Chapter 113 I'm so kind to get through the winter
Yao Xiaoyu has really grown taller again.
The number wasn't big, only five centimeters, barely enough for Yao Xiaoyu to break through 1.6 meters, but that didn't stop her from smiling like a fool—she's still young, and with a little more effort, 1.7 meters is definitely not a dream!
In a good mood, Yao Xiaoyu happily settled part of the book copying fee with the Yao family: besides delivering the manuscript, she also went out to make the Yao family's payment transparent. Now, with three book copyists in the family, they have earned quite a bit of money recently.
During the plague, all industries suffered. Although Tao Jingu would still accept handicrafts out of respect for Yao Xiaoyu, the prices had already plummeted. Zhou Chunhua, who had almost learned to read, looked at the meager earnings she had and then at the silver dollars her son and daughter-in-law were earning. She gritted her teeth and started copying books to make money as well.
"It's not convenient to bring it all at once, so I'll bring the rest in several trips."
Yao Xiaoyu handed the money for copying the book to Zhou Chunhua and explained. Zhou Chunhua counted the money she received and gave the silver dollars back to Yao Xiaoyu, keeping only the change for herself.
"Pay back the debt."
The money the Yao family used to stockpile supplies before the plague was not entirely from their own pockets; a large portion of it was borrowed from Yao Xiaoyu.
Yao Xiaoyu has been in a state of excitement ever since she discovered she's grown taller. Seeing the money she's earned makes her even happier. And then she sees the top-notch report card Yao Xiaoli brought over... Her little sister has grown taller too, so she'll give her a winter coat as a birthday gift.
In this era, grades are not calculated on a percentage basis, but rather ranked as A, B, C, D, and so on. Yao Xiaoli's A grade is the highest level.
Yao Xiaoyu kept the idea of making new clothes to herself and didn't tell anyone. A few days later, Yao Xiaoli's joyful shouts almost lifted the roof off if she hadn't controlled them in time.
The rest of the Yao family looked on expectantly at their daughter/granddaughter, but Yao Xiaoyu ignored them completely—if they hadn't used spun silk to make clothes for Yao Tianrui in the summer, they would have had enough to buy each of them a new outfit.
Silk fabrics were priced in silver dollars.
"Sister, sister..."
Yao Xiaoli, who had become a broken record, wanted to snuggle into Yao Xiaoyu's arms and act coquettishly, but Yao Xiaoyu stopped her in time—it wasn't that she disliked her... well, she did dislike her; although the girl didn't have lice on her head, she smelled of drool.
People in this era still value the idea that one's body and hair are gifts from one's parents. Yao Xiaoyu would put on a big show just to get a haircut. Although Yao Xiaoli is young, she also has long hair.
Washing long hair isn't too much trouble in modern times with water heaters, but in this era it's a huge undertaking—time-consuming, laborious, difficult to wash and dry. It's a bit better in summer, but in winter, without a hairdryer, the feeling of cold air blowing through wet hair is something only those who have experienced it know.
Moreover, blowing wet hair in the wind can easily cause illness or headaches. Many people are afraid of the aftereffects, so sometimes they don't wash their hair even once in the whole winter. If they feel itchy or uncomfortable, they will at most run their hair through a fine-toothed comb, sprinkle some pine pollen powder on it, and then comb it with hair oil.
...
Days passed like flowing water, and the weather grew colder and colder. Yao Xiaoyu ate mutton head meat several times, and finally came across a donkey meat vendor. The vendor didn't have a white counter, only two rather old-looking rattan baskets, but they were very clean, and the meat inside was arranged neatly, looking quite appetizing.
"This, this, this, give me some more pork."
Upon hearing the last sentence, the vendor abruptly raised his head, glanced at Yao Xiaoyu with some surprise, but didn't say anything more, simply slicing the meat silently. However, a man next to him who had come to buy donkey meat spoke up with uncivilized laughter.
"Young lady, who are you buying this meat for? Do you want your brother to help you out?"
"Qian'er meat" is actually donkey kidney. It's called that because it looks like a coin when cut. It's also called "slanted cut" because it's often cut with a slanted knife. But some people who can only see the white arms start having impure thoughts when they see a woman asking for this meat.
"I'll take this piece too, slice it thinly."
Yao Xiaoyu ignored the foul-mouthed words and simply told the vendor to cut the meat. The thug, however, thought Yao Xiaoyu was afraid of him. Not content with just talking, he started to get physical—and then he got a fist the size of a potato and a potato the size of a fist.
The former was Tao Xiaoxiao's masterpiece, knocking out half of the thug's teeth with a single punch; the latter was Yao Xiaoyu's money power. A robust auntie carrying a basket came to buy pork with money. There was a potato in the basket. Yao Xiaoyu paid with a copper coin, and the auntie happily grabbed it, sliced it diagonally, and left, afraid that Yao Xiaoyu would regret it—the potato was bought with a copper coin and was priced by weight.
The potatoes were eaten by the thug the moment they were handed to him.
"I was so kind; he was being flirtatious, and I even gave him food."
As Yao Xiaoyu chewed on the donkey meat, she commented, "Don't be fooled by the fact that this vendor only appears after dark; his skills are truly excellent. The meat is tender yet flavorful, and finely cooked without any tendons."
Tao Xiaoxiao thought of the man whose teeth had been knocked out by her second punch, who was whimpering in pain as the potato was shoved into him, and who was still crying and picking at the potato as they left, hissing and gasping in pain. She nodded in agreement.
"You are too kind-hearted."
...
After "Back to the Ming Dynasty" entered the power struggle plot, Yao Xiaoyu's writer's block disappeared without a trace. Before, she would scratch her head and barely write a few words, but now she could write endlessly, her ink flowing freely. Yao Xiaoyu used this momentum to keep writing, afraid that her mind would freeze again at any moment.
After Zhang Xiu changed her name back to her own and obtained a suitable new household registration, she did not go on a shopping spree in the prefectural city. Instead, she bought a small donkey, took a few kilograms of grain and the remaining silver money, and hurriedly left the city. She traveled south to a small county town that had not yet descended into chaos before she began to prepare her belongings for fleeing the famine.
A cart, grain, clothing, simple and lightweight pots and pans... When Zhang Xiu arrived, she was carefree and at ease with just herself and her donkey. When she left, she had a cart full of things, and the unused silver coins were exchanged for peanut-sized gold beans, which were hidden in secret places from head to toe.
And so Zhang Xiu went down to Jiangnan.
At this time, including for some time after arriving in Jiangnan, Zhang Xiu did not actually have any thoughts of vying for power; she simply wanted to find a place to live a quiet life of her own for a while.
In her previous life, she was always busy trying to survive. Just as she settled down, she transmigrated to this era and became Zhang Erya. She was blinded by family ties and worked hard to support two people. After becoming Zhang Nian'en, she was also bound by the chains of love and had to maintain the entire royal family's food, clothing and daily necessities. Upon reflection, she realized that she had never lived for herself for even a moment.
The abandonment by relatives and friends is indeed heartbreaking, but from another perspective, isn't this also an opportunity to break free from the golden rope and shatter the jade lock, allowing Zhang Xiu to live her own life with peace of mind, no longer paying for those unworthy relationships?
With this thought in mind, Zhang Xiu leisurely arrived in Jiangnan. The journey was not entirely peaceful, but it was generally smooth. After reviewing the outline, Yao Xiaoyu specifically emphasized Zhang Xiu's martial prowess, which was comparable to that of Xiang Yu, the King of Chu. As a result, she encountered kind people along the way.
After all, as the saying goes, all fear stems from insufficient firepower. In the era of cold weapons, Zhang Xiu, with his immense strength, was like a human-shaped self-propelled artillery shell. No matter how many tricks or strategies you employ, I can defeat you with sheer force.
Of course, Yao Xiaoyu prefers to call this method of creating light by force instead of intellect "My super intelligence tells me it's time to use my super power."
After raiding three shady shops, dismantling four human trafficking dens, robbing five bandit gangs, and collecting six bounties for capturing fugitives, Zhang Xiu smoothly integrated into the misty Jiangnan region, combing her long hair and setting up a small food stall to live a leisurely life.
Half a month, a month, half a year... Zhang Xiu thought she would grow from a small stall into a small shop, and then either marry into the family or adopt a child, living a peaceful life like this, until she saw an old woman kill herself by hitting her head on the Dengwen Drum, but the yamen runners just casually dragged the body away and had it thrown into the mass grave.
"Don't make the adults' place dirty."
The yamen runners stared nervously at the petition drum, their anxiety at not being able to clean it far outweighing their fear of losing a life. Zhang Xiu watched the whole thing from beginning to end before inquiring about the old woman.
It's easy to find out, and quite common.
The old woman's family were originally self-sufficient farmers. Their son ran a small business in town, but someone from higher up took a liking to their well-maintained land and offered to buy it—offering only two hundred coins per mu, which wasn't even enough to cover the cost of the crops on the land.
The old woman's family was unwilling, so a week later, her grandson drowned in the river. Two weeks later, her granddaughter, who was almost of marriageable age, held a funeral. Someone deliberately leaked the information, and the old woman's family understood the reason, but they couldn't afford to offend them. They could only swallow their anger and sell their house and land to go to town to seek refuge with their son.
After working hard to expand their stall and finally saving up enough money to buy the small shop, someone else coveted the shop and their skills. The son and daughter-in-law were unwilling to sell it at a low price, rendering ten years of hard work futile. Ten days later, the two disappeared on their way to buy ingredients, and when they were found, they were already dead.
The old woman reported the incident to the authorities and used her savings to pay off the corrupt officials who refused to let her in if she had no money. However, she only received a perfunctory explanation that she had encountered robbers. The old woman's husband was so angry that half of his body became paralyzed in bed, and he could only live by being cared for.
"...I recently heard that her husband fell ill, and she has borrowed money from everyone she knows but still can't get better."
The sigh beside her opened a huge hole in Zhang Xiu's heart. The wind blew through her body, and although it was summer, she felt chilly.
This was one of the opportunities that made Zhang Xiu determined to fight for supremacy, or rather, to rebel.
Zhang Xiu never intended to seize the throne. In the eyes of later generations, the emperor was a historical dreg of feudal society, something to be swept into the dustbin of history. However, with each tragedy and each disappointment, Zhang Xiu was gradually forced to become a rebel—she had no intention of vying for power, but she witnessed the suffering of the people.
Her words sounded somewhat hollow, but they were Zhang Xiu's sincere feelings.
When Zhang Xiu developed ambitions to dominate, she originally wanted to find a quiet place to develop slowly, after all, build high walls, store up grain, and delay declaring herself king. However, she discovered the advantages of Jiangnan.
It is said that the scenery in Jiangnan is beautiful, the fields are fertile and people live easily, but prosperity also means attracting attention. The rich own vast fields, while the poor have nowhere to stand. The common people have truly witnessed the power of the "protective charm" for officials, and after rebellion, they are more likely to go down a dark path.
In addition, because of the strong academic atmosphere in the area, even if we disregard the intangible aspects of morality, in terms of knowledge alone, Zhang Xiu could recruit a limited number of talented people, though there was no upper limit to their abilities. Moreover, because there were so many people, the loss of one or two would be inconspicuous, and the disappearance of ten or eight would not attract much attention.
Finally, because the local commerce was thriving and there were many powerful families, Zhang Xiu's small business was nothing but a small fry. No one would be watching her accounts, and some of her income and expenses could be covered up legally and legitimately.
With much sweat and effort, plus a little talent and luck, Zhang Xiu grew up right under everyone's noses. Until the incident of the "Knocking on the Door" incident after Butterfly happened again, she finally raised the banner of the Zhang family and showed her fangs to the high-ranking officials and nobles of Jiangnan. [1]
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The author has something to say: [1] The Tumu Crisis occurred in 1449, but in "Back to the Ming Dynasty", the event was postponed for a few years.
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