Xu Ling stayed at home until the eighth day of the first lunar month, when the weather finally cleared and the ice and snow tended to melt. The snow on the roof has been cleared away, but there is still a thin layer of ice left. After encountering the sun, it drips down along the eaves.
The ice on the river outside is also melting. The old people in the village said that this is the first time they have seen such thick ice on the river.
Xu Ling sometimes inquires with people in the village, chatting about the past weather and the annual harvest. The snowstorm years ago caused considerable disaster to nearby villages, but as long as people are still alive, life will move forward.
The sky has cleared up, and the gloomy atmosphere has been dissipated.
Xu Ling no longer restrained the children at home, always letting them study and read at home, and letting them go out to play in the snow and bask in the sun.
Xu Ling always wanted to inquire about the news outside, but no one went out in the village, and no one came for ten days and a half, so he couldn't get even the slightest information.
He gained a new understanding of the occlusion of ancient news.
Xu Ling planned to go out before the Lantern Festival, either to the town or to Lingbao Town, which was further away, to ask questions. Otherwise, he would not know anything, and he felt scared.
In addition, there are more dishes in the space city, and it’s time to go out and make money.
Xu Ling made a good plan. After talking to his family, he told his father-in-law to come visit him often. He should be back before the Lantern Festival, so he took the cart and went on a long trip.
During the Chinese New Year, she bought two sheep, which came with two sheepskins. After having them cleaned by a tanner, Xu sewed the sheepskin into a large coat. Xu Ling wore it when he went out. His feet were made of tung oil to repel snow and keep them warm.
The country roads were no longer as convenient as in the previous life. Once the snow melted, people walking on them would trample the soft mud into a mess. Half of the people outside the village could not be seen. Xu Ling simply put the cart into the space and picked up the areas where the snow had not melted. On the contrary, it is easier to walk.
The snowy country road was more difficult to walk than usual. By the time Xu Ling reached Erfang Town, more than an hour had passed.
Xu Ling went to find Sun Baoyao. He was at home and hadn't gotten up early in the morning. When he heard that Xu Ling was coming, he hurriedly got dressed and ran out to warmly welcome him.
There was a charcoal stove burning in the room and it was very warm. Sun Baoyao ran out wearing only a single coat and boots, which was very disrespectful.
"Brother Xu, what brought you here? If it weren't for this snow, I would still want to go have a drink with you. Come on, come on, take off your boots and come in!"
Sun Baoyao pulled Xu Ling and asked him to come in, and asked the unfamiliar maid to bring Xu Ling to put on clogs, and then ordered: "Brush Mr. Xu's boots clean, don't get them wet!"
When Xu Ling saw that he was treating her affectionately, he also smiled and said, "I am feeling bored in the village and thinking about Brother Sun. Let's drink and drink. Should we go out or drink at home?"
Sun Baoyao asked him to come in and sit down. Immediately there was another maid bringing tea and water. However, these two women were not the ones Xu Ling saw when he came two times before.
Sun Baoyao had wives and concubines at home. He told Xu Ling about it, but they were all in the backyard and Xu Ling had never seen them.
Xu Ling took a sip of hot tea. His fingers were red from the cold, and he felt a little itchy after entering the warm spring room.
Sun Baoyao was a good man. Seeing him looking at the maid, he simply pulled the woman who had finished pouring the tea, put his arm around her waist and pulled her into his arms.
The woman screamed and accidentally knocked over the teapot, spilling the tea all over Sun Baoyao.
"Bitch!" Sun Baoyao shouted angrily, grabbed the woman and pushed her to the ground, and then kicked her!
Xu Ling quickly stopped him, "Brother Sun, let me see if it's hot?"
He hurriedly went to grab Sun Baoyao's clothes and grabbed Sun Baoyao.
Sun Baoyao gradually calmed down his anger, and when he opened his clothes, he saw a little red mark on his chest and abdomen.
"It's okay, the tea in winter isn't hot."
"It's okay. This girl is really clumsy!" Xu Ling pretended to be angry and said to the maid: "Why don't you go get a handkerchief quickly?"
The maid ran away sobbing.
Sun Baoyao shook his head and said with a smile: "I just bought this from the dental shop not long ago. It hasn't been trained yet. It's really a joke to Brother Xu."
Xu Ling knew that Yaxing could buy and sell personal freedom. Lou Qiaosheng had recommended it to him before and asked him to buy some servants.
Buying a servant is divided into a dead contract and a living contract. Unless they are desperate, usually people will not sign a dead contract and sell themselves as slaves for the rest of their lives.
They usually choose a limited-term living contract, sell their personal freedom, and work as servants, tenants, or maids to obtain food, shelter, and protection.
The two newly bought maids by Sun Baoyao were only twelve or thirteen years old at most, and they were still children. They must have been sold to the Sun family for more than just being maids.
Xu Ling smiled and said nothing, feeling quite uncomfortable in his heart.
Sun Baoyao said again: "If Brother Xu is interested, you'd better buy a few and take them home now. Just after the snowstorm, many people are selling their sons and daughters, like these three girls at home, the price is not much, and the cost is less than Twenty taels of silver, these two are still small, they will grow after two years of raising them, if you like any one, tell your brother, ah?"
Sun Baoyao winked at Xu Ling and really didn't treat him as an outsider.
The maid who bought the foot warmer herself was willing to give it to Xu Ling.
This was a hot potato, and Xu Ling wasn't interested at all.
On the contrary, I am very interested in the phenomenon mentioned in Sun Baoyao's words.
"Brother Sun, is this snow disaster so serious?"
"Brother Xu, how is your village? Have any houses collapsed and people injured or killed?"
"Of course there is."
"That's it. There are more than fifty villages in our town. We still don't know the number of people affected by the disaster, but it won't be a large-scale sale of sons and daughters for a while. These women are all from the north."
Sun Baoyao is a lustful person, but he has a lot of abilities and a lot of mind and heart.
Xu Ling talked with him and got a lot of useful information.
The snowfall a year ago was not unique to their area. Further north, it snowed heavily as early as November. Houses collapsed, countless people were injured and killed, and livestock froze to death.
It was not that the imperial court did not provide disaster relief, but the Yong Dynasty was leaking like a sieve. Heavy snow fell on the people in Jiaozhou, Bingzhou, and Liangzhou. There were also earth dragons in Jingzhou and Jiaozhou. The imperial court allocated one million taels of snowflake silver, plus one million dans of grain, of which 200,000 dans. The grain disappeared as soon as it arrived at the border of Jiaozhou.
It has been more than a month since the mist reached Xu Ling's area, and it is still unknown who stole the food for disaster relief.
The people of Jiaozhou suffered heavy casualties and suffered unspeakably. There were many people who sold their children and daughters, and many more people could not escape, and their fate was even worse than being sold.
Xu Ling thought of going to Quanzhou City a year ago. Lou Qiaosheng said that the big businessmen from Jiaozhou, Xuzhou, and Yuzhou came to the south to buy grain in bulk, probably just for this moment.
To put it bluntly, compassion does not lead to military affairs, and righteousness does not lead to business. If a businessman wants to make huge profits and become bigger and stronger without touching any of the national wealth, how many years will it take for a businessman like Xu Ling to make steady progress and become a wealthy man?
