Capital Datang

The winter temperature in the south of the Yangtze River is not very low, hovering around zero at most, but the water vapor in the south is relatively heavy, so the winter here is not as dry and cold as in the north, but it is a kind of damp cold, which makes people feel cold. People feel more uncomfortable.

This is Jianzhou in the northwest of Fuzhou. This Jianzhou is not the Jianzhou in the northeast of the later generations, but in the Fujian Province of the later generations. The word Fujian is separated, Fu refers to Fuzhou, and Jian is Refers to Jianzhou.However, during the Tang Dynasty, Fuzhou was one of the leading big cities, and its textile and port trade were all ranked first in the country.

Compared with Fuzhou, Jianzhou is not very well-known. The only thing that can be sold is only one tea. The famous Longfengtuan tea in later generations is produced here. Unfortunately, the tea in Jianzhou became famous all over the country in the middle Tang Dynasty. , It became a tribute tea in the Song Dynasty and reached a peak, but in the Zhenguan period, Jianzhou was just a place that not many people paid attention to.

There are many mountains in Fujian, and Jianzhou is no exception. This is a group of mountains in the southeast of Jianzhou. The mountains are densely covered with jungles. However, due to winter, most of the trees in the mountains have become bare, and the grass has lost its former greenness. Color", looks very desolate.

In this mountain forest, on a winding path, a small team of more than a dozen people is struggling along this path.These dozen or so people are all young men of seventeen or eighteen years old. Although the clothes on their bodies are a bit worn out, they look good, and each of them is pushing a wheelbarrow, and there are some big bags on the car. Yes, don't know what's inside?Capital Datang 458

These people said as they walked, among them was the chubby young man in the team.He was complaining to the black and thin young man in front of him: "Brother Shitou, the Chinese New Year will be one month away. At this time, the owners of various factories are raising wages. If we work for another month, then the salary for this month It’s just as good as the previous two months, but you insist that we all go home, isn’t this a waste of money?”

Walking at the front of the line, the black and thin young man called Brother Stone by the fat man seemed to be their leader.But Shitou said angrily after hearing the fat man's complaint: "Dunzi, what do you know? It is indeed a good opportunity to make money during the Chinese New Year, but at this time the government is also strict in investigation, and I am afraid that there will be some "chaos" during the Chinese New Year." My son, with our identities, if the government finds out. Do I have to say the consequences?"

As soon as Brother Shitou finished his words, other people immediately echoed loudly. Among them, he was closely behind the pier, a thin and small guy with yellow hair all over his head, who looked like a monkey and said with a smile: "Brother Shitou said it better. We are all fugitives, and we have no household registration in the government. If we are found out, we will be rushed to the boat and sent back to our hometown immediately. Our parents are both I fled here from Songzhou, and I haven’t gone back for more than ten years. There is no house and no land in my hometown, so why don’t we let us drink the northwest wind!”

Hearing what the other party said, Brother Shitou looked back in surprise.A little surprised: "Monkey, I didn't expect you to learn a lot when you went out this time. What you said is a set of things."

Hearing Brother Shitou's joke, Monkey felt a little embarrassed.And the group of young people in the back also laughed, and at the same time began to chat about what they had gained from going out this time.With the voices of these young people, the mountain road finally became a little more lively, and even the temperature seemed to rise a bit.

Brother Shitou in front did not participate in the discussion of the partners, but looked up at the mountain road, calculated how much time it would take to get home, and then began to think about things without saying a word.

Shitou and the partners behind him all come from a small village called Luoshizhai, but this village is a bit special. The villagers are a little special because they are all fugitives, that is, those who live in the territory of the Great Tang but do not have the household registration of the Great Tang.

The composition of the fugitives is very complicated. Most of them are hiding in the mountains and forests because of the war, and have little contact with the outside world. Some of them were passive fugitives due to reasons left over from history.

For example, people like Shitou, their parents fled to the south in order to avoid the war in the Central Plains, and finally settled near Jianzhou. Those who were born here later have already regarded this place as their home, but according to the regulations of the court, all fugitives will be sent back to their original places immediately after being discovered, which is naturally unwilling for people like Shitou.

In fact, the life of the fugitives like Shitou is not very good. They have no household registration, so they cannot get the land released by the government. In order to live, they have to go into the mountains to reclaim wasteland. The places where the fugitives live are generally very remote, and even very dangerous. If they are not careful, they may be attacked by wild animals or something. In addition, the grain production in the wasteland is not high, and they can only eat a large amount of grain in a year. Half a year, and the rest of the time, they have to hunt or dig wild vegetables in the mountains to make a living.

In addition, in order to avoid the government, the fugitives try not to contact outsiders as much as possible. In addition, they live in poverty, so they even lack various items for daily life. For example, taking the most basic salt, they can only take things. It can be said that it is very disadvantageous to exchange with some private salt dealers, and often have to pay several times the price.

But even so, these fugitives still did not want to return to their place of origin. After all, although their life here was not good, at least they could not starve to death. If they occasionally caught some game, they could exchange a few pieces of salt.And if they were asked to return to their hometowns, firstly they had no place to live, and secondly, they didn't know whether the government would give them land. They didn't dare to take the risk, so they chose the former between staying and going back.

Shitou heaved a long sigh when he thought of the hard times in the village before. Behind him are all his brothers who grew up with him, but except for Dunzi, almost all of them were very thin, all because of not having enough to eat all year round hungry.As for Dunzi, it is because his father is an experienced old hunter who can often catch a lot of prey, and besides a few sisters and sisters, he is the only son in the family, so any delicious food in the family will be eaten first. Let Dunzi eat it, and it turned out to be such a fat man.I remember that when he was young, he and other brothers envied Fatty for eating meat frequently.

However, the previous hard days have passed. Since His Royal Highness King Qi initiated industry and commerce in the Tang Dynasty a few years ago, many factories and workshops have been built in various places. Although Jianzhou is located in the south, it is very far away from the big port of Fuzhou. Recently, coupled with the rich tea here, many businessmen have invested and built factories here. In addition to producing various types of tea, there are also textile and food factories. Now it has become one of the source bases of Fuzhou Maritime Trade.

It is precisely because of this that Jianzhou City and the surrounding towns are recruiting people everywhere, and even many factories that are really short of people are forced to find ways to buy many slaves to work.Under such circumstances, many fugitives also ran from the mountains to towns and worked in factories.

However, compared with normal people, these fugitives have to suffer a lot. This is because they do not have household registration, so they are often punished by factory owners, and their wages are much lower than other workers, and sometimes they are even paid. They are less than half of normal workers. In addition, they must be careful when living in cities and towns. They cannot be caught by the government, otherwise they will be sent back to their original places. This is what all fugitives fear most.

The Luoshi village where Shitou and the others are located is very remote, and they know less about the outside world. Even Shitou and the others only heard about the recruitment of workers in Jianzhou from a sister from the village who married into another fugitive village in the first half of this year. , and according to that sister, her men and some young men from the village work in a factory in Jianzhou City, earning hundreds of pennies a month, which is much less than ordinary workers, but so much money Replaced with food, cloth and other things, it is enough for their family to eat.

Young people like Shitou were very moved by the news brought by this married sister. Unfortunately, their parents held old ideas and were afraid of being discovered by the government after going out. So they proposed to work outside for Shitou. All plans are opposed.

Faced with this situation, Shitou, who is usually the most assertive person, became the backbone of Dunzi and Houzi. After discussing with each other, they finally decided to sneak out and work in a small town outside Jianzhou City. First, I was working as a coolie for a businessman, and carried a big bag for a month. After I finally found a way, I entered a tea factory in a small town and worked as an apprentice for a month. Officially worked for four months.Capital Datang 458

There was no wages for being an apprentice, but now there is a shortage of people everywhere, so now even apprentices have some wages. Although it is not much, it is enough to feed one person.Moreover, during the four months when Shitou and the others officially started working, everyone did a good job, and they were paid according to the amount, and they were paid as much as they did. .

Don't underestimate these two pennies. You must know that a bucket of rice in the Tang Dynasty is only four or five pennies, and the price of salt has fallen in recent years, and each catty of salt is only a few pennies. So if you count it, two pennies are enough for them A year spent at home.

It is precisely because of these wages that Shitou and the others have the confidence to go home, and it is useless for them to ask for money in the mountains, so when they come back, they all exchange the money for daily necessities such as meat, rice, oil and salt. When the parents saw the things they brought back, they shouldn't be held accountable for their crimes of escaping in the first place, right? (To be continued.)

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