Linxia

Chapter 249, Epitome

A few days later, Huai'an.

A group of people mixed in with the passers-by, arriving in a dusty state. They were none other than Wei Qing's family - the minor official named Wei who, when Fang Lin's family fled to Haining County, helped them up because they stepped on a pit. Later, when they left the city, they gave ten portions of food. Later, when Fang Lin's family returned to Xiaohe Village, they visited them to express their gratitude.

Now, Wei Qing's four children have all started their own families, and they even have grandchildren, so a family of more than 20 people has come.

"Grandpa, is this Huai'an? It looks very different from our Haining County!"

"Yeah, there's an indescribable feeling."

"I feel good too."

……

The whole family looked around and saw: the bustling flow of people, the busy dock, and the white sails sailing into the sky.

Different from Haining County which is tired and sleepy like an old man in his twilight years, Huai'an still has a rare vitality at this time when the country is in ruins and war is raging.

After entering the city, Wei Qing and his family came to a small stall to eat. The stall owner told them the names of the dishes: "The buns have cabbage filling, mustard greens filling, egg and leek filling, pork filling... The side dishes include mixed cucumber, stir-fried beans, braised tofu..."

The whole family was surprised when they heard this, because of the relatively affordable prices and the rich variety of dishes - if it were in Haining County, not only would each item be more expensive, but many dishes would not be available.

They were all confused. In Haining County, because of the need to grow crops, there were fewer vegetables on the market and it seemed that supplies were scarce. Wasn't it the same in Huai'an?

It was already mid-morning, and there were not many customers. The stall owner was a talkative person, and seemed to sense their confusion, and said proudly: "Are you from outside? In our Huai'an City, you can see the food, meat, and vegetables. The prices are not high, and there are many varieties. That's because Lord Fang's caravan brought back a lot of food and dried meat from overseas, so the surrounding people can grow more vegetables... In my opinion, the people of this city can still live a good life now, and they have to thank Lord Fang."

"Oh, you outsiders, you don't know Lord Fang, right? Let me tell you, that Three Kingdoms story...what, you know, it's from the county town down below?" He stopped talking in annoyance, as if he still felt sorry that he couldn't brag about Fang Lin for them.

As Wei Qing listened to Fang Lin's messages, he felt inexplicably moved, because in return for that little favor, Fang Lin later helped him get promoted and had a raise...They had been in contact less frequently in recent years, but every New Year there would always be gifts from Fang Lin, which made him very grateful.

It was precisely because of this trust that, at a time when the country was in ruins and the Tartars were heading south, he made the decision to go out to sea with his large family.

——In fact, Fang Lin had already sent people to pick them up, but Wei Qing and his family didn't know about it and came here on their own. They also felt that Fang Lin had helped them a lot and didn't want to cause them any more trouble, so they went to find him.

"My dear father, I want to ask, what are the rules for going out to sea now, how much land can I get, and where can I sign up?"

"How much land will be divided? What you said is all outdated. Now it's hard to get a place in the line or take a boat out to sea, let alone divide the land!"

The stall owner said, "In the early days, if you wanted to go overseas, each person could get one hectare of land, which was 100 mu, and all of it was good paddy fields. Later, it became less, 80 mu for men and 50 mu for women and children. Later, that emperor who was worshipped, the one who hanged himself last year, came to power. Since this foolish emperor came to power, the world has become chaotic. More and more people want to go to sea, and the land allocated has become less and less, 30 mu, 10 mu, 5 mu...

Last year, the capital was invaded by rebels. More people wanted to go to sea. The wealthy families in the city started to leave. From then on, there was no land distribution for going to sea. There were too many people and it was impossible to divide it. However, Lord Fang still covered all the expenses for your food, drink, and defecation during the trip. No money is required.

This year, the Tartars began to move south. In this city, eight out of ten people want to leave... Lord Fang still has a conscience. He still doesn't charge you for going out to sea at this time, but there are more people than boats, so you have to wait in line!"

Indeed, as the Manchus moved south, people felt more and more urgent. For example, the Ma, Shao, and Duan families changed their previous ambiguous attitudes and took the initiative to leave. This demonstration effect made the people in the city want to follow and flock to go overseas...

Let me put it this way, now the places for boarding overseas ships are like doomsday tickets, with the queues waiting for several months into the future, and the number is still rising rapidly.

After hearing this, Wei Qing's family looked at each other in bewilderment. These were truly things they didn't know.

"Dad, what should I do?"

"I have to wait in line for several months, but I heard that the Tartars will attack us soon. How can I wait until then?"

"Yes, Dad, we sold our house, land and everything else in the county and made up our minds to come here, but if we can't get out, do we have to go back again?"

……

Wei Qing is now a man of age, and he still has some mental strength. He asked his children and grandchildren to be quiet, looked at the stall owner, bowed and asked sincerely: "Father-in-law, are you going to go to sea? I see that the old man doesn't seem to be in a hurry. I wonder if there is any way? I hope you can give me some advice. I will be very grateful."

"Hey, speaking of going out to sea, people from Lord Fang's workshop have priority, and everyone in the factory has a quota to bring people with them. I have a relative who works in Lord Fang's workshop, and he can take our family out, and we'll leave in a few days... You see, I haven't even purchased any more goods, and I won't be able to do it after I sell this batch!"

The stall owner paused as he spoke. Seeing that Wei Qing and the others were quite interested in him, he gave an idea: "If you don't want to wait in line, there is another way. That is to find a broker and buy the quota for the factory workers to bring people. I heard that the price of a quota to bring people has almost risen to ten taels of silver! If you want to buy, you have to go quickly. I think the price will go up again when the Tartars attack Huai'an!"

After hearing this, Wei Qing secretly calculated that if he used the money to buy a place now, his family's money would be enough, but if he spent all his family savings in one go, how would he survive when he went abroad?
He sighed secretly, knowing that there was only one way left, which was to go find Fang Lin. He didn't want to trouble Fang Lin, but there was really no other way under the current circumstances.

……

That afternoon, Wei Qing and his family arrived at the Fang family's door, claiming to be old acquaintances of the Fang family and asking the doorman to pass on their message. The doorman refused and only asked them to leave their names and addresses, saying that they would be in touch later if what they said was true.

——It's not that the doorman is making things difficult on purpose. The truth is, ever since the Fang family became prosperous, there have been some people who have no self-awareness and are completely unrelated to the family who have come to claim to be relatives, which is extremely annoying.

Wei Qing sighed upon hearing this. He had not expected that the threshold of the Fang family was so high now. He could not get in hastily. He could only plan to settle his family down first and then take a step further and see what happens later.

Coincidentally, just as they were about to leave, Fang's father went out and saw Wei Qing, who looked familiar. He looked at him carefully and recognized him: "Master Wei?"

In the past few years, the Fang family often returned to Xiaohe Village to celebrate the New Year. Every time they went back, they would visit Wei Qing's home and give him a gift when they arrived in Haining County. Therefore, Fang's father knew Wei Qing... However, since the entire Xiaohe Village moved overseas ten years ago, the Fang family has not been back. They haven't seen Wei Qing for some years, and his appearance has indeed changed a little, so they couldn't recognize him at first glance.

"I dare not address you as Lord Wei. Besides, I have resigned from my post and no longer work for the government... If Brother Fang doesn't mind, just call me brother as before." "Then I am being too arrogant. By the way, Linzi just sent someone to invite Brother Wei and his family a few days ago. How come they are here so soon? There is no escort? Oh, I am being rude. This is not the place to talk. Let's go in and talk."

This time, with Fang's father leading the way, getting in was naturally not a problem, and the group came to the reception room.

After some information exchange, everyone understood that Wei Qing and his family probably set out early on their own and missed the people sent by Fang Lin to pick them up.

"It's not difficult to get a quota to go to sea. I will arrange the latest fleet for Brother Wei's family. Once they go overseas, they will be treated the same as factory workers and will be allocated land..."

Father Fang can make the decision on this matter.

Wei Qing's whole family were all surprised when they heard this, some even felt overly surprised, or even frightened, because they were given land according to the same treatment as factory workers, with men getting 100 acres and women and children getting 80 acres, and they were all top-quality paddy fields. With more than 20 people in their family going overseas, they were able to get nearly 2,000 acres of land, which almost made them landlords in an instant.

What they don't know is that the overseas South Seas base is developing very quickly and there is no shortage of land. The reason they are no longer distributing land on a large scale is simply because they have passed the initial stage of being in urgent need of manpower and relying on land to attract people. At the same time, they don't want to reward people without any effort and make them lose their enterprising spirit.

"By the way, why don't you see Lord Fang?"

"This... Linzi had something to do, so he went out." Fang's father naturally knew Fang Lin's whereabouts, but it was not easy for him to say.

Wei Qing had been in the government office for decades and was an expert at reading people's expressions. He immediately tactfully changed the subject and stopped asking questions.

After a pleasant conversation, Mr. Fang invited them to have lunch.

The people of the Wei family were well-educated. They would only take the dishes after the host had picked up their chopsticks and only eat the dishes in front of them. However, they were still obviously surprised and enjoyed the sumptuous meal and ate it with great relish.

"I'm sorry to have embarrassed you, Brother Fang. It's really... our family hasn't had such delicious food in a long time." Wei Qing said ashamedly: "A few years ago..."

It turned out that Fang Lin had supported him in front of County Magistrate Hou, which allowed him to make two further advances in the county government. However, after County Magistrate Hou was promoted and left, his career stagnated again. He was not a very enterprising person, so he was satisfied with this. He did not cause any trouble in the government office, and he was content to receive his salary. His life was pretty good.

If we say that before Fang Lin supported Wei Qing, his family could eat meat during festivals and once a month; then after he was promoted twice, he could eat meat every few days... Such comfortable days lasted until ten years ago, when Emperor Chongxiang ascended the throne and carried out reforms. Daxia gradually became chaotic and the quality of life of the Wei family began to decline; five years ago, Wei Qing was in the county government, and his salary began to be delayed and paid less, and the things on the market in the county were not so abundant, and life began to become a little tight; in the past one or two years, the family no longer cares about what to eat well, and they are good enough as long as they can have enough coarse rice. Even so, their living standard is still among the best in Haining County.

The changes in Wei Qing's family's living standards reflect the changes of the times. It can only be said that the happiness of individuals and families is closely related to the national situation in addition to their own efforts.

……

Not only Wei Qing, but also others on the pick-up list were rushing towards Huai'an.

Ge Chong set out from Xuzhou and had arrived in Suqian at this time. This man was the one that Fang Lin and his family met in Xuzhou on their way to the capital. He was the one who fell into the water because of the jealousy between two rich men. He was the famous scholar who was against Confucianism and regarded the teachings of Confucius and Mencius as the source of all evil. He loved books and food, and made his own courtyard quiet and elegant. He was like a god.

Like Wei Qing's family, he did not meet the person sent by Fang Lin to pick him up, so he went south in advance, bringing with him most of his life's collection of books.

However, Ge Chong was unlucky and encountered some rebel soldiers on the road.

As for those disorderly soldiers, they didn't care what the book was. They just tore it up and used it as firewood for cooking. The ones that couldn't be burned were carried to the riverside, soaked, and wrapped in leather armor. They could block flying arrows during fighting.

Ge Chong couldn't beat them, nor could he reason with them. He could only watch helplessly, stamping his feet and sighing: "This is my family's fortune in books, who can blame me!"

What I mean is, the misfortune that has befallen my family's books is unmatched anywhere in the world. We are so unlucky.

This is indeed the case. The books that I have accumulated over most of my life, including ancestral collections, my own works, academic works, and some books on food research and recipes, were all lost in one day.

Fortunately, they met Fang Chuanhui and Fang Xi's two thousand-man regiments, killed the rebel soldiers and rescued the books.

Because of the portrait, Fang Chuanhui and Fang Xi also recognized Ge Chong and invited him to sit down and reminisce about the past.

"I still remember when my father took us to the capital, we met Mr. Ge, a godlike man in Xuzhou. He treated us to fried crabs and we were amazed..." Fang Xi recalled.

Hearing this, Ge Chong also showed a look of nostalgia on his face: "At that time, the world was still peaceful, and I lived a comfortable life. I went to the capital and Lu once a year to buy delicious food. I went to Yingtian and Lin'an, which are close to me, to buy food once a season... During the Chongxiang period, I no longer had such a good life... Mr. Zidun invited me to come over several times, but in recent years, my parents have passed away one after another, and I have been mourning for them in my hometown... These years have become more and more chaotic. During my mourning period, I reluctantly gave up my hobby of eating, devoted myself to studying, kept books as my companions, and found joy in hardship. Gradually, I didn't realize that my income was not as good as others..."

He was a man who loved books and food. When the world became chaotic and he had no money to cook, half of the fun in life was gone. He once wrote in his notebook: "I was always busy with food, and my sins were heavy. But now I think about it, the wars in all directions, the divisions of the world, the Qiantang River, and I dare not cross it lightly. So I passed on food to the place where I lived. It can be said that I was blessed."

This is to say, it was a blessing for me to travel around the world for delicious food in the past. Unfortunately, those days are gone forever.

Fang Xi listened with deep emotion. Mr. Ge Chong came from a well-to-do family and was a Jinshi. He loved books and food all his life. He wrote books and taught people in the village and enjoyed himself. If it were a peaceful time, he would have lived a comfortable life. However, the country was in turmoil, the mountains and rivers were broken, and the quality of life declined greatly. If he had not met them today, he would have lost all his life's work.

It can only be said that people like Wei Qing's family and Ge Chong are microcosms of this era, and there are many who suffer worse than them.

"Mr. Ge came from Xuzhou. I wonder what the situation is like in Xuzhou?"

"The Tartars are about to attack. I heard that the prefect and other officials have fled. Now a registrar named Yan is in charge. I think he is quite organized. Before leaving, he asked me for advice. I gave him some advice, and I think he can deal with the first wave of Tartars, but for the follow-up..." Ge Chong shook his head helplessly.

If Fang Lin was here and heard "Dianshi Yan", he would probably immediately think of Yan Dianshi of Jiangyin in the history of his previous life. In this time and space, the other party was actually in Xuzhou. However, the time and space are different and they may not be the same person, so we cannot generalize.

After hearing this, Fang Chuanhui and Fang Xi sent a group of people to escort Ge Chong south, while they themselves rushed to Xuzhou, which was the place where Fang Lin had ordered to block the Qing army.

……

(End of this chapter)