Zhang Jun went to the gold and silver shop in the town and exchanged the silver ingots for money. Following my mother's instructions, I bought wine and meat and headed home. As I walked on the road, the more I thought about it, the more useless I felt. How could you tolerate that strict and upright foreigner who deceived you?
When he reached the bridge, Zhang Jun stopped and looked at the pedestrians, feeling a little confused. If he went to Kaifeng to transport grain and his mother stayed alone in Jinxiang Town, she would definitely get involved with Yan Lizheng. What will it be like when you come back? His biological father was kidnapped by the Jin people, and he might come back in a few years. Are you going to recognize another father here?
Ever since he was young, Zhang Jun has been a brave and aggressive person, and he got into countless fights in the countryside. He was just honoring his parents and didn't cause any big trouble. After this national disaster, his father was taken prisoner and the family was in trouble. What happened today between his mother and Yan Lizheng made Zhang Jun change a lot. In the past, his father had the final say in everything at home, but now that his father is gone, Zhang Jun feels that he should take responsibility.
When I walked off the bridge, I saw a stall selling knives on the side of the road. There were several machetes placed in front of the stall, and there were many wrist-breaking knives on the ground. The items sold here are for daily use, such as machetes, kitchen knives, sickles, etc., as well as those used by butchers. Zhang Jun didn't pay much attention to it when he passed by here before, but today it was a little different. There is always a thought in my mind. In the current predicament, it is better to kill them all with one knife.
When he walked to the stall, Zhang Jun looked down at the wrist-breaking knife on the ground.
The host is in his fifties. He looked at Zhang Jun and said: "Little brother, buy a knife, it's good for self-defense. I have an old shop here, no one in the town knows about it. Now in the time of war, this is the most useful thing."
Zhang Jun pointed to the wrist-breaking knife on the ground and asked, "How much does this knife cost?"
The owner said: "The one you pointed to costs one hundred and twenty cents. My knife is sharp and durable. Within a hundred miles around, butchers use my knife. Many people ask people to come here to buy it. !”
Zhang Jun nodded and said: "Okay, take a handful and give it to me! There are one hundred and twenty coins here, you have clearly counted them."
After the owner took the money, he also wanted to explain how to sharpen the knife and how to maintain it. Zhang Jun didn't want to listen, so he took the knife and turned around and left. Looking at Zhang Jun's leaving figure, the owner sighed and put away the money.
After returning home, Zhang Jun entered the room, put wine and meat on the table, and sat alone without talking.
Mother came over and sat down at the table. They put the wine and meat on the table and poured a glass of wine. After taking a sip, he smacked his lips and said, "It's been hard to live without meat and wine in my mouth for several days. My son, there is a lot of meat and wine, so come and have a drink."
Zhang Jun said: "I bought this with Yan Laogou's money. I won't eat it! Mom, our life is hard, so you have to bear with it. If you eat it today, you will make an agreement with Yan Laogou tomorrow and never interact with him again."
The mother smiled: "What did my son say? How can we live without strict officials and outside help? Now in the war period, everything is expensive, and it is not easy to have a full stomach. Don't think too much, just live a good life."
Zhang Jun said: "It costs a hundred coins a day to transport grain to Kaifeng. I can make two coins a day on this trip, which is enough for many days."
The mother just shook her head: "How much does this wine and meat cost? If I don't have enough rice every day, what kind of life can I live? Don't think too much, just follow me. You can't live without food and wine every day." "
Seeing that it didn't make sense, Zhang Jun took out the wrist-breaking knife he bought and wiped it slowly with a piece of cloth. He said: "Mom, my father was kidnapped by the Jin people and went to the north. I don't know how much hardship he endured! For the sake of lust for wine and meat, you followed people like Yan Laogou. I am the son of a man, how can I ignore it! I will make it clear. , if you move in with Yan Laogou tomorrow, this knife will kill him!"
The mother was startled and said tremblingly: "My son, why did you pick up the knife? Put it down quickly! It's so bright and scary!"
Zhang Jun ignored it and held the knife and said: "This is a sharp weapon for killing people. You know it well! Tomorrow Yan Laogou will send someone to pick you up, just push it away. If you follow, I will take this knife to kill people." !”
When her mother saw that Zhang Jun looked serious and didn't seem to be joking at all, she felt frightened. I couldn't make up my mind for a moment, and I didn't know what to say to my son. I was frozen there.
Zhang Jun sneered. He put away the knife and returned to his room.
Wang Xiaolie took the order given to him by the grain merchant and returned to Jinxiang Town before it got dark. When we arrived at the military camp, let Cao Zhiyan come to discuss it.
When Cao Zhiyan came in, Wang Xiaolie asked him to sit down and took out the list and gave it to him. He said: "I asked the grain merchants in the city today and they are willing to sell us some grain at a cheap price. But I can't make up my mind. I will come back to discuss with you."
Cao Zhiyan took the order, looked at it for a while and said: "The price is not expensive. Compared with Kaifeng Mansion, it is much cheaper."
Wang Xiaolie nodded: "Yes, it's much cheaper. And there are many types of food here, so we have a lot to choose from. Judging from the prices they offer, the price of wheat is higher now, and it's not easy to grind flour in the army, so I shouldn't buy it. Yes. I can't decide whether to buy millet or rice."
Cao Zhiyan said: "Most of our troops are from Ruzhou, Xiaoshe, and they are used to eating corn. Unlike big cities like Kaifeng and Luoyang, they all eat rice shipped from the south. In my opinion, it is better to buy more millet. People are used to it."
Wang Xiaolie nodded: "It makes sense. Although the price of millet is slightly more expensive, it is heavy."
In this era, grain sales were based on stone buckets, based on volume, not weight in later generations. The density of millet is much greater than that of rice, and the price per bucket is slightly higher, but it is actually still cheap. For people who are used to eating millet, buying millet is more cost-effective.
From the memory of his previous life, Wang Xiaolie only knew that millet, or millet in later generations, was used to cook porridge. As a staple food, I have no idea what effect it has. In fact, in the Central Plains at this time, except for Kaifeng and Luoyang, millet was the staple food in most places. Unlike later generations, wheat or white flour was not mainstream. Most of them are found in cities as more expensive food. In line with this, dumplings, noodles, steamed buns and other popular northern foods in later generations are also rare in the north, mostly in big cities.
At this time, the eating habits in the area north of the Yellow River were very different from those in Wang Xiaolie's memory. The staple food in the north is mainly millet. In big cities transported by water, such as Kaifeng and Luoyang, people are accustomed to eating rice. The place where most wheat is grown is Jianghuai, which is harvested twice a year along with rice. In fact, there is not much wheat growing in the area north of the Huaihe River. Wheat requires more water than millet.
Wang Xiaolie was not used to this. I always feel that the staple food in the world should be rice and wheat. How can millet be used as the staple food? It's cooked and I always feel uncomfortable in my throat when I eat it. It’s just that there’s nothing you can do about it, that’s the reality of this era.
After weighing for a long time, Wang Xiaolian said: "That's it. Let's buy one hundred and twenty shi of millet and thirty shi of rice. For the rest, we'll buy beans. Now that there are horses in the army, I'm afraid there will be no beans. no."
Cao Zhiyan thought for a while and said, "Xiao Sheren, I'm afraid there are still too many beans."
Wang Xiao lied and said with a smile: "Shu bean can not only be fed to horses, but can also be made into tofu to make up for the lack of meat. You don't know, tofu can be used in many dishes, tastes good, and will strengthen the body."
It is said that tofu was invented by Liu An, King of Huainan in the Han Dynasty, and it has existed in China since ancient times. However, it was not popular throughout the country until the Song Dynasty. There were actually very few places selling tofu at this time, and soybeans were mostly used for horse feed. Generally, local beans are cheaper than rice.
Wang Xiaolie knew that although soy products were not as good as meat, they could partially replace them. It is too difficult to eat meat at this time. Since beans are not expensive, buy more. In addition to making horse feed, it can also provide extra meals and nutritional supplements to the troops.
