Since there were not many things, Zhu Ping'an quickly packed up his things. It was still early, so he sat at the table and practiced calligraphy while writing "The Story of Yitian Tuhui". He would need it when he went home to borrow books.
After noon, it started to snow again outside the window, with clumps and clusters, like catkins flying all over the sky.
Perhaps he was aroused by the snowflakes outside the window, or perhaps he was in a leisurely mood after winning the election. Zhu Pingan packed up his pen, ink, paper and inkstone, put on his rabbit fur coat, and prepared to go downstairs to take a stroll around the city of Nanjing after the snow. .
Many students in the lobby gathered around Zhu Shiming, who had just passed the exam, and arranged two tables. The tables were filled with big fish and meat, and two small stoves were placed next to them to warm two pots of wine with an intoxicating aroma... .
"Brother Zhu Xian, come and have a drink with us." Zhu Shiming saw Zhu Ping'an coming downstairs from a distance, stood up and invited.
"Two people at one table will be a good story in the future." Others also stood up and invited Zhu Pingan to the table. After the incident of catching his son-in-law under the list in the morning, these people were more in awe of Zhu Pingan.
The person who is favored by all the officials of the third rank is not Yi Yi.
Zhu Ping'an thanked them for their kindness and declined to say that he had something to do. He left the inn and wandered around Yingtian City aimlessly. I have been busy with the imperial examinations and have not taken a close look at this ancient capital of the Six Dynasties, which was full of glamor and wealth. Today I want to take a closer look while I have time.
The street outside is already a world covered with snow. The snow is falling in the sky. The restaurants and tea shops on both sides of the street are doing extremely busy business. You can smell the aroma of vegetables and wine while walking on the street. From time to time, you can see "green" "Yixin fermented wine, small red clay stove" scene, and in better-sized restaurants, you can also see dancing singers...
After walking along the bank of the Qinhuai River for a while, Zhu Pingan turned around and walked in along another street he had never walked before.
This street is no less noisy than the two sides of the Qinhuai River. It seems to be even worse. Compared with the politically concentrated area of Qinhuai Confucius Temple, the control of this street is looser, and the vendors are more active, and there are also some. The children in the Young Master's corner are chasing and playing in the street, which is very life-like.
In the noisy and hot restaurant, Zhu Pingan, who was infected, also bought a pot sticker wrapped in thick paper and enjoyed the snowy scenery of Yingtian while eating.
The skin is crispy and not greasy, and the filling is delicious and juicy.
On a snowy day, eating hot pot stickers is especially delicious.
Zigu~ tons
While Zhu Pingan was eating and shopping, he heard an unusually eye-catching sound of swallowing saliva.
Zhu Ping'an paused and looked around. At the entrance of the alley where this street was connected, two children of five or six years old were leaning against the wall and looking at him timidly. They were scared and longing. They were still wearing clothes with bare toes on a snowy day. His worn-out shoes seemed to be ill-fitting, and his wrinkled clothes were still patched.
The two children couldn't tell the difference between male and female. They were thin and had big eyes, staring straight at the pot stickers in their hands.
Seeing this scene, Zhu Pingan was a little shocked.
Since he traveled to the Ming Dynasty, although he was poor in a small mountain village, every household could still live well, studying and doing scientific research...so that he forgot the existence of these dark sides,
"Here, brother, I'll treat you to some." Zhu Pingan knelt down and handed the pot stickers in his hand to the two children.
The two children looked at each other, afraid to move.
"Brother is not a bad person, come on, take it." Zhu Pingan smiled gently and once again handed the wrapped pot stickers to one of the older children.
In the end, the two children still couldn't hold back the hot pot stickers. The older child timidly stretched out his hand to take it. When he saw that Zhu Pingan really gave it to him, his big eyes lit up.
"Eat for mother."
After the two children took the pot stickers from Zhu Pingan, they just swallowed a few more mouthfuls of saliva and then confirmed the ownership of the pot stickers with joy on their faces without any dispute.
"Brother, come to my house to drink water."
Because of a pot sticker, the two children completely classified Zhu Pingan as a good person. They were so happy that they even invited Zhu Pingan to their home for a drink. The two children's eyes flashed with anticipation, as if they were afraid that Zhu Pingan would refuse.
I followed the two children into the alley. It was a deep alley, as if they connected two worlds.
The alley was strange and winding, and the two children finally led Zhu Pingan into another alley. There was a mottled signboard hanging at the entrance of the alley with the words "Yangjiyuan" written on it. Inside the alley is a large area of simple houses, which are low and narrow. It is not clear whether they can be protected from wind and snow. The alleys are also dirty and messy.
The two children led Zhu Pingan into one of the narrow and cramped courtyards. There was a thin and sick woman washing clothes in the courtyard. Her body was covered with wind and snow, and her fingers were cracked by the frost and were red and swollen. .
"Big Five and Little Five are back, cough, cough, cough. Once mom finishes washing these clothes, I'll boil water for you to drink. You'll have something to eat when your dad comes back in the evening."
The woman's voice was weak, as if she was seriously ill.
"Mom, let's eat for you." The older child took out a potsticker wrapped in his hand and handed it to the woman who was washing clothes like a treasure.
"Dawu, you, you stole other people's things?! Cough cough cough..." The woman was not happy and became angry when she saw this, and she kept coughing angrily.
"I don't have a mother, it's this big brother who gave it to me." The child said aggrievedly.
Then, the woman saw Zhu Ping'an walking into the yard. She took the two children into her arms with some caution, took the pot stickers from the older child's hand, put them on a wooden board on one side, and then pulled the two children. A child hid in the house.
"Master, please come back with your things. My man is not here, and my family will not sell our children or anything..."
The woman's sickly voice came from the room.
"Mom, big brother is not a bad person." The two children also said it, and then the woman stopped them.
Zhu Ping'an looked at himself, and then realized, the defense between men and women...
After looking at the closed door, Zhu Ping'an knew that it was better for him to leave obediently at this moment. Saying another word would be wrong, and staying for one more minute would also be wrong.
After thinking about it, Zhu Ping'an took out all the money he had with him and placed it next to the pot stickers. He slightly arched his hands and said a word before leaving.
"excuse me."
After Zhu Pingan said this, he left the courtyard and continued walking along the alley.
In this alley, Zhu Ping'an witnessed with his own eyes the many holes under the glorious appearance of the Ming Empire...
While the rich wine and meat smell, the road with frozen bone!
For some people, the heavy snowfall in Yingtian brings not beauty but disaster. While wealthy families, officials, and even themselves were feasting and enjoying themselves while admiring the snow, poor people were dying of cold and starvation on the streets. Some of them didn't even have money for medical treatment. It was really chilling.
Chatting with an old man with white hair and beard in the alley, Zhu Ping'an understood why these people ended up in this situation in the Ming Dynasty when taxes were extremely low: they had no land, why didn't they have land? Because land annexation and taxation and corvee were too heavy, the Ming Dynasty Agricultural taxes are very low but corvées are heavy; no matter what the reason, they lost their land. A farmer without land has no income, and he still has to eat without income. So he started selling off his property, etc., and then he became a refugee. When you can't satisfy your hunger by eating bark, leaves, etc., you have to sell your wife and children...
In this extremely cold winter, they lived a very hard life. They didn’t have enough to eat or wear, and they didn’t have money to pay for medical care...
Zhu Ping'an, a newly promoted young man in the Ming Dynasty, walked heavily in this alleyway, watching the hungry and dying refugees struggling to survive in this alleyway, and looking at their begging and helpless eyes.
Drinking and enjoying the snow on the banks of the Qinhuai River, while suffering from cold and hunger in the alley, a certain young man walked out of the alley with heavy steps and a firm gaze. (To be continued.)
