After Mrs. Qin replied to the question of the county order, she returned to the backyard and sat still, and the maid asked her if she had a meal and did not answer, and did not light the lamp when it was dark. A man looked at the cold moonlight in front of the porch with his knees crossed, and muttered, "It's been five years." ”

Five years ago, the scene is unfolding before my eyes.

·

Mrs. Qin's surname is Dou, and five years ago she was the wife of Jiang Chuan, a tenant of the Qin family's manor.

That day, the weather was fine, Qin Jian thought about it to see how the crops were growing in the field, and he didn't ride a horse, he walked around alone, he was tired and thirsty, and he happened to pass by Jiangchuan's house.

He knew that this was the tenant of the Qin family's manor, but he didn't know whose house it was, so he pushed away the firewood and sat down on the stone pier under the eaves, and shouted inside: "Master's house, there is water to drink." ”

Jiang Chuan went to work in the field, the three-year-old child was playing at the door, Dou was cooking on the stove, he heard someone calling outside the door, wiped his hands and went out to check, and saw that it was a passerby in the costume of a scholar begging for a bowl of water to drink, so he found a bamboo tube and scooped water and handed it over, and went back to the house to work.

Qin Jian took it and drank it all in one gulp, his heart was happy, and when he saw Xiao'er looking at him timidly, he took out a few copper coins to make Xiao'er happy.

Xiao'er took the copper coin and ran into the house to hand it to his mother Dou. Dou said: "Don't take the copper money from the guest, return it quickly." Xiao'er refused, so Dou had to come out and pay back the money by himself.

Qin Jian sat under the eaves, a cool breeze was blowing, and she was comfortable, and she heard a woman say crisply: "Childe, how can you give money to Xiao'er to play." And he looked up. Dou recognized that it was the owner, was taken aback, and gave gifts.

Who knew that Qin Jian just glanced at it, and was stunned, and couldn't take his eyes off it anymore.

This woman was born very beautiful, without powder, her face was like clotted fat, and a reddish blushness appeared in the snow; The eyes are like water, and they are full of souls; long black hair in a bun; Dressed in a light cyan Zen robe, with an apron around his waist, although it is a jinghai cloth skirt, it does not hide his graceful posture.

Qin Jian opened his mouth and stared intently.

Dou was embarrassed and annoyed by his direct look, but he was the owner of the village, so he couldn't blame him, so he had to smile and go back to the house.

Qin Jian was already demented, and when she saw her faintly flushed, her smile bloomed like a flower, and she suddenly became dizzy, and her whole body was crisp, and she couldn't move anymore.

After a long time, he slowly came to his senses, and he didn't see Dou come out, so he had to get up and go home.

Walking in the fields, far and near, unknown wildflowers swaying in the wind, red, yellow, white, purple, and colorful. He stooped down to pick, and his legs went limp, and he rolled into the field.

When Qin Jian returned home that day, he didn't think about tea and dinner, he couldn't sleep all night, and all that was shaking in front of him was Dou's figure. Later, I went to the Jiang family a few times, but it was the Jiang family's Weng who came out to greet him, and when he saw that the owner of the village was coming, he was sincerely afraid to accompany him to talk, but the Dou family did not appear.

He couldn't help but be disappointed, and when he returned home, he sighed for a long time, thinking that even if he had thousands of family fortunes, it was boring.

Qin Jian has a servant named Qin Fen, but he is in his twenties, and he was also a scoundrel before. Qin Jian saw that he was clever, so he stayed by his side to summon.

This Qin Fen was accustomed to figuring out the master's mind, and saw that Qin Jian was going to the tenant Jiang's house every once in a while, and when he came back, he was depressed, so he went to visit, and guessed that the owner of the village was fascinated by the beautiful daughter-in-law, so he dared to ask.

Qin Jian was sullen and had nowhere to say, Qin Fen came to ask, and he didn't hide it, pouring out the pain of lovesickness.

Qin Fen said: "I'll go and inquire about the details of the Jiang family first, and then I will think about it when I come back, maybe I can fulfill the wish of the master." ”

Qin Jian was overjoyed, took out two copper coins, and said: "This is the money for the feet, and there will be a reward for the success." ”

Qin Fen worked hard, and after only a few days of hard work, he figured out the details of this family, and came back to tell Qin Jian: "The male protagonist of that family, Jiang Chuan, is twenty-three years old, and there are old parents, wife Dou and a three-year-old child at home. His family rented 30 acres of land from our Qin family manor, and in a good year, he could harvest 30 acres of corn grain, and his family could get 15 hundreds, and the five people could still live. If there is not much harvest in a disaster year, it will be difficult to get by. Jiang Chuan is also smart, and he often goes to Beishi to help people load and unload goods in his spare time to earn some wages. Dou is twenty-one years old, doing housework during the day and doing numbness at night, helping each other to live. Although the family is poor, they are also divided and do not quarrel with others. ”

Qin Jian pondered for a long time and said, "It seems that it is not easy to care. ”

Qin Fen asked puzzledly, "Why?" ”

Qin Jian said: "Although this family is poor, it is harmonious, and the Dou family is a husband and a child, and it is not like a person who is greedy for wealth and nobility. The most important thing in making a woman is that you love me, I love Dou, and Dou may not care about me. After that, his expression was gloomy.

Qin Fen rolled his eyes and said, "I have a plan." He leaned close to him and whispered in his ear.

Qin Jian was a little hesitant when he heard this, thought for a while, and then looked up at Qin Fen, still hesitant.

Qin Fen didn't urge, waiting for him to make up his mind.

Qin Jian's face turned red and white for a while, and finally nodded.

After the summer ripening, Jiang Chuan harvested 30 acres of corn grain into the warehouse, and after paying the rent, he left more than 10 corn grains in his own house, planning to find some more work to move goods for the merchants and earn money to supplement the family. On this day, he went to Beishi in the county seat of Yangzhou.

After Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the northern border was peaceful, and the Han land and the Saiwai markets were intertwined, and there was an endless stream of business and travel. The Han people imported cattle, sheep, horses, and furs from outside the country, and the people from outside the country obtained ironware, bronze ware, pottery, gold and silver, and grain. However, the imperial court stipulated that private traders participating in the mutual market must hold the talismans issued by the government office, and were not allowed to exchange goods with the Xiongnu with prohibited items such as iron and weapons.

Yang Zhou has Qin straight road across the region, is the Guanzhong to the north of the key Jin, the general of the Qin State Meng Tian once led 300,000 troops stationed here "north to chase Rong Di", and in the era of peace, the goods from the south to the north are also mostly transferred here, from the merchants here to the border of the city. Most of the merchants in Yangzhou were used to stuff the currency such as silk wool, pottery, grain, and wine, and exchanged them for cattle, horses, fur, etc., which made a lot of profits.

The North Market is a place where merchants gather in the market, the crowd on the street is bustling, the sound of bargaining, loading and unloading, and the neighing of horses and the low moo of old cows, noisy all day long, there are wineries, restaurants, fruit shops, inns, etc. along the street, the pretense is shaky, it is really lively.

Jiang Chuan looked around on the street, and when he saw that there were loading and unloading trucks, he came forward and asked if he wanted to help, he only helped a cloth shop carry goods in the morning, and earned five yuan, and he originally expected to earn fifteen or twenty yuan today, but it seemed that he was going to fail, and he was very frustrated.

In the hot summer, he took off his straw hat and held the wind, thirsty and hungry, reluctant to spend money on food, so he squatted by the stream and took a few sips of water, and then got up and stared at the busy crowd. Some of these people are commanding, and some are whispering,

He couldn't help but sigh before turning around to leave, but he bumped into someone. The man was unsteady on his feet and sat down on the ground. Jiang Chuan hurriedly bent down to help him up, secretly complaining in his heart, how can he afford to pay for his fall.

The man was in his twenties, wearing a black silk and white pants, and he fell to the ground and was stained with dust, and he was beating incessantly.

Jiang Chuan kept apologizing in his mouth, and took a straw hat to help him dust it.

The man was also generous, and said with a smile: "Okay, okay." As he spoke, he stopped his hand, looked him up and down, and suddenly said, "You have a good face, but where have you seen it?" ”

Jiang Chuan looked up at the man, and he also felt that he had seen it somewhere, so he said: "My name is Jiang Chuan, and I am a tenant of the Qin family's manor. ”

The man smiled and said, "My name is Qin Fen, and I work in the Qin family's manor, so I should have met when I was collecting rent." ”

Jiang Chuan nodded, feeling that his status was low, and he had a sense of awe, and he didn't dare to speak.

Qin Fen didn't care, and asked, "What are you doing here?" ”

Jiang Chuan bowed down and replied, "The farm work in the field is done, come and find some helpers to do the work." ”

Qin Fen said: "Coincidentally, I just transported a few truckloads of Sugu to Beishi to sell today, and I was looking for someone to unload the car, so you can be regarded as one." Jiang Chuan was overjoyed, thanked him non-stop, and followed.

The six ox carts of the Qin family manor brought more than 800 corn grains, and several mercenaries began to move the corn grains into the warehouses of the merchants. Jiang Chuan also stepped forward to carry it, secretly glad that this knockdown had brought out good luck.

However, in an hour, this corn grain will also be moved, Qin Fen gave him ten cents, and said: "The Qin family manor has been transported by the corn grain in the past few days, and you will wait here to unload the truck every day." You move more, and I'll give you twenty dollars each time. ”

Jiang Chuan's tears of emotion were about to fall. In the next few days, he went to unload grain, and he became more and more enthusiastic with Qin Fen.

After unloading the valley on this day, Qin Fen handed over twenty yuan, and Jiang Chuan put it in his arms. Qin Fen looked at him carefully hiding the money, and said with a smile: "Do you want to make more money?" ”

"I want to, I dream of it." Jiang Chuan replied eagerly.

Qin Fen laughed when he heard this, and turned around to settle the bill with the other helpers.