Linxia

Chapter 155, On the Road

The sun was shining brightly, the distant mountains were dark green, the river flowed slowly, and a caravan was traveling on the official road, with the sound of carriages and horses.

There was an ox cart in the middle of the caravan, with bells hanging on it. The bells rang when the cart was moving. The space inside the cart was spacious, and Fang Lin's family, Fang Chuanhui, Fang He and six others did not feel crowded.

"Compared to last year when we fled here and could only walk on our legs, now we have a car to sit in and we don't have to push or carry things. It's much more comfortable," Fang's father sighed.

The group was carrying large and small bags of luggage, which were pulled onto a later car.

"Yes, Uncle San, this car doesn't shake or sway, and it's not afraid of wind or rain, and it's comfortable," said Fang Chuanhui.

Fang Chuanzong also added: "When we came here, we said we were riding in a car, but in fact we were sitting on the cargo. When we encountered a slope, we sometimes had to get off and push it. It's not as comfortable as this, it's far from comparable!"

"That's just following the caravan and hitchhiking. We're lucky this time, the caravan was able to spare a Taiping carriage." Fang Lin said with a smile.

"Taiping car?" Tian Xuan looked over with inquiry in her eyes.

"In today's world, there are two kinds of vehicles that can travel in wind and rain. One is the package carriage, and the other is the Taiping carriage."

Fang Lin smiled and explained, "The so-called Baogancheng is a kind of mule cart. In case of emergency, it travels thousands of miles day and night, regardless of wind or rain. It can reach a thousand miles in a few days. It is fast and can handle wind and rain. It is the best choice in case of emergency. Taiping cart is the ox cart we are riding. It is thick and heavy. It can travel fifty miles a day. Although it is slow, it is stable and can carry a lot of things. It is an important means of transportation for travel in rainy and windy days."

Baojicheng and Taiping carriages, one is fast and the other is slow, each has its own advantages and disadvantages, depending on the needs of each person. For a caravan, if it needs to carry a large amount of goods and make the guests in the caravan comfortable, the speed does not need to be too fast, so Taiping carriages are naturally the best choice.

"It's comfortable, but it costs a lot of money." Even though Fang's mother is much more generous now, she still feels a little distressed this time, as the cost of the trip is thirty taels of silver.

However, thirty taels of silver was not a rip-off. After all, how much cargo could be carried by freeing up a Taiping cart? This was only because of Fang Lin's face, otherwise, they might not be willing to do it!
I can only say that this is how the world is. If you want to enjoy yourself, you have to spend money like water.

"Mom, it doesn't matter. It's okay as long as it's worth it." Tian Xuan advised. She could only say this because she had saved a lot of money now.

At this time, a voice came from outside: "Mr. Fang?"

"Master Ji is here."

As Fang Lin spoke, he opened the curtain and looked at the other person. The man was tall and straight, with regular features. He was wearing a white cotton double-breasted jacket with a row of buttons neatly arranged on the chest and long sleeves neatly rolled up to the wrists, giving people a neat and clean impression.

This man is called Ji Guangxiang, and he is the leader of this caravan.

"I'm here to bring some food to you, Mr. Fang." Ji Guangxiang came over personally, holding a plate of snacks and a plate of dried fruits, and said with a smile.

Look at the quality of the snacks and dried fruits, they are all of top quality and are not ordinary goods in Huai'an.

"Excuse me, Boss Ji, this money..."

"Mr. Fang, you are too polite. The transportation fee has been included. The eldest master even said that ensuring that Mr. Fang and his trip are safe is more important than this business trip." Ji Guangxiang complimented him with a humble and flattering attitude.

Firstly, he was literate, and although he had no official title, he had bought "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" and read the book, and he admired Fang Lin in his heart; secondly, he knew that Fang Lin had a relationship with Prefect Pu and had good connections, so he regarded Fang Lin as a noble man; thirdly, the Fan family had a stake in this caravan, and the Fan family treated Fang Lin very well. The eldest son of the Fan family even mentioned it casually and asked him to take care of it, so the subordinates dared not neglect it.

"Master Ji, what are you talking about? I really don't deserve it." Fang Lin chatted with Ji Guangxiang for a while and felt that the other party was very knowledgeable and good at talking.

Ji Guangxiang didn't say much, which was disgusting. He stopped there, brought snacks and dried fruits, and soon returned to the front.

Fang Lin brought the food in, put it down, and invited Fang's father, Fang's mother, Tian Xuan, Fang Chuanhui, Fang He and others to eat.

Swish!
Then he pulled the curtain open completely, letting in the sunlight, making the carriage bright.

There were snacks and dried fruits on the table.

Fang Lin and his companions ate and talked about interesting things. Laughter could be heard from time to time. The atmosphere was cheerful, just like an autumn outing.

In the middle of the morning, we took a break on the way. On the side of the road, there was an octagonal pavilion, which was exquisite and elegant, and naturally matched with the Jianghuai landscape.

The other people in the caravan were resting by the roadside, and Fang Lin and his party, as distinguished guests, were naturally invited over.

"This pavilion is so beautiful." Tian Xuan said in surprise.

"Yes."

Fang Lin was also surprised. The octagonal pavilion was a perfect embellishment among the mountains and rivers, the fragrance of flowers and the chirping of birds. However, when he got closer, he couldn't help but frowned, feeling that it was a bit of an eyesore.

It turned out that there was a couplet engraved on the front of the pavilion, with black characters on a red background, which was generous and stylish, but it was also engraved with many inscriptions such as "So-and-so visited here" and "Beautiful mountains, beautiful waters and beautiful scenery, so-and-so recorded it".

"What a nice pavilion...Alas!" Father Fang always said.

Ji Guangxiang stood up and welcomed Fang Lin and his party in to sit down. He saw their regretful mood and said, "This kind of inscription is really a disappointment. Tell me, why would you destroy such a beautiful mountain, beautiful water and beautiful pavilion?"

"Exactly that."

“Some things are wasted.”

Fang Lin and Fang's father were talking. Out of courtesy, Fang's mother and Tian Xuan did not speak. Fang Chuanhui and Fang He also just listened and ate and drank water.

"The last time I came here, I saw a man who could write a few words. He picked up a stone from the ground and carved words next to the couplet with gnashing teeth."

Ji Guangxiang pointed to a crooked handwriting and said, "Yes, this is it. 'Sun Xiaoer was here'. After the man finished carving, he seemed to be dissatisfied with his 'calligraphy'. He squatted down and carved 'Summer of the 25th year of Hongtai' next to it. Only then was he satisfied, smiled slightly, and turned to leave..."

Fang Lin smiled and asked, "Master Ji didn't stop it?"

"Of course not. I really don't like this. I called the man over and asked him, 'Where are you from, brother?'"

Ji Guangxiang was a wonderful man. Then his voice changed and he imitated Sun Xiaoer's tone: "Hey, I'm Sun Xiaoer from Huai'an. What do you think?"

"I pointed at the words and scolded him, 'How could you have the heart to ruin such a beautiful scenery?' Hearing this, the other party laughed strangely and said, 'I am not the only one who carved the words on this pavilion, why didn't you come and take care of it earlier? Besides, who are you to take care of such trivial matters? You are really trying to catch a rat!'"

Especially the last sentence 'It's really a dog trying to catch a rat', Ji Guangxiang imitated it vividly and in a sarcastic tone, which made Fang Lin and his party burst into laughter when they heard it.

After laughing, Ji Guangxiang continued, "What can I say? I am short of breath. However, there is no benefit in arguing with such a scoundrel. I can only give up."

Fang Lin nodded: "Such rude people really don't need to bother."

"There are more and more scoundrels in this world." Fang's father also said.

"That's right." Ji Guangxiang agreed, and was deeply touched: "Since the court reform, merchants are no longer lowly people. In recent decades, more and more people have engaged in business, and people no longer regard studying as the only way out. They compete to engage in business, and only the amount of money determines a hero. With more money in their pockets, fewer people read books, and many of them enjoy joking and being vulgar, which is why they do this."

Fang Lin glanced at the man and said, "Master Ji, that's a good idea."

"Haha, just some thoughts, let's not talk about this."

Ji Guangxiang told another interesting story: "I remember that two years ago when I was doing business, I went to Qin and visited Huo Qubing's tomb. When I went there, there were many tourists and the tomb was trampled in a mess. Only the tombstone was left. What do you think of it?"

"What happened?" Fang Lin and the others were all intrigued and looked over.

"Only the tombstone, which has remained new over time, is shiny enough to reflect one's reflection, and is very smooth and shiny. It turns out that it was touched by someone."

Fang Lin and the others were startled when they heard this, and then they all burst into laughter.

After laughing, Ji Guangxiang said, "I'm sure you all have guessed why. The reason is simple. There are two characters on the stele: 'get rid of disease'. It is said that if you touch it, you can avoid disasters and diseases."

"I also found out after asking that, at first, people went to the tomb to pay tribute to the hero, but later the sentiment gradually changed. Anyone who visits Huo Qubing's tomb must smear some on the tombstone. Some people travel thousands of miles to go there, not to pay tribute to the hero, but just to touch the tombstone... The world is so big that there are all kinds of things."

The group chatted and laughed, and after a rest, they set off again.

……

It was almost noon when Ji Guangxiang came over and said that we would stop at Changliu Village at noon.

Arriving near Changliu Village, you can see endless paddy fields on both sides of the road. The late rice in the fields has almost been harvested, and occasionally you can see unharvested rice, swaying in the wind like tassels, and sometimes you can see farmers working in the fields sweating profusely.

Not far from the entrance of the village, there were a few old camphor trees that two people couldn't even hug together, with crooked scars bulging out of their huge trunks. Under the trees lay a few buffaloes or oxen, squinting their eyes, leisurely chewing the food they regurgitated from their stomachs, and occasionally slapping their tails to drive away the flies and insects that came to harass them... This was a village below the prefectural capital, and it was not uncommon for a caravan to come here. No one, young or old, came around, only some children watched.

The caravan stopped at the entrance of the village, and the others rested and had their meals there. Ji Guangxiang came over again and said that he wanted to invite Fang Lin and his party to have dinner in the village.

"The food in the caravan is simple and it is difficult to entertain you all. Fortunately, there is a branch of the Fan family in Changliu Village. We can visit them and have a meal." Ji Guangxiang said.

The guests should follow the host's wishes, so Fang Lin and others naturally agreed.

So Ji Guangxiang called two more people, took some books, and led Fang Lin and his party to the village.

Fang Lin took a look at the books and found that they were all popular novels.

Before Fang Lin could ask, Ji Guangxiang took the initiative to explain: "Master Fan has read Mr. Fang's Romance of the Three Kingdoms and liked it very much. After reading it, he asked me to collect some other popular novels to bring over... Speaking of which, Mr. Fan will be very happy to know that Mr. Fang is here today."

After hearing this, Fang's father, mother, and Tian Xuan became accustomed to seeing Fang Lin's book fans wherever they went.

Having lived in the city for a long time, Fang Chuanhui was also well aware of the influence of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" and was not surprised. Fang He was also used to it, and was still muttering in his heart: "If Mr. Fan is a fan of my cousin's book, he will definitely be treated well this time."

When I entered the village, I saw groups of chickens and dogs in the village, with chicken and dog feces everywhere. The villagers turned a blind eye and walked with big strides.

On the contrary, Fang Lin and his group were clean and respectable. They walked with their heads down and looked carefully at their feet.

When they reached the east side of the village, the road was paved with bluestone slabs and was obviously much cleaner. When they arrived in front of a big house, Ji Guangxiang knocked on the door to express his purpose.

Soon, a tall and thin man in his forties came out. He had a long face with distinct features. He was wearing a well-fitting blue robe and looked very gentle.

"My humble name is Fan Qingxian. It is a great honor to have such a distinguished guest visit my humble home."

Especially after listening to Ji Guangxiang's introduction and meeting Fang Lin, knowing that he was the author of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", Fan Qingxian became even more enthusiastic. He took Fang Lin's arm and invited him and his party in.

"Fan Qingxian, is he of the Qing generation? He is of the same generation as Fan Qingzeng, the head of the Fan family." Fang Lin thought.

Fan Qingxian personally led them in to visit his house.

I saw that the house was huge, with carved beams and painted rafters. There were farmhands, maids, servants, and a private school teacher in the house.

A little further inside, there is a garden, which is very big.

Fan Qingxian introduced: "Friend Fang, you came at the wrong time. This garden is planted with roses, gardenias, cockscombs and other flowers, as well as plum trees, peach trees, and orange trees. If you wait until spring comes and the flowers bloom, it will be so beautiful... There is also a pomegranate tree. When the pomegranates are ripe, the red pomegranates hang on the tree, like red lanterns, which is really beautiful."

Next to the garden, there is a stone pond where fish are raised. A large bamboo is split in half to serve as a water trough. One end is placed on the edge of the pond, and the other end passes through a hole in the wall and leads directly to the mountain behind. The spring water flows into the pond, which is bright, clean and transparent. The other half of the bamboo uses the water overflowing from the pond to lead to another pond, which is used to water the flowers, plants and fruit trees. Under the bright and scorching sun today, this place seems particularly cool and fresh.

Standing by the pool, you can see fish swimming around.

Fan Qingxian personally served as a guide and took Fang Lin and his party on a tour. Ji Guangxiang had never seen such a warm attitude before, and he subconsciously became more respectful to Fang Lin.

Afterwards, he took Fang Lin to the main hall and started a passionate conversation, discussing the content of Romance of the Three Kingdoms, asking when the second part of Romance of the Three Kingdoms would be released, etc. Needless to say, a banquet was soon served, with chicken, duck, fish, meat, seafood and oysters. It was not too luxurious, but it was definitely rich and much better than Fang Lin's own meals.

After the meal, the caravan had to wait for some time before setting off. Fang Lin and Tian Xuan said that they wanted to go for a stroll in the village. Fan Qingxian also knew that Fang Lin had just gotten married, so he would not be unaware of disturbing his interest. He understood the situation and asked Niu San and Wu Liang, two long-term workers, to accompany them and lead the way.

Fang's father and mother did not go, and Fang Chuanhui and Fang He saw the signs and also did not follow.

Wandering around the village, unlike what the Fan family saw, the servants, maids, etc. were all dressed cleanly without patches, while the villagers' clothes were a little tattered.

There are mostly thatched huts in the village. Some houses have weeds growing in front of their doors, which have grown to the edge of the thresholds, and there is also chicken droppings; some houses just shovel away the weeds and clean up, which shows that they are hardworking people.

"Brother Lin, look!" Tian Xuan suddenly pointed to a place and said.

There, a young man was holding a boy of about five or six years old. The boy's forehead was covered with red and white pimples, as if it was covered with small grains of sand. The young man used a comb with many missing teeth to scrape his son's forehead horizontally. The son trembled, his mouth shrank, and tears fell on his chest, but he didn't cry out. The young man scraped it with his thumb and index finger, and repeated it...

Fang Lin looked at the reactions of Niu San and Wu Liang, two of Fan's head workers. They had no expression on their faces, as if they thought that was how it should be. He swallowed the question that was about to come to his lips.

In this case in the village, obviously no one would ask for help from a doctor, but would just use folk remedies to treat it.

"Be careful!" Fang Lin saw something and pulled Tian Xuan, only to see a small yellow insect slightly larger than a grain of rice brushing against Tian Xuan's clothes and falling down, with a few black spots on its back.

"This is 'yellow thorn'. If it falls on people, it will feel burning." Niu San said.

"Sometimes they fall from trees." Wu Liang said, and then asked, "Mr. Fang, where are we going?"

"Just take a walk around the village!"

Fang Lin and Tian Xuan were taken for a walk in the village. They saw the thatched houses in the village, small sheds with straw hanging around them. The thatch was eroded by wind and rain, and the sun could shine through the straw. They saw roosters and hens standing on the firewood pile and crowing. They saw three or two dogs that barked wildly at strangers, one louder than the other, as if they were competing with each other in voice...

After a while, we saw a big pond. There were men and women there. The men were washing their faces and the women were washing their hair. Their wet hair stuck to their scalps and looked shiny.

"It's a little cooler today, and I've been bathing in it for the past few days."

"If you want to drink water, go over there."

"I see this is stagnant water, isn't it dirty?" Fang Lin asked.

"Dirty?" Niu San shook his head, as if he had no idea what it was. He just grunted and said, "It's always been like this."

"Yes, there was no well in the village. It was only last year when Mr. Fan came and dug a well at home." Wu Liang said.

Fang Lin fell silent after listening to this. Comparing Fan Qingxian's family with the ordinary villagers in Changliu Village, they clearly lived in the same village, but it was like two different worlds, which made people sigh.

There are some thatched houses on the other side of the pond. This place is almost outside the village, and they are much worse and smaller than the thatched houses in the village.

In the past, I saw a family of four, or seven or eight people, young and old, squeezed into a small thatched house. There were actually more than a dozen families living there. Even at this time of year, there were still some flies and insects buzzing around, emitting a foul smell.

A boy who couldn't walk fell asleep on a rotten bamboo chair. His mouth and face were covered with flying insects, as black as a circle of beard. There were three or two flies crawling in each of the four corners of his eyes. There were also some flying insects on his dark chest and crotch... In order to compete for position, they kept rubbing against each other. It can be imagined that even if the other party was not asleep, his little hands could not beat the flies from all directions!
"This little kid..." Tian Xuan looked at him, feeling sorry for him.

Fang Lin also frowned.

"Last year, the Yangtze River burst its banks and our village suffered a lot. After the water receded, the government took the land from these people, saying they wanted to build fish ponds..."

"But we didn't see any fish ponds on the way here?" Fang Lin asked.

"Who knows? They said they were going to build a fish pond, but we never saw it." Niu Sanda said casually, "Later, Mr. Fan came and took over those fields. He also built a big house in the village..."

"So that's how it is." Fang Lin nodded, feeling a little sudden in his heart. He remembered what Prefect Pu said, that in years of disaster, officials and wealthy families would take advantage of the situation and use both soft and hard tactics to seize people's land for themselves and turn it into fraudulent land.

These are undoubtedly the victims.

"Not only the fields, but also the land where Fan Qingxian built his big house must also belong to these people. There are all kinds of dirty things behind this... Alas! "

Fang Lin thought about this and sighed deeply, but due to his low status and weak power, he could not do anything.

……

In the afternoon, the caravan continued on its journey.

In the next two or three days, many people stayed in the villages. Some villages had the same "strange field" incident as Changliu Village, but some villages did not. I think this was the result of Prefect Pu's efforts to suppress it.

Without mentioning these things that affect my mood, I can only say that the journey was very relaxing, I spent enough money, and the food was very good. There was a constant supply of snacks and dried fruits, and game was also available from time to time. Sometimes we stopped in a village and had a meal at the village master's house, where chickens and ducks were slaughtered and we were warmly entertained, and the food was very delicious.

Traveling in this way, relaxed and leisurely, is really like a vacation, and there will be unexpected surprises from time to time along the way.

……

(End of this chapter)