He did not go to Rongxi Hall to say goodbye to Jia Zheng.
After all, he is just an uncle and nephew, so there is no need to be too hypocritical about greeting him every day. Everyone finds it troublesome.
Therefore, Jia Lian usually does not go to greet Jia Zheng and Mrs. Wang. If something happens, they will directly ask someone to call him over.
Besides, Jia Zheng is probably still sleeping soundly in Aunt Zhao's room with the beauty in his arms. It would be too foolish to disturb her so early in the morning.
But Jia She had to go.
Of course, Jia She still didn't see him.
When Shi Shiran came out of the East Crossing Courtyard, Zhaoer and others were already waiting outside, including people and horses.
On this trip south, he wanted to shorten the trip, so he didn't bring too many people.
Except for Xiaosi Zhaoer and Changsui Wanger, there are only five adult nursing homes.
The so-called guardians are those who are physically strong among the servants of the family and are used to look after the home and nurse the courtyard. They also have the duties of servants and attendants.
The ancestors of the Jia family made their fortune through military service, and many of the servants in the family served as soldiers and herds horses with several princes. Although it has been stable for many years and the older generation is dying, their children and grandchildren are still serving in the mansion.
Yesterday afternoon, Jia Lian personally tested it and found that many of the nursing homes outside the second gate could actually perform some military fighting techniques. They must have been taught by their fathers and ancestors.
So Jia Lian selected a few of them who seemed to be the most agile. It was thought that with these people escorting them, even if they encountered ordinary thieves on the way, it would be enough to deal with them.
"Second Master..."
Zhao'er brought over the white horse that Jia Lian often used when going out, patted the horse and said with a smile: "It's a journey of more than a thousand miles from the capital to Yangzhou. I was afraid that my body wouldn't be able to bear it, so I specially gave this to me. I feel it." How does it feel?"
Jia Lian heard the sound and looked over. It turned out that Zhao'er had added a layer of fur on the horse's back, which looked like ermine skin. Coupled with the good appearance of the clean white horse, it indeed looks more noble and extraordinary.
"This thing is soft and sweat-absorbent. I think it will help Erye suffer less when riding on the road."
Riding a horse for a short distance may be a pleasure, but riding a horse for hundreds or thousands of miles is definitely a physically and mentally taxing task.
Therefore, Jia Lian was very satisfied that Zhao'er could consider him so appropriately.
After getting on his horse, Jia Lian smiled and said: "It's too late to regret now. This trip must be very hard. If you want to visit Yangzhou, you can go down by boat with Xing'er and the others. Don't show off now, or you will complain on the road."
Zhao'er chuckled and said, "Thank you for your consideration, but I'm not afraid of you. What should I be afraid of? Besides, I'm used to serving you. If I don't stay with you, I won't feel at ease."
Yes, as soon as you hear it, you will know that it is a complete piece of shit.
Jia Lian stopped talking nonsense. Seeing that the others were ready, he tightened the reins of his horse and shouted in a serious voice:
"Set off!"
…
In late summer and early autumn, the weather is hot.
Although Jia Lian and others took advantage of the few hours in the morning to rush on their way, after more than a hundred miles west of the capital, the sun became really hot.
When driving under such a sun, even the strong wind brought by the galloping horses can't blow away the heat on the body.
"Second Master, there is a forest ahead. Let's take a rest there. It's too hot to run..."
Zhao'er felt very tired for a long time. When she passed several tea pavilions and wine shops before, she wanted to rest, but Jia Lian didn't allow it, so she could only insist.
At this moment, I really felt that the heat was unbearable. I saw that I was going through a dense forest ahead, so I hurriedly shouted loudly.
Fearing that Jia Lian still disagreed, he quickly winked at the others.
Lai Wang said: "Yes, Second Master, if we are traveling like this, even if people can bear it, the horses cannot bear it. If the horse is tired, it will really delay the trip. Let's rest before we go. ."
"That's right..."
In fact, Jia Lian was no better off than Zhao'er. The reason why he insisted on rushing was to reach Yangzhou as soon as possible, and also to see the limits of his physical endurance and strength.
The result was not bad. Although Jia Lian was used to being arrogant and extravagant in the past, fortunately because he was young and often went out to do errands, his physical fitness was not bad.
But after looking at the nursing homes, Jia Lian felt that he still needed more exercise.
Most of them were just panting, unlike him who had wiped his sweat secretly several times...
Thinking that what Wang'er said was reasonable, Jia Lian did not insist anymore and asked everyone to do some trimming in the forest and feed the horses some water along the way.
I was sitting and chatting with a few nursing homes that I was not familiar with, to understand the situation at home, so that I could relax.
Suddenly I saw Zhao'er running out from the tree-lined path next to me, laughing loudly and saying, "Second Master, look at it, what is this?"
Jia Lian looked around and saw this boy holding a huge watermelon from nowhere!
"You kid, where did you get this?"
Lai Wang, who was waiting for the horse to drink water, said with a smile: "Second Master doesn't know, but there is a melon field opposite. This monkey must have sneaked over and picked it secretly."
Zhao'er chuckled, "The weather is so hot, wouldn't it be more refreshing to eat some of this before going on the road?"
After saying that, he asked the others to draw their knives, cut the watermelon into pieces on the big stone, and then gave the best piece to Jia Lian.
Jia Lian took it and took a bite. It was extremely sweet and tasted better than anything he had eaten in later generations.
"You guys can eat too and watch what I do."
After hearing Jia Lian's order, everyone rushed forward.
Zhaoer jumped anxiously and rushed back, but only grabbed a small piece, and immediately started cursing at Lai Wang and others.
The others just laughed, and one of them said: "Look at how stingy you are, wait until we finish eating and pick two more. Then you will eat two more pieces."
Zhaoer reluctantly accepted it.
Jia Lian finished the melon in his hand and threw the rind into the grass behind him. He stood up and said, "It's not easy for farmers to grow melons. Let's just pick one and taste it. If we want to eat enough, we have to pay for it." Just come and buy it.
Come on, let's go there and have a look. "
…
Following the path down to the official road, it turns out that there are several large melon fields here, and it is the ripe season. Watermelons, big or small, are looming in the fields. At a glance, they are full of fruits, which is really gratifying.
Seeing that there was a house on the top of the hillside, which must be where the melon keeper was, Jia Lian and others left two people to look after the horses while the others walked up the slope together.
"Woof woof woof~~!!"
Suddenly there was a burst of barking, and two ferocious dogs appeared. But they were all tied up with chains, so no one was panicked.
A person behind Jia Lian even smiled at Zhao'er and said, "If you can steal the melon under the eyes of two vicious dogs, you must be smarter than the dogs."
"Fuck you uncle..."
Not long after the sound of dogs barking, an old man and a young man also appeared on the slope.
The old man was about fifty years old and skinny. Behind him was a half-year-old boy, who must be his grandson. They were all dressed in coarse linen and linen, and you could tell they were real farmers at first glance.
Seeing Jia Lian and his entourage, he seemed a little afraid. Although he stopped the dog from barking, he hesitated and did not dare to step forward.
Jia Lian took a step forward, cupped his hands and said, "Don't worry, old man. We were passing through here. Because it was hot and thirsty, our servants didn't know the etiquette and stole a melon. I am here to apologize."
After hearing this, the old farmer felt relieved and waved his hands: "It's just a watermelon. You don't have to be like this, you don't have to be like this..."
"Thank you, old man. However, I would like to buy some more melons from the old man to take with me on the road. Is that okay?"
"If you guys want to eat, just pick them, they are worthless things..."
When the old farmer saw that Jia Lian was dressed richly and behaved politely, and that Lai Wang and others behind him had different demeanor, he guessed that he was a nobleman from a big city. He showed that he was not a vicious person and greeted him again: "It's hot in the summer, why don't you and all the gentlemen come up and have a bowl of herbal tea before going on your way."
Thinking of something else, I pulled my grandson beside me and said, "San baby, go home quickly and get some clean bowls!"
As he spoke, he fended off the vicious dog that was staring at him eagerly, while inviting everyone up with a smile.
Jia Lian saw the old man's enthusiasm and saw the young man running down the slope obediently. He somehow thought of Grandma Liu and his grandson.
I think most of the farmers who come to this world are simple people...
Following the old farmer up, here is a thatched house facing east to west. It was probably built specifically for guarding the melon fields.
Next to the house, there is a medium-sized locust tree, which can provide just enough shade. Under the tree, there are two low stools and a wooden table.
Such a simple and quiet farm residence actually evoked Jia Lian's desire to return to farming.
The old man respectfully asked Jia Lian to sit down. Jia Lian did not delay, but asked Lai Wang to come up with five hundred dollars.
"How can we use so much..." The old farmer waved his hands hurriedly, not willing to accept it.
Jia Lian smiled and said: "The money is firstly to make amends, and secondly, to buy melons. Please accept it, otherwise the juniors and others will feel uneasy."
"Young master, don't say any more words of apology. As for those melons in the field, if you like them, you can just pick some and eat them. I really don't dare to accept your money..."
The old man said, sighing helplessly.
Zhao'er didn't want to stay here longer, nor did he care about their tea. Seeing the old man's nagging, he said, "Just keep it if our master gives it to you. Are you forcing us to take advantage of you? It's not like we can't afford the money." "
"That's not what I meant..."
Jia Lian waved his hand and asked, "What trouble did the old man encounter?"
Jia Lian saw that the old farmer seemed to have a sad look on his face.
The old farmer hesitated for a moment and sighed: "It's rare that the young master is kind, but how dare I accept this money from the young master? As the young master sees it, the melon harvest in our fields this year is really good, but we really can't make any money."
A nurse laughed and said: "You old man is so dishonest. This year's watermelons were sold in the capital for more than ten cents per catty! I see that your large field is worth several thousand catties at least, but you are... Our master said we can’t make any money?”
"More than a dozen articles..." The old farmer's eyes became increasingly sad, but he was still busy explaining:
"That's the price in big cities. It's really worthless here... To be honest, in previous years our family, together with several melon growers around us, could still make some money, but this year it's different. …
Mr. Li from West Village sent someone early in the morning to ask everyone to sell him all the melons in the field for three cents.
Although the price was slightly lower, we thought he could help us collect it all at once, which would save us trouble, so we all agreed.
only……"
When Jia Lian heard this, he asked: "So, he later regretted not giving up?"
"It's not that he doesn't want it, it's just that he said that there will be a bumper harvest of melons from all over the country this year. He said that even if we transport them to the city, we can't sell them for money, so he only gives us a price of one penny! The young master doesn't know that according to his price, we don't even have to pay for the land rent. If you can’t afford it, how can you accept it?”
After hearing this, Jia Lian sighed.
Sure enough, there are middlemen making the difference at any time! Thinking about it, in this era, transportation is inconvenient and information is not developed. In addition, there are people who rely on wealth and power to make huge profits. The difference in price can be imagined.
"We didn't comply, but he didn't force us, he just said he would sell it if he liked it.
We originally wanted to ask the previous vendors to collect it, but they were all afraid of the power of the Li family and did not dare to come.
So we can only find a way on our own and let the boys from each family push it to the nearest town to sell it. Although the price is low, we can't sell much.
Seeing that autumn and winter are approaching, I am afraid that those melons will eventually rot in the ground.
So, if you guys like it, just pick some and eat them, but you don’t dare to charge for them. "
The old man smiled bitterly.
Jia Lian thought the old farmer was interesting. He said he couldn't sell his own melons and wanted to buy them, but he was told that he didn't need any money.
Thinking about it, he thought that the two of them could pick at most two or three melons to eat, so how could he dare to sell them for 500 coins? To say that he only accepted a dozen or twenty cents, wouldn't it be a deliberate attempt to belittle him, a young master who seemed to be either rich or noble?
Or more likely, they are just hospitable and don't want to make money from them.
In this way, Jia Lian made up his mind.
