The next morning, Yang Sichen went to Anlan Court to look for Old Master Yang, hoping that he and his father could decide on the sea route. When they entered Anlan Court, they found that Master Yang and Madam Zheng were busy discussing the New Year gifts for their old friends and Song Jiang's distinguished families. When Yang Sichen saw this scene, he bowed to his parents and brought Siwen and Sijing, who had been standing by the side, to the courtyard to play.
The two sisters were three and five years old. They were completely innocent. She followed Yang Sichen out of the main hall and ran into the courtyard. The Yang family was a family of merchants. Madam Zheng had been running businesses with her husband all year round. She knew that it was inconvenient for her to have small feet. The Yang family was also considered open-minded, so Madam Zheng did not plan to bind the sisters 'feet. As for her future marriage, she would at most give more dowry.
Yang Sichen saw that his parents 'matters would not be settled in a short period of time, so he decided to let go of his thoughts and play with the sisters. The servants beside him also joined in the jeering, and a few younger servant girls decided to play with the three of them. After a quarter of an hour, Yang Sichen turned around and saw his parents standing side by side in front of the window. They were smiling at him through the window, so he pulled the sisters into the house.
As soon as the siblings entered the room, Old Master Yang pointed at Yang Sichen and scolded him jokingly,""You little brat, take it easy. Is there anyone like you who causes trouble with your sisters? If you teach your younger sisters to be bad, be careful!”
Yang Sichen put on a pitiful look and said,""Father, don't be angry. I just saw that my two younger sisters were innocent and could not help but play with them. If his father was angry about this, his son would definitely be more careful next time.”As she spoke, she pretended to burrow into Madam Zheng's arms.
Old Master Yang grabbed Yang Sichen and patted him on the head. He laughed and scolded,""You little bastard! How old are you? Why are you still hiding in your mother's arms? Don't you know shame?"
"I just want to be closer to my mother!" Yang Sichen said with a bitter face.”
Old Master Yang slapped the back of Yang Sichen's head again and said,""How can you be so close to your mother?”
When Madam Zheng saw the father and son like this, she went forward to hug her two daughters and rebuked,"Old Master is biased. He ignored Qie's two daughters when he saw his son. Fine, I should dote on my own daughter!”
Old Master Yang knew that Madam Zheng was joking and quickly bowed to Madam Zheng and said,"Wifey, don't be angry. When this husband saw Chen 'er, I was so happy that I neglected wifey and daughter. This husband apologizes to wifey.”As he spoke, he revealed a very afraid expression.
Seeing this, Yang Sichen joked," Mother, you should know that Father treats you like a treasure. If you're slightly unwell, Father will be restless and toss and turn in bed."”
Madam Zheng pretended to pull Yang Sichen's ear and scolded him jokingly,""Child, you're really itching for a beating. How dare you say that about your father!”Old Master Yang also pretended to hit Yang Sichen.
Yang Sichen smiled as he avoided her and shouted,""Father, please spare my life! Mother, please spare me! I won't dare to do it again!"
Sijing and Siwen watched from the side and laughed.
……
The family played like this for a quarter of an hour. Madam Zheng was a little tired and left Old Master Yang's study with her two daughters.
After Madam Zheng left, Yang Sichen said to Old Master Yang,""Father, this ship is finished. When do you think it's suitable to go out to sea?”
"How far do you think it is from Song Jiang to Mingzhou?”Old Master Yang asked.
Yang Sichen took out the map he had drawn and pointed at Australia.""This is Liming Continent, about 4,900 miles away from Zamboyant Yama. The north and west were not suitable for farming, but there were many coal, iron, copper, gold and silver deposits. According to the diary of Magellan, he found a gold mine in the west of Liming Continent. According to his estimation, he could dig out 400,000 taels of gold, but his son did not know where the place he was talking about was.”
"The place that is truly suitable for farming is the southeast of Liming Continent.”Yang Sichen pointed at New South Wales and continued," According to Cook, the land here is not worse than Jiangnan. It is two-thirds the size of Jiangnan. If we manage it well, in less than thirty years, our Yang family will have the capital to challenge the Imperial Court. Of course, the premise is that the Great Ming Dynasty doesn't fall. If the Great Ming Dynasty falls, then our chance to fight for the world will come. However, considering that the population that we can control within twenty years is very limited and cannot be compared to the heroes of the Central Plains, this will directly affect the number of troops that we can invest. Therefore, we can only try our best to make up for the lack of troops through the advantage of weapons. In this way, the consumption of weapons would naturally be much higher. Our family must have a complete weapon factory and an iron factory with a very strong production capacity. Since we don't have enough troops, we'll use steel and gunpowder to kill the enemy!”
Old Master Yang thought for a while before saying,"Let's set off on the fifth day. From Song Jiang to Zamboyant Yan is 3,600 miles. The boat will take about nine days, and your flying scissors sailboat will take about five days. Then, you will go south into the windless sea. If you rely entirely on oars, you will take about 21 days. It will take at least two and a half months to go back and forth.”
Yang Sichen nodded and thought for a while before saying,""It's best to bring a few horses over. The Liming Continent is vast, and it's very troublesome to walk alone. Also, I'm going on an adventure, so I should bring more people. It's best to arrange for a group of my grandfather's former subordinates to be on duty on the ship. They'll be divided into three groups, and each group will be on duty for six hours. Once they discover anything unusual, they'll run away and try their best to ensure their safety. Anyway, my ship is big, so it shouldn't be a problem to bring more than a hundred people. If he could bring some silver and buy some spices from Java on his way back, it would definitely be a profitable business!”
Old Master Yang laughed after hearing this,"You little brat, you haven't even seen your birth characters yet and you're already thinking about making money!"”
Yang Sichen rubbed his head carefully and smiled awkwardly.
…………
After the 22nd of December, it would be the start of the new year.
When Yang Sichen was at the shipyard, he learned about the Song Jiang New Year's customs from Rongguang. He knew that the Song Jiang New Year began on the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month. According to the legend, the 24th of the twelfth lunar month was the day when the " Kitchen God " went to heaven to make a memorial. Therefore, on the night of the 23rd, every household had to " send the kitchen stove " and " sacrifice the kitchen stove " to celebrate the new year. The 25th day of the twelfth lunar month was the day when the gods descended to the lower realm. According to tradition, every household would be dusted and cleaned. From the twenty-sixth to the twenty-ninth, every household began to grind flour, wrap glutinous rice balls, make new year cakes, prepare new clothes, hats, and shoes, and buy couplets, New Year paintings, and "door gods." On New Year's Eve, families of all ages gathered indoors and sat together to eat New Year's Eve dinner under the lights, hence the name "Family Joy". After the New Year's Eve dinner, they sat around the stove to watch the New Year. At dawn, on the first day of the first lunar month, the head of the family would lead the entire family to pay their respects to the heavens and the earth, as well as to the ancestral tablets. Then, they would offer their blessings to the elders, and the entire family would make a " plaque meal " together and make new year cakes. If they went out to play and saw relatives and friends on the way, the younger generation would kowtow to the elders on the street. The food on the plaque was in the northern dialect, a little like the dumplings of the later generations. As for the ritual of worshipping the gods and ancestors, it was also grand and strict. They would cut the papyrus into paper money and offer different offerings to the ancestral tablets and statues. The offerings for the ancestral tablets were cooked food, and the paper money was burned three days later. In front of the statue, fruits and vegetables were served, and the paper money was burned after the Shangyuan Festival.
Men, women, old and young, as long as they had some money in their hands, they liked to fold gold foil paper into ornaments in the shape of flying geese, butterflies, grasshoppers, etc., and insert them on their heads to set off the festive atmosphere. They were called "noisy". The big ones were as big as a palm, while the small ones were as big as copper coins. Most people would wear one, but there were also rich people who deliberately flaunted their wealth by putting it on their heads.
In this era, the production level of fireworks had already reached a very high level. There were hundreds of varieties, and they could display realistic patterns such as flowers, plants, and people. There were many types of fireworks. The ones wrapped in mud were called clay pots. The ones wrapped in paper were called "kaleidoscope", the ones sealed in baskets were called "flower pots", and the ones wrapped in paper were called "flower pots". Those that only made a sound were called " Those that could fly into the sky were called "Fire"; Those that made a sound after flying into the sky were called "Level Three Waves". The one spinning on the ground was called a "field mouse". Every year, the Yang family would hire skilled craftsmen to make fireworks of all colors and set them off overnight on New Year's Eve.
In the Ming Dynasty, the first day of the New Year was called New Year's Day, and the fifteenth day of the first month was called Shangyuan. On New Year's Day, he celebrated the new year all the way to Shangyuan. On the day of Shangyuan, Song Jiang would set off fireworks all night.
Other than celebrating the new year and setting off fireworks, there were other activities in between: On the eighth and ninth day of the lunar new year, they would go to the temple to offer incense and visit the temple fair. At this time, the monastery would be very lively. There were people who came to offer incense, worship Buddha, set up stalls, carry poles, play tricks, mingle with the crowd, and all kinds of people would gather. The temple fair was even livelier. Some residents from a certain place or clan gathered together to invite opera troupes, dance troupes, and juggling troupes to set up a stage to sing opera. They carried the gods and paraded through the streets. Fire forks opened the way, and bricks covered the roof. The audience on both sides cheered as if they were risking their lives.
From the 8th to the 16th of the first month, it was the day to admire the lanterns. At this time of the year, the lamp craftsmen and merchants from various counties gathered in Song Jiang City to sell their products on Jixiang Street.
There were all kinds of lanterns in the lantern market, and there were people who came specially to watch. There were men and women, and it was very lively. On the seventh day of the first lunar month, they began to test the lanterns. All kinds of lanterns began to light up and hang. The lantern festival officially began on the eighth day of the first month and ended on the seventeenth day of the first month.
On the night of the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the women of Songjiang City would go on a night tour together. One of them would walk in front with a lit incense, and the rest would follow behind. It was called " Walking All Sickness ", praying that there would be no disaster in the new year. If there was a bridge in the place they passed, three or five women would cross it hand in hand to get through the disaster. At the city gate, women would even grope for the city gate nails in the dark. If they could touch them, it was a good omen. That night, the city gates were not closed all night, allowing the people to come and go. The soldiers and lieutenants patrolled the city all night to maintain order. At this point, the New Year was truly over.
Rongguang also listed a long list of entertainment activities, including cockfighting, playing chess, pitch-pot, cuju, drinking cards, horse hanging, shuanglu, shuttlecock, kite-flying…
There was no limit to the location of this game. It could be played by two people or four people. The so-called " horse diao " was actually a playing card. This kind of playing card was printed with points. According to the shape and number of points, it was divided into " two cakes,"" four tubes,"" six bars," etc. It was quite popular in the late Ming Dynasty. There were 30, 40, 54, 120 cards and other games. Later, it developed into our " national essence "-mahjong.
Flying a kite now wasn't much different from the later generations. Yang Sichen accidentally read a book, and the beginning of the book was a song called " Kite Song ": A kite is a thousand-foot line, so light and floating that it is not afraid of you flying to the sky. Thread by thread, segment by segment, I hold you and entangle you by my side. It's not that I don't want to let go, but when I let go, you will never return. Listening to your wind, I will naturally gather your height and distance. From this, Yang Sichen believed that the way he was flying a kite now would not be much different from the way he would fly in the future.
Simply put, it was a game between two people. The number of the dice would be used to move the pieces. Whoever moved all their pieces back to their own territory first would win.
Pitch-pot was a very ancient game. It was said that there were people who liked to play it during the Western Zhou Dynasty. The basic gameplay was like this: a large open iron pot was placed on the table. The player stood a dozen steps away from the table, holding chopsticks, bamboo sticks, golden arrows, beans, pebbles, and so on. They threw them into the pot. If they threw them in and did not jump out, it was a win. If they did not jump out, it was a loss.
Song Jiang people liked excitement and upgraded the game. Not only did they ask to throw things in their hands, but they also asked to throw some tricks. For example, throwing beans, the player stood far away and threw a soybean at the mouth of the pot. The soybean had to hit the iron sheet at the edge of the pot and spin around the pot. After spinning three times, it fell into the pot. Only then would it be considered a win.
Yang Sichen couldn't help but fantasize,"If you replace the soybeans with basketballs and the iron pot with backboards, then pitch-pot would become fancy shots." As long as he could bring those people who were good at pitch-pot from the Ming Dynasty back to the modern world and train them for half a year…Kobe, Nash, and James could all go to hell!
There were even more variations of the Golden Arrow Pitching Pot. When an arrow flew out and was inserted diagonally into the mouth of the pot, it was called " slanted flower arrangement "; when it fell flat into the bottom of the pot, it was called " Yang Fei slept ";; when a meatball was skewered on the arrow, it was called " wild goose holding reed ";;; when three arrows or more were thrown into the mouth of the pot at the same time, it was called " a lotus ";;;; when the arrow flew into the mouth of the pot with its back facing the iron pot, it was called " jumping across mountains ". During the Ming Dynasty, when the aristocratic families celebrated the New Year, they loved to play pitch-pot at banquets. If everyone agreed that they could only win by jumping across mountains, then everyone had to face up when they played pitch-pot. If his waist muscles were sore and he couldn't use the Iron Plate Bridge, he could only give up. Yang Sichen muttered to himself that Daoist Mu Sang in Jin Yong's world of martial arts and the Tang Sect disciples in Gu Long's world of martial arts were both hidden weapon experts. If they were to compete in pitch-pot, they would definitely win easily.
…………
When Yang Sichen returned to the Blue Wave Courtyard, Yanhong was leading a group of servants to clean the house. Yanhong ordered the servants to get busy in an orderly manner, with the demeanor of a general. Yang Sichen was quite satisfied with this servant girl that Old Madam Yang had arranged for him before her death. She didn't like to talk, but she could always handle the things that needed to be done very well. She was an extremely dutiful girl. Originally, Yang Sichen had wanted her to marry into the manor so that she could continue to manage the inner courtyard for him. However, the current situation made Yang Sichen change his mind. If he wanted her to be his business assistant, he had no choice. The number of people Yang Sichen trusted could be counted on one hand. It was simply not enough.
After entering the study, Yang Sichen saw that Liu Lan was busy in the room, so he didn't have the mood to stay in the study any longer. So, he went to his own bedroom. When he entered the bedroom, he found that Granny Zhao and Zi Juan were cleaning the room and didn't have time to care about him…After walking around inside and outside, Yang Sichen suddenly felt that his job as a master was quite boring. The maids and servants all had things to do, and someone had arranged it properly. He couldn't interfere at all.
Yang Sichen shook his head and turned around to head to Ping Bo Xuan. Zi Juan put down the work in his hands and chased after him with a smile. He asked crisply,"Young Master, where are you going?"
Yang Sichen glanced at the purple handkerchief and sighed,""You all have work to do, but I'm free!”
"Young Master, you don't know how lucky you are!" Zi Juan pretended. Servants have laborious lives, endless work! They looked like donkeys pulling a mill!”
Yang Sichen smiled when he heard that." Then, you donkey, come with me!" This young master will bring you to the mill!"
Hearing this, Zi Juan pouted and said," Young Master, pulling the mill is done by a big male donkey with rough skin and thick meat. Do you have the heart to let a pretty and handsome female donkey like me do such heavy work?"”
Yang Sichen was stunned when he heard that. He pretended to pull Zijuan's braid and said,""If you are a donkey, you have to pull the mill. I don't care if you are a big male donkey with thick skin or a pretty and handsome female donkey.”
When Zi Juan heard this, he also sat on the ground. Seeing that there was no one around, he quickly took off his bow shoes and rubbed his feet.
Only then did Yang Sichen remember that Zijuan had bound her feet. It turned out that Zi Juan's feet were wrapped like golden lotuses, and four of her toes were broken and tied tightly to the soles of her feet. Only her heels and toes were touching the ground, and she was wearing bow shoes that were less than three inches long. The pair of golden lotuses usually didn't leave the house. Even if they went out with Yang Sichen, they would take a carriage and wouldn't be able to walk more than two steps. Today, he had first worked with Granny Zhao for two hours, then jumped up and down the wall with Yang Sichen for almost half an hour. It was already as painful as needles, and his two little golden lotuses were in so much pain that they felt like they were about to crack. He didn't care about it when he was playing, but now that he had rested, how could he endure it?
Seeing this, Yang Sichen picked up Zi Juan and the two small wooden shoes and walked towards his bedroom.
When they returned to the bedroom, Yang Sichen carried Zi Juan over and sat on the bed while he untied the foot-binding cloth on Zi Juan. When the purple silk foot-binding cloth was finally untied, Yang Sichen saw: The purple-skinned soles of his feet were not broken, but his four toes were tightly pressed against the soles of his feet. They were as small and flat as broad beans, and his toenails were as thin as cicada wings, neatly trimmed. The heel was also slightly bent forward. There was a deep slit in the middle of each foot, and an eight-inch copper coin could be inserted. The little toe was close to this slit and leaned against the heel. The back of the foot was slightly arched and very flat, and the tip of the big toe was slightly raised up, like the tip of a water chestnut.
This book is provided by FunNovel Novel Book | Fan Fiction Novel [Beautiful Free Novel Book]