Peel dates in August and harvest rice in October.
In the eighth month of the ancient calendar, the power of the autumn tiger has mostly passed. The wanderers on the streets of Handan no longer wander around shirtless, and many girls along the street sigh slightly.
Zhu Xiang also put on a fine linen robe to block the wind and sat on the stone steps watching his good friend Lin Zhi climb up the jujube tree in his family yard to pick jujubes.
The jujube tree is famous for having many flowers but few fruits. Other people's jujube trees are full of flowers, but in August there are only a few fruits.
The jujube tree in Zhu Xiang’s family is different.
When the flowers bloomed, there were very few on Zhu Xiang's jujube tree, and the neighbors all laughed at him, saying that Zhu Xiang's jujube tree might not produce many dates.
When the fruits were ripe, the tree full of fruits attracted many people to watch. Some people thought it was a good omen and wanted to share a piece of the fruit.
Zhu Xiang’s good friend Lin Zhi also came to “grab” the dates.
Lin Zhi put the hem of his robe on his belt and jumped up the tree like a monkey. The long belt around his waist swayed, making Zhu Xiang's eyelids twitch.
People at that time did not wear shorts. The wind made their testicles cold under their long robes. The trouser legs were connected to the belt with a strap, which was very similar to the garters of later generations.
Pants that cover the entire lower body are called "Hufu", which was introduced by King Wuling of Zhao, the grandfather of the current King Zhao. If someone puts on Hufu trousers, it means that he is ready to ride a horse immediately.
Lin Zhi did not ride horses, he only climbed trees, so of course there was nothing underneath his robe.
Zhu Xiang held his forehead and asked, "How can I persuade him to put on his pants?"
Xue calmly glanced at Lin Zhi, who had climbed up the jujube tree and picked more jujubes than he ate, and said, "Everyone wears this. My dear, it's weird that you care about this."
Zhu Xiang glanced at the women in the courtyard waiting to receive the dates. Everyone looked calm, except him, who was uncomfortable.
Well, it was indeed himself who was weird in this era, but Zhu Xiang still wanted to persuade Lin Zhi to put on shorts.
"Since sitting cross-legged is indecent, then his exposing himself like this is also indecent," Zhu Xiang argued, "It would be warmer if he put on shorts, so he wouldn't freeze... Well, I don't understand why he refused to wear them."
It would be fine for other people, but Zhu Xiang could not see it and felt at peace. This guy would come to his house from time to time, and run around like a monkey with his clothes pinned to his belt. Zhu Xiang's eyes hurt!
Xue lowered her head to sew the soles of her shoes: "Maybe it's inconvenient to go to the toilet? Last time, Mr. Lin complained to me that his shorts slipped down when he went to the toilet and were covered with stinky mud. I really don't know why you insist on wearing this troublesome thing."
Zhu Xiang held his forehead with his hand again.
Lin Zhi, why are you complaining to my Xue about going to the toilet? Aren't you embarrassed? Am I the only one with the thinnest face in this world
Zhu Xiang once again felt that he was out of tune with this world.
Although Lin Zhi was baring his testicles and pretending to be a date thief, he was actually a scholar with an official position and Zhu Xiang's "master".
When Zhu Xiang's parents died, he also fell ill. His eldest sister Chunhua used the excuse of getting medicine for Zhu Xiang to take away all the valuables of the family and ran away. It is said that she believed the lies of a broker who bought a singing girl for a wealthy merchant and followed the wealthy merchant to enjoy a life of luxury.
If it weren't for Xue, the child bride adopted by Zhu Xiang's parents, who never left Zhu Xiang and kowtowed to the barefoot traveling doctor begging for medicine, Zhu Xiang would have died long ago.
Later, Zhu Xiang dragged his sick body, holding a stack of straw paper, and risked being beaten to death. He entered the city, closed his eyes, knocked on the door of a luxurious mansion, and asked to become a retainer. Only then did Zhu Xiang and Xue have their current life.
Lin Zhi was the youngest son of the family that Zhu Xiang had sought medical help from in desperation.
Zhu Xiang sighed again.
Who would have thought that this lazy guy who came to our house every day for free meals was the youngest son of the famous figure Lin Xiangru in the textbook? !
Zhu Xiang was thinking about waiting for his youngest son in the mansion to steal dates and bringing them back. He had even told him to steal more, fearing that Old Lin might not have enough to eat. He sighed again.
The historical filter is shattered.
Lin Zhi, who was grabbing the dates, didn't think there was anything wrong with his behavior.
The Lin family was originally from a poor family. Otherwise, with Lin Xiangru's talent, he would not have been able to serve as a retainer for the eunuch Ling Muxian. It was not until he "returned the jade intact to Zhao" that Lin Xiangru was able to serve as an official in Zhao. Therefore, Lin Xiangru's private behavior was relatively rough.
Lin Zhi was even better than his teacher. He became close friends with Zhu Xiang regardless of their social status and often came to his house to eat and stay. His brothers were very opposed to this at first.
The ancient Lin State was very prosperous, but it was destroyed at the beginning of the Warring States Period and became Linyi. Linyi was coveted and fought over by Qin and Zhao, and the war lasted for a hundred years. Lin Xiangru was born in the Lin family of Linyi, who migrated to Handan to avoid the war. No matter how poor his family was, he was still a "scholar".
Lian Po once called Lin Xiangru, who was born as a poor scholar, "Xiangru is a lowly person". Zhu Xiang was a "commoner" without even a surname - "Zhu Xiang" was his name in his previous life, and he named himself in this life; his wife was named "Xue" just because Zhu Xiang's parents picked her up from the snow.
But Lin Xiangru doted on his youngest son, and they served as officials in various places in Zhao State. Only Lin Zhi stayed at home to take care of his parents. No one forced Lin Zhi to follow those red tape, so Lin Zhi could only make friends with this commoner.
Zhu Xiang knew about this and had no ill feelings towards Lin Zhi's brothers. This was a problem of the times.
The nobles generally did not believe that the common people had "wisdom". If the common people wanted to become the nobles' retainers, they had to be "strong men" with extraordinary physical fitness, and those common people strong men basically played the role of death soldiers or cannon fodder.
If Lin Lao had not been displaced in his early years and had not made a living among refugees, and had not been able to look the common people in the eye, his naive idea of becoming a nobleman by relying on a simple version of papermaking would never have been realized.
After Zhu Xiang became Lin Xiangru's retainer, he quickly revealed his professional ability as a professor of agronomy in his previous life. He began to focus on farming guidance and left the papermaking technology entirely to the Lin family, as his "pledge of allegiance" and "thank you fee".
Even though he wondered why there was still no news of paper being introduced in Handan City after five or six years, he kept quiet and pretended he didn't know about it.
The current Zhu Xiang has barely learned the survival rules for the common people of this era.
"Zhu Xiang!" Lin Zhi, who was sitting naked on a branch, spat out a date pit and said in surprise, "Someone left a basket in front of your door! Did someone send you chickens and ducks to thank you again?"
Zhu Xiang immediately stood up and ran to the door, complaining, "I told you not to see me off, why didn't you listen? The world is in turmoil right now, and everyone is having a hard time. Keep the chickens and ducks for yourself."
Lin Zhi jumped down from the tree with a smile, and landed steadily as if he had mastered martial arts.
He put the dates in the pocket of his clothes into the basket of the woman who was waiting under the tree, put the clothes down, and resumed his appearance as a scholar.
"Xue, Zhu Xiang just kept glaring at me. Did he say something bad about me again?" Lin Zhi joked with a smile, "It's not gentlemanly to say bad things about someone behind their back."
Xue put down her needlework and smiled, "My dear, you never said that he was a gentleman. Isn't Mr. Lin the only gentleman here?"
Gentleman not only refers to a person of noble character, but is also a respectful title for young noble men today.
Hearing Xue's cunning substitution, Lin Zhi laughed out loud, "If Zhu Xiang's words were half as eloquent as yours, I would have recommended him as an official."
Xue smiled and said nothing.
It would be fine for her to complain to Zhu Xiang in private, but no one else should hear her say anything bad about her husband.
Lin Zhi sighed: "You two are really... Can't you persuade Zhu Xiang to go to the battlefield?"
Xue shook her head, "I don't like it. Besides, the king has issued a decree that those who are good at farming can also be awarded a title. Is there anyone in Zhao who can farm better than me? Didn't Mr. Lin also say that I haven't been awarded a title now only because I am too young. When I am older, I will definitely be awarded a title. Since I don't like to go to the battlefield, I will just wait a few more years."
Lin Zhi sighed in his heart, but his expression remained unchanged: "Of course, Zhu Xiang will be able to get a title for farming sooner or later. But the title of a farmer is definitely not as good as the title of a soldier. Xue Ji, this is related to Zhu Xiang's future, so you should try to persuade him. I will send people to protect him, and he only needs to chop off a few heads on the battlefield, and he will not be in danger."
Xue shook her head again: "How can a good man be a coward? He only wants to keep people alive, not kill people. If he can get a title by keeping people alive, why kill people to get a title? Mr. Lin should understand him."
Lin Zhi put his hands on the back of his head and sighed: "I understand, I understand too well, that's why I hope you can persuade him, I don't dare to persuade him in person."
Xue laughed.
When Lin Zhi failed to persuade Xue again without Zhu Xiang's knowledge, Zhu Xiang's angry voice rang out from the door: "Where did this wicked boy come from! He actually left a child at my door!"
Xue and Lin Zhi were both startled, then ran towards the gate together.
At the door, Zhu Xiang was furious at a basket.
Inside the basket, a skinny child rubbed his eyes and stood up blankly.
His hands, which were as small as chicken claws and had black nails, nervously grasped the edge of the basket: "Where is this?"
Zhu Xiang paused in his scolding, took the child out of the basket and put it aside, took off his outer robe and wrapped the thinly dressed child, then turned around and said, "Mr. Lin, someone threw a child at my doorstep, you have to take care of this matter!"
Because Zhu Xiang needed to concentrate on farming, he did not live in the Lin Mansion in the inner city of Handan, but lived in Lin Xiangru's fiefdom on the outskirts of the city.
Lin Xiangru was very kind to the common people in his fiefdom, and often used the rewards given by the King of Zhao to help the common people. He also built an orphanage in his fiefdom to adopt children that the common people could not afford to raise.
Lin Xiangru issued an order that all children that the common people in the fiefdom could not afford to raise must be sent to the orphanage and must not be abandoned privately, otherwise they would be punished.
Let’s not talk about how many abandoned babies can survive in the orphanage, but this is the first time that Zhu Xiang has seen someone abandon a child at someone else’s door after living with the Lin family for so many years.
"Bamboo baskets and silk clothes are not something that ordinary people can use." Lin Zhi had a much better eye than Zhu Xiang. "Could it be that someone is coming for me?"
Bamboo is a specialty of the south, and the bamboo handicrafts in Handan are all quite expensive, not to mention silk. These are not things that people who are too poor to raise children can afford.
Zhu Xiang immediately thought of a bunch of TV drama clips about palace fighting and house fighting: "Could it be a child from a branch of your family?"
At least he remembered that in this era common people could not laugh at nobles, so he used a euphemism and did not say "your brother, your son".
"There's a letter in the basket." Lin Zhi bent over and picked up the silk cloth at the bottom of the basket, unfolded it and took a look, then his expression immediately became very strange.
Shock, anger, sympathy... Many expressions intertwined, causing the muscles on Lin Zhi's face to twitch constantly. In the end, the expression on Lin Zhi's face finally settled on "sympathy".
Zhu Xiang realized something was wrong and quickly leaned over to look at the words on the silk cloth.
After he became a guest of the Lin family, he had the opportunity to systematically learn the writing of this era. With a good memory and strong self-control, he can now write decent characters, and he can naturally understand the letters on the silk cloth.
Then, Zhu Xiang's face turned dark.
Lin Zhi smiled sarcastically and said, "What does your expression mean? Could it be your relative's child?"
Zhu Xiang glared at Lin Zhi, and looked carefully at the little boy who was clutching his outer robe tightly, with a dull expression, as if he didn't realize that he was abandoned.
Zhu Xiang's lips moved, and he suppressed his anger out of consideration for the poor child: "Let's talk inside."
He picked up the still dazed child in his arms, turned and walked towards the door, cursing in his heart.
Xue glanced at the child in Zhu Xiang's arms, then turned back and told the maid to boil water and make a soup, adding some goat's milk to it.
Lin Zhi happily followed Zhu Xiang into the house. After closing the door, he said in a very rude way: "I've heard you mention your evil elder sister before, but I didn't expect to see it with my own eyes today."
Xue's dignified and virtuous expression froze and instantly became distorted, and her voice rose several tones: "What?! Could this child be Chunhua's?!"
Zhu Xiang said awkwardly: "Yeah."
Xue's expression twitched and twisted for a long time. Finally, she looked at the child who was frightened by her voice and barely managed to hold back the vulgar curses: "She's still alive?! How can she still be alive?!"
Zhu Xiang sighed, too ashamed to say it out loud.
Lin Zhi, the funny guy, explained Xue's confusion: "The letter said that she is now with another wealthy businessman, and the child is a burden. She happened to find out that Zhu Xiang's family is well off and he has no children, so she gave the child to Zhu Xiang and asked him to remember her kindness. Hahahaha!"
When Xue heard the words "no children", her face immediately turned pale.
Zhu Xiang kicked Lin Zhi on the waist. Lin Zhi didn't dodge and cried out in pain, holding his waist.
"I am in poor health and have difficulty in having children. This is my fault. But people are more demanding of women when it comes to offspring. Lin Li, it doesn't matter if we just joke around, but don't let Xue hear it. She likes to dwell on trivial matters and always blames herself for my mistakes." Zhu Xiang frowned.
Li is Lin Zhi's name.
Lin Zhi patted the footprints on his waist and bowed to Zhu Xiang and Xue: "It's my fault. Xue Ji, I was just making fun of Zhu Xiang and didn't think too much about it."
Xue: "... You shouldn't laugh at your beloved!"
Lin Zhi resumed his nonchalant attitude, holding Zhu Xiang's shoulder and making faces, saying: "I am going to laugh at him. I have to laugh at him."
Xue stomped her feet in anger, turned around and went to the kitchen to check on the soup and calm down.
"Okay, I've pissed her off, so we can talk now." Lin Zhi retracted his arm and said, "What are you going to do next? You don't have any other relatives, and he may be your only blood relative. It might be a good idea to adopt him as your adopted son."
Before Zhu Xiang could answer, the child in his arms seemed to finally come to his senses and cried out sharply: "Where is this? I want to go home! I want my mother!"
He bit Zhu Xiang's arm. Zhu Xiang felt pain and loosened his grip, causing the child to fall down. He quickly supported the child despite the pain, thus preventing him from falling.
The child pushed his hand away and stumbled out: "I want to go home. I don't want to be someone else's child. I am Qin...Ah!"
The child spoke fluently, but his legs were weak. After running a few steps, he fell to the ground and rolled several times. His face and body were covered with dust.
Zhu Xiang quickly ran forward and helped the child up.
"Don't cry, don't cry. I'll take you to find your mother." Zhu Xiang held the child in his arms, wiping his face with his sleeves, feeling distressed. "Don't be afraid. I'm your uncle. 'Seeing my uncle is like seeing my mother.' I'm your mother's biological brother, not a bad person."
Lin Zhi interrupted: "You read "Book of Songs - Qin Feng" to such a young child, do you think he can understand it?"
The child tightly grasped Zhu Xiang's sleeve as he wiped his face: "Qin, Qin Feng? Uncle?"
"Yes, I am your uncle. Don't be afraid. I will take you to find your mother. This time I will definitely, definitely..." Zhu Xiang gritted his teeth for a long time but didn't say what he "definitely" wanted to say.
You can't say harsh words about his mother in front of the child? And with Zhu Xiang's personality, he couldn't do it if he said something too harsh.
At this moment, Zhu Xiang really wanted to stamp his feet, sigh to the sky, and recite that classic movie line.
Bullying the honest people? ! !
The child raised his little face and wiped off the dust. His face was yellow and thin, and he didn't look like he had been treated well.
But even though the silk clothes he was wearing were wrinkled and dirty, they were not something that a poor family could afford. So this poor treatment was probably not related to his family background.
Zhu Xiang felt more and more uncomfortable, and cursed harshly in his heart.
"Uncle will change your clothes first. Let's eat some hot food and then go find your mother, okay?" Zhu Xiang said softly.
The child stopped crying. His expression, which had been terrified just now, was now too calm, which seemed particularly awkward. "Really? Uncle is not lying to me?"
"I swear!" Zhu Xiang raised a hand, "Come, let's take a shower and change clothes first, and then apply some medicine on you."
Zhu Xiang looked at the scraped hand of the child who fell to the ground and repeated, "Apply some medicine first."
The child lowered his head: "Yes... definitely, definitely take me to find my mother."
Zhu Xiang said: "Of course. Lin Li..."
Lin Zhi waved his hand and said, "Go ahead and do your work. Don't worry, I've already sent someone to look for the person who lost the child. That woman can't get far."
Zhu Xiang said, "Thank you. I'm busy now. When things are settled, I will cook a feast for you myself."
Lin Zhi smiled and said, "I'll remember it!"
Zhu Xiang left with the child in his arms, and the smile on Lin Zhi's face faded.
He knew that Zhu Xiang had a good temper and a soft heart, and would not think of taking drastic measures even if he encountered such a thing. But as a friend, he wanted to intervene.
After a while, a soldier wearing a long sword hurried in.
"Caught?" Lin Zhi asked.
The soldier said, "We caught her. She was just a servant, and we have already found out her address."
Lin Zhi said, "Get the car ready. I want to go and meet the woman who first lost her own brother and is now about to lose her own son."
The soldiers took the order and retreated.
Lin Zhi sighed, "Xue Ji, good people are often bullied. You, my good man, are really a headache for those around you."
Xue returned to the front yard at some point. She said calmly, "If my beloved was not so pure and kind, Mr. Lin would not have condescended to associate with her."
Lin Zhi said, "That's true. If we can't find the woman, will you agree to adopt the child?"
Xue said: "Everything is in accordance with my beloved's wishes."
Lin Zhi said happily: "I don't believe it. He is following your wishes, right?"
Xue said: "Follow my wishes, and it is also my beloved's own wish."
"Okay, okay, you're right." Lin Zhi surrendered, "If you don't want to keep him, I'll help you find a good family far away from you to adopt him."
Xue was finally moved. She cupped her hands and bent her body slightly: "Thank you, Mr. Lin."
Zhu Xiang carried the child into the bathroom.
Zhu Xiang liked cleanliness, so he built a room specifically for his bathroom. The bathroom had running water and a stove for boiling water.
From this we can see that the Lin family treated Zhu Xiang, a "retainer", quite well, probably even better than the treatment given to "superior retainers".
After the bathroom was built, half of it was immediately occupied by Xue for washing clothes and vegetables. Zhu Xiang grumbled for a long time, and only got the treatment of "yeah, yeah, I won't come in to wash clothes while you take a bath." In the end, Zhu Xiang could only change his psychological cleanliness, which was not a cleanliness obsession, and accepted this reality.
The weather was cool and they had to go out soon. Zhu Xiang said he was giving the child a bath, but in fact he was just wiping the child's body with hot water.
The child must not take a bath often, so there is a lot of dirt on his body and his nails are all black.
In order to prevent fleas, most children of this age would have their hair shaved off, leaving only a small patch of hair on each side of their heads. But this child had his hair loose, and the gaps between his hair were filled with flea eggs visible to the naked eye, which made Zhu Xiang itch all over.
Zhu Xiang wanted very much to wash the child thoroughly, but seeing the panic under the child's forced calmness, and thinking that he would be leaving soon, he only wiped his body, changed him into his own linen short-sleeved shirt and shorts, and then applied medicine on him without even washing his hair.
Zhu Xiang's short-sleeved shirt and shorts had to be tied up several times with a belt to keep them from falling off. Zhu Xiang then wrapped him in an outer robe, wrapping the skinny child into a small ball.
"I only have linen clothes at home. Isn't it uncomfortable to wear them?" Zhu Xiang asked.
The child shook his head silently.
Zhu Xiang carried the child, who was very well behaved and totally different from the one crying hysterically just now, into the main hall where they were having dinner. Xue had already had the goat milk soup heated up and served.
The child's stomach had been growling with hunger. When he smelled the milk, he hesitated for a moment, picked up the wooden spoon, and began to drink in small sips.
When the goat milk soup took a bite, the aroma of melted precious rice and milk without any fishy smell filled the mouth. The child's swollen eyes gradually opened wide, and his gray eyes became a little brighter.
He raised his head and looked at the young woman who had an unhappy face but prepared delicious goat milk soup for him, then looked at the young man who had a frown on his brow but tried his best to show him a kind smile, then he lowered his head and buried his face in the bowl and ate like a hungry puppy.
Zhu Xiang frowned even more tightly, but the smile on his face became even more kind; the displeasure on Xue's face faded, but she soon put on a stern face again.
Lin Zhi, who was acting as a backdrop, twitched his nose and stretched out his hand: "Give me a bowl."
Zhu Xiang: "... Go scoop it yourself!"
(End of this chapter)