Although it is a beach, there is no silt, and it is a zone covered with gravel and sand.

Chen Ping took off his straw sandals, rolled up his trouser legs and searched the river beach. The fine sand rubs against the soles of the feet, and occasionally one or two pebbles can also play a massaging role.

"Found it." After deducting a milky white stone in the sand, Chen Ping swung in the clear river water and put it away.

There are a lot of such stones on the river beach, and after a while, Chen Ping found seven or eight pieces, cleaned them all and put them away.

This was done incidentally during the morning run, and it was still early, so Chen Ping was not in a hurry to go back. It was two or three miles from the village to this river beach, and after trotting all the way, Chen Ping had a faint pain in his abdomen.

Along the river beach, lying on the clear water, Chen Ping took a break.

Seeing that there were a lot of small fish swimming in the shallow water of the river beach, Chen Ping tried to hold it with his hand a few times, but failed.

"If only there was a fishing net." Chen Ping thought.

Walking slowly back along the river beach, putting on straw sandals, Chen Ping suddenly saw a silt ground with a flat hole on the side of the river beach.

It's like a lobster hole, but Chen Ping knows that crayfish were only introduced to China in the twenties and thirties, and there will definitely be no one now. Importantly, the hole is flat, and unlike the crayfish-shaped hole, it looks more like a crab's hole.

Picking up a finger-thick wooden branch, Chen Ping tried to poke it into the hole. There was a hard feel at the bottom, and it was still shaking.

"There are no snakes." Chen Ping has done a lot of things to catch fish and shrimp, this test is to see if there are snakes in the hole, the feeling transmitted through the wooden stick, Chen Ping can now be sure that this is really the crab hole.

"Looks like we're going to have to eat again today." After placing the stones, Chen Ping probed along the edge of the cave.

It's not deep, and as soon as the hole reaches Chen Ping's elbow, his fingers feel a stinging pain and touch a hard object.

Without hesitation, with five fingers probing and grabbing, Chen Ping brought out the guy in the hole, a palm-sized river crab, still waving its claws.

"There should still be caves." Since one can be found, there should still be one here, Chen Ping continued to search in the direction of the river beach silt.

Chen Ping only went home when the sun was halfway out, holding three river crabs in each hand. There could have been more, but when he went out, he didn't bring the utensils with him, so Chen Ping was able to stop.

Don't worry, if you have time, you can let them be raised there first, and then go next time.

"Big brother, what are you holding in your hand?" Chen An was already up, and was learning to gargle his mouth with his neck tilted like Chen Ping usually does, staring at the river crab in Chen Ping's hand at a glance, choking twice, and gargling into his stomach.

"River crabs." Chen Ping said, "Go and get a clay pot." ”

Chen An screamed, and went to the hall to get the clay pot out.

Putting the six river crabs in, Chen Ping shook his hand, it was quite heavy.

"How do you eat this?" Chen An squatted by the clay pot, pondering.

Chen Zhen swayed from the hall and ran over, rushed to Chen An's side, saw the river crab in the clay pot, and reached in with his little hand to catch it.

"Little lady, you can't catch this with your hands." Chen Ping hurriedly hugged Chen Zhen, picked up a small wooden stick from the ground and sent it to the river crab claw, which was immediately broken into two, "Look, your fingers will become like this." ”

"Play, I want to play." Chen Zhen became interested for a while, snatched the wooden stick in Chen Ping's hand, and wanted to tease the river crab.

Chen Ping put down Chen Zhen and let Chen An stare at her, and then said to the Liu family in the same house, and went out to the field.

The land in the east of Chen Pingjia Village is a little far away from the village, and you have to walk nearly a mile to get there. However, this piece of land is relatively flat, and the remaining seven acres of land in the family are connected here.

When passing by the blacksmith's house at the entrance of the village, Chen Erniu ran out of it and handed Chen Ping an object.

"Brother Ping, what's the use of you wanting this thing?" A small piece of iron, there are many corners of Chen Erniu's house, and it is not difficult to pick up a piece and let Grandpa process it a little for Chen Ping.

"This thing can ignite a fire." Chen Pingdao.

A piece of high-carbon steel, plus a piece of flint, can strike each other to produce sparks, which is much better than the oak planks at home, and it is also easy to carry.

"Is it really that powerful?" Chen Erniu didn't believe it.

"Look." The overall shape of the iron is arc-shaped, and there are two curved handles at the back, just enough to hold it in the hand, Chen Ping said to Chen Erniu at that time, you can do it, you can do it, you can't make an iron piece, but I didn't expect to get the finished product in my hand is more satisfactory than I imagined.

I felt a stone picked up from the river beach, and then there was a small rub of mugwort, and with a snort, a spark came out.

It was the first time for Chen Ping to use the fire sickle, and he was a little rusty, so he tried to change his grip so that Mars could face the moxa, and Chen Ping hit it a few more times.

"It's on, it's on." Chen Erniu shouted excitedly.

"Don't worry, it's still a little close." There were a few sparks on the moxa velvet, which began to become charred black, Chen Ping scratched a few more times, splashed more sparks, and gently blew a few times, and the moxa finally burst into flames.

The fire sickle is much faster than drilling wood, and in Chen Ping's impression, the Sui Dynasty fire sickle should have it, but for some reason it has not been popularized here in Yangzhou.

Maybe it's because this is a rural area and the information is relatively lagging behind?

"Can you make one for me?" Chen Erniu was very envious.

"Simple, you make a few more iron bars like this, I have flint there." Chen Pingdao.

Chen Erniu answered and ran to the house.

Sunrise and sunset.

It was another day of work, and river crabs were added to the noon dishes, and Liu borrowed a small bowl of vinegar from the widow Wang.

Chen Ping ripped off a crab leg, rolled it in vinegar and put it in his mouth. The bird's beak finally had some taste, and Chen Zhen waved her little hands excitedly.

This can be regarded as the most satisfying dish that Chen Ping has eaten in this world.

Of the six river crabs, four of them were finally divided by Chen Ping's five people, one fell into Chen Erniu's mouth, and one was given to Wang.

After a meal and a river crab, Chen Erniu worked as a free laborer for half a day.

"Grandpa, do you know where to buy fishing nets?" On the way back, Chen Ping asked Chen's father.

"What do you want fishing nets for?" Carrying the rice stalk, Chen's father also took a big step, the road was too far, and walking faster could save a lot of time.

After years of hard work, Chen's father's face was dark, and the back of his neck was more suitable and a layer of skin had been rubbed off, but fortunately, his body was strong, and he didn't stop once along the way.

"I saw a lot of fish on the beach, and I thought that if I could lay a net there, I would get a good catch." Chen Pingdao.

"Why didn't I see any fish?" Father Chen raised his shoulders and said after a while, "If you want fishing nets, you have to go to the county, and when the rice harvest is finished, you can go with me." ”

In the autumn harvest, the people in the village are busy, the weather has been quite good in recent days, and the village road is full of rice crops.

Chen's father went out again after entering the courtyard to unload the rice crops, while the Chen Ping brothers helped Liu threshing.

"Mother, I'll use this to make a fire in the future." Chen Ping took out the fire sickle and demonstrated it in front of Liu.

Liu is very happy, for ordinary villagers, food, clothing, housing and transportation are fundamental, and food is especially important, and making a fire in this is a procedure that must be passed.

Looking at Chen Ping's operation, this object called a fire sickle is much more time-saving than the oak plank, and he is not worried about getting wet and damp.

It's really very convenient.

"This thing works great, where did you get it?" Liu asked.

"I made it myself, it's very simple, the flint is picked up from the river beach, and the iron piece is taken from Erniu's house." Chen Ping turned the rice stalk in his hand, and the rice ear fell against the edge of the table, and the fallen rice stuck on his face, crispy and numb.

"Then do more, and send it to your aunt and uncle's family." Liu saw that this thing didn't cost a lot of money, but it was so convenient, so he thought about using it to repay some favors.

Chen Ping promised to come down, and it didn't take much time to pick up some flint stones on the river beach during his morning run.

However, does this mean that this fire sickle is a rarity?

"Mother will tell you something." Liu put away the fire sickle, put down the rice harvest, and said to Chen Ping, "You are also eleven, you should go to the countryside to study, and you can be a scholar in the future." ”

Chen Ping knew in his heart, it seemed that his parents wanted to let him go to school. In this era, even in later generations, reading is a good way out. Not only is the job guaranteed, but also the lintel, money and reputation are harvested.

But from the beginning, Chen Ping never thought about getting rich by reading, or he didn't consider reading as a capital to settle down in this era.

Compared with the nine-rank Zhongzheng system during the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the imperial examination system that began in the Sui Dynasty was indeed a good start in the selection of talents.

But it's just the beginning, the Sui Dynasty's talent selection quota still accounts for a large proportion, and there are not no people who can get rid of brown only by their own talents, but they are pitiful.

In the seventh year of the emperor's reign, Emperor Wen of Sui formulated the system of "three people in Zhuzhou", there are two subjects of Xiucai and Ming Jing in Changgong, and there are Sui generation, and there are only more than ten people in Xiucai and the first, which shows its great difficulty.

As for the Ming Jing, it is better than Xiucai, as long as it is a student of Guozi and Zhou County or a scholar of the state tribute, he can take the exam. It's a pity that, as far as Chen Ping understands, even if he passes the Ming Jing Section, he may not have a real job immediately, and he has to wait for the bolt to be selected.

The time added up is not ten years, nor is it less than seven or eight years. For this time, the daylilies are cold.

Moreover, even if he successfully became a Jiupin official, Chen Ping did not have the ability to know where he would be sent down.

If it is in Shandong, it is really drilling into the bandits' den. Who knows if it will be sacrificed by the leader of a peasant uprising.

"Mother, I don't want to go to school." Chen Ping said directly, "You need to be restrained to go to school, where can you have it at home?" ”

"Don't worry about this, the bundle is ready. Just wait for the rice to be harvested, and then you will go to the master's house with your grandfather. "Thirty duck eggs, Liu has already collected them, scooped the rice again, and then picked, selected a stone of polished rice, and there will be a bundle.

"But I don't want to go to school." Chen Ping said bitterly, "I am very tired from school, I can't remember, I am afraid that my master will scold." ”

"It's okay, read more and you'll remember." Liu persuaded.

Chen Ping found a few more reasons, but unfortunately Liu still wanted Chen Ping to go to school, and it seemed that his heart seemed to be more determined.

If you really go to the countryside, you won't be able to accomplish a lot of things.

"Mother, it's not that I don't want to go. In fact, because the state and county township schools have been abolished by the emperor, it is difficult to get ahead by reading. "In the first year of Renshou, Emperor Wen of Sui was dissatisfied with the talents selected by the state and county township schools, and abolished the state and county township schools, leaving only two doctors of Guozi and seventy students, and Chen Ping moved this out.