Zhurou

Chapter 151
Zhao Mingzhi went to bed late the night before, and woke up more than half an hour later than usual.

Before she opened her eyes, there was a light fragrance lingering in her nostrils. When she woke up, several red and yellow plum blossoms were in full bloom beside her pillow, and there was another piece of paper and a cloth bag under it.

The handwriting on the note was faintly visible. Although it was written casually, it was still strong and strong. It quickly awakened her memory before going to bed. She unconsciously stretched out her hand to spread the piece of paper. She was a little hesitant at first, but she could see the black and white words on the top. , her heart was pounding, but she couldn't deceive herself even if she wanted to.

Just at this moment when several palace officials heard the sound, Zhao Mingzhi stood up, and before washing up, he did not forget to ask the visitor to put away the fresh plum blossoms, put them on the table by the window, and let them open and thank themselves, but did not Fake the hands of others, and carefully put away the note.

Not long after breakfast, she didn't rest for a moment, and then she had people harnessed to the chariot and horses, and took more than ten guards behind her, and walked along Liangmen Street towards Wanshengmen.

What I saw along the way was not much different from yesterday, it was just the waking of stinging insects, the weather was getting warmer, the snow on the ground had just melted, and the ground was trampled and dirty. You can see many people on the side of the road within a short distance. People in thin and shabby clothes, men, women, old and young, some begging, but more people looked around blankly, with luggage on their backs, their feet went forward and backward, left and right suddenly, without direction.

I just passed Xiwazi, Zhou, which is a bustling place in the west of the city. The main road is already full of people, and it is rare for cars and horses to pass through.

The carriage went slower and slower, turned into the front road and stopped, the driver turned around and knocked on the carriage, and asked in a low voice: "Your Highness, there are too many people ahead and the traffic jam is severe, why don't you take a detour?"

Zhao Mingzhi responded first, and then asked the guard outside the window, "Why is it so blocked in front?"

The imperial guard patted the horse and asked around, and came back to report: "They are all queuing to buy grain, saying that the price of grain has risen sharply this time, yesterday it reached 130 yuan a bucket of rice, and today the sign on the grain shop is 140 yuan A fight."

Hearing the number 140 Bawen, Zhao Mingzhi couldn't sit still any longer, got up in horror, leaned forward, and looked at the crowd ahead.

She asked people to check the old files yesterday, and she knew that the price of grain in Beijing used to be sixty or seventy yuan a dou, and even when it was expensive, it rose to more than eighty yuan at most. More than doubled.

When the price of grain rises, it goes without saying that all grass dressings and wines that use grain as the main ingredient, and other prices also follow suit. However, at this time, not only the original people in the capital, but also countless refugees, every penny will be broken into ten dollars. Yes, it's hard to make ends meet when the price is cheap, but how can you live when the price is expensive?

She stared at the spot for a quarter of an hour. It was fine if the line didn't shorten, but it actually got longer and longer. Not only that, but it didn't move at all.

Zhao Mingzhi asked someone to inquire again.

This time, a strong man got off his horse and forced himself to the front.

After a while, he managed to get out of the crowd. His neat clothes were all messed up, his head was crooked, and even his belt was half torn apart.

The man hastily straightened his head and re-tied his belt. When he arrived in front of Zhao Mingzhi, his voice was still a little dry, and he said: "There is a wooden sign outside the door of the food store, saying that it only opens at noon, and one person can only buy half a bucket. Stop when you're done..."

Zhao Mingzhi turned his head to look at the omission on the car. It was still two hours before noon, but the line was already terribly long, and there were some people who jumped in line and stood in line, pushing and shoving each other.

She stayed here for only a quarter of an hour, and there were several noises in the queue. No one maintained order, let alone dissuaded her. She knew something wrong, so she sent someone to find the patrol alone before she left.

However, after taking a detour, they didn't go very far before seeing crowds gathering again.

Along the way, as long as there is a place where grain is sold, there are long queues. Obviously, the grain stores and grain shops in various places have negotiated well in advance. The listed prices are the same, and they are all 140 eight yuan a bucket. They are also sold at noon, and some are limited to one person and a half bucket. , some are limited to one bucket per person, while stocks last.

Such an order, even if there are occasional patrols present, the number is very small, and there is still a few hours before the real business at noon, I don’t know how many people will come later, I want to arrange hundreds of thousands of times the crowd , How can it be like a gnat shaking a tree?

Zhao Mingzhi watched all the way in the car, seeing something wrong, he immediately sent someone to say: "Go to the government office in the capital, and report the matter to the left and right military patrols, please make up your own mind, don't be negligent."

The man left immediately.

Seeing that the people had left and seeing that it was still early, Zhao Mingzhi felt relieved and told the coachman to continue on his way.

She headed west all the way, and after leaving the city, the car speeded up, and after another half an hour, it finally arrived near the original refugee hut.

Because the road was narrow, the carriages and horses could no longer enter, so Zhao Mingzhi dismounted and summoned the official from yesterday to ask Mrs. Zou from Dagon County, the place where the woman who stopped the carriage with her children lived yesterday.

The official responded first, and then said, "Your official will call her out now."

Zhao Mingzhi shook his head and said: "Just ask quietly, I will go find her myself, don't let others know."

The other party was taken aback for a moment, then turned to look at the densely packed low straw huts and shabby houses in the front and back, who dared to agree, and hurriedly said: "Your Highness, fish and dragons are mixed here, and there is no one to take care of it - why don't you ask someone to come out?"

Zhao Mingzhi said: "You just ask first, and then talk about it when you come back."

This person was very embarrassed, but seeing that no one was stopping him, and they all seemed to obey orders, he had no choice but to go honestly.

Zhao Mingzhi saw what he was doing, so he sent a guard behind him, called Mu Xiang again, and said: "Ms. Zou took the child alone, and only two young and strong men went to inquire. It is not appropriate. You go and follow. Take it easy, too."

He whispered again: "Don't disturb others."

Mu Xiang responded and followed.

The three of them returned from the same way after about a cup of tea, and brought another woman out.

The woman was in her early forties, her clothes were washed white with starch, and her sleeves, elbows, and knees were all mended.

She went up to greet Zhao Mingzhi first, and then introduced herself. She came from Dagon County like Mrs. Zou, and she knew where Zhao Mingzhi lived, so she agreed to help lead the way.

Zhao Mingzhi saw that he was neat and tidy, and after a few words on the road, he realized that this person was surnamed Deng. His husband's family originally had several acres of Susukida, but because of the Di people's disturbance, they had to go south and fled. On the way, his parents-in-law, husband, and children were injured and ill. Originally, there were a total of more than ten people in the two families of my mother-in-law's family when I set off, but now there is only one seven or eight-year-old niece left.

The two had fled south for more than a month. After entering Beijing, they made a living by washing clothes for people in the city. They borrowed and lived in the huts of their fellow villagers, eating and hugging each other. When they got money, they had to give half of it first. It is very difficult to pay for the other party's accommodation.

Zhao Mingzhi then asked: "I can't make a living doing laundry for a long time, so what are your plans in the future?"

Mrs. Deng shook her head and said: "My family has been from Dagon County for generations. I have no relatives and no reason in the south. If I can go back one day, I will still have two acres of Susukida. As long as I can take care of it, I will save some dowry in the future. Big sister- —That is, my niece is married, and I remarried, but right now..."

When she said this, she only sighed, and she didn't know if she had been numb by life, but there was a sense of resignation in her tone, and she said: "It's just a day-to-day life, and if there is one life left, the ancestor's grave has died." Smoke, what other plans do you have?"

Zhao Mingzhi thought for a while, most of the things that women are good at are female workers, so he asked: "Is there any craft that can make a living? For example, embroidery and mending?"

Mrs. Deng said: "You can do mending work, but we country people, whoever did embroidery in the past, had skills and didn't have the spare cloth to learn."

She paused, and then said: "Besides, it's not easy to find mending jobs. People in the capital are very selective. It's a day now, and the poor have a hard time. They are reluctant to spend money to find someone to mend. And I don’t like the tricks made by people in my village.”

After counting and counting, it is indeed very difficult, and there is no way at all.

However, Mrs. Deng took the initiative to mention: "If you talk about craftsmanship, you can count it as one. I can weave baskets, bamboo baskets and grass baskets, and I can make straw stools—I just don't have money to buy them." Bamboo fodder."

Zhao Mingzhi took advantage of the situation and asked: "If I borrow some money to buy bamboo materials with you..."

Lady Deng slowed down, turned around and blessed Zhao Mingzhi, saying: "I know that you are kind-hearted and want to help, but this business is really not that easy."

"When we first came here, there was also a carpenter in our group—for Old Kongtou, he first borrowed money to buy materials, and made stools and chairs to sell in the market. , but the price of bamboo and wood varies from day to day. If you make it, you don’t need to talk about your hard work. If you can’t sell it, you will have to pay back the money, and the labor will also be paid back. There is no food at noon, and the niece is sick and hungry at the moment, so I really dare not do it."

"Let's talk about that old Kongtou, he is brave enough and skillful enough. He went to the market, did not make a few serious transactions, and was forced to move a few things away by street ruffians. He only said that there was a lack of stools and chairs at home. Forget it, and you still have to ask for tea money, what can you do? Don't give it yet, I was beaten up, so I had to let it..."

"I worked hard for many days, I thought I could get some hard money, who would have thought that this would be the result, not to mention being beaten and half limping, and I was angry, I was in the fire last time, I couldn't get up in bed, I was gone... ..."

Zhao Mingzhi felt sad when he heard it, and said after a while: "It doesn't matter whether you buy or sell here, if you really can go back to your hometown someday, how can you and your niece grow those fields?"

Mrs. Deng said: "There are not many acres of land in my family. I have been used to farm work since I was a child. When I am busy, I survived desperately, and then called relatives and villagers to come to rescue. As long as there are fields and houses, there will always be no natural disasters. There is leftover food to eat, and there is a piece of roof tiles to shelter from the wind and rain."

Zhao Mingzhi thought for a while and asked, "For a woman like you who is alone with the young and old, is there not much here?"

"It's everywhere." Lady Deng raised her hand and pointed forward, "Did you see the white cloth hanging on the door? I know that family. There was a woman about my age, and the head of the family and her eldest son were taken away to serve in corvée labor." , I brought my two young children to escape from the army, but I couldn’t do it on the way, so I sold my youngest daughter. I thought I could save money to redeem it when I arrived in the capital, but I didn’t know that my son fell ill again within two days..."

"The family on the right is an old woman with two granddaughters..."

Mrs. Deng counted them one by one, and it turned out that six or seven out of ten households had more women than men, and many of them didn't even have a strong man, only old and weak women and children.

It turns out that after fighting with the Di people for many years, and after several rounds of drafting, and then being conscripted, there are not many strong and brave people. Whoever has a strong labor force in his family will have a better life, and they may not necessarily need to live in this refugee hut.

There was a fire last time, and there were countless casualties in the shed. Anyone who could be moved was naturally moved away, and the rest were people who had nowhere to go. Naturally, most of them were women and children.

Zhao Mingzhi walked and watched all the way, and what he saw was either old women or women, at least in their 40s or [-]s, or children. He rarely saw girls or young women, and there was not even a single one of color.

She thought about it carefully, and felt even more pathetic. She didn't even dare to say a word of sympathy, but asked: "If you are like you, if you can get some subsidies, you may have money or food. There are not many things, so you can only make ends meet. , but you have to work hard in the fields every day, but you don’t know if you will do it, and if you are willing to do it?”

Madam Deng expressed disbelief, and said: "How can there be such a good thing in the world? If it really happened, I will starve to death right now. Who cares about that much?"

Zhao Mingzhi didn't explain, just followed behind, asking a few questions from time to time, and just followed through the refugee huts.

Although she came here yesterday, the feeling is completely different from walking in it today.

The so-called "shed" should be made of wood, but there is no plan on both sides of the road. Often a few wooden boards are supported, covered with a layer of grass stalks. A place where people live.

Because the construction of each family is different, the grass and wood huts are also different in size, and there are stitches everywhere, which makes people feel cramped and unbearable when they get close.

And secondly, the hastily built house was naturally not arranged for water, so the further you go inside, the more it smells of defecation.

As it was close to noon, it was the time when the residents were active, and many people lit a fire to cook on the road. The smell of black smoke mixed with feces and urine was really unbearable.

Although Zhao Mingzhi wore a veiled hat, the clothes and attire of the group were out of tune with this place. No matter how low-key they were, they still attracted the attention of passers-by along the way.

Fortunately, Mrs. Zou's residence is not too far from here, and after detours for a while, she finally arrived outside a thatched shed.

Lady Deng pointed to the shack and said, "People live in it."

As he spoke, he took the initiative to step forward and shouted, "Miss Zou, someone is here!"

Zhao Mingzhi looked at the thatched shed, and nodded slightly to Muxiang.

The latter took out a small string of copper coins from his cloth bag, about one hundred and eighty pieces, stuffed them into Lady Deng's hands, and said, "Thank you for your guidance."

Madame Deng never expected to get this money so easily, she was really overjoyed, she saw Zhao Mingzhi and others dressed up, she didn't refuse, and said: "Thank you for your kindness, my family is really poor, so I have to accept it with the cheek."

As he said that, he hurriedly put the money into his left sleeve, and then blocked it with his right hand, and then carefully hid it, when a person came out of the room, it was Mrs. Zou who came forward to block the way yesterday.

When she saw Zhao Mingzhi and his party, she looked very disturbed, and hurriedly stepped forward to salute.

On the contrary, Mrs. Deng said: "Ms. Zou, I met your relatives on the way. They said they came to look for them specially, so I brought them here—this is the end of a hard time, and finally a good day!"

He said again: "The man has already brought it, so I will go to buy food first."

Saying blessing to Zhao Mingzhi again, he left in a hurry.

As soon as Mrs. Deng left, Mrs. Zou didn't care that there were a lot of people looking around here. She bent her legs and was about to kneel down. Fortunately, Mu Xiang stopped her in time, and took her back with half support and half support.

Zhao Mingzhi followed into the hut.

There has always been a camp in the west of the city of Kyoto Prefecture for refugees to live in. It has been used in all dynasties to nourish countless refugees. No matter how old it is, there are bricks and tiles, but this shed was built by the refugees later. There is not even a stone in it. The frame is built entirely on wooden boards, covered with straw and weeds, and it will collapse if you don't pay attention.

Mrs. Zou's thatched hut is only one zhang square inside, filled with hay and bedding, but without bed cabinets and other things. Apparently, the first and second sons sleep on the ground, and there are bundles, pots and bowls piled up in the corner, but they are placed in the middle. There are a lot of bamboo chips, paste, rope, etc., and there are also a few half-finished shelves.

Mrs. Zou was embarrassed to kneel, but was stopped by Mu Xiang, so she had to bow down and salute, calling her a princess, then glanced nervously at the things in the room, and said: "The princess is really here... My place is so small, I really don't have a place to go." .”

Zhao Mingzhi quickly said: "Because I was afraid that the sudden arrival would scare you, the special envoy came to tell you yesterday, but didn't the person make it clear?"

Mrs. Zou shook her head quickly, and said: "The little lady said it very clearly, but I really can't believe it. She said that the princess is noble, how could..."

In the middle of her speech, she shut up.

Zhao Mingzhi pointed to the bamboo frame in the middle and asked, "What are you doing?"

"I made a lantern." Mrs. Zou hurriedly took a shelf and showed it to Zhao Mingzhi, "I have no choice but to look around for many days before I can help someone make a lantern shelf. One is worth two yuan."

Zhao Mingzhi lowered his head to look at the shelf. The bamboo slices were inserted and folded, and plastic surgery was required. It couldn't be done quickly.

I also looked at Mrs. Zou's hand holding the lantern frame. Sure enough, ten fingers were swollen like carrots, and there were cracks.

"How long does it take to make one?" she asked.

"If you are skilled, you can make one in a quarter of an hour, and you can get dozens of papers a day." Mrs. Zou replied.

Dozens of Wen a day, but now you can only buy less than half a bucket of rice.

Zhao Mingzhi paused, and then asked, "How long can this lantern last?"

Mrs. Zou's complexion turned pale for a moment: "So that the princess can know that this livelihood can no longer be done - I went to deliver the goods in the morning, and the owner said that the goods are enough, so I don't need to do any more..."

He added: "It's a pity that my hand has been soaked in water for a month, and it bleeds when I touch it. The guest refused to ask me to help me wash the clothes, and I couldn't even find a way out."

The more she spoke, the lower her voice was. The baby beside her didn't know if she sensed that her mother was in a bad mood, and suddenly opened her eyes and woke up, crying loudly.

When the children here cry, there is no sound insulation in the huts, it is like poking a beehive, and the children in the neighbors all cry, but the crying is not strong, they are sobbing and choking. Qi is intermittent, very weak.

Ms. Zou was so frightened that she hurriedly picked up the child and rocked it in her arms, then secretly went to see Zhao Mingzhi, as if she still couldn't quite believe it.

Zhao Mingzhi took off the hat on his face, and used the hat to tease the children.

The child was hugged by his mother, and when he saw Zhao Mingzhi's veil, he had stopped crying, and now he reached out to grab the veil of the veil.

Mrs. Zou hurried to stop her.

Zhao Mingzhi looked at her sad face, and suddenly said: "I heard someone say yesterday that you planted crops when you were in Gun County, and it's not a problem to manage three to five mu of land by yourself. I don't know if that's true or not?"

　Sorry for the unstable update recently, if I have time these days, I will work harder.

　　The background received a notice that the 13th is exempt. Recently, it is a transitional plot. You can save the article and wait for the exempt to read.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)