Han Shizu

Chapter 547
In Kaifeng South City, there is a lot of traffic and crowds. On the long street, vendors are densely packed, and there are shops to welcome customers. It is a bustling scene.

On the corner of the street, next to a bun shop, there is a small stall.The stall is very simple, a narrow wooden table, covered with an old tablecloth, a bamboo pole is supported by a corner, and a cover is hung on it.

The owner of the stall is Zhong Mo, the former puppet Hanlin scholar of the Tang Dynasty and the Minister of Rites.At this time, Zhong Mo no longer had the demeanor of a high-ranking official or celebrity. He was wrapped in a gray scarf and dressed in commoner clothes. He was burying his head in writing letters.

In front of him, a young man kept talking, saying: ".I am working as a servant in Kaifeng mansion now. Tell my mother that I will go home soon. In addition to the pension from the court, it is enough for us two brothers to marry each other. A lady. Let my mother help our brothers to see the little lady in the nearby village. When I go back, I will do the marriage.

Also, if I go back to my hometown, I can still get fifty acres of land. Then I won’t be afraid of going hungry, and I can still work in the village. According to the captain, with my merits, it’s not a problem to be upright.

Tell my brother, when I get home, I will be able to live a good life, let him take good care of my mother, if my mother is wronged, I will definitely beat him when I go back.

and also"

Soon, the three pieces of letter paper were covered with words. Zhong Mo put down his pen, folded it skillfully, sealed it, and asked the man in front of him, "Do you dare to ask the addressee's respect?"

The young man standing in front of Zhong Mo has rough skin, tall stature, strong and powerful, standing like a pine tree, but two fingers on his right hand are missing, which adds to his bravery. He is obviously a soldier who retired due to injury.A long-winded sentence, but extraordinarily simple.

The young man spoke with tears in his eyes, Wen Zhongmo asked, stunned for a moment, and said, "What?"

Zhong Mo said, "It's the recipient's name!"

"Oh, you literati, your name is your name, what are you talking about taboo! My elder brother is called Zhou Zhang, Zhang of the camphor tree!" The young man complained in a rough voice.

Seeing this, Zhong Mo couldn't help smiling wryly: "You're right, I'm being pedantic!"

After finishing speaking, he quickly wrote down his name on the envelope, picked it up and blew on the wet ink.

"Did you write down everything I told you? Did you miss anything?" Seeing the young man, he couldn't help asking Zhong Mo.

Zhong Mo said: "No word is missed, if you are worried, you can ask someone to check it!"

The young man chuckled: "No need! No need!"

As he spoke, he took the letter, took out six copper coins from his pocket, and handed it to Zhong Mo: "Thank you, sir!"

"One more piece! A letter only costs five cents!" Zhong Mo said.

The young man replied: "Mr. has helped me write so many words, just take it as my thanks!"

After speaking, as if holding a treasure, he put the letter into his arms with a smile on his face, and left, preparing to go to the post station and send the letter back to his hometown.He is a retired sergeant, and by sending letters through the official post, he has both discounts and guarantees, and the speed is even faster.

In recent years, under the attention of Liu Chengyou, the post office system of the Han court has become more and more perfect, and the local government is still very cooperative in building post roads and post stations.

On Zhong Mo's side, he slowly put away the copper coins, picked up one and looked at it, looking at the words "Qianyou Tongbao", he was in a trance for a moment, but put it in his arms quickly.

Now, Zhong Mo has gotten used to the down-and-out life.
During Liu Chengyou's Southern Expedition, two Tang officials were detained, one was Sun Sheng, and the other was him, Zhong Mo.After Sun Sheng reached a peace treaty between the Han and Tang Dynasties, he couldn't bear his "humiliation" and felt that he had failed Tang Ting. He couldn't think about it and committed suicide directly.

Zhong Mo didn't have the courage, so he drifted with the tide and was in the north return team of the Han army.As a minister of a defeated country, as someone else's spoils of war, it is quite humiliating.But in the Northern Han army, at least food and clothing were not worrying about.

After arriving in Tokyo, Zhong Mo's life was difficult, as if he had been abandoned.On the side of the army, he was handed over to the Ministry of Rites directly. The officials in charge of the Ministry of Rites didn't care.He was sent to the Kaifeng Mansion, and he had no intention of controlling him when he came to the Kaifeng Mansion, and let him make a living by himself. Because of his status, he was only inspected by officials on a regular basis.

Then, Zhong Mo began his impoverished life in Tokyo.The slightly valuable things on his body were used up when he was raided or dealt with by officials. Next to the city, I found a family and rented a house to live in.

Afterwards, the dignified Zhong Shilang, a scholarly scholar, began to worry about daily necessities, rice, oil, salt, eating and drinking, and was very miserable.Fortunately, there was still a pen holder, and the rest of the money was used to find someone to build the table and buy some paper.On weekdays, I make a living by writing letters and filing lawsuits for others, until now.

This kind of poor life is very difficult for the pampered Zhong Mo, but he has no choice but to bow his head to reality and suffer for his stomach after abandoning the "arrogance" of scholar-bureaucrats.

It's not that Zhong Mo didn't want to escape, the officials of the Kaifeng Mansion left and right were very perfunctory in guarding him.However, when thinking of the long distance and long journey, the most important thing is the issue of identity.Once out of the city, in the territory of the Han Dynasty, how to avoid such checkpoints and cities, as long as they are checked, if there is no way to guide them, they may die in the end.

The sun was getting higher and higher, and the blazing light shone on the table, which gradually became hot. Zhong Mo sat there with his eyes closed and rested, not moving a bit.After the man who asked for the letter left, there was no one to patronize for nearly an hour. His business was very bleak, and he didn't take the initiative, so he just sat there.
Above the street market, it was still bustling, and as the temperature got higher and higher, Zhong Mo couldn't take it anymore. He opened his eyes, feeling a little dazed and hungry.

He sighed heavily, looked at the sun, smiled wryly, got up and began to pack his things.

"Mr. Zhong, did you go back so early?" The owner of the bun shop next to him noticed it and asked loudly.

Zhong Mo raised his head, pointed to the top of his head, and said, "This gentleman is very poisonous, it's unbearable!"

Seeing this, the shop owner came out, holding an oiled paper bag in his hand, and handed it to Zhong Mo, saying: "These are the four leftover buns from this morning, if you don't mind, sir, take them and eat them first!"

The owner of the shop is a thin middle-aged man, short in stature, with a greasy face on his simple and honest face. He is very good at making buns. Zhong Mo has also tasted them, and they taste very good.

Zhong Mo immediately planned to pay, but upon seeing this, the shop owner hurriedly stopped him: "No need! No need! The rest can't be sold, and it's a waste to keep it."

After such a long time, I was barely familiar with him, but looking at his calm eyes looking at me, I couldn't help wondering if he wanted something from me.Just thinking about it, Zhong Mo couldn't help but sneer at himself, he has been reduced to this point, is he still afraid that the common people will have plans?
Not refusing, Zhong Mo took it and bowed to him: "If there is another day, I will definitely repay it a hundred times!"

Hearing this, the shop owner waved his hand directly, looked at Zhong Mo and said: "Mr. Zhong, I think you are also a scholar and can write lawsuits, why don't you go to the government to apply for a position?"

Zhong Mo just sighed, didn't say much, and cupped his hands: "Farewell!"

With the help of the shop owner, Zhong Mo packed up the tables and chairs, tied them with a hemp rope, put them on his back, and walked out of the city step by step.
The place Zhong Mo rented was also an ordinary family, far away from Nanshi, so every time he went back and forth, he had to walk very hard.

Back at the residence, panting and sweating profusely, the housewife heard the sound, and when she saw Zhong Mo, she put her waist in and said, "Mr. Zhong, you're back so early again!"

There was a helpless smile on his face, even though the house was simple, it was still under the fence.Wiping off the sweat from his face, he said to the wide and fat woman, "It's too hot, it's really unbearable."

"I wrote a letter today!" Zhong Mo took out the six copper coins from his bosom, stepped forward, and handed them all to the woman: "The meals for the next two days, I'm tired!"

As he said that, he took out the bun again, gave half of it to the woman, and said with a smile, "Give it to the children, stuffed with meat!"

After looking at Zhong Mo's eyes, the woman took them all, shook her head, and sighed.

After washing up for a while, I returned to the simple room where I could see everything in sight. With two steamed stuffed buns in my stomach, I recovered some strength.Spread out the paper, study the ink and dip the pen, think for a while, and write down the pen.During this period of time in Tokyo, apart from living a miserable life, Zhong Mo wrote his "Tokyo experience" in this quiet room in his spare time.

Weiji, the door was pushed open, and the woman broke in directly.

"What advice does sister-in-law have to teach?" Zhong Mo asked without getting angry when he was disturbed.

The woman held a bowl of rice in her hand, covered with some vegetables, smelling of oil, put it directly in front of Zhong Mo, pressed it on the manuscript paper, and said in her mouth: "Give me your dirty clothes, and wash them for you by the way." Oh, you scholars, don't you always pay attention to it? How can you stand the smell if you haven't washed your clothes for so long?"

Hearing the woman's words, Zhong Mo blushed a little, and there was no one to take care of him. In the past month or so, he had washed his clothes twice and smelled them a little. The stench on his body was still very obvious.

Standing up, he bowed to the woman: "I'm really ashamed! Thank you very much!"

Seeing his appearance, the woman shook her head again, cleaned up the room for him, and took out the dirty clothes.As soon as she stepped at the door, the woman suddenly turned her head and looked at Zhong Mo, a little embarrassed: "Mr. Zhong, when you are free, can you teach my children to read and write? The family is poor, and the teacher will make up for it later, but every day from now on, the family will be able to read and write." I will pack you two meals."

Zhong Mo was slightly stunned, noticing the look of anticipation in the rough woman's eyes, Zhong Mo smiled kindly at her: "It's a trivial matter, nothing to worry about! I'm alone, living in your place, I'm grateful, Master Li Don't talk about it."

Hearing this, the woman laughed immediately, very happy and a little excited: "I have seen Mr. Zhong for a long time, you are a good man!"

For some reason, after being issued a "good person card" by this vulgar woman, Zhong Mo felt a rare touch in his heart.

The door was gently closed by the woman, Zhong Mo lowered his head, and sniffed himself, smelling the sour smell, he didn't feel uncomfortable at all.Looking at the bowl of food on the table, it was still steaming, and he didn't blame it for getting his manuscript paper wet.
(End of this chapter)