Chapter 4 [Signs of Crisis]
When I wake up in the morning, the first thing I have to worry about is getting dressed. Zhang Fang never thought that he would have to worry about how to dress. No matter how much you fiddle with it, you still can't wear the ironing feeling of yesterday. Only then did I realize why the ancient eunuchs always had someone to wait for the wide clothes. It's not just because of the score, but more importantly, without help, there is no way to wear this kind of Hanfu that is wound left and right.
Zhang Fang tried hard to recall the procedure of undressing last night, but unfortunately he was in a heavy and complicated mood at the time, and he didn't care at all, otherwise with his memory and observation, he only needed to watch it carefully, and he could basically simulate it like eight or nine. And in this regard, the remaining soul consciousness was completely unable to help him - after last night's fright, Zhang Fang finally figured out one thing, why he had an instinctive correct reaction to some things such as etiquette, language, and manners, which was actually a subconscious reaction, the subconscious of the soul fragments of the original owner of the body.
In other words, what the original owner of this body will do, Zhang Fang will also do, and if he can't, then there is no way. Obviously, this noble young master has servants waiting for him on weekdays, and he doesn't have to do it himself at all, so his awareness in this regard is very vague...... In the end, Zhang Fang had no choice but to borrow a set of clothes from the Han brothers to wear.
Han Mo and Han Zhong actually don't have any extra clothes, and their body shapes are also different from Zhang Fang. In the end, it was the sister-in-law of the Han family who took out a half-new, but cleanly washed linen cloth that was used as a dress when her husband got married, and handed it to Zhang Fang, which solved the problem.
The clothes of the commoners are much simpler than the dark clothes of the nobles, with narrow sleeves and collars, and poor pants (the crotch trousers of the Han Dynasty, mostly worn by the commoners, also known as "robes"), simple and convenient, and almost the same as in modern times. Although the fabric is completely incomparable with the silk, and the cloth is rough, and the skin is worn for a long time, like the feeling of wearing a sack, Zhang Fang has no choice but to settle. With a pair of hemp shoes under his feet, at first glance, yesterday's noble son in gorgeous clothes has turned into a young man in a mountain village.
Although they are also coarse cloth short clothes, Zhang Fang and the Han brothers stand side by side, like standing out from the crowd, and they can't hide it.
Breakfast was also gruel, Zhang Fang pinched his nose, and ate a small half bowl of this salt, oil, and bitter to swallow. After there is something at the bottom of the stomach, it is really difficult to eat more. But looking at the Han brothers, they ate a lot, without an uncomfortable expression, obviously they are used to eating on weekdays. Zhang Fang finally knew about this family, no, it was almost the reason why everyone in the village was yellow and thin.
Fortunately, there is food to buy back today, otherwise, I am afraid that sooner or later it will become like this - or that is a good saying, no matter what era it is, no matter what era it is, it is absolutely impossible to run out of money!
Zhang Fang felt a good sword, carefully put on the money bag, said goodbye to the sister-in-law of the Han family, and went out with the Han brothers who were carrying arrows and bows.
Han's father and Han Yi went out early and went out of the mountain to buy food at the nearest Yiji, and the task of replenishing meat was handed over to the two younger brothers. Therefore, Zhang Fang and the Han brothers went to the mountains to hunt this time.
Although he only had contact for half a day and one night, with Zhang Fang's good communication skills and affinity, coupled with the same "age", it was easy to gain the favor of the Han brothers. The kind of restraint and rustiness when I first met was eliminated, and most of it was basically a happy conversation. In addition, Zhang Fang was wearing the same clothes as them, spoke calmly, and had no nobles, and in a trance, he almost made the Han brothers think that he was a young man in the village.
Walking on the country road, I occasionally meet the villagers, looking at Zhang Fang's eyes, all of them are dumbfounded. In any case, these people could not believe that a noble young man was willing to change into the coarse cloth shorts of the common people...... Especially looking at that look, it's actually quite enjoyable.
The three of them crossed the small bridge and came to the place where the four of them met yesterday, and the Han brothers looked around: "Qingyan said that she was going too, why haven't you seen anyone yet?" ”
Zhang Fang hung it on his waist, and kept slapping his crotch when walking, and the saber that affected his movement was untied and inserted in his back instead. Then he sat on the grass very unvividly, leisurely looked at the waterfall with flying beads and splashing jade in the distance, patted the grass around him, and said to the Han brothers: "It's okay, it's still early, sit and wait." Don't you know that girls always have the right to be late? ”
The Han brothers looked at each other with blank expressions.
Zhang indulged in laughter.
……
At this moment, across a mountain, Qingyan, who was waiting for the three of them, encountered a little trouble.
Qingyan went up the mountain to pick wild vegetables before dawn with a rattan basket on his back. It is the turn of spring and summer, and it is the time when the mountain flowers and wild vegetables are in full bloom, and if you want to survive until the autumn harvest, you can't satisfy your hunger without wild vegetables and miscellaneous grains.
Until the third pole on the day, seeing that the time was almost up, the wild vegetables were also picked in a small half basket. Qingyan remembered the agreement with the Han brothers yesterday, hurriedly packed up, and prepared to return to the village. As soon as he turned around, he almost screamed in fright - at some point, two men with messy beards appeared behind him.
Both men were wrapped in black cloth, their faces were dark, and they wore leggings straight and a long cloth bag under their ribs. One of the wide-faced men said in a rough voice: "That boy, come here and ask you something." ”
Qingyan wears men's clothes whenever she goes out to work, firstly, her body bones have not yet grown, and secondly, she does have a somewhat neutral temperament, and it is not like Zhang Fang, who is very observant, but it is not easy for ordinary people to recognize it.
Qingyan was annoyed, he was taken aback by Zhang Fang yesterday, and today he is like this, and the other party's words are extremely unreasonable, he is really angry, he picked up the rattan basket, and said angrily: "The two of you have found the wrong person, I am an ignorant boy, where will I know?" The words insinuated that the other party "didn't know anything", and stabbed the other party lightly or hard.
The big man glared: "Boy......"
Another slightly shorter man tugged at his companion's sleeve, lost his eyes, stepped forward, squeezed out an ugly smile, and showed a yellow tooth with vegetable crumbs embedded between his teeth: "My brother is a rough billet, little brother is not strange." By asking, has the little brother ever seen a well-dressed young man? ”
Qingyan didn't want to pay attention to these two people, and just wanted to raise his legs and leave, when he suddenly heard this, his heart fluttered - these two evil men actually came to find that little Langjun!
Gyro Mountain is located on the border, and Qingxi Ju is a mountain settlement. Although there is a convenient road for transporting grain opened by the army decades ago on the other side of the mountain, which can be shortcut to Zhimaling County, Beidi County, it has been abandoned for a long time, and few people take this mountain road if they are not in a hurry. All year round, except for the officials who collect taxes and send conscripts, how can you ever see any noble sons? Qingyan is so big, the prince of Guijie who has really seen it, only Zhang Fang is alone. There is no doubt that these two people are here to find Zhang Fang.
Could they be Xiao Langjun's servants?
Qing Yan hesitated a little, looking at the clothes, these two people were dressed similarly to herself, not quite like a rich family servant, but she had never seen a real rich family servant, maybe it was? Ah Weng said that Xiao Langjun hurt his brain, suffered from soul disease, and couldn't remember his family, so he was pitiful, and if these people were his servants, they would be the best.
Qingyan's mouth moved, and she wanted to tell the truth. Suddenly, the small nose moved a few times, as if he smelled something, his heart jumped suddenly, and the words came to his mouth and swallowed raw. Shaking his head, he said he hadn't seen it.
The broad-faced man said angrily: "This Qingxi is the closest to the mountain road, if that kid escapes...... That young man is naturally the most likely to come here, how can such a dazzling person not be seen? Clearly and deliberately concealing ......"
The short companion once again secretly grabbed the big man, and said with a smile: "We really have no evil thoughts, but we are the servants of the young man." The little master is lost, and we are so anxious...... If the little brother knows, he still hopes to see it, and if he can find the little master, he will be grateful. ”
Qingyan had already heard that something was wrong from the words that the big man said, and he firmly believed in the previous suspicions in his heart, how could he still be willing to tell the truth, and pouted: "You man is really ridiculous to speak, this Gyro Mountain is not only a settlement in our Qingxi, but also Zhaojialing, Que'er Valley, and Eighteen Turns, so why don't you want your little master to run to those places?" ”
The wide-faced man opened his mouth, snorting angrily and unable to speak.
The short man nodded and smiled, "Yes." In that case, if there is a lot of disturbance, we will look elsewhere. ”
Qing Yan raised her delicate chin, carried the rattan basket on her back, and left quickly.
The wide-faced man exhaled angrily: "The adults and children gathered in Qingxi are all hateful, and they are very protective of outsiders, and none of them are willing to tell the truth...... I said, Liu Kuaijiao, is it possible that we really want to search for the places where that kid just said? ”
The short Liu Kuaileg stared at Qing Yan's thin back, his triangular eyes narrowed, and he shook his head: "Where those places are, there are other brothers in charge, you and I can search this place." That kid's eyes wandered when he spoke, hehe, the kid whose hair has not faded also wants to rape me in front of my Liu Kuai-leg......"
Qingyan turned around as he walked, confirming that the two men did not follow, his steps became faster and faster, and finally he almost trotted all the way, ran to Zhang Fang and the three of them, bent over and panted for breath, unable to speak.
Han Jun stepped forward to help her unload the rattan basket, and said strangely: "Is there a dog chasing you?" Running so fast. ”
Qing Yan glanced at him, took the bamboo tube handed by Han Chong, drank a few sips of water, moistened his throat, and said while panting: "There are two people looking for ...... Looking for Xiao Langjun, claiming to be his...... Domestic servants. ”
Han Chongxi said: "This is a good thing! You brought them here? ”
Qingyan shook his head: "On the contrary, I dumped them. ”
At this time, even Han Jun was curious: "Why is this?" ”
Qingyan didn't answer, her eyes stared at Zhang Fang, but what made her strange and annoyed was that her handsome face was calm and calm, and she nodded at herself with a smile: "Little sister Qingyan's move must have a deep meaning, these two people who claim to be my servants may have something suspicious." ”
Qingyan's eyes widened - this is a girl with single eyelids, her eyes are narrow, no matter how she stares, it is not too big, but it is enough to express her inner surprise - is it possible that the young men outside the mountain are all so smart? Perhaps, Ah Weng said, those noble children can read and write, and they must be much smarter than the people in the mountains.
Qingyan was deflated, and he lost his interest in selling Guanzi, and said: "I actually want to tell the truth, but just when a gust of mountain wind blows, I can smell the salty smell of those two men from a distance." This taste...... It's very familiar, the eldest brother has always had this smell on his body before......"
The Han brothers looked at each other and blurted out: "It's Yanli!" ”
Seeing Zhang Fang's confused face, the two brothers explained it in one word, and I explained it in one word.
Originally, more than 100 miles away from the northwest of this place, there is a place called Yanchi, which is where the official salt supervision mine of this dynasty is located, and the salt workers who mine salt are called Yanli. There are usually two types of sources of salt: one is the common people who serve as conscripts every year, and they only need to work for a few months a year to return to their hometowns; First, prisoners from all over the country have to work until the end of their sentences, and if the sentences are long, they even have to die.
Salt mining is a very torturous hard labor, coupled with perennial hunger and cold, abuse by prisoners, and a high mortality rate, which causes the escape of salt from time to time. Most of these fugitive Yanli were prisoners serving prison sentences, and many of them were murderers. After these murderers fled, they had no family to return to, and they did not have a regular livelihood, so they naturally returned to their old business.
The Han brothers and Qingyan are both young men and women who have never been out of the mountains, and it is impossible for them to know about this kind of thing, but Qingyan's eldest brother and the only son of the elder have also served in forced labor many times, and they are very clear about all kinds of things that happen in Yanchi, and they often talk about it to the three of them, so they can understand.
"It's the period of conscription, and the eldest brother hasn't come back yet, if there is a salt at this time, it must be ......" A trace of horror flashed in Qing Yan's eyes.
If what Qingyan said is true, why are these fugitive Yanli looking for themselves? Zhang Fang couldn't figure it out. Well, if you don't understand, just let it go and get down to business first.
Zhang Fang clapped his hands and raised his voice: "Okay, let's think about this matter slowly on the road, let's go." ”
When the figures of the four young men and women had just disappeared in the mountains and forests, a hundred steps away, behind a big camphor tree, two men with fierce faces turned out - it was Liu Kuaijiao and his companions.