Zhao Yongtang wiped his face and recounted his unfortunate experience during this period.
"Son, what should I do?" I was also at a loss. His family is the lowest level of the poor, and he has no ability to resist. At this time, it is too late to regret that he took the place of someone else.
"Mom, I have actually figured it out during this period. I don't have a fixed livelihood. Apart from doing odd jobs at the dock, I just carry big bags. There are jobs one day, and there are no jobs one day. I just hang out one day at a time. I'm here After I got to the military camp, I discovered that I liked life in the military camp. I lived a fulfilling life every day, even though I was very tired, but I discovered that I liked practicing with guns, standing in queues, and living a life of following orders and prohibitions every day."
His wife, Mrs. Lu, touched his forehead with her hand and said worriedly: "Master, do you have a fever? Since ancient times, a good man will not make nails, and a good man will not be a soldier. The soldiers are all Qiu Baye, which makes people hate him. You're scared. Why are you still going to be a soldier?"
Zhao Yongtang took out a red passbook from his arms, handed it to his mother, and said: "Mom, this is my military pay passbook. Now, the Beijing camp is not what it used to be. Uncle Dingyuan does not deduct military pay, and the pay and silver are paid in on a monthly basis." You have kept our bankbook. You can go to Xinghe Bank in Xuanwumen every month to withdraw money. No one can embezzle our money without going through the hands of an officer."
The old lady took the bankbook with trembling hands and asked, "Son, how much military pay will I give you each month?"
"Now the military salary is paid by Your Majesty from internal funds, because the Ministry of Household Affairs has no money at all. It is five silver coins a month. If we go out, it will be doubled to one tael of silver a month. It is much more than what I earn from doing odd jobs."
This is not a small amount of money. The surrounding neighbors only earn more than two yuan a month. Some who are literate, or can write and count, only have three qian of silver.
Qi Jiajun's salary is high, only three yuan more than one month's worth of silver. It can be seen that Chongzhen was determined to rectify the capital camp this time.
The old lady said: "I have nothing to say if you are willing to make more money, but being a soldier means fighting. You said you would leave after the New Year. I am worried about your safety."
"Mom, I have no way out now. I just decided to go into battle and give it a try. I will kill the enemy and serve the court. Maybe I can get you a royal wife."
His wife and mother were in tears. Now that things were like this, there was nothing else they could do except follow him on the Western Expedition. Deserters were to be beheaded.
At this time, the door rang, and a pair of children came back. The two of them went to pickle garlic for the pickle shop at the corner of the street.
The elder sister is thirteen years old this year, and the younger brother is only ten years old, but they have already started working for the family. For every ten kilograms of garlic you chop, you can earn one copper coin.
My wife and mother took over some of the work of washing and mending clothes for the laborers and dock coolies. Commonly known as sewing poverty. These coolies do the most tiring work and can only make do in Hukou. Many of them are singles. If their clothes are torn, they can only be sent to these people for repair and starch.
"Dad, are you back?" A pair of children ran over, hugging Zhao Yongtang and crying.
"Good boy, let's not cry. Daddy has brought you delicious food." Zhao Yongtang quickly tore off two pieces of the soy pig's head and stuffed them into the hands of his children.
The two children looked at the pig head in their hands in a daze. These two poor babies have never eaten meat since they were so old. Many poor people in the Ming Dynasty could not eat meat more than once in their lives.
"Is it delicious?" Zhang Yongtang asked.
"It's delicious, dad, you can eat it too."
Zhao Yongtang wiped his tears and said, "You guys can eat. Dad has meat to eat every day in the military camp."
"Mom, daughter-in-law, let's make dumplings today. We have chopped up more than ten cabbages and five pounds of meat at home. Wrap them up and freeze them. Let's have a good New Year this year. When we go to war, my son will also have to fight. Make meritorious deeds and give the children a future."
My mother and my wife wiped their tears and stood up to make noodles. A pair of children also came to help. The family is happily busy. This is the first time in many years that we can eat meat-filled dumplings during the Chinese New Year.
"When you finish making the dumplings, mother and daughter-in-law, I will take you to Xinghe Supermarket. Now, the military households in the Beijing Camp are applying for food books. We will do it today. From now on, you can go to the supermarket to buy them at home. Cornmeal and other grains at low prices.”
The wife happily asked: "Is it the kind of food book that old Hu's family in the front yard has? His family works on the road construction site and can get a food book. In Xinghe Supermarket, you can get a food stamp for one cent." The money can buy three kilograms of cornmeal."
"Yes, that's the kind. You need to bring the household stamp to apply for it. The whole family can go. Now, thanks to Uncle Dingyuan's grace, military households can also apply for it. From now on, you won't be afraid of starving. Three kilograms of cornmeal, no matter what Whether it's making porridge or making pancakes, it's enough for one day. It only costs thirty cents a month. What a good thing." Zhao Yongtang said while picking up the cabbage gang.
"After dinner in the evening, our family will go shopping. The second month's salary will be paid soon. Everyone in our family will make a new set of clothes. Make a new bedding. Buy another iron stove. Buy a thousand pieces of briquettes to keep your home warm."
The old lady said distressedly: "As for how much money it will cost, let's save it and save all the money. Save it first to save a dowry for my granddaughter, and save it for my grandson to find a wife."
"Mom, when winter comes, you are out of breath and coughing. This year we will make it warmer and we are getting some medicine to treat you. We won't keep the money. We will start the operation next month, and the salary will be one a month. Two silver coins. It won’t be too late for us to save money in the future.”
After an afternoon of busy work, the dumplings were all wrapped and frozen hard outside. They are piled one layer at a time in a large vat with lids and stones to prevent them from being eaten by mice or cats.
Zhao Yongtang boiled water again, mixed some mud, covered the cracks outside the house, and then went out. I went to the coal station and bought a second-hand iron stove and a set of stove tubes that were unwanted.
Bought another thousand briquettes. Because he was from Beijing, the coal station gave him a preferential price and was responsible for delivering it to his home for installation.
Zhao Yongtang went to buy some waste paper again. That is, paper on which words have been written. When I got home, I asked my wife to make some glue, re-paper the windows, and carefully seal the window gaps.
The newly installed iron stove has a very good design. It can either use the stove tube to exhaust smoke through the opening in the window, or it can be connected to the kang hole to allow the smoke to burn the kang at the same time. Just seal one of the flues with a flapper.
Because I bought coal for more than 1,000 yuan, there was also a metal kettle on the stove lid, which was steaming. As the fire of the briquettes started, the temperature in the house suddenly rose.
It became very warm because of the heating equipment and the cold wind could not blow into the house.
The temperature in the room has come up, and I no longer cough.
The family finished their dinner and sat around the heated kang, drinking boiled water. Zhao Yongtang also deliberately put a little white sugar in each bowl. The wife felt distressed and quickly collected the sugar and hid it in the cupboard.
Sugar was a luxury product in the Ming Dynasty. Don't dare to mess with it casually.
Zhao Yongtang hugged a pair of children one by one, his eyes were red.
I cursed in my heart, this is the fucking life people live.
The two children drank the boiling sugar water in small sips, sticking out their tongues when it was so hot. It was useless for Grandma to tell them to slow down.
"Dad, can our family live like this in the future?" the daughter asked, tilting her head.
"Yes, you must be obedient at home. When dad comes back from the war, things will get better and better in the future."
Tatar heads are the hardest to chop off, so they are the most valuable. Cutting off the head of a Tatar can lead to an official promotion, plus 20 taels of silver. If you don't want to be an official, you can get 50 taels of silver.
Later, the Jurchens became more and more brave as they fought, becoming as terrifying as the Tatars. As a result, the price of Jurchen heads also increased. At first, it was half of that of Tatars, and later it was the same as that of Tatars.
Zhao Yongtang was thinking that if he could behead more Tatars this time, his family would not be short of money.
