The Marginal People of Jia's Family in the Red Chamber

Leng Ergou walked and picked all the way, filling up his rattan pannier before returning to the cave.

Use vines to tie up the broad and tough leaves, and tie them to branches, which is a ready-made broom.Leng Ergou first gave the cave a big cleaning, removing the stone chips and dust that had been accumulated for several years.Take out the herbs picked on the road from the back basket, smash some fresh ones and sprinkle them in the cave that has been cleaned, Leng Ergou thought, it's time to make a dustpan or something.

Apart from those herbs, Leng Ergou's property is a clay pot, two rabbits, oh, and a rabbit skin.

I picked some dead branches and set fire to the fire, sat the earthenware pot on the fire, and ate rabbit meat. Even if there was no salt, only wild ginger and wild onions were put in, it was still delicious.

Alas, for a month, I have been drinking raw animal blood to replenish salt, and it is really a blessing to die without being infected with any virus.Leng Ergou curled up, and his last thought before falling asleep by the fire was to buy salt!

The next day, Ergou woke up as soon as the light shone into the cave. He moved his numb side of his body and quickly started his day's work.

First, he took the rabbit soup that was still warm from the burnt fire, drank it in a clay pot, and ate a few pieces of rabbit meat, and then he came out of the cave.

Armed with a long knife and dagger (iron piece), his goal this morning is to catch more rabbits.For his age, any ferocious beast is deadly. He can walk out of the dry area safely because of his wisdom, and his enemy is human. Animals will not listen to your eloquence, and believe you are deceitful.

Leng Ergou didn't go far, he found the rabbit's trail near the cave, found several holes, burned the wet leaves and branches at the hole, let the smoke force the rabbit to come out from an exit, and he waited in the left one. At the exit, wait for the rabbit.

The rabbits forced out by the smoke all crashed into Leng Ergou's rattan net. Once Leng Ergou closed the net, the eight rabbits stayed firmly in the net pocket.Having easily completed today's task, Leng Ergou put the net bag on his shoulders and walked back with the struggling rabbit on his back.I'll go, Leng Ergou staggered, threw the rabbit to the ground hard, and cursed: "Bastard, the rabbit is so strong, now even a rabbit wants to bully me!"

After scolding, he felt bored again, so he put the net bag on his shoulder and slowly went back to the cave.

Back in the cave, Leng Ergou let the rabbit stay in the net pocket. It is unrealistic to raise the rabbit now. Raising rabbits in the cave is too smelly. Keeping them under the cave is almost equivalent to giving up, not to mention that the fence he made can Can't stop the rabbit, are there any other carnivores passing by under the cave?

Leng Ergou collected a lot of withered rattan and weaved many futons. He didn’t want to sleep on the hard rocky ground at night. It would be nice to have a futon with rabbit skin on it, but before the rabbit skin was processed, It can only be replaced by broad leaves.

After lunch, Leng Ergou killed all the rabbits, wrapped the internal organs in large leaves, and put them away when the weather was cooler.Speaking of the weather, Leng Ergou walked all the way, and almost died of the sun. I thought it was July, but I didn’t expect it to be May now, which means that the time to make thousands of miles in the northwest is short, but it is actually April, or earlier. , It was still in the range of spring and early summer. When Leng Ergou heard the news, he was so tired that he didn't love it.

Put the rabbit meat on the clean leaves to dry, and the process of making the rabbit skin is also very simple. You don’t need to pickle or deash it. Leng Ergou only requires that the fur has no smell.

I also looked at a few bamboos, made bowls and chopsticks, and used the remaining bamboo to weave baskets. Thanks to growing up in the countryside, rural boys can do this kind of work, and they have not forgotten it even after several lifetimes.

Leng Ergou has been busy all afternoon with just a back basket and a dustpan, and his hand was cut by bamboo slices. When it was almost dark, he ate another meal of rabbit meat and a few wild fruits, and drank unsalted wine. Soup, Leng Ergou thought, how to buy salt?

Now he is in this deep mountain, he came from the north, and he didn't see any people.If there is a crowd, it should be on the south side of the mountain. The problem is that Leng Ergou has no ability to climb over the mountain.We must know that there are ferocious beasts hidden in the deep mountains. Now these are not precious wild animals, but ferocious beasts that have just appeared. As far as Leng Ergou's current state is concerned, it is tantamount to giving food to ferocious beasts.

If you can't go over the mountain to find people, you can only detour from the foot of the mountain, but in this situation where Wangshan ran to death, I don't know how long to go around the mountain. Leng Ergou is also in urgent need of nutrition now. He is such a refugee that he usually goes to the crowds. The place is too dangerous.

Now, the most important thing for him is to take good care of his body. You must know this body, but after half a year of not getting enough to eat, his body has long been injured.

Alas, there are too many things that need to be done urgently, but there are more worries, and Leng Ergou doesn't know what to do first, so he can only take one step at a time.

Leng Ergou intends to take good care of his body in this deep mountain before going out, so he can bear with the salt problem for now.Taking advantage of the good weather, he picked up a lot of dead branches and put them in the cave to prepare for the possible rainy weather. He hunted every day according to his ability, hunting food for a few more days at most, and spent the rest of the time organizing this temporary residence.

After ten days passed, the cave had already taken shape. The innermost part of the cave was a warehouse, and half of the cave’s dry firewood was piled up. Delicious, enough to get through days without game.There are wooden tables and chairs, clay bowls and pots, and bamboo utensils.The sleeping place was also packed into a simple bed, and the bed frame was built with the master. The bed was covered with rattan futons and rabbit skin sheets.

What made Leng Ergou most confident was the precious herbs hanging outside the cave. He thought about it. It would be too much work to take out wild animals for money. How could he explain how a villain killed his prey?Buying medicinal materials is simple, as long as you choose a medical clinic with a strict tone and virtue, one life and one Ganoderma lucidum will be enough for him to spend.

Leng Ergou's tools are still the original big knife and dagger, what he needs most is indeed a bow, the bow is the standard equipment for hunting!However, he didn't have materials suitable for making bowstrings, so he had to put them on hold.

Two months passed by in the blink of an eye, and Leng Ergou's body finally got better, and he was no longer like a bamboo pole blowing on both sides.Leng Ergou changed into unpatched coarse cloth clothes, put the dagger into his bosom, wrapped a pair of antlers, a life plant and a ganoderma lucidum with the old clothes, put them in the back basket, and began to detour down the mountain, to someone place to go.

After walking for five days and resting on the road for four nights, Leng Ergou saw the smoke.

Leng Ergou stopped at the outskirts of existence, found a family, and saw a woman who looked like an aunt sitting in the yard picking vegetables, stepped forward to push open the lightly covered firewood gate, and called out sweetly: "Excuse me, auntie!" , Say hello to Eldest Sister."

The woman's attention was attracted, and Leng Ergou immediately bowed and greeted with a smile on his face: "Hello, elder sister, hello, elder sister."

"Whose family are you from? What's the matter?" The woman had never seen Leng Ergou before, but she asked politely. In this country and mountains, no other family's children are so polite.

"Sister Lao asked, the boy Wang Li is from Wangjia Village on the other side of the mountain. He passed by the treasure land and wanted to ask for a drink."

"From Wang's Village?" The woman asked suspiciously, she had never heard of Wang's Village in the past.

"Exactly, it's more than ten days' journey from Baodi. People in our village are close to the northwest. In the past, if there was any firewood, rice, oil and salt, they would go to the north. As a result, the north was hit by a disaster, and the villagers went to the north for a while." Let’s go, there are a few folds, the patriarch ordered us boys to search in several directions to see which way can pass.”

"That's right! I heard from my man that there was a disaster in the north. It's not easy for you at such a young age. Come in." The woman understood the cause and effect, and happily introduced him into the house. Of course, he took advantage of his young age. Advantage.

After drinking a few bowls of sweet water in the yard, the little woman asked, "How old are you? How can the family trust you to come out alone?"

"Oh, to tell you the truth, auntie, I'm the only one in my family. My father and mother were the ones who broke down while exploring the road to the north. My mother cried so much at home that she let go after a few days, leaving me alone in the world. Okay. Taking care of the people in the clan, this job is what the patriarch and I begged for, if unfortunately I walk on my father's old path, it will be my life!" Leng Ergou said and tears came down.

"Ai, ai, don't cry, you are adults who have come out to live, don't cry." The little woman was startled, and comforted her.

"Elder sister is still kind-hearted. I have met people on the road. It can be seen that I am dressed in shabby clothes, and no one is willing to give me saliva." Leng Ergou looked at the little woman sincerely with his big eyes.

The little woman was a little embarrassed, but she raised her head happily and said, "That's right, everyone in our Yangjia Village is not like this, especially my man, who is famous for being capable, kind-hearted and loyal. in this way."

"Oh, I'm so unlucky that I didn't see Big Brother Yang."

"What's the matter, don't you want to come back? Come again when you come back, see you soon?"

"Elder Sister is still organized, I forgot. By the way, Eldest Sister, I want to ask you, how far is this county?"

"You're going to the county seat, it's far away. Our Yangjia Village is tens of miles away from the county seat. Our Yangjia Village is in Xinghe Town. After passing through Xinghe Town and Luyang Town, we are rich. What about the county seat of Lin County! What are you doing in the county seat?" the little woman asked.

"Sister, I was sent out by the clan to scout the way. I have to understand the way before I can explain it. I wonder if there are mountains and forests on this road?"

"Why not, there is a huge forest from Yangjia Village to Xinghe Town. No, it should be said that it is a mountain. The fastest way to climb the mountain is, unfortunately, there are wild animals in the mountain. It is safer to take a detour at the foot of the mountain. Your eldest sister and I You have only been to the town once in your life, but you are very knowledgeable at such a young age, and you are actually going to the town." The little woman sighed.

"Sister, look, I have two rabbits, two pheasants, and three live wild ducks (killed on the road) in my back basket. Would you like to exchange these wild animals for something with my eldest sister?"

"Alas, there is nothing in my house that can be worth your wild animals. What do you want in exchange?"

"I beg elder sister to take me in for one night, and then give me something to eat. Of course, I can wait for elder brother Yang to come back and listen to his opinion."

"It's just a one-night stay. How can I want a child from you? Quickly, take the things back. You don't need Brother Yang, and the elder sister can make the decisions. Stay at ease." The little woman said proudly.

"How good is this?" Leng Ergou hypocritically declined.

"Okay, that's the deal, young lady." The little woman said.

"Thank you big sister, I'll listen to big sister." Leng Ergou replied after pushing back and forth a few times.

When the eldest brother of the Yang family came back, it was still dark, and he saw that the fence of his house had been repaired, the chicken shed was set up, and he heard two ducks calling, did they have any ducks?The eldest brother of the Yang family looked at the chicken shed, and saw three brightly colored ducks being locked at one foot of the shed alone!

The eldest brother of the Yang family opened the door curtain and went in. His wife and a seven or eight-year-old child were talking.

"The head of the family is back, come on, this is the little brother of the Wang family, named Wang Li." Seeing her man coming back with a hoe, the little woman hurriedly introduced him.

"Brother Yang family is polite, boy Wang Li, I have caused you trouble." Wang Li bowed again.

In this rural area, whoever salutes when they meet, the eldest brother of the Yang family told him to straighten up, take two steps on his hind legs, and said: "Be polite, be polite." He looked straight at his wife and told her to make a quick rescue.

"Hey, they're all peasants, so what's the point? Brother Wang, get up, the head of the family is back, let's eat."

The eldest brother of the Yang family sat down at the dining table, dumbfounded, and said, "Why is it so rich today?" There are rabbit meat, bacon and chicken soup.

"It's all from Brother Wang. They say it's the rent for staying here overnight."

"How can this be? When you are away from home, you should lend a helping hand. How can you ask for something from Brother Wang? You are too ignorant." The eldest brother of the Yang family scolded his wife honestly.

Before Leng Ergou could speak, the little woman said, "That's what I said, but I made a mistake, and the little brother killed all the chickens, and this weather can't let it go. Alas, Brother Wang is too polite."

The eldest brother of the Yang family also sighed a few words that Leng Ergou was too polite, and Leng Ergou hurriedly flattered him modestly, and made the eldest brother of the Yang family happy with a few words.He put out his own advantages when he entered the door, and Leng Ergou is not a person who hates dogs, so it was a very pleasant evening.

When leaving the next day, Leng Ergou wanted to leave the wild things to the Yang family, but the elder brothers and sisters of the Yang family insisted on refusing, so Leng Ergou gave up.In other words, it is really strange that in this era like them, there are only husband and wife living together, with no old people above and no children below.But Leng Ergou got along with them and didn't feel wrong with them, so he didn't care and went directly to the town.

They also hunted some prey on the road and exchanged money in Xinghe Town.With the money, I bought one bolt of blue and two bolts of brown cloth in the cloth shop, which is the favorite color of clothing for the servants of the rich family. I also bought a whole set of needles and threads, saying that I bought them for the old lady at home.

Hehe, in short, there was not a single truth in Leng Ergou's mouth.

I also bought a few exquisitely crafted boxes and a few pairs of mille-soled shoes.

Back at the inn, Leng Ergou put the precious medicinal materials in the basket into a box and packed them.He took out his needle and thread, and made himself a servant uniform. The child's sleeves and neckline were embroidered with ginkgo leaves, which was considered to be the most delicate of servant costumes.Using brown cloth, I briefly made a few bunts.After resting in Xinghe Town for a few days, I set off on the road.

Leng Ergou, wearing a brown short jacket, inquired about the prices of ginseng, velvet antler, and ganoderma lucidum in Luyang Zhen's clinic.When I arrived at the county, I was also wearing a brown short jacket after inquiring for a long time before I settled on Li's Pharmacy.

Leng Ergou changed into the exquisite servant uniform, made furoshiki with light green cloth embroidered with Leng characters and ginkgo leaf patterns, wrapped the three boxes, and went to Li's Ping'an Hall.

"This little brother is very polite. I'm at Leng Tian Qi in Xia Leng's village. I have something to visit Dr. Li." Leng Ergou unreliably grabbed an apprentice of Li's Ping'an Hall, and wanted to ask to see the doctor in charge.

The apprentice brother is also an honest person, seeing that Leng Ergou is also well-dressed, he smiled politely and asked him to wait before going to invite his own doctor.In a business like a pharmacy, most of the bosses are attending doctors, let alone a small county like Fulin County.

After a while, an old doctor with a goatee came out.

Leng Ergou hurriedly saluted and said, "Leng Tianqi greets Dr. Li."

"Please, please, there is no need to be polite." The goatee doctor Li helped him up with his own hands, and asked, "I wonder if this little brother is looking for this old man?"

"I would like to ask Dr. Li to take a step to speak." Leng Ergou whispered.

Dr. Li pondered for a moment, then stretched out his hand as if asking, and said, "Brother Leng, please."

The two entered the inner room, and Leng Ergou didn't say much, just put down the burden, opened the three boxes inside, and pushed the boxes in front of Dr. Li.

Dr. Li glanced at him suspiciously, immediately picked up a few good plants to observe the properties of the medicine, looked at them for a while under the skylight, finally put them down carefully, and asked: "What's the meaning of this, little brother Leng?"

"I want to sell these things to Li's Ping'an Hall." Leng Tianqi said.

"This... this is a good thing!" Dr. Li sighed. It's not that he is really high-spirited and won't deceive people, but that with Dr. Li's sensitive nose, he can ask if there is a faint smell of medicine on the person in front of him. Prove that he is a wise man.

"Because it's a good thing, I entrusted it to Dr. Li." Leng Ergou smiled, and then explained: "Boy Leng Tianqi, is a medicine boy from Leng's Village in Qingyang Prefecture, who has been serving the young master. Sigh, Shanxi was hit by a disaster. It hasn’t rained a drop since August last year. I don’t know how it angered God. After the new year, life in Qingyang Mansion will be even more difficult. My master and his family have been coming from Qingyang Mansion Moved to Pingliang Mansion, then to Fengxiang Mansion, and finally to Anyang Mansion, a treasure land. Now it is settled in Xinghe Town, Fulin County."

"Brother is from Shanxi?"

"No, on this journey, there are thousands of miles of bare land and starvation everywhere, but my master has the temperament of hanging pots to help the world, and most of the medicinal materials he brought are spent on the road. The young master of the family has already gone to Nanyang Mansion to see the magistrate. Our master and He also brought a letter written by the prefect of Qingyang! The prefect of Qingyang and the prefect of Guibao are from the same year."

"The owner of the Leng family is indeed very knowledgeable, but what about these medicinal materials?"

"Hey, people are far away from home. How big is our Leng family's family business in Qingyang? It's almost lost all the way, and the new Leng's village has not yet been built. My master is only thinking about the drought. See you again at Qingyang Mansion. The whole family needs food and clothing, and we live here as guests, no amount of savings will be enough. However, the master at this stall is sick again, and the burden is on the young master! I..." Leng Ergou said As he spoke, his eye sockets were moist, as if he was about to cry, Leng Ergou quickly turned his head and wiped his face, apologetically saying: "I made Dr. Li laugh, the boy is insensible, and his eye sockets are shallow."

"It's okay, it's okay." Dr. Li stroked his beard and nodded slightly. These medicinal materials are good, and he also intends to accept them, but he is afraid that if they come from the wrong way, if they are stolen or something, it will not hurt his reputation in Ping'an Hall, now it is clear source, he was relieved. "I don't know, brother Leng, at what price do you want to sell these medicinal materials?"

"To be honest with Dr. Li, now my family only has this kind of precious medicinal materials. The usual things are almost scattered on the road, and I have to keep them as spares. There is no spare room. The young master is interested in Meng, and I want to be with Li. The doctor is talking about a big deal, selling [-]% of the medicinal materials in stock at home." Leng Ergou said confidently.

"Seventy percent? Are they all of this quality?" Dr. Li asked in disbelief.

"nature!"

"How much is that?" Dr. Li asked.

Leng Ergou gave a slap in the face.

"Fifty? Five hundred!" Dr. Li took a breath and declined, "Can't my little pharmacy take so much?"

Leng Ergou frowned and said, "How much can Dr. Li eat?"

"How many people in Fulin County can afford precious medicinal materials like this, I can eat this at most!" Dr. Li made a gesture of ten.

"That's it~" Leng Ergou pondered, and finally said: "Just follow Dr. Li, I will bring you the same score as today in ten days' time!"

"Ai, ai, no need, Ganoderma lucidum and ginseng are available. For this velvet antler, one or two pairs will be enough." Dr. Li hurriedly stopped him, how many people in his small county can use this good stuff.

"Alright, besides ginseng, ganoderma lucidum, and velvet antler, does Doctor Li need anything else? Deer penis, sealwort, cordyceps..." Leng Ergou seemed unwilling to sell something, and recommended it to Doctor Leng very enthusiastically.

"Thank you, little brother, these are enough, these are enough." Doctor Leng waved his hands again and again, "What's the price?"

Leng Ergou shook his sleeves, put his hands into the sleeves, stretched out in front of Doctor Li, and said, "Let's talk about ginseng first, based on a hundred taels of silver."

Dr. Li saw that this was a typical Shanxi businessman's style. He did not expect that the person in front of him, who was small and capable, also extended his hand. The two bargained back and forth, and soon settled on the prices of the three medicinal materials.

"Let's leave these things to Dr. Li first. I believe in Dr. Li's reputation, but the business is business. Let's make a written statement?" Leng Ergou suggested.

Doctor Li naturally couldn't ask for it, so he directly asked people to go to the Four Treasures of the Study, and Leng Ergou wrote it as soon as he picked up a pen. Handed it to Dr. Li, said: "Please palm your eyes to see if it is all right?"

Dr. Li looked at him in surprise, Leng Ergou thought that Dr. Li had some doubts, and asked, "Is there something wrong?"

"No, Brother Leng wrote it very clearly, I'll let the account pay the deposit first." Dr. Li said straightforwardly.

"Thank you, thank you!" Leng Ergou followed the person Dr. Li called in to pay the money, and when he had left, the shopkeeper who was in charge of the account room jumped in and asked Dr. Li: "Father, what is the origin of this man? It took away 500 taels, which is a large amount.”

"Look~" Dr. Li pointed to the things on the table.

Accountant Li also knows how to look at medicinal materials. After reading it, he said: "It's a good thing, barely worth 500 taels, but he's a child..."

"What do you know, 500 taels is not for buying these, it is a set silver for ten parts of the same quality, you go back and prepare the silver, he should bring his family over next time, you have the silver ticket and the silver Let's see which one he wants?" Dr. Li asked his son.

"Father, you brat, if you really gave away the money, don't be afraid..."

"I don't know anything, what are you afraid of? He just ran away with the silver, and the things left behind are worth the price. I really thought I was confused. Look, this box is engraved with the pattern of ginkgo leaves. , as well as the characters of cold characters and big seal characters, this pattern is also on the fur skin, and it is also on the child's cuffs and collar. Except that your father went to the magistrate's mansion ten years ago to ask for an audience, he has seen such a delicate servant's attire once, When did you meet him? Look at this deed again. He is a child of seven or eight years old. He can write such a good handwriting. How about when you were seven or eight years old? Can you be the son of the county magistrate? The most regrettable What's more, he is still a drug boy, but a slave can have such ability, how much ability do you think the master has? I have heard that the slaves of big families can also read and write, as expected!"

"Father is knowledgeable, no wonder the world says that it is better to marry a servant girl than a daughter-in-law." Shopkeeper Li flattered.

"That's the reason!" Dr. Li smiled and nodded as he saw his son being taught.

Leng Ergou changed several names within a few days, and finally got the first sum of money. He went directly to the bank and exchanged it for a bank note, which he kept on his body.I also looked at the yamen near the Qianzhuang, alas, his household registration has not yet been found.It doesn't matter in a small county now, but if you enter the state capital in the future, you will definitely be interrogated for your household registration and directions. What should you do about this?

Normally, he would just be a gentleman, or just fake it, but Yuanshen's wish is to live a frank life, so that people will not speak ill of him behind his back, but praise him.It seems that he has done too many bad things and wants to change his mind.There is also a son who will inherit the incense. The original body blames himself for doing all the bad things, which is why he has no son to carry on the family.

These are not problems in Leng Ergou's view. The most important thing now is to go back and prepare what Dr. Li wants. He doesn't have any Cordyceps sinensis, hehe.