Traveling through ancient times: living a different life

It was drizzling in the morning on the third day of the Lunar New Year and it was quite cold. My fourth uncle had originally planned to go and pay New Year's greetings to Chief Zhu Shanchang today, but the cold weather made him give up the idea and decide to go in a few days when the weather is better.

Biyue must go to pay New Year's greetings to Doctor Lin. It's so close that she only needs to walk a few steps to get there.

During breakfast, my father said, "Yueyue, I will accompany you to pay New Year's greetings to Dr. Lin. Have you prepared the food?"

“Dad, I have everything ready, so I took out a piece of paper and handed it over.”

It said two sausages, two pieces of bacon, two cans of wine, two portions of pastries, two portions of cakes, two dried fish, and a toy for Little Star.

My father smiled and said, “It’s good.”

The father went out carrying his things, holding his daughter's hand with his left hand and holding an umbrella with his right hand.

When they arrived at Dr. Lin's house, the whole family happily welcomed the father and son. Little Xingxing saw his sister and came over happily. Biyue gave him two small stuffed doll toys. He happily held them and refused to let go. He said happily, "Thank you, sister." Then he stuck to Biyue and played with her.

Several elders went to the main hall to warm themselves by the fire and chat. They sat there for about an hour and were ready to say goodbye and go back.

Father gave Xiao Xingxing a red envelope. Xiao Xingxing held the toys in both hands and stuffed the red envelope full. She was reluctant to leave her sister. The master gave his apprentice a red envelope, and other people also gave red envelopes. Biyue wanted to refuse, but it was New Year's Day, so she had to accept it.

After returning home, the two brothers discussed with their parents about opening a winery. The three of them were thinking about where to build it, and they wanted it not to be too big.

Qingyun said to his father, "There is a ready-made piece of land next to our house, more than two mu of vacant land, with no owner. Let's buy it. Although there are many stones, we can ask Luo the stonemason in the village to break up a few large stones and level them, and then we can build."

"But I saw Mrs. Zhang growing pumpkins there last year!"

"Second brother, this is wasteland. It's okay to plant some crops on unowned land. If we buy the land, it will be ours. She can't plant any more crops."

"That's right. I'll go to the village chief's house after lunch to ask him. Let's prepare the land first, and then go to the county government office to handle the formalities in a few days.

At one o'clock in the afternoon, my grandfather went to the village chief's house carrying two dried fish, two bags of snacks, and two kilograms of wine.

There was drizzling in the grey sky all morning, but it slowly stopped and the temperature dropped to around minus two degrees.

The three siblings were sitting by the fire, each reading a book. In order to prevent the brothers from being too bored, Biyue had ordered a lot of interesting books on the system. The two younger ones were playing with building blocks beside them, Wang and the second aunt were mending clothes, grandma went to the backyard, and the fourth uncle must have gone to study hard.

Seeing that the drizzle had stopped, the father and his two sons changed their clothes and went to the vacant lot next door to clear the weeds.

It was early in the morning on the fifth day of the New Year, and it was still dark. The temperature outside was very low and chilly.

The father and his sons got up and dressed. Grandma and Wang made noodles, and the three of them each ate a big bowl.

The county government started working today. The village chief, Chen Feng, Qingyun and Qinghui went to the county town to handle formalities. Qinghui went to pay New Year's greetings to the headmaster.

Qingyun drove the ox cart, feeling the cold wind in the early morning. It was a sour and refreshing feeling. Fortunately, he had a snow hat, scarf and gloves given by his daughter, otherwise he would have been too cold to bear.

Brother Niu often drinks the spiritual spring water given by Biyue. His physical strength is not comparable to that of ordinary cows. I also put clothes on the cow before going out, which makes Brother Niu very happy.

It would take an ordinary cow four hours to get there, but Bi Yue's cow arrived in three hours. The village chief asked in amazement, "Brother Chen, your cow is really well-fed. It runs fast, is healthy, and is strong. You must have fed it well. You even put clothes on it before you go out. That's really nice."

"Cows are the treasure of farmers. I am willing to feed them good food. I chop up hay and mix it with cornmeal. It tastes delicious."

“That’s really good food.”

The village chief thought: How can it be bad? They have cornmeal to eat, but some people in the village can't even afford a bite of cornmeal. Sometimes this person is worse off than an animal.

Arriving at the gate of the county government, the government office was magnificent, worthy of being the place where the government worked. Qinghui went to the Zhiyuan Academy not far away, and agreed to wait for him on the first floor of Tingyu Teahouse at 3 pm.

Qingyun told the yamen runner at the door his official title and name, and explained the purpose of his visit. The yamen runner hurriedly invited them in.

Because he was a ninth-rank agricultural official, the matter was handled quickly. He then asked the yamen runner how to get to the cattle and horse market, and the three of them walked in that direction together.

When I arrived at the entrance of the cattle and horse market, I could smell the odor coming from the market before I even went in. When I saw the people coming, a young man in his twenties asked enthusiastically, "Are you buying cattle or horses?"

"I want to buy a horse. Can you introduce one to me?" Qingyun said.

"Okay, guest, look this way."

He led the three people to a row of stables and looked at the dozen horses lined up in front of him. There were white, black, brown, and red horses, tall, short, strong, and thin. Qingyun took a fancy to a brown-red horse and asked the price. It was ninety-six taels of silver, which was a bit expensive.

"Is there any cheaper one?"

"Sir, there are cheaper ones, but they have some problems. The chestnut horse in front is eight years old and was injured on the battlefield. It is a retired soldier and can no longer fight on the battlefield. If it is in good condition, it will cost more than 100 taels. Now you want 60 taels."

Last night, the daughter found her grandfather and father and asked them to go to the county town today to buy a horse at the cattle and horse market. The family should have a carriage, which would be convenient for doing business in the future. The father and son agreed to Bi Yue's suggestion.

Bi Yue took out a bottle of intermediate spiritual spring water and gave it to her father. She said, "If you have a good horse, it doesn't matter if it is injured. After buying it, give the horse to drink it and it will be healed in half an hour."

"Fifty taels, I'll buy it." Qingyun said.

The agent hesitated for a while, but finally agreed, wrote the contract documents, and bought a carriage.

When leaving, the agent said to Qingyun: "Goodbye, sir. My name is Xie Sanniu. Come back to me next time and I will give you a cheaper price."

After saying goodbye, it was already noon, so they went to find a restaurant that could accommodate the ox cart to have dinner, and drove the ox cart to a special parking place.

Grandpa took the village chief to order food first. Qingyun poured the spiritual spring water into a basin for the horse to drink. The horse could not wait to drink it after smelling the fragrance. After drinking and collecting the basin, Qingyun went to the canteen to eat.

After eating, they drove the ox cart and horse carriage to Tingyu Teahouse, ordered a pot of tea, and sat down to drink tea while listening to the storyteller on the stage in front.

The teahouse has two floors. There are not as many guests in the first floor hall as on the second floor. They applauded continuously when they heard the wonderful parts and even threw money onto the stage.

City people are still free and easy. When they are bored during the New Year, they can come here to listen to books and drink tea. It is much better than living in the countryside.

It was warmer inside the teahouse than outside, and the men didn't like wandering around outside, so it was nice to sit here and wait for Qinghui.

Qinghui arrived at around three o'clock. After paying for tea, they drove the ox cart and horse carriage home.