Chapter 138 Chapter 138 Update.
Li Fuye saw that Jizhu was concentrating on solving the problem and ignored him and the wooden stick, so he shouted again:
"People from outside the Great Wall!"
Instead, he woke up the calligrapher Fan who was dozing off in front. He came over here, picked up the wooden stick on Ji Zhu's desk, and recited the doggerel poem on it.
Although he was fat and easily sleepy, he responded:
"I have the Four Books and Five Classics in my belly, so I am relaxed. But when I want to sleep, I think about the classics. I can communicate with Zhou Gong in my dreams. Where did you get the poem mocking your teacher from?"
He ordered, "Li Fuye, and the other two of you, copy today's article ten times!"
"It's all the fault of those people outside the pass. They caused us to be punished without saying a word."
After the bell rang and the lecture ended, Li Fuye and the other two gathered in a corner. One of them, Wang Changdao, a young man from Wuling, thought that she had ignored the piece of wood, so he asked Master Fan to pick it up and take a look.
"That's right, Fuye, we can't just let her go like this!"
Li Fuye naturally would not be content to copy articles, so he asked Wang'er to copy his share and gave him a box of cheese pastries from the northern border market, which were all the ones that the young men of Wuling were tired of eating.
Wang'er thanked him profusely and copied the article for him honestly.
Li Fuye also asked him to catch a big spider for him the next day, and Wang'er agreed.
After school that day, Qiu Gu was waiting outside. Wang Er climbed into the car, took out the box of cheese pastries and gave them to Qiu Gu.
Aunt Qiu asked curiously, "Is this cheese pastry from the Western Regions? It's only sold in the East Market in the city. It's very expensive. I heard the price has even gone up recently. Where did you get it?"
Wang Er said, "The teacher saw that I have made progress, so he gave it to me as a reward."
After returning home, Wang Er stopped playing Cuju in the alley and stayed at his desk copying articles until midnight. When Qiu Gu saw him, she felt that he had made progress and nodded, saying:
"My son will definitely be able to enter the government and become an official."
The next day, I gave a handful of this cheese puff pastry to Tian who lived in the front door and Aunt Liu who lived across the street, and said with a smile:
"What Master Fan gave me was all because Wang'er was good at studying and making progress. He had talent that no one else had."
"Good things are sweet, you should try some too."
While Qiugu was out chatting with others, Wang'er used a bamboo net to catch the big spider on the roof of his kang. He put it in a small bamboo cage for katydids, carried Qiugu to the elementary school, handed it to Li Fuye, and said:
"What's so interesting about spiders? Do you want grasshoppers? I can catch them for you. They're still available at this time of year."
"You city dweller, go away. Who wants to play with grasshoppers anymore?"
Li Fuye and other young men from Wuling looked down on people like Wang'er, who were from the market. Except for asking them to do things, they ignored him and drove him away.
Wang Er was disappointed and went off to play Cuju with others.
It was break time after class, and a group of primary school students were playing Cuju in the open space. Some of them were from Anling County, some from Liushi in the west of the city, and some from near Huaishi. In short, they were all from the market and loved playing Cuju in the alleys. Even after entering elementary school, they could not give it up.
Li Fuye and his gang looked down upon the dusty Cuju game where players kicked and scrambled for the ball, and never participated in it.
But they were having fun by themselves, and it was quite lively. When they saw Wang'er coming, they all asked in a flurry:
"I just saw the Five Ling disciples talking to you. What interesting things are you talking about?"
"It must be someone who asked Wang'er to copy the book, who else could it be?"
Wang Er said, "They also gave me cheese pastries to eat and asked me to catch spiders for them. I said I would catch grasshoppers for them next time."
After hearing this, these young men from the city felt envious.
It is said that Ji Feng also arrived at this lively place. She was lazy and drowsy when Master Fan was lecturing on the article, but when the bronze bell struck, she was full of energy and rushed out like a horse without a bridle.
Seeing them playing Cuju, he watched them for a moment and said anxiously:
"Pass it! Oh, what a pity for this ball."
After watching it for a while, I felt itchy and said:
"Add me in too!"
"Where did the people from outside the Great Wall come from who know how to play Cuju?"
Some of them said that although they were children of the market and looked down upon by the children of Wuling, they were all from Hangu Pass and the Sanfu area. They loved to play together and also looked down on the people from outside Hangu Pass.
Wang'er said, "Her family has moved to Anling County, so they are considered residents of the interior."
"Wang'er, why don't you speak for her?"
"Oh, they all belong to the same shop in Mulberry Lane. They must have been playing together?"
"Be careful not to pick up her outland accent!"
Ji Feng said, "You all come from the interior of the country, but you can't spit out ivory from a dog's mouth. Listening to you talk is like standing next to a toilet!"
There was a quarrel here, and this group of young men from the city clamored to compete with Ji Feng, a man from outside the Great Wall.
"Let's compete! If I lose, you can call me aunt!" Ji Feng was no longer afraid.
"What if you lose?" asked a young man.
"I call you ancestors!"
"Alright! Let's have a fair fight. We play Cuju in the alleys all the time, but can't we beat you, a countryman from outside the Great Wall?"
Everyone here was in high spirits, except Wang'er. Everyone took turns to compete with Ji Feng. Ji Feng fought against seven people alone and defeated these young men from the market.
Ji Zhu and Xiao Yao were squatting under a tree not far away, talking and drawing squares on the ground to play chess. Thinking of what happened in class, she couldn't help but say:
"That Li Fuye in yellow silk is so annoying."
Xiaoyao nodded and was about to gesture something when he saw a pair of brocade shoes with embroidered gold and cloud patterns in front of him. The gems on the shoe surface were as big as pigeon eggs.
Jizhu and Xiaoyao both looked up and saw that it was Li Fuye with a double chin and his head down. Behind him were two young men from Wuling, both dressed in brocade and gold, showing off their might.
Li Fuye said, "Guanwaimin, you caused us to be punished by Master Fan to copy articles. What do you say about this?"
Because of his name, Xiaoyao gestured indignantly.
"What is this mute saying?" Li Fuye couldn't understand.
I saw Xiaoyao drawing circles with his hands, semicircles at his ears, and a small circle at his nose, and saying:
"Pig head."
Ji Zhu smiled silently and said:
"nothing."
He pulled Xiaoyao back into the hall, and the three people including Li Fuye followed quietly. They stood outside the window and looked inside, with a look of success on their faces.
Ji Zhu was seen sitting at the desk, about to take out the food box to eat lunch. When she opened the box, she saw a hairy spider as big as a palm lying inside.
Jizhu caught it and showed it to Xiaoyao, "Look, such a big spider has run into my bookcase."
Xiaoyao touched it and gestured, "Does it look like the spider under our eaves? You should take it back. It belongs to our family."
Xiaoyao thinks that the small animals at home should also be protected, including the big yellow cow, the black cat that catches mice, the hen that lays eggs, the mimicking starling, and even the spider under the eaves.
I took it home after school, and sure enough, the spider on the eaves was gone. I put it back and let it climb up the eaves along the pillar.
Tian was puzzled, so she cleared the spider's web on the eaves while the child was away, and gave it to the half-immortal Ma Yaogu to use as medicine. In the blink of an eye, she came back.
This big spider can urinate. It goes in and out under the eaves. It is not beautiful if it urinates a few drops on your face. It is said that spider urine can also cause red spots on people's faces. Tian doesn't like it, but the children love this black thing.
She often told the children not to play with spiders. When the two youngest children went to primary school, she used a ladder to catch the spider and gave it to Ma Yaogu.
It is said that Li Fuye, seeing that the spider could not scare the people outside the pass, ordered Wang'er to dig up some earthworms.
Ji Zhu went home to practice calligraphy. When she opened her pencil case, she found it was filled with earthworms. She used to dig earthworms to feed chickens in her hometown. Hens could lay double-yolk eggs after eating them. These earthworms were good things. She didn't think someone was trying to play a trick on her. She just thought it was strange.
During lunch, Ji Xu asked them how they were doing in elementary school.
Ji Feng has now become familiar with those young men from the market. They had given in earlier and called her "Auntie", and now they can play together, so she feels very good about it. However, she feels sleepy when Master Fan is lecturing on articles.
Ji Xu listened and said, "What about arithmetic? Erfeng is good at counting money, but can you understand the arithmetic problems taught by Master Fan?"
Ji Feng said, "Yes, I also listened attentively to Master Fan's arithmetic problems, but everyone laughed at me."
"What's the question? Tell me."
Ji Feng's memory for other questions was limited, but she was deeply impressed by this one today.
"Suppose there is a five-foot-thick wall. Two rats face each other as they dig a hole. The large rat digs one foot on the first day, and the small rat also digs one foot on the first day. The large rat doubles its digging every day, while the small rat halves its digging every day. Question: On how many days will they meet? How many feet will each rat have dug when they meet?
Master Fan asked me if I had a solution. I said I could wait for the mice to dig a hole. If I saw one, I had to take it away as soon as possible. I could close the door and kill the mice inside the house. It would be difficult to kill the mice outside. It would be best to keep a black cat at home, so there would be fewer mice.
Speaking of black cats, after we moved, we got a cat that came over. It has black fur all over its body and bright yellow eyes. We named it "Diaohu".
Because cattail rice is called Diaohu in Chang'an, it is also a bowl of dark purple when steamed.
If I run a cooked food business at home and the aroma of meat is overwhelming, I have to keep a cat to guard the house and keep out mice.
Every time Diaohu caught a mouse, Ji Xu would reward him with a small dried fish. Over time, no more squeaking of mice could be heard in the firewood pile at home.
Diao Hu usually loved to sit on the firewood pile under the eaves, as if he was patrolling half of his territory. Now, he smelled the aroma of fried fish for dinner, jumped down, circled around the table, and turned his belly towards Ji Xu.
Tian nodded and said, "That's the truth."
"That's right, Diao Hu, do you think what I said makes sense?"
Ji Feng caught it and asked,
"They all laughed, sister! You laughed at me too!"
"Where is Master Fan? What did he say?" Ji Xu stopped laughing and quickly changed the subject.
"Teacher Fan had a stern face and told me to examine the questions carefully. I clearly saw him covering his face with the book and laughing." Ji Feng said.
"Well, let's just understand as much as we can. Can Ji Zhu solve this problem?" Ji Xu said.
Ji Zhu was quite able to understand the meaning of these arithmetic problems and solved them at the table. Now he gave the answer:
"Two days and seventeen minutes of the day. When they meet, the big rat wears three feet four inches and seventeen minutes of an inch and a twelfth, and the small rat wears one foot five inches and seventeen minutes of an inch and a half."
Tian knew that the two children were more reserved, so she said:
"If anyone bullies you, tell them that your mother is Tian Guzi, who sells cooked food in Huai City. I'll catch those brats and teach them a lesson."
Ji Zhu said, "No one bullied me. Someone even caught a box of earthworms for me. I brought them back and the hens were all scrambling to eat them."
Now that the family had a large yard, Tian had built a chicken coop near the cattle and horse stables to raise chickens. She would pick eggs and cook them for them to eat, and she told them to eat one boiled egg a day.
"Send earthworms?"
The adults looked at each other, and after dinner, Ji Feng caught up with Wang Er and asked:
"That day I saw you digging for earthworms at the foot of the wall. Did you put the earthworms in my sister's pencil case?"
Wang Er said, "I dug it for Li Fuye."
Ji Feng then understood and said to Tian: "Let my daughter handle this matter."
On this day, Tian sent them to elementary school. When the children from the market at the gate saw her, they no longer dared to call her "outsiders". After all, they had lost to her at Cuju the day before, and even the eldest aunt had called her that.
The young men from Wuling still called them "people from outside the Great Wall." One of them, Wang Chang, was talking to Li Fuye:
"When the people outside the pass open their pen cases, they will surely scream in fear."
Li Fuye swaggered into the study room and just as he opened his pencil case, he was so frightened that he screamed and rolled backwards on the ground, only to see a box full of earthworms inside.
"Take it away! Take it away!"
He was most afraid of these insects, so no wonder he thought he could scare Ji Zhu.
Speaking of earthworms, Feng, Zhu and Xiaoyao searched the vegetable garden to catch them. They didn't feed them to the chickens, so this person got a good deal. She said to the two little ones:
"Sister taught us to reciprocate. Since he gave it to you, you should give it to him as well, right?"
Jizhu nodded in approval and followed suit.
Recently, a piece of news has been circulating in the capital, and it has been heard that Ji Xu is selling braised food in the city.
"I heard that the Prince of Yan was still restless and had joined forces with the princess in the palace, intending to hold a banquet to assassinate the Grand Marshal. However, they were reported by a rice paddy messenger from the princess's household. The plot failed, and the emperor was enraged, issuing an imperial edict to hold them accountable."
The imperial edict accused the Prince of Yan of plotting to harm the country, having a rebellious heart and no loyalty, so how could he have the face to offer Qi wine and visit Emperor Gaozu's temple again?
"The King of Yan received the imperial edict and hanged himself with his sash out of fear of punishment!"
Speaking of Prince Yan, Ji Xu once traveled to Qi and Lu with the second master of the Wang family because of Prince Yan's rebellion. Later, the rebellion was exposed, and the emperor only executed the relevant clan members, including the prefect of Wang County, but left room for his brother Prince Yan and did not execute him out of consideration for their brotherly relationship.
However, the King of Yan, who was far away in the State of Yan, was not content and wanted to unite with the princess in the capital to rebel. This time he was completely killed.
Now it has become a topic of conversation among the people in Jiaomen after dinner, and Ji Xu also listened to it. Although the affairs of the royal family have nothing to do with them, the common people, they make a living in Chang'an City. Sometimes a sneeze from above is like a rainstorm for them, so they are naturally alert to the news.
The Prince of Yan was guarding the northern border for the emperor. Ji Xu felt that if the emperor did not execute the Prince of Yan immediately, he might be afraid that if the Prince of Yan fell, the Huns would invade from the north and there would be no one to kill them.
Now that the King of Yan has hanged himself... Ji Xu remembered it!
According to the war chronology I memorized after history class, there was a Battle of Outuo in the same year, which was caused by the Xiongnu invading the border.
There were only a few words describing this war, but Ji Xu also remembered that in this battle against the Huns, the Han army counterattacked and won a great victory.
Now that I think about it, the fact that the Huns dared to invade the border might have something to do with the King of Yan's suicide?
That day, Ji Xu closed her stall and was washing offal by the well. Just as she was thinking about this, she felt a sweet taste in her mouth. It was Tian who fed her a piece of cheese pastry and said:
"It was given to me by Qiu Gu. She said that Wang Er had made great progress and that Master Fan gave it to him as a reward. This thing is already very valuable, and the price in the East Market has increased. It's a pity that Qiu Gu was willing to give it to me."
Feng, Zhu, and Xiaoyao also came back from school with Tian. They were helping to deal with the chores. With Tian's clean hands, they each took a piece of sweet cheese pastry and ate it. Ji Feng said:
"Wang'er, please try to comfort Qiu-gu. I was there yesterday and clearly heard him say that Li Fuye gave it to him."
"Li Fuye?"
Tian had never heard of this person. "How could his family have such good things?"
Ji Feng had just won a game of Cuju against the common people that day, and he had heard a lot from them about this little bully in elementary school. He said:
"They belong to a wealthy family in Maoling. They have many fine goods from the border markets. Li Fuye even boasted that his tiger and leopard skins and wool were piled high like mountains! I don't believe it! Even if I bought all the leather and wool from the East and West Markets, I wouldn't have that much."
Ji Xu listened and asked:
"Did Li Fuye really say that? Does his family have tiger and leopard skins and wool from the mountains?"
Because he was sending his younger sisters to elementary school, Ji Xu had inquired about the Li family in Maoling County and heard that their ancestors had made a fortune by hoarding goods a hundred years ago.
At present, border markets were set up at the borders, where silk and gold from the Central Plains were very popular with the Xiongnu. Hun leather and wool also flowed into the Central Plains in large quantities through the border markets. If the Xiongnu invaded the borders and the two armies engaged in battle, the border market trade would certainly be affected, and the price of leather and wool in Guanzhong would also rise.
This leather and wool can be made into fur coats, winter clothes, felt hats, and felt blankets. During the cold winter months, they are best-selling products in Guanzhong.
If the Li family had stockpiled large quantities of leather and wool, perhaps the Battle of Outuo in her memory would really have had some signs.
The Li family and other wealthy merchants, worth millions, were naturally well-informed. When the news of the Xiongnu invasion and the Han army's counterattack spread, the prices of these scarce leathers and wools naturally rose. These wealthy merchants then dumped the goods into the market when the prices were high and made a fortune.
At night, when his sisters were asleep, Ji Xu discussed the matter with Tian.
"Do we also stock leather and wool at home?"
Tian was surprised.
"Could it be that you believed Erfeng's words? How could you believe the nonsense of that Li family kid? It would be better to buy two sheepskins to make your own fur coats. If you hoard too much and the price drops later, it will all be a waste of money."
"Not only are there some signs of this happening, but mother, do you still remember what your daughter said, that the price of spices has gone up recently? And the cheese pastry that Qiu-gu gave me has gone up in price too.
There are border markets at the borders of Jizhou and Youzhou now, and these two items are also imported through the border markets. Fortunately, Guanzhong also produces them. But leather and wool are different. Guanzhong needs a lot, but produces little. If the border markets are affected, I am afraid the price will rise sharply. "
Ji Xu thought that when making braised food at home, he should also stock up some spices to avoid buying expensive ones when the price goes up again in the future. As for leather and wool, he can follow the wealthy merchants and stock up some and sell them in the future.
"Our family's tax payment after the autumn harvest has already emptied our family's coffers. If anything goes wrong with our two stalls in the future, and we can't pay the monthly debts to Ziqian's family, won't we be in a panic?
Let's follow the Li family and store some money. When we make money in the future, we can use it to repay the thousand taels of silver we borrowed. That way, even if it's windy or rainy and we can't go to Huai City, we can rest at home for a day and feel more at ease. "
Although she was in charge of the keys to the two money boxes in the house, she definitely needed Tian's support for such a big matter. So she told Tian about it in detail, and Tian was shaken after hearing it.
"That's right. You can't catch a wolf without sacrificing your child. I, Gillian, have always been capable. I'll listen to you."
Ji Xu could then focus on doing his job. With the help of the oil lamp, he counted the amounts in the cash boxes for the "stall" and "household income".
It is now mid-October. The family has saved 40 taels this month, but it is not enough to repay the loan on the first day of next month. Even by the end of the month, the best we can earn is 80 taels. After deducting the 59 taels for the loan repayment on the first day of the month, there are 21 taels left as capital.
Therefore, based on the amount of money at home, the most we can stockpile in the near future is 21 taels of leather and wool. Leather and wool are not cheap to begin with, so this amount of money can't buy much. If we wait another month, I'm afraid we won't be able to catch up.
What the family lacks is capital.
Ji Xu was not intending to ask the Zi Qian family for a loan. The largest Zi Qian family nearby was the Wuyan family in Maoling Town.
Their lending business was not only in the Wuling and Sanfu areas, but also spread across the country. Even the marquises and lords who joined the army would borrow military pay from Wuyan.
The money Ji Xu used to buy the house was borrowed from Wuyan's family.
The Zi Qian family is so large that not just anyone can borrow money from them. They will also inquire about the size of your family, your livelihood, whether you have any criminal cases or labor service, and even ask about your ancestors, just to prevent you from not being able to pay back the money.
Ji Xu was able to borrow money to buy a house thanks to the two stalls at home. The monthly income could cover the repayment amount. In the eyes of the Zi Qian family, he had the ability to repay the loan.
Because her family had already borrowed 1,200 taels, they could not borrow any more.
"It's not that I'm heartless and refuse to lend you money. If your family has other income, I can lend you money. However, you still have to pay the two stalls in the store and Huai City. If you lend more, the balance will be unbalanced. The boss won't allow us to take such a risk."
Ji Xu was a clerk in the Wuyan family. She often went to him to exchange money, and they were already familiar with each other. He explained everything to her.
Even the famous Zi Qian family of Wuyan clan was unable to borrow money, and other Zi Qian families even avoided Ji Xu.
There are government loans nowadays, but the government mostly lends to wealthy families. Ordinary people, those whose families have suffered natural disasters and are really poor and have no food to eat, can get loans from the government. Ji Xu obviously does not meet the requirements.
After wandering around for half a day, they returned to Sangshu Lane. Tian was working in the yard. Seeing her shaking her head, she knew that she had failed, so she comforted her:
"Well, we can do as much as we can with the money we have."
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