This Zhangji Town is different from the previous towns. The previous towns were either brick or adobe houses, and there were very few cave dwellings, because the cave dwellings had to be dug next to the slope and could not be built in rows.
Most of the people in the town make their living through shops, so cave dwellings are very inconvenient.
This town is different. There are cave dwellings on both sides, because there are trapezoidal slopes on both sides, with two floors of cave dwellings on one side and the main street in the middle.
The only bad thing is that the lighting inside the shop is very poor. The one on the sunny side of the door is fine, but the dark side has to have lights on during the day.
Fortunately, the signs are eye-catching, so it’s easy to find the shop you need.
Their carriage didn't attract much attention when it entered the town, because the town was next to the official road and there were quite a lot of vehicles coming and going.
Just like now, there was a traffic jam on the road. Qingyan looked at it with her consciousness and saw that the two bullock carts in front were blocked and neither side could pass.
Upon closer inspection, it turned out that one of the wheels was broken, and the crossbar on the wheel had penetrated into the wheel of the other cart, making both carts unable to move.
Both carts were pulling a lot of goods. Judging from the sacks on them, they should be together, and there were several similar carts behind them.
Qingyan felt that it looked familiar, and soon she remembered that this was not the convoy pulling food that she had seen on the mountain before.
This convoy had left half a day ahead of her, so why did they just arrive here?
Speaking of which, she was delayed for a while at Yuliang Village. It meant that she left not just half a day ahead of her, but almost a whole day. I didn't expect the convoy to move so slowly.
But think about it, the ox-cart is inherently slower than the horse-drawn carriage, and it pulls so many things, so it’s normal that it can’t move as fast as her.
Seeing that these cars were heading in their direction, I guess they had eaten and rested in the town and were preparing to leave. However, the wheel was broken and now the cars on both sides could not move.
Now several drivers of the team are unloading the grain from the ox cart. There is no way. If it is not unloaded, the crossbar cannot be removed at all. The cart must be lifted up, otherwise the cart will not be damaged. Both cars may be damaged.
Two people had to be specially assigned to comfort the two cows, because there were many people watching around and the two cows were a little anxious.
It had just arrived in the afternoon, and it would get dark in three or four hours. These people could actually rest here for a day before leaving. There was no need to rush at this time.
If we leave now, we may not be able to reach the county seat before dark. From here to the east is another mountain. There are no other towns along the official road, only some villages. Then we can go directly to the county seat.
Chou Chou has already used his spiritual sense to detect it. There is a relatively large county called Pingyuan County thirty miles ahead.
The size is similar to that of Yunling County, but the prosperity inside is incomparable. Pingyuan County is much more prosperous than Yunling County.
After all, one is close to the border and is considered a border pass, and the other is already relatively inland. There are more villages on the roadside and the population has increased.
Just like this small town, although there are only two rows of cave dwellings and the town is not big, there is indeed a lot of traffic on the streets. Not only pedestrians passing by, but also people from surrounding villages coming to buy things, all come to this town.
Qingyan wasn't in a hurry anyway. Everyone was stuck here, and she couldn't get around it even if she wanted to. The road was so wide, and they had food, drink, and warmth in the car, so they didn't have to rush there.
Qingyan looked at how long it would take and decided not to stay out in the cold, and got into the carriage with Zhang Chunhua.
Qingyan picked up the copper kettle on the side, took off the water bag hanging on the wall of the car, poured the water inside into the copper kettle, and placed it directly on the charcoal stove.
There's no need to boil it, just warm it up. You're not making tea anyway, so the water in the water bag is just plain boiled. It's just that drinking cold water isn't very comfortable. Drinking some hot water will make you feel better.
Apparently Zhang Chunhua and the other three were also thirsty, but they had been busy on their way and had not paid attention to it. Now seeing Qingyan pouring water there, the three of them subconsciously licked their lips and swallowed.
Qingyan smiled and said, "The water bag is hanging on the wall of the car. You guys don't know how to use it to drink when you are thirsty."
Zhang Chunhua scratched her head in embarrassment and said nothing.
First, they left the village and became nervous and excited, as if they were in a dream, and they ignored their thirst. Another one would be embarrassed to touch other people's things without the owner's permission.
Qingyan opened the seal of the charcoal stove, and as soon as the fire came up, the water was hot in a short while. It didn't need to be too hot, about fifty degrees would be enough. It would burn your mouth a little when you drink it, but it wouldn't make you unable to swallow it.
He took out the pottery bowl he had used before, and each of them poured a bowl and drank from it.
The two children finished the drink in one gulp, and Qingyan asked them to drink it slowly to avoid choking.
Qingyan is also thirsty. She has not drank water since morning. The cold weather is not like when the weather is hot. When the weather is hot, she always feels thirsty and has to take a sip. After the weather cools down, she seems to be thirsty. The need for water is not so great.
Now that I drink it, my throat feels moistened and my body warms up.
Qingyan would use her consciousness to explore there from time to time to see if the bullock cart was ready.
As soon as the carts were unloaded, the two carts separated quickly. They just had to let the cart on the opposite side go first, and only after the cart on the other side had finished moving, could the cart on this side pass.
There are only about ten vehicles in that convoy, and there are a few carts and two donkey carts blocked behind, so it will take some time.
After the cars on the opposite side had finished passing, the cars on this side could go through again, and the broken-down ox cart was parked there. Qingyan heard them say that the cart driver had gone to the carpenter's shop in front to find someone to repair the wheels.
Hearing that the carpenter's shop was not far away, Qingyan also looked over with her spiritual consciousness. Indeed, there was a wooden plaque in front of a door not far away, which said "Good Carpenter's Shop".
I don’t know if it was because it was profitable, or because the owner of the carpentry shop was named Lili, so he chose this name.
The calligraphy is correct, but it has no character. It must have been written by a literate person and then carved out.
When the vehicles on the opposite side had finished driving, more than ten minutes had passed. After putting away the kettles and bowls, Qingyan and Zhang Chunhua sat in front again and drove the car forward.
We were walking on the opposite road, and as soon as we passed the broken ox cart, we heard Zhang Chunhua sitting next to him shout: "Brother!"
Qingyan turned her head and looked in the direction she was looking at, and saw a sturdy middle-aged man following behind the driver who broke down the bullock cart just now. It seemed that the man who went to the carpenter's shop was Zhang Chunhua's eldest brother Zhang Mancang. .
Speaking of Zhang Chunhua's family, it's quite interesting. Her eldest brother is named Zhang Mancang, and her two daughters are also named Daman and Xiaoman. Ancient people didn't like to use the names of their elders, and most of them would avoid them.
Of course, there are also local customs. For example, there are people in foreign countries who like to use the names of their ancestors as inheritance.
Zhang Mancang heard a familiar voice, looked up and found that it was his own girl.
He didn't care that there was a customer beside him, and hurriedly greeted him, "Chunhua, why are you back? And why did you come back in a carriage? Did you hitchhike?"
Finally meeting her relatives, Zhang Chunhua said excitedly: "Brother, you almost lost sight of our three mothers..."
As he spoke, he started crying. When Daman and Xiaoman heard the noise outside, they climbed out of the carriage and shouted: "Uncle!" "Uncle!"
They would follow their mother back to their parents' home every year on the second day of the Lunar New Year, and they were very familiar with their uncle. Zhang Mancang was also very kind to them, and would often buy them sweets. He would also let them wear big horses around their necks when they were young. They were very small compared to that. My father, who went to war when he was young, became even closer to him.
Zhang Mancang was extremely anxious when he saw this. Just when he was about to ask what was going on, an impatient voice came from beside him: "I said, you should repair my car first and then reminisce about old times. I'm still in a hurry to leave." ."
Only then did Zhang Mancang remember the business and quickly turned around, nodded and apologized, but he couldn't ruin the boss's business.
Zhao Chunhua saw that she almost caused trouble to her brother, so she apologized embarrassedly, and told her brother that there was nothing to do now, and that she would wait until he was done with his work, so there was no rush.
Qingyan drove the carriage aside and parked it in the open space between two shops, so as not to block the door of the other shop.
Because they were not far from the bullock cart, they could clearly hear the voices on the other side.
They had to remove the wheels from the cart, otherwise they wouldn't be able to repair it, but the ox cart was thicker and heavier than her carriage, and two people couldn't lift it up at all.
The driver hurriedly ran to the place where the motorcade stopped not far away and called for help.
The spokes of the wheel were forcibly broken and had to be replaced with new spokes. It was probably due to the age, the wood was somewhat rotten, and the damage was caused by the heavy cargo being pulled.
If you really want to replace it, you can't replace one. The other two are already in danger, so you have to replace them together.
Qingyan was a little curious about how to repair the wheel, so she used her spiritual consciousness to explore it. If her carriage broke down halfway in the middle of the road, she could repair it herself.
After a while, the coachman called for two helpers, four big men. One was holding down the car on the other side, and three were on this side to lift the car and cross it directly.
When the wheel here tilted up, the three people worked together to lift the wooden wheel off the horizontal axis.
After removing the broken wheel spoke, I rolled it directly to the carpenter's shop, and then I looked for wood with a higher hardness. Not all wood can be used for this wheel. I need to look for oak, maple, or oak. Such hard and durable wood cannot be used for anything else.
Find the wood, measure the size, and then use tools such as grinders and planes to smooth the outer edge to ensure that the diameter of the wheel is consistent. This process requires extremely meticulous craftsmanship, because any small error will affect the smooth running of the carriage.
Finally, reinforcement and painting are required, and iron nails are used to firmly connect the spokes to the center of the wheel to prevent loosening.
Tung oil is then applied to increase the durability of the wheel, making it resistant to moisture, sunlight and other natural elements.
Fortunately, only three spokes need to be replaced, so it doesn't take a long time. However, you can't leave immediately. At least you have to wait for the oil painted on them to dry. It should take about an hour anyway.
The driver was obviously in a hurry and asked anxiously, "Can I let it get dried while I'm walking?"
Anyway, the spokes of the wheel do not touch the ground. They are only for waterproofing and anti-corrosion, which does not affect the stability, so Zhang Mancang nodded and said it was okay.
Then several people rolled the wheel back and worked together to help install it. However, because the tung oil had not dried, one person had his hands wet.
The other party paid the bill before the wheel rolled over, and Zhang Mancang also asked for leave from his boss, saying that his sister was here and something happened.
So after installing the wheels and trying them out without any problems, I walked directly to Qingyan and the others.
Zhang Mancang asked Zhang Chunhua again what was going on. Zhang Chunhua was afraid that her brother would be anxious, so she gave a brief summary.
Zhang Mancang said angrily: "It's so shameless. You actually ganged up to bully orphans and widows! You too, why are you arguing with them? When I said you owed money, you should have come to town to find me, otherwise I won't suffer these days in vain.
If it hadn't been for Miss Yang, I wouldn't even know how your three mothers died. I have already told the shopkeeper that we should go home directly and discuss what to do next. "
What Qingyan said before about letting them settle in the town was just a suggestion. Even if it had to be done, it wouldn't take a day or two. She didn't have many connections here. Unlike in Handeng or Qinzhou Fucheng, it might just be a word. thing.
It is not that simple for ordinary people without power to transfer their household registration. They first have to buy a house in the town, but all the houses here are owned by owners. Even if there is one for sale, they have to inquire about it. This is not a day or two. thing.
Qingyan was fine anyway, so she didn't rush to separate from them. Instead, she asked Zhang Mancang to get on the carriage and prepare to take them home.
Zhang Mancang said a lot of thanks to Qingyan, then sat on the carriage shaft and asked Qingyan to get into the carriage as well, so that he could drive the carriage.
Yes, Zhang Mancang can drive a cart. It’s not that he has a cattle cart at home. He often picks up large pieces of furniture in the carpenter’s shop. He will use an ox cart when delivering goods to people. The few guys who work there are basically Xiadu has learned how to drive a car, and can deliver goods at any time.
Qingyan was also happy and relaxed. Before entering, she took out a bowl from the basket in front of the car, poured out the remaining water in the copper pot, and handed it to Zhang Chunhua, asking her to drink it for her brother.
Then he put the empty copper pot in the basket to avoid spilling the water if the carriage bumped along the road.
There is no need to seal the charcoal stove. The charcoal inside has been almost burned, and there are only a few sparks left. If it were not sealed on the road, it would have been burned out long ago.
After they left the town, they walked back for a while. Not far away, about 200 meters, there was a fork in the road that turned south. Zhang Mancang drove his car and turned into it.
