The Moon Over Tang Dynasty Chapter 218

Chapter 218 The way to make money by being loyal

Although Zhoujia Village in Wucheng Township is not wealthy and has quite a reputation, the row of gray-barked poplar trees at the head of the village are exceptionally well-grown. Each tree is nearly ten feet tall. By the end of October, the leaves have gradually fallen out. , the tall and straight branches look like upright men, exuding a compelling air of arrogance.

On this day, the sun had just climbed to the top of the poplar tree, and Zhou Cunzheng could not sit still. He first sent his grandson to the head of the village to watch the intersection. Seeing that the sun was approaching its zenith, he simply put on his best pair of boots, pulled off his natural-colored linen robe that had just been starched yesterday, and carefully looked at the neat and tidy courtyard before going out. , and then walked towards the village head at a tight pace. There were still dozens of steps away from the village, when a group of children cheered in unison, "Come here, come here!"

Zhou Cunzheng was so frightened that he picked up the corner of his robe and ran away. After running for a few steps, he was shocked to realize that it was a bit inappropriate. He quickly put down his robe and walked over as fast as the wind was blowing under his feet. When he reached the intersection, he stretched his neck and saw that there was nothing there. Half a figure? Looking at the group of children, they were all squatting on the ground, their little heads huddled together, and they were concentrating on using small branches to drive away two nests of ants to grab a small caterpillar. It was probably easy to drive the two nests into one place, and then There was a burst of cheers, and his grandson was the one with the loudest voice.

Zhou Muramasa suddenly became so angry that he slapped his grandson on the head, barely making his face fall directly into the ant army. The children turned around and saw Muramasa's livid face, and they immediately dispersed with a "boom" sound. , only the miserable child with a red face and no courage to cry was left, continuing to receive the lessons from his grandfather from language to force.

Zhou Cunzheng was scolding for a long time, but his grandson suddenly raised his head and said calmly, "Grandpa, please stop scolding." His anger, which had already subsided, was suddenly aroused, "Don't scold, otherwise you will grow taller." Remember, won't you still be playful and cause trouble next time?”

Xiao Wu's voice had a hint of crying, "Grandpa, my grandson didn't mean that..." Then he looked behind Muramasa and said, "Grandpa, please don't scold me first." Zhou Muruzheng became more and more angry, and he burst into laughter. Then he knocked on his grandson's forehead and said, "How dare you talk back!" Suddenly a smiling voice came from behind, "I am in a good mood!"

Zhou Cun was busy looking back when he saw a familiar round face. It was the servant who had lived in Zhoujia Village for several days half a year ago. He was holding the horse and smiling at him.

He was so frightened that he almost jumped up and said with a smile, "Prince Wang!" At a glance, he saw Wang Chai not far behind him, and occasionally there were more than ten tall horses. The leader was the Prince Qu who he had met from a distance. There were also two well-dressed young women—the very nobles he had been waiting for all morning to arrive!

Zhou Cunzheng couldn't help but feel annoyed. He lowered his head and glared at his grandson, "Go and tell your parents and uncles to get ready!" He quickly put on a smile and followed behind Officer Wang and walked over. He bowed politely and said, "Little Saturday, I have met the Crown Prince and Mrs. Chang Shi." Only a mellow voice was heard saying, "Thank you for your service to the village." A soft voice said, " Thank you for your hard work." Another clear voice said with a smile, "Sister, this row of trees is so interesting."

 Sister? Zhou Cunzheng couldn't help but murmur in his heart, but he didn't dare to say anything. He just led the group of people into the village and towards his home.

There was already a commotion in the small village with dozens of households. Anyone who could still move around was already standing outside the door. Seeing Qu Chongyu, Liuli and the soldiers behind them, they did not dare to approach and stayed away from them. He bowed and saluted, and the "Madam" greeted him endlessly.

Liuli has been used to this situation for nearly half a month, but she still feels a little uncomfortable. Fortunately, the village is not big, and she arrived at the door of Zhou Cunzheng's house in a few steps. This yard looks much neater than the houses next to it. There are also some mulberry and jujube trees planted in front and back of the house. A dozen people from the family are waiting at the door. Liuli notices the child whose forehead is still red at a glance. The child was sticking his head out from behind his mother to look at her, her eyes flickering so brightly. She nodded and smiled. The child's face turned red and he hurriedly hid back.

Most wealthy families in Xizhou have three generations living under one roof, and the principal family of Zhoucun is no exception. All three sons live in the same house, and there are six grandchildren alone. Fortunately, the yard is quite spacious, and there are eight blue-tiled earthen houses. The north hall is even more spacious, and there are two old-fashioned weaving machines and looms in the yard.

The group of people went to the main room to sit down first, drank a glass of buttermilk, and said some polite words. Liuli didn't pay much attention to these words, but Zhou Muruzheng mentioned in a few words how Pei Xingjian burned the tax account books that day, " The younger one stood closer and could really see the magnanimity of Chang Shi..." He frowned, trying to find a word to describe it. After thinking for a long time, he still shook his head, "The younger one couldn't say anything, so he could only kneel down to express his gratitude. Chang Shi actually returned the gift to us kindly, saying that it was just what we should do!" He raised his sleeves and wiped the corners of his eyes, then smiled, "Now Madam has come to our world again to teach everyone in person! How did you weave that white fold? The child couldn't believe it at first, but now it still feels like a dream!"

Did he actually see Pei Xingjian burning the account books with his own eyes? Liuli suddenly felt that Muramasa, who seemed to have a temper, was a bit friendly, and smiled, "When Muramasa said this, I feel ashamed.

Yun Yi was a little confused after hearing this, and quickly asked Liuli, "Sister, what account books did Chang Shi burn?"

Liuli turned around and was about to tell her, "We'll talk about it later," when Zhou Cun, who had a quick-tongued personality, responded, "Madam, I don't know something. Our country in Xizhou originally had the heaviest taxes..." and actually explained the whole process in detail. Said it again.

Yun Yi listened leisurely and fascinated, "Chang Shi looks fierce, but he turns out to be so kind-hearted!"

No one in the room answered, and Liuli was dumbfounded, but Yunyi immediately turned to look at Qu Chongyu, "My lord, aren't you in charge of the tax servants in Xizhou? Since Muramasa and the others are so pitiful, why? Didn't you burn the account books and reduce the taxes, which scared them all these years? "

Ever since Zhou Cunzheng started talking about burning the account books, Qu Chongyu didn't speak again, but just listened with a calm expression. At this time, his face couldn't help but stiffen, and he paused and said, "Chongyu is not an official of the imperial court, and he dare not compare with Chang Shi. ”

Yun Yi's eyes widened in surprise, "You're not an official of the imperial court? Then why are you recruiting civilian men to serve as handymen these days?"

Qu Chongyu frowned slightly, "This is entrusted by Chang Shi and entrusted by others. Chongyu should be loyal to his people."

Yun Yi nodded with sudden realization, "So you have to obey Chang Shi. I wonder if you have to follow your sister these days. Is it because you are afraid that no one will listen to you if you come alone..."

Qu Chongyu's face suddenly darkened. Liuli sighed in her heart and said hurriedly, "What nonsense are you talking about? Now that the war is tense and Chang Shi is hundreds of miles away, the Crown Prince has no choice but to condescend to do these details! Besides, the situation is unstable. If there is no Crown Prince to **** you and me, what can we do? Can you leave the city? You are not afraid of being laughed at for talking nonsense like this, why don't you apologize to the Crown Prince!"

Yunyi's eyes widened and she didn't understand why she said the wrong thing again. Qu Chongyu said expressionlessly, "Sanniang is so innocent. Madam, you don't have to blame her!" Liuli looked apologetic, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your magnanimity. , My girl is young and ignorant, I must discipline her well when she goes back." He squeezed Yun Yi's hand again, frowning and said, "If you talk nonsense like this again, it's better not to go out!"

Yun Yi was about to retort, but when she heard the words "Don't go out", she immediately didn't dare to say anything more. She glanced at Qu Chongyu and bowed, "Your Majesty, please forgive me, I said something wrong." I thought. After thinking for a while, he added, "I didn't know that you don't have to obey Chang Shi's orders."

Liuli couldn't even sigh, and she didn't dare to look at Qu Chongyu's face. She stood up and said with a smile, "It's getting late. If it's convenient, could Muramasa call all the ladies in the village to the yard?"

Zhou Cun hurriedly responded "Yes" and was about to walk out when he heard the prince say coldly, "Please call all the male and middle-aged men in the village to the head of the village!"

Seeing the village leader wiping cold sweat and leaving the house, Liuli smiled at the three daughters-in-law of the Zhou family who were waiting in the main room, "Can you please take some of the clean white stuff after removing the seeds and fluffing it, and fold it over, so that it can be spun." Everyone, watch.”

Qu Chongyu also stood up, nodded to Liuli, and walked out without saying a word. Liuli secretly breathed a sigh of relief and glanced at Yunyi, only to see her frowning and looking several times more distressed than Qu Chongyu. She could only say softly, "If you have any questions in the future, go home." Ask me, don't ask questions outside!”

Yunyi nodded dullly, followed Liuli out of the door, and sure enough, she stopped talking. Before long, the courtyard was crowded with women. Liuli was already very familiar with this matter these days, so she first asked Xiaotan to take out the ordinary white folded cloth from the workshop and let everyone pass it around. The Zhou family's wife also handed the basket with the pure white folded cloth to everyone. Son,. Everyone was a little restrained when facing Liuli, but when they saw the white folded cloth and the pure white folded cloth, their curious nature suddenly took over, and they began to chatter, "Is it really white folded cloth?" "What method did the lady use? How?" How can it be spun so softly? "How can this white pile become so clean?"

Liuli smiled and said, "It's nothing strange. The white cloth you saw was loosened by using a motorcycle to remove the seeds. Anyone who uses this kind of white cloth can spin the white cloth so finely and softly. Not to mention that it can be used as a substitute for silk. If you take it to the market, you can exchange it for a piece of money. "

　　Everyone suddenly started talking in an uproar. Nowadays, everyone knows the notice that white folds can be used instead of silk, but no one in Xizhou knows that it is difficult to spin good seed cloth made of white folds, and it takes a lot of time to peel off the seeds. Therefore, it is not that the family does not have enough money to buy cloth. The woman was determined not to suffer that fate. Now that I saw this kind of clean and soft white folding cloth and the white folding cloth that could be exchanged for a piece of money, everyone couldn't help but be moved.

Liuli didn't say much, just waited for everyone to finish reading, then took out the fine comb and corn rod that had been prepared, rolled up the white folded strips in front of everyone, and slowly pulled out the cotton thread on the weft cart, spinning After a while, he smiled at the eldest daughter-in-law of the Zhou family and said, "Come and give it a try."

This time, the eldest daughter-in-law of the Zhou family knew how to spin white cotton. She walked up with a smile, rolled up the thread according to Liuli's pattern, and soon pulled out the same cotton thread. Liuli encouraged her for a few words, and then a careful and skillful woman came up and tried it again, smiling excitedly and saying, "Is this how it works?"

Liu Li nodded, "Exactly. After spinning a pound of thread, you can weave a piece of soft white cloth that is just like this on the machine."

The yard suddenly became lively, and people wanted to try it out themselves. Some asked where the white stacks were sold, and some smarter women asked loudly, "Where should I buy this pure white stacks?"

Everyone fell silent immediately. It is true that without such pure white folds, the cloth would not be able to be spun!

Liu Li smiled and said, "This pure white stack can be obtained by carefully processing ordinary white stacks with a motorcycle. Only three and a half kilograms of white stacks can be obtained. However, those motorcycles are extremely expensive, and a set requires dozens of them. Nowadays, every village is guaranteed by the village chief, and the government lends the village chief a set. When everyone grows white piles, they can take it to the village chief for disposal. However, for every kilogram of pure white piles, they have to pay 30 yuan in wages. With Muramasa.”

A pound of pure white cloth costs 30 qian. It takes more than half a month to weave the white cloth and it can be exchanged for 1 qian. It means that it is not used to weave the cloth and is made into a coat and quilt, which is not as good as today's. Much stronger? Everyone looked at the weft loom in the courtyard and secretly made up their minds to find out the old looms at home when they got back, and plant several acres of white looms next year. This acre of white folds can produce seven or eight kilograms of flowers, which is enough to weave two pieces of cloth. If there are more varieties... the woman with a smarter mind has settled the account, with a smile on her face.

Liuli looked at everyone's faces, sighed inwardly, and raised her voice slightly, "It's just that these pure white motorcycles can only produce one or two kilograms a day, so each household can only plant two acres at most." , but you can't stop planting millet and wheat because of the huge profits. I'm afraid we have to discuss these matters with the boss.”

Some of these women were still excited, while others were a little disappointed. After they walked out of the courtyard talking in succession, Liuli also returned to the house and took a few sips of water. These tricks about white folding cloth were all thought up by Qu Chongyu: Village leaders can earn thirty or fifty cents a day through rolling cart slingshots, so they will do everything possible to keep secrets, and each village strictly controls rolling carts according to the number of households. The quantity, on the one hand, will not affect the harvest of grain and rice, and on the other hand, it will prevent the price of white folded cloth from falling due to excessive production, ensuring the profit of the Qu family workshop - this peacock really has a sharp mind when doing business. have to! However, knowing his plan, Liuli had to admit that whether as Mrs. Chang Shi or as a partner of the Qu Family Workshop, she could not raise any objections...

More than a quarter of an hour later, there was a sound of footsteps outside. Qu Chongyu and Zhou Cunzheng walked in one after another. Zhou Cunzheng smiled when he saw Liuli, "It was Madam's idea. If it weren't for these women, If you leave quickly, the assignment of handymen today will not be so smooth."

Liuli nodded and smiled without saying anything. Yes, who would be really happy to have all the men in the village serve as handymen for more than a month, helping the government transport military rations? But if the government also gives everyone a new way to make money, this unwillingness will naturally become weaker. If not, why would Qu Chongyu choose the most thorny villages to stage this people-friendly performance?

But Xizhou only has a population of 30,000 to 40,000 people. Even with the mobilization of the whole people like now, it is extremely difficult to support the food and fodder logistics for a hundred thousand troops... Qu Chongyu is working non-stop in Xizhou every day, but he doesn't know that Pei Xingjian is in the military warehouse. What will it look like while mobilizing the fleet of civilians from three states to support the chewing of 100,000 soldiers and more than 100,000 horses?

Liuli was in a low mood for a moment and didn't notice at all. Yun Yi beside her glanced dissatisfiedly at Qu Chongyu several times, but the latter turned his head indifferently as if he hadn't seen her at all.

In this busy day after day, running around here and there, the weather is getting colder and colder day by day. In the blink of an eye, it is November, and the day when Pei Xingjian said he will return to Xizhou is getting closer and closer. He used the new white clothes to make two winter robes for Pei Xingjian. However, on the day of the Winter Solstice, Pei Zhai from Qushui Fang did not wait for Pei Xingjian, but instead waited for Mi Dalang, who was stained with blood on his body and had a look of despair on his face.

I wrote it too late. There may be typos. I will correct it tomorrow. I am in a bad state today...sigh.

p.s. Zhongnan refers to young men aged 16 to 20, Dingnan refers to adult men aged 20 to 60, and Dingnu refers to adult women. In the Tang Dynasty, under some special circumstances, both middle men and Ding men had to serve, but the service time usually could not exceed 39 days a year. In addition, the food consumption of the Tang Dynasty army was very terrible (everyone in the Tang army had a horse, and a horse could eat six times as much as a person in a day). An army of 100,000 people needed the same number or even more civilians for logistical support.

 (End of this chapter)

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