again, maybe the little girl is a little tired from serving people every day, so she said: "There are a lot of guests at home these days, just get busy. Are today's guests still there?" ?”

Seeing that her master and husband were wrong, Xiaoju quickly whispered: "The guests at home haven't left yet, just now when the servants went to serve tea, they heard, heard..."

"What did you hear?"

"The master of the Han family said that he brought two entertainers to serve him."

Chu Xian's brows froze, and she lowered her eyes and looked at her nose. What does the Han family mean?

Although sending people to serve is nothing more than a frequent event for rich families, according to the current momentum of the Zheng family, in fact, he has already been mentally prepared, and sooner or later someone will expressly send people over. If he refuses, that person will just be assigned to work in the shop, anyway, he is the one who decides the affairs of the Zheng family's back house.

He didn't want Zheng Jiang to make things difficult, and of course, he wouldn't make him feel uncomfortable if people stayed in the house.

If you give it away, you will give it away, but what is the purpose of finding two artists, isn't it to slap him in the face and test his position in the Zheng family.

Seeing that her mistress's face is not very good, Xiao Ju's heart twisted into a ball. The mistress treats the servants well, and the family is harmonious. Who would want two more people who look like servants but are not all servants? Woolen cloth.

"Master, do you want to go and have a look? If the master really keeps him..."

Chu Xian glanced at the little girl: "The master will make arrangements, and he is currently entertaining guests. I..."

"Xiaoxian, you're back!" Before Chu Xian finished speaking, Zheng Jiang stopped walking and said, "Come here."

Chu Xian raised her eyebrows: "The Han family is gone?"

"In the hall." Zheng Jiangting hissed as he spoke, and raised his hands to cover his ears: "For some reason, my ears hurt so much."

Chu Xian touched Zheng Jiangting's hand subconsciously: "What's the matter? But did you press your ears while sleeping?"

Zheng Jiangting bent down: "Then show me."

Chu Xian carefully looked at the ear, there was no sign of scar or redness, then reached out and fiddled with the back of the ear, showing doubts: "I don't see anything wrong."

Zheng Jiangting didn't answer, but suddenly raised his hand to hold Chu Xian's hand, and wailed: "Hey, hey! Let go, Xiaoxian!"

Chu Xian's pupils were shocked, and she wanted to pull her hand away, but was held tightly by someone. Zheng Jiangting half-bent again, matching his words and expressions, people who didn't know thought he was pulling Zheng Jiang stopped his ears.

"What are you doing! Let go." Chu Xian glared at Zheng Jiangting. There are still guests at home, and it looked like something said: "Zheng Jiang stop!"

Not only did Zheng Jiangting not let go, but he also said to Zheng Huan, who was stunned by Xiaoju, "I'm not going to see off the guests, what kind of words do the guests see!"

It took Xiaoju and Zheng Huan a long time to react, and they were in a hurry: "Oh, oh, I will go now."

……

"Father, what's the matter?"

Han Qiong and Han Qi and his son were sitting in the teahouse, Zheng Jiang stopped halfway to change clothes, and after going out for a while, he heard an exclamation from outside.

"It seems to be arguing."

"Who can you argue with? Isn't there just a few people in the Zheng family."

Before the father and son reached a conclusion, they saw two servants rushing over.

"Master Han, Young Master Han is really sorry, something happened at home, and the master said that he will definitely hold a banquet for another day. Today is really a poor reception."

"It's okay, it's okay, I don't know if Mr. Zheng has encountered something urgent, I'm fine too..."

Zheng Huan hurriedly said: "Thank you, Mr. Han, for your kindness, family matters."

The father and son looked at each other, and then Han Qiong said: "It is inconvenient to disturb the family affairs, thank you for the hospitality today, and there is no rush to get together again in the future."

Zheng Huan thanked him again and again and led the father and son out. Just when they arrived in the garden, they saw two figures floating away.

Although it took only a few moments, the father and son clearly saw the high-spirited Mr. Zheng entered the house by his husband's ear, baring his teeth and begging for mercy, and drinking tea in the hall.

The expressions of the father and son were colorful and complicated.

"I'm just kidding, I'm just kidding." Zheng Huan said with an embarrassed face, "I don't want to hide it from you two, just now when the master heard that the master wanted to take two people to serve him, he made a fuss, and asked you two to bring the people... ..."

Han Qiong coughed dryly: "Qi'er, call people away."

After sending the person outside, Zheng Huan just watched as he got into the sedan chair, and Xiao Ju glared at Zheng Huan: "How can you still laugh? Let people see the joke, and don't persuade the master and husband."

"Xiaoju, why are you so stupid? It's obvious that the master made this specially for the Han family to see."

"Why?"

Zheng Huan couldn't help but shook his head when he saw that people were puzzled: "The master is weak, how could he grab the master's ears? No, the person who brought them was sent back intact."

Xiaoju suddenly realized, covered her mouth and laughed suddenly: "There really is a master."

Zheng Jiang took a sip of tea, howled twice and was still thirsty.

"I thought you were a serious person, but I didn't expect you to do some shameless scenes." Chu Xian said with a calm face: "This is great, and it won't be long before the Zheng family has a Husband, jealous and vicious."

Zheng Jiang stopped to put down his teacup, and sat in front of Chu Xian: "I also want to avoid future troubles, think about it, even if I get rid of people today, I can't care about people coming in tomorrow, it's too nerve-wracking .”

Chu Xian didn't say anything on the face, but he was happy in his heart. Zheng Jiangting didn't care about accepting people, but his previous consideration was unnecessary.

"Then why don't you simply accept people?"

"Why should I accept it? Our house is only that big, so where do we house so many people, and one more person means one more mouth. I'm not interested in raising it."

That's what he said on the surface, but Zheng Jiangting also thought about it. Chu Xian was in poor health and was a little sensitive. If he took people in even if he kept them as servants, he wouldn't be able to keep them in order for Chu Xian to respond. In this case, Then it's better to lose face and make people feel that he is afraid of guilt, so that in the future, if someone wants to please, he will not make such an idea.

Chu Xian moved her eyes, stretched out her arms and hugged his neck, suppressed her joking tone, and said seriously, "I know you're all for me."

"I said I wouldn't let you be wronged."

"What kind of bad idea did Li Ke come up with? People don't ask for it, and I'm afraid they will be resented."

Han Qi couldn't help laughing: "Father, people didn't ask for it but they saw it was a joke. I see how majestic Zheng Jiang will be outside after he stops."

"No matter how funny it is, it's a family matter. Whoever has nothing to say is open." Han Qiong flicked his sleeves: "Don't listen to Li Kesheng's nonsense after you go back. This kid is not at ease studying to get fame, but he treats the queen. Things in the house are very serious."

As expected, this incident quickly spread among a group of merchants and became a joke after dinner, but after the joke was told, no one really thought of giving it away.

The days were going well, and the autumn harvest arrived in a flash.

This year, Zheng Jiangting borrowed a lot of grain and received a lot of grain. He was busy for a long time. Zheng Jiangting only arranged for an ox cart to go to Yangmu Village to collect grain. The rented villagers in other villages were scattered, and it was inconvenient to arrange manpower to go there. I asked someone to take it to the shop and return it by himself.

However, the villagers in other villages got the news that the owner was harvesting grain in Yangmu Village, so they transported the grain to Yangmu Village, and they could save a short trip to the city.

Seeing that the villagers were very active in returning the food, Zheng Jiangting naturally did not refuse.

Busy until mid-July, almost all the food has been collected. The quality of this year’s food is similar to last year’s, but the quantity has nearly tripled. He has stockpiled this large amount of food at home. Now there is a seed shop, where the food can be placed If you sell it, you don't have to worry about not having a market.

The major events of this year have also been counted. Zheng Jiang stopped to discuss with Chu Xian and decided to expand the house.

In fact, buying a new big house is not a problem, but people here are used to living here, and it is easy to lose the sense of belonging when changing houses. It is not a problem to expand the house into a courtyard with three entrances.

Right now, it's not as big as Xiu's. It's too big and not many people live there, and it's hard to clean.

Once the sum is calculated, the house will be expanded and repaired into two entrances, and the garden will be larger. At that time, a fish pond will be dug, and some lotus flowers will be planted.

The engineering team arrived quickly, and construction began at the end of the month.

During the day, the workers were digging soil and sawing wood, and the sound was strangely noisy. Zou Yun was fine on weekdays, so he went to see the workers building. I went to the nunnery to eat vegetarian food and listen to the scriptures.

Chu Xian had never lived in the nunnery before, but she wanted to follow her to learn more, but was stopped by Zheng Jiangting.

"In the future, you will go again when you reach your mother's age. Now, why don't you join in the fun? You also went to the house and I am not the only one left."

"It's not a problem to have nothing to do that day. I'm tired of reading books, and I'm sleepy all day long."

Zheng Jiangting sighed, even though he said that, he didn't intend to let him go. He would go to sleep alone for ten days and half a month.

"The conditions in the nunnery are not good, and there is no ice in the guest room. You are so afraid of the heat, you can't sleep at night."

"Nonsense, I heard from my mother that the nunnery is surrounded by trees, and it's very cool to sleep at night, much cooler than in the city."

"The place with many trees is humid, and there are many mosquitoes. You will not get better after being bitten for many days."

Having said that, Chu Xian remained silent. He was already bitten by mosquitoes, and once he got a big bite, it wouldn't go away for many days.

Looking at the crowd, Zheng Jiangting said again: "If you really have nothing to do, then I will find something for you to do, are you willing?"

"If you look at the account book, that's all."

"Don't look at the account book." Zheng Jiang stopped and squeezed Chu Xian's hand: "I heard that Chunlai County was plagued by locusts this year, and many people had no crops. Some of the victims ran to Jincheng."

Chu Xian was worried when she heard the words: "No wonder I saw a lot more beggars on the street in the past two days."

"If you have nothing to do, let Zheng Huan and Zheng Le prepare some porridge, noodles and steamed hair for the victims."

There was a smile on Chu Xian's face: "I'll go right away."

In the afternoon, there was news in the city that the Zheng family was going to serve porridge and rice on the main street, and refugees had rushed to wait early in the morning.

Hu Changzhi heard on the street that the servants of the Zheng family were distributing news, and hurried to the Zheng family.

"Brother Xiaoxian, why don't you tell me if you want to give out porridge, so I can prepare it together with you. In previous years, Dad would give out porridge to help refugees."

"Then let's prepare together."

"Okay, well, you send someone over to let me know, let's go together."

In the afternoon, the Zheng and Hu families set up a porridge shed to distribute porridge, noodles, and steamed buns to the refugees. The Hu family also prepared some rough clothes and cloth.Those who came to receive relief were not only refugees from home, but also some poor people from Jincheng. The crowd lined up a street, and even the yamen servants came to maintain order.

"Master Zheng's porridge is real, less soup and more rice, I want to go and ask for two more bowls."

"Do you want to be ashamed, just eat the porridge and drink it, and want a few more bowls."

"If you think Zheng's rice is good, you can go to the shop to buy it. The rice is full and not expensive, and it is more affordable than other shops."

"Hey, I'm going to check it out then."

One serving of porridge brought a lot of business to the Zheng family.Chu Xian had been busy for a whole day, and she was already exhausted when she returned home. If she didn't think she had nothing to do, Zheng Jiangting laughed and said, "Are you still going tomorrow?"

"Didn't I talk for three days? I mean what I say."

"Husband is so courageous." Zheng Jiangting was about to rub his wrists for the man on the bed, but his hands hurt from just serving porridge today, and just now when the two hugged each other, Xiaoju brought a message: "Master , master, there is a visitor."

Zheng Jiang stopped not wanting to meet guests: "I remember that there is no greeting card for today."

"It's an old man, he said it's from the Wangmin Street area."

Zheng Jiang stopped to glance at Chu Xian: "Could it be Uncle Ren?"

Chu Xian didn't remember who it was after hearing this address.

"The old man who rented the small restaurant to us before, you have given him meals for a long time, have you forgotten?"

When Zheng Jiang stopped to mention it, he suddenly remembered: "How did Uncle Ren come here? We haven't heard much about him when we came here. We saw him once in Qingfeng Building at the beginning of the year."

"I'll go take a look."

The couple went to the teahouse together, and as expected, they were really old men.

Seeing her old friend again, she felt a little melancholy, so Chu Xian quickly ordered her servants to prepare some melons, fruits, tea and snacks for her.

"You two are still so polite."

Old man Ren became more and more kind as he got older, he narrowed his eyes when he smiled, he was very kind, the three of them exchanged a few words, old man Ren was a little anxious.

"I'm not here as a guest today, I have something to discuss with Xiao Zheng."

"If the old man has something to say, just say it. We are also old acquaintances, so we won't do business."

The old man nodded: "I heard that the two of you donated porridge to the refugees. After thinking about it, I also know that Chunlai County was hit by a disaster this year. My son is the county magistrate in Chunlai County. The relief food from the top management has been delayed. The people starved to death, those who fled, and some even entered the bandits’ dens to make a living by looting houses. Under these circumstances, the surrounding counties even took the opportunity to raise food prices.”

"The common people can't afford to buy grain, and the people in Chunlai County are panic-stricken. My son wrote to see if he can buy grain in Jincheng and send it there. I heard the common people say that your Zheng family's rice grain is good and the price is affordable, so they are shy. The old face came over and asked, maybe buy in bulk?"

The world is not stable, even people who are in a stable place sigh. It is not that Jincheng has not suffered, and it can be regarded as empathetic.

Grain is sold loosely and in batches. Zheng Jiang has no problem stopping: "This year, the potatoes in Yangmu Village are not bad, and the price is not as expensive as rice. If the price on the website is lower, we can buy a large number of potatoes, and then send them to Chunlai County together with the grain."

"That's great!" Uncle Ren stood up excitedly, and went straight to shake Zheng Jiangting's hand: "I followed a group to deliver food this time, and I won't go back to Jincheng after I go. I was reluctant to leave Jincheng before." City, now I still want to keep it by the side of future generations.”

作者有话要说：感谢在2021-04-1320:10:56~2021-04-1420:38:05期间为我投出霸王票或灌溉营养液的小天使哦~

Thanks to the little angels of irrigation nutrient solution: 10 bottles of mineral water; 5 bottles of Nanyin Yuge; confession ladies, 5201 bottle of dcm[-]; thank you very much for your support, I will continue to work hard!