The daily struggles of divorced women in ancient times

After breakfast, everyone in the Zheng family went about their own business. Xia Mianwan called Zheng Lingwan and Zhu to the kitchen and said, "People in the north only eat two meals a day, but we don't have to do that. We don't have to put ourselves in a difficult position. Cooking rice is similar to cooking porridge, but we use less water. For lunch, we can just stir-fry some green vegetables and mushrooms, steamed eggs with bacon, braised tofu, and a plate of pickled vegetables."

Zheng Lingwan nodded and said, "When I was at home, I also had some experience in cooking, but the stove is different. I just need to get used to it slowly. Sister-in-law, I can do it."

Zhu also chimed in: "Don't worry, sister-in-law!"

Seeing that the two were so confident, Xia Mianwan stopped talking and said, "Then I'll go out and take a look at what's around here."

"it is good!"

Xia Mianwan put some eggs in the basket and went out.

The Zhang family's house was still some distance away from the Zheng family's. Xia Mianwan walked a long way with the basket in her hand. Along the way, the northern land gave people a desolate and bleak feeling. There was really no grass growing in the winter, and the surrounding mountains were almost all stone mountains. In such a place, in ancient times, with such poor natural conditions, it was really difficult for the people to survive here by farming.

When we arrived at Zhang's house, the two brothers were sitting obediently on small stools, and Mrs. Zhang was picking vegetables on the side.

"Aunt, have you cleaned up your house?" Xia Mianwan asked with a smile.

Mrs. Zhang saw that it was Xia Mianwan and smiled and said, "It's all packed. My daughter-in-law had some jewelry hidden on her body at the time. Now that she's settled down, she wants to go to the pawnshop in town to pawn it and buy some food."

Xia Mianwan nodded in surprise and said, "Yes, staying alive is important. This place is desolate, and we don't know how to survive here."

Madam Zhang smiled and patted Xia Mianwan's hand and said, "I live close to the people in the village. I went to ask around yesterday. Mianwan, please take a seat first. I will explain it to you slowly."

"That's great!" Seeing that Mrs. Zhang had found out everything, Xia Mianwan was happy that she didn't have to deal with others anymore.

"Here, spring comes late and winter comes early, so there is only one good season to grow crops. But the soil here is not very good, so it is difficult for the villagers to harvest. However, the people who settled here are some disabled veterans, and the court also knows that the geology here is not very good, so no taxes will be collected in the first five years of land reclamation. But there is one thing, like our batch of exiled prisoners, we have to pay a high amount of taxes every year to exempt the male labor service. The two brothers are so young, so they don't have to pay, but the two males in your family do have to pay taxes."

Xia Mianwan didn't know that she had to pay taxes here. "Aunt, how much is the tax?"

"Ten taels of silver for each male." Mrs. Zhang said with a wry smile.

Xia Mianwan took a deep breath. Ten taels of silver were so expensive!

"Yes, for those of us who are exiled, taxes are recorded separately." Mrs. Zhang said with a wry smile.

Ordinary people may not be able to earn ten taels of silver a year, but these people have to pay ten taels of silver just for taxes, which means they must have some wealth.

"It's really expensive." Xia Mianwan sighed.

"Yes, I'm thinking about whether I can do something to make a living. My two grandsons are still young now. When they grow up, I don't know if I can pay the taxes with my current situation." Mrs. Zhang said.

Xia Mianwan sighed and handed the basket in her hand to Mrs. Zhang, "Aunt, I heard that you knew some farm work in the past?"

Mrs. Zhang nodded and said, "I did live in the manor before returning to my family."

"Then I'd like to trouble you to come to my house and give me some advice when you are free." Xia Mianwan bowed.

Mrs. Zhang smiled and said, "You saved my two grandsons. This is a great favor. What you said are all trivial matters. They are not worth it. You don't have to be so polite next time. You don't have to be too fussy about living in the village. Otherwise, the villagers will feel that you are not approachable."

Summer sleep late deeply agrees.

Just across the wall from the Zhang family is Liu Daniu's family, which is considered a wealthy family in Liusha Village. They own an ox cart, which travels between the town and the village every day, and the one-way trip costs two cents.

"Uncle Daniu, are you going to town today?" Xia Mianwan asked.

Liu Daniu said, "I'm going to deliver something to a restaurant in town today and I'm getting ready to leave."

"Then I will go with you."

Liu Daniu nodded and said, "Okay, just pay two cents."

So, Xia Mianwan experienced the feeling of riding an ox cart for the first time in ancient times. This ox cart was not as comfortable as a donkey cart, but it was much faster than a donkey cart.

Along the way, Liu Daniu also brought along a few other guests from the village. The villagers were very curious when they saw Xia Mianwan. One of them asked with a smile, "You are the newcomer to the village, right?"

"Yes, I'm from the Zheng family. What's your name?" Xia Mianwan said with a smile.

"You all speak in such flowery language. My name is Cuihua, so you can just call me Aunt Cuihua." Aunt Cuihua had a bright smile.

"Then you can just tell me to sleep late."

"This name is so nice. You don't sound like someone from our village."

Xia Mianwan smiled and said nothing more.

"This is the new daughter-in-law of the Liu family, her name is Zhang Qingqing. Her husband is very promising and well-known in our area. He is a good worker and can read!" Aunt Cuihua introduced the other people in the car to Xia Mianwan.

Xia Mianwan greeted Zhang Qingqing with a slight smile, but Zhang Qingqing's attitude was not very friendly.

Xia Mianwan was a little confused. She hadn't even met the person, so how could it feel like she had offended him?

At this time, Aunt Zhou, who was sitting next to Xia Mianwan, said, "She comes from a good family, she looks good, her parents love her, and she married well, so she looks down on others. She must think you are good-looking and is a little jealous."

After Aunt Zhou said this, Xia Mianwan understood a little and stopped paying attention to Zhang Qingqing.

While sitting in the ox cart, Xia Mianwan heard a lot of trivial matters in the village.

"Mianwan, what are you doing in town?" Aunt Zhou asked curiously.

Xia Mianwan smiled and said, "We've just settled down at home, and we need a lot of things. I'll see what's available in town, and take a look at the town's situation. Otherwise, I'll be like a blind man groping in the dark, and I won't know anything."

"You make sense, Mianwan. You have a really good personality. Others always seem to look down on us." Aunt Zhou likes Xia Mianwan very much.

Xia Mianwan smiled and said, "Maybe he just can't adapt to this completely different environment."