Bianshanhan [farming]

The imperial court strictly forbids cooking salt in private, drying salt, and selling private salt. Violators will be beheaded.

Linsu is a place of exile, and they are not allowed to overstep the rules. There is a large piece of land by the sea to the north of them, which is washed by the sea every year.

Whoever is diligent will shovel it. It may be a novelty at first. After carrying back a few bags from a long distance, I don’t want to do it anymore. Even if this thing can fill the house, so what? Everyone who lives in Linsu There is no shortage of salt to eat, and this thing can't be full.

Jiang Cong got the captain's approval and stayed on the ship. The other exiles here knew that he came from the border town, and asked him curiously how he was doing there.

Jiang Cong talked about the situation in the border town, and said intentionally or unintentionally that they wanted to buy some salt when they went to the capital this trip.

When they heard that he went all the way to the capital to buy salt, the other exiles couldn't bear it anymore, "We only have a lot of that stuff in Linsu, why do you still go to the capital to buy it?"

They took the initiative to speak, and Jiang Cong asked a few words casually. Among them, a bearded man coughed twice, and the other exiles looked like ducks with their necks stuck, with their mouths open and speechless.

Jiang Cong heard others call him the boss of the boat, and knew that he was the leader here, so he cupped his fists and asked him for advice.

The boss of the boat didn’t even talk about exchanging salt, but said he was willing to make him a friend. He couldn’t bear to see them put in so much effort to get some salt, so he was willing to give him the extra salt at home.

Jiang Cong thanked them, and expressed his kindness that he didn't want to take them for nothing. He asked them what they lacked and asked them to go to the capital to buy them.

The two of them negotiated it in private.

When Jiang Cong told Li Qingrui and the others about this matter, everyone thought it was very good, so they would save trouble later.

Li Qingrui took out a pen and paper, and wrote down what those people wanted. It was not easy to make mistakes.

Jiang Cong has been busy for more than a day, everyone suppressed their joy, kept silent, let him sleep, and had to go to work later when he got up.

The people in the cabin were happy, but they didn't know that there were people who were annoyed and remorseful because they didn't catch up with them. Those people were Chen Shanhai and his brothers and sisters.

When they came to Linsu, what happened to Li Wenwen's family was almost the same, but their luck was not so good, each of them had their children lost in the sea, and now they couldn't help shivering when they heard the sound of the waves.

Some people discussed that it was impossible to go back to the village. It was too much to suffer outside, but they were afraid of encountering this and that on the road. They were led by Li Maoxian at the beginning of the wall, and they didn't have the courage to turn back from the wall. ...

Unable to bear the crime of Linsu, unable to bear the pain of going back, and unable to find anything to eat, the whole day was in agony.

At first, they thought that this hard life would never end, but they heard that there were people coming from the border town, and when they heard the news, they came, but they could only see the big boat slowly heading south.

They were really going to die of anger, they couldn't catch up with the boat, and they didn't dare to go to the border town together, so they could only continue to pick up shrimps resentfully.

Besides, Jiang Cong, because of his great strength, diligence and willingness to work hard, gradually became familiar with the people on the boat, and because they all hoped that he would let Li Qingwen buy back what he needed, these people no longer deliberately asked him to work more.

The stewards of Linsu are not as talkative as Lin Tan and Zhou Fengnian. Every year, exiles are forced to get ambergris and corals. The amount of tribute from the Ming court is not large, and many good things will be deliberately said to be It's low-grade, and it's all swallowed up by them.

Not only were the people who fled famine to Linsu unlucky, but the exiles who were sent here were also miserable.

Because there were Linsu officials and stewards on board, these people didn't dare to say more, but what was revealed in their mouths was enough to let Jiang Cong know that their life was difficult.

He made good friends with the crew, and when the weather was fine during the day, Jiang Cong asked Li Qingwen and the others to come on deck.

A group of people looked at the open sea, with moderate sea breeze blowing, and they almost died of joy. Compared with the deck, the cabin is like a living coffin.

The big guy who felt that he crawled out of the grave was reluctant to go back to eat, so he leaned on the side of the boat, stuffing sorghum pancakes and fried noodles in his mouth.

Watching them eat, the crew couldn't help swallowing, and finally someone asked, "What did you eat?"

Upon hearing this, the enthusiastic Li family immediately gave them half of the meal.

The crew ate salted fish every day, and there was a stench inside and outside their bodies. They put the sorghum pancakes in their mouths suddenly, and the taste of the grains made their eyes shine, and they kept saying "delicious"!

It's not that they haven't eaten, but that they eat less.

The crew was not stingy, and gave Li Qingrui the salted fish that was about to vomit. Everyone, who had been short of salt for a long time, almost shed tears after eating the salted fish. It has meat and salt, it is really delicious! !

Then, the two sides exchanged dry food, and each was very happy.

Jiang Cong saw that Li Qingwen wrapped the two salted fish, so he knew it might be for someone, so he just thought it was funny, "You eat it, and I'll ask them for some more when I get off the boat."

Originally, he wanted to leave it to his second brother to taste it, but Li Qingwen felt it made sense when he heard it, so he took it out again.

Jiang Cong cut off the fish with a dagger, and Li Qingwen ate it in his mouth. It tasted a bit heavy, but it was delicious, but he couldn't eat more, or he had to drink more water.

After exchanging the food, it felt less strange. Li Qingrui asked them why they didn't farm the land, since there was obviously a large area of ​​land outside Linsu that was vacant.

The crew also thought about it, but they didn't have horses, plows or seeds, and what could be grown in the soil, the superiors wanted them to go to sea every day to find good things, so they didn't have the time to tend to the crops.

Li Qingwen and the others didn't return to the cabin until the crew started pulling the sails, afraid of getting in the way.

I was full of breath during the day, and slept very deeply at night.

The good news is that among them, none of them are seasick. In addition, the wind direction is good. When they saw the ships on the sea in the distance and the densely packed small houses on the shore, they heard that the pier they were about to dock at was far away. It's only a half-day trip.

This road is too fast, so fast that the big guys didn't realize it, this is more than 1000 miles from Linsu to the capital, this, this is too fast.

These people have all experienced the hardships of traveling. Whether they are walking or riding a sled, they all feel that the journey is long and tiring. This trip is the easiest and fastest.

After being surprised, everyone hurried back to the cabin to pack their things, and they couldn't delay disembarkation.

Zhou Congxin moved quickly, he had already tidied up the cages, and stood by the boat with Zhou Fengnian to look around, "Master, the family should have received the letter long ago, I wonder who Zhang Uncle will send to pick us up."

This wharf is still more than three hundred miles away from the capital city. Zhou Fengnian has been away from home for many years. The family must be very happy when he comes back to celebrate his birthday this time. Maybe someone has been sent to guard here long ago.

The big ship was getting closer and closer to the pier, the iron spear was thrown down, the big ship shook a few times, and stopped slowly.

Someone on the bank quickly got on the plank, and someone in the distance shouted impatiently: "Is it the boat from Linsu? Master, are you the one who came back?"

Zhou Congxin immediately waved at the people on the shore and said loudly, "It's us, the young master and I are back!"

Hearing his voice, the people on the shore immediately beamed with joy, and said to the old man next to him: "Uncle Zhang, it's Cong Xin, he and the young master have arrived! It's because you had the foresight to come a few days earlier!"

Zhou Fengnian and Zhou Congxin got off the boat and were immediately surrounded by Zhou's family.

Li Qingrui and the others followed, and Jiang Cong put two packages of salted fish on Li Qingwen. No matter how tightly the package was packed, the taste still couldn't be concealed.

Li Qingwen also suppressed the smell, he felt that the second brother must have never eaten this food, so he should try it.

Li Qingwen left Jiang Cong a bag of frozen dumplings to share with the crew during the Chinese New Year. Not surprisingly, he was with his second brother at that time and could not accompany Jiang Cong.

The two talked for a long time, mostly Li Qingwen spoke and Jiang Cong nodded.

Seeing that everyone was going down, Li Qingwen also picked up his things. As soon as he stepped on the ground, Li Qingrui picked up the package in his hand, and the servants of the Zhou family also came to help.

They knew that these people came from the border town with the young master, although they met for the first time, they were very friendly.

Following the Zhou family out, Li Qingwen waved to Jiang Cong who was standing on the boat.

Jiang Cong stood by the side of the boat without moving, smacking tongues with the crew members he was familiar with. The two of them were too clingy, and brothers were not like this.

An old butler and more than 30 servants and maids came to the Zhou family, and the car lined up on the bank.

When they sat in Zhou's carriage that exuded a faint fragrance, Li Qingshun and the others didn't dare to touch it, for fear of getting dirty.

No matter how much the master and servant in front shed tears when they met each other, the people in the back shrank their feet awkwardly while rubbing those exquisite patterns.

Li Qingwen stuffed the salted fish inside, but it didn't help, so he just ignored it.

On the way from the pier to the capital, the Zhou family took good care of their board and lodging, which made Li Qingrui feel very sorry.

When following the long queue through the majestic and majestic gate of the capital, the excited calves of the crowd began to twist. Mother, I never thought in this life that I could still come to the place where the emperor lives. It was like a dream. .

Li Qingrui and his three brothers are more curious and proud. Father and Uncle Cheng told them many things about the construction of the city. This place was built by father and the others one by one. This place that has never been to them is very important to them. , both unfamiliar and familiar.

Regardless of everyone's mood, their legs involuntarily followed the people in front and entered the city smoothly.

The streets are bustling, with tall buildings on both sides of the wide road, people's voices buzzing, fragrant cars coming and going, and teenagers on white horses walking in fresh clothes... Just stepping a step inside, the bustling scene of the capital rushes towards you.

Compared with the dilapidated Liushan County and the remote and bitter cold of the border towns, this place is simply not lively.

After entering the city, everyone's hearts were still shaking, Zhou Congxin asked the carriage behind to take Li Qingrui and the others to Wenzheng Academy.

Before leaving, Li Qingrui gave Zhou Congxin a box, which was a birthday gift for the old lady of the Zhou family. They received a lot of care from Zhou Fengnian, which was a small gesture.

Then, a group of people rushed to Wenzheng Academy with excitement.