Restart the Disaster of Another World

Wen Qun touched the candy in his arms and walked into the house excitedly with the cloth in his arms. He saw that his eldest sister had returned and was sitting in the living room talking to his mother. When she saw him coming back, she waved to him to come over.

"Mother, elder sister." Wen Qun put his things down, greeted the two of them and then sat down.

"Qun Qun, I have something to tell you." Wen Wan is the eldest daughter of the Wen family. Her mother raised her as the mistress of a wealthy family. Now that she is married, she looks even more gentle and generous.

Although Wen Qun was puzzled that her elder sister, who usually didn't take care of her, was talking to her in such a good-tempered way, she was still very happy: "Sister, if you have any instructions, tell me. I'm listening."

Wen Wan was very satisfied with his respect. She smiled and said, "It's about your lifelong event. You are 16 years old this year, and you can meet someone."

Mother Wen was very supportive of her daughter's marriage proposal, and took the initiative to say, "Do you remember Aunt Chen from your eldest sister's side? Last time at the village head's banquet, she told me that she liked you and wanted you to be her third son's husband. She found out about your eldest sister, and she didn't know if we had arranged a marriage for you, so she came back today to ask."

Wen's mother was obviously in a good mood, and she was very gentle when she called Wen Qun, which made Wen Qun's heart tremble, and he was a little at a loss for a moment. After all, Wen's mother had always been extremely cold to him since he was a child, and sometimes even asked him to hide in the room to make clothes and embroider rather than let him appear in front of him.

If it was his business, no matter what he was asked to do, as long as he could get such a good look from Wen's mother, he would definitely be willing to do it with all his strength, but Wen Qun was unwilling to do so.

"Father, father said that we can discuss my marriage after my brother gets married next year." Wen Qun's mind was filled with the man who handed him candy with a smile, and he lowered his head and said tactfully.

The person who was originally smiling, his face suddenly turned stern after hearing what he said. He didn't say anything, but the coldness in his eyes became heavier.

"Since father said so, let's wait a little longer. Qun Qun, go back to your room and rest first. I'll call you for dinner." Wen Wan said quickly when she saw that her mother looked unhappy.

Wen Qun didn't say anything else. He picked up the things on the table and walked towards the backyard. When he passed the patio, he saw his younger brother and sister playing in the yard. Neither of them paid any attention to him, so he didn't want to make things awkward and went straight back to his room.

When Mother Wen saw that the man had left, she could no longer hold back and said angrily, "Look at your father. After all these years, he is still thinking about that person and doesn't care about me at all. He even puts him under my nose to annoy me."

Wen Wan quickly comforted him, "He's already 16. Next year, my second brother will be killed. It's just a matter of waiting one more year, and then mother can marry him off openly. We only see each other a few times a year, so naturally the contact will fade. Now you can stay at home and take care of your younger siblings and take care of your second brother's studies. That's the most important thing."

"I know that, but I'm just angry that your father raised his status and even borrowed your second brother for him. You said Yu'er worked hard to study for all these years, but no one in the family benefited from it, but he got the benefits. I feel uncomfortable!" Mother Wen thought of her husband who didn't say anything but was biased. If she didn't know that the child was not his, she would definitely make a big fuss.

"Mother, my second brother is studying for himself. He wants to pass the imperial examinations and become an official to earn an imperial title for you. That's not what he can dream of. Besides, his brothers and sisters are still young. When they grow up, they will have a good life. What he has now is nothing. Don't quarrel with father and hurt the relationship!"

Although Wen Wan didn't like Wen Qun either, she wouldn't make things difficult for him. She was the eldest daughter in the family and her father loved her much more. Besides, she had married a good man and her husband was capable. She would have a good life in the future and there was no need to get angry over someone who had nothing to do with her.

After hearing her advice, Wen's mother felt much better. The two stopped talking about this topic and talked about other things.

Jing Yao went home and packed up his things. He walked around the house. The house was made of old mud walls. It looked good compared to those thatched houses, but it was far inferior to those blue brick and tile houses. This house, including the foundation, cost him more than thirty taels of silver at the time. The location was also good. Although it was not in the central area of ​​the village, it was barely a quiet place in the bustling city. If he wanted to expand, he could buy a lot of places around it, which could also ensure privacy. And it was not far from anywhere, and the main road could also lead to it.

Having made up his mind, he went into the house, picked up a few bags of pastries, and headed towards the village head's house. If he wanted to build a house, he had to inform the village head and then go to the government to register before he could start construction. After all, it was not a small project and he still had to follow the formal process.

When he got there, he found that there were quite a few people in the room. They were all a group of cousins ​​from the Wen family. They were discussing something. Jing Yao wanted to go back, but was stopped.

"Jing Yao, you come too, sit down and listen." Wen Li called him and motioned him to find a place to sit nearby. Jing Yao then realized that there were people from the upper and lower forts, and the room was full. Wen Li saw him standing there and called him over to sit next to him.

"What's going on? Why are there so many people?" Jing Yao didn't hesitate to sit down. Seeing that the party hadn't started yet, he asked in a low voice.

"It rained for a few days during the autumn harvest this year. The people who came to collect rice complained that our road was too bad and difficult to travel on, so it took them an extra day to transport all the goods. It was not a big deal for us, but the boss said that he had suffered a lot of losses and that the road was not good and would have an impact on the future development of the village. So my father went to the government to explain the situation. It happened that the harvests have been good in recent years, so they were willing to set aside part of the money to ask the village to repair the road. This is a big deal. Although the money has not come down yet, the elders said that we have to discuss how to repair the road." Wen Qin is the youngest son of the head of the village. Although he did not go out to learn any skills, the head of the village trained him as his successor and was willing to talk to him about anything. Although he has a lively personality, he is very steady in doing things. He is liked by the people in the village and can get along with everyone.

When Jing Yao heard this, he thought it was a good thing. Most of the roads in the village were dirt roads. They were okay on sunny days, but terrible on rainy days. If people walked on them without paying attention, they would fall down. When the weather cleared up again, it would depend on how people walked on them. In some places, the mud was washed away by rain and the roads were bumpy. Driving a carriage on them would be like a bumper car, extremely uncomfortable.

I just don't know when it will be repaired. If it is repaired earlier, he can slow down the construction of the house. He will build the house along the road after it is repaired and choose a place he likes with convenient transportation.

After waiting for a while, seeing that most people had arrived, the head of the village cleared his throat and said, "I called everyone here today to discuss the road construction. You should all know it by now. Without further ado, you all know that our land in Wenjiabao is fertile and the grain yield is high. Every year, apart from the grain we eat, the rest of the harvest can be sold for a lot of money. But the road is too bad, and merchants are unwilling to come to our place to buy rice. We have to send it out, which takes a lot of time. This year, because of the road, the price of rice we asked people to come to our door to buy rice was reduced by 10%, which is a lot of money. So we discussed it and decided to build the road. If you have anything to say, you can say it now."

The village head sat down after he finished speaking. Everyone whispered for a while. A man stood up and asked, "You said you want to build a road. Where should we build it to? Should we build it in Xiabao as well? If we build it, how will the money be calculated? Will it cost more than Shangbao? We in Xiabao are not as wealthy as you in Shangbao."

As soon as the man finished speaking, the people in the lower fort followed suit.

"That's right. We've only been here for two or three years and have just started to make a living. We have to be careful with our money. If we spend a lot of money on road repairs, we won't be able to make a living!"

"We don't have any money either. The harvests in the past few years have been good, but our children are always sick and the medicine costs a lot of money. If it weren't for our relatives to help take care of them, we would have gone into debt."

"Yes, we have many children and eat a lot, but we don't have much land, so we have to work hard to make ends meet."

"What you said is not true. We are not rich either. The child needs money to study and learn a craft. I told him to tighten his belt and there is nothing left."

For a moment, this seemed to have become a grievance meeting. Every family has its own problems. You talk about children, I talk about parents and brothers. Anyway, no one is rich.

Jing Yao just sat there and listened quietly. He knew that people were not really having such a hard time. They just felt that building the road was unnecessary. They could not see any tangible benefits, but had to take money out of their own pockets, and they didn't know what would happen in the end. In addition, the road between Shangbao and Xiabao was not short, and everyone was afraid of being at a disadvantage, so they refused.

"An Jing, I know what everyone said, but the road must be built. I have reported it to the government, and the government has agreed to pay half of the money and all the stones. Today we are discussing how to build the road, not whether to build it or not. We have considered what everyone said, so we gathered everyone together to make everyone satisfied."

After Fourth Uncle Wen stood up and finished speaking, everyone fell silent. If this was what the head of the village meant, everyone might have been able to refute it, but it was different if it was said by the government. In this era when imperial power was supreme, disobeying orders was a crime and one might be arrested and imprisoned. In serious cases, one might even be exiled, and even if one died, one would not be able to return to one's homeland. That would be like floating duckweed.

Seeing that the place was suppressed by the fourth uncle, the village head said, "We have discussed it initially. Each household will be paid 50 wen per person, plus one laborer. If there are more people, they can add more. Six people will provide two people, eight people will provide three people, and twelve people will provide four people. Children under thirteen years old are not considered laborers, but those over thirteen are. If each family is willing to provide more people besides the laborers they are supposed to provide, they will be paid 30 wen per day. The head fee of each family can also be offset by the wages."

Because the government paid the lion's share, in fact, it was a small amount of money for everyone, so everyone did not have too many opinions. The wealthier families who did not care about the small amount of money started a new round of discussion: if they were unwilling to provide labor, could they pay more to compensate?

The head of the village nodded and said, "Okay, but one laborer is 40 wen, which is 10 wen higher than the price of a worker."

This is to prevent the situation where everyone is unwilling to repair the road, resulting in a shortage of manpower.

In fact, all the roads in this era were dirt roads, and it was quite a remarkable thing to be able to build a stone road. Their village was close to the sea and there were many ships coming and going, so many things sold at good prices. In addition, their village was the only way to go to the dock. If the road was well built, there would be many benefits to the town and the capital, so their village got this advantage.

After discussing for an entire afternoon and counting the labor force of each household, we decided to hire workers to measure the road tomorrow, and then everyone dispersed.

Jing Yao hasn't left yet. Although he is not in a hurry to build the house, he can ask the village head to register his affairs together since he has to go to the government office recently. He can then slowly build the house later.

The head of the village listened to his words and nodded in agreement. He had to go anyway, so it was a matter of convenience and would not waste any time.

Jing Yao went back. It was already winter and it got dark early. He didn't see anyone on the way back. Everyone went back to discuss the road construction. Plus, it was already dinner time. He returned home smelling the fragrance of food all the way. The empty house was pitch black because it was not completely dark yet. Even with the candles lit, it didn't look very bright. He was not in the mood to light a fire and cook. He took out a box of natural hot pot from the space and regarded it as dinner.

Although I didn't cook, I still had to take a shower. I lit the fire and filled the pot with water. After I finished my meal and rested for a while, I took a shower. When I lay in bed, I thought of the little guy's bright eyes during the day. I felt that this matter could not be delayed. Who knows when this road can be built? This marriage also has to be discussed.

In ancient times, there were many rules and a long process for getting married. Jing Yao was completely in the dark and didn't understand any of the rules. He didn't have much interaction with the villagers. The only people he could think of were the village chief and Uncle Zhangqiu.

He was out and about every day, coming into contact with all kinds of people, so it wasn't difficult for him to find a matchmaker.

The next morning, Jing Yao carried a pot of wine and walked towards the village entrance. He arrived early and saw Uncle Zhangqiu and his son harnessing horses.

"Are we going to town today too?" Zhang Qiu asked.

Jing Yao shook his head and handed the things over: "Uncle, I want to ask you for a favor."

Zhang Qiu didn't answer and pointed inside the house: "I can help you, but you don't need to drink. Your aunt will be angry if she sees you. Just tell me what's going on."

Jing Yao scratched his head. He remembered that Uncle Zhangqiu liked to drink a lot in the past. "I want to ask which matchmaker is good-tempered. If I am free, I want to go and propose marriage."

"Oh, that's good news. Yao boy, you are right to have this intention. Don't worry, I will definitely help you find someone who is eloquent and can make your marriage sound nice." Zhang Qiu patted his shoulder and said with relief.

Jing Yao nodded: "Thank you uncle, please accept this wine!"

Zhang Qiu wanted to tweet something, but seeing Jing Yao's determined look, he accepted it: "Okay, just think of it as me drinking at your wedding in advance."

After the matter was resolved, Jing Yao said nothing more and said goodbye to go home.