Di Ming

Chapter 79 Qingqiao
Early the next day.

Liang Geng (five o'clock).

"Dang...dang..."

The Hongwu bell on the bell tower struck five times in a row.

Next.

"Boom boom boom-"

The bright drum, which reminds people to get up, resounds from the Drum Tower, like the heartbeat of heaven and earth.

The melodious and resonant sound of bells and drums echoed throughout the heavens and earth, spreading across the entire city, flying towards the Yangtze River, towards Xuanwu Lake, towards Zijin, and towards Qixia.

As soon as the bells and drums of Lianggeng sounded, as if by prior arrangement, thousands of golden rays of light emanated from Zijin Mountain in the direction of Xiaoling Mausoleum.

In an instant, the dawn's rays burst forth, bathing the entire city of Nanjing in light from Zijin Mountain, as if the founding emperor himself stood atop Zijin Mountain, overlooking the capital and awakening countless households.

Almost simultaneously, dozens of temples and Taoist monasteries inside and outside Nanjing, as well as county schools, prefectural schools, and the Imperial Academy, all began to ring their bells and drums.

Large and small bells and drums played together simultaneously.

"Clang—clang—thump—thump—"

The entire city of Nanjing was immersed in the melodious sound of bells and drums.

At that very moment, doors opened in every household, and wisps of smoke rose from every chimney. Cities and countryside alike awoke instantly.

Upon waking, the vast city, which had been quiet all night, suddenly became incredibly noisy, as if the scene had come to life, instantly transforming between stillness and movement.

Various noises seemed to come from the horizon, growing louder and louder as they approached, suddenly sweeping in like an overwhelming tide.

"Ugh! So noisy!" Ning Caiwei instantly revealed her spoiled temperament. "Ringing bells and drums so early in the morning, are they crazy!"

The little girl looked unhappy and was full of morning grumpiness.

Zhu Yin, who was next to him, rubbed his eyes and sat up. "It's five o'clock. You can get up now."

"It's only five o'clock, really!" Ning Caiwei yawned, still sleepy-eyed. "Isn't it supposed to be morning bells and evening drums? Why are they beating drums in the morning too? How annoying."

After saying that, he lay down again, directly on Zhu Yin's calves.

"Does 'morning bell and evening drum' mean only ringing the bell in the morning and only beating the drum in the evening?" Zhu Yin shook his head and explained:
"This is a huge misunderstanding. The meaning of 'morning bell and evening drum' is that the bell rings first in the morning and the drum rings first in the evening."

"But in fact, the bells and drums should ring, whether it is morning or night."

"Otherwise, wouldn't the poem about the midnight bell tolling to the passenger ship be wrong?"

"Oh, I see," Ning Caiwei said, sitting up again and putting on her shoes.

Ning Qingchen also woke up, bubbles coming out of her mouth, staring pitifully at Zhu Yin with her jewel-like eyes.

Seeing that Ning Caiwei was only focused on brushing her teeth and washing up, Zhu Yin could only find the mare's milk he had bought from the dairy shop yesterday and feed it to Ning Qingchen.

We haven't hired a wet nurse yet, so we can only use mare's milk to appease her.

Chinese nobles consumed dairy products very early on, at least as early as the Spring and Autumn Period.

During the Han Dynasty, there were officials specifically tasked with supplying the imperial family: the Horse-Horse ...

During the Sui and Tang dynasties, the Dianmu Bureau was responsible for supplying dairy products. The Song dynasty had the Dairy Bureau. The Yuan dynasty had the Shangshe Temple, and the Qing dynasty had the Liangfan Bureau.

However, for some unknown reason, the Ming Dynasty had many institutions, but notably no "Ruya" (乳衙).

However, dairy products were still available in major cities during the Ming Dynasty, mainly mare's milk and ghee, but they were not sold in large quantities and were considered scarce.

There are dedicated dairy processing plants in Nanjing.

Ning Qingchen didn't care whether it tasted good or not. After drinking her fill of mare's milk, she pointed her little finger at her sister's back and then drew words in Zhu Yin's hand.

"She's been pretending for over a decade. She's not gentle; she's a scheming bitch."

The baby wrote.

Zhu Yin chuckled, unconvinced.

If a person can pretend for more than ten years, they can pretend for a lifetime.

He didn't trust Ning Qingchen at all. Who was it that arrogantly forced him to resign and even threatened him back then?
After Zhu Yin finished washing up, Ning Caiwei untangled his messy hair and restyled it into two small buns.

Then, she skillfully styled her hair into two buns and put on a pearl flower.

She wasn't old enough to wear hairpins or earrings. But she still needed jewelry such as pearl flowers, floral ornaments, and forehead decorations.

“We spend too much time on our hair every day.” Ning Caiwei looked at her face in the bronze mirror on the dressing table. “When we have money, we’ll hire more housekeepers to free us from chores.” “Not so that we can be waited on hand and foot, but to improve work efficiency and reduce time costs.”

Zhu Yin said, "I need some more children to train as intelligence agents from a young age. I'm too young to recruit adults, so I can only train children."

Ning Caiwei asked, "Is it about buying it? Can it be legally purchased?"

Zhu Yin sighed, "What can we do if we don't buy them? These children have no other way out. They're lucky to have a good owner. That's just how times are."

“Ming Dynasty law stipulated that officials below the third rank were not allowed to keep slaves, but nobody took the ban on slaves seriously and continued to buy and sell slaves. The people we bought followed us and were able to live like human beings.”

“Okay.” Ning Caiwei nodded. “Just treat them as lifelong, original employees. We shouldn’t think of them as slaves. Buy them as soon as possible; human resources are an early investment.”

"We don't have much money right now, let's buy ten first and train them slowly. We can't afford to raise more than that."

“Okay.” Zhu Yin stood up and helped her move the beaded hairpin to the other side. “For children aged eight to twelve, a good one usually costs fifty or sixty taels. Uh, I mean the kind who are good-looking and can read a few words.”

"The best ones, the kind that can be used as male prostitutes and young horses, cost several hundred taels."

"Let's buy the kind that can recognize a few words; ten of them would cost five or six hundred. What do you think?"

"Buy them!" Ning Caiwei gritted her teeth. "You need promising talents for your intelligence organization. I also need them for my business conglomerate. The sooner we train them, the more capable they will be. We can't skimp on this."

"However, too young won't do. Ten to twelve years old is best, they won't be much older than us, and they'll still be of some use."

After discussing it for a while, the two decided to spend money to "hire" someone to train them after moving.

...

2:15 AM.

The group left the inn, walked along South Street, crossed Zhenhuai Bridge, exited the outer city through Jubao Gate, and then crossed Changgan Bridge to cross the outer Qinhuai River.

Once you leave the inner city, you'll find Jubao Mountain ahead.

Jubao Mountain has the famous Yuhuatai (Rain Flower Terrace).

Zhu Yin and his entourage followed the official road around Jubao Mountain, passing between Dabaoguo Temple and Nengren Temple, and were greeted by the chanting of sutras coming from the two temples.

The group arrived at Fengtai Gate, exited the outer city, and meandered south along the official road.

Soon we saw a rather large courtyard house by the roadside, which looked very old.

Above the gate of the mansion, five large characters are prominently displayed: Jiangning Nursing Home.

In the nursing home, there were many elderly people and children, bathed in the early autumn sunlight.

They seem to be in good condition, even though many of them are disabled.

Several horse-drawn carriages belonging to the Jiangning County government were parked at the entrance of the compound, and the yamen runners were unloading rice, flour, and cooking oil.

"A nursing home?" Ning Caiwei lifted the carriage curtain and looked for a while before whispering, "I'm quite surprised. I didn't expect the Ming Dynasty to have such a good nursing home."

"To be honest, they're in good shape."

Zhu Yin said, "I'm not saying this to praise my ancestors. The founding emperor was truly beyond reproach in this respect."

"Throughout the Ming Dynasty, there were almshouses, pharmacies for the needy (medical insurance for the poor), soup kitchens, public cemeteries, and charitable estates (fields for the poor and education)..."

"In the early Ming Dynasty, the imperial court used 10% of its annual tax revenue for national relief and welfare. These welfare institutions existed even in remote areas of the country."

"In the most expensive year, five million coins were spent on grain. How much was the total annual tax revenue of the Ming Dynasty?"

"Even if he makes mistakes, we can't criticize him for that. He's bad at economics, short-sighted, and comes from a humble background. But few emperors can match his kindness towards the common people."

"Even during the Wanli era, these welfare institutions were still in use."

"The Ming Dynasty has many bad aspects. But it also has quite a few good aspects."

Ning Caiwei was silent for a moment, then slowly said:
"Yes, you really can't criticize him in this regard."

After walking only a dozen miles along the official road, we saw a large, densely populated village nestled at the foot of the green mountains.

The surrounding mountains and clear waters were beautiful, and the scenery was exceptionally lovely.

I could faintly hear the crowing of roosters and barking of dogs, the mooing of water buffalo, and wisps of smoke rising from chimneys—a scene of tranquility and peace.

A winding river flows across the river, and a moss-covered stone arch bridge, weathered and full of history, spans the river, leading to a large village not far away.

The water beneath the bridge flows gently. At the bridgehead stands a stone archway with the words "Qingqiao Li" inscribed on it.

Arrived!

(End of this chapter)