Chapter 89 Chapter 89 Wu County.
Outside the post station wall, two families arrived one after another. They were both on their way here, but were stopped by the clerk and not allowed to enter the post station.
One family was driving a donkey cart and the other was driving an ox cart. Seeing that Ji Xu had pitched her tent in the corner, they all wanted to join the crowd and stopped beside her ox cart.
However, they did not have oilcloth like Ji Xu, and were prepared to sleep in the open air in the car for a night. One of the families even asked Ji Xu for some raw water to drink. He looked kind and upon inquiry, they found out that they were bringing their daughter to seek refuge with relatives. It was a pity that they were not traveling the same way as them, otherwise they could have traveled together.
In front of outsiders, her sisters all called her "Brother".
"Brother, the pot and dishes have been cleaned."
"Brother, the quilt is ready." Ji Feng said.
The three sisters crawled into the tent, picked up a soft cloth bag used to store clothes as a pillow, and lay down to sleep.
The two families next door who arrived late, after filling their stomachs, gradually calmed down, curled up on the carriage, and fell asleep under the stars.
The next morning, after the cockcrow, Ji Xu took off the tarpaulin from the tent, his hands soaked with dew. The neighbor next door said:
"My dear, you've got the oilcloth ready. Last night there was a gust of wind, and it was very cold. This morning there was dew, and look how wet our hair is."
Ji Xu said, "There has indeed been a lot of dew these past two days. When the sun comes out soon, it will be very hot."
She would need to spread the oilcloth on the car to dry later. Now she simply ate the leftover cooked eggs, packed up, and hurried to Wu County.
Fortunately, all the post stations along the way were for receiving foreign guests. At noon on the fifth day, when the sun was at its highest, they arrived at the border of Wu County, 500 miles away from Lingshui County.
Along the way, we passed many waterways and saw Yang Lake where willows were swaying and lotus flowers were in full bloom. It was still early, and fishermen were riding a small boat, setting up nets to catch fish in the middle of the lake, pushing two buckets of live fish onto the boats, and rushing to the city to sell them at the earliest market.
Along the way, you can see salt farmers using clay pots, jars and other tools distributed by the government to boil and dry salt in front of their doors. However, this salt is not private and cannot be bought and sold privately. The government will come to the salt farmers' homes to collect it and pay a price per pot.
"We've arrived at Wu County!
We've arrived in Wu County!"
Ji Feng pointed at the western city gate, Changmen, in the distance and said excitedly.
I saw towering buildings on the city wall, connected pavilions, and winding city walls like a giant dragon. It seemed as if half of the dragon's body was lying under the moat, and the shimmering light of the waves under the sun was like scales, which was dazzling!
Wu County, as the seat of Kuaiji County, has an urban area of nearly 50 miles, and there are small cities within the city. It is much larger than Lingshui County.
They entered through the doorway like little fish entering the ocean.
There was a constant stream of people walking around and a row of shop signs, which was too numerous to take in. There was fish, shrimp, zelkova wood, Jiangling wood, bronzeware, tinware, and cinnabar.
No wonder there was a poem in the Ming Dynasty that said, "The paradise on earth is Wuzhong, and among it, Changmen is the most majestic." The prosperity of Changmen in Wu could be seen as early as the Western Han Dynasty. Although it is not as bustling as the later Suzhou City with its bustling traffic and bright lights, after staying in the countryside for a long time, one will feel the shock of being in a big city.
She was relatively calm, but her two younger sisters, Feng and Zhu, stared with their eyes wide open and kept exclaiming in surprise.
"Even the post station is more impressive than any we've stayed at along the way."
Ji Feng said that they unloaded the cart shafts at the post station, tied the oxen in the stable, carried bags of large and small things on their backs, and followed the clerk who led the way to the guest house on the second floor.
Many foreign merchants also stayed at the post station, with different accents.
What attracted Ji Xu's attention was a convoy of ten people, all men, who were drinking and chatting downstairs.
Tinghuakou was a garrison soldier from Wushang heading to Chang'an for service, and his next stop was also Pengcheng.
In their caravan, the most respected person is the driver who leads the car.
Ji Xu looked at the man. He was tall and handsome, and spoke with a heroic air. However, he drank a lot of wine, stroked the fine stitching on his sleeves, and said:
"The only thing I can't let go of on this trip is my old mother at home."
"My aunt's uncle, the post station in Wu County costs 600 coins a night, which is two or three times more than what I've been staying at along the way, but the room is bigger."
After paying the room fee, Ji Feng skillfully put the luggage away and made the bed while speaking.
Ji Xu opened the window and saw the bustling crowd outside. Her stomach was rumbling with hunger, so she said:
"You guys stay inside and bolt the door. I'll go downstairs and cook the eggplant. We'll have eggplant boxes for lunch."
This eggplant was bought as a supply yesterday at a rural market I passed by. It’s hot and it will go bad if I don’t eat it now.
She went to the kitchen of the post station, gave the cook in charge twenty coins, and borrowed their big stove.
It was still noon and there were only a few families eating lunch, so the kitchen was not busy. The cook didn't bother to make things difficult for her after receiving the money and let her use it.
She went to the next city, bought a piece of meat from a butcher shop, soaked some preserved leeks she brought with her, cut the eggplant into half-open circles, stuffed the chopped meat into it, coated it in batter, dipped it in leeks, and fried it in hot oil. The sound was as pleasant as rain.
A burst of fragrance wafted over, intoxicating the people. The cook standing by the stove swallowed half a car's worth of saliva.
He was called here to keep an eye on Ji Xu and prevent her from stealing things from the kitchen.
But the young man brought all the seasonings and knives and utensils, and did not touch anything in the kitchen except firewood. He also cleaned the stove she had used himself.
Even handed him a fried piece.
"Xiao Lang, try my eggplant box. It's delicious."
The assistant chef happily took it and ate it. The eggplant was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, with a hint of chives. The meat inside was tender and not dry. He almost swallowed his tongue in one bite and started talking more.
"Look at you, you're about my age, and you have such cooking skills."
As Ji Xu was packing up, he said, "I love doing this too, I've been doing it since elementary school. Let me ask you, where do most of the merchants at this post station come from?"
"There are people traveling both north and south, mostly merchants who buy in the east and sell in the west, traveling all over the country."
After the chef finished one, he loved it so much that he even licked the oil off his fingers, and kept glancing at the remaining ones in the bowl.
Ji Xu handed him another one and inquired, "I heard that our Wu County is famous for its bronzeware and fine gauze. I wonder if those merchants also sell these things?"
The assistant cook said, "I've seen merchants like this before. Do you want to be one too? Do you have a boat or a car?"
Ji Xu said, "It's just an ox cart."
"That won't work. They have a fleet of ships and need escort. You can't do it with just an ox cart."
Ji Xu just wanted to earn some money for the journey. Accommodation and food were a big expense, and he didn't know what the situation would be like when he arrived in Youzhou. If he stayed there for a long time, these five silver cakes would not be enough. Therefore, Ji Xu wanted to earn some money along the way.
Their next stop was Pengcheng, located at the confluence of the Huoshui River and the Sishui River. It had well-developed water and land transportation and was a prosperous transportation hub. If she could take some goods from Wuxian there, she wouldn't have to worry about not being able to sell them.
However, if the silver cakes were turned into merchandise, they would attract attention on the road and become a hot commodity. If they were to hire thugs to escort them, it would not be worth the cost.
It would be great if I could go with Che Fu's soldiers on their way to serve.
"Go away. We are a group of ten people, and we have packed lightly. We are only here to travel. We don't have time to go with you. You can't afford to miss the service!"
Nowadays, those who were serving in the army were organized into groups of cars according to the county, with ten people in each car, and were sent to the place of service. Che Fu was the leader of these ten people. He was a decent man and did not accept Ji Xu's money. He closed the door and was unwilling to go with her.
After a while, the coachman and the guards were drinking wine downstairs. A kitchen assistant brought them a plate of round, golden food. He said:
"Stop! We didn't order this!"
The assistant cook said, "This was given to you by a young man. He said it was meant for you, so he gave it to you to enjoy with the wine."
"What's the connection?"
"A loving mother sews clothes for her son, and your concerns are the same." The kitchen assistant said as instructed.
Father Che wanted to refute, but when he heard this, he fell silent and asked:
"What about Xiaolang?"
Ji Xu was waiting in the kitchen and listened to what the kitchen assistant said. It was her last try and if it failed, then forget it.
The assistant cook happily brought the driver over.
The tall and strong man with a long beard patted her shoulder and said loudly:
"Brother, why didn't you tell me earlier that I've traveled three thousand miles to Youzhou to find my mother? I, Fan Chang, admire those with the most sincere filial piety in my life! After the cockcrows tomorrow, just follow the ten of us. We'll protect you all the way to Pengcheng!"
In the guest house, Feng and Zhu were eating eggplant boxes, looking intoxicated.
"It's such a blessing to be able to enjoy my sister's cooking when I'm away from home!" Ji Feng said, wiping the grease from the corner of Ji Zhu's mouth with the back of his hand.
Ji Zhu held one in her hand and ate it happily. She asked, "Where is my sister?"
An hour later, Ji Xu came back carrying a heavy cloth bag on his back. There was a clanging sound. When he opened it, he found that it was a bronze mirror.
Each one is polished to a smooth and shiny finish, with fine workmanship, and has a unique mirror inscription on the back.
"The system of Wu County in Kuaiji is very auspicious when used, and is suitable for noble people."
After all, elementary education was not in vain. Ji Zhu held them up one by one and read out the inscriptions on the back fluently.
"There are fifty in total!" Ji Feng counted.
This bronze mirror was exactly the cargo that Ji Xu was going to transport to Pengcheng. Although it was heavier than the fine gauze cloth, she had inquired and learned that in Che Fu's business, ten people rode in one ox cart. The weight of their cargo, plus the bronze mirror, was not as much as that of the ten men. She would not delay their progress by carrying more weight than them.
Although fine gauze is lighter, Pengcheng is also a major producer of gauze, so the price difference between the two is probably not that big. In the end, I bought a bronze mirror and spent ten taels of silver.
Speaking of the big room,
Ji Fu was rummaging through the house. He still owed a large sum of money to the Zhao family gambling house, and he was so shameless that he didn't avoid Jin who was lying on the bed. He rummaged through the house without hesitation, kicked open a clothes basket, and said:
"Where are the earrings and silver ring that your mother gave you when she was alive?"
Jin hadn't recovered from the kick she received the other day, and the pain was so severe that she was gasping for breath when she spoke. She said coldly:
"That was given to me by my mother because I gave birth to a boy."
Ji Fu said, "What do you mean by 'yours' or 'mine'? When I earned money for this family, did I ever share any of it? Without me, this family would have been destitute long ago. How could those jewels still exist today? Give them to me quickly and I'll pay off my debt."
Jin suppressed her anger and said, "Prices have skyrocketed since the New Year. How long has it been since you gave money to your family? Do you really think that a child can grow up by just eating the northwest wind? I already pawned the jewelry, and you still don't have it even if you want it."
Ji Fu didn't believe it. He had a calculation in his mind. His family had fields and land, so they were not so poor that Jin had to pawn her jewelry. She was just being stubborn and refused to give it to him.
He had been away from home for a while, but when he came back one day, he looked radiant. Standing under the eaves, he said to Ji Zhi, who was sweeping the yard:
"Aong found a good place for you!"
Ji Zhi was not happy at all. She was just a concubine from a certain family and she did not want to get married. So she said:
"I'm only thirteen, not old enough to marry into Xu's family."
Ji Fu said, "Auntie, how could I not know? I found a family for you called the Lai family in Shengchang. They sell fish and shrimp, and they live well. You can go to their house and be their daughter-in-law for a few years, and then get married when you are old enough."
Ji Zhi's face turned pale. She used to sell things in Shengchangli and knew that shop.
The son was born with bad qualities. He couldn't recognize people when he was ten years old and drooled when he spoke. People called him Lai Shaer. Ji Zhi avoided his house when selling things because Lai Shaer liked to throw stones at people.
When Ji Zhi heard that she couldn't hold the broom anymore and it fell and hit her foot, she was still stunned.
It was Ji Yuan who rushed out and said, "Grandfather, how could you bear to let your daughter marry such a fool?"
Seeing her, Ji Fu became even more angry and said, "If your mother hadn't interfered with your marriage, you wouldn't be in this situation. Your father-in-law has lost his job and is in debt. It's hard for him. You should also think about your father-in-law."
Ji Yuan said, "We still have 20 acres of land and houses to sell!"
Ji Fu stopped her immediately after hearing this: "Nonsense! How can you touch the foundation of our ancestors!"
Ji Fu was also afraid of being criticized, so he sent Ji Zhi to Lai's house at night. Ji Zhi cried all day and went to Jin to plead for mercy, but Jin was too lazy and ignored him recently. Ji Yuan went to talk to her but got no response.
Late at night, Ji Fuguo came to the west room and knocked on the door to call for help. They were too scared to open it. Ji Zhi said:
"Sister, let's run away."
Ji Yuan didn't say anything. The sisters looked out the window and saw that the night outside was as dark as ink and bottomless. They didn't know where to escape to.
The old door bolt broke after Ji Fu kicked it a few times. He pushed away Ji Yuan who was trying to stop him and pulled the younger one out.
Ji Zhi hugged the door frame and shouted, "Mother, save me! Save me! Ugh..."
Her mouth was blocked and a sack was put over her head. She could not see anything and felt as if she was floating in the air.
But then he heard a muffled sound and the bag fell to the ground with a thud. He hurriedly tore open the sack, and his messy hair was spread across his face.
At first glance, I saw Jin holding a bloody door bolt and her chest heaving.
Ji Fu fainted on the ground, moaning softly.
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