Chapter 5

In the early morning, a ray of sunlight filtered through the window, and the rooster outside crowed to announce the dawn.

Li Jing, with his eyes still closed, reached out to grab his phone, but after a long stretch, he found nothing. Then, he suddenly woke up, opened his eyes, and sat up. What met his gaze was a wooden bed with three sides enclosed. As he moved, the straw under the sheet rustled. Even the quilt he was covered with was made of homespun fabric, stuffed with dry straw.

The room was spacious. Besides the wooden bed, there was a four-panel red lacquered wooden screen in front of the bed, and a large bookshelf with nearly a hundred neatly arranged line-bound books. On one side of the bookshelf was a jujube wood desk, and several armchairs. Apart from these, there was also a large wooden cabinet, almost as tall as a person.

Outside, the sound of weaving could still be heard. Li Jing remembered that he had been thinking about how to solve the family's food problem until late last night, but the weaving had never stopped. He hadn't expected that the loom would still be working early in the morning. His heart felt heavy; this year's drought had almost wiped out the crops, and the whole family was barely surviving on the women's non-stop weaving and silkworm farming.

He had to do something, he must do something.

A few knocks came from the door, and then Wan'er pushed the door open and lifted the curtain to come in.

"Third Brother, your sister-in-law has made you an egg custard. Get up and eat it quickly," Wan'er said. Although she was from Silla, she had lived with the Li family for nine years and spoke and acted just like a local. At home, Lady Han always treated her like a daughter, so she called Li Jing "Third Brother" or "Brother."

"Okay," Li Jing responded with a smile and got up.

Pulling back the quilt, Li Jing, who was only wearing a犊鼻裤 (a type of loincloth), shivered. It was late October, and the morning was already quite cool. Looking down at the loincloth, he couldn't help but smile bitterly. This loincloth was similar to modern-day briefs, made from two feet of cloth, wider at the top and narrower at the bottom, with holes on both sides to fit the buttocks and crotch. It was said that the great talent Sima Xiangru, who eloped with Zhuo Wenjun, had to work in a wine shop in Chengdu to make a living. He made his wife Wenjun manage the shop while he washed the wine vessels in public, wearing only a loincloth, which eventually forced his father-in-law to recognize their marriage.

Li Jing took a pair of trousers from the bedpost. In late Tang, men mainly wore round-necked robes, but underneath, they also wore pleated trousers. Not only men but women also wore pleated trousers. These trousers, influenced by the nomadic people, were very loose, especially the legs, which were made very wide, hence they were often called "wide-legged trousers." The matching upper garment, called a "pleated robe," was relatively tight. Together, they were called "pleated trousers and robe," originally used for military purposes to facilitate marching, and later became common civilian attire.

However, according to Li Jing's knowledge, the pleated trousers and robe worn by women in late Tang were different from those worn by men. The main difference was that women's trousers had tight, narrow legs and were not closed at the crotch but had a drawstring to facilitate going to the toilet. Women in late Tang did not wear underpants.

After putting on the pleated trousers, Li Jing took a rope about three feet long and tightly tied it around the knees of the trousers. This made it convenient for both riding and walking. The rope was called a "binding rope."

After the pleated trousers, he put on knee-length trousers. These knee-length trousers, also known as "leg garments," were worn from the knee to the ankle. In the Qin and Han dynasties, leg garments were worn close to the body, but by this time, they had become knee-length trousers worn over the pleated trousers.

After tying the knee-length trousers over the pleated trousers, he put on socks. Finally, he wore a round-necked robe, a leather belt, a silk headwrap, and black leather boots. This entire process took about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea. If it weren't for the twenty years of memories in his mind, he would have been at a loss with this outfit.

After dressing, Li Jing went to the hall and saw that his sister-in-law, who was responsible for the family's meals, and Wan'er had already brought the food. A large earthenware pot of wild vegetable porridge and a plate of pickles were placed in front of each person. His sister-in-law smiled at him and said, "Go brush your teeth and wash your face, and then come to eat."

Li Jing greeted his sister-in-law and the others and then turned to the courtyard to wash his face and brush his teeth. As soon as he went, Wan'er had already diligently fetched a bucket of cool well water and brought him a face towel and a toothbrush.

Looking at the toothbrush Wan'er handed him, Li Jing felt a bit resistant. In late Tang, there were already specialized toothbrushes made of horsehair, called "toothbrushes." At first, Li Jing didn't notice the difference between these toothbrushes and modern ones, and the first time he brushed his teeth, he ended up with a mouth full of blood. The horsehair bristles were very hard, and if he brushed his teeth the way he was used to, he would suffer.

He took the toothbrush and sprinkled a bit of green salt from a small wooden box onto it, swished some water in his mouth twice, and then began to brush his teeth carefully. In late Tang, most commoners had the habit of brushing their teeth, and toothbrushes cost only one or two coins. However, ordinary people couldn't afford green salt, which was more expensive than rice. A dou (about 10 liters) of salt cost over a hundred coins, and high-quality green salt was even more expensive. However, the Li family had been wealthy in the past and still maintained the habit of brushing their teeth with green salt.

After brushing his teeth carefully, he didn't end up with a mouth full of blood this time. When he returned to the room, everyone was already there, except for his second sister-in-law, who was still reciting scriptures.

In the past, when his father was still alive, the women in the family couldn't eat in the hall but had to eat in the room. However, with the family's decline, only Li Jing remained as a man in the household. After he mentioned it a few times, Lady Han agreed to no longer follow the old etiquette and family rules. "When the granary is full, people know etiquette; when they have enough food and clothing, they know honor and shame." For the Li family, who were struggling to eat, many of these rules were no longer necessary. "Etiquette does not apply to commoners," and ordinary people were just trying to make ends meet, not worrying about etiquette.

"Mother, I want to go to town today."

Lady Han looked up at Li Jing and put down her chopsticks. "That's fine. You haven't been out since the last incident. Going to town will be good for you. You can also go to Fahua Temple to offer incense and fulfill a vow. When you were in trouble last time, I made a vow to the Buddha. Now that you are better, you should fulfill the vow. Donate ten pounds of lamp oil."

Li Jing didn't believe in Buddhism, but he couldn't contradict Lady Han's belief. He nodded in agreement. Ten pounds of lamp oil was not a small amount for the family, but if it could make Lady Han feel better, it was worth it.

After eating, Lady Han went into the room and came out with a bolt of silk and two bolts of cloth.

"My son, take this bolt of silk to town and buy whatever you need. Take these two bolts of cloth to the grain store and exchange them for some sorghum. Here is a string of coins for you to take as well."

Li Jing looked at these items and realized that this was almost half of the family's savings. In the Tang Dynasty, both money and silk were used as currency. Besides copper coins, silk was also used for transactions. The emperor had even decreed that for transactions over ten guan (10,000 coins), silk must be used.

At that time, a dou (10 liters) of rice cost 200 coins, and a bolt of silk cost 800 coins. A dou of rice was about 7.5 kilograms in modern terms. A bolt of silk was 40 feet long and 1.8 feet wide, equivalent to 12 meters long and 0.5 meters wide in modern terms, enough to make two robes.

A dou of rice cost 200 coins, which was about 26 coins per kilogram. A bolt of silk cost 800 coins, equivalent to 30 kilograms of rice. According to the prices at that time, three dou of rice could be exchanged for five dou of millet, and six dou of sorghum. The Li family's bolt of silk could be exchanged for six dou of sorghum, and the two bolts of cloth could be exchanged for ten dou of sorghum.

Sixteen dou of sorghum was equivalent to 120 kilograms in modern terms.

The Tang Dynasty's border troops received two sheng (0.2 dou) of rice per day, and women and young men received one sheng and one he (0.1 dou) of rice per day. According to this standard, the Li family of seven should consume seven sheng and seven he (0.7 dou) of rice per day, which is about 5.7 kilograms of rice. Sixteen dou of sorghum, equivalent to 120 kilograms of rice, would last for only 21 days.

However, the Li family couldn't possibly eat that much grain every day. Most of their meals were thin porridge, with bran and chaff mixed in to save grain. They had two meals of thin porridge a day, trying to maintain a daily consumption of about one kilogram of rice. This 120 kilograms of sorghum could last for four months, until the end of the first month of the next year. If the women continued to weave and Li Jing did some odd jobs, they might make it to the next wheat harvest.

"Mother, I understand. I'll go and come back early."

PS: According to the Tang Dynasty's "Warehouse Regulations," the standard for grain distribution was: For each adult male, 0.2 dou (2 sheng) of rice and 2.5 scoops of salt per day. For wives, concubines, and young men and women (aged 18 and above), 1.5 sheng of rice and 2 scoops of salt per day. For elderly and young men (aged 11 and above), and young women (aged 17 and below), 1.1 sheng of rice and 1.5 scoops of salt per day. For very young men and women (aged 7 and above for boys, 15 and below for girls), 0.9 sheng of rice and 1 scoop of salt per day. For very young children (aged 6 and below), 0.6 sheng of rice and 5 scoops of salt per day. For elderly, young, and very young men and women who were serving in official capacities, the standard was the same as for adult males, including students at the National University and medical students, who, although not yet adults, were given the same standard as adults.

PS2: The Tang Dynasty's units of measurement: One foot was about 30 centimeters, and one step was 1.5 meters. There were two types of "dou," one for volume and one for weight. One dou for volume was ten sheng, and one dou for weight was ten shi (120 kilograms). These two units were not interchangeable.

As a unit of weight, based on modern experts' measurements of Tang Dynasty coins, one liang (ounce) was 42.5 grams, one jin (pound) was 16 liang (680 grams), and one shi (stone) was 120 jin, approximately 80 kilograms in modern terms. One dou of weight was equivalent to 8 kilograms.

As a unit of volume, one dou was ten sheng. Modern one sheng of rice weighs 1.25 kilograms, so one dou of ten sheng is 12.5 kilograms. However, one sheng in the Tang Dynasty was equivalent to 0.6 sheng in modern terms. Therefore, one dou of rice in the Tang Dynasty was equivalent to 7.5 kilograms in modern terms.

The dou used by ordinary people to buy rice was a wooden measuring container, equivalent to 7.5 kilograms in modern terms, or about 5.5 kilograms in Tang Dynasty terms.

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