Daiyu's wife in the Red Chamber

Hearing the question, the husband and wife looked up, but it was a tenant farmer nearby, an old man with a big and three rough clothes with patches on his clothes, not the tenant farmers who took care of the lotus pond.The people in this village live in a group of clans. There are four major surnames in total. There are very few people with other surnames. They always take care of each other.

If it's the lotus root grown in their own family, it's not a big deal for one or two people to pinch the flowers and pick the leaves once a month, but this is the lotus pond in the mansion of Lord Jiedushi, and it's very close to here, so they have to be very careful, lest it be ruined by others .

Therefore, the old man said: "Jiedushi's family bought land and leased it to us for free for three years. We must guard this lotus pond."

Wei Ruolan and Daiyu prepared a proper explanation before going out, and when he asked why they came here, Wei Ruolan said that she and her husband were farmers who were taken in by the Jiedu Envoy to work in the Zhuangzi. Take a look at the lotus pond, and pick some lotus leaves and flowers to make the lotus leaf lotus pod soup that adults and wives love to eat.

The old man glanced at them a few times, saw that they behaved well, and that the nearby people were grateful for not daring to pretend to be people in the village, so he already had some faith in his heart. At this time, there was another son of a tenant farmer who took care of the lotus pond, a boy of seven or eight years old. He ran over shirtless and yelled: "Someone from Mr. Jiedushi's village said that Mr. Jiedushi sent people to pick lotus leaves and flowers early in the morning, so don't make things difficult for us." He yelled along the road and told those who were working in the field Everyone, lest they see someone pinch flowers and pick leaves and think it's theft.

Hearing these words, the old man hurriedly apologized to Wei Ruolan and his wife, and then went down to the ground with the hoe on his shoulders. After the child informed, he watched Daiyu and Wei Ruolan standing by the pool from a distance, guessing their identities and dared not approach them .

Wei Ruolan saw Daiyu looking at the boy, so she beckoned to her and asked how she was doing.

Although the boy is young, he is not afraid of people. Seeing that Wei Ruolan and Daiyu are wearing new clothes, their words are amiable, their behavior is not like ordinary people, Wei Ruolan has a handsome face, and Daiyu has a fragrance on her nose Lingering, he answered in detail.

Wei Ruolan asked about people's livelihood, asking him if he had enough food in the past year, whether he could make new clothes every year, how other people in the village lived, and whether there were bandits, officers and soldiers harassing their village. Daiyu asked him how old he was, what his name was, and whether he had ever studied.

The child's surname is Li, his name is Gousheng, he is seven years old, and he speaks very cleverly. He first answered Wei Ruolan's words, and then said: "When I was young, thieves came everywhere to grab food, and even dug up the cellar. My grandfather was arrested at that time. I was beaten to death. I often didn’t have enough to eat. My two older sisters died of starvation. How could I have money to make new clothes? And steamed buns, no one died of starvation in the village, Master Jiedu is very capable, there are no more thieves to rob our village of food, and the winter has come safely. Mr. Dushi distributed the grain stolen by those thieves enough for us to chew for a year. Our family rented an extra ten mu of land, and we can eat our own grain in autumn without paying rent. The grain is all our own. After three years, the Jiedu Envoy and the county head will only receive [-]% of the grain. Every family can harvest a lot of grain every year. Because our family takes care of the lotus root pond, we don't have to pay rent after three years, and we usually get rewards for sending it. "

When Gousheng was talking, his dark face was full of joy, his eyes were clear, and he replied to Daiyu: "Reading is something only rich people have. I have never studied. There is no private school in the village. If you want to go to school, you have to go to school." Go to the county town or the prefecture town. In our village, only the elder brother of the Li Chang’s family has the money to go to school. Previously, many thieves dared not go out, but this year I started to go to school. I heard that I learned the Three Character Classic.” The joy on his face turned into envy. , and seems to be quite self-aware, and dare not reveal it very much.

Daiyu didn't feel touched, and asked some more about the village. After getting the answer, she turned around and asked Wei Ruolan to lower herself down. She reached out and took out four snacks wrapped in oil paper from the basket on his body, handed them to Gou Sheng, and said softly : "Thank you for letting us know a lot of things in the village. Thank you Lord Jiedushi. This is a thank you gift."

Gou Sheng was caught off guard, stunned for a moment, hurriedly shook his head and waved his hands, and said: "I can't, I can't, you are from the village of the Jiedu Envoy and the County Lord, I can't ask for anything." He seemed afraid that Daiyu would give him , After finishing speaking, he ran away in a hurry.

Wei Ruolan put the snacks back into the basket and said, "Which lotus do you like, I'll pick it for you."

Daiyu didn't show any disappointment caused by Gousheng's refusal, and said with a smile: "Just pick a few green lotus leaves when you go back, and let the lotus leaves still grow in the pond to form lotus pods, and you can pick them up the same day you go back. It's a pity that it withered."

Wei Ruolan smiled and said, "Now you know the word pity."

Daiyu glanced at him, and said: "Have I ever wasted anything? I didn't understand it when I was a child, and I couldn't make decisions in my grandmother's house. I will suffer whatever they do. Every day, I can't finish the table of delicious food and wine. I throw or pour it down. I feel that there is something wrong. Now that I have come out of the deep house and compound, I have seen the suffering of the people. There are countless people who starve to death without food. Forget it, pinching them to make rouge pollen is to make the best use of everything, the lotus will be rewarded for a while after pinching, but it will produce a lotus pod, and we naturally don’t care about a lotus pod, but it’s not the same for the tenant farmers.”

She is well aware of the prices of various things in the local area, so the land is not in the north of South Africa, and some of the land is quite barren, so the prices of lotus root and lotus seeds are far more expensive than those in the south of the Yangtze River, and water chestnuts are even more scarce.

Wei Ruolan helped her walk along the pond, and said, "You are more and more like a mistress."

"You don't think that my stinginess is a great kindness." Daiyu squatted by the pond, the lotus leaves in the pond were crowded and close to each other, and it was almost impossible to see the sparkle. She touched the lotus leaves with her fingers, and the water droplets on them slid off Into the water, immediately disappeared.

Wei Ruolan accompanied her, and said with a smile: "What is stinginess? This is nothing more than frugality. We do our best to be worthy of others. Besides, we are only treating ourselves, and we have never been stingy with others. Could it be that the rich people's wine and meat stink, and there is no way out?" Is the scene of freezing to death in front of you the most generous? In the affairs of the world, it is only by paying attention to the small things that you can achieve great things."

Daiyu raised her eyebrows and smiled, because there was no one around, she took off the cloth towel on her face to breathe, and said: "I heard what that child said today, and I have an idea in my heart, so I don't know if it will work."

Wei Ruolan asked her what her idea was, and she said, "Set up a private school in the village to teach children to read and learn some etiquette."

Wei Ruolan was startled, she didn't expect Daiyu to think of this, and she heard Daiyu say: "In our kitchen, there is Li Niangzi who makes steamed buns very well and kneads the noodles well. I just love her steamed buns and noodles." Noodles, one of her sons who managed to survive was coaxed by a relative who was called Zhongren because of illiteracy, and pressed his fingerprints on the deed of sale. It turned out that Mrs. Li's husband was seriously ill, and her son went to borrow money from relatives. The relative said it was an IOU, but no one would have thought that it was a deed of selling himself, and it was a deed of death. From then on, he could not control his life and death. Mrs. Li's husband was so angry that she died, and Mrs. Li also suffered a serious illness. I have no family, and I was almost sold by the clan again. It happened that I sent someone to the village to hire a clean and tidy woman to cook, so I didn't let her be sold, and I hired her to do work. She was afraid of being sold after returning home, so she sold herself I am a servant of our family, a very diligent and neat person. Today, I heard the child say that I can’t read books, and I thought of Mrs. Li’s family affairs. The ancients used sand as pots and branches as brushes. Why can’t they? Please ask Master taught them how to read, not only avoiding the pain of being deceived again, but also learning some etiquette and shame by reciting some books, isn’t it the best of both worlds?”

Wei Ruolan pondered and said: "Your heart is naturally good. Literacy is a trivial matter. It is a great kindness to make it wise, sensible, law-abiding, and moral. The people were instigated to ask for money and food that day, and their stupidity can be seen , but it cannot be done by you and me.”

Daiyu said with a smile: "I know, we can't let the common people only know about you and me, but don't know the wisdom of the sage. That's my plan, sir, all the envoy fees will be paid by our family. In name, it is His Majesty and Empress Dowager." The meaning is to make them feel grateful for His Majesty's grace and virtue, and it is His Majesty who educates the people, not us."

Wei Ruolan said: "Great kindness. Wait until the next year when Zhuangtou brings the renter and then give orders to let Zhuangtou take care of it. Before that, I will give His Majesty a note explaining this matter. It would be even better if I can get His Majesty's word of mouth. .”

Daiyu also felt that it was reasonable, and she made up her mind, so she supported him by the shoulders and got up, but because her legs felt numb, her body swayed and she almost fell down.

Wei Ruolan stood up at the same time, stretched out her arms to hold her, waited for her to stand still, knelt down again and rubbed her legs and feet, and after hearing her that the numbness was gone, she walked forward hand in hand, walked around several lotus ponds, picked Pick off the fresh green lotus leaves.

Wei Ruolan's toes were a little on the lotus leaves, as if walking on the ground on the lotus leaves. When he picked the lotus leaves, he put the basket on the side of the pond, and Daiyu took out a green bamboo tube from it to drink water. The boiling water is still warm at this time, with a fragrance of bamboo joints. The bamboo tube is carved with a pattern of mandarin ducks lying on the lotus, especially the lotus leaves carved from the green skin of the bamboo tube are so vivid.

Daiyu drank a few sips of water, Wei Ruolan came back after picking twenty or so lotus leaves, rolled up the lotus leaves, put them in the basket, and then tidied them up. Drink the water in the bamboo tube with one hand.

After packing up, the husband and wife walked back.

Wei Ruolan looked around for a while, and suddenly smiled and said: "I said that when I met the old man and the dog left, I didn't think we were like ordinary farmers. If they said that they came from the village, they would believe it. Look at what is going on in the field. Of those who live and travel on the road, how can any one go out in new clothes? They are all tattered and patched."

Daiyu turned around and took a closer look. All the peasants were dressed in rags, covered in mud, or covered in sweat. On the other hand, her husband and wife were dressed in new and clean clothes. She couldn't help laughing: " In other words, we are actually drawing tigers instead of anti-dogs."

Wei Ruolan comforted: "As long as they don't think about our real identity, we're just out for fun."

Daiyu nodded slightly, and suddenly asked: "I thought of a question. According to what you said, most of the bandits who robbed the borders of Ping'an Prefecture on weekdays were those led by Zhang Kuang's subordinates. Could it be that there are no local people who are struggling to follow the grass?" Bandits? Those fake bandits who are actually private soldiers have been taken care of, are there bandits everywhere who aren’t Zhang Kuang’s subordinates?”

Wei Ruolan laughed, and said: "Of course there are, otherwise what would His Majesty appoint me as Jiedu Envoy? Although the big bandits have been eliminated, there are still small groups of bandits haunting, and I may not be very strict when killing the bandit leaders, and there are also fish that slip through the net The four or five prefectures in the area are not yet completely peaceful, and it will take at least a year or two to completely settle down. Therefore, I send soldiers to patrol in groups every day, as a way of daily practice, to train their Footsteps, and the second is to prevent those fish that slipped through the net from making further moves to plunder the people."

Hearing this, Daiyu stopped and said, "According to what you said, the local law and order are still in chaos, but how do you say that the banditry has been quelled? It's strange that you still let those [-] soldiers station around our Zhuangzi. Those who slipped through hate you for ruining their big deal, or coming back, or getting revenge."

Wei Ruolan said with a smile: "I was in charge of the Ping'an Prefecture camp earlier, and except for those under Zhang Kuang's men, the rest have long since been wiped out, so the banditry in Ping'an Prefecture has indeed been eradicated, but the troops in the surrounding prefectures only took over this year. There are still concerns there."

Daiyu said: "I understand, your main task is to let the people in the five prefectures including Ping'an Prefecture live and work in peace and contentment."

Wei Ruolan said with a smile: "I am mainly in charge of the military, temporarily in charge of the finances, and have the responsibility of supervising the subordinates. The rest of the governance, mediation, and construction of water conservancy are all civil servants. Fortunately, most of them are capable people sent by His Majesty. , have their own skills."

Daiyu said: "I only hope that the local people can live and work in peace and contentment as soon as possible, so that the world will be prosperous and peaceful."

Wei Ruolan thought for a while, and said: "Squeeze the invasion of the frontier, clear the internal chaos, everyone has food to eat, clothes to wear, and as you said, know a few words and be sensible, it is not easy to achieve this .”

Daiyu sighed, and suddenly saw Tonger Gousheng who had answered their questions earlier, squatting by the side of the ditch with a few children of the same age and making things with mud. He stood still and took a look. The Gousheng said happily: " Those who come out of Master Jiedu's Zhuangzi are great, I don't want cakes for me."

Some child said he was stupid, so he poked his neck and said, "Why am I stupid? My mother said that I am the smartest. If someone you don't know gives something, you must never take it, even if it is delicious. Besides, I I’m not telling you this, Master Jiedushi’s people are like immortals, I feel different from us at a glance, as white as snowflakes, and their voice is like fairy music. Even the servants of Master Jiedushi’s family are like this , I don’t know how mighty the Lord Jiedushi is, and whether the Lord County Master is also like a fairy.”

Wei Ruolan has sharp ears and eyes, and heard their conversation from a distance, then recounted it to Daiyu, and said with a smile: "That child is full of compliments on you, as expected, we don't look like farmers and women, so why don't we call him to speak in front of others?" Let me tell you the truth.” But they came under the banner of servants, no one expected that their husband and wife were the real masters.

Daiyu couldn't help laughing, and said, "I'm complimenting you too. Gousheng is a clever boy, and he can talk well when we are with you. If he can study hard, he might be a capable person in the future. Tomorrow, he will run a private school in the village. Tell him to go to school."

Wei Ruolan agreed: "Teach him to recognize characters if he doesn't restrain himself. The time is chosen during winter storage so as not to delay the farming work. I think everyone will be willing."

Daiyu nodded, and said: "You put several packs of snacks in the basket. Madam Liu was afraid that we would be hungry when we came out. Now that we're going back, why don't we give them to the children, because it's no fun to take them back."

Wei Ruolan walked up to the group of children as she said, saw Gou Sheng squatting on the ground, looked up at herself blankly, smiled and took off the backpack, took out the few packs of snacks, and said: "We will go back now, carry the The thing just feels very heavy, the dog leftover, how about you solve it for us? Otherwise, I feel tired on the road and I’m afraid I’ll throw it away.”

Hearing that the delicious snacks were going to be thrown away because they were tired, all the children pushed Gousheng, who hesitated for a moment, and said: "How many people can't eat it, only the county and state towns sell dim sum, wouldn't it be a pity to throw it away? "

Wei Ruolan smiled and said, "So I would like to ask you to solve it for us. We are relieved, and thank you for your help earlier."

In the kitchen of the Wei family, there is a cook who specializes in making dim sum. The dim sum they make are not only exquisite, but also the oil paper can't cover the fragrance. The children smelled it early, salivated, and gave Gou Sheng winks one after another.

Gou Sheng looked at Daiyu who was standing aside, and then at Wei Ruolan, hesitatingly said: "Then I'll take it? It's just that the brothers are all here, so I can't give me the snacks alone. There are six of us, so we can share it. Unfairness will lead to trouble. If the uncle really wants to give it to us, let the uncle share it with us, so as not to cause trouble."

Wei Ruolan looked at the child again, agreed with Daiyu's statement more and more, looked at the snacks in her hand, there were four packs in total, each pack was four yuan, and said: "Two yuan per person, go to twelve first, and the remaining one pack will be given to you." How about you as a thank you?"

Gou Sheng's eyes widened, and he said, "Wouldn't it be that I got six dim sum by myself?"

Wei Ruolan smiled and said: "One is that you came to pass the message earlier and answered our questions, and the other is that without you, they wouldn't even be able to eat a piece of dim sum. This pack of dim sum is what you deserve, but others are dissatisfied. You should also be convinced."

Several children nodded and said yes, without Gousheng, they couldn't even taste the taste, they all urged Gousheng to agree, they would not be jealous that Gousheng had more than themselves.Gou Sheng couldn't stand the repeated urging, so he agreed, and before reaching out to pick up the snacks, he hurriedly put his two dirty hands in the ditch water to wash them, and casually rubbed them on his pants, and the others did the same.

Wei Ruolan distributed the dim sum to them, but Gou Sheng said to everyone: "I will take the unopened pack of dim sum back to my grandmother and parents, I know you are reluctant to eat it yourself, so the two pieces I got Six servings, let's have a taste first."

The five children cheered and were very convinced. They followed Gou Sheng to thank Wei Ruolan and Daiyu before sharing their snacks.

Wei Ruolan put on the basket again, walked up to Daiyu and told her, Daiyu smiled and said, "Hearing what you said, I feel more and more that Gousheng is a good kid, filial and fair, and he doesn't even have the consequences for getting too much." Considered."

The next day when Wei Ruolan went to the camp, Daiyu heard that Gousheng's parents had brought lotus roots over, and ordered someone to call Goushengniang to her. When I went out, I only said that the person who was sent out to pick the lotus leaves came back and talked about what the dog leftover did. He also felt very good. He ordered to reward a piece of linen and two plates of dim sum and said: "Go back and raise your children."

Daiyu knew very well that Muxiu would be destroyed by Lin Feng, and she was afraid that the dog's parents would get into trouble if they got too many things, so she only gave him a piece of linen, made clothes for the dog, and gave the dog some snacks. .

Gou Sheng Niang was overjoyed and hurriedly kowtowed to thank her.

Since Daiyu lived in the village, she has benefited countless people in the village. The couple of Gousheng's family are good at tending the lotus pond, so they were selected to take care of the lotus pond, free of rent for a long time.

Daiyu asked Gousheng if he had a name, and Goushengniang's heart moved, and she hurriedly said: "No, the name on the household registration is Gousheng, and no one in the village can read except the chief. Those who are illiterate, like us, just call their names in confusion, and there are only a few who can get a big name."

Daiyu said, "How about I give Gousheng a name?"

The dog leftover girl said happily: "If you can get the name from the county lord personally, it will be a blessing that our dog leftovers can't get in a few lifetimes, and it will also let him be honored by the lord Jiedu and the county lord."

Daiyu laughed and said, "Your family name is Li, so let Gousheng be called Li Qian. If you are full of harm, you will benefit from Qian. You taught that child very well, you are smart, well-measured, and considerate. You will do the same in the future." Teach him carefully, don't become arrogant just because I gave him a big name, that would be my fault."

Gou Shengniang read it several times and went there gratefully.

Not to mention how happy Gousheng's family was when they got their name, but they said that just after the banditry was eliminated, and a few days before the peace, some coastal prefectures came to report that the Japanese pirates had caused riots and ruined the lives of several places. State banditry is generally the same and difficult to eradicate.

Emperor Changtai hated the Japanese pirates deeply, but when Zhang Kuang was in office, he didn't pay attention, so that the Japanese pirates were unscrupulous.

This state city is also under Wei Ruolan's command. It is about three or four days away from Ping'an Prefecture, and it is by the sea. Liu Xianglian, who lives in the fifth rank, went to other prefectures to kill a small group of bandits, and also left manpower for Daiyu, and led her troops to the coastal prefectures.

He didn't know when he would come back from this trip, Daiyu was bored, and she didn't have the energy to write poems and paint pictures. Today, she thought in her heart that Wei Ruolan's itinerary should reach the destination, and their journey was naturally faster than ordinary people. some.

Just thinking of this, Xueyan came in with the post and the gift list, and said, "Girl, the Ge family from Dingyou's hometown sent a post and gifts. I asked, and it turned out that it was the Ge family that Miss Shi married to. Master Ge, Ding You, just arrived in Ping'an Prefecture today, and their family is from Ping'an Prefecture, and their ancestral home is the county where our Zhuangzi is located."