After the cold breath invaded the north and south of the Yangtze River, goose-feather-like heavy snow fell from the sky and covered the earth, covering many places in China.
In Sanfu, Chang'an, although the snow has not yet reached the level that hinders people's travel, the number of pedestrians on the road has decreased a lot. And judging from the experience of previous years, since it is already snowing heavily, it means that it is very likely to receive
There will be snow when it comes down, just one after another.
Therefore, in such weather, ordinary people rarely go out unless necessary. The most common way for these ordinary people in winter is to stay up and reduce the amount of activity, thus reducing calorie consumption and allowing them to eat more.
The less, the longer it will take.
For the children of the gentry, the first heavy snow actually inspired more desire to play.
Of course, it needs heavy snow. Not many people were interested in the first snowfall before, because the first snow melted easily, and then there was mud on the ground, which really didn’t have much scenery. However, under the heavy snowfall, the sky and the earth were pure white, which made these hearts
People who are black or gray naturally feel that they have been washed.
Especially near the Wuling Tombs in Chang'an, after all, commerce is developed and there are quite a few people from well-off families. Many people can light charcoal fires, wear thick fur clothes, warm wine and talk and laugh...
In the backyard of the General Office, a snowman was also built. The snowman had a fat head and a round belly. It did not have a carrot or broom as a costume, but instead had a bamboo horse and a wooden sword.
The snowman was built by Huang Yueying. Although this guy is already a mother, he is only about 20 years old after all. In addition, he was in Jingzhou before and rarely saw heavy snow. Therefore, in Chang'an, whenever heavy snow falls, he is more or less excited and naughty. From then on, he was excited and naughty.
Huang Yueying stared at Fei Qian for a while and smiled, then patted the snowman's head, and inserted a bamboo horse and a wooden sword. Fei Qian roughly guessed that Huang Yueying was using herself as a template for the snowman.
Fei Zhen also followed Huang Yueying crookedly. Sometimes she couldn't stand firmly in the snow and fell down on the snow with a squeak. Huang Yueying just laughed and then didn't let the maids and slaves help her. Fei Zhen didn't feel the need.
He used crying to win sympathy, staggered up again, and then chased his mother who seemed to be unreliable. Then Huang Yueying shook the snowy treetops and covered his head with another meal.
Falling snow...
Fei Qian looked at it and didn't stop him. In fact, children are not as delicate as adults think, especially those who may enter the army in the future, let alone be afraid of wind, snow, this or that.
Fei Qian gave some instructions and asked someone to prepare some hot water and ginger soup. After the children had enough fun, they could take a hot bath and drink some ginger soup to ward off the cold. Naturally, there would be no problem.
After passing through the corridor and arriving at the front yard, Pang Tong and Xun You were already sitting in front of the stove in the hall, warming rice wine and chatting. When they saw Fei Qian, they both stood up to greet him.
Fei Qian waved his hand, sat down, took the bowl of warm wine handed over by Pang Tong, took a sip, and suddenly felt the warmth spread down to his limbs. Even the soreness behind his shoulders seemed to be relieved.
After a while, I couldn't help but exhale a breath of alcohol, "Ha..."
"Isn't the wine good?" Pang Tong said with a smile, "It would be better if it was cooked with some Qiang..."
Fei Qian laughed and said, "Let's put the food aside for now and talk about business first..."
Pang Tong muttered something in a low voice.
"Huh? Eating is the real thing?" Fei Qian's ears are also very sensitive.
Pang Tong waved his hands repeatedly, "No! I just said, "This is also business"..."
Fei Qian knew that Pang Tong was quibbling, but he didn't pursue it, so he asked Xun You, "How are the things that keep out the cold going?"
Xun You cupped his hands and said, "Everything has been distributed. The army has sufficient hay, thick cloth, linoleum, and blankets to survive the winter. Coal has also been sent to the civilian villages outside the city, and people have been sent to conduct inspections. If
Anyone who is corrupt will be dismissed from office immediately and investigated..."
Fei Qian nodded.
"How is the civil service examination going this year?" Fei Qian asked again.
Xun You was silent for a moment and said: "I'm afraid there will be too many people who can't bear it... If you are strict, you can go from ten to three or four..."
Fei Qian also fell silent.
Fei Qian has said several times before that he must strictly govern the government and assess the performance of officials. However, perhaps it is difficult to correct the habits developed over three to four hundred years in the Han Dynasty. Perhaps these officials did not pay attention to this assessment standard.
, so that now, at the end of the year, many officials have not met the standards.
Among these officials who did not meet the assessment standards, some were idle and only enjoyed official perks without doing practical work. There were also some who worked hard but lacked ability and failed to do a good job. Of course, some unlucky ones were not excluded, such as those who encountered a locust plague.
of……
Although Fei Qian really wants to put things in order, the problems he faces are equally difficult. If strictly implemented, removing these three or four levels of people will cause great turmoil, and this turbulent process will undoubtedly be painful and troublesome.
At the same time, from another aspect, if Fei Qian does not deal with these incompetent officials, he will go back to the old path of the Han Dynasty...
Fei Qian looked at the snowflakes flying in front of him, watching them cover up the turbid gray-black earth bit by bit into pure white, and said in a deep voice: "It must be dealt with strictly! It's like snow in winter. Without a bone-chilling cold, how can there be any fragrance in the coming year?"
?』
Xun You sighed slightly and nodded silently.
Pang Tong put his palms on his hands and smiled, and said: "What my lord said is very good! If we don't deal with the evil officials today, they will come to harm us tomorrow! Uprightness is stable in all directions. If we don't investigate and deal with it strictly now, how can we wait?"
』
Fei Qian nodded slightly. It is difficult to conquer the territory, but it is even harder to manage the territory well. It is even more difficult to change old habits and promote a new order when managing the territory. However, even if it is difficult, you should not not go there.
Do, so as Pang Tong said, the four sides are temporarily peaceful. If we don't take advantage of this period to make reforms and changes, why not wait until there is a greater external threat?
The three of them could not help but be silent for a while.
"Haha..." Fei Qian put aside his worries for the time being and said with a smile, "With such a snowy scene, I will ignore official matters for the time being and enjoy my leisure time! It's time to cook the mutton on the stove and Qiang! Come here! Let's prepare some beef and mutton and set up the pot.
Here, enjoy the snow and eat it..."
Pang Tong hurriedly said: "Very good! Very good! Please bring more fat ones!"
When the servant heard this, he turned to look at Fei Qian.
Fei Qian waved his hands helplessly, and then said to Pang Tong: "Shiyuan, you need to change your obesity habit..."
"If you don't get fat, how can you be happy?" Pang Tong disagreed, "It's fragrant and full of oil, how happy is life!"
Fei Qian could only smile bitterly and shake his head.
The heavy snow flew down and landed on the eaves and roofs. It puffed softly, as if it was following Fei Qian and the other three, covering their mouths and laughing quietly...
Heavy white snow fell in the city and outside the city.
This is a little-known village under Zheng County. Well, it is not even marked in the county and township atlas. Niu Dalang came out of the mountain against the wind and snow carrying a large pile of firewood.
If in later generations, at his age, it is impossible to say that some people will argue with their parents, saying that their parents don't love him, don't care about him, don't care about his ideas, force him to study all day long, and just do nothing all day long.
He knows how to work to make money, but when he comes home, he only asks about his scores and scores, indicating that his life is meaningless, and he always says that he will die in front of others...
However, Niu Dalang does not have this qualification, because his father Niu Sixia is no longer alive. Let alone complaining to his father, even wanting to receive a few more moderate beatings from his father is a luxury.
His father died and his mother collapsed. Seeing his little sister staring in fear, huddled in the darkest and narrowest corner of the house, Niu Dalang gritted his teeth, held the heavy farm tools in his hands, and carried them on his back.
.
A few noble people came here, comforted them with Wen Yan, and gave them a lot of money and items...
Then, there is no more.
Niu Dalang's mother just cried and couldn't say anything. Niu Dalang himself didn't know what to say. Listening to the noble people talking, he could only barely answer "I know" and "Okay" and so on. As for what the request was,
I can't think of it, and even if I think of it, I can't say it.
The surrounding neighbors also came. During those few days, the better ones would help clean up, cook some food, take care of my mother and little sister, and then leave with a sigh without taking anything.
After all, other people's families also have a lot of things to do, and you can't stay at Niu's family forever to help.
Those with a bad relationship just came up to him lukewarmly and said: "Look, the Niu family is still somewhat lucky. Look at these things... The Niu family has made a fortune, tsk tsk, it's worth it. If it's my old ghost,
One life can be exchanged for these artifacts, I can't wait to let him go as soon as possible..."
Has it been posted?
No. Niu Dalang was ignorant and confused, and his mother was too weak to keep those utensils and miscellaneous wealth. One family said they were borrowing them for two days, and another family said they were in debt. Within a month or two, they were all gone.
trace.
Farmers only harvest once or twice a year, so most of them are of the Nianguang family. This year's harvest will be used to offset the old accounts of previous years, and then they will continue to credit the young crops in the new year, etc...
So it is certain that my father owed money, but did he really owe so much money when he was still alive?
Although Niu Dalang felt something was wrong, he didn't understand because he couldn't read. Looking at the handprints on the IOUs one after another, Niu Dalang didn't know and couldn't tell whether they were the handprints drawn by his father.
Anyway, the money gained from Niu Sixia's life not only failed to bring blessing and wealth to the family, but even the original cow was lost, which could be considered as "wiping out" all the debts.
Niu Dalang unloaded the firewood on his back in front of the yard door. The little girl heard the sound and ran out to help. There were frostbite after frostbite on her red hands and feet.
"Why did you come out without wearing shoes?" Niu Dalang drove the little girl, "Go! Go inside! It's cold outside!" The little girl was probably reluctant to wear shoes. Even if they were straw sandals, she thought they would break if she wore them too much.
The younger sister was silent and didn't answer, but she didn't stop. She helped stack the firewood under the eaves in the courtyard, and then looked at her brother timidly, still not speaking.
"How is mother?" Niu Dalang asked.
The younger sister shook her head.
"Hey..." Niu Dalang stretched out his hand and touched the little sister's head.
The little girl's hair was messy, sparse, and yellow. Niu Dalang's hands were rough, dirty, and stained with mud and wood residue. But the little girl still tried hard to stretch her neck forward to make her head fit more closely to Niu Dalang's hands.
Like a dog trying to please its owner.
Niu Dalang knew that his little sister had been living in panic since she was a child. She had been like this from childhood to adulthood. She was in a panic and had no food to eat. When she was in a panic and had no food to eat, her family would either sell her or give her to someone else to exchange for a baby.
Order "Meat Lotus Root" and come back...
Now that my father is dead, my little sister is even more panicked. Several times Niu Dalang wakes up in the middle of the night and sees his little sister huddled in the corner, staring at him, tightly holding the corner of his clothes, motionless...
"It's okay...it's okay..." Niu Dalang said, not sure if he was telling his little sister or himself, "It's okay...it's okay...we will survive, and we will be together."
...』
It's actually just as cold inside the house.
It's windy and cold outside, like a sharp knife cutting me, but inside the house it's cold, like a blunt needle pricking me.
Niu Dalang held his little sister in his arms, and the two of them huddled up, shivering, staring at the sky outside the window, waiting for the sky to get dark. At that time, they could rekindle the fire, while keeping the cold away, while cooking the late breasts, and then
After eating, I quickly went to bed and rested for a few hours with some warmth, until I was woken up by the cold again.
Suddenly a voice came from outside the courtyard: "The Niu family, are the Niu family here?"
Niu Dalang recognized that it seemed to be the voice of the neighbor's aunt, so he quickly responded and walked out, "Here! Here! Is it Aunt Wang?"
Aunt Wang looked at Niu Dalang, with a little pity on her old face, "Is my Niu girl feeling better? Have you eaten, my child? Come, here is a piece of pancake, don't dislike it, take it! Be obedient! Take it!"
』
Aunt Wang couldn't help but stuff the black pancake into Niu Dalang's arms, then looked around, frowned and said: "It's such a cold day, why don't you light some fire to warm yourself up? If it freezes, what will you do next year?"
Don’t be reluctant to give up the coal you got. Use it when you need it. It’s fundamental that people are kind..."
"Ah uh..." Niu Dalang sniffed, "What did you say, ma'am? What coal?"
Aunt Wang couldn't help but ask: "Huh? Haven't you gone to get your coal yet?"
Niu Dalang was stunned.
Aunt Wang understood, sighed, and said: "General Hussar is kind, and every household will be given something per capita... While it's still early, go to the next village to find the director of the pavilion... Remember to bring a basket."
...Go quickly, go quickly..."
The coal and charcoal in winter are not only used for heating, but also represent a little more hope of survival, extending the life of suffering in winter!
Niu Dalang hurriedly took the basket and rushed to the next village.
The village next door is much larger than Niu Dalang's village, and the largest courtyard is the home of Chief Zhao Ting.
From a distance, Niu Dalang saw long white smoke rising from the chimney of Zhao Tingchang's house. The door was also wide open, and there was a lot of people. It seemed that there was a faint rolling heat wave sweeping over, driving away all the cold inside and outside the courtyard.
There were two helpers outside Zhao Tingzhang's door. One of them stared, "What are you doing? Do you know where this place is? Ah? Don't hang around here if you have nothing to do!"
Niu Dalang was shivering, his clothes were mostly soaked in the wind and snow, "I...I...come, come, get...coal...coal..."
"What the hell!" Bang Xian snorted, "It ended yesterday! I just came to collect it today! Do you think this is your home? Come whenever you want? Ah? Get out!"
Another helper patted the wooden sign standing on the door wall, "Did you see it? It's clearly written in such big words! As of yesterday, you can get it by showing the sign! If you don't get it after the time limit, it will be confiscated voluntarily."
On! Do you understand? Ah ha, I forgot, you will definitely say you don’t recognize it...』
Niu Dalang nodded repeatedly, indicating that he really did not recognize the words on it.
The two gangsters laughed loudly and pointed at Niu Dalang, as if they had encountered something extremely joyful. "I said, don't you? You don't even recognize it... These unscrupulous people are all the same! Do you know it's you?"
Do you understand what happened? This sign is standing here. This is the rule! This is the process! It is the same for everyone, treated equally, and is extremely fair! Who the hell do you think you are, and what qualifications do you have to break the rules and destroy the rules?
Process? Huh?』
Niu Dalang fell to his knees and kowtowed repeatedly, tears streaming down his face, "Young man, you really, really don't know...Small, small, yes, it's the village next door, really, really, really."
I've never heard anyone say it... If it weren't for Aunt Wang, Aunt Wang told me, the younger one would have known..."
"Ah ah ah ah..." The young helper grinned in disgust and turned his head away from Niu Dalang, "He's doing this again. He kneels down and cries at every turn. You unscrupulous people, can you have some backbone?
?Isn’t it just a little coal? What about that? Ah?』
Niu Dalang wiped his tears and said, "My mother is bedridden at home, and there is a little sister who I need to take care of... Without these coals, I'm afraid it will be difficult... I also ask my two uncles to help me... I'm so kind and kind, little one."
sure……"
"Ah, I remembered, you are the Dailang of the Niu family, right? Okay, okay, have you brought the sign?" The slightly older helper frowned, seeing Niu Dalang's look, he might have thought of it.
Something, somewhat soft-hearted, sighed and said, "Give me the sign first, and I will help you ask..."
Another gangster pulled him, "Are you stupid?"
"Hey, I'm just asking, it's not up to me whether it works or not..."
"Have you thought about it..."
"I got it!" said the elder assistant, "Tingzhang Zhao is unparalleled in his kindness and virtue. He is well-known in the countryside. Of course he will not ignore death, but it is a good thing..."
"Tch, it's up to you, it's up to you..." The other helper no longer stopped him.
Less than half an hour later, the elder helper came out with a frown on his face, pointed at the sign and said to Niu Dalang: "This sign says Niu Sixia's, right? Aren't you Niu Sixia?"
Niu Dalang nodded repeatedly, "I am Niu Dalang... That brand belongs to my father..."
"General Hussar has an order not to take it under false names... The brand you are holding is "Niu Si Xia", but you are Niu Da Lang..." The old helper seemed to have a headache, and he said a little awkwardly, "The pavilion chief is benevolent,
I am willing to make an exception for the sake of my fellow villagers, but this... the brand does not match the person, so I cannot take it. If I give it to you, we will be disobeying the military order and will be beheaded..."
