Because things are not much, Zhu Pingan quickly packed things packed, time is still early, then sat at the table again while practicing writing down the “Leaning on the Sky to Slaughter the Vicious Book”, go home and then borrow the book when used.
After noon, snow fell outside the window again, a group, a cluster, like willow flakes flying in the sky.
Perhaps the snowflakes outside the window aroused interest, or perhaps it is a dynasty has a leisurely mood, Zhu Pingan packed up the ink and paper and inkstone, put on the rabbit fur coat, ready to go downstairs to stroll around the snowy Nanjing City.
Lobby many students surrounded the newly successful Zhu Shiming, and two tables, big fish and meat on the table, next to the two small fireplace warming two pots of wine emitting intoxicating aroma!
“Zhu Xian Di, come and drink with us.” That Zhu Shiming saw Zhu Pingan descending the stairs from afar and got up to invite him.
“Two lifers at one table, it will be a good story in the future.” Everyone else also got up to invite Zhu Pingan to the table, after the incident of catching a son-in-law under the list in the morning, these people were more in awe of Zhu Pingan.
A person who was favoured by the third rank officials was not an easy person.
Zhu Pingan arched his hand and thanked them for their kindness, excused himself and left the inn, wandering aimlessly in Yingtian City. Previously, has been busy with the imperial examinations did not look at how carefully the six dynasties of the ancient capital of the paper, today while there is time to take a good look.
Outside the street has been a world of silver, snow Yingtian, both sides of the street restaurant business is exceptionally hot, walking in the street can smell the burst of food and wine, from time to time can see “green ants, new spirits wine, red clay small stove” scene, the scale of the better restaurant can also see the dancing singers!
After walking along the bank of the Qinhuai River for a while, Zhu Pingan turned his direction and walked along another street that he had never walked before.
This street bustling than the Qinhuai two sides of the river is not much inferior, seems to be more than ever, this street control compared to the Qinhuai Fuzimiao that piece of political concentration in the area to be a little more lenient, vendors and so on are more active, there are many total angle of the children in the street chasing and playing, very much with the atmosphere of life.
The hustle and bustle of the hot eateries. Infected Zhu Pingan also bought a pot sticker wrapped in thick paper, while eating and enjoying the snowy scenery of Yingtian.
The skin is crispy and not greasy, and the filling is fresh and juicy.
On a snowy day, eating hot and sizzling pot stickers. It’s extraordinarily delicious.
Ziggy~tons
Just as Zhu Pingan was eating and strolling around, he heard an unusually striking sound of swallowing saliva.
Zhu Pingan paused in his steps and followed the sound, only to see that at the mouth of the alleyway that this street was connected to, two five or six year old children were leaning against the wall root and were timidly looking at themselves. Fearful and eager, still wearing worn out shoes with exposed toes on a snowy day, which still seemed to be ill-fitting, and with wrinkled clothes with patches on them.
The two children can not distinguish between male and female, thin, just big eyes, staring straight at the pot stickers in their hands.
Seeing this scene, Zhu Pingan was somewhat shocked.
Since he wore to the Ming Dynasty, although he was poor in a small mountain village, but the family could still get by. Studying for the imperial examinations to the point that he had forgotten about the existence of these dark sides of the
“Come, brother treats you.” Zhu Pingan squatted down and handed the pot stickers in his hand to the two children.
The two children looked at each other, not daring to move.
“Brother is not a bad person, come, take it.” Zhu Pingan smiled gently and once again handed the wrapped pot stickers in his hand to one of the larger looking small children.
In the end, the two children were still unable to hold back the hot sizzling pot stickers, and the larger small child timidly reached out and took it. Seeing that Zhu Pingan had really given it to himself, a pair of big eyes lit up.
“Give it to mother to eat.”
After the two small children received the pot stickers given by Zhu Pingan, they just swallowed two more mouthfuls of saliva, and then with a leaping face, they determined the ownership of the pot stickers without any dispute.
“Big brother go to my house to drink water.”
Because of one pot sticker. The two children completely classified Zhu Pingan as a good person, and while happy, they also invited Zhu Pingan to join them in their home to drink water as a guest. The two children flashed their eyes, very expectant, lest Zhu Pingan refuse.
Follow the two children into the alley, this is a deep alley, as if the two connected two worlds.
The alley was strange and winding. The two children eventually led Zhu Pingan into another alley, where a mottled signboard was hung at the mouth of the alley with the three words, “Yen Ji Yuan” written on it. Inside the alley was a large area of simple housing, low and narrow, it was unclear whether it could shelter from the wind and snow, and the alleyway was also dirty and messy.
The two children led Zhu Pingan into one of the narrow, cramped courtyard, in the courtyard there was a dry, thin, sickly woman washing clothes in the courtyard, her body was covered with snow and wind, and her fingers were all cracked and swollen.
“Big Five Little Five is back, cough cough cough, when my mother finishes washing these clothes she’ll boil water for you to drink, and at night when your father comes back you’ll have something to eat.”
The woman’s voice was breathless and seemed to be quite ill.
“Mother, here you eat.” The older child upside down as if inviting credit for the wrapped pot stickers in his hand, took one and handed it to the mouth of the woman washing clothes as if offering treasure.
“Da Wu, you, you stole from others? Cough cough cough,” the woman saw the situation not happy but angry, angry cough more than.
“No mother, it’s from this big brother.” The child said aggrieved.
Then at this time, the woman saw Zhu Pingan walking into the courtyard, somewhat guardedly took the two children into her arms, took the pot sticker in the hands of the older child and put it on the wooden board on one side, then pulled the two children to hide in the house.
“Gongzi with the things please go back, my man is not here, my house also does not sell children, nothing is for sale”
The woman’s voice with a sickly air came out from the room.
“Mother, big brother is not a bad person.” The two children also passed out before being stopped by the woman.
Zhu Pingan looked at himself and then reacted, men and women are very careful
Looking down at the closed door of the room, Zhu Pingan knew that it was better for him to obediently leave at this moment, one more word was a wrong word, and staying for one more minute was also a mistake.
After thinking about it, Zhu Pingan took out all the silver money he had with him and placed it next to the pot sticker, slightly arched his hand and said a word, then left.
“Excuse me.”
With these words, Zhu Pingan left this courtyard and continued walking inwards along this alleyway.
In this alleyway Zhu Pingan witnessed the holes underneath the bright and shiny exterior of the Great Ming Empire!
Vermilion Gate Wine and Meat Stinks, Roads Have Frozen Bones!
Snowy Yingtian for some people, bring not beauty but disaster. While the rich and noble families and officials and even themselves were enjoying the snow while feasting and having fun, the poor people were dying of freezing and starvation in the streets, and some of them didn’t even have the money to treat their illnesses, which was really chilling to the heart.
Chatting with an old man with white hair at the foot of the alley, Zhu Pingan understood why these people in the very low tax Ming Dynasty fell into this situation: they do not have land, why do not they have land, because of land annexation and taxes and levies are too heavy, the Ming Dynasty, the agricultural tax is very low but the levies are very heavy; no matter what the reason is, in any case, they have lost their land, a farmer does not have land there will be no income, and then there is no income, but also have to eat ah, and then So they began to sell their family properties and so on, and then they became vagrants, and when they couldn’t satisfy their hunger by eating barks and leaves and so on, they had to sell their wives and children.
This unusually cold winter, they had a really hard time, not enough to eat, not warm enough to wear, no money to see a doctor.
The newly promoted young scholar of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Pingan walked in this alleyway with heavy feet, watching the starving and dying stragglers struggling to survive in this alleyway, looking at their begging and helpless eyes.
Drinking wine and enjoying the snow on the bank of the Qinhuai River, freezing and starving in the alleyway, a certain young man walked out of the alleyway with heavy footsteps and a firm gaze
