Chapter 51: The Steps of the First Year of Chongzhen Are Near

From despair to hope, a golden path lay before them, and this life experience was undoubtedly very precious. When Chen Xie looked at this issue from the perspective of a modern person, he did not find it particularly impressive. In his time, as long as one was willing to work hard, one would not starve.

But this was in the Ming Dynasty. Even if you had the strength, there was no place to get food.

What Chen Xie considered insignificant New Year supplies, although consciously used to win people's hearts, were seen by the people of the Ming Dynasty as a rare ray of hope amidst the widespread despair. Chen Xie, without realizing it, had gathered dozens of men and women who were already in despair.

Chen Xie, who had just witnessed a group of women crying their hearts out, soon saw a group of strong men weeping bitterly.

After Wang Qian used a dagger to turn a group of brothers' heads into gourds, he led them to the warehouse with their cool heads. Yu Xuan, who was busy, saw this and laughed. Ten bald heads together were quite amusing.

The servants' treatment could not compare to that of nurses. They ate in the servants' kitchen, all together. The difference was that they had equipment. What kind of equipment? A hat for each person was a must. These old-fashioned hats, bought from a labor protection store, made Chen Xie want to laugh when he saw them. He imagined these people with a white towel tied around their necks, singing: "We workers have strength."

Chen Xie could not laugh; he had to maintain a stern face. Standing to the side, the serious Chen Xie immediately straightened the originally scattered queue of ten people with Wang Qian's punches and kicks. Chen Xie then nodded slightly, sat down, crossed his legs, and enjoyed the hot tea served by the maids.

"Qu Biao! This is your equipment! Take it, sign if you can read, or put a fingerprint if you can't." Yu Xuan, sitting in a chair, had a look that, if she wore a cotton jacket and a headscarf, would make her a perfect landlady.

The servants' equipment was a large backpack containing everything. From inside to outside, a new set of clothes, a belt, a dagger, a crossbow, and a pair of sports shoes. When Qu Biao opened the backpack and saw the contents, he looked at his own tattered clothes (which had been burned to ashes) and could not help but feel his eyes turn red.

Growing up, no one had ever been so good to him. New clothes from head to toe, one set yesterday, one set today, one pair of shoes yesterday, one pair today. How much silver would that be? Not to mention armor? The comfort of these clothes was deeply felt. Perhaps no other master in the world treated his servants as well as this.

When a group of big men gathered to check their equipment, they seemed to be influenced by Qu Biao. Their eyes were red, their hearts were warm, and their noses were sore. Someone said, "In this life, no one has ever given us so many clothes, nor has anyone used such good material to make our clothes."

These words spread like a plague. Everyone looked up, their eyes filled with fervent hope, tears streaming down their faces. When one person could not control their sobs, everyone hugged and cried out loud. This was the first time they had a chance to vent after fleeing from Liaodong. They could no longer hold back.

Chen Xie could not stay any longer. He sighed, twisted his mouth, and left. Another boring afternoon. In the Ming Dynasty, there were not many forms of entertainment, and there was not much to do. He wanted to shout, "So boring," but was afraid of being despised by the busy servants. He could only maintain a serious face and silently wander through the courtyards, declaring his sovereignty.

No matter how large the mansion was, Chen Xie finished walking through it in the morning. Extremely bored, Chen Xie remembered something. Outside the village was an earthen wall, not very high, which seemed to have existed for a long time. He decided to go and see it. Zhangjia Village was to be his stronghold. Chen Xie did not know how to command battles, but he was very afraid of dying. The peasant tide at the end of the Ming Dynasty could not be described in terms of hundreds or thousands; it was often in the tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands. Therefore, this turtle shell had to be strong.

Wang Qian, Biaozi, and Shanzi quietly followed behind Chen Xie, only three steps away, ready to protect him at any time. Chen Xie walked to the village entrance and soon saw an earthen wall less than five feet high, which, after years of wind and rain, had left only half of its original height.

Old Ge pushed a wheelbarrow over and, seeing Chen Xie, immediately dropped the cart and knelt down. Chen Xie took two steps forward and held him up. "Old Ge, you're already old, don't kneel to me. It will shorten your life!"

Old Ge's face showed a simple smile. "Master, you are a living Buddha. How can one not kneel to a Buddha?"

Chen Xie could not explain to him that there were no gods or ghosts in this world. He could only laugh and say, "Old Ge, what's the situation with this earthen wall?"

"Master, this was built long ago, even before I was born. This thing has been here since I was a child. The elders say it was built to defend against the Japanese pirates. After the Japanese pirates were all killed by General Qi, this wall was left unattended."

Chen Xie climbed up the earthen wall and, through his telescope, had a clear view of the distant, tall city walls.

"The world is not peaceful now. I think this earthen wall should be rebuilt." Chen Xie said this, looking at Wang Qian and the others. Wang Qian did not rush to respond but walked forward a dozen meters, looked back, and then returned.

"Master, this earthen wall is old, and it will cost a lot of silver to rebuild it."

Chen Xie, in a rich man's tone, shouted, "Problems that can be solved with silver are not problems." After his grand declaration, Chen Xie jumped down from the earthen wall, said goodbye to Old Ge, and left, heading for the blacksmith's shop in the western part of the village.

The blacksmith, Zhang, was the one who used a file to transform the crude clock made by Wu Qi into an industrial product. After a week of hard work, his reward was pitiful. A clock, ten pounds of millet. That is, after seven days of work, he received twenty pounds of millet. Even so, Zhang's mouth was twisted with a smile. Where could he find such a generous master? Was this even considered work? After completing the job, he not only got a fine steel file but also a glass cutter and a large piece of unused transparent glass.

When Chen Xie appeared, Zhang was extinguishing the furnace, preparing to close the shop. During the New Year, he would not open the furnace even if the Heavenly King came. Chen Xie was not the Heavenly King; he was the divine doctor. To Zhang, the divine doctor was more important than the Heavenly King.

"Your servant greets the divine doctor. What do you need?" Zhang's old face was like a chrysanthemum, and he kicked his apprentice out of the way. He bowed and gestured for Chen Xie to enter.

Chen Xie stood at the door and smiled. "I won't go in. I have something I want to attach to a wheel axle. See how you can make an iron axle." Chen Xie threw a bearing, which Zhang caught, and then threw a piece of silver. "This is for you to buy wine for the New Year. Remember to put in some effort. I need a definite answer after the New Year. I'm off!"

Chen Xie, imagining himself as a tyrannical landlord, swaggered away, followed by three fierce-looking lackeys. This formation pleased Chen Xie. If he could get a wolf dog to lead, it would be even better. But in this era, there was no place to get a German Shepherd. Right, did Germany even exist at this time? It seemed not!

Should he go and molest a village girl? It seemed that the village girls in this village were not particularly attractive, not worth dragging into the woods to do something immoral. Chen Xie sighed. He was more worried that after he did something immoral, the girl's family would be overjoyed, dress her in a red wedding dress, wash her clean, and bring her into the inner courtyard on a donkey from the back door. What? A sedan chair? That would cost money. Chen Xie helplessly abandoned his unrealistic thoughts and the grand ideal of becoming a tyrannical landlord.

As another dusk fell, dark clouds gathered in the sky. The old people in the village saw this and showed joy, hoping for a heavy winter snow. As the corrupt official Bai Juyi wrote in his poem, "Worried about the cheap charcoal, I wish for cold weather!"

On the 28th of the 12th month of the seventh year of Tianqi, when night fell, snow finally began to fall in Zhangjia Village, not heavy, like raindrops, melting as soon as they hit the ground. Chen Xie, sitting on the kang, facing a table of wine and dishes, drank alone, looking at the dense clouds outside the window.

The steps of the first year of Chongzhen were near, and this snow seemed to be a good start. Chen Xie hoped the snow would be heavier so that he would not have to transport too much grain next year, which would delay his earning money.

After a night, the snow was not heavy. When the sun rose again, Chen Xie knew that history had not changed much.

Finally, New Year's Eve arrived. In Zhangjia Village, the Chen residence was hosting a grand banquet. The new master, Chen Xie, announced his decision to give the servants a rotation of three days off. He also wished them a happy New Year and gave each of them a one-tael silver envelope.

The sound of firecrackers marked the beginning of New Year's Eve. Although the past year had not brought much joy, a new year was still coming. On New Year's Eve, people always寄托 their hopes for the coming year. It was a cycle!

Chen Xie, who knew the course of history, could not be optimistic about the future of the Chongzhen era. However, on New Year's Eve, he had to make the people of Zhangjia Village happy, so he organized a group activity. In front of the Chen residence, numerous lanterns were lit. Activities such as guessing lantern riddles, throwing bamboo rings, one-legged hopping competitions, and sandbag throwing competitions, among others, made the men, women, and children of the village very happy. Some inexpensive small gifts made the children even more delighted.

A small string of firecrackers, a piece of candy, a piece of cake, a pen, a notebook, and so on.

These things brought countless joys to the people of Zhangjia Village. The activities ended around ten o'clock at night, and the remaining prizes and lanterns were distributed, making the event reach its climax.

Chen Xie did all this to give the people of Zhangjia Village a reason to look forward to the coming year!