The Fourth Young Master of Liangjing? What an old-fashioned title!
When Jiang Miao first heard this person talking about this, he seemed to recall those thunderous idol drama theme songs, with songs like R4H4F4, where everyone was the coolest person in the school. Especially the leader, who was an evil, crazy and domineering boss, and he would always say something like "Woman, you caught my attention" which made people's hair stand on end.
I didn’t expect Liang Jing also had such a combination. It was actually quite fashionable in ancient times.
"Uncle, you'd better tell me about the most beautiful woman in Liangjing. I'm not interested in the so-called Fourth Young Master." Seeing that the guest was about to start talking about the deeds of the Fourth Young Master of Liangjing, Jiang Miao interrupted him honestly.
The man was very unhappy to be interrupted, with a look of "you are really ignorant" on his face. He said: "Hasn't the most beautiful woman in Liangjing been discussed? She is the daughter of the Duke Zhongguo's mansion!"
Ah this... No name, no rumors or deeds, no description of appearance, and that's it
"Uncle, please stop kidding me. I don't even know the girl's name, how come you've finished talking?"
"You still want to know her name? How can a girl's maiden name be known to everyone on the street? Everyone only knows that she is Miss Pei." The uncle looked at him with a look of astonishment. Not to mention a wealthy family, even a girl from a small family cannot easily let outsiders know her maiden name before she gets married.
"Then who gave this title of the most beautiful woman in Liangjing? From what you said just now, it seems that you have never seen her." Jiang Miao felt it was unreliable.
The uncle was also stunned for a moment, but he quickly reacted: "How can we see the daughter of a wealthy family? But her brother, Master Pei, often goes out, and I was lucky enough to see him once. He is so handsome, with bright eyes and a face like a jade. His gestures are graceful and flowing. If you say he is the second most handsome man in Liangjing, no one dares to rank him first."
The uncle, who felt that he had laid enough groundwork, continued, "Tell me, Miss Pei's brother is so handsome, how could she not be the most beautiful woman in Liangjing?"
This question was so reasonable that Jiang Miao was speechless for a long time. My goodness, this ability of logical reasoning is simply amazing!
It is known that Master Pei is the most handsome man in Liangjing, and Miss Pei is his sister. Therefore, we can conclude that Miss Pei is the most beautiful woman in Liangjing.
According to this logic, Mr. Pei's mother is the most beautiful woman in Liangjing, his father is the most beautiful uncle in Liangjing, and his son Wangcai is the most beautiful Xiu Gou in Liangjing.
What a beautiful person, the whole family is beautiful!
Seeing the old man still waiting for his answer with a smug look on his face, Jiang Miao just smiled awkwardly: "Yes, yes, you are right!"
After watching the uncle leave with a satisfied look on his face after talking about gossip, Jiang Miao quickly closed the stall. After talking so much just now, he actually only extracted one important information in his mind, that is, the Puling Temple in the north of the city is really far away from where he lives!
Originally, he was only thinking about what buns to make, but now he had to think about how to transport the load. It was impossible to carry it over there, even if he was beaten to death. It was already very hard to carry it from his residence to the street, and he would die if he carried it to the north of the city!
After putting the things back, Jiang Miao sat at the door and thought about this problem. At this time, Old Man Mo also came out from next door.
"Brother Jiang, have you finished your business?"
"Well, I just came back from closing the stall. Have you eaten? Didn't you go to work today?" It is hard work to collect night incense from door to door. You have to pull a cart loaded with large wooden barrels to collect them, and then you have to take them outside the city to dump them. When Jiang Miao first came, he felt uncomfortable going to the toilet. There was no squat toilet in the yard, just a small bamboo shed with a large barrel underneath. Later, he gradually got used to it.
"It's my turn to rest today." Old man Mo smiled. He was very happy to have such a job that could guarantee a stable income regardless of drought or flood.
"That's good. You can have a good rest today." Jiang Miao said, and looked a little sad again.
"Brother Jiang, are you worried about something?"
Jiang Miao nodded: "Yes, I'm thinking of setting up a stall at Puling Temple the day after tomorrow, but the journey is quite far, and now I'm worried about how to get my load over there." And even if he got there, going back and forth every day would be a problem. Taking into account the time spent on going and back, he wouldn't be able to set up the stall for very long a day, and he might as well lose money instead of making any money.
"The burden is easy to carry. I have a brother who runs errands. He has a donkey cart. You can ask his cart to deliver it to you. We can leave as soon as the city gate opens, and you will be there by daybreak." Old Man Mo also had some acquaintances.
"But going back and forth every day takes too much time, and I can't make much this way." Jiang Miao was somewhat tempted, but other problems still existed.
Old Man Mo said, "What's the big deal? The Buddhist meeting will last for three days. There are many farmers near Puling Temple. You can pay some money and stay at their house for a few nights. Then come back after the meeting is over, right?"
"Uncle Mo, you are still the one with the idea. Okay, let's do it! By the way, where does your brother live? I want to book his donkey cart first, in case he is busy at that time." Jiang Miao was very happy. He had not thought of this method, because in modern times, the first thing that comes to mind when looking for a place to stay is a hotel, but in ancient times, transportation was not convenient, and it was common to stay in ordinary people's homes when it was inconvenient.
"His house is not far from here. I'll take you there to see it. If he's not here, you can talk to his wife." Old Man Mo was quite enthusiastic.
Jiang Miao followed Old Man Mo through alley after alley and finally arrived at the residence of Old Man Mo's brothers. From the outside, it looked like a large courtyard. The gate was open. In front of the two rooms on the north side, an old woman was sitting and picking vegetables. There were also a few half-grown chickens around her, waiting to eat the yellow leaves she picked.
"Sister-in-law, is Brother Zhang home?" Old Man Mo called out. The woman looked up at the voice, squinting her eyes to look at him, and immediately stood up and said enthusiastically, "It's Brother Mo. Your Brother Zhang went out to run errands today. Come and sit down."
After saying that, he turned around and shouted into the house, "Daniu, move a stool out for your Grandpa Mo and the others to sit on. Who is this?"
"This is Brother Jiang who sells steamed buns on the street ahead."
"Hello, Auntie." Jiang Miao greeted her with a smile.
"Hello, look at the look in my eyes. I heard them say that the buns are delicious just now, so I went to his house to buy some!" Aunt Zhang's eyes were damaged by sewing things when she was young, so she always looks at people with blurry eyes.
A boy of about eighteen or nineteen quickly brought out a bench and shouted "Grandpa Mo". He looked at Jiang Miao behind him, a little undecided, not knowing how to address him.
"This is Brother Jiang, who sells buns on the street ahead. This is Brother Zhang's grandson Daniu, who also works as a waiter in the restaurant. He is with Xiao Wu from our courtyard." Old Man Mo introduced the two people.
Jiang Miao nodded and smiled at him, and called him "Brother Danniu".
Daniu responded, but his smile seemed a little forced. Aunt Zhang next to him sighed.
"Sister-in-law, what's going on? By the way, why didn't Daniu go to work today?" Old Man Mo noticed something unusual and asked with a restrained smile.
"Alas, he was sent back by the restaurant owner. He was accused of not doing his job properly, serving spoiled food to the guests, which made them angry." Aunt Zhang said sadly. The old man had asked many people to help him get this job, but he didn't expect to lose it after only working for half a year.
Old Man Mo understood what was going on and said, "He's just a waiter. What does it have to do with him if something goes wrong? This shopkeeper is too unreasonable!"
"Who says it's not true? But when the customer blames a cook and a waiter, the shopkeeper naturally has to help the cook." Aunt Zhang naturally understood that the truth of the matter must not be what the shopkeeper said, but what could they do since they couldn't do anything about it
The big guy next to him wanted to say something but hesitated. After thinking about it, he still didn't speak. He just lowered his head and was sad in silence.
Jiang Miao standing aside felt a little emotional. It turned out that no matter how the society develops, such dark things will never be eliminated. Being blamed and driven away is still considered a light punishment.
Seeing that the atmosphere was a bit dull, Aunt Zhang wiped her eyes and said, "Well, let's not talk about this. By the way, Brother Mo, Brother Jiang, you can eat at my house today. I'll go buy some meat."
"Don't worry, sister-in-law. We are not here to eat. We just want to ask if Brother Zhang has taken any other business in the past few days. Brother Jiang wants to ask his car to go to Puling Temple and also wants him to pick him up when he comes back."
Aunt Zhang said quickly: "He hasn't taken any other business yet. He's free tomorrow and the day after tomorrow. You tell me when you're going to pick him up. I'll tell him when he comes back!" With one less person earning money at home, it's natural for people to hope to make up for it elsewhere.
Jiang Miao discussed the pick-up time and price with Aunt Zhang, and agreed that she would pick him up at his residence when the morning bell rang the day after tomorrow, and would go there again after noon three days later.
Since he had a lot of stuff, the car might not be able to carry other passengers, so he had to pay the chartered car price. Usually, a trip in the city costs 15 coins, and the distance out of the city is charged. It takes about 60 coins to get to Puling Temple. An empty car does not cost money for a round trip, which means he needs to pay them 120 coins. Jiang Miao smiled bitterly, saying that he had gone so far without earning anything. It's really hard to make money!
Jiang Miao paid ten cents as a deposit, and then returned to the yard with Old Man Mo.
After deleting and reducing the items in his mind for a while, Jiang Miao finally made a list of the things he wanted to buy. He went out and walked around a few times, just like a squirrel moving house, and finally bought everything he wanted to take with him the day after tomorrow morning.
However, looking at the pile of things on the ground, Jiang Miao fell into deep thought. He planned to set up the stall all day long for those three days, so the number of buns must be enough. How to make buns and set up the stall at the same time was a problem.
However, the answer to this question told Jiang Miao that one person could not do all these things. He had to hire another person so that two people would not be too busy and unable to take care of both.
But who should he hire? Looking around, there was no suitable person in this yard. He did get to know some people during these days of setting up stalls, but they were not permanent jobs, so who would be willing to do it? Should he go over there to find someone
Jiang Miao thought about it, and suddenly a person popped up in his mind, that is, the big guy he met today. First of all, he worked in a restaurant before, so he should be very skillful, and maybe he can even help make buns. Secondly, his family is close to Uncle Mo's family, so they can be considered half acquaintances. Finally, he was just fired by the restaurant, and he should not be able to find a job for a while. He should not be unwilling to work as a temporary worker for a few days.
The more Jiang Miao thought about it, the more he felt that this person was feasible, so he knocked on the door of the Mo family and explained his purpose to Old Man Mo. Old Man Mo was very happy when he heard it, and hurriedly said that he would take care of it, and he would go to Zhang's house to talk to Daniu about it after dinner.
Jiang Miao thanked him and went out, preparing to get some more ingredients. Obviously, two people could make more buns!
“… Eat, eat, eat. All you do is eat all day! I finally got a chance to rest at home, but you can’t have a rest at all. If you care so much about that family, why don’t you go eat there!”
A burst of scolding came from the door that was not yet closed. Jiang Miao felt a little embarrassed for a moment. He did not expect that Uncle Mo would be scolded because of him. However, from what Aunt Mo said, it seemed that the implication was more directed at the Zhang family.
The old man Mo's whispered rebuttal could not be heard clearly through the door, but from the voice of Aunt Mo speaking behind him, it was obvious that she did not take him seriously.
Jiang Miao went back to the house and knocked on the door again. The voice inside stopped abruptly. Old man Mo, who came to open the door, looked a little embarrassed when he saw Jiang Miao.
Jiang Miao raised his voice and said, "Uncle Mo, thank you for helping me with the matchmaking today. This piece of meat is my thank you gift to you. If it weren't for your help and advice, I would still be worried!"
Old Man Mo blushed and quickly refused. He only helped a little, how could he take someone else's meat? He also knew that Jiang Miao wanted to help him out, but he was used to it. It was nothing more than suffering for his ears.
He pushed it this way and Jiang Miao pushed it this way. Before the two of them could even hold their position for a moment, a hand suddenly reached out from the side and took the bowl.
"Oh, Brother Jiang is sincere, so let's not make things difficult for him! But you too, Brother Jiang, why are you so polite to your neighbors? Next time you ask him to do something, don't do this again!" Aunt Mo said with a smile on her face, and her words were very kind, as if nothing had happened just now.
Old Man Mo shouted in a low voice: "It's just a small favor, it's not worth it, return the bowl to Brother Jiang!"
Aunt Mo responded, "It's time to return the bowl to Brother Jiang." Then she walked in and came out with an empty bowl.
"Brother Jiang, I won't delay your meal. Come and find him if you have any problems in the future."
Jiang Miao nodded and smiled helplessly as he walked out. Fortunately, she wasn't that fierce, at least she helped him wash the dishes.
Time flies, and it is the seventeenth day of the winter month.
It was still dark and the morning bell had just rung once when Jiang Miao started moving things and then waited at the gate of the yard. Soon he heard the sound of wheels rolling. The sound was getting closer and closer. Jiang Miao stuck his head out and found a big donkey head at the corner of the alley. Its ears were erected, its big eyes were looking forward, and it was making a "ah ah ah" sound from its mouth.
The donkey seemed to be in its prime. It was smaller than a horse, but looked very strong.
Jiang Miao likes these small animals very much. He has actually never seen a donkey. In the countryside where he used to live, he saw more animals like pigs and cows.
Behind the donkey was Lao Zhang, the driver, and on the carriage was his grandson Daniu. He seemed to ask something, and Daniu nodded and pointed in the direction of Jiang Miao.
"Brother Jiang, right? Have you moved out all your things?" asked Lao Zhang.
"Yes, Uncle Zhang, they are all here."
"Okay, Daniel, hurry down and move the things up. You have to work harder with Brother Jiang these days, okay?" Uncle Zhang said, and then turned to Jiang Miao and said, "Brother Jiang, if this kid is lazy or dishonest, just tell me and I will teach him a lesson on behalf of his parents!"
Jiang Miao knew that he was expressing his attitude to him, so he said politely, "Brother Daniu is hardworking. With his help, things will be much easier."
Zhang Daniu was very strong. While Jiang Miao and Lao Zhang were talking, he moved all the things onto the car. He also left a place for Jiang Miao to sit in to avoid the wind. The car only had a shed on the top, and the rest of the car was windproof. Fortunately, the load helped Jiang Miao block some of the wind, otherwise it would be uncomfortable to be blown all the way.
However, Jiang Miao was not completely unprepared. As soon as he got in the car, he took out a large piece of cloth and wrapped his head and shoulders, leaving only half of his face exposed.
Lao Zhang asked if the donkey was seated properly, then he raised the whip and flicked it in the air, and the donkey started running away.
"Uncle Zhang, Brother Daniu, have you eaten?" Jiang Miao found the way they addressed each other interesting, but he couldn't bring himself to call them Grandpa Zhang or nephew Daniu, so he could only call them casually. Old Zhang didn't care, as the seniority among relatives had to be strictly followed, and it didn't matter to outsiders.
"Eat it, Jiang Xiaoge, eat it yourself." Seeing Jiang Miao handing over the buns, Lao Zhang quickly refused. It's not nice to take someone's money and eat their food.
But Jiang Miao also felt that it was not nice for others to see him eating it, not to mention that he had specially steamed the buns to serve as breakfast for several people.
In the end, Lao Zhang and the other man failed to refuse and took the buns from Jiang Miao.
Daniu suddenly said, "This bun smells so good, it's even better than the buns that Yingkelai gave us."
Yingkelai was the name of the restaurant that kicked him out. They also served breakfast to the guests staying in the hotel, but the buns there were obviously not as good as the two he had in his hand.
Lao Zhang also nodded. He had been to many places and bought buns from many places. The one in his hand indeed tasted better.
Jiang Miao just thought that they said nice things because they ate his food, and didn't take it to heart.
After walking for an unknown amount of time, the donkey cart stopped. The Puling Temple was in the north of the city, so they had to exit from the north gate.
Probably because they were going to burn incense, the North Gate was very congested today. Jiang Miao stuck his head out and found that the queue in front was about a hundred meters long. In addition to donkey carts like theirs, there were also many beautiful horse-drawn carriages.
There were no words on these carriages, but there were different logos. People who were familiar with them should be able to tell the status of the owners at a glance. Jiang Miao didn't know what these logos meant, but he thought, this should be the same as the modern car logo, right
Horse carriages are different from donkey carriages. They both have compartments, and one can tell at a glance that they are warm inside. As you get closer, you can occasionally hear silver bell-like laughter coming from inside. I don't know which family's young lady or maid is having fun.
Jiang Miao, who was wrapped tightly but still felt very cold, looked at the large carriages with envy. One day, he would also earn money to buy a carriage of his own!
(End of this chapter)