Chapter 617: The Remnants of the Past

The three people outside the door came out in unison, this person is really a lazy man, he is so lazy! What else can a person who is not afraid of a thief be afraid of?

Di Renjie shook his head and said, "This person is really ...... I can't say anything more! As soon as he pushed the chaimen, the chaimen creaked, and it fell to the side, and it was a bad door.

Wang Ping'an smiled: "Yes, I have to repair the door for him tomorrow, is there something to do?" ”

And they drew their horses and went into this courtyard, and when they saw that it was empty, there was nothing.

Qiu Tingxuan said: "No wonder a dog barks in a village, but there is no movement in his house, and there is really no need to raise a dog after a long time!" ”

There was not even a stake to tie the horse, so I had to close the firewood door again, as long as the horse did not run out of the courtyard. The three of them saw that there were two side rooms next to the main house, but when they pushed one open, their torches burned out, and they could only use fire to fold, Di Renjie stood at the door and illuminated the house with fire.

He turned around and said, "Come on, this house is uninhabitable, and there is not even a bed!" ”

Wang Ping'an looked at it and said with a smile: "The four walls are empty, which is to describe his family." ”

The three of them had no choice but to open another side room and take a photo with fire. The three of them were really helpless, there was still nothing in this house, and it was really empty.

Wang Ping'an said: "Give him more money, let's go to the main room and squeeze it!" ”

Di Renjie and Qiu Tingxuan sighed in unison, it was not good to disturb the other family at this time, so they could only deal with it here for a night. If you don't have a bed, you have to have a place to sit, and everyone can chat, and you can talk until dawn, so you can't stand for a night!

This time, the three of them didn't say hello anymore, Di Renjie walked in the front, directly pushed open the door of the main room, held the fire and looked inside, and said, "Fellow, why don't we all squeeze in and stay together, and we will give you more...... Forget it, go back to sleep! "He didn't even enter the house.

Wang Ping'an said: "What's the matter? Is there a woman in the house? The probe looked at it and said, "There is no woman, and I can't squeeze him!" ”

Qiu Tingxuan asked, "Why?" He didn't have any clothes on? As he spoke, he also looked inside, and then said, "I really don't have any clothes!" ”

Then he saw that the house in the main house was still empty, and there was only a pile of grass on the ground, and on the grass lay a man, who could not see how old he was, with bare arms and thighs, and only a tattered garment covering his waist and abdomen, and this man looked like a beggar, or perhaps a real beggar.

Wang Ping'an said: "Fellow, aren't you cold?" Also, do you know who can stay overnight? I mean, don't be like yours! ”

The big man snorted and said, "It's really long-winded, disturbing my good dreams." Are you looking for someone who has a bed to sleep with and doesn't have a dog yet? There is a family at the east end of the village, and his family has no dogs, but he is as poor as my family. ”

Di Renjie snorted and said, "The poor don't raise dogs, and the poor don't raise dogs, could it be that the people who raise dogs are not guarded against foreign thieves, but you, brother?" ”

The big man sighed and said impatiently: "You guys are not verbose, let's leave quickly after asking, don't make me sleep, right?" Let's go! ”

The three of them looked at each other and thought, "What is this called, how did you meet such a person!" ”

Di Renjie took out more than a dozen coins from his arms, threw them on the ground, and said, "For you, take it and pull a few feet of cloth to make clothes that can cover your body!" ”

They had no choice but to go out of the room and lead the horses out of the yard. Before I could go out, I heard the big man in the house shouting, "Let you close the door, don't you hear, and let me get up and close it?" ”

Di Renjie said: "Hey, it's really worse than a bald-tailed dog, he didn't say thank you when he gave him money, and he screamed before closing the door!" He turned around and closed the door.

The three of them walked out of the yard and walked towards the village, where every household had a dog, and every time they passed a house, there was a dog barking in the yard. They led the horses, and in order not to frighten the horses, they could not stay in the house of a man with a dog, so they had to come all the way to the east end of the village, and saw that there was indeed a family, but judging by the appearance, it was also the kind of poor people.

Wang Ping'an sighed and said: "I don't know if there is a bed in this house, if not, let's go back to the city, I will let the soldiers open the city gate, it is better than staying here." ”

Di Renjie shouted through the chai door: "Is there anyone at home?" We are...... I've got money for you! ”

This family is different from the big man's house, there is no need to shout, the door creaks open, revealing the head of a middle-aged man. Looking at it by the moonlight, this middle-aged man is only in his forties, with a disheveled beard on his face, and his expression is very sad.

The middle-aged man looked outside, his eyes were quite good, it was estimated that he probably didn't light up at home, and he always looked at things in the dark, so he practiced his eyes. He saw that there were three noble sons standing outside, and said timidly: "Three sons, do you have something?" The villain's family has already paid taxes! ”

When the three of them heard this, they were stunned at the same time, what does it mean to have paid taxes? It's spring, it's not the time to pay taxes, and it's almost the same time to receive relief!

Di Renjie said: "We are passing guests, we missed the overnight stay, and we want to spend a night at your house, is it convenient for you to stay at home?" We'll give you extra money when we leave! ”

The man was obviously relieved, opened the door and came out, and said: "When you go out, who hasn't made a difficulty, please come in, it's just that my family is poor and I don't have so many bedding, I'm afraid I'm going to snub the guests." ”

Wang Ping'an thought to himself: "This person is not bad, listening to what he said, he seems to be a person who has read a book, but somehow he is so poor?" He saw that the middle-aged man's clothes were in tatters, almost to the point that he could only cover his body, and if he had seen this man in the city, he would have to be a beggar.

The middle-aged man came out of the house, opened the firewood door, and welcomed Wang Ping'an and the three into the courtyard. He said: "Three sons, my family is very poor, there is no forage to feed your horses, and there are no stakes to tie the horses, why don't you tie this horse to the trees outside?" Rest assured, we never make trouble here, and no thieves come to our village. ”

Wang Ping'an sighed, and handed the reins to Qiu Tingxuan with his backhand, Qiu Tingxuan and Di Renjie did not lead the horse into the yard, but tied it to a tree outside the courtyard.

Wang Ping'an asked the middle-aged man and said, "Fellow countryman, how can there be a village in the world that does not recruit thieves, if no thieves come, then why do you have so many dogs in the village, isn't raising dogs just to prevent thieves?" ”

The middle-aged man shook his head and said, "Our village is too poor, everyone in the four towns and eight villages knows it, and of course the thieves know it." As for dog ownership, it's not for thieves, but for disaster prevention years. He saw that Wang Ping'an was the leader of the three and was a very gentle son, so he talked a lot.

Di Renjie tied up his horse, entered the yard, and asked, "What does it mean to raise a dog for disaster prevention year?" ”

The middle-aged man said: "The dog is not poor at home, no matter how poor the family is, it will not run, and it can go out to find food by itself, and sometimes it can bring back rabbits or something to the owner." Speaking of the Year of Disaster Preparedness...... Alas, in a disaster year, dogs are food, at least for a few days, and a dog may be able to save a family's life! ”

Qiu Tingxuan also entered the courtyard, and when he heard the middle-aged man say this, he said, "The dogs in your village are really good enough to do their best. But why don't you have a dog at home? ”

The middle-aged man shook his head and said: "My dog has become food, I can't wait for the disaster year, I wonder whose dog in the village has a puppy, I want two to raise, it doesn't cost anything to raise a dog, it's easier than planting crops!" ”

The middle-aged man invited the three of them into the main room, this one looks better than the big man's house, at least there is a bed in the room, there is a woman lying on the bed, and a child, the woman keeps coughing in a low voice, and the child widens his eyes, looking at Wang Ping'an and the three of them, his expression is timid, and he is very afraid of life.

The middle-aged man said: "The three sons will stay in our bed for one night, our family will go to the side room, and the quilt will be given to you, if it is dirty, then you can cover your own robes." ”

As he spoke, he went over to help the woman on the bed, and his child climbed out of bed and hid behind the middle-aged man, only showing his head, still looking at Wang Ping'an and the three.

Wang Ping'an hurriedly said: "You don't have to. The fellow is so polite, but we are embarrassed, how can we enter the door, it will occupy the master's bed. Let's go to the wing, as long as there is a bed, it will be done, and it will be dealt with. ”

The middle-aged man said a little embarrassedly: "That's really snubbing the guests, my poor family really has nothing to entertain, and I have wronged the three sons!" ”

"Don't say that, if you say that, it makes us feel embarrassed and too disturbing!" Wang Ping'an arched his hand at him, took Di Renjie and Qiu Tingxuan, and went to the wing.

Entering the wing room, Di Renjie said: "Fortunately, there is a bed in this room, but I can't sleep according to my opinion, it's better for the three of us brothers, let's sit in bed and talk at night, decades later, thinking of tonight's events, maybe it's still a good story." ”

Wang Ping'an and Qiu Tingxuan did not object, and the three of them sat on the bed together and talked. Wang Ping'an said: "Looking at the master's speech and demeanor, it seems that he is not from extreme poverty, it is very likely that he has studied, but at the end of this generation, he has fallen, just like a loser surnamed Huang." ”

Qiu Tingxuan snorted and said, "It shouldn't be a diligent person, if it's a diligent person, how can the family be so poor." The current national policy of the imperial court is to recuperate with the people, and there is no exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous taxes, as long as you are diligent enough, you will not be poor. ”

Di Renjie shook his head and said: "Not necessarily, didn't the eldest brother and Brother Qiu see it just now, there are patients in his house, even if he can work again, there is a medicine jar at home, don't think about getting rich." If I had expected it, he would have brought us soup. ”

In the Tang Dynasty, all educated people, that is, cultivators and scholars are very polite in terms of entertaining guests, and sending soup is also sending hot water to guests, which is the most basic etiquette, if this person sends hot water, it means that he is educated, at least has read books, and knows a few words.

Sure enough, Di Renjie only finished his words for a moment, then he heard movement outside, the three of them opened the window together, looked out, and saw the middle-aged man holding a pile of firewood, went to the stove built outside the house, and began to raise the fire and boil water.

Putting down the window, Wang Ping'an said: "It is indeed a cultivator." It's strange to say, this village is quite abnormal, the lazy man before, lazy to the extreme, and such a master who knows how to count etiquette is so poor, it's unreasonable! ”

Di Renjie and Qiu Tingxuan nodded together, even if the owner of this house has a patient in bed, he will not be poor like this. In the early Tang Dynasty, after the great chaos at the end of the Sui Dynasty, the talents withered, and it was impossible to see that there was not enough talent in Chang'an, because all the talents in the world were pouring there, but in the locality, especially in the poor countryside like Gyeongju, as long as there was a little talent, he would definitely be able to mix and eat, and he would mix well.

People who have read books in these years are popular, and a stinky mouth like Cui Dawei can mix the whole family with food and clothing, not to mention that the owner of this family is so good at treating people and things, and it is impossible to be so poor!

After a while, the middle-aged man boiled the water, carried the kettle to the door of the wing, knocked lightly on the door, and then asked, "Three sons, have you ever rested?" ”

Wang Ping'an and the others glanced at each other, and thought in their hearts: "This is definitely a person with a good background, if you are an ordinary person, how can you knock on the door when you enter your own room." ”

Di Renjie said: "The master, please come in, you are too polite!" ”

The middle-aged man entered the house, there was no table in the house, so he put the kettle on the table, and put a teacup and two large bowls, the teacups and bowls were missing, and it seemed that they had been around for a long time. He poured the hot water and said, "There is no tea, so I neglect the guests." ”

Wang Ping'an looked at his sad face and asked, "Dare to ask the countryman's surname, what do you usually do for a living?" ”

The middle-aged man said: "The villain's surname is Du, the government does not allow us to have a name, according to the ranking, I am the eldest in the family, so the neighbors call me Boss Du." What can the countrymen rely on for a living, that is, they farm the land, rent a few acres of land, and feed a family of three. ”

Wang Ping'an said: "You are not allowed to have a name? As far as I know, there is no such article in the decree of this dynasty, how can the people not be allowed to give names? ”

Qiu Tingxuan and Di Renjie said: "Your family is a remnant of the previous dynasty...... Did any of the ancestors serve in the previous dynasty? ”

The middle-aged man snorted, shook his head, and said, "My ancestor once followed Dou Jiande, not only my family, but also everyone in this village, in order to reduce trouble, the government did not allow us to name names." ”

When the three of them heard this, they were all at a loss, Dou Jiande has been dead for more than 20 years and almost 30 years, it's been so long, why do you still remember it and punish it?

Seeing that they didn't understand, the middle-aged man said casually: "If you don't have a name and no land, you are not a good family, you can't take the exam, you can't enlist in the army, and you will never get ahead." By the way, dare to ask where the three of them came from and where are they going? ”

The sentence was not long, but Wang Ping'an and the three of them understood at the same time that this was the chaotic order of the local magistrate, in order to prevent the revenge of these former "remnants". Why are you afraid of retaliation? This shows that these people have some ability, otherwise how can they retaliate, and there is no need to pay attention to waste!

Wang Ping'an said: "We are from Chang'an. Fellow, what did you do in Dou Jiande's army? ”

It's been a long time, and the middle-aged man doesn't have the heart to cover up anything, anyway, it's a passing guest, and he will leave tomorrow morning. He said: "There are all kinds of things, the civil and military officials have occupied all the people in our village, and the officials and masters of Gyeongju say that we are a scourge, otherwise they can imprison us here!" ”