Compared with the countless people in their hometown who starved to death on the way south to escape, or even those who died in the war, they were really very lucky.
Zhao Gui often lamented their good luck. Before he died of starvation, he happened to meet the imperial camp and went north. He also lamented that he had read the book in vain. If he hadn't been able to write, calculate, and purchase medicinal materials, he would not have been able to find a grain store.
If a family didn't have his status as an errand, they wouldn't have the conditions now.
They may have managed to cross the river, but with nothing, they could only temporarily become tenants and hired laborers of others, and their life would be even more difficult.
For the emperor, perhaps the most important thing was the Northern Expedition to restore the Central Plains and drive out the Tartars. But for ordinary people like them, the biggest wish was to stay away from the war in troubled times, to have a foothold, and to have enough food and clothing for their families.
Others no longer dare to expect too much.
"The porridge is cooked and it smells so good."
The multi-grain and wild vegetable porridge with snake meat exuded an alluring aroma. After working on the tea mountain for a long time, they were wet and cold and couldn't help but swallow their saliva.
"Come and eat quickly."
More than a dozen people from the two families gathered around the fire and ate hot porridge. Each person was given one or two small grilled fishes. Everyone chatted while eating. Although it was hard work, their faces were full of joy.
smile.
Compared to the miserable experience of fleeing and being hungry and scared a few months ago, I am undoubtedly in heaven now.
No matter how hard you work, it doesn't feel painful.
People from the plains of Shandong in the north now live in the mountainous areas of eastern Zhejiang. They have a completely different climate and environment, but everyone is working hard to adapt.
A small crucian carp was roasted black, but everyone still enjoyed it very contentedly and ate every bit of the spiny fish meat.
While both families were there, Zhao Gui and Zhao Fu told everyone that they planned to borrow money to go to the small tea workshop in the countryside.
Both families used to be considered a family of small landowners and rich farmers. Although the two wives were not much pampered before, they did still have a good life. Now they have to support the whole family when their husbands are away, especially Zhao Gui's wife and children.
She was still young, and she was a woman, but she had to work just as hard as a man in everything.
More than half a year has made her much older. She is only in her early thirties, her hair has turned a lot whiter, her face has wrinkles, and her hands and feet have become rough, but she still has a smile on her face, especially when her husband is by her side.
, which kept her smiling these days.
For her, although her current life is hard, she is very satisfied. She is satisfied when she sees her children by her side, especially when she can sleep peacefully at night. She no longer has to complain about being hungry all the time, and she no longer has to worry.
As a woman, she fully supports her husband's plan.
Although this is risky, she feels that men must have considered it, and they have better vision and experience than women. She supports whatever they decide.
"When we take down the workshop, you don't want to come here to pick tea anymore. You won't make a few cents from picking tea in a day. Then you will help in the workshop and learn the craft from the masters. Once you learn this craft, you will be able to use it anytime."
You won’t lose money.”
Zhao Gui looked at his children and said, "One more thing, the eldest is not young anymore, so we can't delay him any longer. I will send him to a school in the countryside later."
Reading is more important than learning a craft.
Although the conditions at home are poor, we still have to find a way. Fortunately, the school in the village has just been opened by the county. Children of officials and soldiers are free of tuition. Of course, the teachers must be paid, no matter how poor the conditions are.
, this teacher’s gift cannot be missing.
There are still a lot of expenses for studying and going to school. You have to buy paper, ink, pens, inkstones, etc. These are not cheap. However, Zhao Gui himself is a scholar and has passed the Tongsheng test before. He knows very well the importance of the status of a scholar. If he has not read a book,
Their family doesn't have the same conditions now.
No matter how poor you are, you must find a way to send your children to study. From now on, every child must study.
What Zhao Fu wants is to start a business and get rich again, but what Zhao Gui wants is to let his sons study. If they are talented, they can gain fame through the imperial examination in the future, which is naturally the best. But even if this generation has no talent,
You also need to read to open your eyes. Even if you are doing some business, you still need to read.
Reading is the key to reviving their family business.
There are many immigrants who migrated south in Tiantai County, and only a very small number of them can live a pretty good life like Zhao Gui and others.
The people who live well here are still the original local gentry. They have land, property, and even every family is a scholar. Then there are the people who have joined the army. Many of them were former tenants, long-term workers, poor people, miners, and even beggars.
But by joining the army as a soldier, especially becoming a soldier in the imperial camp, my destiny suddenly changed.
They have also bought land, and they have good food and salary. One person serving as a soldier can even make the family live a good life. Although it is not rich, at least it can change their destiny, provide food and clothing, and with time, they will definitely become small landowners.
The vast majority of the people who went south are still in a difficult situation. They have nothing. Most of them can only become tenants of the local landlords and gentry. Even because they have nothing, they cannot even be tenants and can only be hired laborers or even reduced to day laborers.
Of course, there are also those who are slightly more lucky and can work in government villages, workshops or mines run by the government. The pay there is relatively good, certainly better than working as part-time workers for landlords.
But it is not that easy to survive in a foreign land with a family and a family, especially now that food prices are high, so it is good to survive. As for buying a house and making a fortune, those are all distant dreams.
It is even more difficult to own a piece of your own land.
Zhao Gui and the others were qualified to buy some confiscated government land from the government because they were officials, but even the seeds and farm tools were leased from the government.
Zhao Fu's three sons-in-law were once low-class people. Because they joined the army when they were young, they became soldiers in the emperor's imperial camp. They were even promoted to non-commissioned officers, which also changed their family's destiny. Now they also own their own fields, even if they were bought with loans.
You still have to repay the principal and interest every year, but at least you have become a property owner.
The emperor even helped them get wives, and their lives were prosperous.
Zhao Fu's three sons-in-law were uneducated and far inferior to the two old Zhaos in terms of knowledge. However, they respected their father-in-law and brothers from the north. This was the deepest respect for scholars.
When they heard about the abacus workshop, they felt that it was something they didn't dare to think about. After all, it required a loan and even had business risks. They didn't dare to think about it before, but now that they have a good salary, they also think about it after being paid.
Buy some farm tools and furniture, or even repay some loans. It would be best if you can pay them all off and be debt-free. How can you even think about borrowing money to run a tea workshop.
Being able to become non-commissioned officers in the imperial camp also shows that the three of them have performed well and are not the kind of people who cheat and cheat. Although they have never read books, they are very simple and even full of loyalty. They are very optimistic about today's life.
Thank you, Emperor.
Of course, I also respect my wife’s parents and uncles very much.
"We listen to my father-in-law." The three of them thought about it and decided to join the gang.
So they ate cereals and wild vegetable porridge, sat on the tea mountain, and quickly agreed that the five families would form a partnership to buy the tea workshop together. Each family would take out a loan to buy the workshop, hire masters and assistants, purchase tea, process and sell it.
The family chatted happily and was full of good expectations for the future.
After the meal, Lao Zhao and his wife had no intention of picking tea leaves anymore, so they directly took their three sons-in-law and went down the mountain together. The women and children still went to pick tea leaves. Although they would soon become tea plantation owners, they had no plans to do so.
If you give up the half-day's wages for picking tea, you can earn whatever you can.
night.
After the women handed over the tea business to the tea plantation owners, they returned home and found that the men were silent.
"What's wrong? Didn't the negotiation work out?"
Zhao Fu sighed, "The purchase of the workshop has been settled, and the loan is almost settled."
"Then what are you doing?"
"Some people came from the countryside just now, and the imperial camp came with an order, asking us all to return to the camp quickly. Long Live the Lord is about to send troops to the Northern Expedition!"
I heard that the men were leaving home again to return to the military camp, or even go to war. The smiles on the women's faces were gone. The short reunion ended so quickly. The war was fierce and dangerous, and the men were going to the front line again. No one was there.
I don’t know whether it’s good or bad.
Lao Zhao's three daughters even couldn't help crying. When they got married, their husbands only stayed at home for ten days before leaving. They left for several months. They finally came back to visit relatives and take a vacation, but they had to return to camp early.
Zhao Gui rubbed his face and said, "Okay, don't cry. This is the duty of soldiers and our responsibility to Lord Long live. Everything we have now was given to us by Long live. Now Long live needs us. We
It must also be passed,
We will leave early tomorrow morning, and we will all be together happily tonight. I don’t know when the next family vacation will be."
The women had to hold back their tears.
Zhao Gui's wife stood up and said, "I'm going to cook and prepare some dishes. There's still some wine at home, so you can drink some."
But Lao Zhao sighed repeatedly, "The workshop was just about to open, but now it's all gone."
"It's okay. If you miss it, you will miss it. Besides, if we leave, it may not be bad. We can also entrust your relatives to help us take care of it. This kind of small workshop actually only requires a little capital, and with hard work, it is not a big deal.
It's a risky business. Your three sons-in-law are all involved in the business. It's the same as asking their father to take care of it for them. We'll pay them additional wages and even give them some dividends."
After an urgent recall order, Zhao Gui obviously was not interested in the tea house.
Old Zhao also said, "Why do you think there is suddenly another Northern Expedition? Isn't it said everywhere that the imperial court wants to negotiate peace with the Northern captives and divide the river to rule?"
Lao Zhao obviously supports the peace talks.
Zhao Gui was opposed to negotiating peace in his heart. He also thought that the imperial court could recover the Central Plains as soon as possible and that he could return to his homeland as soon as possible.
The ancestral graves are still in my hometown.
"Peace is not negotiated, it is fought. The war must still be fought. I just didn't expect it to start again so soon. I thought it might not happen this year, and it might not happen until after the autumn harvest at the earliest. No.
I thought I would start mobilizing now.”
Zhao Fu felt uncertain and looked sad.
However, Zhao Gui has changed his mentality and is full of excitement, "I hope I can go back to my hometown in Shandong this time!"
