When the fifth watch arrived, the family immediately got busy, Cheng Azhu was in a hurry to dry the steamed buns, steamed buns and pastries in the New Year, and then placed them neatly like a pyramid in a conspicuous place at home, and waited until the New Year to eat. The folk call this place "pile of ingots", symbolizing the New Year's New Year's fortune and treasure.

Zhao Xing put on the incense case, led the students to burn incense and send the Jade Emperor to the upper realm, and welcomed the new stove monarch to the lower realm. Then the sesame straw will be inserted in the eaves and window sill, which is said to be hidden in the ghost straw, not to let it out.

Liao Xiaoxiao was busy pasting red paper gourds on the doors and windows, which is called "collecting plague ghosts", praying that there would be no illness or disaster in a year. And Chen Yiyi led two or three Vietnamese maids to light pine and cypress branches in the yard, and wrapped them around the door of each room with pine smoke.

When everyone is busy, Cheng Azhu hangs up the portrait of the deceased, and worships the lion fairy candy and twist flowers, which is "worshipping the shadow". After worshipping the shadow, everyone gathered at the door and witnessed Zhao Xing sticking the door god and nailing peach charms, which was mainly to drive away evil spirits and avoid disasters, and pray for good luck in the New Year.

The door god originally used Zhong Kui, who could fight ghosts and drive away evil spirits in ancient legends, and the Song Dynasty replaced it with Qin Qiong and Wei Chi Jingde, famous generals in the Tang Dynasty. Due to the advancement of printing technology, woodblock prints also appeared in the Song Dynasty, which made it easy for people to buy and post to add to the festive atmosphere.

Then he entered the "New Year's Guard" procedure, "Shishu's home, sitting around the hearth, and not sleeping for a long time, which is called keeping the New Year." Although the matter of keeping the year is close to child's play, but the father and son reunite to drink, laugh and sing, and never sleep at night, and the righteous people are happy. ”

The children lit firecrackers in front of the door, and the sound of firecrackers arose. Cheng Azhu led his wife and concubine to salute the man in charge, congratulated the New Year, and said some words of "Keeping the New Year" prayer: "Celebrate the New Year, with spring flowers, spring flags and spring victories, it is a bright and sunny ......spring."

It was Liao Xiaoxiao's turn, she held the wine glass and sang the poems she wrote like a song: "North Lake Yunjin spreads 30,000 hectares of glaze."

Poetry immortals, take advantage of the flowers to get out of the cave.

Red rhombic lotus, full of persuasion for a cup of thousand years old.

Look at the flowers in the coming year. The scenery in front of you is very different. ”

These words are explained in modern language, just two sentences: this year is a good day, and I look forward to a better next year.

Zhao Xing swept it, and there was no orchid in the hall. He listened to the noise outside, and said kindly: "Go and call Kasli, she is alone in a foreign country, and this festival day, it is too lonely to be alone." Call her to come, a piece of Lele. ”

Cheng Azhu is a man who says whatever he wants, and Chen Yiyi finishes the New Year. Just rubbed Zhao Xing with his fingers. reminded in a whisper: "Brother Xing, I'm seventeen after the New Year, seventeen, seventeen." ”

After Zhao Xing finished ordering, neither of the two legitimate wives and concubines objected, Cheng Shuang hurriedly ordered the brothers to go over and greet Kasli, and Liao Xiaoxiao sighed. clapped his face and sang: "That little mustache is delicate and delicate." The town is on the ground and leans on the trunk. Gently blowing, cherry, idle, bamboo shoots. Love a little gorilla. Pretending to be a powder valerian, people are not allowed to put red curtains. The end is good, the wind suddenly rises, and the swing is specially sent. In the Ming Dynasty, the pond rained, and Pingcui should be added. ”

This is making fun of Zhao Xing for being too pitiful and cherishing jade, with ambiguous intentions.

Chen Yiyi was still there saying "seventeen", not caring about other people's actions at all, Liao Xiaoxiao saw that her words did not attract attention, and her eyes rolled and ridiculed Chen Yiyi for being too eager: "Dongjun is waiting." Leave a sprig of fragrant snow in. ”

Now Zhao Xing understood, he pulled Liao Xiaoxiao, picked up his slap and cracked on the round **, so the whole world was quiet.

Zhao Xing didn't hit hard, but Liao Xiaoxiao shouted and shook the sky, making Chen Yiyi unable to speak, and his students probed their brains under the porch, laughing strangely, as a result, although Liao Xiaoxiao no longer laughed, it seemed that she did not accept the lesson, and her eyes were full of teasing.

Kasli walked into the room with a dance-like step, and congratulated Zhao Xing in a strange tone: "The slave maid congratulates the master on the New Year's ......" This sentence is said to everyone, after saying this, she converted into Hu language, and chatted with Zhao Xing in a chirp, she complained to Zhao Xing, the sisters have gone south, and she is really lonely in the house alone. I don't understand the language with others, and it's very depressing.

None of the others expressed their position, Chen Yiyi was interrupted in the middle of her words just now, and she was full of anger, she raised her eyebrows and scolded: "How to speak, don't speak bird language, speak Song language." Kasli pretended not to understand, staring at Chen Yiyi with blank eyes, Chen Yiyi jumped up, but immediately sat down sadly: "Don't think I dare to hit you, today is Chinese New Year's Eve, I endure!" ”

Zhao Xing slapped his face and watched this farce, and persuaded Chen Yiyi: "Come on, this group of orchids has been professionally trained to compete for favors, "Aromatic Garden", "The Rules of Love", "* Method Details", "The Book of Erogenous Zones", "Temperament Theory", "The Book of Desire", ...... There are thousands of textbooks in their collection, many of which have been written for hundreds or thousands of years, and they have been constantly improving and supplementing! Yiyi, don't mess with her, you're no match for her. ”

Originally, at this time, Kasli only needed to provoke a few words, causing Chen Yiyi to be furious and disrupt this Chinese New Year's Eve dinner, and she would win sympathy if she swallowed her voice. But the Arab Maiji knew best that it was enough, she knew that Zhao Xing attached great importance to the first Chinese New Year's Eve in the Great Song Official Venue, and the first to retreat was Kasli, she twisted her waist and bowed down, saying: "The slave has offended Madame, please Madame deal with it." ”

Chen Yiyi was choked with anger, but he had no choice but to ask Zhao Xing for help: "Brother Xing, I'm panicking." ”

Zhao Xing hurriedly picked her up, patted her shoulder and said, "It's all a group of children, what's the trouble-it's the New Year, be festive." ”

Chen Yiyi was in Zhao Xing's arms, whispering "Seventeen, seventeen for the New Year", at this time, the students finished setting off firecrackers and began to greet Zhao Xing. The banquet in the house has been set up, Cheng Azhu is sitting on Zhao Xing's right shoulder, Liao Xiaoxiao is on his left shoulder, Kasli is sitting opposite, a round table is divided, and Yiyi is still sitting on Zhao Xing's lap.

The Chinese New Year's Eve feast began, and the students began to call for wine.

For the dishes of Chinese New Year's Eve, there are several vegetarian dishes that are essential. One is pea seedlings. The pea Song Dynasty is also called An Dou, stir-fry a plate of An Dou seedlings, take the meaning of "peace and security". The second is to have water celery, the stalk of water cress is tubular, and the career in the coming year can be "road to road". The third is tofu, with tofu, you can be "rich" or "blessed" in the coming year. These are all derived from the homophony of the dialect and the understanding of the image, and after the reasonable imagination of the common people, they are attached to the good wishes.

There was no entertainment in the Song Dynasty, that is, a small gamble. Each of the students received a "New Year's gift". So he used the money to gamble. There are dice throwers, pot throwers, and boulders.

The courtyard is full of stars and "bright moon nights", and several Japanese women are still bowing in the courtyard. They wore the most popular spiral skirts for women of this era, lifted the skirts open, revealing pink and white*, and happily kicked the juju. Also known as the "slit skirt" in modern times, the spiral skirt is split in front and back, left and right, so that women can extend their legs out of the skirt while kicking a ball. The Japanese people are particularly frost-tolerant. Some of the widows simply tucked the hem of their skirts into their waists, revealing their two pink and white thighs, and they were playing with sweat. The beautiful scenery made the students drinking in the room feel ape.

From time to time, students came to toast Zhao Xing. By the way, some students did not return to their seats after asking for advice, but they took a glass of wine and pretended to pace to the door of the room, watching the widows kick happily, unconsciously. Several students also blended into the crowd.

Zhao Xing's wives and concubines were whispering to each other exchanging their views on clothing, accessories, and so on. In it. Liao Xiaoxiao is an authority, and her sticking flowers to the ground has set off a popular fashion in Dengzhou. Taking advantage of Cheng Azhu and Chen Yiyi's understanding, she showed off to the two women the costumes of the people in the capital on the first day of the first lunar month.

After chatting for a while, Liao Xiaoxiao turned to Zhao Xing and said with a smile: "Xianggong, I heard that you are the biggest pearl merchant in the Great Song Dynasty, right?" I heard that someone used 9,999 pearls to string into a pearl shirt, warm in winter and cool in summer, the official might as well give his sister some pearls, idle and idle, so he strung into a pearl shirt to play. ”

Pearl shirts, this thing isn't scary right now. Originally, no one specialized in the pearl business, and the pearl was born with a very low yield, so the price of each pearl was more than 10,000 yuan. Over the years, Zhao Xing has begun to instruct the Japanese to artificially cultivate pearls, and the method is also very primitive, capturing live pearls, sprinkling a handful of sand into the shell, or piercing a grain of sand with a needle as thin as silk, which has led to a sharp drop in the value of Japanese pearls.

Nowadays, an unformed Japanese pearl is only a few hundred times, and a good pearl is only about a hundred times, and the top grade can be close to a thousand times. In the past few years, the price of pearls has fallen by 50 times, and of course, there are also silk and other Song goods in the same situation, and the price of pearls has also fallen sharply in the Wa country.

This also made Zhao Xing start to learn the local skills of the South African diamond company after monopolizing the business of Nanzhu and Dongzhu, control the supply of goods, and gradually ship in equal amounts. This technique is now being further extended to the African ivory and Burmese gem industries. Under this effective control, the price of the southern pearl and the eastern pearl did not fall much, while the price of Japanese pearls fell sadly.

Liao Xiaoxiao's pearl shirt is made of Japanese pearls, because the price of Japanese pearls fell too badly, so the locals came up with a deep processing method, and the pearl shirt is just a gimmick.

"That thing is sure to be cool in summer, but not warm in winter - this thing is also the hole shirt as the saying goes, do you think, can the clothes woven by round beads be woven everywhere?" Zhao Xing explained with a smile: "This pearl shirt is useless except for the price, I think, this thing is wearing a panic, its appearance, the only purpose is to let people know that you are rich." ”

Cheng Azhu is relatively simple and is not interested in this kind of extravagant show-off; Chen Yiyi is well-informed and full of contempt for this kind of peasant-style explosion, so after Zhao Xing's words were finished, the two of them were one head, which made Liao Xiaoxiao very unwilling, and she said in a snort: "Xianggong is partial, the two sisters wear beads and jade, but the slave has few good ornaments, today is Chinese New Year's Eve, Xianggong also rewards a few concubines." ”

Zhao Xing drank so much that he readily agreed: "Also, it's time to give some gifts to the children in the New Year, bring my box." ”

The "New Year's gift" that had been prepared for a long time was brought up, and the children liked to have fun, in addition to pen, ink, paper, and inkstone, one person got a bone dagger carved out of seal teeth. Seal teeth are a dense bone like ivory, which is divided into several layers along the curved surface and sharpened at one end. At the other end is a shield ridge, a bone dagger with a seal's tooth sheath on the outside, which can do nothing but cut through paper or cut off the seals of letters.

After the students finished dividing, there were still more than a dozen handfuls left in the box, and Cheng Azhu and Chen Yiyi were not interested in this substitute because they had ivory bone daggers. Liao Xiaoxiao immediately divided it with Orchid Kasri. Liao Xiaoxiao happily turned over and over to inspect the bone dagger, and said happily: "Wow, this kind of bone knife." If the scabbard is inlaid with a few more broken gems, and the gift is decent and handy, I will go and set a few pearl gemstones. Give it to the former sisters, and it is not in vain to get acquainted. ”

"Gems, pearls...... Go, take two buckets of the unsorted pearls, grab one for whoever wants, and give the rest to Xiaoxiao, Yiyi. Your gems, pick up the pieces and share them with her," Zhao Xing said to Chen Yiyi in his arms.

Chen Yiyi squinted at Kasri: "I don't have anything to do with that fox, Xiaoxiao wants me to give it!" She was a slave girl. Putting her at the table is a lift......"

Kasli suddenly said in clear Song language: "I asked my master if I wanted it!" ”

Zhao Xing laughed. In the midst of laughter, he persuaded: "Yiyi, don't take your handmaid as a concubine!" ”

Chen Yiyi was speechless for a moment.

In the Song Dynasty, "concubines and maids" were universal, and the difference was in the length of service. Kasli is a "maid", and she has served for ten years, and she enjoys a slightly lower treatment than a "concubine", so she deserves a decoration. And take "handmaids" instead of "concubines". That was done by the Ming and Qing dynasties. We Song people, this is the Song Dynasty. You must have the consciousness of the people of the Song Dynasty - don't take a servant girl as a concubine!

"Okay, well, you just protect her, this fox!" Chen Yiyi replied hatefully: "Since you are willing, why should I feel sorry for your money, okay, you two will pick it up with me when you go back." ”

Acknowledging the identity of Kasli's maidservant cannot threaten Chen Yiyi, but it can threaten Liao Xiaoxiao. Because, Chen Yiyi's status in Zhao Xing's family is actually equivalent to that of a flat wife. But in ancient China, ordinary people were not qualified to say "equal wives", even the prince of the clan did not dare to say so, unless he wanted to rebel. Local officials are also the most willing to report such incidents. For example, Zhan Miao's house preached the "two wives and princesses", and since then has been "selectively forgotten" by the entire Great Song Dynasty.

Therefore, Chen Yiyi respected the lord of the county, but he did not dare to publicly proclaim that he was a "flat wife". However, everyone in Zhao Xing's family understands this, and they just tacitly agree to keep it a secret from the outside world.

This subtle difference in status, Liao Xiaoxiao knows, Kasli doesn't know. However, Kasli is obedient and knows how to look at the eyes, Liao Xiaoxiao took the lead and thanked her, and she also thanked her endlessly. Then, Liao Xiaoxiao's performance was not enthusiastic, but Kasli also increased her enthusiasm, and she was still wondering in her heart: "Isn't it just some gold and silver jewelry?" I haven't seen anything in the palace, as for it, the little lady is not without money? ”

On the other side, Zhao Xing looked at the happy appearance of the house with satisfaction - at this time, the singing and laughter in the courtyard kept floating in, and the faint sound of firecrackers in the street rendered the world full of joy, and he looked at all this in front of him, drunk.

What's in 1087?

In this year, Cheng Yi, who was expelled, and Lu Dazhong, one of the four Lus of Lantian, the deputy envoy of Shaanxi, created the "Forest of Steles" in Xi'an. At the same time, the world's first university, the University of Bologna in Italy, was created. The university was the base of the Renaissance and the germ of early capitalist ideas. Since then, capitalism has been knocking on the door of the earth.

It was also in 1087 that Shen Kuohua's 20-year compilation of the "Map of Tianxia Prefecture and County" was completed. He was allowed to choose the place where he would retire, and he chose Mengxi Garden in Runzhou, and began to write the immortal scientific classic "Mengxi Bi Tan".

This was the year of the rise of the Inca Empire civilization in South America; At the same time, the first king of the Norman dynasty "conquered" William I died, and the second son William II succeeded to the title of Grand Duke of England, and the title of Duke of Norman was inherited by the eldest son Robert, thus burying the territorial dispute with France.

This year also brought about an interesting event: Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor, King of France and Germany, Duke of Bavaria, received his second marriage.

Previously, Henry IV wanted to divorce his wife Berta, but could not come up with a well-founded reason. In order to remarry, he swore that his wife would remain a virgin, just as the princes and bishops were ready to compromise with the king. When agreeing to dissolve their marriage, the Pope objected, arguing that marriage could not be dissolved and that the king could not set an example of such non-Christian behavior. So the people passed a resolution: Henry must not abandon this wife. In 1087, the poor queen Bertha died of depression, and Henry had a second marriage.

In that year, the Seljuks captured Edessa, an event that became the direct trigger for Byzantium's decision to turn to the West for help.

In that year, the remains of Saint Nicholas were moved to the Italian city of Bari. He was the bishop of the city of Mira in Turkey. Today, we are more familiar with his other name - "Santa Claus".

It's a splendid era.

It was also from this year that China's climate began to change significantly. In the Tang Dynasty, the Qinlong region was densely forested. The Song Dynasty deforestation caused the Qinlong forests to disappear, and the consequences of environmental degradation began to be felt in 1087. Since the second year of the Yuan Dynasty, China's climate has turned cold sharply, and the bamboo and plum trees that used to be seen near the Liao River are no longer visible. A distinctive sign is: this year, there are still a large number of bamboo forests frozen to death in the Kaifeng Imperial Garden, and the poet had praised it before: "The north shore of the Qingsi Pavilion." Thousands of bamboos are lush and lush...... There are Shengyun Nunnery, Kicking Yuntai, Xiao Xian Pavilion, Feicen Pavilion, there are no miscellaneous flowers and different trees, and there are bamboos on all sides......

From this year onwards. The plum trees in the bamboo forest north of the Huai River froze to death one by one. After that, there were no more plum trees and bamboo forests in Huaibei - they gradually retreated to the south.

In the past, the Kaifeng area was warm and ice-free in winter, and it did not snow even as late as the twelfth month of the lunar calendar, but on the first day of the Lunar New Year this year, Zhao Xing spent time in ice and snow......

This was the year that Europe began a "seven-year drought" that lasted for seven years......

New Year's Day in 1088. Zhao Xing opened the door. The previous person who came to thank him was a person who had settled in the Great Song Dynasty for more than 100 years. They have become completely like the Song people, and they also spend the Spring Festival like the Song people, and according to the customs of the Song Dynasty, the first thing to visit on the first day of the new year is the employer.

On the first day of the new year, the guests at the house of the official gentry were invited to the spring festival; The banquet at the shop is said to be the God of Wealth. It is a kind of wine container in ancient times. In modern terms, "Invite Spring Wine" is a banquet in the Spring Festival. Nowadays, people will not be so finely divided, "please spring", and "do the God of Wealth", all called "please New Year's wine".

After the Israelis visited, there was an endless stream of regimental training officers. At noon, Zhao Xing took the high-level officials of the regiment to train Zhongdi, Deng Yufu, Yuan Yeping, and two Jingxia, and several commanders, followed Zhang Yong to visit the magistrate. This day and earth visit is actually an agreed banquet date, Zhao Xing's official position is small, and the banquet between Mizhou officials is ranked on the twelfth day of the first month, and the third day of the first year is asked.

After the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, Wang Zishao hit the road, hoping to rush to the capital and celebrate the famous Tokyo Lantern Festival. Li Zhiyi and Wang Zishao walked together, and the two took a small boat to say goodbye to the people who sent each other. Shangyuan Night, the night of countless poems and eulogies, it was almost the legal public date of the Great Song Dynasty, these two people won the gold in their pockets, and they were eagerly preparing to devote themselves to it, and after Zhao Xing saw them off, he wanted to go home and hold his own banquet.

continued to usher in and send it to, and Zhao Xing's family held a wine banquet for more than ten days. He was like this, and everyone in the other officials' families was like this, and they came in a bunch of people, drank a few glasses of wine, and then pulled the master to the next house, and the procession grew larger and larger, until the Lantern Festival, when the banquet was nearing the end.

In these few days of banquets, Zhao Xing will take Liao Xiaoxiao when he goes out, and when he encounters poetry singing, Xiaoxiao comes forward to fight with others, and when he encounters drinking, he will take care of everything. The modern stomach that has been highly alcoholized is not something that people in the Song Dynasty can imagine, he has the barrier of Liao Xiaoxiao, and at this official banquet of the Great Song Dynasty, he is very flamboyant at all.

"On New Year's Eve last year, the flower market was lit up like daylight. The willow tops on the moon, people about after dusk.

On the New Year's Eve of this year, the moon and the lights are still the same, I don't see last year's people, and the sleeves of the spring shirt are full of tears" - early in the morning of the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, Zhao Xing stood on the steps of the mansion gate, recited the famous Lantern Festival poem, and indulged in the artistic conception of the poem alone. ”

Cheng Azhu didn't move, and behind him, a bunch of Song people looked at him with embarrassed expressions. Ah Zhu squatted down, his head was about to be close to the ground, and he wept and said: "The concubine is not virtuous, and she has not added a son and a half daughter to the official. ”

According to the rules of the Song Dynasty, there are rules for hanging a few lamps at the entrance of the Lantern Festival, and this rule is to give birth to several sons and hang a few lamps. If you don't have a son, you can only hang lanterns, and you can't light candles in them. When such a house arrives at night, it is dark in front of the door. For example, now Li Qingzhao's family.

Cheng Azhu pleaded guilty, and Liao Xiaoxiao was unwilling to touch her stomach. However, Zhao Xing is a person who is bound by the law of impropriety, although he admires ancient etiquette, but he has no intention of abiding by this custom that does not make him happy, and without waiting for Cheng Azhu to accuse, he has already waved his hand and said: "It's okay, when I married you, I once lit the courtyard ***, I believe that our children will not be less, this can be regarded as a support in advance, come on, light up ***, and make the house lively." ”

Mizhou City is not as festive as the Lantern Festival in Bianliang City, after all, a large city with a population of 2 million and a city with a population of 50,000 are not an order of magnitude apart. That night, the *** of Mizhou City was not considered prosperous, about one-fifth of the portals were not lit, but 40,000 *** was enough, and they still lit up the entire night sky.

On this day, there will be a "medicine puppet", that is, the Song Dynasty ceremonial flowers, the children continue to set off the remaining firecrackers, looking at those firecrackers, Zhao Xing understands that in the naval battle, why the Song people are not afraid of the roaring cannons, it turns out that the Song people are wearing open crotch pants and growing up playing with gunpowder.

The sound of firecrackers in Zhao Xing's house is particularly loud, and the sound of firecrackers prepared by him with a new gunpowder formula shook the four fields, and many owners of firecracker shops have come here to inquire quietly in the past few days, intending to buy gunpowder formulas from Zhao Xing, but considering military reasons, Zhao Xing refused.

Soon after the Lantern Festival, another huge celebration came to Zhao Xing's mansion, a few days ago, Ah Zhu was difficult to eat, Zhao Xing originally thought that it was her self-blame, but after the doctor's diagnosis, Cheng Ah Zhu was pregnant, and this huge celebration made Zhao Xing's mansion suddenly jubilant.

In fact, in the Great Song Dynasty, there are descendants in their twenties, which is already a very rare phenomenon, Li Gefei only had Li Qingzhao in his forties, and Yang Jin, the descendant of the fourth generation of Yang family generals, only had a son in his fifties, and his son would not be called father when he died...... In this era when there are many leftover men and women, Zhao Xing has offspring in his twenties, which can be regarded as overjoying to him.

At the same time, the New Year's gift sent by his friends in the capital also arrived, and in the face of the overwhelming letters, Zhao Xing fell into the mountains again, and at this moment, Yuan Yeping had already opened the communication ***, and was busy talking to the Mizhou officials. Deng Yufu was busy with the affairs of his own workshop, so Zhao Xing looked around and couldn't find a helper.