Chapter 211 210. The Emperor Passed Away?
The war did not affect Qingmi County, and the people of Sanlihe Village had a relatively smooth and good year.
It’s just that there are fewer New Year’s goods coming from Dongyuan Nanjiang, and prices have risen slightly, especially the price of rice. People can go without meat for a few days, but they cannot go without rice, which makes the people of Xiling a little resentful.
The people of Sanlihe Village also have some complaints.
Because at the end of October, when selling rice, the rice merchants in the county town charged the old price of four cents per catty, and they had to go through a lot of trouble to transport the rice to the county town. Otherwise, if they sold it directly in the village, the price would be reduced to three and a half cents per catty, and unscrupulous people would even lower it to three cents.
The price of rice at the rice shop had gone up by half a cent per pound, now selling for six and a half cents, and even the price of old rice had gone up a bit. But the money I earned from working was still so little.
"I heard that the price of rice in the capital has risen even higher, with some even going for seven or eight coins per pound!"
"Then I won't dare eat rice anymore. It's the same price as pork!"
"Pork in the capital is also expensive! It's not like our village where there are so many people raising pigs, so it's cheaper in our village. I heard that pork in Zhongchuan costs twenty cents a pound!"
"Wow! So expensive?"
"Isn't it? At the end of October, the Meng family fleet harvested rice. I heard from the people on the fleet that rice is also selling for a high price in Zhongchuan Prefecture. This year, it may rise to ten cents per pound!"
"Ten cents!"
Several aunts and their husbands were chatting. One of the husbands had an ox cart and he could help his husband drive the cart to transport rice to the county port to sell, so he listened and was happy to hear what she was saying.
The villagers who heard it were amazed. One aunt said while picking vegetables,
"If my family could transport the rice to Zhongchuan and sell it, wouldn't we make a fortune? No wonder Young Master Meng's family is so rich that they can even support a scholar to study..."
"In two years, if your family has saved enough money, won't you be able to support him? Master Cao said your son is a good student. It's a pity that my son can't take the exam to become a scholar."
"How can it compare to Li Ge'er's family? His Jiang is really good at studying..."
As the aunt picking vegetables was speaking, she caught sight of Lei Li out of the corner of her eye and greeted him warmly with a grin, "Brother Li, where have you been? Have you eaten yet? I just picked some tender greens. I'll bring you some home to eat."
"No need, auntie..."
Lei Li was just out for a stroll and happened to pass by. After listening to a few words of casual conversation, he was stuffed with a bunch of small green vegetables and tender leeks, all of which were given by aunts and uncles.
The village has received a lot of favors from his family, especially the village celebration held in November last year, which allowed people from all over the area to see how great and wealthy their Sanlihe Village is.
Just seeing those envious and jealous expressions is enough for the villagers to show off for a long time. They hold their heads high and are not afraid when they enter the county town. If others ask where they are from, every villager will proudly say that they are from Sanlihe Village.
So what if we are from the county town?
Do they have free and cheap schools to attend? Do they have their own schools? Do they have lively village celebrations? Does the county magistrate praise their children for their beauty?
No, right?
Their village is unique!
——Okay, there are some from Silihe Village, but aren't brother villages one family? Why differentiate between you and me?
Naturally, the relationship between the two villages became closer, and the people of Sanlihe Village treated the Lei family better, for fear that they would "be unhappy" and return to the county town. Over time, they settled in the county town and did not return to the village.
The village is related to mountains of gold and silver, but how can we feel at ease in the village if there are mountains of gold and silver?
This is something you can see and touch!
therefore……
On the first day of the Lunar New Year, the villagers who came to visit the Lei family gave them vegetables and eggs, but the Lei Li family ate them all until the end of the first lunar month.
Whenever the Lei family went out, they would walk around the village and receive a bag of farm vegetables. Sometimes, when villagers went to the county town to buy pork, they would buy a portion for the Lei family. Of course, the Lei family would pay for it afterwards.
Lei Li looked at the small green vegetables and tender leeks in his arms and felt a little amused.
Okay.
Let Zhou Yi stir-fry some vegetables with garlic and make some leek soup. Ginger likes leek-stuffed dumplings, so let's make dumplings tonight and also make one with pure meat filling.
Lei Libian walked home slowly. He looked in a good mood, but his heart was heavy.
The reason why he came out for a stroll was because he had just received news from Mengluo that the war between Dongyuan and Wensheng was tense during the New Year and the situation was not good. The fifth prince who had gone to the front line at the border was unable to return to Beijing for the New Year.
Last year, a high-ranking official in the court who had a good relationship with his family leaked the news that the emperor was seriously ill. This year, his father asked about it vaguely, but the official was very secretive and avoided talking about it. It seemed that the emperor was not in good condition yet.
If the emperor died suddenly, it would be like adding fuel to the fire, causing unrest in the court and the army, and causing panic among the people.
——If several princes were to fight for the throne at this time, it would be hard to say how long it would take for the turmoil to settle down.
The worst outcome is that the contending princes are evenly matched, neither willing to submit to the other, and then they fight openly and secretly, then turn against each other and split into kings. In the end, the one who comes to power is either a cruel tyrant or a lucky fool...
No wonder Lei Li thinks so much.
The operas he listened to and the historical stories told by Zhou Yi were like this. The undercurrents in the court and the cruelty of the struggle for the throne were something that ordinary people like them could not even imagine.
Zhou Yi also said that in the history of a country, there was a period of great division during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period...
He didn't want the Dayou Dynasty to be divided like this.
The fight was so fierce that rivers of blood flowed, but in the end, people from outside the court took advantage and made a fool of themselves.
No matter if it's the fifth prince, the second prince, the third prince, or a young prince who succeeds to the throne, or even if the prince dies, it's fine to let the princess ascend the throne and the empress dowager take charge of government affairs, just don't let her be a stupid and bad prince like the fourth prince.
Lei Li returned home with a heavy heart. When he saw his cute little ginger smiling and saying sweetly, "Daddy is back," he felt a little better.
"Yes, Daddy is back!"
Lei Li also laughed and squatted down to show Sheng Jiang the leeks in his arms. "Look, there are leeks! How about making leek and minced meat dumplings tonight?"
"Okay! Okay!"
Little Ginger nodded happily.
In fact, the little guy likes to eat leeks and eggs, and you can make leek and egg dumplings, but he will get an allergic rash when he eats leeks and eggs, so he can only mix them with meat filling.
Lei Li touched Xiao Shengjiang's head and waved his hand to let Xiao Shengjiang continue doing his homework.
Well, for little Jiang’s winter vacation homework, his father not only made an enlightenment picture book, but also made a modern “Winter Vacation Daily Exercise”.
He also instructed the teachers at the school that when handing out homework, they should tell the children to go home and tell their parents to watch them finish their homework yesterday, one page a day...
This caused some children in the village to particularly dislike Zhou Yi. If it weren't for him, they wouldn't have to do their homework every day during holidays, and they wouldn't be chased and beaten by their parents for forgetting to do their homework.
Zhou Yi was already thinking about what topics to write for "Daily Practice During Summer Vacation" and even wanted to have a start-of-term exam and write a few test papers...
Zhou Yi never gets tired of editing books and papers. Apart from cooking, reading and being forced by Lei Li to have a second child, he finally has something else to do!
This is also forced by reality.
He was also worried about the news brought by Mengluo, but he was just a husband who married into a small businessman's family. He didn't have much money, great wisdom, or power.
He could not put down the war, nor could he save the displaced people in Dongyuan. He could only compile books and do something he thought was useful to make use of his remaining energy.
Even because of the recent unrest, Lei Li has restrained himself and stopped making a fuss about Zhou Yi having a second child, for fear that the child would have to be displaced after being born.
Lei Li and Zhou Yi did not tell anyone about this. After reading the letters sent by Meng Luo that were related to the court and the palace, the couple would burn them.
As the ancients said, it is better to be safe than sorry.
—
It’s February now.
The spring rain is drizzling.
The village was bustling with activity. Spring plowing and seedling cultivation were underway, and pepper and tomato seeds were being sown. Mushrooms were sprouting in the mountains, and spring bamboo shoots were emerging amidst the roar of thunder.
The village school has started.
Zhou Yi really gave the children in the school an opening exam, which broke these young hearts. Fortunately, there was no grading or grading, so some playful and forgetful children were spared from being beaten by their parents.
Good kids like Xiao Shengjiang who study diligently and complete their homework on time every day know that they got all the answers right without even looking at the scores.
As soon as I got home from school, I happily told my dad that I had taken the exam at the beginning of the semester and did very well!
"One hundred points!"
Little Ginger said, waving his little hands.
How does he know it must be one hundred?
The full mark of the test paper was 100, but the little guy thought he wrote very well and was very impressive, so he confidently and proudly said he got 100!
“Wow!”
Lei Li cooperated by patting Sheng Jiang's head and praising him with a smile, "You did so many well on the test? Sheng Jiang is amazing! When we get home, ask Dad to cook some big chicken wings for you. Can you have two?"
"Yeah!"
The little ginger cheered.
The little guy likes to eat chicken wings more than chicken legs, because the teacher said that spreading wings and flying high means flying high like a bird and having a great future.
He also wants to fly high and be successful!
——Although he didn't quite understand what it meant to be successful, it should be like making a lot of money like his father, reading a lot of books like his father, and being able to cook delicious meals, right?
Little Ginger took his father's hand and went home happily, waiting to eat big chicken wings.
Those passing by them were parents who came to pick up their children, or students who were skipping and jumping on their way home. It was really something to be happy about as school was over.
at the same time.
Emperor Anwu really died.
National mourning.
The whole country should mourn.
But the news did not spread so quickly at that time. It was not until the new emperor ascended the throne and issued a general amnesty that the people of the world realized that the previous emperor was dead.
Some villages and towns were far away from the county town, and everyone in the county town wore plain linen clothes. Only then did the minor officials who came to inform them run to their villages and say that the late emperor had passed away and they had to wear plain clothes for a month, and there should be no weddings or banquets, no loud music, etc. within three months.
The road in Qingmi County has been repaired and horses can run fast, so Xu Xingzhe knew about this in the morning, and Lei Li and Zhou Yi also knew about it in the afternoon.
The previous emperor passed away.
They are mentally prepared.
But the one who ascended the throne was actually the Third Prince? !
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