At this time, Lin Erzhu didn't care whether he was beaten or not, and rushed back to the main room. After a few moments, he found the wooden box containing the bouquet, and then handed it to Mrs. Liu, "Here, here too." You bought it with your daughter."
Wu, who was wearing a silver hairpin, smiled so hard that she happily opened several packets of cakes. Then several children, including Lin Yuanqiu who had just returned from school, each received a lot of pieces.
The whole family is happy together.
Lin Dazhu handed over the money bag, and Mrs. Wu poured it out and took a look, oh, how come there is so much money?
"Mom, our persimmon cakes cost twenty-eight yuan per catty!"
Lin Erzhu couldn't help but said, he is still a little excited now, his third brother is really awesome.
What? Twenty-eight cents per pound! When we were at home, didn't we agree to sell it for fifteen cents per catty? Why did the price increase so much?
Old Lintou and Mrs. Wu looked in disbelief. According to this, our persimmon cakes were sold for more than ten taels of silver this time?
Lin Dazhu nodded, then stretched out his palm and gestured, "Sixteen taels!"
Sixteen taels? When Wu heard this, she immediately counted the silver and found that there were fourteen taels left. So, Dazhu and the others actually spent more than one tael on this purchase?
Ouch, what a waste of money.
Old Lintou was very happy. He really didn't expect that the persimmons made into persimmon cakes could be sold for so much money.
Thinking of selling fresh persimmons in previous years, it was considered very good to earn more than one tael of silver, and the boss and the second had to carry the burden to the town to sell them early in the morning and late at night. Compared with selling persimmons, I don't know how much more tired they are.
Wu feels the same way, but it’s a pity that persimmon cakes can only be sold once a year.
But looking at the white silver ingot, Wu was already very satisfied.
Besides, you won’t become a fat man with just one bite, and you can’t be impatient about making money.
After the children all went back to their rooms, Wu took out her money box again, poured the silver in it onto the kang, and counted what she had brought back today.
This is Wu's favorite thing to do.
"How much is the total?" Old Lin touched the new pipe pot in his hand and asked.
"Another three taels will be enough for eighty."
After she finished speaking, Wu's lips curled up to her ears.
…
The days passed quickly, and soon it was time for the family banquet at the end of the year.
This year, the seats in Lao Lintou's house are still the same as last year, still close to the entrance of the ancestral hall, and still in the position of the wind vent.
However, there are some differences from last year. For example, the whole family is dressed warmly, and the adults and children are no longer as yellow-faced as before.
The biggest difference is probably the mentality. Compared to the anger last year, the whole family is much calmer this year.
Eat when you should, drink when you should, nothing affected at all.
After the family banquet, the next step is to get busy with New Year celebrations. This year, the Lin family also has a place to send New Year gifts, and that is Lin Yuanfeng's father-in-law's family.
Giving gifts at this time also has the meaning of sealing the year. After this trip, the next time we meet again will be next year.
Mrs. Wu prepared a lot of things, including two hens, sixty eggs, two packages of cakes, four pounds of pork, two fish, and six pounds of persimmons.
The last time we sold persimmons, our family kept more than 20 kilograms of them. In addition to eating some for my own family, the rest was used for festivals at this time.
Lin Yuanfeng went to his father-in-law's house today. According to the rules, his uncle had to come to the house in person in Feng Nian.
Gao Cui didn't hesitate, and generously took out the clothes, shoes and socks she had made for her fiancé, as well as a delicate purse.
Lin Yuanfeng, besides smiling all over his face, also took out a cute little rabbit from his pocket.
This was born from a female rabbit he accidentally caught when he went to cut firewood in the mountains last month. There were six in total, and this one was the prettiest. So when he went out today, Lin Yuanfeng put it in his pocket and brought it with him. Come over.
Girls are naturally irresistible to fluffy animals. After seeing the little white rabbit that looked like a ball of cotton, Gao Cui loved it so much that she couldn't bear to put it down in her arms.
I was thinking that I would give it a little nest when I got back to the room.
In addition to a few pieces of fabric and a few packages of snacks, the Gao family's return gift also included a set of the Four Books and Five Classics that were 50% new.
The main reason why the ratio of old to new is 50% is because of the yellowing of the book cover.
These books belong to Shopkeeper Gao's bookstore. When taking inventory a few days ago, his boss asked him to clear out the books in the warehouse. If they are really too moth-eaten to read, or if mold has corroded the characters, just weigh them directly. It's time to beat the pulp for the paper mill.
Thinking of the little scholar in the Lin family, shopkeeper Gao collected a set of Four Books and Five Classics from Chen Shu at that time. Although it looked a little old, there were many chapters with no missing pages, so the reading was not affected at all.
It would be good for the baby of the Lin family.
As soon as he got home, Lin Yuanfeng couldn't wait to give the book to his little cousin. In his words, his little cousin was now his little wife, so he naturally had to flatter him well.
Having so many books at once made Lin Yuanqiu so happy that he immediately returned to his room with the new books in his arms.
Now Lin Yuanqiu has his own desk, and his father also bought him a bookshelf. Now he puts all the books on it, and the smell of books immediately comes out.
Lin Yuanqiu planned to take advantage of the annual vacation to read "Mencius" a few times. He would learn it before the new year came. If he got familiar with it first, it would be much easier to learn it by then.
It is said that the stupid bird flies first, but Lin Yuanqiu feels that no matter whether you are stupid or smart, it is always right to fly first.
…
After the New Year, there were two more new students in the clan school. They were the same age as Lin Yuanqiu, both seven years old.
Maybe it's because he eats meat at home every ten days or so. Since the second half of last year, Lin Yuanqiu has gradually grown taller. Although he's not much taller, compared with the skinny appearance he had when he just wore clothes, he is now taller. It's so much better.
No, just because he was taller, Lin Yuanqiu's seat was finally moved two rows back. As for the original seat in the first row, it was naturally reserved for classmates who were shorter than him.
The previous tablemate Lin Wenjin also changed seats and the two were no longer side by side.
…
Chapter 36: Being punished by the ruler
For the plowing this year, Old Lintou went to find Lin Xia's hired cows. Now that his family is better off, he will naturally not be burdened with the children anymore.
As the third son said, instead of saving tens of cents of money on cultivating land, wouldn't it be more cost-effective to save everyone's energy on hoeing and then use it all to pick persimmons and make persimmon cakes in the second half of the year?
Wu also agrees with this approach. In her opinion, saving energy is the most important thing.
In previous years, during the spring plowing, there was no time when the family members were not very tired, and it would be difficult for them to recover without rest for ten days and a half.
Therefore, the Wu family is also very supportive of hiring cattle to plow the land.
It's just that I just finished my work here, and I have new energy to work on.
No, after all the grain seeds were sown in the fields, two county officials came to the village beating gongs.
When they heard that the policemen were coming, the villagers put down their work and ran towards the direction where the gong sound came from.
In fact, everyone still had some idea of what the officer was here for. At this time, they ran over just to confirm it again.
What if it’s not.
Lin Yuanqiu and several classmates followed the villagers and wanted to find out.
Among the few people, Lin Youxing was a few years older, so he naturally knew about corvées.
Therefore, when he saw two guards in soap clothes beating the gong from a distance, Lin Youxing had an impression in his mind.
Are you afraid that you will start doing corvee service again?
He remembered that when the county government came down to notify the corvees the year before last, this was the array they put up. Thinking of this, Lin Youxing couldn't help but said, "I know, I know, these two officials must have come to post the corvees." Notice."
Served in corvee service?
Lin Yuanqiu was stunned after hearing this. He really didn't expect this to happen. After all, it had been two years since he came here, and Lin Yuanqiu had never heard of corvee service.
Thinking of the various records of corvee work that I saw in the history books in my previous life, such as building the Great Wall, opening the Ling Canal, repairing the Chi Road, and guarding the frontier fortresses, all of them made the people peel off their skin.
So, the corvees here probably do the same kind of work, right?
Thinking like this, Lin Yuanqiu couldn't help but feel a little worried, and many scenes of corvee service seen on TV kept popping up in his mind. There were clips of bending forward while carrying clods of soil, followed by soldiers whipping whips; The man was pushing the boulder, dripping with sweat; and after Meng Jiangnu fell down the Great Wall in tears, there were piles of bones exposed under the wall.
All kinds of scenes made Lin Yuanqiu feel scared, and he hoped in his heart that he would never be involved in corvee service.
When the group arrived at the door of the village head's house, they saw a notice posted on the courtyard wall. Before Lin Yuanqiu went up to take a look, he saw a black-faced police officer standing in front of the notice, and then said loudly: " In response to the order of the magistrate of the county, from the second day of April to the twenty-second day of April, every household in each village must send a laborer to Henghe River to dredge up sediment. This matter is related to flood control and waterlogging along the river bank, and there must be no delay! Anyone who intends to avoid corvee labor must Anyone who does this will be fined ten taels of silver and sentenced to three years in prison!"
There was no accident, what was supposed to come came anyway. After the guards left, the villagers all went home to make arrangements.
The rivers in Zhoushan County wind for more than 50 miles. Every year before the flood season, the county magistrate will arrange for people to go to the rivers in batches to clean up the silt.
The so-called "batches" means that this year it's your turn and next year it's their turn, you don't have to go every year.
Just like the villagers of Xiaogaoshan Village, in recent years, they have only served corvee every other year.
This arrangement in batches meant that the villagers in Zhoushan County did not have to perform corvee service every year like the people in other prefectures and counties.
It must be said that there is a reason why the magistrate made such arrangements.
Zhoushan County has less land and more mountains. Among the six counties in Lingyang County, the tax revenue is the smallest. With less taxes, it is naturally the poorest one compared with other counties.
In this case, if too many villagers serve each time, the county will definitely not be able to spend the money.
Although corvee labor is free of charge, the slaves must be provided with three meals a day. How can food for nearly ten thousand people be so easily arranged?
Having no choice but to do so, the magistrate came up with such a method of serving in batches, and the effect was immediate. After implementation, the dilemma of not being able to make ends meet was greatly alleviated, so it has been used to this day.
For the villagers, it must be a very happy thing to be able to do one less time of corvee. Therefore, everyone's rejection of corvee is not as strong as before.
But Lin Yuanqiu felt that there was not much difference in essence between corvee once a year and once every two years, because the time did not change and the content of the work was the same. The only change was that the number of people was reduced, and the small number of people meant that As everyone's workload must increase, naturally, the hard work and fatigue they endure will definitely double.
No, just now he heard Lin Youxing talk about his uncle's corvee service the year before last, saying that his uncle had been sick for more than a month after he came back.
Lin Yuanqiu thought to himself, I wonder who their family will let dig the canal this time, whether it is the uncle with a kind smile, the honest second uncle, or the father who always cherishes him. Lin Yuanqiu feels that no matter who among them, This feeling that his family members are about to do hard work is difficult for him to adapt to.
Because something was on his mind, Lin Yuanqiu was completely outside Yun Feitian during the next class.
This dazed look naturally did not escape Master Wang's sharp eyes, so Lin Yuanqiu received his first slap since he entered the clan to study.
I don't know if it was because of Master Wang's deep love, but Lin Yuanqiu always felt that Master hit him harder than other classmates when he hit him with the ruler.
It hurt so much that he burst into tears.
Naturally, Lin Yuanqiu no longer dared to think about it during the rest of the lecture.
What's more, these things are not something that a seven-year-old child like him can worry about. If he really wants to worry about his relatives at home, the most direct way is to strengthen himself so that he can benefit his family only when he becomes successful.
Therefore, for him at this time, studying hard is the most important thing to do.
