Going all the way north along the river, they did not wait until the water in the spring river warmed up. Instead, because the spring cold in the north had not subsided, everyone put on thick clothes again.

But compared to staying in the small county town of Qingkan, the journey north was full of scenery, and Yang Zhen was as active as a carp in the river.

Tan Jian also wanted to jump with him, but he was beaten hard and became a lot more honest. He only secretly looked at his elder brother's face every day. Only when the elder brother's face was good, he dared to ask for fun.

Fortunately, the elder brother has been in a good mood these past two days, and today he ordered a half-day pause in the Huguo County ahead.

There was another reason why Tan Ting stopped in Huguo County. There was a Miaoyin Temple here, which was a popular place to seek marriage. Before they came, Mrs. Zhao asked Tan Jian to go to the Miaoyin Temple and ask for a marriage stone for Tan Rong. May the Bodhisattva appear and make Tan Rong's next marriage smooth.

This is the only young girl in the Tan family who has not yet gotten married, so she naturally needs to keep an eye on him.

Moreover, the local area not only produces marriage stones, but also produces a kind of sapphire, which is most suitable for seals.

Tan Ting saw that Xiang Yi's leg injury was almost healed, so he ordered to stop here for most of the day.

There is a market in Huguo County, and it is bustling right from the dock leading directly to the county seat.

According to Yang Zhen's temperament, she naturally wanted to go to the county town to have some fun first. Tan Ting now also knew the temperament of his younger brother and sister, so he agreed immediately.

Tan Jian happily thanked Tan Ting, said he would accompany Yang Zhen for a while, and immediately went to Miaoyin Temple to ask for a marriage stone for Tan Rong without any delay.

When encountering such a thing, Tan Jian showed a spirit that was five times higher than his academic performance, and arranged everything in an orderly manner, even more thoughtfully than Director Xiang Yi.

Tan Ting couldn't help but get angry when he saw it.

Just thinking about my wife's consolation before coming here temporarily relieved my heart.

He had asked someone to book a private room in a restaurant in the county town earlier. Now the four of them went shopping in the city before going to the restaurant.

Tan Jian and Yang Zhen entered the market and naturally held hands.

The two walked as they talked, looking left and right, never leaving the hand they were holding.

Tan Ting's eyes fell on the hands held by his younger brother and sister-in-law. Although he was angry about his useless brother who was obsessed with studying, he couldn't help but lower his head and his eyes fell on the hands of his wife beside him.

Her hands were white and slender, flexible and light when applying medicine for him, and precise and powerful when carving jade, but Tan Ting didn't know how to hold it in the palm of his hand...

He quietly glanced at his wife, this At that moment, several strong men were walking quickly on the street and bumped into some pedestrians. Seeing this, Tan Ting raised his feet and walked to Xiang Yi's side.

Xiang Yi didn't notice anything. She hadn't wandered out like this for a long time. She saw that there were nearly 20 jade sellers in this small county town, from street stalls to shops.

And there is a jade shop with a good reputation opposite.

But at this moment, her hand hanging by her side was touched lightly.

Tan Ting glanced at his wife and saw that she seemed to be aware of it and looked over.

He couldn't help but have some expectations in his heart. He touched her palm and was about to hold her quietly. Unexpectedly, the next moment, she suddenly withdrew her hand and bowed to him.

Tan Ting's hand just stayed in place.

The crowd was noisy and crowded, Xiang Yi didn't notice anything unusual, but in the dazzling jade shop, he couldn't help but say something to the old man next to him.

"Uncle, can you allow me to go for a walk on the street? Xiang Yi will be back in less than half an hour."

With such a good opportunity, how could she not come back with some good jade?

And these locally produced jade must be much cheaper than those in the capital.

Xiang Yi was so preoccupied with going shopping for treasure that he didn't notice that the man next to him looked stiff.

Tan Ting cleared his throat and had to retract his frozen hand.

Hearing her asking for his permission again, I didn't know what to say for a moment.

Doesn't she know it yet?

Originally, he asked people to stop the boat here, not just to ask for a marriage stone for Tan Rong.

Tan Ting pursed his lips and looked down at her.

He didn't speak for a few breaths, just looking at her. Xiang Yi didn't know what he meant.

Does he have other plans?

Although Xiang Yi really wanted to go shopping for jade, he couldn't force it, so he just had to let it go.

Suddenly I heard him sigh and say something in a very helpless tone.

"I'll go with you."

Xiang Yi subconsciously refused. The purchase of stones was a private matter for her, and she had nothing to do with this old man. But when she raised her head and glanced at him, she saw that he was already walking ahead to the jade shop opposite.

Jade is produced in Huguo County, and jade from various places is also bought and resold here.

The county is not big, but there are many jade shops with a full range of varieties. Xiang Yi just entered the shop with a bright door and fell in love with several pieces of jade.

In the past, Shopkeeper Jiang had been asked to look out for good jade and stones for her, but now she had the opportunity to choose them herself.

She took a fancy to these items and asked the price. When she heard that the price was fair, Xiang Yi secretly calculated the money in his hand, removed the imperial examination fees prepared for Xiang Yu, and prepared good medicinal materials for Xiang Ning. Of the expenses, there is just a sum that can be sold for five or six pieces of good jade and stones.

She repeatedly selected among the several pieces of jade she valued, and finally settled on three pieces, and negotiated the price with the boss. When she was about to pay, Zhengji hurried over.

"The younger one will pay."

Xiang Yi glanced at Zhengji in surprise, and Zhengji asked her a question in her eyes.

"What are your instructions, madam?"

Xiang Yi watched him take out the money from his purse and quickly waved his hand.

"I brought the money, you don't need to pay in advance."

After she said this, she took the money out, but Zhengji was surprised.

Masaki saw that his wife had indeed smuggled the bill and paid the bill, and looked at the uncle beside him in bewilderment.

Tan Tingben was looking at a piece of blood jade of excellent quality for her, but between those words and Zhengji's eyes, he couldn't help but look at her.

But she didn't notice it at all and quickly bought it herself.

Zhengji didn't dare to speak.

Xiang Yigang put away the three pieces of jade and turned around to see Tan Ting looking at him.

He kept a sullen face and just stared at her. Unbeknownst to him, he thought she was just like Tan Jian, fooling him with her essays.

But there seemed to be something a little different in his face, like a resentful woman trapped in a boudoir, but in the next breath, he turned around without saying a word and strode out the door.

Xiang Yi was stunned for a moment and asked Zhengji in a low voice, "What's wrong, uncle?"

Zhengji had a sad face and didn't know how to answer his wife's question.

"My guess is that the uncle may want me to pay for his wife?"

He guessed, but Xiang Yi did not agree.

After all, Tan Ting has always known that she distinguishes between public and private accounts, so how could she get confused?

Seeing his wife shaking her head, Zhengji didn't know how to explain it more clearly. He looked back at his uncle, who was standing on the street in front of the shop with his hands behind his hands, looking unhappy. Zhengji didn't dare to come near.

Fortunately, the lady stepped forward.

Xiang Yi looked at the man with a very bad expression and asked.

"Uncle, are you tired?"

Tan Ting pursed his lips and did not reply to her words.

Xiang Yi saw that he was indeed angry, but he didn't reply to her words. She didn't know where she had made him unhappy.

She could only ask again, "Are you thirsty, uncle? Are you hungry?"

Tan Ting was neither thirsty nor hungry, but was still sullen and did not respond.

After asking two questions in a row, he didn't respond. Xiang Yi vaguely understood.

She lowered her head and spoke softly with less interest in her voice.

"It seems that Xiang Yi has delayed the uncle's time. In that case, let's go back to the restaurant."

After saying this, Tan Ting hurriedly turned his head.

"No..."

How could he mean this? He wished she could play here happily like Tan Jian and Yang Zhen.

When he said no, Xiang Yi looked up at him, his eyes full of confusion.

She really couldn't guess. Tan Ting glanced at her sadly, and just as he was about to say something, someone suddenly rushed past and bumped into the two of them.

Tan Ting hurriedly put his arms around Xiang Yi and turned around to glare at the person who hit him.

The man was a man wearing coarse clothes, with an anxious look on his face. He saw that he bumped into someone, and then he saw a noble man in rich clothes, and he hurriedly apologized to the two of them.

Tan Ting didn't care. Seeing that Xiang Yi was not hit, he just reminded him in an unhappy tone.

"Be careful when you walk."

The man said it was his fault and became anxious again.

"I actually lost my child the first day I came out. I was so anxious..."

As he said this, he quickly disappeared into the crowd and went to look for the child.

The market is crowded and crowded, and children are always thrown away.

But Tan Ting and Xiang Yi were interrupted like this, and what happened just now was also interrupted. Tan Ting wanted to explain to Xiang Yi, but he couldn't find the words. Xiang Yi also lost his child's emotions by that person. , it was a bit involved, and I lost interest in continuing shopping for a while.

"It's better to go back to the restaurant first." Xiang Yi said, turned around and walked towards the restaurant.

Tan Ting saw that she really didn't want to go shopping anymore, so he couldn't help but hurried forward.

"Yizhen, I..."

Unexpectedly, before he finished speaking, Xiang Yi suddenly turned around and ran into the alley to the side.

Tan Ting was startled by her and ran after her.

In the river on the other side of the alley, there was a child's fragmented cry for help. When they reached the river, they saw another child almost sinking in the river.

This time, before Xiang Yi could say anything, Tan Ting called for help.

"Go and save people!"

The two guards immediately jumped into the river and pulled the child to the shore in two or three strokes.

The child was four or five years old, and his eyes almost turned white because he had drowned. Xiao Guan personally stepped forward and pushed the water out of his belly twice.

A child is considered alive when he chokes.

In such a cold weather, the child was wet and shivering.

Xiang Yi took off his cloak and wrapped the child up.

As soon as the news came out, many people gathered around them, and then the man who had just bumped into Tan Ting and the others also ran over.

"Mu Shuang! My son!"

The child who fell into the water was this man's child. He saw that the child almost drowned, but was rescued by Tan Ting and the others. He knelt down with the child in his arms and was about to kowtow.

Tan Ting motioned to Zhengji to lift him up.

"No need to thank you, I just saved someone casually." After

he said this, the man kept saying thanks.

Xiang Yi, on the other hand, saw that the child was really pitiful and couldn't help but say something.

"There are many people in the market in the city, so we should pay more attention to the children."

The man said yes repeatedly, but he had a sad face.

"It's just that this is the first time that the villain has brought his child to work at the dock. Working can provide food for him. The child cannot eat at home, so he can only bring him to eat some food, but he doesn't dare to let the foreman of the dock see him, so he tells him to be careful Hiding, I didn't want to lose it..."

After he said this, Xiang Yi saw that the men who were looking for the child with him were all wearing coarse clothes given to them on the dock.

They didn't look like they were used to doing dock work, but rather like farmers.

Just at this moment, Tan Ting asked.

"First time coming to the dock to work? Where were you before?"

After hearing this, the man sighed heavily.

"Due to the extremely cold weather last year, I sold my family's land. The money from the sale of the land was enough to survive the winter. But from now on, we will no longer have fields and food rations. The local wealthy family who originally bought my land asked us to give it to them. His family is a tenant farmer, but the rations he gives to his tenants are too little, and he treats us like slaves. We really don’t want to work for his family, so we came to the dock."

Several men on the side said the same thing. The local big family bought their fields at a very low price. Now that the money has been spent and the fields are gone, and they don't want to be driven into slavery, they have no choice but to come out.

They are all good people and not slaves, so why are they willing to be driven as slaves?

"It's just that the work at the wharf is not easy to do. There are many people looking for work. If there are no people on the wharf, we can't give you much money. At most, it's just a meal!"

Several farmers who have lost their fields said, They all sighed sadly.

As they spoke, Tan Ting and Xiang Yi subconsciously looked at each other, making eye contact for a moment.

Sure enough, these things that did not happen in the Qingkan area because of the existence of the Tan family still happened somewhere else.

The noble families took the opportunity to cultivate their fields, and the common people increasingly had no way of survival.

But the extremely cold winter has passed, and all the fields that should be sold have been sold. Who can force those noble families to spit out the fields they swallowed?

The resentment between the two families will only get deeper and deeper...

Everyone was speechless for a moment. Tan Ting called the steward over and said that the Tan family's ship would also be replenished here this time, so he asked these men to carry it. It's something.

The manager understood what the uncle meant and secretly raised the temporary wages for these people.

When these men saw that they had something to do, even if it was just for a short while, they were extremely happy and thanked them profusely.

Others couldn't help but say, "We can move as much rice as the Tan family needs. Today we didn't pick up the jade material to be sent to the capital, so it's not a failure at all!"

They said that the jade material to be sent to the capital was exactly what they wanted. It is a jade sculpture for the great-grandson of the Li family in Huaichuan to celebrate his first birthday.

Sun Qingsheng, the eldest son of the Li clan, specially ordered a large piece of sapphire from his side. However, the thing was expensive, and men like them, who had just arrived, were not even qualified to carry that fine jade.

Children from aristocratic families have to prepare for their birthdays half a year in advance; but children from common people hide in Tibet just for a meal and almost drown in the river.

Xiang Yi and Tan Ting didn't say anything for a while, but secretly stuffed some money into the child's waist.

...

Back on the boat in the evening, Xiang Yi was still a little distracted while eating.

She couldn't help but wonder whether her eldest brother had successfully entered Beijing and whether the evidence they collected from Jiangxi had been successfully submitted to the Crown Prince's desk.

However, she didn't know the news yet. Instead, Qin Jiao came over to remind Tan Ting while eating.

"Uncle, our boat will arrive in Denghe County tomorrow, just in time to pick up the two relatives."

Tan Ting did not focus on this, but Tan Jian on the side asked.

"Denghe County? People from the Huang family of Denghe?"

Qin Jiao asked repeatedly, and quickly glanced at Xiang Yi.

"They are the two girls from the Huang family in Denghe."

The next day, Denghe County Pier.

The dock was surrounded, and only people from the Huang family of Denghe remained here.

The sun shines on the river surface, reflecting light like fish scales.

A younger girl in green threw the walnuts that she had carved in her hand. She was so powerful that it caused a splash of water.

The older girl in yellow looked at her and smiled, "Liu Niang is still angry? It's just that we are riding in the same boat."

"Humph, we have been cultivating for hundreds of years to cross in the same boat, how can I be so shameless? Women are in the same boat? Then it’s true that the Tan family made such a woman a patriarchal wife, which shows that they are not a good family..." The

older girl stopped talking, but the one beside her Grandma came over and whispered something in her ear.

"Fourth Niang, don't think like Liu Niang. No matter how much the Tan family is, it is still a big family. Our eldest master has said that if you can succeed the Xiang family and become the Tan family's wife, the dowry for you will definitely be I'll look it up again."

The eldest man that Mammy was talking about was Huang Siniang's uncle and the eldest son of the Huang family in Denghe.

Grandma said, looking at Huang Siniang with a smile.

"This is a happy event for the girl!"

A cold wind blew from the river. Huang Siniang didn't say anything in these words, she just looked far away and looked towards the south for a few seconds in the direction of the incoming boat.