fifth form

Chapter 1830 Confusion and Backbone
"Except for these few boxes of half a tael of money, nothing has changed in our house!"

“Is the money really not spent?”

"I just used a little for myself!"

Taking advantage of the opportunity of King Jiangdu paying tribute to Chang'an City, You Rong and Zhang Changgong delivered the money to the mansion relatively smoothly.

However, the two men, who lacked integrity, had difficulty entering and leaving Chang'an City, and once they left the city they could not return.

Xu Yuan has not returned to his house in Chang'an City for several months. It is very likely that the other party has been cultivating fields in the wilderness outside the city. Even if he returned to Chang'an City, he only went to the West Market.

"It's so hard to find someone in this huge crowd," neighbor Di Rang said with a headache, "I've been out of town several times and haven't seen this brother Xu Yuan!"

Di Rang had not been to Zhang Xuezhou's house many times, and knew that Zhang Xuezhou had also seen Rong Tianding, but his familiarity with Xu Yuan was only average. He had no way of finding Xu Yuan based on his memory of the few times they had met.

"Old Zheng said he had a serious illness and would not live long, so he hurried back here to look for you, but left in a hurry when he didn't find you!"

The only people in Chang'an City who could help were the neighbors. The left neighbor Di Rang hadn't gotten the job done, and the right neighbor Zheng Wukong was not at home.

"Yishuo is now the Empress Dowager's female doctor. This job is not as free as before, so she hasn't been here for a long time," continued Rong Tianding, who returned home earlier than Zhang Xuezhou.

"I have to go out of town to find someone to check out the situation," said Zhang Xuezhou.

"Are we going out of the city?" Rong Li said, holding You Rong's hand.

"Just let us young people handle this matter. You guys stay here first to rest and adjust your body. We will make some arrangements later!"

A rich family's house would not be crowded even if eight or ten people lived there, and with a little cleaning it could accommodate two families.

But Zhang Xuezhou couldn't help but feel that his business in Chang'an City must be expanded a little bit so that everyone could have a place to live.

The most urgent thing at the moment is to see the situation outside the city clearly, and first ensure that the people of Zhangjiazhuang have enough food and warm clothes, so as to get through the most difficult period. This also involves the people of Zhangjiazhuang who have not been rescued.

Zhang Xuezhou couldn't help but feel a headache when thinking about all the trivial matters, so he had to cut the Gordian knot to solve many problems.

"Chang Gong, follow your cousin to our market to buy grain. No matter the price, we will buy as much grain as we can and fill up the market first!"

"My cousin saw the pigs in the West Market and bought two too. I'm afraid they're all going crazy with hunger!"

Zhang Xuezhou made some simple arrangements, then pulled up his pants and ran out.

Laoshu Hutong is not far from Xishi, making it convenient to leave the city.

If it was easy to make a living outside Chang'an City and easily get enough food and clothing, there wouldn't be so many graves of people who froze to death or starved to death in the winter.

The only thing Zhang Xuezhou was thankful for at the moment was that the weather was warm and he hadn’t gotten cold and hungry yet.

But Zhang Xuezhou was not sure whether the many people in Zhangjiazhuang could survive. After all, this was not a matter of one or two days, but at least nearly three months.

He was so anxious that he almost wanted to fly while running.

"It's very expensive here in Chang'an. A little bit of food costs several and a half taels. There are hundreds of people escaping from our farm. How can we afford the food?"

Rong Shi was talking to Rong Li in a low voice, his old face full of sorrow.

Even if Zhang Xuezhou earned more money than she could ever imagine in her entire life, You Rong felt that the need to continue living was a bottomless pit that could never be filled by the reward from King Jiangdu.

Rong Li's expression was uncertain, which was completely different from what Rong Tianding had promised the old couple before, that they should come to Chang'an City to enjoy a good life.

When Rong Li asked Di Rang about the house prices in Chang'an City, she was shocked by the high prices. She felt that this was not a place for ordinary people to come. The rules and regulations for buying a house kept people away.

In a place like this, even making a living is considered quite capable, let alone enjoying a good life.

"Don't worry, Ruoruo, let's grab a pig slaughtering stall. I heard that they slaughter 20,000 pigs a day. We only need to kill a few hundred a day to have enough food and drink!"

Rong Li felt that the butcher knife that Rong Cheng brought would have to be used again. She was thinking about finding the weak butcher stall owner and asking him to give up his territory.

"To do business here, you need to get a license first. You have to buy a stall in the county government before you can open a shop." You Rong said, "After paying the money, these stalls are also protected by the government. If we force others to give up their stalls, we will go to jail!"

"What kind of crappy place is this? Can't even grab a stall?"

"Don't keep thinking about robbing. The rules here are different from those in Rongcheng. If you mess around, something bad will happen!"

"Jia Zhiyuan, hurry up and go back to your old job. Didn't you say you are a scholar who can teach people to read and write, and you can also paint and sell paintings? Hurry up and recruit students, and then sell paintings!"

"I……"

After being rebuked by his own wife, Jia Zhiyuan was too scared to say a word.

He was considered a well-educated man in Chengdu, so it was no problem for him to teach people how to read and write.

But when the carriage entered Chang'an City, Jia Zhiyuan discovered that the calligraphy on the banners and signs of those small shops was better than his own.

One can tell the level of his peers by looking at their handwriting. These peers who are better than him have fallen to the point of writing for these small shops to make a living. Jia Zhiyuan feels that the possibility of him picking up leftovers is very low, let alone allowing him to sell paintings.

Others show their ugliness out of modesty, but if he shows his ugliness to sell paintings, he is really ugly and it is very difficult for him to make a living.

A bigger problem is the language; their accents are foreign and unfamiliar.

For those who are used to the accent of Chang'an City, if they want to hear them clearly, they need to prick up their ears and listen carefully to barely understand what they say.

For example, Di Rang stayed in the house for a long time, and he could talk freely when Zhang Xuezhou and others were present. But when Zhang Xuezhou, Rong Tianding and others left, Di Rang could not keep up with the pace of their conversation at all, and looked confused.

It is almost impossible to teach people to read under such circumstances.

Not only Rong Li's livelihood skills are useless in Chang'an City, but Jia Zhiyuan's abilities are the same.

For outsiders, it is undoubtedly extremely difficult to make a living and settle down in Chang'an City. Only by doing some hard labor can they earn some money to have enough food and clothing.

"Don't worry, the three of you. Lord Dongfang is valued by His Majesty, and he will definitely make the arrangements!"

Rong Li spoke quickly and urgently, and Di Rang didn't fully understand what she said after listening for a long time. However, he had been in contact with Rong Li and others for a while, so he had some general knowledge of her. He knew that Zhang Xuezhou and others had many relatives who came to seek refuge with them. Seeing that everyone looked a little anxious, Di Rang couldn't help but persuade them.

In Chang'an City, Zhang Xuezhou is the backbone of these people.

Only if Zhang Xuezhou makes proper arrangements can those who follow him live a good life.

Di Rang had met many young talents, but he rarely met someone like Zhang Xuezhou who could be the head of a family at such a young age.

Most people still rely on their families for a living, but Zhang Xuezhou has become an official in the court on his own, bought this house, and partnered with others to open a shop to do business.

When the carriage from the Jiangdu Palace brought Zhang Xuezhou's bounty, Di Rang almost doubted his life after seeing it.

He had worked to make a living for most of his life, but it was not worth the reward that Zhang Xuezhou received.

With Zhang Xuezhou's ability, as long as the other party can receive the emperor's grace, it will not be a problem to support as many people as possible.