Chapter 145 A distinguished guest has arrived
Auspicious snow indicates a good harvest!
Shangyang City was hit by a heavy snowfall.
This was the first heavy snow in Shangyang City after the new dynasty.
The Xin Dynasty had only been established for a few years, and the emperor was compassionate to the people. Taxes were extremely low, which meant that the people had a lot of surplus food at home, especially according to a notice posted by the government not long ago.
Agricultural taxes are exempted in areas where snow falls.
This news made the people cheer, and even in the bitterly cold winter, there were many pedestrians on the streets busy buying New Year's goods.
Children in groups of three or four were walking through the streets, holding candied haws and playing around.
As the end of the year approaches, families that can afford it have started hanging red lanterns. When Lin Ye woke up in the morning, he saw red lanterns hung in front of the gate of his house and the beams of the front and back yards.
Xu Bo was holding a red lantern, and a young man was carrying a wooden ladder. When they saw Lin Ye, they stopped.
"Is the young master awake?"
"Yes, Brother Zhen is here too."
"Sir, how can you address me like that? It's against the rules."
"What's wrong with that? Brother Zhen is a few years older than me, so it's normal to call him brother."
Lin Ye smiled and looked at the somewhat shy man.
The young man is Xu Bo's son, and he is twenty-five years old this year. At this age, he might just be starting his career, but in ancient times, this age would have meant starting a family and building a career.
Uncle Xu had only this one son. Aunt Ge had arranged a marriage for him three years ago. The girl was the daughter of a blacksmith in the city, and Lin Ye had given her a big red envelope at the time.
As a result, the next day, Uncle Xu brought the newlyweds to his house to express his gratitude. Seeing two people who were almost his age about to kneel down to kowtow and offer him tea, he hurriedly stopped them. It felt very awkward.
Long before Xu Zhen got married, Lin Ye hinted to Uncle Xu that if the family couldn't handle the workload due to lack of staff, he could hire a few more people, but Uncle Xu refused.
In the words of Uncle Xu, I am receiving such a high salary from the young master but doing very little work, and I already feel guilty about it. If I bring in another person, wouldn't that be going against my conscience?
In the end, Lin Ye had no choice but to follow Xu Bo.
When he saw Xu Bo's son, Lin Ye's mind was filled with the young master Yu Runtu for some reason. Perhaps it was because he had read too many works of Mr. Lu Xun.
Xu Bo explained the situation: "It had just snowed, and many tree branches were broken. I brought him here to help clear away the dead branches."
"Is the smithy busy?"
Lin Ye knew that Xu Zhen learned blacksmithing from his father-in-law in the blacksmith shop.
Xu Zhen replied shyly, "The New Year is coming soon. My father-in-law has already turned off the furnace. He will not start it again until after the 15th."
"Turn off the furnace?" Lin Ye asked curiously, "Didn't they say that the furnace in the blacksmith shop cannot be extinguished?"
Lin Ye also knew the tradition of the blacksmith shop. No matter whether there was work or not, the fire should never be extinguished. It would be very unlucky if the fire was extinguished.
"My father-in-law has offered sacrifices to the ancestors and held a fire-extinguishing banquet, so it's no problem." Xu Zhen explained.
"Extinguishing feast?"
"It means inviting people who have bought ironware from the shop to the banquet, and then each guest scoops a bucket of water into the stove to extinguish the fire, so that the ancestor will not blame us."
"With such an operation, it must be very lively."
"Well, my father-in-law has set up ten tables to thank everyone for their support for the business this year. If you want to see more, wait until the opening banquet on the 15th, it will be even more lively."
Lin Ye: ...
He suddenly felt that if the conversation continued it would really turn into a conversation between the young master and Runtu.
After chatting with the Xu father and son for a while, Lin Ye did not rush back to the real world, but decided to go out for a walk.
Compared with the modern snow scene, this ancient snowy day has its own unique charm.
Wearing a purple fur cloak, Lin Ye was walking on the snowy streets, but he saw a familiar face.
"Captain Yang, why are you here to sweep the snow yourself?"
"It's Master Lin."
Captain Yang, who was wearing a felt hat, looked up and saw Lin Ye dressed like a nobleman. He was amazed. After all these years, Mr. Lin hasn't changed at all.
In the past few years, the whole city knew about Master Lin, the most handsome man in Shangyang City, and the object of desire for many girls in the city. There were also official matchmakers who came to the city to act as matchmakers for the daughters of officials and the daughters of wealthy families, but they were all rejected by Master Lin.
I don’t know what kind of fairy can be worthy of Master Lin.
"Mr. Lin, since you are not an outsider, I will tell you a piece of news. It is said that a big shot will come to our county town in the near future. The county magistrate has ordered all our constables to go out and clean the streets."
"Big shot?"
"Yes, it is said that it is related to our Shangyang City. Anyway, I don't know which noble person it is. This new dynasty has only been a few years. I still know the names of the nobles in the county, but I don't know any of them outside Canglan County. Anyway, the county magistrate ordered us to do this, so that when the nobles come , if the road is blocked by snow, it will be a serious crime."
"Captain Yang, your way of sweeping the road is wrong. You only sweep the surface, but you didn't sweep the snow in front of this person's door. When the nobleman comes, he probably won't be happy to see it."
"That seems to make sense, but you want us to clear the snow in front of these people's houses?"
Captain Yang was in a dilemma. Although a constable was not an official, he was still a clerk, and he couldn't let go of this status.
"In my opinion, you should make a suggestion to the county magistrate and ask him to pay some money, and then let the people clean the streets themselves. If the nobles come and see the people working so hard, the effect will definitely be better than it is now. "
Captain Yang had a thoughtful look on his face. Although he had never been an official, he knew that officials like the county magistrate liked to watch scenes like this the most.
It’s called…it’s called peace and prosperity, and the people live and work in peace and contentment.
"It was Master Lin who reminded me. I will go and advise the county magistrate right now. Master Lin can go to the government office to drink tea when he is free. I just got a pot of good tea recently."
"It's unlucky to go to the government office to drink tea."
When Lin Ye saw Captain Yang's puzzled look, he remembered that people in the other world didn't know about drinking tea.
"Let's wait until Captain Yang is free. I'll host you at our old place."
"Okay, Master Lin is generous."
Captain Yang didn't bother to be polite with Lin Ye. He knew that Lin Ye was rich. The whole Shangyang City knew that Master Lin was rich and generous. Even Master Lin's housekeeper, Xu Bo, received several times more monthly salary than Captain Yang.
If it weren't for some benefits, he would have shamelessly asked Master Lin if his family was in need of a housekeeper.
Just when Lin Ye was about to say goodbye, he saw a group of yamen constables surrounding a man in official uniform walking hurriedly towards him.
"The master is here, come and greet him with me."
The man in official uniform walked past Captain Yang without stopping. After saying this, he hurried forward. Captain Yang gave Lin Ye an apologetic look and hurriedly followed him. Lin Ye was about to leave, but his curiosity was aroused.
What kind of noble person could come to such a small place as Shangyang County?
