lady, please calm down

The upcoming second year of Xuanqing is a double spring year. In such years, the Chinese New Year will usually be warmer than in previous years.

There was a heavy snowfall in Huaibei when the twelfth lunar month just entered, and then there were continuous sunny days. By the 29th day of the twelfth lunar month, the temperature in the afternoon was very comfortable, and it felt a bit like spring.

At the head of Xizhuang Village, Nantao, Caizhou, there is a grain field used to dry grain in summer and autumn.

The grain farm is idle in winter, and it has become a good place for villagers to keep warm.

At the end of the day, Chen Chu slowly walked towards the village entertainment and information exchange center with Mian'er on his neck.

Several old men sitting on the millstone saw him from a distance and started talking in low voices.

"Brother Tao, I heard that this house in our village was owned by Eunuch Cao, the supervisor of Caizhou, as early as eight years ago in Fuchang. Why did Xiao Chen and his wife move in yesterday? What are their origins?"

The old man who was called Second Brother Tao shook his head and replied: "I don't know, maybe he is a relative of Cao Dujian's family."

Another older man, who was slightly younger, turned to look at Chen Chu, who was getting closer, and lowered his voice and said: "We don't care who he is, anyway, we are not tenants of the Cao family, so there is no need to be afraid of him."

Taoxi originally belonged to Zheng Yi's village. After Chen Chu occupied Caizhou in Fuchang for eight years, he regarded this village as part of the cake and gave it to Cao Xiaojian.

However, Huaibei has gone through several rounds of land reform, and large landowners in the traditional sense almost no longer exist.

At this time, Cao Xiaojian only owned a house with three entrances, two fish ponds, and a 100-acre mulberry garden in the village, and hired several families who had fled here due to the flood in Huaibei to take care of it on a daily basis.

The rest of the former tenants of Zheng Yi have long since become owner-cultivators.

Without the dependence on land, farmers' fear of "nobles" is naturally reduced.

While they were talking, Chen Chu and his daughter had already approached. Tao Er stood up and greeted with a smile: "Hey, Mr. Chen, bring your daughter out to play."

"Well, Uncle Tao, that's good. I'll take the kids out to bask in the sun, which is good for their health."

Chen Chu had brought his daughter to this threshing floor yesterday. After an afternoon of chatting, the two parties could barely be regarded as old acquaintances.

Mian'er stayed in the palace all year round, so his skin looked too white and he obviously lacked outdoor activities.

As soon as Chen Chu put Mian'er down from his neck, the little girl looked at the group of friends in the barn. Yesterday afternoon, Mian'er rolled and played in the mud with his friends in the barn, and was so happy.

So just after lunch today, she pestered her father to bring her here.

However, before running over, Mian'er, who was holding two little ones, still looked up at his father. Chen Chu chuckled and said first: "Say hello to everyone."

Hearing this, Mian'er clumsily made a Wanfu gift to several old men, and said with a sweet voice: "I would like to say hello to all of you."

"Ouch, hahaha."

Mian'er's cute and well-behaved appearance immediately caused a group of old men to laugh and praise her.

Chen Chu stood aside, smiling happier than he had won the battle, and then said to his daughter: "Go, be careful not to dirty your clothes again, or make your mother scold you."

Children have their own fun. Mian'er joined her friends and immediately became the center of attention just like yesterday. The little girl was wearing well-tailored clothes, her mother had personally combed her hair, and she was white and tender. His little face, sitting together with the little mud monkeys in the village, was like a little swan falling into the middle of a group of little ducks.

Nowadays, even if life is getting better, farmers do not have the habit of making new clothes for their children all day long. After all, they grow up too fast, and often the new clothes they wear this year will be smaller next year. Most of the clothes they wear are old clothes remade by their older brothers and sisters. Small clothes.

Chen Chu sat on the millstone with a group of old men. He took out a small cloth bag filled with fried peanuts and used it as a snack, and they started chatting.

"Uncle Tao, how is the harvest this year?"

"Thanks to the prince, these Chinese cabbages and radishes have been sold at a good price this winter, and the family can have a prosperous year again. Hey, what did you say? Oh, by the way, the sesame seeds are blooming more and more, hahaha "

It's not the end of time.

Jia Rou was bored in the house, and Mian'er left for nearly an hour. She couldn't help but feel a little worried, so she took Kou Yunxun to the threshing floor.

Although it was past dinner time, tomorrow was New Year's Eve, and smoke was still rising from the chimneys of every household.

Steaming pancakes, making rice cakes, croquettes, boiling meat, all kinds of flavors are mixed together.

Jiarou has been in the palace for a long time, and she has never seen such fireworks. Every time she passes by a house, she wants to turn her head to see what people are preparing to eat.

Her appearance also attracted the attention of some old women who were sitting in front of and behind the house doing needlework and doing household chores.

Apart from other things, Jia Rou's appearance, clothes, and every move are incompatible with this ordinary small village. It's no wonder that the old women whisper about her origins.

Jia Rou felt that she was being noticed, and felt slightly uncomfortable. She walked quickly past the old women gathering and then breathed a sigh of relief.

It can be seen that she recognized the excitement in other houses, and Jia Rou asked subconsciously: "Kuoyun, we are celebrating the New Year in the house, don't we need to prepare food?"

"Uh"

The group arrived in Caizhou yesterday and had a busy day of settling in. This morning, Jiarou allowed Zhuan Yun, who was in charge, to go home to visit relatives, but no one took care of trivial matters such as fried cakes and steamed cakes.

Kuoyun thought for a moment and suggested: "Your Highness, please go to the palace later to get some ready-made items. We can prepare them ourselves. It's too late."

Like Zhuan Yun, Kou Yun came from the Prince's Palace in Sajin Lane. Even though she was now with Jia Rou, she still subconsciously regarded herself as a member of the Palace, so she didn't have time to prepare. It was natural for her to go to the Palace to get some.

But after hearing this, Jiarou said unhappyly: "No need."

After all, she is the eldest princess of a country. Can she still not afford anything to eat during the Chinese New Year? I'm not a beggar, so why would I have the nerve to go to the palace to beg for food?

After a while, Jia Rou walked to the threshing floor at the head of the village and saw her daughter among the children at a glance.

I haven't seen her for an hour, but there are a few mud fingerprints on the little girl's Shu brocade outer shirt. She doesn't care about the dirt on the ground, just sits on the ground with a group of little mud monkeys, and uses the mud to pinch the chickens, ducks and tigers.

Once your little hands are covered with mud and their dexterity is affected, you can use your backhand to touch them casually on your body.

Even the sides of his mouth were stained with mud. At first glance, they looked like two mustaches.

Is this still my daughter who is fragrant and fragrant, white and tender?

Let the father take care of the baby, and then bring him up like this?

Jia Rou angrily looked for Chen Chu's figure on the threshing floor. It was not difficult to find him. After a few breaths, he saw the figure with his back turned to her, chatting energetically with a group of old men.

Stepping forward angrily, Kou Yunqiao Chu Jiarou became angry and quickly reminded in a low voice: "Your Highness, this is outside."

Jiarou couldn't help but slow down.

It just so happened that several old men were chatting about the changes in life in recent years. Erbo Tao sighed: "What kind of life were we living in the past? I still remember the winter of the third year in Fuchang. Caizhou had just experienced two years of military disasters. At the end of the year, the court suddenly added another The 'tribute tax' is said to be a tax paid to the emperor of the Jin Kingdom. That year of the great cold, we didn't even have food to eat, how could we have any food left to pay taxes!"

"Isn't it!" Someone immediately said: "On New Year's Eve, the old bald uncle and his family in our village were forced to hang themselves by the grain expropriation officer!"

Although many years have passed, a group of people still grit their teeth when talking about this matter.

Another person said with hatred: "If King Chu hadn't been in charge of Huaibei, we would have been tortured to death by the court sooner or later! Haha, fortunately, the disaster will not last long, and all the men in the family will die!"

Although he didn't mention anyone by name, the old man in Taoxizhuang knew which family he was talking about when he said, "The male member of the family died cleanly."

In Huaibei, the public opinion system controlled by Ayu has been intentionally or unintentionally weakening Liu Qi's majesty and establishing the reputation of the King of Chu.

Therefore, it is neither a big deal nor politically correct to criticize Liu Qi's court locally.

From their perspective, they naturally cannot sympathize with the saying "taxation is the foundation of the country", and they do not understand the difference between today's Huaibei tax system and the original one.

During Liu Qi's period, there was no business tax to collect, and he did not dare to tax the wealthy gentry who were entrenched in various places. The pressure of raising soldiers, officials, and running the court fell on the common people.

Nowadays, commercial taxes account for the majority of Huaibei's taxes, and there are large-scale reclamation groups like Luliuwei Farm and Reclamation, which are similar to state-owned farms, to coordinate dispatch and promote new grains. They can also support the operation of Huaibei's military system without hesitation during wartime. Coupled with the huge increase in productivity brought about by new species, the tax pressure on homesteaders has been reduced many times compared to before.

Furthermore, now that Caizhou includes the garrison, military dependents, factory workers, etc., it has become a large city with a population of one million.

With such a population size, the villages adjacent to Caizhou can still live a pretty good life just by growing vegetables and selling vegetables and fruits into the city.

Therefore, in the eyes of the old man in Taoxizhuang, the Liu Qi court in the past was composed of a group of evil people who only knew how to exploit the people. Naturally, he would be merciless when talking about them.

While he was scolding vigorously, he suddenly heard a sad and indignant scolding from behind him, "Bold!"

Everyone was startled. They all turned around and saw Mrs. Chen who had just moved into the village with 'Xiao Chen' yesterday. They couldn't help but look at each other and looked at Chen Chu.

Everyone in the world has their own position. Even if Jia Rou does not stand from the perspective of national affairs, her words, "The harm will not last long, all the men in the family will die" are hard for her to accept.

Chen Chu stood up and walked over, wanting to take Jiarou elsewhere to comfort her.

Jia Rou stood stubbornly on the spot, staring at Tao Er and the other old men with a pair of red phoenix eyes, and said: "How can you talk about the late emperor behind his back like this! This is a major crime against the nine tribes, do you understand?"

These words did not scare many people. Taoxi Village had several children who joined the army, including Zhuangzi's Li Zheng, who was also a Huaibei veteran. This group of people gathered together and cursed Liu Qi's court and Golden Dog even more. ruthless.

But for the sake of the nice-tongued Xiao Chen, the old men did not intend to argue with the woman and kept silent.

But Jiarou, as if trying to convince the other party, explained seriously: "You know, when the late emperor was still alive, he only took two sets of regular meals every spring and winter, and the daily meals were no more than four dishes and two soups. The expenses in the palace were reduced again and again. The food and clothing expenses are not as good as those of the wealthy households in Tokyo. The late emperor was diligent in his work, he wore clothes and ate at midnight, did not go to bed before midnight, and did not wake up until midnight. How can your conscience be at ease when you slander the late emperor like this?"

Tao Er's son was in the Huaibei army. As a member of the army, he was quite confident. Hearing Mrs. Chen's long words also aroused his temper.

Tao Eryi cupped his hands and said, "Ms. Chen, of course we don't know what you said. But we have seen relatives of the same ethnic group starve to death, we have seen fellow villagers being forced to death by tax collectors, and we have seen the people in other provinces during the flood in Huaibei. Fleeing in panic, I also heard that Shouzhou was slaughtered by the rebel army and the rivers were blocked for thousands of miles! Where was the late emperor at that time? If I, Caizhou, had not been in charge of the King of Chu, I am afraid that the old man would have become a withered bone in the grave.

Madam Chen, what you said may be true, but what does it have to do with us people? If everything in Daqi is peaceful and happy, and the people do not have to worry about being cold or discouraged, then the late emperor can be called a wise king if he eats delicacies from the mountains and seas every day and plays around all day long! On the contrary, if the land of Daqi is starved to death and the people are in dire straits, what is the use of the late emperor wearing one less set of clothes every year and eating less pieces of meat for each meal? "

Tao Erbo, who had been a private school teacher in the village in his early years, made Jiarou speechless. In fact, Tao Er's central idea was that as an emperor, the personal virtues of 'frugality and diligence' were at best the icing on the cake. , as long as the country is prosperous and the people are happy, he is a wise king.

No matter how good your personal ethics are, your governance of the country is a mess. At best, you are self-motivated, and at worst, you are incompetent!

Tao Er had already said it very implicitly.

Jia Rou wanted to refute, but was unable to speak for a moment, but another Taoxi villager said the opposite: "Second brother is right! Just like our King of Chu, although the Huainan tabloids say he is lecherous, but so what? As long as he can lead In order for everyone to live a good life, it would be appropriate for him to take in another thirty or fifty aunts."

Hey~hey~hey! This uncle, let’s talk about it, why are you talking about Brother Chu?

There are thirty or fifty aunts, the aunts can bear it, but Brother Chu’s waist can’t bear it either!

The moment of application.

In winter, the days are short and the sun is already westward.

In Taoxizhuang House, Chen Chu and Jia Rou were sitting on the flower pond in front of the screen wall. Jia Rou was obviously not used to sitting outside so casually.

The eyes were red, as if he had just cried a lot, and his energy was a little depressed.

Mian'er had washed her hands and face. She must have been frightened by her mother's crying. Her mouth was pressed tightly, there were tears in her eye sockets, and she was lying in Jiarou's arms. Today's incident is a shock to Jiarou.

An old country farmer ruthlessly stripped away the essence of his father's "incompetence that burdened the country" due to his diligence and frugality.

But she chose the person next to her for comparison. Jiarou's mood was complicated and hard to describe.

Due to the limitations of her life experience, Jia Rou will definitely have some different ideas from Chen Chu. Chen Chu plans to have a good chat with Jia Rou, but not when Jia Rou is sad.

"Don't cry, Mian'er will be frightened."

As Chen Chu spoke, he reached out to take Mian'er from Jiarou's arms.

But the two of them had only become familiar with each other since yesterday. Mian'er naturally didn't want to leave her mother's arms at this time, so she couldn't help but move back.

In order to lighten the atmosphere, Chen Chu deliberately laughed and scolded: "Yesterday Mian'er said that he would be daddy's little cotton-padded jacket. It seems that he is still married to mother!"

"You don't see her a few times in a year. If I hadn't brought her to Caizhou this time, Mian'er wouldn't even remember you as a father, and how could he be close to you?"

This was the first thing Jia Rou said after returning home, and it certainly seemed a bit resentful.

Chen Chu felt guilty about this matter and couldn't help but said: "If there is nothing important recently, you and your daughter can stay in Caizhou for a longer time, and I will spend more time with Mian'er."

Jia Rou was silent for a moment, then said, "It's New Year's Eve tomorrow. Can you come at night?"

On New Year's Eve, if Chen Churuo comes here for a family reunion, the family will not be in trouble.

Jia Rou drooped her eyelids, looked at the ground, and suddenly said: "Then, you can always stay tonight, right?"

"Well, okay."

Chen Chu blurted out, and then glanced at Jia Rou suspiciously. Just now Jia Rou proposed to accompany her on New Year's Eve, but Chen Chu couldn't do it. Then she changed it to today, and Chen Chu casually agreed due to guilt.

It seems a bit intentional to ask for a hundred, but in fact the psychological price is only about fifty.

Jiarou felt uncomfortable being looked at by Chen Chu, and continued to lower her eyes and said, "It's Mian'er who misses you. After you left last night, she was stunned for me for half the night and insisted on being held by daddy to sleep."

"Mom, Mian'er didn't get upset last night."

Mian'er raised her head from Jiarou's arms and said for herself.

"You're stunned! You forgot!"

"Oh"

Chen Chu burst out laughing. Jiarou saw that her excuse was exposed by her daughter. She couldn't help but said: "Jiarou is a girl's family after all. No matter whether the father is wise or not, Jiarou finally has a family when he is alive. Now. Now Ugly Rabbit is alone in the imperial city. Seeing other people’s families gathered together, he naturally wants to reunite with you.”

Jia Rou suddenly changed her name on the bed.

She grew up in the palace, and although she had never competed for favor or love, Jiarou had seen a lot of the tricks and talkative tactics of the concubines in the harem. When she spoke her words, she not only showed her true feelings, but also showed some dependence.

The most powerful thing is to inspire a man’s protectiveness and pity.

Chen Chu opened his arms and hugged Jia Rou. There were Kou Yun and Xiao Yi beside him. Jia Rou hesitated for a moment and then obediently rested her head on Chen Chu's shoulder.

"Hug me, and daddy will hug me too."

Mian'er immediately joined in the fun.

If there was a camera at this moment, it would definitely be a loving photo of a family of three.

just

"Yo yo yo, we came at the wrong time!"

When the iconic charming voice sounded, Mao'er and the royal girl group had already stepped through the door.

It was Cai Hua who spoke.

Chen Chu and Jia Rou were sitting in front of the screen wall when they entered, but now they couldn't escape.

Jia Rou sat up straight for a moment and subconsciously wanted to get up. Her butt was only an inch away from the low wall of the flower pond, but she sat back down.

Well, even though they share the same husband, she is the regent princess!

No matter how noble the princess is, she is still a minister. Besides, your imperial edict was granted by Jia Rou herself!

Mao'er and her sisters all stopped a few feet in front of Chen Chu. She smiled at Chen Chu first and said, "I learned that Jia Rou is here, so we sisters will come to see her."

After saying that, those peach blossom eyes looked at Jia Rou.

She neither addressed her as your highness nor paid any courtesy to Jia Rou. Mao'er also had her own reasons. Regardless of whether you are a prince or a princess, if you follow my husband, you must recognize me as your sister!

The warm sunshine in winter fills the courtyard.

After the two people's eyes met, they didn't move away for four or five breaths. They just looked at me and I looked at you.

Each smiled slightly, as if they were waiting for the other to greet them first.

Yunong, who was following behind, had beads of sweat on the tip of his excited nose. Oops! Is this a fight in the back house? So exciting, so exciting

Ayu lowered her eyelids slightly and stayed out of the incident.

Cai Hua held Ji'er's hand and looked back and forth between Mao'er and Jiarou with great interest, as if to see who couldn't hold on first.

Although the rule of the palace was that Chen Chu should not interfere in the affairs of the back house, he could not sit still at this time. He quickly carried Mian'er and walked to Cai Hua, squatted down, and teased: "Mian'er, call me brother."

Little children don't understand the turbulent undercurrents between adults. Mian'er is a well-behaved person, and when he hears this, he says, "Mian'er has met my brother."

Ji'er, who had been raised by Mao'er and Cai Hua as a gentle master since childhood, didn't need anyone to teach her. She handed over her hands and replied in a decent manner: "My sister is fine."

"Hahaha, that's great. I'd like to give you a gift first, so I won't lose a piece of meat."

Chen Chu laughed and said, Jiarou, who was already a little overwhelmed, was younger than Mao'er. Hearing this, he borrowed the donkey from the slope, stood up and bowed, "I have met the princess."

But Mao'er returned the gift with a smile and replied: "You're welcome, sister."

Oh, this title confirms the status in the family?

In order to avoid further quarrels, Chen Chu quickly changed the subject and said, "Why did you suddenly find this place? Is it something urgent?"

Mao'er's original plan was just to come to Jiarou for a while, but after seeing this house, she suddenly changed her mind. She smiled lightly and said: "The Chinese New Year is coming soon, what's the point of letting Jiarou and Mian'er stay here?" It's something. I discussed it with Sister Cai and wanted to use Jiarou to live back home."

Speaking of this, Mao'er smiled and looked at Jiarou, "Will Jiarou go home with us?"

Cai Hua next to her pouted. When did Mao'er discuss this with her?

However, Cai Hua was able to figure out the connection in an instant. Once Jiarou and her daughter lived here, Chen Chu couldn't help but be distracted and worried, and this New Year would not be a good one.

Secondly, when Jiarou returns home, she will definitely be arranged to live in Huanying Garden, the only free place. In this way, her residence will have the same specifications as Caihua, Yunong, and Ayu.

Mao'er lives in Hanchun Hall, the main residence. Doesn't this make Mao'er's status as the principal wife more clear.

Women are scheming, and men's reactions are sometimes a little slow. Chen Chu naturally liked this proposal. It was far better for the family to stay together for the New Year than to live separately, so he looked at Jia Rou with a questioning look.

Jia Rou was not aware of the twists and turns of the palace's back house. After a moment of hesitation, she finally said: "Then I'll trouble the princess."

At the beginning of Youshi, it is almost dusk.

The whole village is filled with the smell of rice, the smoke from cooking, and the sound of sporadic firecrackers, reminding everyone that the New Year is approaching.

Xiao Chen and his wife, who had just moved into Taoxizhuang for two days, were leaving again.

After packing his luggage, Chen Chu specially said goodbye to Tao Er and other old men who came after hearing the news.

Mian'er even cried a little when she got in the car. She has been growing up in the palace since she was born, and has never had the experience of playing with friends of the same age.

Seeing that as soon as we became familiar with each other, we had to move away again, and it was inevitable that we would not let go.

Yu Nong, who was best at dealing with children, established friendship with Mian'er at an alarming speed. He kept comforting: "Sister Mian, don't be afraid. There are many children at home. There are Brother Ji and Sister Ran who you just met." , Sister Rao”

Speaking of her biological daughter, Yu Nong glanced at the cat in the distance and lowered her voice and said: "Here, sister Rao's daughter is the prettiest, just as beautiful as my sister's daughter!"

Ayu, who was riding in the same car with Yunong, couldn't hold it back when he heard this. He curled his lips, how could he praise himself so much? He's a mother, so he's not ashamed!

At the same time, he said: "Where's your sister? Mian'er should call you aunt!"

"Oh." Yunong didn't feel embarrassed, pointed to Ayu's swollen belly with a smile, and said to Mian'er: "Sister Mian, your Aunt Ayu still has another baby in her belly. At this time next year, she will I can play with you!"

Mian'er lowered his head and looked at his small body, then at Aunt Ayu's not too big belly, and finally looked at Yunong. The little man'er said seriously: "Mom said that Mian'er grows on trees. of."

Yunong chuckled and explained: "No, you are the result of the love between your father and mother!"

Jia Rou, who was sitting by the side, could hardly stand listening anymore, but A Yu on the other side took the lead and kicked Yu Nong's butt lightly, complaining: "Why are you talking to a child like this!"

But Yu Nong looked aggrieved and said: "Why are you kicking me? These are the words of the young master himself! Why don't you kick him?"

"."

Jia Rou looked at the interaction between the two and felt it was absurd and novel.

The way this family gets along is so strange. This Yunong is outspoken and as cheerful as a child. Isn't Chen Jinyu the daughter of the Chen family in Yingchuan? Why is he so unstable?

It's like a girl who has not left the court seems to be relaxed and relaxed after meeting her best friend.

After they got married, they still retained this temperament. I think coming to the palace must be a very interesting place, right?

Car Linming, Jiarou and Mian'er all looked forward to the upcoming palace.

On the twenty-ninth day of the twelfth lunar month, the New Year is approaching and the palace is reunited. (End of chapter)