In June of the fourth year of Zhenguan.
Nineteen-year-old Zhang Yang was busy in a field, pushing a big stone and repeatedly grinding rice.
Since there was no millstone at home, Zhang Yang had to push a heavy stone.
Rice is rare these days. Last year, Zhang Yang bought some rice seeds from a Lingnan businessman. He planted them in spring this year and can now harvest them.
Although the rice grains grown are not full, there is not much rice that can be eaten on one rice plant, but it is enough for myself and my wife to have a meal.
When he came to this dynasty, Zhang Yang was a poor man. His family didn't even have an acre of land that could be cultivated. If he wanted to cultivate land, he could only dig a piece of land by himself. It should not be too big, otherwise the villagers would make trouble.
The rice was grown by myself in a paddy field dug by the river.
Sweat had soaked his clothes. Zhang Yang looked at the light yellow rice that had been ground out of its husks and smiled with satisfaction.
Because of the relationship between water and soil, rice is rarely eaten in Guanzhong, and ordinary people eat only corn.
The younger daughter-in-law said that she had eaten rice once when she was a child. Seeing the longing in her eyes when she told the story, Zhang Yang wanted her to eat it again no matter what.
Put all the milled rice into a cloth bag, so that not a single grain falls out. It should weigh about three kilograms.
Zhang Yang straightened up with difficulty, relaxed his sore back, wiped the sweat from his forehead and walked towards home.
My home is in Chang'an City, in a house on the corner of Dongshi Street.
The folk customs of the Tang Dynasty were tough and simple, and there were often scenes of housewives beating their husbands.
Zhang Yang used the earthy love words he learned in his previous life to coax his daughter-in-law into her.
Li Yue's complexion is much better now than before, and is no longer so pale.
She had bad Qi and blood when she was a child, so she should have been anemic when she was a child.
It's just that her anemia is a bit serious and her complexion is still a little pale, but she's better than before.
My daughter-in-law is still too young. She is only fourteen years old this year. It is also the time when her body is growing and she needs to take good care of herself.
The house is neither big nor small. It was left by her parents.
Watching Zhang Yang come back with sweat profusely, his collar was wet.
Li Yue frowned and looked at him and said, "Did you go out to do hard work again?"
Zhang Yang held a cloth bag filled with rice and said, "Look what this is?"
Li Yue lowered her head and looked at the bag, "Ah! Rice!"
Surprised, Li Yue picked up a handful of rice and looked at it repeatedly, then looked up and saw Zhang Yang frowning and putting down the rice.
She wiped Zhang Yang's sweat with her sleeve and said, "You must have suffered a lot, rice is precious."
Zhang Yang grinned, "I still have some bacon and wild vegetables at home. Let's eat rice in the evening."
After saying that, Zhang Yang walked into the backyard of his home and started working.
After lighting the clay oven, Zhang Yang put the washed rice into a clean small cauldron. The small cauldron was just the right size. He put a lid on it and started cooking the rice.
This small tripod is one of the most valuable things in the house.
Generally speaking, only powerful people can use tripods.
Li Yue couldn't tell the origin of this little tripod, but he just said that it came to his family a long time ago.
There were no decent cooking utensils at home, so this small tripod was used as a pot.
Since she was impoverished, the younger daughter-in-law had her own house.
I heard from my daughter-in-law before that her father went away and never came back. His mother died of dystocia during childbirth, and there was only an old woman in the family to take care of her.
After the two got married, the old woman passed away.
Li Yue cried very sadly at that time.
The wedding of the two was very simple, with no matchmaker and no guests.
Under the auspices of the old lady, the two were considered married.
Because Li Yue was in poor health and too young, Zhang Yang never agreed to have sex with her.
After the grandmother passed away, only the couple lived in the family. Although they lived in poverty, they could still provide food and clothing.
It was said that his father had traveled far away and never came back. Zhang Yang thought that this man probably thought that his wife had given birth to a daughter and was frail and sick, so he left.
Maybe he has already started a family outside.
These days, men are also superior to women, especially when it comes to having boys. Many families only want boys.
Zhang Yang felt disgusted with this backward thinking.
According to people around him, when he moved into the woman's house, he was regarded as a bride-in-law, and the neighbors also had some gossip.
However, Zhang Yang, who has traveled to this era and has lived two lifetimes, has never considered this issue.
As long as his little wife lives well with him, it will be fine.
Rice was served, along with a plate of wild vegetables and a plate of bacon.
The couple sat opposite each other and ate.
Li Yue sat on the chair made by Zhang Yang, holding a rice bowl and taking a mouthful of rice, her eyes narrowed with happiness.
The chair was too high, and Li Yue's feet did not touch the ground, and she swayed happily.
After the meal, Li Yue washed the dishes and said, "Have you heard?"
Zhang Yang sat in the yard and said, "What did you hear?"
Li Yue washed the dishes and chopsticks, rubbed Zhang Yang's shoulders and said: "The Turks were defeated by the Tang Dynasty, Jieli Khan was captured alive, and those small foreign countries worshiped our Majesty as the Khan of Heaven."
The little daughter-in-law spoke with some pride in her eyes.
I don’t know why she cares so much about what happened in the court.
Zhang Yang was not interested in such things at all.
Feeling the strength of his little daughter-in-law massaging his shoulders, Zhang Yang relaxed his body and said, "I think Li Shimin's tail must be raised to the sky now, he must be extremely proud."
Li Yue stretched out her slender fingers and poked Zhang Yang's temple and said, "You call His Majesty by his first name again."
Zhang Yang looked around and said, "No one heard me."
Li Yue glared at him.
My daughter-in-law's anemia requires nutritional supplements, and she also needs blood and iron supplements.
I don’t know if I can buy some animal offal in the market tomorrow.
The night was getting darker, and Li Yue went to bed early.
After washing himself with water from the water tank at home, Zhang Yang put on clean clothes, went to his room and took out a money bag.
Sitting on his bed, counting money penny by penny, he looked like he was always money-wise.
This is the money saved this year.
Before dawn, Zhang Yang went out early to go to the market. Going to the market is an exciting thing. If you go late, the cheap goods will have been picked up by sharp-eyed people.
I bought some pork liver, some dates, a few eggs and half a chicken on the street.
Buy two more naan pancakes for breakfast.
When he returned home, it was just getting dark. Zhang Yang stewed the porridge. When the aroma of the porridge started to rise, Li Yue also woke up.
Li Yue walked out of her room sleepily, looked at Zhang Yang and said, "Are you still going out to do hard work today?"
There was a bit of stubbornness in his words, as if he was saying that you are not allowed to do hard work today.
