Back in the hall, Xu Ping sat for a while, then obediently waited at the door. After all, this is a strange world for yourself, and you can't be cautious about everything, and you can't rely on your own temperament.

Xu Chang stood at the door and glanced at Xu Ping curiously. In my impression, this person has been lawless since he was a child, he doesn't know what etiquette is, he is calling friends and leading the eagle every day, why is he so sensible? Could it be that the family is in the middle of the road, and people grow up all of a sudden?

didn't wait long, Zhang Sanniang and his entourage arrived outside the hall.

Xu Ping hurriedly went up to greet him, and sat down in the hall, and Xu Chang went to arrange some tea.

Zhang Sanniang saw that Xu Ping was well-behaved, and her face looked much better. After drinking tea, he said to everyone: "The current situation at home is not as good as before, and you should have heard of it somewhat." A few days ago, the staff offended the now popular Ma Shi Museum, he is a relative of the Queen Mother, and he raised the treasurers in Beijing, no way, the family sold the restaurant outside Wansheng Gate and returned to the countryside. Our family has a big business, and we can't sit back and eat empty. But although this grange is not small, it is a money-losing goods, and there has been a great drought since the spring this year, and there is no harvest. My staff and I still wanted to redeem the restaurant in a few years, so we had to go to Baisha Town and buy a restaurant, and everything started from scratch. In the past, in the city of Tokyo, we used to sell sake from Banlou, but from now on, we will buy koji and make it ourselves. ”

Zhang Sanniang sighed, and then said: "There are thousands of things, everyone is their own person, if there is anything that can't be taken care of, let's take care of it." This grange, I and the staff have no energy to take care of it, from today on, Granny Hong comes to the village, everything is at her command. Xu Chang, you are also the old man in the family, accompany Da Lang well, don't cause trouble. ”

Xu Chang replied: "The little one understands, and the lady is at ease." ”

Turning her head to look at Granny Hong with a strong face on the side, she sighed secretly in her heart, and she didn't know anything.

Zhang Sanniang looked at Lin Wensi and said: "This year's drought in Kaifeng Mansion has caused a lot of victims, and there are many displaced people. In addition, this year is the year of Dabi, and how many fallen sons have been entangled in Tokyo, and they can't return to their hometowns for a while, and they are living in various counties in Kaifeng Prefecture, and something may happen to them. Da Lang, in the city of Tokyo in the past years, by your temperament, let me take care of it in the future, study with Lin Xiucai in the village, and don't provoke the fox friends in the past. Xu Chang Laocheng, you listen to him more. ”

Xu Ping hurriedly said: "The child understands and will not let his mother worry." ”

Seeing that her son was well-behaved, Zhang Sanniang finally had a smile on her face, and said to Lin Wensi, who was sitting beside her: "In-laws, we are our own family, you and Su Niang will live in the village, supervise Da Lang's schoolwork, and don't let him go down the evil road." ”

Lin Wensi smiled bitterly: "Don't worry, I'll take care of it." ”

He is also a down-to-earth man, what Zhang Sanniang just said is really sad.

Xu Ping felt a little bad in his heart. Listening to Zhang Sanniang's tone, I didn't expect him to be able to read a famous hall, just let him have something to do, just don't cause trouble. This practice is similar to the thoughts of many parents in previous lives. Could it be that in the eyes of these people, he is really a gangster who has no interest?

After explaining the words, Zhang Sanniang said again: "In life, how can there be no ditch and no hurdle?" Although the situation at home is not good now, as long as you are diligent, you can always come to Jitai. Think back then, when a person outside the staff picked up a burden to go to Tokyo to make a living, didn't he earn a big business? It's good for everyone to live in peace. ”

Xu Ping pursed his lips, did my father really make a fortune because he married a good family?

Speaking of this, Zhang Sanniang summoned the little girl from before and said to Xu Ping: "This is Xiuxiu, the girl from Ren An's family, the shepherd who is herding sheep in the south of Zhuangzi, is eight years old this year. It is pitiful to say that a few days ago, dozens of sheep were stolen from his herding, and the land was confiscated, so he had to pawn this girl in our house and sell it for ten years, so as not to suffer as a wanderer. You're short of someone to call you, so let her follow you. ”

Xu Ping looked at Xiuxiu, she was raising her head, looking at each other.

Xiuxiu's eyes were timid, a little curious, more panicked, and her expression was dazed.

Xu Ping's heart was inexplicably like being pricked by a needle. He came to this world, although he has not been clothed and fed in the past few days, he has no worries about food and clothing, and even in the foreseeable future, he will have no worries about food and clothing for a lifetime, and he does not feel that this world is so unbearable.

Now suddenly such a matter of selling a bearded girl appeared in front of him, and such a little girl who was less than ten years old, without knowing anything, was sold to her own house. She was still young, and she probably didn't know what that meant, that it had decided her life.

For the slaves, the Song Dynasty was probably the most humane in ancient China, from the emperor to the ministers, they were recognized as the members of the state and the same good people, and the discrimination in national law was not serious.

But so what? Why is it that the price of a good-looking young woman is higher if she is also selling her body? Because at least during the period of sale, the owner owns their bodies. One day, even if they regain their freedom, they will not be able to marry into a slightly better family. Who would believe you're still a yellow girl?

In the Song Dynasty, there was no saying that a maid could not be a concubine, and there were even many who became wives, and even the current queen mother, isn't it also a second marriage? However, how many people can meet such an opportunity?

Xu Ping is not a person who is overflowing with compassion, but the fate of a person is so easily labeled as an alternative makes him feel very uncomfortable.

Xiuxiu didn't know what Xu Ping was thinking, for her, the Xu family could be regarded as a benefactor. Her father, as a shepherd under the Niu Yang Division, released sheep from the imperial court, lost more than 30 mouths at once, and stabbed them in the official face, which was enough to exile him and his family was ruined. Their family is now in urgent need of money, buy sheep to make up for it, and make up and down.

Zhang Sanniang felt that her family was pitiful, and the other was that their family had just moved back, and they wanted to leave a good impression in front of the villagers, and the price given was very good, ten years and sixty times, which was enough to solve the problem.

And Ya Po also secretly told her that the family is very good, even if it is a maidservant, she can eat and dress warmly, and it is only a pawn sale for ten years, and she will not be delayed in getting married.

What I'm worried about now is what the personality of the owner is, just don't beat and scold often.

Zhang Sanniang didn't have the heart to think about what these two people thought, seeing that it was not early, she arranged for dinner, and after eating, she had to go back to the restaurant in the town to help her husband.

The sun had just set, the sky was still bright, and Xu Ping had dinner. It's the countryside, and it's boring without the colorful nightlife of Tokyo.

There has been a big drought this year, and there has been no rain until now, although it has just entered summer, and the weather is already too hot to be cold, and there is no wind at all. In this era, there is no air conditioning fan or anything, Xu Ping is sticky, he feels stuffy, and he wants to take a cold shower.

When I turned around, I saw that Xiuxiu was still following behind, looking at herself with a blank eye, and she was still holding her little old flower cloth burden tightly in her arms.

Xu Ping was stunned for a moment and said to her, "You go to Granny Hong and let her arrange a place to rest." I'm going to take a shower, it's too hot. ”

Xiuxiu hurriedly said: "Oh, then I'll go boil water." ”

Xu Ping smiled: "What kind of water to boil, it's as hot as a ghost this day!" You're busy, don't worry about me. ”

After saying that, he took a towel from the house and walked to the well in the backyard.

Xiuxiu followed two steps, remembered something, and shrank back again.

Xu Ping went to the well and saw that there was no one around, so he took a bucket of water, went to the bottom of the poplar tree by the wall, and wiped it with cold water all over his body, and his whole body was comfortable.

After pouring the water, Xu Ping staggered back. At this time, the sun had set, and a cool breeze was blowing on the body, which was indescribably pleasant.

When I returned to my small courtyard in the East Wing, I saw Xiuxiu sitting on the steps in front of the door, with her small burden on her knees, and her chin pressed on the burden, looking at the ground in a daze.

Hearing the footsteps, Xiuxiu jumped up and looked at Xu Ping nervously.

Xu Ping was stunned for a moment, and said to Xiuxiu: "Are you still here?" ”

Xiuxiu lowered her head, rubbed her feet on the ground, and muttered without speaking.

Xu Ping smiled: "It's okay, since it's okay, just talk back to me." ”

After speaking, he walked to the side of the steps, blew on the poof, and sat down with his ass, regardless of whether the blow was clean or not. Seeing that Xiuxiu was still standing there, he said to her, "You can sit too." ”

Where did Xiuxiu dare to sit, and it was not good to stand there condescending to Xu Ping, so she squatted down next to him and looked at him timidly.

Xu Ping didn't care either, and asked her, "Who else is in your family?" ”

Xiuxiu said: "My father, father, and my younger brother Huzi are five years old this year. ”

Xu Ping sighed: "You also have a younger brother, who is more lively than my family." ”

He is an only child, and his parents are so busy that they don't see each other every day, and he is already terrified when he crosses over, and he feels even more lonely when he has no one to speak.

Xu Ping's father, Xu Zheng, was originally from this neighborhood, and when he was young, he couldn't get along, so he went to Tokyo alone, carrying a burden and walking the streets and alleys to sell alcohol. After decades of frugality, I finally saved a little money. When he was thirty-eight years old, because he was honest and capable, he was favored by a foot shop, so he married his daughter Zhang Sanniang to him and inherited the property. Zhang Sanniang was only eighteen years old that year, twenty years younger than her husband, an old husband and a young wife, and the industry was her own, so she was inevitably stronger. Two years later, she gave birth to her son Xu Ping, who was already forty years old. is old and has a son, and Zhang Sanniang maintains it, Xu Ping has been pampered since he was a child.

After inheriting his father-in-law's restaurant, Xu Zheng went smoothly and gradually saved thousands of family fortunes.

A few years ago, Mou's Chunze Prison was abolished, and the imperial court recruited people to buy the land here, but because the land was barren, it could not be sold at all. Because Xu Zheng was a local and had some money, he was forced to buy this grange.

Since this incident, the Xu family has begun to have bad luck, and last year somehow offended the Ma family. It is said that the Ma family took a fancy to the Xujia Restaurant on the edge of Jinming Pond, and the location was good, so they resorted to means. Except for Xu Zheng and Zhang Sanniang, no one knows the inside story, anyway, the Xu family sold the restaurant and the whole family moved back to Zhongmu.

At this time, the Central Plains was far from the previous life, far less densely populated, and it was not even too much to say that the land was vast and sparsely populated. The banks of the Yellow River are mostly sandy land, only grass can grow, the grain harvest is very poor, and all over are the grazing land of the imperial court. In the Song Dynasty, the management of horse administration was poor, and many horse herding supervisors were in and out of fashion, and they could not make ends meet. This Chunze prison is an example, abandoned a few years ago, and the land cannot be sold, and now there are thousands of horses raised here in the Qiji Courtyard, but there is no establishment of horse herding supervisors.

Seeing that Xu Ping didn't speak, Xiuxiu felt uneasy in her heart and looked at him with a blank eye.

Xu Ping came back to his senses, saw Xiuxiu's appearance, and couldn't help laughing: "You are young, you were sold to my house, are you afraid?" ”

Xiuxiu lowered her head: "I don't know either." ”

The two men stopped talking and were silent for a while.

Xiuxiu Xu squatted for a long time, moved her feet, held the small burden in her hand, remembered something, and suddenly said to Xu Ping: "I have something delicious to bring from home, please eat it." ”

After speaking, Xiuxiu opened the baggage, and inside were a few cleanly washed old clothes, wrapped in a ball of flower cloth next to it.

When Xiuxiu opened the flower cloth, Xu Ping's head buzzed.

It turned out to be a bag of peanuts!