Winter goes and spring comes, and when the weather is a little warmer, every household in the countryside starts to work on farming, preparing for this year's farming.

However, in Lishi County, there are many families without land. Some of them are merchants, some are cheap people, and some are for various reasons. There is neither land nor a businessman.

In a small alley in the south of the city, there is a family named Xu. This family is a business owner. The family originally operated a livestock business. In the early years, they were also a wealthy family. They never thought of an epidemic, so they asked them to lose all their money.

Now this family has no business to make a living, no land to plant, and there is a family of old and young people, and there are taxes and labor service every year, so life is really difficult.

After the winter of last year, seeing the children in the family lose weight every day, his family Aweng said, "There is really no way out. If this continues, none of these children in the family can be saved. It's better to sell the youngest two as soon as possible, and sell them to a wealthy and kind family, and at least find a way out."

Both the parents of the two children were silent, and no one responded. But another ten or twenty days passed, and the two children of his family were still not sold.

If it weren't for the fact that there was no way out, who would sell his children? In the earlier days, those who sold their wives and daughters in exchange for food were even asked to tie green cloth strips on their heads. Such people would be despised by their neighbors for life.

Nowadays, although they do not have such regulations, selling children and daughters is also despicable. If they encounter a more powerful family, even if the whole family starves to death, they will not be willing to sell a child and a daughter.

Seeing the family of Xu so hard, some of the neighbors who had been in contact with them on weekdays came to persuade them. Before the New Year's Eve, they all said, "You see, the weather is getting colder and your family's food is not enough for the children at home to eat enough. If this continues, you're afraid that you will really not be able to stand it."

In those days, women often cried in the Xu family's courtyard. When the neighbors heard this, they were all worried. Most of the people living in their area were not very good.

That is, at that time before the New Year, Luo Sanlang came to the city and led a few villagers to set up a fire kang for those families with wealthy families in the city. One fire kang collected two dou of rice, but the soil used for making the blanks was required to be prepared by those families.

The brothers of the Xu family and a few young and strong women in his family had to go out of the city to dig soil every day. After carrying it back, they could exchange a liter of rice for a load of yellow mud.

The young and strong Xu family went out early and came back late. They didn't dig until midnight every day. They went out again before dawn the next day. In order to dig more soil and transport more soil, they handed over the work of digging outside the city to sell soil in the city to the women. The brothers carried them back and forth one load after another.

It is thick in winter and there are no animals in his family. If he uses human power to push a cart, it is better to carry it on his shoulders and walk fast with his legs. The weather is bitter and cold. Sometimes a load of soil is carried from outside the city to inside the city, and when it is poured out from the dustpan, it is already frozen into a large lump of soil.

In this way, in the past few days, they heard that Luo Sanlang was teaching people to ride a kang in the city. When he returned home at night, the family gathered together to discuss this matter. They wanted to continue to earn money from selling mud and learn the skills of playing kang. So in the end, Xu Erlang, the smartest in the family, went to Luo Yong, and the others continued to dig and sell mud.

Xu Erlang was indeed a transparent person. After following Luo Yong, he passed two or three kangs, and he had already figured out the key points there.

Then he led his two other brothers to pack a kang in the slums of their family. He only collected a bucket of grain when he was a poor man. When he encountered some poor people, he could still collect less, and sometimes even put yellow mud on the kang for free.

After the New Year, they went to Taiyuan City with some young and strong people who also learned how to use kangs in the city. In this past, people were not idle. They were busy from morning to night every day. After one kang after another, they naturally earned a lot of money and food.

It was early February. Xu Erlang looked at the season and discussed with his two brothers: This money and food cannot be earned at all times. What we have earned now is enough for the whole year of family food. Why not just stop and go home. It’s spring, and my master must have started to cultivate the land. As a disciple, we should not only focus on making money.

At that time, many young and strong men from Lishi County lived in the same guesthouse. As soon as Xu Erlang said this, many people echoed, saying that they had the same intention. So the group returned to Lishi County day and night, and the grain and cloth they earned over the days were also exchanged for coins by them.

Speaking of which, when they were learning to play the kang with Luo Yong, they did not become teachers. Luo Yong taught casually, and they were eager to learn. After learning, they quickly earned money.

This time when I came to Taiyuan City, there was a gossiper who asked them how they learned this craft from Luo Sanlang and how many apprenticeships they received. The man who was asked at that time was stunned.

The other party saw it: Blind! You might not have done the ceremony of apprenticeship at all, right? This is not in line with etiquette! He also said a lot of words from heaven, earth, king, and relatives, and said that Luo Sanlang asked you to hold this bowl of rice, and even the ancestors of your vocation. If you pass on this craft to your descendants in the future, you will also ask them to offer incense to the ancestors at home.

The men in Lishi County were stunned when they heard this. They thought it was true. They had also seen those who learned skills from others in the county town who had not suffered enough of the ten or eight years of hardships, so they could not learn serious skills.

Luo Sanlang is a person who is not arrogant and teaches generously. Why don’t they take him seriously? Oh, no, it’s time to change his words and call him Master now, and he shouldn’t call him Sanlang again.

When the group returned home, they took out all the income they had gained in front of the family, which shocked them so much that their chins were about to fall off. Narrow families have never seen such a lot of money.

In the early morning of the next day, they gathered at the city gate and set out early to Xipo Village.

This time, I didn't go empty-handed. I prepared a lot of mutton, pork, malt sugar pastries, and I also brought my own farm tools to work.

When they arrived at Xipo Village, these people would kneel down when they met, which scared Luo Sanlang. He still had to grow up, how could he be kneeled down like this?

In fact, these rough men didn't know what kind of etiquette they were. They lie on the ground and fell into a large group of them. There were one or two decent ones, but Luo Yong had no intention of appreciating them and quickly called everyone up.

Let’s not mention the master’s words. These people came to the door with so many things, saying that they wanted to help their own work, so Luo Yong naturally couldn’t ask them to work on an empty stomach.

I quickly took out a batch of flour that had just been ground two days ago and asked Erniang to cook porridge. When the food was on the table, the fried noodles with millet porridge was enough, and there was also a plate of cold-fried tofu, a plate of fried eggs, and a plate of blanched bean sprouts. The portion was all full.

The frozen tofu is made in winter. When the weather is warmer these days, it starts to thaw. Luo Yong takes them to the sun and dry them in a large water tank. He stores them every now and then takes a piece to soak them. It is good to cook cold soup.

Scrambled eggs are also a dish that Luo family has just made recently. Apply oil to the pot, pour the beaten eggs in and stir-fry them slightly. There is no need to be a very high temperature or stir-fry them very well. There is a tender tofu and chopped green onion onions, which tastes tender and fragrant.

"The food at Master's house is really delicious." The men who were eating praised. They had eaten some good food in Taiyuan City these days, but those foods seemed to be as delicious as Luo Sanlang's house.

"I'll cook that piece of pork again at noon." Luo Yong ate it so hard at this time, but he was not sore at the sound of the master.

He hasn't eaten alone late at night for a while now. Although the Luo family's food is still acceptable, it is still simple.

Even this fried noodles can only be eaten every once in a while. The flour is rare, the oil is expensive, and there are some good things. You have to save the young people at home to eat first. Liulang and Qiniang are still little babies, and Wulang's body is also weaker.

After everyone had a full meal, they went to the field with farm tools. When they arrived at the land, they saw that the Luo family had only a little land. These days, no farmer has a hundred acres of land. Even in places with a large population and a small land area, a household in a household with only 50 acres of land were also divided into 50 acres.

Thinking about what they had heard before, their master and his family also suffered a disaster last year, so they admired them even more.

Among them, who have never suffered hardships, and everyone knows how difficult it is to have such a life. Luo Sanlang's family is so poor that he only has this little land left. After making the earthen kang, he can still not hide his own personal information. It is really rare to teach them the skills.

After learning this craft, I secretly helped people to put on the kang in Lishi County and stole a lot of business from my master. Now, when I think about it, it really makes me ashamed.

At this time, you have to flip through the empty land, turn out the soil below to bask in the sun and breathe it in. Before sowing the seeds, you have to flip through it again. The soil should be broken and the ridges should be cut out. Some people have to flip through it. They even have to sort out the ridges of some meticulous families.

As for the five acres of fields with winter wheat, you have to start laying ridges to maintain moisture. After a few days, the weather will be warmer and the night will not be frozen, so the water and fertilizer will have to keep up.

Those people were working on the ground, and Luo Yong cooked at home. With those young and strong people there, he had nothing to do in the ground.

The large piece of pork they brought this morning was cut into half-finger-thick slices of meat with rinds. They cut a lot of ginger, mixed the ginger and pork into a pot, without adding water, drizzled two tablespoons of soy sauce, covered the pot and simmered it over low heat. After a while, the fragrance spread all over the yard. If you could cut a few dried chili, it would have been even more fragrant.

It’s a pity that there are no chili peppers these days. Normally, if you want to eat chili peppers, you have to wait for a thousand or eight hundred years. There are some in Luoyong space, but you can’t take them out of thin air.

After the meat and vegetables were available, I made two refreshing and delicious side dishes, and the main food was mixed noodles and corn porridge.

The lunch meal also made the men full of oil. The large bowl of mixed noodles made by the men were eaten.

After two days of busy work, these people have done almost the work in the Luo family. The rest can only be done after the season. Now it is impossible to get there.

Then Luo Yong asked them to go to the Lin family to help with farm work for two days. These men went there without saying a word. The master asked him to go there naturally. What else can I say about this? The Lin family was polite, and the food and water were not lost. After that, they even gave these people a small jar of vinegar brewed by their own home. Although it was not a precious thing, their attitude was always very good.

Speaking of which, the reason why the old couple of the Lin family has so much dissatisfaction with the Luo family recently is that the Liulang incident of his family can only be regarded as a fuse. The root cause is that the red eye disease is caused.

The Lin family has been managed by several generations to have today's family business. Over the years, in Xipo Village, their Lin family is the richest and most decent family. Now, the Luo family, the Luo family, who are always talking, seems to be about to suppress their Lin family.

After being the richest man for so many years, he also feels a little superior in front of the villagers. Now that Luo Sanlang is emerging, some people in the Lin family are feeling awkward.

Aunt Luo said early in the morning that she knew the method of making tofu. They had to make it at any time for their Lin family to make it, but except for the two sisters-in-law who had made the tofu recipe, the others had never said anything.

When Lin Wulang was in Dongli, he mentioned to Aunt Luo. Aunt Luo asked him to wait first and then see what Ye Niang meant.

As a result, when I waited until the beginning of spring, Lin Wulang saw that Ye Niang didn’t seem to have any thoughts on this, so he simply listened to the aunt and stopped thinking about living together. He lived with his family, and how others lived, he would live as well.

It is not difficult to guess why the Lin family did not make tofu. On the one hand, their family also earns income from making vinegar and has long-term stability.

On the other hand, I can’t let go of my body and always feel that I’m just picking up people’s teeth after being treated by Luo Sanlang’s prescription.

But no matter what they thought, Luo Sanlang would do as long as the aunt didn't suffer any losses.

As Luo's father said before, the old couple in the Lin family are still sensible. As long as this person can live clearly, he will probably not be too bad. Although he is a little bit petty, he is generally benevolent and righteous.

Luo Sanlang, the disciples who suddenly appeared, did not rush to leave after finishing the work in the field.

Two people went up the mountain to chop wood every day, and the rest said they wanted to help Luo Yong repair the pig house. These people have helped people to carry the kang recently. The skills of removing the blanks have been developed, and the mud that fell out was so sturdy and neat.

Luo Yong sorted out several empty houses in the backyard for them to live in. He taught these people the skills of the fire kangs himself. Luo Yong knew them, and let them live in his own yard. Luo Yong was also more at ease.

After finishing the work in the field, these people no longer worked in a hurry as they had just arrived. From time to time, they could tell Luo Yong about his experiences in Taiyuan City.

During the conversation, we inevitably talk about future business. When the weather gets warmer, the work of placing a fire kang will naturally be cut off. In the past, most of them made money by doing odd jobs and selling groceries in the countryside. They didn’t earn much, and they could barely survive, but it was harder to endure in winter.

By winter this year, in Lishi County, it is afraid that it will be difficult for them to make money by placing a fire kang. The situation in Taiyuan City is hard to say now. If they could go to Chang'an and other places early, they would definitely be able to earn some money and food.

It’s just that the road is long and they have no way to guide them. A group of young and strong people are running around outside. What if they are treated as traitors?

But these people didn't know that their Lu Yin was already on the road at this time, and this matter was related to Qiao Junlin.

Qiao Junlin and Azhi followed the Ma family's grain transport team at the end of the first month, and stopped and stopped all the way. When it was almost spring, they reached an inn not far from Chang'an. Naturally, they could not stay in the inn, so they rested in the guest house next to the inn.

Qiao Junlin heard from those in the team that he would walk for half a day tomorrow and he would enter Chang'an City after noon.

Thinking that he was about to see his uncle, Qiao Dalang was a little nervous. After using meals, he sat around the hall with everyone to cook fire. Although it was already spring, the weather was still cold, especially as he walked along the way, his shoes and socks were wet.

Azhi brought a basin of hot water and asked him to take off his wet and cold shoes and socks, and then put on a pair of dry socks after washing his feet. That is, Luo used the two thick cashmere socks he asked someone to give them to them at that time. Qiao Junlin wore the pair, but Azhi didn't move, saying that he wanted Qiao Junlin to give the pair of socks to his uncle as a gift.

Putting on warm socks, Qiao Junlin sat on the straw mat, putting his feet close to the brazier and baking on fire, while memorizing the "Analects of Confucius" in his heart. When he encountered a place he couldn't remember, he took out the book from his arms and took a look. This was how he carved it along the way.

"Dare you ask who your little husband is?" Someone asked him.

"The Qiao family in Shizhou is free from Shixian County." Qiao Dalang said politely, with distantness, obviously he didn't want to chat with the other party.

"Oh, it turns out it's from the Qiao family." The man laughed loudly.

"..." Qiao Dalang smiled, but he wondered in his heart, why is this person very familiar with the people of their Qiao family? Judging from his age, he is not of the same generation as his father, at most five or six years older than him. If he says he knows his uncle... his uncle is not his surname is Qiao either.

"Just-Lang-Jun Qiao, where did your socks come from? They look very warm." The man then asked.

"This thing was given by a friend." Oh, it turned out to be something about socks, Qiao Dalang thought to himself.

"Who gave it to me?" the other party asked again.

"It's Luo Sanlang from Xipo Village, Lishi County." Qiao Junlin thought that this kind of thing would not be harmful to Luo Yong, so she said that. A person as smart as Luo Yong specially sent him these two pairs of socks, and maybe he wanted to ask him to advertise for him.

"I want to be very warm?" said the man.

"It's really warm." Qiao Dalang.

"Can I take a look?" the man said again.

"..." Qiao Dalang.

Looking at the pair of socks on his feet, Qiao Junlin thought about it and took out another pair of clean socks from his luggage.

Judging from this person's clothes, he doesn't look like an ordinary person. If he can have some friendship with his family, he might be able to help his uncle. There are also officials in the Qiao family. Although they are local officials and several cousins, they are also sharp-headed and want to become an official.
To be continued...