Envoys from various states are also coming to Beijing one after another, and with preparations for next year's imperial examination, the busiest season in Chang'an City every year has begun again.
Among all the squares in Chang'an, Pingkang Square has undoubtedly become the most lively one.
It is close to the neighboring prison, close to the Imperial City, the East Palace, surrounded by many nobles and nobles, and adjacent to the East Market. In addition, there are three Kabuki brothels under the name of the Jiaofang here, making this place a well-deserved romantic spot.
"Beijing News, Beijing News, General Youwuwei, Governor of Luzhou, Cheng Yaojin, Duke of Lu State, for his meritorious service in suppressing the Tieshan Rebellion, will be rewarded with another two hundred pieces of silk and a jade belt for his imperial uniform."
A young newsboy wore a vest and carried a newspaper bag as a cross-body bag. He held a copy of the Beijing News in his hand and waved it while shouting loudly.
"Boy, have some."
A carriage passed by, and the driver stopped his horse and shouted to the newsboy.
The newsboy hurriedly stepped forward and said, "Thank you, sir, for thirty cash."
Thirty articles for a Beijing newspaper was nothing more than a pamphlet, which the coachman thought was too expensive. Although no Turks invaded the border again this year, and the imperial court also recovered Yunzhong and Shuofang, there was a severe drought in Shandong this year, and the grain supply began to decrease after winter.
As a result, a dou of rice in Chang'an is now exactly 30 cents.
An average family, men, women, old and young, eats one liter a day, and a family of five eats five liters a day. One bucket of grain is enough to feed a family of five for two days.
If you are poor, save some food and you can eat for three or four days.
Fortunately, he didn't spend the money, nor did he want to read the Beijing News. He opened a corner of the car curtain behind him and handed out a bunch of money, which happened to be thirty cents.
The driver took the money, which still had a bit of fragrance, and threw it to the newspaper boy.
Although the newspaper boy had already walked to the car and held the newspaper in his hand, he had not handed it directly to the car driver just now. After seeing the money, he handed the newspaper over and said with a smile on his face, "Thank you."
After handing out the newspaper, he didn't walk away immediately. Instead, he quickly counted the copper coins. While counting, he carefully checked whether there were counterfeit money, bad money, etc., and after the inspection was correct, he spoke again.
Thanks, I stepped aside.
The coachman handed the newspaper into the carriage behind the curtain, then flicked his whip and urged the horse to move forward.
In the carriage.
Zhang Chuchen from the Yongkang Palace took the Beijing News from the maid's hand and started reading it. Next to her, sitting a woman dressed in a Taoist nun's attire, she was none other than Mrs. Li Sanniang, whom Zhang Chuchen had looked down upon.
Now the Taoist name is Qingxu Zhenren.
Wearing a Taoist robe, combing her bun, and holding a whisk, Li Sanniang looked a bit extraordinary. Sitting in the carriage, she was not as close as she was with her great-aunt in the past. She just closed her eyes and chanted sutras.
"Cheng Yaojin has a really smooth official career. In the past two years, he has skyrocketed among the generals in the imperial court. After Qin Shubao retired due to illness, among the generals in Wagang, he is now the most popular and favored. He is the governor of Luzhou and he has made so many contributions.
"
She said with some envy, "I heard that the Cheng family makes a lot of money selling slaves in Sichuan."
Li Sanniang didn't say anything either.
The carriage was driving slowly. Zhang Chuchen looked at the Beijing News and didn't bother to read any more. He put it in Sanniang's hands and said, "The Cheng family is really prosperous now. They are so close to Cui Zhengdu. Over there.
We even got married to the Wu family and now we are the in-laws of the Emperor."
"The eldest son Cheng Chumo was also granted the title of Marquis of Dong'a County and the governor of Yinzhou for his merits. I heard that he has also done well in Shuofang. Depending on the time, he will return to Beijing soon."
Li Sanniang finally opened her eyes.
"He will also go back to Beijing together, right?"
Zhang Chuchen knew who she was talking about, "I think Cheng Chumo is pretty good, what do you think?"
"Cheng Chumo is his good friend."
Zhang Chuchen said to himself, "Cheng Dalang is only in his twenties, and he is already the governor of the county. Moreover, he is also the eldest son of the Cheng family. Sooner or later, he will inherit Cheng Yaojin's title of dukedom."
, it’s not bad if you want to marry him,
It’s definitely better than Chai’s.”
But Li Sanniang wasn't interested at all.
I lowered my head and read the Beijing News.
"Silly Sanniang, it's been so long, haven't you thought about it yet?"
Li Sanniang did not respond.
The carriage fell into silence again.
The carriage continued to drive.
The carriage drove into Pingkangfang, and immediately a very noisy sound could be heard outside the carriage. There were a lot of people, and there were even a lot of cries.
On Pingkangfang Street, there are many vendors with baskets and carts selling small items.
"Roasted sweet potatoes, fragrant and glutinous roasted sweet potatoes, auspicious sweet potatoes, grown from overseas fairy species, even in the cold weather, eating one will make you feel warm all over, and it only costs five cents each!"
Li Sanniang raised her head and said, "Buy two."
So the maid opened the curtain and asked the driver to stop and buy two.
The man selling roasted sweet potatoes on the roadside was a toothless old man. He took his two half-year-old grandsons, two charcoal stoves, a basket of sweet potatoes, and some charcoal fire to guard the roadside in the cold weather.
Selling while roasting, and from time to time changing places to sell on the move.
But the colder the weather gets, the better the roasted sweet potato business gets.
Freshly roasted sweet potatoes are very fragrant and attract many people, especially with its auspicious name.
"This sweet potato was the auspicious gift offered to the saint by Duke Wu of Yi State last year. It is the immortal seed that his ascended immortal master Xiaoyao Zishangshen brought back from overseas in the early years. Eating it will prolong your life..."
The old man is a resident of Yongxing Square in the north, a neighbor of Yi Guogong Wu Huaiyu. This winter, many residents of the neighborhood have received a good job opportunity.
The Wu family provided them with stoves, charcoal fires, as well as corn, sweet potatoes, potatoes, and even haggis, and they carried the charcoal stoves to the surrounding shops to sell them.
Share the money earned.
They don't have to contribute capital, just manpower and time. This kind of cooperation is very good, especially for some older men, or women with poor family conditions, and even some teenagers can do it.
For the Wu family, it’s not actually about how much money they can make by using them. They are all neighbors. The main thing the Wu family wants is their reputation, which can allow everyone to make some money and increase their income. By the way, they can also make some money themselves. Why not?
for.
Not to mention, in this winter, roasted sweet potatoes, or steamed corn, grilled corn, boiled corn, or fried potatoes, mixed potatoes, braised haggis, haggis soup, braised dried tofu, fried broad beans, fried peanuts, etc.
Snacks are quite popular, especially in places like Pingkangfang where consumption levels are high.
Roasted sweet potatoes, which cost five cents each, were also bought by many people.
The old man specifically asked whether he wanted to eat something glutinous or pink, and then he chose a big one. It was still hot to the touch after it was freshly baked, so he wrapped it in dried lotus leaves and served it.
After receiving ten cents, I bowed and thanked him repeatedly.
Li Sanniang took the sweet potatoes and handed one to Zhang Chuchen.
Zhang reluctantly took it, not wanting to eat it at first, but when Li Sanniang peeled the sweet potato, the aroma immediately spread out and was very strong, so she helplessly started to taste this street snack.
After entering the carriage, it was not far from the Yongkang Palace, but Li Sanniang asked the coachman to buy some snacks along the way.
There are fried peanuts, fried sunflower seeds, fried chestnuts, selling fire crystal persimmons, selling persimmons, there are also people selling wolf tooth potato chips, fried potato chips, and fried small potatoes.
There are also those selling haggis, braised sheep heads, haggis soup, and even sheep tripe stuffed with meat...
Anyway, when Li Sanniang heard someone hawking, she asked her to buy a few. When she arrived at the door of her home, the carriage was filled with many kinds of snacks, filled with various fragrances.
"It's been a few months since I left Beijing, and I feel that things have changed a lot." Li Sanniang suddenly sighed softly before getting out of the car.
Zhang Chuchen held her hand and said, "Nothing has changed, everything is still the same."
"There were never so many snacks before."
"Recently, there have indeed been more and more kinds of snacks. Many of the vendors selling snacks along the street here are from Yongxingfang. The Wu family bought them stoves, stalls and carts, and even gave them various ingredients. This practice used to be
There really is no wealthy family that has done this." Zhang Chuchen sighed.
She looked at the apple of the eye of the Wu family who reacted when she heard about it, and couldn't help but say, "A few months after you left Chang'an, Wu Huaiyu already had three sons and two daughters. His eldest son Wu Chengsi, the saints said that marriage was with the fingertips.
If the queen is pregnant with a princess, she will marry her and become her consort."
Li Sanniang's lips trembled twice, "Mrs. Fan must be very happy now, right?"
"I am very sure of that."
Zhang Chuchen sighed in his heart. A year ago, Fan Xuanfu was a man despised by all the nobles and nobles in Chang'an. He killed three fiancés and was called a mother-in-law. But who would have thought that last year, Fan Xuanfu chased his lover for thousands of miles, and now
She has become the wife of Yiguo, and she has given birth to the eldest son in her life, which makes many people envious.
Li Sanniang, on the other hand, last year, there were so many famous people who crossed the threshold to propose marriage. Who would have thought that now she is so trapped by love that she has become a monk and a Taoist nun.
"Some things are fate. She comes before you. It is destined that you will be a step too late after all. Wu Huaiyu knows this truth better than you, so he rejects you again and again."
Li Sanniang said nothing, "We're home."
Li Jing heard that his wife had brought Sanniang back, so he came here specially.
"you lost weight."
Li Sanniang didn't scold Li Jing when she saw him, but could not help but shed tears.
"Silly girl," Li Jing felt distressed. He had no children to begin with, and they had raised this brother's granddaughter since he was a child. She was closer than his own daughter.
Seeing that she had lost so much weight and was even so aggrieved, Li Jing felt so distressed that he wanted to slap himself twice. He even wanted to tell her in public, "Just do whatever you want to do in the future. I support you. I really don't want to wrong him."
After some comfort, Li Sanniang stopped crying.
Li Jing sat in the study for a long time, still feeling angry, so he got up and went out.
"Where are you going?"
Zhang Chuchen looked at Li Jing's gloomy expression and was worried that he was going to go to Duke Yi's mansion.
"I'm going to Yongxingfang."
"Do you really want to join the Wu family?"
"Where are you thinking? The Duke of Qi has returned to Beijing. I will pay him a visit and play two games of chess. I will also chat with him about Wu Huaiyu."
Qin Qiong is Wu Huaiyu's adoptive father, and he is Wu Huaiyu's teacher. After all, this matter involves Sanniang and is relatively complicated. Li Jing still wants to talk to Qin Qiong first to see if he can find a better solution, and then ask Qin Qiong to come forward to handle it.
"Wu Huaiyu will return to Beijing in a few days. We have to deal with this matter quickly, otherwise I'm afraid that something will happen to Sanniang again when he comes back." Li Jing said worriedly.
Zhang Chuchen sighed and said: "What can we do about this matter even if we go to Qi Guogong? To untie the bell, we must tie the bell. The key is Sanniang and Wu Huaiyu."
"Let's give it a try." Li Jing had no choice but to be a doctor. Although he thought about scolding Sanniang severely, he really couldn't bring himself to do so.
