Qingyan was a little thoughtful. It seemed that it was impossible to hear useful information from passers-by.
Then he thought about the large family of more than 20 people before. It seemed that they were not going to Xingtang Mansion, but to Bianzhou. They were probably just passing by.
If we get to Bianzhou from here, it should be two to three hundred kilometers away, and there is plenty left.
Hey, no, isn't Bianzhou the birthplace of Xue Juzheng, the famous Xue Juzheng who lived through several dynasties in later generations?
She still hasn't figured out which Xue Mansion in the capital Li Hao mentioned before. After all, these two places are considered capital cities. According to him, they should be quite powerful. I don't know if they are the same as the one where Xue Minghua is located. A family.
And if the capital he mentioned was Xingtang Mansion, it might not be the Xingtang Mansion. Of course, it was most likely Bianzhou, which was also one of the three capitals. She might have misunderstood it before. When she mentioned the Xue Mansion in the capital, she thought it was the same family. .
In fact, it's easy to say, isn't there a ready-made Xue family? If you don't understand, just ask. Anyway, they all have the same surname, so she can ask about it by the way.
Qingyan turned to Xue Minghua and said, "I never asked before, is your Xue family the same clan as the Xue family in Bianzhou?"
Xue Minghua was a little drowsy at first, and his two children had fallen asleep in the car. Although it was still a little bumpy, it was so late in the afternoon and he had played for a while before, so it was easy to get sleepy.
As soon as she heard Qingyan ask this, she perked up. In fact, she also wanted to ask which branch Qingyan came from.
"Yes, we are of the same clan as the Xue family in Bianzhou. We are a side branch. We used to live in Hedong and later moved to Bianzhou.
Before His Majesty proclaimed himself the emperor here in Weizhou, our family came here with the intention of establishing a great cause, but we never thought that Your Majesty would move the capital to Luocheng. This place was named Xingtang Mansion and brought my uncle My grandfather was granted the title of Tongshisheren, and he went to Luocheng with him. Later, he was promoted to Shangshu of the Military Academy and the Ministry of War. I don’t know what official position he held now.
My grandfather stayed here and became a Weiwei Shaoqing. My father also held a certain position under my grandfather. After that, our team settled here. "
After a pause, he said with some confusion: "Sister, are you not from the same clan as us?"
Qingyan shook her head and said: "Probably not, but I can't say for sure. Maybe it was before. Our ancestors moved to the north, and the specific branch is no longer known.
I have been living in Youzhou since I was born, and I have never heard my grandfather say where he moved from before. "
She is not lying. Their family is indeed in Youzhou, but in later generations. Of course, there is no need to explain this clearly.
Xue Minghua guessed in his mind: It seems that that branch should have been separated very early, and it has been doing well. If it can raise a woman with such a temperament, the family background should not be bad.
"My sister said before that Youzhou has fallen into the hands of the Khitans, but have all your family members escaped?"
She suddenly thought of what Qingyan had said before, that the Khitans had entered Yunzhou, and they would not be immune even to Youzhou.
Qingyan choked, alas, I can't continue editing...
He rolled his eyes, thought of a place, and said to her: "They are safe now. They are at General Li's place in Yecheng. Our two families are family friends. They will take care of my family."
Xue Minghua nodded, "That's good, hey...the Khitan people have entered the border, and I'm afraid there will be chaos again in the future. I don't know if the Xingtang Mansion can be stable.
I have been in Hancheng for more than ten years, and my eyes and ears have been blocked. I have no place to hear many things. Let alone the things in the imperial city, even the capital city is my memory before the accident. "
Qingyan thought about it. Inquiring about the situation from Xue Minghua was actually not as good as knowing as much from Li Hao.
At that time, because she had no way to confess her life experience, she could only let the other party guess. She had always been vague when talking to the other party, and it was not easy to speak directly to avoid arousing suspicion. Now that she thinks about it, she is really blind.
But it didn't matter, he was leaving anyway, and he just wanted to find a topic to talk about.
After that, Xue Minghua told her some things he knew before leaving home. At that time, the Xue family's official position in the court was not low, but their official position was not very high, and they were not considered close ministers of the emperor. They were considered local officials. official.
However, there are many scholars in the family and there are connections there, so it will only be a matter of time before a few more officials are born.
The two of them chatted about some speculations about the capital and the imperial city. Of course, they were all random guesses. Qingyan also relied on what she had learned about the history of the Five Dynasties in a few words. Just to guess.
There should be chaos in the Imperial City now. After all, Shi Jingtang will soon proclaim himself emperor in Taiyuan. It is obvious that there will be no news at all in the Imperial City.
The Khitans have already entered the pass, which is not a small move.
But no matter how chaotic it is, it has nothing to do with her. She is just a temporary visitor. Worrying about the country and the people is not what she needs to do.
It’s hard to say too much about Xue Minghua. Although she does not give people the image of a boudoir woman, even a chivalrous woman who likes to do chivalry and justice cannot know too much about national affairs. This is too unreasonable.
Qingyan turned her back to the carport and quietly took out her watch from her pocket and took a look. It was already three forty and the day was still very hot. The sun was not as poisonous as before, but there was still no wind and she felt a little stuffy.
Isn't it going to rain?
Before she said anything, she heard Xue Minghua say: "Sister, something doesn't look right today. It's probably going to rain. If you can find a place to take shelter from the rain, it's better to take shelter first.
The rain here will stop after a while, it won't last long, and it won't be too late to hit the road again. "
Qingyan nodded, "Okay, I'll look at both sides of the road. If there's a house or a temple, let's go in and take shelter."
Although their shed looks nice, it can only block the sun, but not the rain. Drizzle is okay, but if it rains moderately or heavily, everything inside the quilt will get wet.
Qingyan regretted a little. When she went to the grocery store, she saw tung oil paper, the kind used for making umbrellas. She looked at it curiously, but she didn't want to buy one.
If you have tung oil paper and cover the shed one by one now, you won't have to worry about it even if it rains.
Although it is not overcast yet, the sun seems to be covered with mist, and it does look like a storm is coming.
Let the little donkey continue to speed up while observing both sides.
Perhaps because they were on the official road, there weren't many villages they passed along the way. They were either wastelands or woods.
Unlike later generations, the villages here wish they were built beside the highway. Most of them are not close to the official road. Only those towns with shops will be closer.
If you want to find some villages, you can actually say, just look for a fork in the road next to it. Just like the Qiaotou Village they passed before, if you follow the fork in the road, there will definitely be a village.
But the distance is not necessarily different. For example, they walked from Qiaotou Village to Guandao before, but after walking for most of a day, they almost reached the capital from here.
Although they were walking and stopping along the way, often looking for confiscated grain in the fields, the distance was indeed not close. If they had time to look for the village, it would be better for them to speed up and head to the capital as soon as possible. .
After walking for a while, she still didn't see a building. Qingyan thought about it and asked Chou Chou: "Do you have any tarpaulin or plastic sheeting in your space? Or that kind of waterproof canvas. I really can't find any shelter." If it rains, let's cover the carport a little bit.
Anyway, Xue Minghua is in the car and can't see outside. When the rain stops, you can just put it away quietly. Mainly because of the two thick quilts, it would be a pity if they got caught in the rain. "
Chou Chou obediently rummaged through the space and said, "There is no canvas or oilcloth, but there are a few pieces of plastic sheet. I use them to spread on the ground to put food, but those things are a bit too eye-catching when I take them out. , that kind of transparent plastic sheet.”
Qingyan's eyes lit up, "It's good to be transparent, but you are stupid, wouldn't it be more transparent so people can't see it?"
Chou Chou rolled his eyes, "Am I stupid or are you stupid? It's transparent and reflective. When you touch someone, it will be immediately visible!"
Qingyan was speechless, "It's true, what should we do?"
Chou Chou thought for a while and said, "How about we put a layer of plastic sheeting in the middle and put a straw mat on top, so it won't be visible from the outside or the inside."
This time it was Qingyan's turn to roll her eyes, "Where did we get the straw mat? You don't want me to make it on the fly, do you? I have to have the time. A straw mat as big as a carport will take an entire afternoon. Time, when we have that time, we will rush to the capital."
Chou Chou said in a somewhat arrogant tone: "You don't know this~ I secretly took one of the mats we made on the road."
"When did you collect them? There are just a few mats. Didn't anyone notice it?" Qingyan asked doubtfully.
Chou Chou said proudly: "Hey~ When you were refining salt before, we all made a lot of straw mats together. Then we threw a lot of them away when we left. I think those things are pretty good and soft. They are on top. It's just right to put some things that are not likely to be bumped, so I just put one in and put all the snacks on it."
Qingyan was happy when she heard this, and praised Chou Chou, "It's you after all. You are worthy of being an ancient mythical beast. It's reliable. You have a good collecting habit. You're quite foresight. Then take that straw mat later." Come out, let me think about where to put it...
In this way, you tie it to the bottom of the donkey cart, so that I can pretend to get it back from there, and Xue Minghua will not suspect it. "
Chou Chou nodded, "No problem, I'll get it out in a minute and tie it under the car with hemp rope. Then you can just pull it out from underneath and pretend to add a layer of straw mat to cover the shed, and I'll give you the plastic sheet." Put it in the middle.”
After the matter was resolved, Qingyan was in an extremely good mood instantly, so she didn't have to rush to find shelter from the rain.
As soon as the two of them finished their discussion, a strong wind blew up. Qingyan was blinded by the sand. She quickly raised her hands to cover her eyes, turned her head, rubbed her eyes, and rubbed the sand out.
Then he pretended to say: "It's broken! The wind has picked up. The rain is really coming. We can't find a shelter from the rain in this wilderness. How about I add a layer to this shed?" , if it doesn’t rain too much, it should be fine.”
When Xue Minghua heard this, he said, "Then I'll go down and help you."
Qingyan waved her hand, "No, no, your legs and feet are not convenient, I can do it myself. There is also a straw mat under my car. I originally planned to use it to sit on the ground when parking and resting. Now I will put it away first." Put it on top of the shed and cover it with another layer. The extra layer should also be able to block some rain."
Xue Minghua said with a look of shame: "I really can't help at all, I'm just a burden."
Qingyan smiled at her and said, "Don't say that, you are injured. Isn't this a special situation? If you were not injured, I would definitely let you help."
With that said, he drove the donkey cart to a place with open space next to it. The cart shed must not be tossing in the middle of the road, as it would be more conspicuous if it blocked the road.
The car turned half a circle and stopped toward the back. The wind was southerly. The back of the car was covered by a straw mat, which prevented sand and dust from blowing into the car.
Qingyan looked inside and saw that the two children were still sleeping soundly. They didn't wake up and didn't let Xue Minghua wake them up. The little leopard was also sleeping in Huan'er's arms, sprawled out.
Angrily, she poked its fat belly with her finger. The little leopard was woken up by her poke. He opened his eyes in a daze and saw that it was her. He turned over and closed his eyes and fell asleep.
Qingyan angrily slapped its butt before jumping out of the car.
Xue Minghua looked at her actions in amusement, this girl Qingyan was really a child at heart.
Qingyan bent down beside the car and pulled out the straw mat from under the car, shaking off the dust on it.
Not long after it was tied up, there was a layer of soil, mainly because the official road was a dirt road. The climate here is dry, so the dust can be imagined. In just a short time, there was a layer on top.
After shaking it off, he said to Chou Chou: "Okay, you put the plastic sheet up first, and then I'll put the mat on it. By the way, the plastic sheet shouldn't be bigger than this shed. When the time comes, stick it out." You can even see the lumps.”
Chou Chou said: "Don't worry, I picked a small piece to free up. It's a little smaller than the straw mat. It's just right in the middle. When you put up this straw mat, it will have an extra layer, and there will be an arched shed on top." , it can’t hold water, it will flow down quickly, and it shouldn’t be easy to seep in.”
As he spoke, he used his spiritual consciousness to put the plastic sheet up, placing it very squarely and without making any sound. Qingyan looked at it with a sigh on her face.
This spiritual consciousness is really easy to use, and the plastic sheet placed on it is really just right, with only about ten centimeters missing on both sides, and the straw mat is completely covered as soon as it is placed.
Moreover, the reed mat itself is a little wider than the donkey cart, so the less plastic sheet covering it won’t be a problem.
Qingyan threw the straw mat like a net, half-turned around to use her strength, turned back and threw it up, and threw it flatly onto the shed.
He looked around and nodded, yes, his skills were also good, he was ready in no time.
Take out the thin twine that was leftover from the shed you bought earlier and use it to secure the four corners of the mat.
This is easier. Just pass the thin hemp rope through the straw mat and tie it to the car.
At this time, the wind gradually became stronger, rolling up the loess on the ground with the rhythm of a sandstorm.
The shed was shaken by the wind, so Qingyan quickly tied a few more thin hemp ropes to prevent the shed from being torn down.
Fortunately, the gust was only level 4 or 5, and was not strong enough to lift the shed. Qingyan breathed a sigh of relief.
(End of chapter)
