He did not go to Rongxi Hall to say goodbye to Jia Zheng.

After all, he is just an uncle and nephew, so there is no need to be too hypocritical about greeting him every day. Everyone finds it troublesome.

Therefore, Jia Lian usually does not go to greet Jia Zheng and Mrs. Wang. If something happens, they will directly ask someone to call him over.

Besides, Jia Zheng is probably still sleeping soundly in Aunt Zhao's room with the beauty in his arms. It would be too foolish to disturb her so early in the morning.

But Jia She must go there.

Of course, Jia She just didn’t see him.

When Shi Shiran came out of the East Crossing Courtyard, Zhaoer and others were already waiting outside, including people and horses.

On this trip to the south, he wanted to shorten the trip, so he did not bring too many people.

Except for Xiaosi Zhaoer and Changsui Wanger, there are only five adult nursing homes.

The so-called nursing homes are those who are physically strong among the servants of the family and are used to look after the homes and homes. They also have the duties of servants and attendants.

The ancestors of the Jia family made their fortune through military service, and many of the servants in the family served as soldiers and herds horses with several princes. Although it has been stable for many years and the older generation is dying, their children and grandchildren are still serving in the mansion.

Yesterday afternoon, Jia Lian personally tested it and found out that many of the nursing homes outside the second gate could actually perform a few military fighting techniques. They must have been taught by their fathers and ancestors.

So Jia Lian selected a few of them who seemed to be the most agile. It was thought that with these people escorting them, even if they encountered ordinary thieves on the way, it would be enough to deal with them.

"Second Master..."

Zhao'er brought over the white horse that Jia Lian often used when going out, patted the horse and said with a smile: "It costs a thousand to go down from the capital to Yangzhou. After many miles of journey, I was afraid that my body would not be able to bear it, so I specially gave it to me. How do you feel about it?"

When Jia Lian heard the sound, he looked over and saw that it was Zhaoer who was riding on the horse. There was a layer of fur, like ermine skin. Coupled with the good appearance of the clean white horse, it indeed looks more noble and extraordinary.

"This thing is soft and absorbs sweat. I think it will save me less pain when riding on the road."

Riding a short distance may be a kind of enjoyment. But running hundreds or thousands of miles is definitely a physically and mentally taxing job.

Therefore, Jia Lian was very satisfied that Zhaoer could consider him so appropriately.

After getting on his horse, Jia Lian smiled and said: "It's too late to regret now. This trip must be very hard. If you want to visit Yangzhou, you can go down by boat with Xing'er and the others. Don't show off now. ,WhenWaiting on the road to complain. "

Zhao'er chuckled and said, "Thank you for your consideration, but I'm not afraid of you, so what should I be afraid of?" Besides, the slave is used to serving the master. If he doesn't stay with the master, the slave will not feel at ease. ”

Well, once you hear it, you will know that it is a complete bitch.

Jia Lian stopped talking nonsense. Seeing that the others were also ready, he tightened the reins of his horse. He shouted in a serious voice:

“Let’s go! ”

…

In late summer and early autumn, the weather was hot.

Although Jia Lian and others took advantage of the few hours in the morning to travel seriously, Xi After more than a hundred miles out of the capital, the sun is getting really hot.

On the road with such a sun, even the strong wind brought by the galloping horses can't blow away the heat on the body.< br />
"Second Master, there is a forest ahead. Let's take a rest there. It's too hot to run..."

Zhao'er has long felt tired. No, I wanted to rest when I passed several tea pavilions and wine shops, but Jia Lian didn't allow it, so I had to insist.

At this moment, I really felt that the heat was a bit unbearable, and I saw that I had to walk through a dense forest ahead. Then he hurriedly shouted loudly.

Fearing that Jia Lian still disagreed, he quickly winked at the others.

Lai Wang said: "Yes, Second Master, let's hurry up like this. Even if people can bear it, the horse cannot bear it. If the horse is tired, it will really delay the trip. Let's take a rest before leaving. "

"It's just..."

In fact, Jia Lian was no better than Zhao'er. The reason why he insisted on rushing was, firstly, to reach Yangzhou as soon as possible, and secondly, It’s also a look at the limits of this body’s endurance and strength.

The result is not bad. Although Jia Lian used to be arrogant and extravagant, fortunately because he is young and often goes out to do errands, his physical fitness is not bad.

But after looking at the nursing homes, Jia Lian felt that he still needed more exercise.

Most of them were just out of breath, unlike him who was already out of breath. I don’t know how many times I wiped the sweat secretly...

Thinking that Wang’er’s words were reasonable, Jia Lian did not insist anymore and asked everyone to do some trimming in the forest and feed the horses some water along the way. .

I was sitting and chatting with a few nursing homes that I was not familiar with, to understand the situation at home, so that I could relax.

Suddenly I saw Zhaoer coming from the tree shade next to me. The path came out and he laughed loudly: "Second Master, look at it, what is this? ”

Jia Lian looked around and saw this kid, who had picked him up from nowhere.A huge watermelon!

"You kid, where did you get this?"

Lai Wang, who was waiting for the horse to drink water, said with a smile: "I don't know, but there is a melon patch across the street. , this monkey kid must have sneaked over and picked it secretly."

Zhao'er chuckled, "The weather is so hot, wouldn't it be more refreshing to eat some of this before going on the road."

/>After saying that, he asked the others to draw their knives, cut the watermelon into pieces on the big stone, and then gave the best piece to Jia Lian.

Jia Lian took a bite and found it extremely sweet. It tasted better than anything he had eaten in later generations.

"You guys can eat too and watch what I do."

After hearing Jia Lian's instructions, everyone rushed forward.

Zhaoer jumped anxiously and rushed back, but only grabbed a small piece, and immediately started cursing at Lai Wang and others.

The others just laughed, and one of them said: "Look at how stingy you are, wait until we finish eating and pick two more. Then you will eat two more pieces."< br />
Only then did Zhaoer reluctantly accept it.

Jia Lian finished the melon in his hand and threw the rind into the grass behind him. He stood up and said, "It's not easy for farmers to grow melons. Let's just pick one and try it. If you want to eat one, It’s enough, you still need to spend money to buy it.

Let’s go and have a look.”

…

Along the way Following the path down to the official road, it turns out that there are several large melon fields here, and it is the season of ripeness. Watermelons, big or small, are looming in the fields. At a glance, they are full of fruits, which is really gratifying.

Seeing that there was a house on the top of the hillside, which must be where the melon keeper was, Jia Lian and others left two people to look after the horses, while the others walked up the slope together.

"Woof woof woof~~!!"

Suddenly there was a burst of barking, and two ferocious vicious dogs appeared. But they were all tied up with chains, so no one was panicked.

A person behind Jia Lian even smiled at Zhao'er and said: "If you can steal the melon under the noses of two vicious dogs, you must be smarter than the dogs."
< br /> "Fuck you, uncle..."

Not long after the dog barked, an old man and a young man also appeared on the slope.

The old man was about fifty years old and skinny. Behind him was a half-year-old boy, who must be his grandson. They were all dressed in coarse linen and linen, and you could tell they were real farmers at first glance.

Seeing Jia Lian and his entourage, they seemed to be a little scared, even though they held the dogHe stopped barking, but hesitantly dared not come forward.

Jia Lian took a step forward and said with cupped hands: "Don't worry, old man. We were passing through this place. Because it was hot and thirsty, the servants didn't know the etiquette and stole a melon. The juniors and others are here to be honest. To apologize."

After hearing this, the old farmer felt relieved and hurriedly waved his hands: "It's just a watermelon. You don't have to be like this, you don't have to be like this..."

"Thank you, old man. . But I would like to buy some more melons from the old man to take with me on the road. Is that possible?”

“If you guys want to eat them, just pick them, they are all worthless things...”

When the old farmer saw that Jia Lian was dressed richly and behaved politely, and that Lai Wang and others behind him had different attitudes, he guessed that he was a noble son from a big city. He showed that he was not a vicious person, and said hello: "It's hot in the summer, why don't you and all the gentlemen come up, have a bowl of herbal tea before going on your way."

Thought of something else, and pulled the man next to him. Grandson, "Sanzi, go home quickly and bring some clean bowls!"

As he spoke, he fended off the eagerly looking vicious dog and invited everyone up with a smile.

Jia Lian saw the old man's enthusiasm and saw the young man running down the slope obediently. He somehow thought of Grandma Liu and his grandson.

I think most of the farmers who come to this world are simple people...

As the old farmer goes up, here is a thatched house facing east to west. It was built to guard the melon fields.

Beside the house, there is a medium-sized locust tree, which can provide just enough shade. Under the tree, there are two low stools and a wooden table.

Such a simple and quiet farm residence actually evoked Jia Lian’s desire to return to farming.

The old man respectfully asked Jia Lian to sit down. Jia Lian did not delay, but asked Lai Wang to come up with five hundred dollars.

“How can we use so much...” The old farmer waved his hands hurriedly, not willing to accept it.

Jia Lian said with a smile: "The money is first to make amends, and secondly to buy melons. The old man should accept it, otherwise the younger generation and others will feel uneasy."

" Master, don’t say any more words of apology. As for those melons in the fields, if you like them, you can just pick some and eat them. I really don’t dare to accept your money..."

Old man As he spoke, he sighed helplessly.

Zhao'er didn't want to stay here longer, nor did he care about their tea. Seeing the old man's nagging, he said, "Just keep it if our master gives it to you. Are you forcing us to take advantage of you?" It's not like we can't afford the money."

"That's not what I meant..."

Jia Lian waved his hand and asked: "What trouble has the old man encountered?"

Jia Lian saw that the old farmer seemed to have a sad look on his face.

The old farmer hesitated for a moment and sighed: "It's rare for the young master to be kind, but how dare I accept the money from the young master? As the young master sees it, the melon harvest in our fields this year is really good, but it's really... I can't make any money."

A nurse laughed and said: "You old man is so dishonest. This year's watermelons were sold in the capital for more than ten cents per catty! I see your blockbuster There are at least several thousand kilograms in the field, but you told our master that you can't make any money?"

"A dozen yuan..." The old farmer's eyes became more and more sad, but he was still busy explaining:
/>
"That's the price in big cities. It's really worthless here... To be honest, in the past years, our family, together with several melon growers around us, could still make some money. , but this year is different...

Yuanwai Li from West Village sent someone early in the morning to tell everyone that he would pay three cents and ask everyone to sell him all the melons in the field.
< br />Although the price was slightly lower, we thought he could help us collect it all at once, which would save us trouble, so we all agreed.

It’s just..."

When Jia Lian heard this, he asked: "So, he later regretted not wanting it?"

"It's not that he didn't want it, it's just that he said there was a good harvest of melons everywhere this year. Even if we transport it to the city, we can't sell it for any money, so we are only given a price of one penny! The master doesn't know that at his price, we can't even pay the land rent, so how can we agree to it?"

After hearing this, Jia Lian sighed.

Sure enough, there are middlemen making the difference at any time! Thinking about it, in this era, transportation is inconvenient and information is not developed. In addition, there are people who rely on wealth and power to make huge profits. The difference in price can be imagined.

“We didn’t comply, but he didn’t force us. He just said we would sell if we liked it. The power of the Li family does not dare to come.

So we can only find a way on our own and let the boys from each family push it to the nearest town to sell it. Although the price is low, it is I can’t sell much.

Seeing that autumn and winter are approaching, I’m afraid those melons will rot in the ground in the end.

So, if you like it, I just pick some and eat them, but I don’t dare to charge for them.”

The old man smiled bitterly.

Jia Lian thought that the old farmer was interesting. He said that he couldn't sell his own melons and wanted to buy them, but he told him that he didn't need any money.

Thinking about it, he thought that the two of them could pick at most two or three melons, which would be enough to eat. How could he dare to sell them for five hundred cents? To say that he only accepted a dozen or twenty cents, wouldn't it be a deliberate attempt to belittle him, a young master who seemed to be either rich or noble?

Or perhaps, they are just hospitable and don’t want to make money from them.

In this way, Jia Lian made up his mind.