Traveling through ancient times: living a different life

Now our family has opened a winery, and the elders are busy every day. My second uncle's job is to mix the wine, label the wine, and write the grade of the wine to avoid confusion when selling it. My father delivers the goods, and my grandmother helps manage the warehouse.

Today my father brought back some wine. I was looking at the account book at home and found that people in ancient times kept accounts by writing down every stroke with a brush in the book without any rules. It was dizzying and troublesome. So I told my father that this way of accounting was messy and unclear.

He went back to his room and ordered several account books from the system. Then he went to the main room to teach his father how to write down the income and expenditure in the new account books. It was clear at a glance and his father was very happy.

After dinner in the evening, grandparents, father, second uncle, Tingsong and Tingwei learned a new accounting method together. Biyue also taught them Arabic numerals. She took four multiplication formulas and told them to memorize them. They would be able to calculate faster and better in the future. Everyone in the family had to learn it, including Wang, second aunt and fourth uncle who was in the academy.

Whenever my father went to town to deliver goods, he would take the old account book and a new blank account book, go to find my uncle, and tell him to use the new method to keep accounts from now on.

In a blink of an eye, it was March. Qinghui came back that day. When everyone asked him, he found out that he would go to the provincial capital to take the examination for the scholar on March 3th. His family was considering whether he should accompany him this time.

Bi Yue said, "My grandmother and I will go with Fourth Uncle, and we will each do our own job at home. As for the warehouse, I think we should hire a literate person in the village.

Ma Baoshan is a good example. Last time he went to his master's house to see his leg, the injury on his leg was caused by corvee labor, and even after it heals he can't do heavy work. He is only 33 years old, with three children in his family, the eldest son is only 13 years old, and he has elderly parents and young children to take care of. He has attended a private school for three years, and we asked him to manage the warehouse. He doesn't have to lift or move anything, and doesn't have to do heavy work, just keep accounts, and he can also do the workers' wages. We are all from the same village, and our family helping him can be considered as accumulating virtue and doing good deeds."

The whole family nodded in agreement, and grandpa went to Ma Jinshan's house.

Grandma said, "You can go to the city five days in advance. It will be difficult to find an inn if you go too late."

"Mom, don't worry about the inn. Principal Zhu asked me to live in his house in the provincial capital. He said there are only two old servants guarding it, so it's very convenient."

"That's great, that's good." Grandma said with a smile.

In the afternoon, Ma Baoshan came with his son on crutches. He said a lot of words of thanks and asked his son to kowtow to the Chen family, especially Biyue. He knew that it was the little girl who helped him. That day at Doctor Lin's house, she even deliberately asked him whether he could read. Looking back, it was the help of this girl that got him this job.

Grandma and Biyue took him and his son to the warehouse, and taught him to recognize Arabic numerals and how to use the new account books to keep accounts, some of which were miscellaneous. His first month's salary was two taels of silver, and there would be a salary increase if he did a good job. Such a good thing happened to him, and he, a man in his thirties, burst into tears. He said that he would work hard and would never let down the trust and help of the Chen family.

His father also started to get busy and was about to start the spring ploughing. He was worried that there were not enough people at home and they could not handle it. Qingyun suggested going to the county town to buy a few servants, preferably those who could farm. Tomorrow Qingyun would go to the escort agency to ask and they would go to the provincial capital in the next few days.

Qingyun came back in the afternoon and said that a escort vehicle would pass by the city in three days and could give him a ride for a while. He also paid a deposit. Although it is a bit early to go now, there is no suitable day for you to choose. If you go early, you can also take a look around the city and have a few more days to prepare for the exam.

Biyue bought a lot of wine in the warehouse and empty rooms at home because she was going to the provincial capital for more than ten days and was worried that there would not be enough wine at home.

Three days later, the three of them drove the family carriage to the town. Tingsong and Tingwei were so envious of their younger sister/second sister who could go to the capital. The two children also looked at their sister's carriage going away with tears in their eyes.

When they arrived at the escort agency, they met students from the same academy, who were also going to the provincial capital to take the exam. Fourth Uncle drove the carriage, and Bi Yue and grandma sat in the carriage. The team started at nine in the morning, and it would take three days to get from the town to the provincial capital.

The weather is not very good today, the wind is a bit strong, and the early spring chill makes the coachman feel very cold.

My fourth uncle was wearing warm clothes and pants, a down jacket, a long gown, a hat and gloves. He was warmly dressed and could withstand the cold, but it was hard to say about the others.

They arrived at the inn to rest in the afternoon. The inn was crowded but had few rooms, so three people stayed in one room, closed the door and bolted it. Bi Yue first took a lot of food, and after eating, she went to the inn to get hot water to wash up, and ordered a simple bed from the system, so that he could open the bed against the wall in the next room and spread a quilt. The grandparents and grandchildren slept on the bed.

The next day, we set out again at around seven o'clock. It was still quite cold in the morning and evening. The sun came out a little at noon.

Bi Yue enjoyed the early spring scenery along the way. Sprouts began to appear on the branches, grass began to emerge from the moist soil, and the breeze was accompanied by the chirping of birds. Everything was so beautiful.

On the morning of the third day, they finally arrived at the provincial capital. The people who arrived at the provincial capital separated from the escort team and went to find a place to live.

The three generations of grandparents and grandchildren drove the carriage to the gate of a small courtyard. The person who opened the door was an old man in his 50s, wearing a gray and black cotton coat, a hat, and a kind face. He asked, "Who are you looking for?" Qinghui handed him the letter. After reading the letter, he enthusiastically invited the three people to come in. Qinghui drove the carriage to the backyard and came to the front hall. The old man introduced himself. His name was Zhu Zheng, 55 years old, and his wife, You, was 53 years old. The couple were specifically responsible for looking after this house. At this time, an old woman with gray hair and neat clothes came out from the inner room. She greeted the three people with a smile.

Biyue saw that the house was not big, with only seven or eight rooms. It might be that the houses in the city were expensive and every inch of land was worth a lot of money.

You asked the three of them if they were hungry. There was porridge and buns in the pot. The three of them were indeed a little hungry, so they agreed to serve them. The food was quite rich, and the three of them started to eat.

Youshi said that she received a letter from her master half a month ago saying that his disciple was coming to the provincial capital to take the exam, so we guessed that you would arrive in the next few days, so we prepared more food at home than usual.

It was so thoughtful. The three of them expressed their gratitude and said that they would cook their own meals during their stay here and there was no need to trouble them.

After eating, Zhu Zheng took Qinghui to the guest room, and Youshi took the grandparents and grandchildren to the rest area.

The three of them have temporarily settled in the provincial capital. The exam is in a week. Qinghui has been reviewing what he has learned these past few days, very hard. Biyue and her grandmother went to the market to buy vegetables and cooked them themselves so as not to disturb the elderly couple.