Chapter 1: The Prosperous Era (1)

It's autumn, but the weather is still as hot as midsummer. Zhang Baosheng, the shopkeeper, moved a mazar and sat in front of his small restaurant while sticking out his tongue to blow the cool breeze while watching the sunset.

The weather of this son of a bitch is as sad as the days of a son of a bitch. The heat of the summer has been worn to the bones, and even the breath of breath is sticky and wet, as greasy as a stain on the side of the stove. On the official road, the dust carried by passers-by floats in the air, and before you know it, the upside-down "fence" (Note 1) on the wall of the restaurant is pasted into a muddy ball. It's black, it smells like it's filthy, and it's even more unappetizing when it smells in your nostrils.

If it was in the early years, Zhang Baosheng would still be in the mood to put a bucket of well water and wipe down the "fence" on the wall and the smoky signboard above his head. In the upper valley and the river, this "fence" represents restaurants and hotels, and like the official signboard overhead, it is the face of the owner's family. At that time, his restaurant had just opened, and it was a good year for Renshou Year, and there were more than a dozen "good meat" (Note 2) in his account every day. Zhang Baosheng's house-filling house and the 50 acres of land near the Yishui River were purchased at that time.

At that time, Zhang Baosheng remembered that he couldn't wait to wipe the plaque on the top of his head three times a day that read "There is an inn". This plaque was written by Zhang Baosheng with the pen of three sheep and asked for the old master Yang in Yi County School. Old Master Yang used to be the recorder of Lord Yang Su of Yue Gong, if he didn't like the simple people on this side, he wouldn't have settled in Shanggu County at all. Although the plaque he wrote while drunk did not sound like "Ruyi" and "Linfeng", it was better to be appropriate and natural. Thinking that the traveler was on the official road with no end in sight, he suddenly saw the words "there is an inn", and his hunger and thirst suddenly became born, and he walked in to stay overnight, eat two bowls of wheat rice, and drink a few turbid wines It is also expected.

It's a pity that the good times didn't last long, and the year of Renshou ended soon. Immediately after the name of the year became a great cause, after the new emperor of the wise and martial arts ascended the throne, he first built the Great Wall and then opened the canal, tossing the savings in the treasury clean. At the beginning of this year, I don't know where I heard the saying that "Renjun ascends the throne and all countries come to the court", and strongly invited the khans of various countries to gather in Luoyang, and ordered that all places along the way must splash clear water on the streets, loess mat roads, market restaurants, and all Hu people are not allowed to ask for money to eat and drink.

People say that the Son of Heaven is Shengming, and what he looks at is the same pupil, that is, one eye sees two shadows, which is twice as clear as ordinary people, but Shengmingzi doesn't know the reason of paying for meals. Shanggu County is close to the border, and the Xi, Khitan, and Turkic people come and go frequently, and they have been communicating for a long time, and they can't tell who is Hu'er and who is Han. As soon as the emperor's preferential treatment order, there were more Hu people in Siye immediately. Really, fake, and fake Hu people ate like locusts along the official road, as if the locals owed them in their previous lives. After such a toss, everyone doesn't know what benefits the emperor and old man have gained. Zhang Baosheng knew that his tavern had resigned and dismissed his fellow men for this reason, and half of the fifty acres of land by the Yishui River had been pawned to others. It turned out that every day when he came home, the old man coaxed him to fill the room happily, but now his face is cold, and he wishes he was sleeping on a bench in the tavern in the front yard.

The tavern, which has no money to hire a chef and can't afford to feed its diligent guys, is naturally becoming more and more deserted. Zhang Baosheng, who used to be busy every day without touching the ground, is now leisurely, and he can carry Mazar to look forward to the sunset after noon. At sunset, the neighbors who had been busy all day went home, and if any of them could sell half a catty of turbid wine, they could satisfy his last hope of making money for the day.

Although the business is deserted, the taxes in the yamen still have to be paid. A few days ago, Zhao Er, a trotter under the door of Master Li in Yixian County (Note 3), specially came to take care of it, and this year, "there is an inn" to pay an additional five raw cowhides. Zhang Baosheng begged for evil, and Zhao Er's family looked at the face of two jars of sesame oil and a jar of aged flower carvings, and reduced the number of cowhides from five to two, but required that they must be delivered to the county before winter, otherwise, Zhang Baosheng will bear any consequences.

There is a saying that "the county order of the broken family, the too shou of the skin", Zhang Baosheng knows what the consequences of not paying taxes are. Several of his colleagues in the county town are now living in an inn (prison) opened by Yamen. It is said that there are two meals a day, and fried pork slices with bamboo shoots. Every once in a while, a bloody man was carried out the back door and thrown into the wilderness to feed the dogs. However, the government did not allow the people to kill cattle, and sick cattle and crippled cattle have always been in short supply. Even if you find a way to fill the number with donkey skin, you have to find a place to find the donkey.

The number of pedestrians on both sides of the official road gradually increased, and the villagers of large families resisted wooden shovels and led their cattle to the master's house to hand over the work. These people won't buy Zhang Baosheng's water and wine, so he can't lift his spirit to greet everyone. His eyes looked straight at the end of the official road, looking forward to the stars and the moon, and looking forward to the passing of merchants returning from outside the fortress. Only they have good leather goods in their hands, and only they can give Zhang Baosheng hope to continue to survive.

"Uncle Baosheng, business is good today!" On the side of the official road, a young man on a horse raised his halberd and pointed at it.

"Five babies, thanks to the blessing of your old brother, there are three groups of guests today, and the stove hall is not cold!" Zhang Baosheng thumped his numb legs and stood up and agreed loudly.

The fifth child of the Zhang family in the former village who greeted him was Zhang Baosheng's nephew according to his generation. Although since Zhang Baosheng opened a restaurant and started business, the two families have stopped moving. But after all, they are an ancestral hall, and the closeness between the bloodlines is constantly separated.

"My dad said, if you really can't support it, close the inn! There are so many juniors in the clan, no matter what, Uncle Baosheng will not starve! The five babies rode their horses a few more steps forward, turned around, and pointed to the ground with a leather whip.

"I'm tired of my old brother, five babies, go back and send someone to hold a jar of wine and rinse my mouth!" Zhang Baosheng tried his best to stand up straight, and replied, which was already a little burdened. Wuwazi is the best in the county school, and it is said that he has the opportunity to be promoted by the county and go to the capital to participate in the scientific examination. In front of such a promising young man, he didn't dare to put on any uncle's stinky shelf. As for the words of Zhang Baoliang, the father of the fifth baby, Zhang Baosheng just didn't hear it. At the beginning of the year, the inn could not be opened, and he borrowed money from this family, and the price Zhang Baosheng paid was to sell 30 acres of good land. really closed the inn and retired in the Hui clan according to what the other party said, Zhang Baosheng estimated that his remaining 20 acres of good land would have to change owners.

"Uncle Xie Baosheng, I'll send someone to fetch it when I go back, my father doesn't love anything else, just take this one!" The five babies said goodbye to Zhang Baosheng with a smile, patted the mount, and dissolved into the afterglow of the setting sun.

"Alas!" Zhang Baochang sighed. Don't blame the sky, don't blame the earth, just blame yourself for not having a son who is also studying under the county school Yang Laofu. If he has a son who has a great future like the five children, who dare to come to the door to bully those helpers in the yamen, the gangsters in the township, and the longhouses in the clan.

Thinking of the county school, he suddenly felt a little hope in his heart. His nephew is also studying in the county school, and he is no worse than the five children in terms of reputation and talent. Since the Zhang family Xiaowu can rush home from the county school today, his nephew Li Xu may also come back. If you can meet him, you may be able to settle the difficulties you are facing.

With the idea of giving it a try, Zhang Baosheng did not close the door with a full sense of loss as before. Instead, he beat his sore back and continued to look up the official road. As expected, after about a cup of tea, a blue and white mule ran on the official road, and on the back of the mule, a burly young man with slender arms saluted him from afar.

"Uncle, are you busy today, do you want me to help you wash the dishes!" The young man had already arrived at the door of the inn as he spoke, pressed his hand, raised his leg, and jumped cleanly off the mule's back. Tie the reins to the stake and walk inward.

"I can't help it, I can't help it, Xu Guan, you are a scholar, you can't make a living like this!" Zhang Baosheng saw that the young man was serious, and hurriedly stretched out his arms to stop him. The oil-stained twisted arm did not dare to touch the green shirt on the young man's body, and was squeezed back again and again.

"What's the matter, after reading the book, you won't be my uncle. When my mother heard this, she must have come to you to theorize! The young man gently opened Zhang Baosheng's arm with his hand and squeezed into the inn nimbly.

The first floor, which can only hold a dozen tables, actually has nothing to tidy up, and because business is so deserted, many places where people don't often sit are dusty. Li Xu didn't want his uncle to think that he would only sell his mouth, so he took off his robe, grabbed a rag and wiped all the tables and chairs, took a ladder, climbed the door beam, and cleaned up the smoky inn signboard to its original appearance, and then took off the old "fence" on the wall, found a half-new one from the kitchen and replaced it, and then returned the objects to a distance and went to the wooden basin to fetch water and wash his face.

Zhang Baosheng watched from the side, and his heart was as warm as drinking half a catty of his daughter's red. He has no children under his knees, and his two daughters rarely come home after leaving the cabinet. After his wife's death, he didn't continue the incense for him, so he kept looking at Li Xu as half a son. Seeing that his nephew was about to say goodbye, he suddenly remembered that he hadn't seen his child for more than two months. The big hand touched his waist a few times, but he didn't find a suitable meeting gift, slapped his forehead fiercely, and said: "Look at my memory, don't rush home first, I have brewed a few jars of old wine for your father, and I have collected water according to the recipe passed by the Hu people, and hung it on the back of the mule to bring it back, so that your father can keep out the cold in winter!" ”

"That's not good, how much effort do you have to burn this jar of wine, it's only serious to keep it and sell it. Besides, my dad went to Saiwai to do goods, and it will take a few days to come back! The young man threw his robe over his body and said his words in a loud voice.

Yan Zhao has a strong temperament, and even likes to drink strong. In order to improve the taste of rice wine, the brewer needs to use secret processing many times to remove most of the water in the wine, so that the wine can be so thick that it can make people vomit three bowls. Therefore, the cost of a jar of old wine is often five times that of ordinary turbid wine. Such a valuable gift, even in a good year, the young man can't bear to loot it from his uncle's house, not to mention that it is now when Zhang Baosheng's inn is on the verge of closure.

"Take it, Xu Guan, otherwise you won't give your uncle face!" Zhang Baosheng patted his nephew's face lovingly with his oily hands and ordered in a low voice. This child was born during the Kaihuang period, and he was well raised in the womb, and obviously had a blessed face. I want to tie my hair after the New Year (Note 4), but I can't even afford to give my uncle a decent gift for my hair. Thinking of it, I didn't feel a little desolate in my heart, and sighed with self-pity, lowered my head, and slowly walked towards the wine cellar in the backyard.

Li Xu sighed when he saw his uncle, knowing that his actions had made the old man sad again, so he had to stay in the inn silently and wait. After a while, Zhang Baosheng turned back, but what he was holding was not only a large jar of wine, but also two dried muntjac hanging on the willow basket where the wine jar was placed, as well as half a pocket of dried shepherd's cabbage, shredded radish, etc.

"How can this be done, I will search you like this, and my mother must go back to the family law!" Li Xu frustrated his hands, his face full of embarrassment.

"Wine and snacks, my uncle will not give them in vain. When your father comes back from outside, ask your uncle to ask who has the skins of raw cows or the skins of large animals such as donkeys and horses. The yamen was in a hurry, and the uncle was willing to pay a suitable price to buy it. Zhang Baosheng smiled innocently, happy that he had finally found a suitable excuse to give gifts. The young man couldn't help but excuse himself and hung the wicker basket on the back of the mule, and when it was over, he untied a leather bag from the back waist like a hundred plays and stuffed it into Li Xu's hand.

"This is the eighteenth year of the emperor's reign, and several military masters who went to Liaodong to seek merit got drunk and fell into my inn. It's been more than ten years, and no one has come back to look for it, I'm afraid no one wants it. Uncle is looking for a good bow, so he takes good care of it every year. You take it to play, you will be fifteen next year, your Li family pays attention to finding wealth immediately, and there is a good bow in hand! ”

The young man knew that this was his uncle's gift to him, so he didn't dare to refuse, so he took it with both hands. There was a melting warmth at the moment of entry, and I don't know if it was my uncle's body temperature, or the temperature of the black and inconspicuous bow sac itself. When I untied the leather rope from the bow sac, I saw a two-and-a-half-foot-long horned bow lying among the thin hairs, and the color was as warm as ink jade (Note 5).

Shanggu County is close to the border and was once the place where the flying general Li Guang was stationed. Therefore, as long as the people are not particularly poor, they usually let their children worship a wild master to learn some swords, bows and horses, fists and feet to defend themselves. So Li Xu swept it with his eyes, and knew that his uncle gave him a high-quality bow, and if it was on the market, it was estimated that he would not be able to get it back at all if he didn't have three or five pieces of meat. At this time, he couldn't be polite, so he could only give a salute again and thank his uncle for his kindness.

Seeing that the gift could be liked by his nephew, Zhang Baosheng was more proud than earning dozens of hangs. While closing the doors and windows and preparing to close the stall, he admonished, "This bow has not been used for a long time, and it is very hard." You play leisurely and don't hurt yourself. After all, this thing is just a plaything, you are excellent in character and learning, and in the future, you will be pushed to show talent, take the Jinshi examination, release the county lady, the county guard, and the glorious lintel, and no one will dare to underestimate me as an uncle......"

Note 1: A special utensil for scooping rice in the north of the fence, with a net made of thin bamboo strips at one end of the wooden handle. In the countryside of Hebei, this thing is hung outside the wall for the restaurant mark. The custom continued until the eighties of the last century.

Note 2: The meat is good. Emperor Wen of Sui reminted five coins and banned the bad coins issued during the Northern and Southern Dynasties. This money, "the back meat is good, there are Zhou Guo, each money weighs four catties and two taels per thousand", so the folk call it good meat. During the Sui and Tang dynasties, it was used as currency throughout the country at the same time as silk cloth.

Note 3, the Sui Dynasty county set up a household groove and a military trough, and the status is equivalent to the county. The household is responsible for tax collection, population statistics, etc. The subordinates can recruit helpers (assistant management), and the state does not issue helpers and idlers, and the households deduct them from local taxes, which gradually becomes a shortcut for officials to loot the localities.

Note 4, hair tie, generally refers to a man around 15 years old, at this time should go to learn various skills. "The Great Dai Li Ji Bao Fu": "Tie your hair and go to university, learn great arts, and perform great festivals." ”

Note 5, Han ruler, one ruler is about 23.1 centimeters now.

Alcohol's note: It is not easy to open a new book, and today I plan to make three changes, please click, recommend, collect and promote on behalf of readers. Fixed a bug.