Chapter 271 The Happiness of the Retired Emperor (Two Chapters in One)
Zhao Shiqing has never been someone who can sit still.
She hadn't been down the mountain for several days. She had walked on every inch of land and every stone on the mountain. Ever since Haidongqing's group was caught, life on the mountain had become boring, boring, too boring!
She couldn't wait to know if Jin Twelve succeeded?
Who is more powerful, Jin Twelve or Fairy Cao?
And Yang Shengqiu, will he go to Daru like in his previous life, or stay in Dayong?
In his previous life, Yang Shengqiu had a wife and children, but he still left resolutely. In this life, Yang Shengqiu is a bachelor with no ties. Will he leave his hometown even more?
Zhao Shiqing didn't have the ability to predict the future. She only knew that these people were shit, and she was the one stirring up the shit.
Thinking of this, Miss Zhao Er spat twice, "It stinks so much, it's unbearable."
Instead of sitting here and thinking about shit, why not go out for a walk?
Where to go?
Go down the mountain?
Forget it. Although those killers have been caught, who knows if there are still hidden dangers. She'd better not go too far.
She didn't go down the mountain, she only went down halfway.
Xiao Yao and Dapang also went down the mountain with Zhao Shiqing. The two were used to being wild and didn't like water. This rainy and humid day was not very friendly to them. When they saw Zhao Shiqing was about to go down the mountain, the two cats rushed down the mountain ahead of her.
Xiao Yao ran in the front, followed by Dapang. Because he was fat, he could never outrun Xiao Yao.
Zhao Shiqing followed behind Dapang, while Ling Bo followed behind Zhao Shiqing. The two guards walked silently at the end. Wherever Miss Zhao went, they followed.
Suddenly, Xiao Yao's cry came from the front. To others, the cry was just a slightly sharp cat's meow, but Zhao Shiqing heard Xiao Yao shouting: "The cat knows you, but the cat doesn't remember who you are."
Cats don’t have a good memory, but they have a very sensitive nose. They can remember the smell they have smelled, but they can’t remember where they smelled it.
Zhao Shiqing didn't expect that someone would go up the mountain at this time.
Xiao Zhen said that fewer and fewer people have been rescued recently, and the dead are far more than the living. The main job of the yamen runners now is to retrieve corpses, and once a living person is rescued, he will be sent to Huangjiazhuangzi.
Zhao Shiqing immediately became alert. Who was this person? Had she seen Xiao Yao before?
The mountain road was winding and she couldn't see where the little demon was from where she was.
She shouted behind her, "Someone is going up the mountain, go and take a look!"
Before she could finish her words, the two guards had already jumped past her and disappeared in the blink of an eye.
A moment later, a familiar voice was heard from not far away: "Let me go. If you don't want to be beheaded, let me go!"
Old man?
Zhao Shiqing actually knows someone who likes to call himself "old man".
But he is thousands of miles away, so he shouldn't be here.
But then she thought again, Wu is also very far away, didn’t that person go there too?
After turning the corner, Zhao Shiqing saw the old face he had not seen for a long time.
Zhao Xingzhou had his hands handcuffed behind his back by two guards and was unable to move. At this moment, a cat jumped onto his shoulder, sniffed his neck, then meowed and jumped away.
Zhao Xingzhou actually heard disgust in a cat's cry.
He subconsciously wanted to touch his neck, wondering if he had forgotten to wash his neck when washing his face because he had been running around outside.
Seeing that he was still trying to move, the guard shouted angrily: "If you don't behave yourself, I'll throw you out of here!"
Zhao Xingzhou shuddered. That damn boatman didn't tell him that this mountain was so difficult to climb. No one knew that he had gone through so much trouble to climb here. If he was thrown down from here, it would really be the end of him.
His life is precious, and he doesn't want to give it up.
"Hey, Mr. Zhao, are you here to pay back the money?"
She turned around and asked Ling Bo, "Do you have Mr. Zhao's IOU with you?"
When she left Beijing, she never thought that she, a big creditor, would meet her debtor in Tongzhou.
Ling Bo nodded: "Don't worry, Miss, I have all the IOUs with me. They are on the mountain right now."
Zhao Shiqing wanted to hug Ling Bo and give her a kiss. You are really the second lady’s good girl and sweetheart!
Zhao Xingzhou recognized Zhao Shiqing at a glance and shouted excitedly: "Goddaughter, goddaughter, quickly make them let me go!"
Zhao Shiqing rolled her eyes at him: "Who is your goddaughter? I am your creditor, your creditor!"
Creditor?
When did he fall into debt?
Well, it seems that's the case.
At that time, he was in a desperate situation and was being plotted against by those little devils. In order to maintain his dignity, he did not sign the unequal treaty that was humiliating and detrimental to the country, but only signed several IOUs.
"It's just a small amount of money. Are you worried that I will owe you money and not pay it back?"
Zhao Shiqing said with a forced smile, "Of course I'm worried. These debts have been owed for almost two years, and I haven't seen you pay them back. So, are you coming up the mountain today to pay them back? Don't tell me, I've been spending a lot of money on these disaster victims lately, and I'm waiting for you to pay me back to fill the gap."
Zhao Xingzhou's old face almost turned red. Although he had only been in the flood for one day, he knew something. The Fourth Prince had just arrived a few days ago, and the silver and food for disaster relief had not yet arrived. Where would these disaster victims in the mountains get food and drink?
Before coming to Tongzhou, he first went to Gaoping, where the victims were resettled in an orderly manner. The Young Master Guanyue, who was praised by the victims, came to Gaoping with food and silver.
Where did this money and grain come from?
Anyway, it wasn’t given by the court.
When Master Guanyue was distributing rice in Gaoping, the good-for-nothing Fourth Prince was still running around in Yanzhou City.
"Good boy, I heard your grandfather is very rich."
Zhao Shiqing rolled her eyes: "My grandpa has money, that's ours, you don't have to worry about it."
Zhao Xingzhou said hurriedly, "How about this. If you're willing to be my daughter, I'll not only pay off the debt, but I'll also give you a big red envelope. No, I'll give you a big red envelope every year from now on."
Zhao Shiqing thought of Wan Ruyi and thought, "Your biological daughter is still my grandfather's, how can I expect a big red envelope from you? Could it be that there are only a few gold ingots in the red envelope?"
Although Miss Zhao Er came from a poor family, she grew up in a wealthy family. She doesn't even look down on the big red envelope from the old madman!
Still, it was quite tempting that this old lunatic wanted to pay back the money.
"How much banknotes do you have on you?" Zhao Shiqing looked at him.
In order to pretend to be ethereal, the old man only wore a loose Taoist robe. In other words, he had nothing.
If there is silver, it can only be silver notes, and it must not be wet.
Zhao Xingzhou's old face almost turned red again. The reason why it almost turned red was because the thickness of his skin was just at the critical point.
He had no money, so he gave all the fifty taels he had to the boatman.
Seeing that he didn't say anything, Zhao Shiqing understood that the old man was farting again.
She said to the two guards, "This old man has no money, throw him down!"
Zhao Xingzhou got anxious when he heard this: "No, no, no, don't throw me overboard! Oh, your last name is Zhao, mine is Zhao too, we were one family three hundred years ago, and besides, you called me dad, have you forgotten? I haven't forgotten."
Zhao Shiqing remembered that she had actually called the old man "Dad", but she couldn't remember why. Anyway, she regretted it after calling him "Dad".
Besides, this old man is Xiao Zhen’s grandfather. If she becomes his goddaughter, Xiao Zhen will have to call her aunt.
Her relationship with Xiao Zhen changed from uncle and nephew to aunt and nephew, and one of them was always the nephew or niece.
Zhao Shiqing wanted to laugh just thinking about it, and silently lit a candle for Xiao Zhen in his heart.
Zhao Xingzhou perked up when he saw Zhao Shiqing smile. "Good girl, you're still young and don't know how good it is to be my daughter. You'll understand when you grow up. Okay, I won't argue with a little kid like you. Hurry up and let them carry me up the mountain."
Zhao Shiqing actually wanted to let this old man go up the mountain.
If he is not allowed to go up the mountain, how can he know what the people have experienced and what kind of life they are living?
He must be allowed to go up the mountain, and he must eat coarse rice and work with the people.
Thinking of this, Zhao Shiqing waved his hand and said, "Carry him up the mountain!"
Although there was no sedan chair, the two guards were strong and had martial arts skills. Zhao Xingzhou was a thin old man, but the guards still ran fast with him on their backs, leaving Zhao Shiqing far behind.
The little demon jumped into Zhao Shiqing's arms and muttered, "This old man doesn't take a bath, and his body is sour and smelly."
Zhao Shiqing kissed her little nose and said, "Don't worry, I'll let him take a bath after we get up the mountain."
Xiao Yao finally stopped. As a beautiful cat, she hated taking a bath, but she hated it even more that other cats and dogs didn't take a bath. In short, Sister Yao could not take a bath, but you had to.
After reaching the mountain, Zhao Xingzhou was taken to take a bath. The old man cooperated very well. He was narrow-minded and still remembered that the cat had just rejected him.
Unfortunately, there were only mosquito coils on the mountain, but no incense. Zhao Xingzhou used mosquito coils to fumigate from head to toe. The mosquito coils on the mountain were made of mugwort. Before Zhao Xingzhou came over, Zhao Shiqing smelled the scent of mugwort.
At this time, Xiuxiu knocked on the basin and shouted: "Dinner is ready, dinner is ready!"
The victims came from all directions with their bowls in hand and formed four long lines.
Several large pots were lined up in a row. Xiuxiu and several female relatives were responsible for serving the food. Zhao Xingzhou got a bowl and joined the queue with great interest.
I have never queued up for food in my life. This feels like giving out porridge. It must be a very happy feeling.
Before he even had his meal, Zhao Xingzhou already felt very happy.
In this disaster-stricken area, it is like a paradise. The people have roofs over their heads and food to eat. Men farm and women weave, and they live and work in peace and contentment. They are so happy, so happy!
The person who served Zhao Xingzhou the meal was an aunt who was nimble and skillful. She scooped a spoonful of porridge into Zhao Xingzhou's bowl. The porridge was wild vegetable porridge with a few pickles on top. In addition to the porridge and pickles, there was also a black-faced steamed bun.
Zhao Xingzhou was stunned for a moment and asked, "Is that all?"
This is different from what he imagined.
The porridge served is made with white rice or refined rice, and the chopsticks should stand upright in the porridge without falling over.
But the porridge in his hand was made with millet, and even with the wild vegetables mixed in, it was still very watery. Oh, and there were wild vegetables, right? These were wild vegetables, weren't they meant to be fed to pigs and livestock? How could they be eaten by humans?
As for this black steamed bun, there is no need to say more. I don’t know what is mixed in it, why is it so black?
The aunt saw that it was a unfamiliar face and was obviously a newcomer.
"This is the condition on the mountain. The Second Miss also eats this. If you don't like it, you don't have to eat it."
Hearing that Zhao Shiqing also ate this, Zhao Xingzhou was stunned. Although that child looked like a naughty monkey, it was obvious that she had been spoiled. She also ate this? Could she eat it?
Zhao Xingzhou walked out of the team with his black steamed bun and porridge. He looked around and saw Zhao Shiqing.
She sat on a rock and ate with two cats beside her.
Zhao Xingzhou sniffed and smelled a fishy smell!
He trotted over and saw that the porridge in Zhao Shiqing's bowl was the same as his, both of which were wild vegetable porridge. The fishy smell came from the two cats. Although the two cats were eating chopped black steamed buns, fish was added to it. It was fish!
"How do they get fish to eat?"
Zhao Shiqing snorted, "The fish they eat is caught by my eagle and spit out from the eagle's mouth. Do you want to eat it?"
Zhao Xingzhou shook his head. He was just asking. He didn't want to beg for food from the eagle's mouth.
"Is this what we eat in the mountains?" he asked hesitantly.
Zhao Shiqing nodded. "Coarse grains are cheaper than refined grains. With the money we use to buy refined grains, we can buy more coarse grains and feed more people."
Zhao Xingzhou sighed and saw two old men eating not far away, so he walked over with his bowl of rice.
The two old men were very enthusiastic and greeted him when they saw him: "Master, you are new here, right? I haven't seen you before."
Zhao Xingzhou was very happy. He liked being called Taoist priest.
"Two elders, are you used to living here?"
The two old men nodded in agreement. "I'm used to living here. I can eat my fill, and the work is easier than at home. Oh, and the quilts here are made of cotton. I never could have dreamed of such a good life before."
Zhao Xingzhou was stunned. Such a day was actually a good day for these two old men?
"Aren't all quilts made of cotton?"
The old man shook his head: "Cotton is so expensive, how can we afford it?"
Zhao Xingzhou froze there. He didn't even know that the people of the Dayong Dynasty couldn't afford cotton.
He had been to many places, such as Wu, where every family wove cloth and the people lived a prosperous life, and the villages near Changshou Palace, where, although they were not rich, they had enough food and clothing.
"Was life hard for you when you were at home?" It took him a while to find his voice.
The old man smiled and said, "It's not hard at all. My family has five acres of land. After paying taxes, I can save one or two taels of silver every year."
"Are you also growing millet?" Zhao Xingzhou asked.
The old man shook his head: "My family grows rice."
Zhao Xingzhou asked again: "So you usually eat rice?"
The old man laughed and said, "How can that be possible? How can we farmers eat that kind of rice? After paying the government taxes, we sell the rice and exchange it for coarse grains, so that we can eat until we are 70% full."
Another old man said, "That's right, white rice is not something farmers can eat. It's for the emperor and officials. Even the landlords in our village only eat white rice during festivals."
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