For Anyang Mansion, the capital of the Great Cloud Kingdom, Xia Chen still has a vague impression in his mind, Huajin Lane, Shuangque Tower, and clear water flowing around the city. The corners of the cornices are cloudy, and the willows are green and green. The streets are bustling with ornate carriages and well-dressed princes and nobles, and it is definitely a world of flowers.

I have to say that she really wants to go and see it again, she is not willing to return to the countryside, and she does not have Tao Yuanming's extraordinary freedom of "picking chrysanthemums under the east fence and leisurely seeing Nanshan". Besides, it is not easy to cross once, even if you find an ancient coin in the past, it is rare, but now there are antiques everywhere, and there are a bunch of live figurines, it is a pity not to study it. In case you wear it back one day, writing a book will become popular all of a sudden...... But can I wear it back? I'm afraid that my body in my previous life would have sunk to the bottom a long time ago.

It's almost noon, the sun is shining overhead, and the melon field is as hot as a steamer, Uncle Li beckoned: "Come on, come on, go to the shed to cool down for a while, don't get sunburned." As he spoke, he picked a dozen melon eggs, scooped a basin of water and poured it into it: "Come, eat melons." ”

Zhao Xiaoliu looked at those melons that looked quite bad, and muttered: "Such a small melon, can it be ripe!" ”

Uncle Li smiled: "You don't understand this, don't look at this melon doesn't look good, when it comes to this solar term, as long as you touch it without astringency, no matter how small it is, it is ripe, and the smaller it is, the more crisp and sweet." ”

The stone scooped up one and took a bite: "Mmmm, sweet." ”

After eating enough around the basin, Li San wiped his mouth with satisfaction: "When I get that melon in a few days, I'll come to help." ”

Stone stood up abruptly: "I'll come too." As soon as he finished speaking, a melon fell out of his arms, and he hurriedly picked it up with his hand, and then his face turned red.

Xia Chen glanced at him: "Do you still want to hold it while eating?" ”

Shi smiled: "I want to take one back and give it to my mother to taste." ”

Mr. Li asked: "You are from the third family of Shitou in the west of Zhaojia Village, right?" ”

"Hmm."

Uncle Li walked to the blue side of the melon and took two big ones: "Go back and take these two melons back to your mother and sister." Then he picked up a few more and gave them to Xia Chen.

Shi's family is also a military household, and his father Shi Laosan has been in the army for a few years and has not heard from him at all. You must know that when you go to war these years, there are too many bones left!

After resting enough, I was busy for almost an hour, and half of the melon garden was finished except for some small melon balls, and a total of eight soil baskets were loaded.

Uncle Li packed two loads and prepared to take them back to the village, and the rest were temporarily locked in the melon shack. Xia Chen: They said goodbye to Mr. Li and walked back.

Shi looked at the two big melons in his arms and smiled: "Smell the stolen incense?" ”

Xia Chen smiled: "Stealing smells of thieves!" ”

When they heard this, they all laughed.

Zhao Xiaoliu said: "This is also the salary we earn." ”

Li San said: "I found that Mr. Li is very good. ”

Xia Chen understands their feelings very well, and remembers that when she first earned money, she felt quite a sense of accomplishment, especially since she had been spending money funded by others, and the meaning was even different. She still remembered that she used that money to buy a lighter for Yan Shiming, but she had never seen him use it, and when she thought of this, she felt a trace of bitterness in her heart.

She looked up at the blue sky like a jewel: "I may go to the private school in two days, you can come here to help when you have time, and you have to mix a few melons to eat." ”

Stones, they agreed in unison.

When he got home, Xia Chen washed the melons and cut them into strips and put them on a plate, and then went to the backyard to call his grandmother, aunt and aunt who were drying vegetables to eat.

Han Xiang asked, "Went stealing melons again?" ”

Xia Chen said: "If you don't eat and pull down, this is what I earned by helping Grandpa Li lay melons." ”

Qiao's has always asked his daughter-in-law to eat more: "If you have a body, it's good to eat some melons and fruits." ”

Han Xiang is also sensible, seeing that there are not many melons, he said that he couldn't eat a piece of it, and Xia Chen said that he had eaten it in the melon field.

Finally looking forward to his grandfather's return, Xia Chen said coquettishly: "Can you take Chen'er to the county tomorrow?" ”

Han Yi twisted his beard: "Okay, just buy you some pen and ink." ”

Xia Chen said: "The pen is gone, the third uncle gave me two good ones, I heard that Mr. Qiao gave them to me." ”

Han Xiang immediately came to Xia Chen's side when he heard this: "Mr. Qiao sent it, it must be excellent, right?" ”

Xia Chen raised his head: "Of course, a purple hair, a wolf hair, the pen barrel is white bamboo, I heard that it is from Huzhou Moxiangzhai." ”

Han Xiang pouted: "Yo, return Mo Xiangzhai, I have only heard of Xiuchun Zhai." ”

Xia Chen no longer pays attention to her, and for people who can't write even words, she can't understand what you say.

The next morning, as soon as it was dark, Xia Chen came to the front room dressed neatly. I ate two leftover cakes from the night before in the old cucumber soup, and when I came to the stable, I found that my grandfather had set up his horse.

The so-called chariot horse is the leading horse, and the chariot driver gives instructions to it, and it leads the other horses to stop and turn, so the chariot horses are domesticated to be strong and obedient. My grandfather's horse was a beautiful black horse in the prime of life, and it was famous in several nearby villages. Whenever someone marries, he asks his grandfather to take an eight-trailer to pick up the bride.

At that time, my grandfather hung a bell on every horse, and the crisp and rhythmic chimes could be heard from a long distance when the carriage moved. The level of my grandfather's chariot is also quite superb, and the whip shaft and whip tip used by the general coachman are all in the zhang, but the whip tip of the grandfather is one and a half zhang, and it is thrown up to "snap".

Today's set is a four-trailer, to put it bluntly, it is four horses. Xia Chen helped his grandfather pack the hay together, and then sat on his grandfather's body and left the village from the south.

After walking about half a mile out of the village, I just turned onto the avenue with forest belts on both sides, and saw Mr. Li sitting on the side of the road waiting, with two large baskets of melons beside him.

Han Yi stopped the carriage and jumped down, helped him load the melon and the basket reel board onto the car, and tied it with a rope: "Brother Li, you sit in front of me with me." Chen'er, you go to the hay pile and look at the melon basket. ”

Xia Chen agreed to climb up to the hay pile, crossed her legs to enjoy the scenery on the side of the road, the sun was warm and the wind was light, the birds were singing and the flowers were fragrant, the carriage was shaking, the sound of the horse's hooves and the sound of the horse's bell on the horse's head were intertwined into a beautiful music, and after a while she felt her eyelids were heavy, and she simply lay down on the soft haystack and fell asleep.

When I woke up, the carriage had already entered the county seat, and I would sometimes see small vendors setting up stalls and carrying burdens, and chariots, horses and pedestrians coming and going.

Although Yuding County is not much prosperous, it has a folk landscape quite different from the Central Plains because of its special location and trade with the northern tribes for generations. For example, in terms of clothing, even if people here have some status, they rarely wear long-sleeved robes with cross-collared sleeves, but wear narrow sleeves and straight-seam long shirts, belts around the waist, and soft leather boots. There is also little cumbersome embroidery on the clothes, most of them are inlaid with lace, or directly selected dyed flowers or fabrics with colorful stripes.

In recent years, wars have been frequent, most of the tribes in the north have been conquered or driven out by the Xuanguo, and the Dayun State has also issued a ban on the border, and the passers-by are very strict, and it is inevitable that they will be caught and killed by mistake, so very few foreign businessmen have come here, but some traditions are still preserved.

For example, most of the people here still live by grazing, and every year in April and May, when the grass on the local riverbank is almost eaten by horses, the herdsmen will form groups to chase the grass along the river to the northwest, which is as little as March and May, and more than half a year. Now that you have to avoid the chaos, you will take a lot of detours, and your second uncle Han Ran has been walking with the horse team for almost five months, so he should be on his way back, right?

When they came to the back door of the county office, the officials had already known Han Yi and beckoned him to move the forage in.

It is not allowed to sell near the yamen, and Uncle Li pulled two baskets of melons to prepare to go elsewhere, Xia Chen looked at how a cart of forage had to be moved for a while, and said: "Grandpa Li and I will go to the street to sell melons and come back in a while." ”

Han Yi said: "Go, I will change a few hooves for the horse when I go back, and I will go to the north of Xiaoliu Street to find you when I am done." ”

Xiaoliu Street is the place where the shops in Yuding County are most concentrated, there is a small vacant land at the north end of the street, and those who enter the city to sell fresh goods and some small traders gradually gather there, forming a small market.

On the way to the market, more than a dozen catties of melons were sold, and Xia Chen said happily: "Grandpa Li, it seems that these melons will be sold soon." ”

"Yes, it's a good year this year, and it's better if you don't fight."

The bazaar is very lively, selling fruits, fish, handmade embroidery, pots and cakes, divination, and writing letters.

found a vacant place, and Xia Chen helped shout: "The new melon is fragrant and sweet, only ten pennies and one catty." ”

The fragrance of melons overflowed with the breeze, which soon attracted many people to ask: "Where is this melon?" ”

"Can you buy more and count less?"

"It looks like it's new, weigh me three catties."

"It smells very good, weigh me five catties."

Mr. Li was busy weighing melons, and Xia Chen was watching the excitement on the side, praising the sweetness of melons from time to time.

An hour down, a basket of melons will be sold, the people who buy melons are not as many as the beginning, Xia Chen's mouth is dry at this time, he picked up a brick and sat down, and put the pu fan on his head to shade the sun.

A young man with a bright hat, a garish garment, a thin build, a pointed beak and shrunken cheeks, and a roe deer-headed mouse-like man, approached with a man who looked like a servant. He tapped the melon basket with his chin, and the servant immediately stepped forward and asked, "How much is this melon?" ”

Xia Chen turned his head and resisted the urge to laugh, and couldn't help but sigh at the strength of the Creator, this man seems to be related to any animal, like a chicken, like a mouse, and like a monkey - just not like a human.

Seeing that there was business again, Mr. Li got up and said, "Ten cents and one catty." ”

Only then did the rat-eyed man come forward and pick up a melon and weigh it: "Is it sweet or not?" ”

Mr. Li replied with a smile: "Naturally sweet, you see, I just came here for a while, and I sold a basket." ”

The rat-eyed man's eyes narrowed: "Can you taste it?" ”

Mr. Li was a little embarrassed: "I picked them out one by one, and the small ones are also seven or eight taels, and they are bought and sold in small amounts, and they are not allowed to taste them." ”

The servant snorted: "You old man, how do you know if we don't let us taste it?" If the young master of our family wants to buy ten catties and twenty catties, if it is not sweet, it will not cost a lot of money. ”

When Uncle Li heard that he wanted to buy so much, he picked up a smaller one and rubbed it with his sleeve: "Then you can taste one." ”

The rat-eyed man took the melon and took a bite, and threw it to the servant: "Generally speaking, but since you have tasted it, it is not good not to buy it, weigh five or six catties." ”

Xia Chen glanced at him, and his heart looked like a rich man, he bought so much after making such a big effort, none of those people before him was so virtuous.

Uncle Li sighed and was about to pick melons for him, but the rat-eyed man didn't need to, so he lifted his clothes and stepped forward to pick them up himself. The whole basket of melons was turned over by him, and he picked a dozen or so.

Seeing that he didn't do it lightly or heavily, he was so anxious that Uncle Li begged repeatedly: "This young master, you are light, I can't sell it if it is broken." ”

After weighing the melon and counting the money, it was sixty-two wen in total, and the young man said: "Sixty wen, I bought so much, and I don't wipe a fraction." ”