"The fragrance of pear blossoms, clinging to the hem of my clothes, brushes past the bustling air..."
Li Chang'an walked along the country road, watching the rice paddies swaying in the wind, and felt a sense of peace and tranquility in his heart.
The warmth and comfort of everyday life are what truly soothe the soul.
Regardless of age or gender, everyone was busy farming. Despite the scorching sun and the hard work, everyone wore a joyful smile.
This scene, like a refreshing spring rain, soothed the restlessness in his heart.
Whether the world is in a golden age or not is not determined by the prestigious families, but by the people at the very bottom of society.
Now, most of the displaced people in Lingnan have been settled in this area.
Meng Sanguan planned to build a new city here, called Daohe City, to commemorate the old immortal who enjoyed the cool shade under the rice plants, and his disciples.
This year, the high-quality rice provided by Li Chang'an has been promoted in various places.
These rice plants were only planted a short time ago, but some of them are already half a person tall.
Even though it's still a bit chilly, the rice is of exceptionally high quality and is completely unaffected by the environment.
Planting in areas outside of 10,000 acres of fertile land will only result in a smaller harvest.
Meng Sanguan estimated that the yield per mu of fertile land was 8,000 jin, and that ordinary land could yield about 6,000 jin.
As for those dry lands, newly reclaimed fields, they are not worthy of planting such precious grain seeds.
Who the hell would dare waste the seeds bestowed by the gods on those inferior plots of land?
Then the whole village would plant his entire family in the fields.
Smoke rose from the chimneys, and some children, dressed in thick cotton-padded clothes, came out to call their elders back for dinner.
Even now that the weather is warming up, their mother is afraid of the morning chill and keeps adding extra clothes for them.
Even though she herself was reluctant to wear new clothes, she still dressed her own doll in two extra layers.
The March weather made them sweat profusely.
My mother doesn't understand any grand principles; she just knows how to give you the best.
What she considers best, you may not need.
But she just wants to give it to you because it's her best.
An old man, wearing patched clothes, washes his hands by the stream.
My son is serving in the army, and every month he receives subsidies such as rice and cloth delivered to our home.
So the family didn't lack new clothes, but the old man was reluctant to wear them to work.
He always wore his old clothes when he went out.
Keep the new clothes for the Chinese New Year.
Looking at his fair-skinned, chubby grandson, he felt that life was becoming more and more hopeful.
The old man asked the young child, "Aren't you going to school today?"
"The old master took Sister Yue and the others up the mountain to pick fruit."
"What did the teacher teach you yesterday? Tell Grandpa, okay?"
The toddler was squatting on the ground catching grasshoppers when he heard his grandfather's words. He stood up and a sweet, childlike voice came from his mouth.
"The teacher taught us to recite poems, saying that they were written by the village chief. I recited them to my grandfather."
"After going one or two miles, there are four or five houses in a village, and six or seven pavilions..."
"Six or seven pavilions..."
The child frowned, unable to recall what the next sentence was.
"Eighty or ninety flowers!"
Standing on the edge of the field, watching this scene full of everyday life, Li Chang'an couldn't help but offer a reminder.
The toddler heard the voice, looked up, and saw a very handsome older brother in front of him. He quickly thanked him, saying, "Thank you, Uncle."
Li Chang'an: ...
"That was a good call, but don't do it again next time."
The old man squinted at the man in white robes before him, feeling that he looked somewhat familiar.
After the spring, Meng Sanguan moved many poor families from the vicinity of Lingnan City to prepare for the construction of the city. The old man's family was one of those who moved there later.
He originally didn't want to leave his hometown, but he was later escorted by the army and reluctantly brought his family to Chengxi Village.
After a month, his reluctance disappeared.
Even if someone held a knife to his head and tried to force him to return to his old village, he wouldn't go back.
Are you kidding me?
Here, there are houses to live in, fields to cultivate, grain yields of 6,000 jin per mu, and three crops a year.
When it's not busy with farming, you can also work on building the city wall. The daily wage is thirty coins, and it includes food and lodging. Each meal includes two eggs and rice mixed with lard.
Living like this is almost like being a god in heaven; who would want to leave?
Moreover, prices in Chengxi Village are particularly cheap. A cotton quilt costs only 100 coins, a pound of white rice costs 10 coins, and eggs and lard are less than half the price of those outside.
Most importantly, there is a school here.
If someone in the family joins the army, their children and grandchildren can be exempted from tuition fees to attend school.
This condition transformed a soldier, once looked down upon by others, into a highly sought-after figure in the village.
The old man's son was desperate to join the army, just so that his son could go to school.
Once you become a scholar, you won't have to toil in the fields from dawn till dusk.
Being a soldier in Chengxi Village was once an enviable profession.
Not only are the wages high and the benefits good, but their descendants also have the opportunity to turn their lives around.
In the old man's eyes, the word "scholar" was like a god.
He never dared to dream that one of his descendants would become a scholar.
So the old man looked at Li Chang'an, and although he didn't recognize him, he still stood up somewhat awkwardly because of his clothes.
"The child is ignorant and has made the master laugh at him."
Li Chang'an waved his hand: "You're too kind, old man. I just couldn't help but remind the child because I saw he was anxious."
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