After the New Year, the weather was much warmer, and more people joined the road repair team, and now that it is civilized, many of the roads that were originally built have some cracks, and the pearls are also quickly re-dug up and repaired. The foundation of the new road is relatively deep, and the sand is thick, and the iron rod is pressed back and forth on the asphalt road, and everyone is afraid that there will be a situation where they will go back and make up the road. The road was not repaired, and so much money was collected from others, and everyone was upset.

Now the villages and towns are busy making lanterns, some people make big ones, some people make exquisite ones, and some people take unusual routes, in short, whether the house is in the village, or merchants, individuals, are busy making lanterns. And Mingqian, as the county magistrate, is naturally busier. Since so many people have been invited, the venue must be cleaned up, and the businesses along the street must ensure the most thoughtful service. In the words of the officials, if anyone doesn't give the county magistrate a long face, they don't want to have a face.

Mingqian also invited officials from several nearby counties, and even officials from Zhuozhou and Zhangzhou. After coming, I stayed directly in an inn, and I had good food and drink, good wine and meat every day. And Ming Qian said, come for so many days, one or two silver a day, if someone makes trouble and makes a big fuss, they will be deducted money. If you catch a petty thief or a human trafficker, there is a reward, among which the trafficker's back catches the most reward, and if you catch one, you will be given 100 taels. Of course, it must be a combination of human stolen goods, and it cannot be bent into a trick.

In addition to the gimmick of lanterns, Mingqian's propaganda in the state capital also includes singing the right stage. Which troupe gets the most reward, which troupe can get the most reward, I heard that it is ten horses of woven gold brocade for playing. This is precious. Generally, the second ordinary person can't pull it, and besides, it's a face to earn!

Dazheng County, the lanterns are colorful, all those who are facing the street, and those who are not facing the street, are hung with their own lanterns. Countless shelves have been erected on the streets in front of the county government. There was also sand and a water tank next to the shelf, and everyone quickly understood that this was just in case. In a large vacant lot near the suburbs, the stages of the two troupes have been set up. Far enough. They don't disturb each other, and around the periphery of the stage, there are small stalls with lanterns. The stall sells a full range of things. Pearl also had people send messages to merchants in the state and nearby county capitals. Tell them it's a good publicity opportunity and that they can send lights to the game.

Because Sheng Shi made it very big, Ming Qian invited the prefect of Zhangzhou and the prefect of Zhuozhou. Shanyang County Order, Boyang County Order, plus himself, and two respected old men as judges. Speaking of these two prefects, it is really very face-saving for Mingqian, but in the pearl's opinion, these two people are afraid that they want to see the excitement more often, and the people of the Yin family business house set up a three-zhang high shelf, just to hang lanterns, and the rich and powerful don't want people to compare. In this way, the scale is much larger than originally expected. Seeing this scene, Pearl proposed a grand prize, a large golden silk sandalwood Buddha statue opened by the master of Tsz Yun Temple, this Buddha statue is two meters high and one meter wide, and it is actually carved from a whole piece of wood. The price of golden silk nanmu is originally higher than gold, such a big Buddha, there is not even in the palace! It is still a thousand-year-old golden silk nanmu, and now it is even more noisy.

On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, as soon as the sun came out in the morning, the big drama began. The two troupes first sang a big drama that they were good at. During the intermission, according to Pearl's suggestion, there were two small jokes, and his girls also made cameos. Pearl also said that the reward they earned from singing was given to them as a dowry.

After that, the Zhuozhou opera troupe sang the Yue opera "Hitting the Golden Branch", Zhangzhou sang the Yue opera "Jade Hairpin", and later, Zhuozhou sang the Peking Opera "Shilang Visits the Mother", and Zhangzhou sang the Peking Opera "Yangmen Female General". There were no seats under the stage at all, there were too many people, they all stood and watched, and when they saw it, they threw money or silver or hairpin rings in front of them, and someone was responsible for picking them up.

The small stalls around are also very lively, guessing riddles, and choosing lights. The first thing to be revealed was the competition between the two theater troupes. In the end, the theater troupe on the Zhangzhou side won with a slight difference of two taels of silver, and the prefect of Zhangzhou was very happy, smiling happily with his beard. And the victorious Zhangzhou opera troupe sang a few short segments, which attracted everyone's applause.

Pearl also took the children to see, there were guards around to protect them, the girls and mothers-in-law were surrounded, and the children were also held, so they could finally watch the excitement with peace of mind.

The most lively is the later lantern selection. In the end, several judges voted, and the Yin family made a huge lotus lantern, which was very delicate and won the grand prize. There were two first prizes, one was from a village in this county, and the other was won by the Zhu family from Yongxing Town, and the subsequent awards were won by people from other counties, as well as people from Zhuozhou and Zhangzhou. There are rich and poor. One of the thirteen-year-olds made a lantern for a piglet, which was very good and a little funny. A native of Shanyang County, Shanyang County ordered him to present an award, he got 20 taels of silver and a silver hairpin, Shanyang County Commander asked him, "How do you plan to spend the silver money and hairpin?" ”

The boy said, "Give me my mother's flowers." My mother doesn't have a hairpin, just for my mother. ”

The prefect of Zhuozhou joked, "If you have a lady in the future, who are you going to give it to?" ”

"To the lady."

Everyone laughed at him and teased him, but Mingqian continued to ask, "Why don't you give your mother?" ”

The boy said, "I gave it to my mother, so that she can be good to my mother." I...... My mother doesn't care about money, but she cares about me very much, and I can't bear to see her unhappy. ”

Saying this, everyone was thoughtful, and Ming Qian generously rewarded him with a hairpin, saying that it was for her mother, so it would be fine. The lady and the mother have hairpins, aren't they all happy?

Pearl watched these big men on the stage enjoy the admiration of everyone, of course, among them, the Qiao pile who is in charge of hosting is a lot of credit, and the compliments of several adults and two respected old gentlemen are extremely comfortable, this Qiao pile is also really talented, secretly praising people, and looking honest and loyal, it really makes people feel funny.

When everything is over and the scene is over, the prisoners in the prison will come out to clean the streets, which is what the county magistrate told them, they will have good labor reform, they will have good food for their work, clean clothes and quilts, and they can come out to let off the wind at noon every day. If you want to run, the crime will be doubled, and the original sentence of one year will now be sentenced to three years. If you behave well, you can have your sentence commuted!

This lantern festival has greatly stimulated the economy of the entire Dazheng County, and anyone with a little brain can make money. After that, the road construction still attracted most of the people. Pearl spent money to repair the road, and sure enough, it didn't feel uncomfortable anymore. After soaking in the water of the Seven Treasure Pond, I gradually felt the difference. She thinks about her children, and her three children drink this water every day. Pearl found that they had become stronger and smarter. The three sons have all started to study now, if it weren't for the tight-mouthed family style, I'm afraid that the three children would be said to be prodigies. Mingqian and his wife have discussed it with the two masters, no matter how they learn, everyone will not show a look of praise, just take everything for granted, otherwise at a young age, the tail will hit the sky, and sooner or later they will suffer a big loss.

This side is busy with spring planting, and the hometown is not peaceful. Yu'er is already eleven years old, she is a big girl, after going home, the grandmother and her mother instructed the girl to do something else, she is responsible for helping the family cook, the soles of shoes, the food is not good, the clothes are not good, the people in contact are even more vulgar, and the little girl in the village can not be friends, because she obviously hurried to the other party's vulgarity, not to mention anything else, the girls are together, all they study are her jewelry, clothes, etc., and ask her about things in the city.

As for those maintenance secrets, there are no more. The mother-in-law Shen also had to fight against Aunt Wang from time to time, even if she ate with her family, she couldn't stand it, because they all made a sound of eating, snoring when they drank soup, and the sound of chopsticks touching dishes. Someone even came to say goodbye to her, she was curious, and went to peek at the young man, it didn't matter when she saw it, she almost didn't want to live, and said that everyone in ten miles and eight villages was rushing to marry!

Later, gradually, Feng told Yu'er that Shen also looked sorry, and even the grandfather, grandfather and father in the family were very disappointed in her. Not to mention the people in the village, they all think she is a down-and-out phoenix, and they all bully her, Yu'er regrets it, and in just one month, the whole person has lost a lot of weight.

On this day, Feng sat on the kang, holding a big cigarette pouch and pot with a jasper mouth in his mouth, and said to Shen, "This child just let that vicious woman be harmed, in the end, he is young and has soft ears, what your brother and sister said is right, if you don't change this problem well, the future will not be big, it is better to find a farmer at home!" ”

Shen finished filling the old lady with tobacco, looking at the lotus purse with gold thread, the more open it is, the more it looks good, this is given by the younger siblings, to say that the younger siblings are really not picky, the things given to them are valuable, and the old man does not forget to show filial piety, Feng and the old man Ming's clothes all year round have been wrapped with pearls, and now the old couple eats and wears them, which is no worse than the rich people in the city. The eye bags and pots, the purse, the jade pendant hanging on the body, the headband on the head, and the forehead with jewels sewn are all made by the younger siblings.

Shen looked at the daughter who was feeding the chickens outside the window, and said fiercely, "If she still can't figure it out, she will rest at home as soon as possible, useless goods, I don't think it's as good as Zhu'er, haven't you heard what her younger siblings said?" Pearls can be motivated. (To be continued......)