The twenty-eighth day of the twelfth lunar month.

Except for the soldiers on duty on the front line, everyone else is basically on holiday.

In the Lantian camp, two monthly payments were distributed this month. The last one was regarded as an extra commendation or an annuity. When the payment was made, as usual, "Hussars General Wan Sheng" was shouted, which shocked the surrounding people.

The people were all startled. At first they were afraid, thinking that they didn't know what was going on. But when they found out that it was an increase in annual pay, they turned into envy. They wished they could be recruited into the army next year so they could have a bite.

The pay of a hussar general.

Outside the camp, Du Ji arranged direct sales activities at various shops, which allowed soldiers to buy what they needed without going to the city, whether it was a piece of clothing, a bottle of fine wine, or through Hussar

The bank branches sent their military pay home.

Most of these recruits in the camp cannot be sent directly to the county town, otherwise they will easily cause trouble. Only the best recruits can be divided into batches and get a chance to go to the city to rest. These matters are discussed in Du Ji

Before I came to Lantian to take charge of the work, I was not very clear about the process.

Now, Du Ji is basically a very mature and experienced local official...

There was no need for any special explanation. Without any instructions, Du Ji worked out the next quarter's recruit training plan with several military officers in his official residence.

Du Ji does not plan to take a long vacation. After the fifth day of the first lunar month, he will gradually start to resume training. Moreover, his recruits here have only completed the first phase of training, and then they will be divided into three groups according to different situations.

Various arms, if they are cavalry, they have to go to Yinshan and Longxi, if they are mountain soldiers, they go to Qinling, Hanzhong, Sichuan, and general soldiers go to Tongguan.

When these soldiers go to the next location, they will learn skills such as setting up camp, setting up strongholds, sentry scouts, setting up sentries, etc....

After talking about business, the sergeants looked at each other, and then the leader raised his hands and said to Du Ji: "Your Majesty, on New Year's Eve, each of our teams gathered their own members, bought banquets, and celebrated the New Year in the camp... County

If you have the time, please appreciate it."

Du Ji responded with a smile.

On weekdays, alcohol is prohibited in the military, but during the Chinese New Year, it only happens once a year. So you can drink on New Year's Eve night, but you can't get drunk and cause trouble.

After the few sergeants left, the official house gradually became quiet.

Du Ji put the cloak on his side and walked out of the hall.

Now most of the officials in Lantian's official residence have gone home. After all, it is the New Year. Except for the personnel on duty at the city gate, watchtower, square gate, public treasury and other places, most people are on holiday.

However, there are exceptions. When Du Ji walked to the side of the wing, he suddenly found that there was a light on in one of the rooms, and a figure was moving...

Du Ji frowned slightly. He remembered that it was already a holiday here, and even if he was on duty, he should be close to the main hall so that if something happened, he could find it in time. How could there be anyone in this relatively remote wing?

?

Du Ji motioned for the guards to come forward. After a while, the guards came out, and then two or three minor officials in the room also came out to see Du Ji.

"You guys...are you on duty today?" Du Ji asked.

One of the clerks replied: "Replying to the county magistrate is not a rotation... I dare not hide it from the county magistrate... This lord has many new laws, and I rarely have the leisure to read and memorize them on weekdays... I am on vacation now."

...It's just that I'm just making a fuss in my home, and I... don't want to spoil the interest of the neighbors... I just came here..."

Du Ji understood and nodded, "Are you two the same?"

The other two should be too.

Du Ji smiled and said: "It is good to study the law diligently. But this wing is far away, so why not move it to the side hall, for convenience, and to help take care of the candles..."

The majority of buildings in the Han Dynasty were made of wood, and care was needed whether it was lighting a candle or a brazier, so if something happened in a remote wing, there would be no one to put out the fire!

But he likes reading and is willing to use his vacation time to familiarize himself with the new rules. This is also a good thing. It cannot be said that he will be killed with a stick, so Du Ji simply opened the side hall and let these people go there.

The three of them were naturally overjoyed and quickly thanked them.

Du Ji waved his hand and motioned for the three people to clean up, change positions, and continued to walk around with his guards. After seeing that there were no other problems, he wandered out of the official residence and went to his residence.

go.

Lantian is no longer what it used to be.

Originally, the population of Lantian was not very large, and it was not considered a big county town. Generally speaking, there were only two markets a month. Farmers from within ten miles and eight villages came to the county town when necessary. It was not too busy.

of.

Now that there are a large number of refugees from Jingzhou, the market in Lantian has become the fourth and ninth markets. On the fourth day, it is located on East Street, Chujiu South Street, Nineteenth West Street, and Twenty-Nineth North Street.

Now that we have entered the 24th day of the twelfth lunar month, there is a market almost every day without stopping.

Du Ji came out of the government office and went to North Street. Although tomorrow is the day for the North Street market, there are more pedestrians on the street than usual, and everyone is better dressed. Some ordinary people

, are also willing to wear beautiful clothes at home. There are also some relatively well-off wealthy families. In addition to brocade clothes, there are also various decorations. If they are the female dependents of noble families, there will be more decorations. Not only ordinary jade,

There are even some ornaments made of gold foil in the hair and on the skirts of the clothes, some of which look like swallows, and some of which look like flowers.

The restriction on women in the Han Dynasty was not as perverted as it was after the Song Dynasty, so there were actually quite a few women on the market who took the opportunity to go out for fun during the Chinese New Year, and they were very lively. They were not shy when meeting strangers, even young people.

They were also joking with each other, which seemed lively.

At the street corners and alley entrances, some children were playing with each other, and some children gathered together to eat snacks from each family. I will eat a dried date for you, you will eat a piece of rice cake for me, and a piece of pastry divided into three or four portions.

, each of the friends took a bite, and the crisp laughter kept ringing.

Ordinary people also have a comfortable smile on their faces. When there are more people, the demand becomes stronger. They need pots and pans, firewood and water. As long as they are not the lazy, greedy and hopeless kind, as long as they are willing to work

, even if you don’t know anything, you can buy some energy to load and unload goods, or do odd jobs, and you will have some extra income. At the end of the year, you will pay off the debt you owe, and take the remaining two pieces of new cloth and a bag of cloth to your home.

Thin noodles, a dime of wine, half a pound of meat, etc., I feel that my life is comfortable...

Originally, the New Year celebration habits of the people in Jingxiang were slightly different from those in Guanzhong, but this does not hinder the strong New Year atmosphere. Most of the refugees in Jingxiang have settled down and have gradually integrated into Guanzhong. Even their accents have changed.

It is somewhat similar to Guanzhong. After all, this is the territory of the Hussars General, and it is convenient to go anywhere.

Of course, there are also some people who are relatively poor, because no matter what age they are, there are always some people whose entire family pillars have collapsed due to illness or accidents. This is something that Du Ji cannot predict. He can only say that he will try his best to do so.

They provided some help, conducted inspections before the year, and distributed some daily necessities to these poor families, so that these poor families could get over the current year first.

As long as there is still some hope, these hardworking people can struggle to survive...

Anyway, you won’t get beaten up if you buy two steamed buns.

As Du Ji walked forward, he responded to the greetings of some of the nobles and common people passing by.

"Lang Jun, do you want to go back to Chang'an?" Seeing Du Ji standing at the street corner, seemingly hesitant, a close guard on the side asked.

Du Ji pondered for a while, shook his head, and said with a smile: "No need...just welcome the New Year here!"

……(*^__^*)……

In the city of Chang'an and within the mausoleums, the New Year is also being welcomed with joy.

The old dog bared his yellow teeth that were about to fall out, walking on a cane and having a silly time.

"Dad..." Yue Meizi said with some complaints, "Look at your smile, your saliva is dripping..."

"Wo...hiss...wo is so happy!" Old Gouzi laughed, "Happy! Just happy!"

Yue Meizi is actually also happy. After all, Shitou, who has been hanging in her heart, not only sent money to her family, but more importantly, Brother Shitou is still alive!

Originally, Lao Gouzi and Yue Meizi were a little worried when they were notified by the inspection to go to the Lingyi Military Office. They were afraid that if they went there, they would face a stone pension...

Fortunately, it was just the military salary sent back by Shitou.

Although the military pay is much less than the pension, for Lao Gouzi and Yue Meizi, they would rather get this relatively small military pay than receive any pension...

Turning the street, leaving the official area, and entering the folk square, it suddenly became lively. The shops and shops were beckoning with their necks up and down. There was an endless stream of people either carrying burdens or carrying baskets on their backs, in the shops.

Shopping and shopping in between, replenishing the last New Year’s goods before the year.

Tomorrow is the 29th, and basically all the shops will be closed the day after tomorrow, and then they will open one after another after the third day of the Lunar New Year, or until the fifth day of the Lunar New Year.

"Go and ask the Kitchen God..." Old Gouzi stopped, looked at the shop, hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth, "Go and kill some more animals..."

"Dad..." Yue Meizi was stunned for a moment.

Because even though Shitou has sent back his military salary, and Yue Meizi also does some handicrafts every day, or does laundry for others to supplement the family income, there are still no problems in life, but whether it is Lao Gouzi or Yue Meizi, they are very busy on weekdays.

Frugal, just like this New Year, the two of them have already purchased most of the New Year's goods. Anyway, it's just the two of them who cook thin noodle soup cakes to celebrate the New Year. Like an old dog, they suddenly have to cut some cattle.

It's mutton, which naturally makes Yue Meizi a little surprised.

"It doesn't matter whether we eat or not... I just want to give stones to the ancestors..." Lao Gouzi sighed, "To worship the ancestors... before, it was because we were poor and had no choice, but now... we have to give the stones to the ancestors no matter what."

Burn some incense and sacrifice some animals... to bless the stone..."

Others, even Lao Gouzi's own, can be frugal or even ignored, but for the Kitchen God and sacrifices in Shitou's home, he has to "invite" himself and bring some substantial offerings to be considered sincere.

Yue Meizi understood and nodded quickly, "Then... Dad, please wait here for a while, I'll be back soon..."

"Hey!" The old dog nodded, holding on to his walking stick, and then watched his daughter walk forward.

Several children rode bamboo horses, whirring and playing with each other. They ran past Old Gouzi and almost bumped into Old Gouzi's walking stick.

"Slow down! Slow down! These little bastards... run slowly! Be careful of falling!" The old dog quickly put the walking stick under his feet, and then followed these children with his eyes as they ran away.

Although Shitou had not yet joined the army and was still at home, Lao Gouzi and Shitou quarreled almost every day, but now...

If Shitou's marriage proposal had been accepted back then, the baby would have been almost that old now, right?

God, please bless the stone for its safe return...

If...if only I could take a look at Yue Meizi and the stone baby before the loess covered my head, I would have no regrets in this life...
To be continued...