Rebirth of Shuangshu

Chapter 31
Gongshu's Wooden Ware Workshop in South Lane, Jicheng.

Lin Xiaoxiao sat in front of the small tea stove, putting tea into the teapot while looking at the kettle that was still boiling.

People in this era have begun to learn to drink tea, but the influence of tea culture is not as far-reaching as later generations.

In spring, Lin Xiaoxiao led the children in the village to search for tea trees all over the mountains and plains, picked the tea leaves and roasted them herself, and then distributed them to various families.

She is the one who roasts the public loser's tea.

Lin Xiaoxiao felt that these wild tea trees produced in Yemang Mountain were a bit like the purple bamboo shoot tea of ​​later generations.Purple bamboo shoot tea was a tribute tea in the Tang Dynasty.

The utensil for drinking tea is a small stone bowl.

There are celadon bowls sold in Jichengfang City, but the price is too expensive, and Lin Xiaoxiao can't afford to sell iron.

Erya came in with two plates of pastries.

"Jing Dedong's honey bait, Shan Nu try it."

Jingdedong is a famous snack shop in Huaguo.In Lin Xiaoxiao's opinion, dim sum in this era is comparable to staple food, but it is more refined and more ingredients are added.

"How's business in the store recently?"

"The order has already arrived the next year, and my father is very busy every day, and people from the next city come to ask about the franchise store."

"Good news, why do you look sad?"

"Yesterday, the housekeeper came to collect taxes again, and named my sister's name. If my sister doesn't marry again, my family's tax will double next year."

The tax of the people of Jicheng is terribly heavy.

Almost [-]% of the money earned by the public loser woodware shop was used to pay various taxes.

Swimming country officials stipulate that Chinese women who are not married after the age of 16 have to increase their taxes.Da Ya is exactly sixteen this year.

Lin Xiaoxiao knew that women in ancient times married early, but she still felt very sad when she thought that she had to get married when she was only sixteen.

This is also one of the reasons why Lin Xiaoxiao is unwilling to become a native of Hua.

"What's your sister thinking now? If you really don't want to get married, move out of the city?"

"No, my father is the head of the household. If my sister runs away, my father will be implicated. My father will be dragged to jail, and the family will have to pay a fine."

This is the sitting system.

Lin Xiaoxiao was talking to Er Ya, and Da Ya walked over with Xiao Si in her arms.

Lin Xiaoxiao looked at Da Ya's complexion, which seemed to be pretty good, and felt that she didn't seem to be troubled by it.

Mei Ya came over with a wooden bow, followed by a young man.The man held an arrow basket in his hand.

After the man appeared, Da Ya kept peeking at him.

The man is Zhang Ping, Gongshugou's apprentice. He looks simple and honest, usually taciturn, but his craftsmanship can be ranked among the top three among all the apprentices.

"Shannu, this is the bow I made, how do you look at it?"

Lin Xiaoxiao took the bow and pulled it hard, then carefully looked at the details: "Not bad, it's a good bow."

She can also use a bow, but not this wooden bow, but a recurve bow from the warehouse.

Before Lin Xiaoxiao and the villagers went hunting in the mountains, they used a recurve bow. A short time ago, when she was practicing, her arrow broke, so she ordered a batch of new arrows in Gongshugou's woodware shop.

Zhang Ping came to Lin Xiaoxiao with the arrow basket and asked her to examine it.

Huaguo strictly controls gold, silver, copper and iron, and these arrows are all made of wood.

Lin Xiaoxiao took out the arrows one by one for inspection, then nodded and accepted them, and took out the cloth coins and handed them to Zhang Ping.

Zhang Ping didn't take the money: "I made the arrows this time, Shannu doesn't need to pay."

"That can't be done," Lin Xiaoxiao stuffed the cloth coins into the big girl's hands, "Give it to him for me, and make sure he accepts it. I made an agreement with your father to pay the market price for things bought from the store, and split them up. There must be no less text."

The public loser gave Lin Xiaoxiao things from time to time, and they were all valuable things.

When Lin Xiaoxiao buys things with his family, she always pays as much as she should.She doesn't want to take advantage of others.

Da Ya took the cloth coin, rolled her eyes around, and said to Zhang Ping: "Junior Brother, there is a new sweet water store in Dongshi, can you go and buy us two bowls?"

"So," Zhang Ping said, "may I know the name of the sweet water shop and where is it located?"

"Oh, I forgot the name of that store, but I still remember the location. I'll go with you, just in time to get you some sweet water."

Big Ya threw Xiao Si to Er Ya, pulled Zhang Ping and walked outside.

Zhang Ping felt a little shy when being pulled by Da Ya, his face turned red, but he didn't shake Da Ya's hand away.

Seeing the two leave, Lin Xiaoxiao smiled and said to Er Ya: "Your sister's marriage is probably settled, don't worry about it."

The second ya was already careful, and she could see the big ya's thoughts on Zhang Ping.

"My father wants to find a son-in-law for my sister, but I don't know if Senior Brother Zhang Ping is willing or not. If he is not willing, he will make my sister sad for no reason."

"Why would your father want to recruit a son-in-law?" Lin Xiaoxiao looked at Xiao Si who was bubbling in Erya's arms, "Xiao Si can also inherit his family business in the future."

"Xiaosi is too young, and it will be a long time before he grows up. My father wants to find a son-in-law to help him share the work in the store."

"I remember that Zhang Ping is a native of Jicheng?"

"Yes, brother Zhang Ping's father and brother are the disciples of the Situ family, and the Situ family helped pay his family's poll tax."

"He hasn't separated yet? I think he should be in his early twenties. Don't men of this age have to set up a separate family?"

"Hu country's head tax is too expensive, and the brothers can't afford it, so they can only rely on their family."

"I think he has a good attitude towards learning, and he is also talented in craftsmanship. I think he is a self-motivated person."

"That's true. Daddy often praises Senior Brother Zhang Ping. But his family only has two brothers, so I don't know if he is willing to marry him."

Lin Xiaoxiao looked at the serious Erya, and suddenly leaned over and asked in a low voice: "What about you, do you want to find a son-in-law too?"

Erya shook her head: "The burden on the family is too heavy."

Lin Xiaoxiao originally meant to make a joke, but she didn't expect Erya to answer so solemnly.

Erya is only 13 years old this year. In Lin Xiaoxiao's eyes, she is still a child, but now she is old enough to marry and have children.

Erya continued: "My family's business has to be done in the city, but I don't want to be so pressured in the future. If I marry outside and have a bad life, I will go out of the city and become a savage. I want to go back to Yemang Mountain."

Lin Xiaoxiao understood what Erya was thinking.

Mei Ya was listening all the time, her expression was a little lost, she didn't know what she was thinking of.

Fang Meiya is one year older than Da Ya, if she lives in the city, she should get married, but there are not so many rules in Yemang Mountain.

It's just that a 17-year-old girl is no longer young, and the family has to start thinking about getting married for her.

Only Lin Xiaoxiao is already in her 20s, but she has never thought about getting married.

She is not an unmarriageist, but she has not met anyone she likes yet.

The three girls and the milk doll are all silent, and everyone has their own thoughts.

Before I knew it, it was lunch time, and Gongshu's wife had someone deliver the food.

Today, Gongshugou went to the city lord's mansion to deliver goods, Gongshu's wife went to the store to look at the shop, and Lin Xiaoxiao and the others ate in the backyard.

It was agreed that Wu Yong would also come to the woodware shop for lunch at noon, but he never showed up.

(End of this chapter)