Ordinary happy life

Chapter 27 New Policy

After Bai Xiuniang came in, Lin Qin's life suddenly became leisurely. Apart from helping Bai Xiuniang cook and grind corn kernels, he had nothing else to do every day. Lin Qin was not a good embroiderer and could not embroider handkerchiefs in exchange for money, so he went up the mountain every day to collect some treasures and dry them in the sun.

"Second brother, there are a lot of things this time. You can accompany me to the town tomorrow to sell these." Lin Qin took the time to find Lin Erzhu and said.

Lin Erzhu glanced at the various mushrooms that had not been put away in the yard, nodded and said, "Okay, let the eldest brother go to the fields tomorrow, and I will accompany you to the town. Brother Qin, it's not the second brother who said you, it's rare for my father to I told you to take good care of yourself, but you still run to the mountains every day."

"It would be good to give the family more money, so that I won't be tired." Lin Qin pursed his lips and said with a smile.

Lin Erzhu had nothing to say about this. Lin Qinqinqin refused to stay at home, so he could still suppress it.

Early the next morning, Lin Qin and Lin Erzhu walked to the town with their backpacks on their backs. Because they wanted to catch the early market, they set off before dawn. They didn't even eat breakfast. They only took two steamed buns made yesterday. .

Lin Qin was a young man whose physical strength was not as good as Lin Erzhu's, and his walking was much slower. It was already bright when he arrived in the town, and the morning market in the town had already begun. The two hurried to the market, only to find that all the good seats were occupied. They had no choice but to find a corner to squat down and put their things out.

Because the stall was too remote, no one came to buy for a while. Lin Qin blamed himself very much. He felt that if he hadn't walked too slowly, there wouldn't be even a good stall.

Lin Erzhu didn't take it too seriously. It was still early anyway and there would always be guests.

In fact, just as Lin Erzhu thought, although the location of the two was remote, it was not empty. As it approached noon, the two sold a lot of goods.

"Brother Qin, I'll watch here first. You go buy some food. There's not much left. Let's not go back at noon." Lin Erzhu glanced at the few mushrooms in the basket and said Lin Qin said.

Lin Qin nodded in agreement, and then started walking around the market. The market in the town not only sells vegetables and meat, but also has human traffickers bringing many people over to sell it. It can be said that there is nothing you can't think of that is not available in the market. Naturally, many people see business opportunities and bring food stalls here to sell them. There are expensive meat buns and dumplings, as well as cheap vegetarian buns, corn buns, and Yangchun noodles.

Since he had vegetarian steamed buns in the morning, Lin Qin thought about having something with soup for lunch, so he spent a long time looking for them and bought two bowls of Yangchun noodles for four copper coins. Lin Qin didn't bring his own bowls and chopsticks, but it doesn't matter. He can deposit five copper coins at the stall and just use the bowls and chopsticks brought by the boss. When you return the bowls and chopsticks, the five copper coins will be returned naturally.

While waiting for the Yangchun noodles to be cooked, Lin Qin saw several officials walking towards the entrance of the market with a notice. Lin Qin was curious and wanted to take a look, but saw that the Yangchun noodles were already cooked. I had no choice but to suppress my curiosity and walk back with a straight face.

Lin Erzhu saw the Yangchun noodles and took them over with a smile on his face and said, "Noodles, they taste so delicious. I haven't eaten them for a long time." "

Second brother, if you like it, go back and ask your sister-in-law to make them for you in the evening. The noodles made by my sister-in-law are no better than these Yangchun noodles with nothing." Eat." After getting along with each other for this period of time, Lin Qin has completely admired Bai Xiuniang's craftsmanship. They only use simple materials and don't know how Bai Xiuniang makes them, but the things they make are more delicious than ordinary people.

Lin Erzhu thought about his sister-in-law's craftsmanship and nodded in agreement.

"I just saw a few officials heading toward the market entrance with a notice in a menacing manner. I don't know what happened???" Lin Qin said curiously.

"Isn't it what you said last time?" Lin Erzhu said to Lin Qin with a frown after hearing this and finished the last bite of noodles.

It has been nearly a month since the last time I heard that the imperial court was going to issue a new policy, but I still haven't received any news that the imperial court is going to issue a new policy. Lin Qin thought that the imperial court had changed its mind again, but now that I heard what Lin Erzhu said, I really couldn't be sure. .

"I'll stop by to take a look when I return the bowl later." Although Lin Qin didn't know the words, he could ask if he didn't understand. Because there are few scholars nowadays, it would be good if most people can recognize their own names. Therefore, whenever a new notice comes out, the court will ask the county government to arrange a few officials to stand in front of the notice. Firstly, it can protect the notice from being damaged, and secondly, it can be easily informed when people come to inquire.

"Okay, if it's really like what I said before, then you need to hurry up on your marriage." Lin Erzhu was not very worried about himself. He was only twenty years old and there were still two years left until he was twenty-two. Two years I'm still afraid that I won't be able to find a good wife. Lin Qin, on the other hand, is already seventeen this year and only a few months away from eighteen.

Hearing this, Lin Qin just lowered his head and said nothing. He finished the noodles in the bowl in a few mouthfuls, took the empty bowl from Lin Erzhu's hand and walked towards the noodle stall. Lin Qin returned the dishes and chopsticks first, got back the deposit, and then walked to the market entrance. When we arrived at the entrance of the market, we found a lot of people standing there. Apparently they had just seen the official official and followed them to watch the excitement.

"Master, what does this notice say? Please tell us." As soon as the notice was posted, many people watching the excitement gathered around. Some people who knew how to read were shocked when they saw what was written on the notice. They frowned, and some of the illiterate people clamored for the officer to tell them what was written on the notice.

It was originally the job of the officers to read the contents of the notice to the people, so when someone asked a question, the officer took one look at the person and began to say, "Today, the emperor issued an order. From today on, men must be twenty-two years old or older, and women and brothers must If the child reaches eighteen years old and has not yet gotten married, the government will appoint a marriage partner. If he disobeys, he will be imprisoned." As soon as the

official officer's words came out, the surrounding people immediately bombarded him like boiling oil dripping into water, all of them were chirping. started to discuss.

"Why does the imperial court care about whether we all get married or not?"

"That's right, I don't know what the family conditions of the designated marriage partner are, what their character looks like, or whether they are good or bad. What if something bad happens to them?"

" That's it."

"My little brother is just eighteen this year. I originally wanted to choose a family, but what should I do now???" A husband who happened to have a child who met the conditions at home patted his thigh anxiously. His eyes are turning red.

"I have one in my family too. My old man loves my girl so much that he has been reluctant to let her get married. Now it's okay. Damn old man, if my girl is married to someone with bad character, I might as well just hang her up with a rope. Forget it." Another elderly woman in another family started crying and wiping away tears.

Among the people who came to watch the fun, there were many whose families had children who were old but not yet married. Most of them were young men and women. Originally, they thought that they would not be comfortable at home after getting married, so they wanted to let the young men or women come. Enjoy a few more years of happiness, who would have known that the imperial court would suddenly come up with such a policy.

Other people who didn't have children of that age at home were also sighing when they saw this. They didn't think that the officials would check carefully and then match them. They would either catch one or the other, and there would be several good pairs. It's really miserable for those whose families are old but haven't gotten married yet. I don't know what kind of person they will marry in the future. If they are decent, it will be okay. If they find a bad one, they will really suffer for the rest of their lives.

The reason why the imperial court introduced such a policy was to increase the population and to benefit some people who could not get married due to various reasons at home. They did not think of random marriages and causing resentment between couples.

Seeing that the scene was becoming more and more chaotic, the official shouted loudly, "Everyone, please be quiet."

The common people did not dare to disobey the official's order. Although everyone was still excited when the official spoke, they gradually became quiet.

Seeing that everyone had calmed down, the official nodded with satisfaction, and then said, "The masters in the court have guessed that some people would not like forced matching, so they specifically gave a time limit. Those who are over the age of 30 only need to do so within three months." If you get married within three months, there is no need for forced marriage. If you have not said goodbye after three months, the county government will send someone to help you get married. Don't even think about escaping. From today on, officials will come to register each household. The population is still old, if anyone dares to cheat, he will be dealt with directly."

The common people did not hear anything else, but when they heard that there are still three months to go, they suddenly became happy, and many women and husbands looked ready to move. , all of them secretly planned to leave here soon and find a matchmaker to help them arrange marriages. They were afraid that if they arrived late, all the good matchmakers would be snatched away.

With the introduction of this policy by the imperial court, matchmakers have become the most sought-after figures in large prefectures, small counties and even rural areas. In these three months, it can be said that the matchmakers have made a lot of money. They all thought that the emperor's policy was a good one.

When the crowd around him dispersed, Lin Qin also left. Thinking of the anxious women and husbands just now, he felt a little glad that he was not yet eighteen. But thinking about the Chinese New Year, it was only half a year, which meant that he had to find a marriage within half a year, otherwise he would be married after the Chinese New Year.

Thinking that he would go to live with a strange family in a few months, Lin Qin felt a little flustered. He thought about what his future partner would be like and whether he would be able to get along with him. If his future partner was not good or his mother-in-law and father-in-law were not good, he was worried. What should he do?

Lin Erzhu saw Lin Qin looking a little flustered when he came back. He thought something had happened. He didn't even care about the guests who were hurriedly pulling Lin Qin up and down to check. When he saw that Lin Qin was intact, he asked with confidence, "Brother Qin." What happened? Your face is so ugly. Didn't you just read the notice???"

Lin Qin only reacted when he heard Lin Erzhu's voice. He glanced at the customers at the stall and shook his head and said, "It's nothing, I was just thinking about something. "Second brother, let's talk about it

when we go home. Let's do business first." Lin Erzhu realized that he had just thrown the customer behind him. He first apologized to the customer and then skillfully called mushrooms and asked for change.

Because the location was so remote, the two of them took until half past noon to sell out all the mushrooms. By this time, there were not many people in the market.

After finally selling out the mushrooms, the two started walking home under the bright sun. On the way, Lin Erzhu asked again why Lin Qin looked so ugly just now and what the notice said.

Lin Qin just said the content of the notice. As for what he was thinking just now, he didn't say anything. A young man who is not yet married imagines what his partner is like and whether it is easy for his family to get along with him. How can he speak easily? .

Lin Erzhu saw that Lin Qin refused to tell, so he didn't press him. He just told Lin Qin not to hold it in alone if something happened. Then he remembered Lin Qin's marriage and thought that it would be good to help Lin Qin pay more attention to it on weekdays. A good man would be the future of the village and easy to get along with.