The sun is setting in the west, the unbearable heat is slowly receding, and the cool breeze brings some gentleness. The cicadas on the big elm tree at the door suddenly stopped chirping, and the world became quiet.
Chi Yuping and a worker held on to the glass window frame and asked Zhang Chi, who was standing in front: "How? How?"
Zhang Chi nodded: "It's very good. Glass is installed on the windows. I don't know what the house will look like in the future."
Chi Yuping and the workers carefully hammered in the nails, took two big steps forward, turned around and looked again and again. He praised: "Good, good, good, this glass is really good! It looks like there is nothing, it does not block the sunlight. It is nothing now, but in winter, there will be no need to open the windows, how comfortable it will be to read inside!" Brother, if we live in a house like this, we won’t be like gods!”
Zhang Chi said: "Yes, who would have thought that there is such a good thing in the world! We can live in such a house!"
Wulang ran over, went to the window, looked at it again and again, and stretched out his hand to touch it.
Chi Yuping looked at it and said loudly: "Don't dare touch it! If you accidentally touch it, it will break. This glass is not cheap!"
Wulang made a face and said: "It's broken by just touching it. What's the use of this glass? I want to touch it, so I'll touch it!"
As he spoke, his hands touched up and down the glass and kept touching. Seeing Chi Yuping blushing anxiously over there, he laughed and ran away.
After everything was tidied up, Chi Yuping patted himself and said to Zhang Chi: "It's getting late, your family can have dinner. I made an appointment with Yu Zongzong from the east to have a drink tonight. I went late because I was afraid he would gossip."
Zhang Chi said: "The food here is about to be ready, why don't we have two glasses of wine together?"
Chi Yuping smiled and said, "What am I talking about when your family is eating? My sister-in-law is going back tomorrow, so you should say a few more words."
After saying that, he said goodbye to Zhang Yan who was sitting in the pavilion, and then said to Ding Niang who was picking vegetables in the vegetable field: "Sister-in-law, I'm going back. When I return to Dengcheng, I just have to worry about raising my baby. After the New Year, I'll have a baby. Big fat boy is back."
Ding Niang said: "It's getting late, why don't you have dinner before leaving?"
Chi Yuping said: "I made an appointment with Yu Tongzhi for a drink. Today I installed your glass, and tomorrow we will install it. The two of us need to discuss it carefully to make sure nothing goes wrong by then."
After saying that, he picked up his robe and put it on himself, and strode out of the room.
Seeing Chi Yuping go out, Zhang Yan said to his son: "Chi Tongzhi is about the same age as you, why haven't you gotten married yet? No one from his family came to see him, and he lives here alone."
Zhang Chi said: "Chi Tongzhi's family is rich and noble, unlike mine. In the past, he had a fat body, but he insisted on being a soldier, and he had a lot of tempers with his father. On the day he joined the army, he happened to meet Zhenfu, otherwise there would be no military personnel. Take him in. Who would have thought that after only three months in the army, all the fat on his body would be gone, and he would become a burly and strong man. In the past two or three years, I have been frustrated with my family because of what happened back then. Now I can do it Tongzhi, the family is the only one who bows his head, and wants Chi Tongzhi to go home. Chi Tongzhi refuses, and has to come over first."
Zhang Yan shook his head after hearing this: "As a family, what is there to be so angry about? Hey, Chi Tongzhi is still young after all. By the way, he has reached his age, why haven't we gotten married yet?"
Zhang Chi said: "My family wants to find it for him, but he doesn't agree. It's different at home, and he can't find it by himself. So he's still frozen."
Zhang Yan shook his head after hearing this, wondering what was going on with these people. He said: "After all, you come from a wealthy family, which is different from us. When you became an official, someone arranged this marriage for you and married your bride. Your mother and I often wake up laughing at night - "
After saying that, he took a sip of tea and really couldn't figure out what was going on with Chi Yuping.
Asking Zhang Chi to sit down, Zhang Yan asked: "This glass looks like a good thing, so it must be expensive. You keep saying that this is installed by the yamen for you, and it is the same in every house. Tell me the truth, is it true or not? Really? Didn’t you spend money to pretend?”
Zhang Chi said with a smile: "Dad, this house doesn't belong to me, it belongs to the government office. Glass is expensive now. If it's not my house, why should I spend money to install it? Don't worry, all the houses nearby are installing it these days, isn't it? We are a family. Didn’t you go to see your neighbor’s house yesterday? They also have glass installed.”
Zhang Yan said: "It feels like a dream. Ever since you became a soldier, it has been like a dream. Everything has changed. What kind of control do you have now? You get fifty guan a month. Fifty guan, how big it is. An amount of money! It’s actually one month’s salary for you!”
As he spoke, Zhang Yan shook his head. He really couldn't understand. His son had fifty guans a month. With so many generals, how much money would the government spend a month? Is the government so rich?
Thinking of this, Zhang Yan said: "You have fifty quid a month, how many generals are there like you in the army? It's just salary, how much does the government pay per month? In the past two years, all miscellaneous taxes have been exempted, and one acre of land only costs To collect three measures of grain, where does the government’s money come from?”
Zhang Chi said: "Dad, don't think about these things. We just need to live a good life and have enough to eat and drink. There is no need to think too much."
Zhang Yan sighed: "How can you not think about it? In the past year, I have often thought about these things. Today's government collects much less taxes than before, but spends money more generously? Erlang, you said, this money is Where did it come from?”
Zhang Chi smiled and said: "Dad, I can't think clearly about these things, so don't worry about it."
Zhang Yan said: "How can you ignore it? Your good life now depends on your salary of fifty guan a month. If the government has money, your salary can continue to be paid. If the government suddenly runs out of money, what will happen to our family? manage?"
Zhang Chi didn't know what to say for a moment. He looked at his father and could only smile bitterly.
Zhang Yan shook his head, picked up the teacup on the stone table and took a sip of tea. He nodded and said: "The tea produced by the Xinyang military, brewed in this way, tastes really good. I have lived for decades, and this is the first time I know that tea can be drunk like this. Alas, these are really good days! It's just these days. Ah, it’s really like a dream. Erlang, tell me, how can I not be worried?”
Zhang Chi had no choice but to say: "Dad, let's think about it slowly here. I'll see if the food and wine are ready."
Watching his son leave, Zhang Yan sat at the stone table, looked at the red pomegranates on the wall, and fell into deep thought.
Zhang Chi came to the kitchen and said to his mother who was standing there: "Mom, are you ready to eat? It's getting late, it's time to eat."
Mom said: "It's quick, it'll be fine soon. Alas, no one else is allowed to interfere with these cooks you invited. I am the master, and I am just watching here. How can there be such a truth in the world? I see Their craftsmanship is really good, Erlang, doesn’t it cost a lot to hire them?”
Zhang Chi said: "Mom, don't worry about these things. As long as they are delicious, the whole family will be happy."
My mother shook her head and sighed: "Hey, I really don't understand the world today. People who are not very wealthy still invite cooks to their homes to cook. How have you ever heard of this kind of thing before? We are like this A small household has to do everything by itself. It's just a matter of asking two servant girls to help. You can't do it yourself. It's not like now, where you have to hire people from outside."
Zhang Chi said: "Mom, it's not like before to hire female servants now. They are members of a guild and have rules for how they do things. Many families are facing lawsuits because they are not used to it."
Mom said: "Fortunately, Ding Niang is not a person who has no fingers in the spring water. She can do all the normal work without hiring anyone. As you said, inviting a maid to come to the house won't work this way, that won't work either, it's not for you." Are you going to find fault on your own?"
Zhang Chi said: "As my mother said, they still do the work they have to do. But they can't be beaten or scolded, otherwise they may cause trouble. In ordinary families, like Ding Niang, there is nothing else to do at home. , I won’t invite you.”
After Wang Xiaolie let servants and odd-job workers establish a guild, they had a backer and were completely different from before. In the past, as long as the family was decent, they would raise two children at home. As long as you take care of their food, it won't cost much. Not anymore. Children are not allowed to be invited, and there are also minimum wage restrictions, so many families simply don't invite them.
