Crossing the Qinghe Landlord GL MTL

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There are ravines in the vast fields. There are only a dozen or so figures scattered everywhere, their hoes rising and falling, looming.

　The warm spring breeze mixed with a bit of cold wind blew, and the leaves of the two-foot-tall new seedlings in a field began to sway.

　On the edge of the field, a tall and thin young cowherd was walking. Behind him was an old cow that walked reluctantly on the young grass and occasionally turned back to take a few bites.

　"Go faster." The boy herding the cow turned around and urged the old cow.

　The boy was about seventeen or eighteen years old. He was ordinary-looking but pretty, with a hint of tenderness in his hoarse voice. He could not tell whether he was male or female.

　The old cow responded with a "moo——" and no longer missed the tender grass. He swung his tail and walked onto the road.

　At this time, a beautiful shadow appeared on the road from far to near. A woman with a dusty appearance came to the young man and asked, "Is this where Li Cui's family lives?" The woman's hair was tied with an old hairpin, which showed that she had had it for many years

　. It's just that although she has a slender figure, her skin is as white and tender as a girl's. Wearing simple clothes and carrying a bamboo basket containing clothes and dry food, her appearance could not be concealed even though she was dusty.

　The young man was startled for a moment, then asked: "Mr. Li Cui? How many families in the village have the surname Li, but I don't know their wife's surname." The woman thought about it for a while, then said: "Maybe she is called in the village

　. 'Aunt Li'."

　The young man suddenly realized it, pointed to a house behind the bamboo forest, and said: "Go north along the road, after passing a bamboo forest, there it is." "Thank you, little

　lady." The woman said to the young man After thanking him, he went in the direction pointed by the young man.

　The young man looked at the woman's back strangely and muttered: "How did she know my identity?" The woman

　arrived at Aunt Li's house and called out: "Auntie."

　Aunt Li heard the sound and came out of the house and saw someone standing at the door. The young woman was startled for a moment, then said happily: "Is this Ji Niang? Why are you here!"

　Xia Jiniang entered the house, put the bamboo basket down again, and said, "My parents said it was almost time for spring plowing, and my aunt must be too busy alone, so she asked me to come over and help." However, she hid some words.

　When her mother-in-law asked her to come over to help her aunt, her second uncle and third uncle often accused her and her mother-in-law of turning their elbows outward and not helping the family but helping her mother's family.

　"They are interested, but don't your family need to be busy?" Aunt Li took out a big kettle and poured a bowl of water for her to quench her thirst.

　"With the help of Su Niang and Brother Sheng, we can still keep busy."

　Aunt Li said: "That's good, that's good." Suddenly she remembered something, she frowned and asked, "Brother Jin also plans to take the Jinshi exam. What?"

　When Xia Jiniang heard this, she frowned slightly, then nodded and said: "Eldest brother said that after waiting for three years, all his efforts will be wasted if he gives up. He wants to pass the Jinshi examination, and also wants to shine on his family. ."

　Aunt Li cursed in a low voice: "He has been taking the exam for more than ten years! All these years he has only focused on studying and has not cared about the life and death of his family! If your family's situation was better, it would not matter if he took the exam for decades, but you The family has not yet been divided. How are fifteen people going to live on just over 70 acres of land? I heard someone said that if you fail the Jinshi exam, you can take the exam for other subjects. Other subjects are easy. Why is he so obsessed with the Jinshi exam? Subject?"

　"Brother said that although the Jinshi subject is a little more difficult, you can get promoted quickly if you become an official in the future." "

　It's such a sweet dream! If he was willing to take other exams, he might have passed the exam long ago. It would be better to be a minor official. , I can support you at least. I haven't passed any exams in the past ten years, and your second uncle and third uncle's family have been gossiping about your family, right?" Aunt Li angrily scolded her nephew again.

　Aunt Li was an elder. She scolded Xia Jiniang's brother. Xia Jiniang couldn't stop her, but after all, she didn't agree when it came to her brother. After a while, Xia Jiniang saw that Aunt Li was becoming more and more dissatisfied with her brother, so she hurriedly tried to mediate between them, and changed the subject: "It has changed a lot here. I haven't been here in three years, and I almost can't recognize the road!"

　How could Aunt Li not know what she was thinking, so she stopped the topic and answered according to her words: "That's right, many households have moved away, and now there are only eight households left in the village you passed when you came here. . Some of them really couldn't survive anymore and sold their land or went to the city to make a living, and some of them became tenants." Xia Jiniang sighed secretly. This kind of thing happened from time to time. In their place

　, There are also. Her grandfather was also glad that the family had not been divided before. The more than 70 acres of land would not have been difficult for a family of more than a dozen people to take care of. This is also due to the fact that there is no "Ding tax" now, otherwise a family of fifteen would have to pay fifteen more taxes.

　At this time, there are few people, but it is very difficult to take care of more than ten acres or even dozens of acres of farmland. If it weren't for the fact that Aunt Li's family was in this situation, Xia Jiniang wouldn't have come.

　Aunt Li and Xia Jiniang's mother-in-law, Xia Cui, are sisters. After she became a widow in the early years, her two sons also went to the city to make a living. Her daughter got married not long after she was born, so she was the only one who took care of the house. With more than thirty acres of land. Naturally, she was too busy by herself, especially when it was spring plowing time, so Xia Cui asked Xia Jiniang to come over and help.

　Although Xia Jiniang looks fair and tender, no one can tell that she is a good worker. But Aunt Li knows that in the Xia family, she is the most diligent.

　The Xia family's ancestors were once wealthy, but by her great-grandfather's generation, they were also in decline. All the family's land was sold, leaving only more than 70 acres of land for Xia Jiniang's grandfather, Mr. Xia. Xia Jiniang's father, Xia Da, is the eldest son in the family and has two younger brothers.

　Xia Da's two younger brothers, Xia Er and Xia San, Xia Er is only interested in profit and loves to take advantage. He always wants Xia Da to help him, so he often takes a lot of good things from Xia Da.

　Xia San is also very domineering because of the love of old man Xia and the dead old woman Xia. Since he was not willing to work since he was a child, Xia Dada helped him do it. When he grew up, he saw that Xia Er often sought benefits from Xia Dada, so he also learned that bad habit.

　It turns out that Xia Da is a coward, and he doesn't take it seriously when he is often taken advantage of. He often says to his wife and children: "We are all one family, there is no need to care so much." Isn't this a hardship for Xia Cui and their children

　? !

　Xia Da had three children. The eldest son Xia Luojin was focused on the imperial examination and ignored family affairs. But the imperial examination only takes place every three years, and only a hundred or ten people pass it. How can it be that easy? !

　Although the second son, Xia Luosi, had no intention of taking the imperial examination, he also had ambitions and wanted to make a living by opening a medicine shop in the city. So he worked as an apprentice in a medicine shop in the city from a very young age, and only came back once or twice a year.

　The eldest son and the second son are not involved in farming, so only Xia Jiniang can help with the work. Fortunately, Xia Jiniang has been able to endure hardships and stand hard work since she was a child, and she never complains. Her hard-working hands and feet are impeccable.

　It's just that such a good woman has been unable to find a good family under the "profit-heavy" culture of this dynasty - if a woman wants to marry well, she must prepare a generous dowry! Some people almost went bankrupt when they married their daughters. In addition to their capital, they also had hundreds of acres of land.

　After Xia Jiniang got hairpins, the Xia family was ready to marry her, but they couldn't afford that much dowry. Xia Er and Xia San always took advantage of Xia Da, so they encouraged Mr. Xia not to suffer for the whole family because of her dowry. What's more, without the diligent Xia Jiniang, wouldn't their children have to do more work?

　Therefore, Xia Jiniang's father has asked her to help with work at home for the past three years in order to save more money. Although she couldn't save much, it was still better than having only the widower in the village or a man who wanted to find a second wife willing to marry her.

　"But have you saved enough money?" Aunt Li asked.

　Xia Jiniang was startled for a moment, then lowered her head, and then shook her head.

　Aunt Li's eyes widened: "It's been three years and you still haven't saved enough? In another year, you will be twenty!" "You have

　saved enough a few days ago, but when Aweng was sick, dad put him The money was used to treat Aweng's illness. Dad said, let me wait for another year, and he will come up with something."

　Aunt Li was so angry that she said, "Your grandfather is sick, and the money for the treatment must have come from your eldest brother's house. Right? Your second uncle and third uncle are not married?"

　"My father is the eldest son..." "

　Then the law of the court also says that when a family is divided, it should be divided equally. Did your grandfather treat your father and them fairly? Already?!"

　Xia Jiniang didn't want to talk about these family issues and asked Aunt Li when she would plow the fields. Aunt Li was angry and felt sorry for her. Seeing that she was unwilling to continue, she complied with her wishes and said, "It will take two days until Brother Donkey has finished plowing the field before you can lend me the ox and plow."

　" Donkey brother?" Xia Jiniang felt that this name was a bit unfamiliar, she had never heard of it three years ago.

　Aunt Li smiled and said, "Oh, that's the house separated by a bamboo forest from mine. His name is Zhang He, nicknamed Donkey." Speaking of Zhang He, Aunt Li's eyebrows became tender, and she said:

　" Speaking of which, Brother Donkey also had a hard life. Although his ancestor was an official and his family had money and land, he was born as a commoner. After his father died, his elder brother bullied him and only gave him a hundred acres of wasteland and a dilapidated house. And an old cow. There is no servant. He came here with his younger brother and came to me to beg for help. Fortunately, he can endure hardship and managed to survive this year." "When I came here, the wall of that house was

　A house seven or eight feet high? No wonder something seems wrong to me, it was very dilapidated three years ago." Xia Jiniang said.

　"Isn't that right! Everyone always thinks that no one lives there anymore. Zhang Bing's family also used it as a place to store debris because they were Uncle Lu's cousin. It took Brother Lu more than half a year to clear the place. It's been repaired."

　Aunt Li talked further and further away. Xia Jiniang didn't recognize those people, so she didn't pay much attention to them. Aunt Li glanced at the shadow of the pole outside. The shadow had tilted a bit. She slapped her thigh and said, "Oh, it's already that time. I have to go and pull out the remaining grass."

　Xia Jiniang stood up after her and said, "I'll help my aunt."

　Aunt Li quickly held her down and said, "Okay. "It's more than 30 miles to come here from your Liujiaqiao Village. You've been on the road for most of the day. Have a good rest and come back to the field with me tomorrow." Xia Jiniang smiled and said: "Uncle Zhao from the village stopped by

　. He drove me more than ten miles in an oxcart, so I'm not tired."

　When she smiled, her eyebrows were so crooked that people couldn't bear to refuse. Aunt Li said: "Let's do this. You go to the Qinghe River behind the house to catch two fish, and we will eat fish later. If I haven't come back yet, how about you help me burn firewood and cook first?"

　These two things were not difficult for Xia Jiniang, so she agreed.

　The author has something to say: Start a new article??ヽ(°▽°)ノ?

　Both protagonists have their own perspectives, so they are attacking each other~

　In view of the fact that some readers always question the problem of poverty with dozens of acres of land, instant noodles are specially Come back and learn more.

　1. First of all, one acre of land during the Tang and Song Dynasties was approximately equal to 0.87 acres of modern land.

　2. Productivity was low in the Tang and Song Dynasties. The average grain output per mu was 2 shi (118 kg). In some places, it was even only 1 shi (59 kg). There were also 3 shi, but only in a few places in the south of the Yangtze River.

　3. In the Tang Dynasty, we will not talk about the eighty acres of farmland divided into 80 acres of land, and the twenty acres of permanent land. The Song Dynasty did not suppress mergers, so the development of the employment system will not be forgotten as long as you study the history carefully in junior high and high school.

　4. During the Tang and Song Dynasties, there were only about 30,000 to 40,000 households in one state in the south, with a population of more than 100,000 (referring to men). Therefore, the land was vast and sparsely populated. It was not surprising that one household owned dozens of acres of land.

　5. In the Song Dynasty, households were divided into five households in rural areas and ten households in cities. They were divided based on economic conditions. In terms of land, those with 50 to 70 acres could only be regarded as self-cultivaters; those with 20 to 50 acres of land were semi-owner farmers. They belong to the fourth class of households; those with less than 20 acres belong to the fifth class of households, and they can only become tenants in order to make a living;

　6. In that era, there were many exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous taxes, one kind of regular tax and more than ten kinds of miscellaneous taxes. In order to avoid taxes, they also relied on official households. There are more and more tenants.

　7. In the Song Dynasty, generous marriages were prevalent. Daughters of wealthy families were given dowries of at least several hundred guan, as well as real estate and property along with the marriage.

　8. The above popular science knowledge is not made up randomly, and there is evidence to prove it.

　For relevant information, please read the "General History of Chinese Customs": The Wedding Chapter of the Song Dynasty, "The Issue of Hired Workers in the Song Dynasty", "The Issue of Peasant Burdens in the Song Dynasty", "The Thoughts of the Land System in the Song Dynasty", "On the Problem of Situated Households in the Song Dynasty", "The Development of the Feudal Tenancy System in the Song Dynasty"