People in Yanzhao have strong temperaments, and they even like strong wines when drinking. It is very difficult to obtain strong rice wine. In order to improve the taste of rice wine, winemakers need to use secret processing methods many times to remove most of the water in the wine before the wine can be made.
It is so strong that it makes you want to drink three bowls of it. Therefore, the cost of a jar of old wine is often five times that of ordinary turbid wine. Even if it is given in a good year, a young man cannot bear to loot it from his uncle's house, let alone
Right now, Zhang Baosheng's inn is on the verge of bankruptcy.
"Take it, Xuguan, otherwise you will not give your uncle face!" Zhang Baosheng lovingly patted his nephew's face with his oily hand and ordered in a low voice. This child was born during the reign of Emperor Kaihuang. He was well-raised in his mother's womb and was obviously taller.
He had a lucky face. He had to tie his hair after the New Year (Note 4), but he, as his uncle, couldn’t even afford a decent gift to tie his hair. Thinking of this, he felt a little desolate in his heart, and sighed with self-pity.
He took a deep breath, lowered his head, and walked slowly towards the wine cellar in the backyard.
When Li Xu saw his uncle sighing, he knew that his actions had made the old man sad again, so he had to stay silently in the inn and wait. After a while, Zhang Baosheng turned back, holding not only a large jar of wine, but also a large jar of wine.
On the basket, two more dried muntjac seeds were hung, as well as half a bag of dried shepherd's purse, shredded radish, etc.
"How can this happen? If I search for you like this, my mother will have to take action against her when she gets back!" Li Xu folded his hands, with a look of embarrassment on his face.
"Wine and food to go with the wine, uncle won't give them away for free. When your father comes back from outside, ask him to help uncle ask who has the hides of raw cows or donkeys, horses and other large animals for sale. The yamen will urge you.
Urgent, my uncle is willing to pay a suitable price to buy it." Zhang Baosheng smiled honestly, happy that he had finally found a suitable excuse to give a gift. Not allowing the young man to refuse, he hung the wicker basket on the back of the mule, and then he changed again.
In a dramatic move, a skin bag was unhooked from the lower back and forced into Li Xu's hand.
"In the eighteenth year of the founding of the Emperor, some military lords who went to Liaodong to seek merit got drunk and fell into my inn. No one has come back to look for it for more than ten years. I'm afraid no one wants it. Uncle
I looked around and found that it should be a good bow, so I take good care of it every year. You can play with it, you will be fifteen next year, and your Li family pays attention to finding wealth immediately, so there is a good bow in hand!"
The young man knew that this was a hair-tying gift from his uncle, so he did not dare to refuse, and took it with both hands. The moment he took it, he felt a warm feeling. He didn't know whether it was the body temperature of his uncle, or it came from the dark hair.
The bow bag itself is inconspicuous. After untying the leather cord on the bow bag and taking a closer look, you can see a two and a half foot long horn bow lying among the thin hairs. The color is as warm and moist as jet jade (Note 5)
.
Shanggu County is close to the border. It was once the place where the flying general Li Guang was stationed. Therefore, the people are fond of martial arts. As long as they are not particularly poor, they usually let their children worship a wild master to learn swords, bows, horses, and fists for self-defense. So Li
Xu glanced at it briefly with his eyes and knew that what his uncle gave him was a very good bow. If it were to be put on the market, he would not be able to exchange it for three or five pieces of meat. At this time, he could no longer be polite.
I am able to salute you again and thank my uncle for his kindness.
Seeing that the gift was liked by his nephew, Zhang Baosheng was happier than having earned dozens of bows. As he closed the door and window and prepared to close the stall, he warned, "This bow has not been used for a long time, and it is very hard to use. You can play with it while you are playing."
Work hard, don't hurt your body. This thing is just a toy after all. You are both good at character and learning. In the future, you will be promoted as a scholar, pass the Jinshi examination, be released as a county magistrate, a county magistrate, and shine on the family lintel. I, as an uncle, will also do it.
No one dares to look down upon it anymore..."
All the way to the door of his own home, the affection between his uncle and nephew still warms Li Xu. His uncle's family is similar to his family, and they are both low-end branches in their respective clans. They have very little land under their own names, and they collect it from tenants every year.
The rent is barely enough for the family. As for other expenses related to the government and daily visits to the clan, they have to rely on other businesses to make a living. The Li and Zhang families are both wealthy families with a history of hundreds of years.
, is said to be the heirloom of etiquette, so business is the most despised and lowly profession in the clan, although the elders in the clan take a lot of filial piety from the business children every year.
Compared with the precarious situation of his uncle's family, the Li family's financial situation is slightly better. This is due to the fact that Li Xu's father, Li Mao, has a strong body, can speak a few Turkic dialects, and can travel outside the Great Wall once or twice a year with the caravans.
Cattle and sheep on the border are cheap and tea and linen are scarce, so you can earn a lot of copper coins from one trip. However, in recent years, the trade route to the fortress has become increasingly unstable, and bad news spreads every month about the loss of people and money. Fortunately, Li
Maopao has been on the trade route for some years, and all he followed were large caravans. He was also a straight-tempered person, and he was able to establish some friendship with the Hu tribes along the way, so he could still maintain his business and be able to spare some money.
The son came to support his son to go to the official school.
"Second Young Master, are you back? How many times have you come to the door to ask questions?" From a distance, the butler Li Zhong came up to him. While helping Li Xula pull his mount, he complained softly. He has been following Li Mao since he was a child.
After his death, one person now holds the positions of housekeeper, nurse, chief attendant and accountant all by himself, so he doesn't speak too politely to the young master.
"My father is back? When did he arrive? I just happened to have brought some wine and food back from my uncle's house today. Could you please Uncle Zhong to take them to the kitchen and let Aunt Zhong heat them up? It's a cleansing banquet I'm hosting for Dad!" Li Xu patted him.
Behind the mule, he gave orders with a smile. Aunt Zhong is the wife of the old housekeeper. Like Uncle Zhong, the housekeeper, she also has the responsibilities of the cook in the "Li Mansion", the lady's personal maid, and Li Xu's nanny. Li Mao usually wanders around,
There are only Li Xuniang and the housekeeper and his wife in the whole family. In addition to etiquette, the relationship between master and servant is more of a family relationship.
"Have you gone to search for your uncle again? If the madam finds out, she will have to nag you again! Alas! I told the young master that it is not easy for your uncle. The world is getting worse day by day, and people's stomachs are not full. How can it be done?
Use your spare money to drink and eat meat at his place..."
Uncle Zhong, the butler, unloaded the wine and meat from the mule's back and went to the yard chattering. Li Xu stuck out his tongue at the old butler's back, took the blue and white mule to the stable in the backyard, tied the reins, and added fodder to all the animals.
, replenished the well water and tidied everything up, then changed into short clothes for home wear and came to the main room to meet his father.
The dried muntjac meat and mixed vegetables that Li Xu had given to the housekeeper had been neatly cleaned up by Aunt Zhong and his mother, and turned into four small dishes for placement on the table. Li Xu's mother didn't like drinking, and it was not a festival.
Uncle Zhong, the housekeeper, couldn't go to the host's table. Li Mao drank alone and was very drunk. When he saw his son finally entering the door, he raised his glass and shouted loudly, "Xiao Xuzi, come here and talk to dad."
One. You are the only one who knows how to care for others. You are planning to rip off your uncle on the day when your father comes back!"
"Not serious!" Ms. Li Zhang spat dissatisfied and put down her sewing work.
"No, the gentleman in the official school said that wine, wine can mess up one's character and character!" Li Xu looked at his mother's face and found an excuse to deny his father's invitation. The Adam's apple that had just grown on his neck could not help but
It rolled and made a clear "gurgling" sound.
"Forget it, stop pretending. I've been held in the arms of the old lady since I was a child and sipped the tips of my chopsticks. It's hard not to let you drink. Just don't drink more, so as not to delay your endorsement at night!" After hearing this, Mrs. Zhang's wife said,
He looked at the child lovingly and warned in a low voice.
"Hey! Thank you, mother! Thank you, father!" What Li Xu was waiting for was his mother's promise. He rushed to his seat in three steps and took two steps at a time. He took the wine jar and sifted a full cup himself. He raised it up and mixed it with his father's wine.
He touched the cup, then continued to raise it to his eyebrows to salute his father, and then drank it all in one gulp.
"Good boy, just by looking at the drinking, he is the son of our Li family!" Li Mao boasted with a smile, with love written all over his face. He followed the caravan north in the late spring and rushed back home in the early autumn.
He went through a lot of hardships on the road just to be able to sit at the table with his wife and children and have a stable meal. After three months of absence, his son has grown a lot in size, but his wife looks even more haggard.
The wrinkles between the corners of the eyes and on the cheeks testify to the hardship of a man's life when he is not at home.
"Dad has been working hard all the way, so I would like to express my love to him with this cup. I wish dad a long and healthy life, and better business!" Li Xu picked up the wine jar and filled it up for his father respectively. His uncle had brewed it in a secret way.
The wine looked very thick. Under the dim light of the oil lamp, it swayed like a piece of warm amber. This reminded him of what happened in the afternoon. When his father put down the pottery cup, he sifted the wine and said, "I
I passed by my uncle's inn today and helped him clean it up. Business there is very deserted!"
"That's because now the people have little money, the government collects a lot, and the trade roads are in decline, so naturally no one patronizes the inn. The two people who order food occasionally are from people who don't dare to ask for money.
And among ordinary people, who has the money to go to his place to eat and drink?" His father, Li Mao, sighed, not knowing whether it was for his wife and brother or for himself.
Life gradually became difficult, and business people were always the most keenly aware of the changes in the world. During the reigns of Emperor Kaihuang and Renshou, the emperor was not so wise and powerful, and he could not write good articles, but the fur goods and livestock he brought back from outside the Great Wall,
You can always get rid of it quickly. But now is the year of the great cause. It is said that the family has a great business, but it takes three times the effort to transport the goods from the market. It also costs three times to transport the goods back from outside the Great Wall.
It takes a lot of effort and time to make a move without losing money.
"Then you are shameless enough to take food from your uncle's house. When you go to the official school next month, remember to bring a long gown to your uncle along the way. Mom just made it this spring, and I originally planned to give it to you in winter. Anyway, look at you.
I'm so tall that I can't even wear it anymore!" Ms. Li Zhang heard her husband and son talking about her natal family, put down her chopsticks and whispered.
The festive atmosphere in the room was somewhat diluted by the trivial matters of life. The husband, wife, father and son all fell silent. The Zhang family's embarrassment was obvious, and the situation of the Li family was only slightly better than that of the Zhang family, even if Mrs. Li and Zhang wanted to help more.
My mother's family can't squeeze out too many things at all. (To be continued)
