Chapter 123 Chapter 123 Update.
Having been in Sangshu Lane for more than half a month, Ji Feng has already become familiar with the area.
The sun had not yet set and the market at the north end of Wei Bridge was not closed yet. Ji Feng grabbed the money and ran there in a hurry.
"Erfeng, you're still running out after dinner. Aren't you afraid your mother will beat you?"
Aunt Liu, who was pouring slop on the opposite side, saw this and said.
"My mother asked me to go get some wine, why would she hit me?"
After a while, she bought the things and had three coins left. Tian told her to save it to buy candy. This was why Ji Feng was looking forward to running errands the most. She stuffed the money into her small purse, which also contained the thirty coins she had brought from the county magistrate's office.
At first, her elder sister borrowed the money from her and Xiaozhu to buy vegetables. Later, she dug out the silver cake from the ground, broke the silver, and returned the money to her and Xiaozhu, thirty coins each.
I could save the extra money I earned from running errands at the north end of Weiqiao. Occasionally, I would take Xiaozhu and Xiaoyao with me and buy them some greasy mutton pancakes to share.
Outside, cicadas were chirping and the old mulberry trees were rustling in the breeze. The door to the outer room was open, and there was a small window at the back that was propped open, letting in a cool breeze.
They sat down to eat, Ji Xu drank Luoma wine, and the three children drank Zhejiang. After eating some food, they talked and laughed, and it was as happy as if it was New Year's Day.
"When I was in Zhuo County, I was always worried about how I would make a living in Chang'an. Now, it's good that I have a job in Huai City and can earn three hundred coins a day! If it were in my hometown, I would be able to buy fields and land in no time, employ some tenants and collect rent, and become a wealthy family." Tian said happily.
Ji Xu said, "I have made a lot of money. I bought a house and land for my mother in Wuling. I also bought a carriage to carry my mother and we can go from the East Market to the West Market every day."
This made Tian even happier, and she hugged her and kissed her endlessly.
"My daughter is promising. Madam Jin will be jealous! It's just two rooms and a horse. Can I teach her to be crazy for the rest of her life?"
Ji Xu poured wine for Tian and said coaxingly:
"I think Huai City is a good place. Why don't you leave the dock and go to Huai City together to set up a stall? Wouldn't it be much easier than carrying things around at the dock?"
"But at the dock..."
Tian hesitated. She worked at the dock and was hoping to sell some of her goods for money. But when she heard that a shipload of bronze wares were going to be shipped south of the Yangtze River the next day, she couldn't let it go.
He did not dare to tell his daughter the truth, so he just said:
"That's not really hard work, it's just moving for a while and then taking a break. Is Huai City too busy? I'll ask Erfeng to help you tomorrow."
Ji Feng bit the chicken foot bone and nodded repeatedly, "I've wanted to go for a long time."
"It's not that I'm too busy here. I see that the students need some brushes and ink every day, and they have to go far to buy them. I thought, if you can sell some small items like brushes and inkstones from the direct market in the north of the city, your business will probably be good, and it will be much more profitable than your mother working at the dock."
Ji Xu said that by keeping Tian in Huai City, he could earn money and save her from the risk of being robbed. Even if she was caught by the city officials on duty in Huai City, the worst result would be that her property would be confiscated and she would be driven away. Besides, he could avoid them at the right time.
"Although my daughter earns 300 yuan a day now, it's still far from enough to buy a house. If she buys a house, not only will it bring honor to her, but we'll also have a place to live. Even the three little ones can continue their elementary school nearby."
One of the reasons I came to Chang'an was for my sisters' studies, but I've been asking around recently.
This elementary school is not like the Imperial College that recruits students from all over the country. Most elementary schools near Chang'an only accept students from the Sanfu area. They are not able to attend school because their registered residence is in Wu. They have to settle in Chang'an to meet the admission threshold.
But they had no house or land in Chang'an, and their family property was meager, so they could not move their household registration here.
Therefore, recently Ji Xu has been teaching her sister and little sister the "Cangjie Pian" before going to bed, but she has not experienced the education of this dynasty. All she has is the practice of Bafenshu in her previous life and the familiarity with the ancient Han Li scrolls she has read.
The elementary school books are easy to understand, and she can also teach literacy and arithmetic.
But she was not good at the mathematical classics involving astronomy. She found a well-read copy of the Zhoubi Suanjing in Huai City, and was still in the process of reading and studying it. She had to ask the students for advice from time to time, and was far from having a thorough understanding of it, let alone teaching her two younger sisters.
Besides, she had to prepare food every day, so she didn't have much time to teach them. After all, she had to send them to elementary school, which would be more appropriate in the long run. She especially didn't want Xiaozhu to end up like the story of "The Story of Zhongyong".
Tian was moved by these words. The next day, after sobering up, she settled the accounts.
My daughter sells prepared food in Huai City. Excluding the cost of flour, glutinous rice flour, preserved dates, walnuts, etc., she can earn three hundred coins a day and nine taels a month. She moves things at the dock and occasionally sells some lacquerware. Together with her daily wages, she can earn one and a half taels a month.
Excluding the monthly rent of one and a half taels, the salary of six hundred, the oil and rice money of eight hundred, and some oil, soapberry, needle and thread, cloth, vegetables and sundries, a family of five would need at least five or six hundred to get by.
In this way, the family can save seven taels of silver every month. If this happened in my hometown, I would laugh in my dreams. But in Chang'an, there is a high-ranking official every five steps and a rich man every ten steps.
Even the Jin family next door had two rooms, a horse and a cow of their own.
Tian calculated on her fingers and said, "Anling has the lowest housing prices among the Five Tombs. Even if I could buy two houses, it would take seven or eight years to save enough. And we don't know if housing prices will go up in the future."
So he listened to Ji Xu, left his job at the dock, and accompanied by Ji Xu, went to the city's north market to pick and choose, and brought back a load of goods.
The next morning, she and Ji Xu took the same car to Huai City, which was famous for its fixed prices. She bought a lot and the prices were cheap, so she could make a profit from the difference here.
Because she was selling used items, she went near an old man who did the same business.
"Father, did you weave this mat yourself? You have great craftsmanship."
The old man had straw sandals and bamboo mats in front of him, all woven by himself. He nodded and said:
"I and the women at home weave this and carry it back to sell for a few bucks. What are you selling?"
Tian turned the basket upside down, put a wooden board on it, and placed some rabbit hair brushes, inkstones, ink blocks, bamboo slips, wooden tablets, and even a bronze mirror on it.
"Look, these are all picked by my daughter. She sells prepared food over there."
This was Tian's second visit here, but first she was picking out some old things in the depths of the locust tree forest and only saw the shadow of the Imperial College from afar. Now she had set up a stall on the road next to the Imperial College.
All she saw here were green tiles and red roofs, towering buildings and lush greenery. Huge rocks were engraved with scrolls of scriptures that looked like heavenly books, but she couldn't understand a single word.
It is the time when students from all over the country come to study. The gate is jammed with cars and horses, and there is no way to get through.
Tian saw it and thought: How wonderful it would be if my three daughters could also study here!
However, there were no students in hairpins and skirts in the Imperial Academy, only men studied there.
The noble gentlemen who got off the carriages didn't even glance at the stall and went straight into the Imperial College.
But some students who came on foot were attracted by Tian's stall and stopped in front of it to buy some pens, inks, bamboo slips, and some to choose mirrors.
"Young Master, this bronze mirror is excellent. It comes from the south of the Yangtze River. Anyone who looks into it will make progress in their studies. Anyone who buys it will have a prosperous family and will have five sons and four daughters in the future, becoming a duke or a king!"
Tian gestured and the students found it interesting.
"These have inscriptions on them, all carefully selected by my daughter. You scholars can read the characters, so take whichever one you like!"
On the back of the bronze mirror, there are a circle of auspicious inscriptions such as "Bright as the sun and the moon, illuminating all directions", "Learn and practice it from time to time", and "Reflect on yourself in a clear mirror".
They were in the Imperial College, and they had to learn etiquette, not just pay attention to their appearance, because quite a few of them bought mirrors.
"Mother, how is it?"
After the students went in one after another, the Huailin Tunnel became empty. Ji Xu cleaned up the food stalls there, passed by various stalls selling cakes and soups, and came here to find Tian Shi, who sold utensils here.
Tian said happily, "It's great. The things you picked are very easy to sell. Look, how many have been sold. Why would my mother still go to the docks? It would be much better if she could come here and sell things every day."
Ji Xu smiled. "Most of the students have gone in. There aren't many left. The bell will ring soon, and the city officials should be patrolling here. Let's pack up and go back. We'll come back later."
The old man next door who was selling mats and straw sandals was also packing up. He carried his load and left while talking.
"Let's go, come back tomorrow!"
His business is not as good as Tian's. He only sells at the morning market or the evening market every day. He sells in the morning and does not come in the evening.
"Look, the sun is getting hot. Why don't you wear a veil? Girls, you look so beautiful with a fair complexion. Don't get tanned."
As he spoke, he tied the veil on Ji Xu and wiped the sweat from her face with a handkerchief.
This veil hat was bought by Tian for Ji Xu some time ago, asking her not to let it get damaged in the sun in Huai City. Now she has lowered the veil to block her face from the scorching sun.
The ox cart driven by Tian took them back. She was in better condition now than when she first came out of the mine. Her fingers were clean, but her body was still not white. It was because she was at the dock all day, exposed to the sun. Ji Xu held up a palm-leaf fan to shield her from the sun.
"Mother has thick skin and is not afraid of the sun. Sit tight. There are a lot of rocks here, don't fall off."
Tian said that the mother and daughter were driving home and ran into Jin's mother and daughter at the entrance of Sangshu Alley.
They had just returned from selling rice and meat soup at Jiaomen Market. When Tian saw that Jin was not in a good mood, she flicked the reins and walked into the alley first.
Jin Shi also looked at the things in their car from behind and muttered to Ji Zhi:
"Is it really that easy to sell in Huai City? You can go there someday and sell our rice and meat soup. My mother can handle it all by herself. After all, there's no rent or tax there, so we can't just let that money go to waste."
Ji Zhi was willing to do so. If she left Jin Shi, she could get some of her own money. However, after thinking about it, he said:
"We only have one ox cart at home, and my mother uses it to go to the store. What use should I have? I don't want to walk there. Huai City is very far away."
"Forget it, forget it. Mother will carry the load to the store, and you can drive to Huai City. Is that okay?" Jin poked her head and said.
After returning and telling the story, Ji Yuan felt sorry for Jin and asked Du Xian to pick her out. Du Xian said:
"Don't worry, Huai City won't be able to do it in a few days."
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