People in the Three Kingdoms: Starting from Preaching

Chapter 290 Liang Zhu
There is a small courtyard on the edge of a rural area near Ji County. Although the thatched cottage in the courtyard is simple and small, it is well maintained.

There are a few poultry and a small tree in the yard. There are no weeds or gravel on the ground, which looks very comfortable.

From time to time, the sound of a baby crying could be heard from the house, followed by the sound of a woman coaxing the baby, and soon the room became quiet.

A young woman in linen clothes walked out of the house, found a few eggs from the chicken coop, and then started cooking with a small firewood stove in the yard.

She didn't seem to be very good at cooking. She just cooked a bowl of wild vegetables with egg drops, added some salt to it, and brought it into the house.

There was another young woman who was breastfeeding in the inner room. She took the bowl and placed it aside. She walked over and teased the baby who was sucking hard, then smiled at the young mother.

"A baby needs to be fed with good food. Our life is hard these days and we don't have much good food. Remember to eat this egg soup later. I have asked Uncle Cai to buy some good food when he comes back from the fields so that he can nourish your body."

Hearing Cai Wenji's words, Cai Zhenji nodded gratefully, but did not refuse.

They are sisters who depend on each other. Now she has a child to feed and needs care, so naturally she won't treat them like an outsider.

The baby was satisfied and quiet. Cai Zhenji fed him while rocking him to comfort him, with a peaceful and calm expression in her eyes.

As the Xuanxia army migrated here, although the journey was long and arduous, fortunately they arrived safely. Although this place could not provide them with a sufficiently favorable environment, and even life was a bit hard, it was at least safe enough.

Compared to Chang'an, where most of the houses were deserted and the order was out of control, and compared to the grassland tribes outside the Great Wall where they were captured, the two sisters felt lucky enough to have Xuanxia as their home.

After all, just before this, they and the baby in their hands had experienced life-and-death crises.

In this chaotic world, having a thatched cottage, a stable environment, and one's own land is already a luxury.

However, these two women from the aristocratic family still need to adapt to the life of an ordinary family again.

"Sister, although the government has given us some resettlement money for our initial living, we still have to pay it back to the government in the future. We still have to find a way to make money. What do you think of what the village chief said last time?"

While breastfeeding, Cai Zhenji hesitated for a moment and then started talking about something.

For outsiders like them who migrated to Xuanxia, ​​the imperial court also had its own set of resettlement regulations.

Not to mention the basic distribution of land, the money houses would also distribute interest-free resettlement money to each household so that the people could survive before the first harvest or the first income.

Now the two sisters Cai Wenji and Cai Zhenji also need to consider making money. First, they have to pay back the resettlement money, and second, they also need a stable income to live.

But for them, there was a practical problem: the land allocated by the government was difficult for them and Cai Bo to take care of alone.

Fortunately, the village chief took their situation into consideration and put forward a better suggestion, which was to reduce the allocated land and arrange for them to work and live in the factory. Although the work in the factory was not easy, it was much easier than working in the fields.

In their current situation, the two sisters no longer act like aristocrats, and in order to survive, they both understand that they need to humble themselves and experience the world.

"I have already thought about this matter. There is a certain amount of land that needs to be planted. Uncle Cai can plant as much as he can. Although I don't have the strength to work in the fields, I can go to work. I will go there when the village chief arranges a place for me." Cai Wenji smiled, but she already had an idea.

Cai Zhenji heard this and asked in confusion: "What about me?"

Cai Wenji shook her head and said, "Just stay at home and stay safe. The baby cannot leave you alone."

Cai Zhenji wanted to say something, but after looking at the baby in her arms, she finally sighed and fell silent.

When the two sisters were discussing, they suddenly heard a shout outside. Cai Zhenji was startled for a moment, but after realizing that it was Xuan Xia, she calmed down again.

Cai Wenji was helpless seeing her sister's reaction. Being abducted by the Huns and almost losing her child had left Cai Zhenji with a psychological trauma. Now, any slight noise would easily frighten Cai Zhenji.

Xuanxia has not experienced war for several years. Although life is a bit hard, it is still peaceful. I hope Zhenji can slowly adapt to it in the future.

After muttering to herself, Cai Wenji turned around and went out. It turned out that it was the old man next door who was shouting.

Cai Wenji was not nervous. She had lived here for some time and was familiar with her neighbors. They often helped her and her sisters. She knew that the other party was not a bad person.

"What's the matter, old man?" Cai Wenji went over, opened the door, and smiled at the other party.

The old man picked up something, which turned out to be a river fish as long as his forearm. He then laughed and said, "My eldest son brought back some big fish from the county. My wife thought it was not easy for you two women to take care of the baby, so she urged me to bring one. The baby needs to be well fed so that you can have enough milk. You can't let it go uneaten."

At this time, Cai Zhenji also came out following the noise. Her face turned slightly red when she heard these words, but she didn't seem surprised at all.

Although the farmer spoke in a somewhat vulgar manner, he was honest and had no ill intentions. Cai Wenji took the fish and said, "This fish is worth a few coins. I'll go get it right away."

The old man waved his hand and said, "Why are you talking about this? People from the same village should take care of each other. The government has settled you in our village, so you are our fellow villagers from now on. There is no need to be so estranged."

Upon hearing this, Cai Wenji nodded silently and could only keep this kindness in her heart.

After taking the fish, Cai Wenji thanked the old man repeatedly. She thought there was nothing else, but she saw the old man rubbing his hands and laughing, and it seemed that he had no intention of leaving.

Cai Wenji was not in a hurry to go back to the house. She just smiled and waited for the old man to speak.

"The old man has one more thing, maybe the girl can help me." The old man smiled naively.

Cai Wenji replied: "I don't know if there is anything I can do for you, just tell me, old man."

The old man asked tentatively, "I heard from Uncle Cai before that the two girls were from aristocratic families. So, they should be able to read, right?"

When Cai Wenji heard this, she realized that she probably needed help with something, so she nodded.

The old man laughed even more happily, and really took out something and stuffed it into Cai Wenji's hand.

"My eldest son brought this thing called a newspaper back from the county. Not long after he read it to me, he was taken away by the village chief for training and won't be back for a while. I was so anxious when I heard half of it, but I can't read, so I thought I'd ask you, a girl, to read it to me."

"newspaper?"

Upon hearing this, Cai Wenji looked at the thing in her hand in confusion, and saw the big words "Xuan Xia Monthly" written on it.

This was the first time she had seen such a thing. After all, the common carrier of text in the Han Dynasty was bamboo slips, and it was impossible to develop something similar. However, the production of paper in Xuanxia was already very mature, so the conditions for publishing a newspaper were met.

The words on the newspaper caught her eye. It was still the same simple font that she had seen in the "Natural Classic" before. It was not difficult for Cai Wenji to read.

After flipping through it curiously, she quickly realized what it was and immediately became interested.

It goes without saying how attractive this kind of thing that collects and publishes information from all over the country is in this era of remote transportation and information isolation. As long as people can read, there is almost no way to resist such a thing.

The old man saw that Cai Wenji didn't say anything for a long time after she turned over, so he asked, "Can you recognize her, young lady?"

Cai Wenji finally came back to her senses and nodded, saying, "I can recite it."

Afterwards, Cai Wenji invited the old man into the courtyard. Several people moved out chairs and sat outside. Cai Wenji cleared her throat and began to read from the newspaper. Even Cai Zhenji listened curiously while holding her baby.

The first thing on the front page of the newspaper happened to be something the two sisters had experienced personally. The final battle on the grassland ended under their witness.

However, as captives and refugees, they had never understood what the so-called tributary alliance was. Now, after reading the detailed introduction in the article, they finally understood how the alliance came about and what the war on the grassland was all about.

Just the opening article was enough to surprise the two sisters, and they immediately felt the convenience of the newspaper.

This is very helpful for understanding current affairs and broadening horizons. As long as you can read, you can get important external news even if you are in a remote place in the countryside or a mountain village. This was unimaginable before.

Xuanxia is full of unexpected things
The process of reading the newspaper is actually the process of Cai Wenji reading the newspaper, through which she also learned many things that she didn't know before.

For example, Xuanxia dealt with internal officials, which allowed her to feel some of Xuanxia's institutional construction.

Even the major events outside Xuanxia were only known to her from newspapers. After some reading, she learned that the Emperor of Han had returned to Luoyang, and also learned about the reactions of the various princes.

Of course, it was from the newspaper that she learned that a play called "The Silver-Haired Woman" was popular in Xuanxia. Through the news reports, she roughly knew what the content of the play was.

With her intelligence, she certainly understood what such a drama was expressing, but as someone from a noble family, she could only sigh in the end.

Turning to the end of the newspaper, she found a serialized storybook. Storybooks were a new thing in that era, which aroused Cai Wenji's interest even more. However, when she saw the author's name on it, she was stunned.

Noticing Cai Wenji's reaction, the old man asked in confusion: "Miss Cai, what's wrong?"

"Nothing." Cai Wenji smiled and continued reading: "This is a story called "Liang Zhu". I just didn't expect the author to be the prime minister."

(End of this chapter)