Chapter 13

Ding Jiu heard Wang Yang's words, and seeing the attitude of Xue Duizhu and Wang Wenshu, he understood seven or eight parts, but he had spent a lot of effort running around for the past two days, and he was not willing to work for nothing. Besides, what if this little playboy had some other tricks? He tentatively asked: "Young Master Wang, where are we going next?"

Wang Yang saw that he had finally shaken off Xue Duizhu and Wang Wenshu, and he was overjoyed. He prepared to make a final effort to shake off the remaining two soldiers, and then he would be completely free!

How to shake people off?

Borrow money!

He pretended to sigh: "I have nowhere to go for the time being. How about this, you lend me some money first; when the people my second uncle sent to pick me up arrive, there will be no shortage of benefits for you."

When Ding Jiu heard about borrowing money, he really wanted to cry!

He finally understood why Xue Duizhu and Wang Wenshu ran faster than rabbits. It turns out this young master is a braggart!

A dignified Langya Wang clan member has to borrow money from him after entering Jingzhou City; one can see how cowardly he is!

He smiled bitterly and apologized: "Young master is joking; how could this lowly one have money!"

Wang Yang continued to display his rogue skills: "No money, arranging a place for me to stay is fine! It just so happens I'm hungry; let's go, let's go, treat this young master to a meal first!"

Ding Jiu was so scared that he shivered and said quickly: "Young Master Wang, this lowly one has something to do at home, so I'll go back first and come to serve the young master later!" After speaking, he ran away without a trace.

Wang Yang laughed secretly, turned to the dark-skinned man, and smiled brightly: "How about you lend me some money to spend?"

The dark-skinned man did not hesitate, took out a small cloth bag from his lapel, and presented it with both hands: "Young master, we soldier households are rarely paid wages. This lowly one doesn't have much money; I've only saved thirty-three coins, which is all my belongings. Please take it, young master." His expression was extremely respectful.

Wang Yang was stunned, blinked, and thought: What kind of routine is this?

His image as a down-and-out person is so clear; can't he see it?

Or was it arranged by Xue Duizhu and Wang Wenshu? Before verifying his true identity, is he not allowed to leave surveillance?

Thinking of the latter possibility, Wang Yang hardened his heart, took the small cloth bag, and said: "Let's go, let's eat first."

The dark-skinned man said with some difficulty: "Young master, this little money is really not much; it's not enough for a good meal. Besides, after eating, we still need to stay, so it's even less enough."

Wang Yang intended to scare the dark-skinned man away and put on a look of having decided on him: "I am hungry and tired now; you arrange the accommodation and food."

The dark-skinned man thought for a moment: "If the young master doesn't mind, you can stay at this lowly one's house."

"Go... go to your house?"

"Yes, this lowly one's house is not far from Jingzhou City; the young master can go to this lowly one's house to eat and rest."

Wang Yang pretended to be happy: "Just right, I have no place to stay, and I have no money on me, so I will stay at your house for now!"

The dark-skinned man did not run away as Wang Yang imagined, but cupped his hands and said seriously: "This lowly one will definitely do my best to take good care of the young master!"

Wang Yang:???

What's the situation?!

This can't scare him away?!

Is this person too honest or did he receive some death order?

Who is eating whom?

Wang Yang followed the dark-skinned man out of the city full of doubts; the further they walked, the fewer pedestrians there were, and the more remote it became.

Wang Yang's vigilance rose sharply!

Could this person be doing some human trafficking or kidnapping business in secret? Although there were no "kidney-stealing" things in ancient times, there were many kidnappings and abductions. There is a poem in the *Han Yuefu* called *East of Pingling*: "East of Pingling, pines and cypresses, don't know who kidnapped Yigong. Kidnapped Yigong, under the high hall, pay a million coins and two horses..." This is about kidnapping!

Could it be that he values his identity as the Langya Wang clan and wants to kidnap him and then blackmail the Wang family?!

Wang Yang took advantage of the dark-skinned man's inattention, picked up a stone on the ground, and hid it in his sleeve.

"Young master, that's our Eighth Battalion ahead!" The dark-skinned man stopped and pointed forward.

"Eighth Battalion?" Wang Yang was startled; could it be that he tricked him into another military camp?

The dark-skinned man said with some embarrassment: "Because we are soldier households, our family members have to be stationed in the camp and live together, so the place where we live is also called the camp village. We are the Eighth Battalion, which is the Eighth Battalion Village."

Wang Yang remembered that "soldier households" had another nickname in the Six Dynasties called "camp households," which might be related to this living mode.

Although the Eighth Battalion Village has the word "camp," it completely lacks the appearance of a military camp. Looking from a distance, it is just a piece of broken thatched huts. Between the huts, there are various wooden frames and cloth curtains, with clothes and quilts drying on them, and the ground is wet and black like mud, looking very dirty and messy.

The dark-skinned man's house is on the edge of the village, without any structures around it, looking somewhat out of place with the entire Eighth Battalion Village. What's even stranger is that it's dark now, and there are dots of lights in the village, but only the dark-skinned man's house is pitch black.

The dark-skinned man was still six or seven steps away from home when he shouted: "Awu! My little Awu!"

Wang Yang didn't know if this was some signal for his accomplices, so he gripped the stone in his sleeve and was secretly vigilant.

Only hearing a sound of small running steps, and then *pa*, the firewood door opened!

A small figure rushed out and threw herself into the dark-skinned man's arms: "Dad! I thought I would have to wait another month to see you!"

Wang Yang was stunned: It really is going home!

The dark-skinned man was full of joy, picked up his daughter and spun her in the air, causing the little girl to giggle, her long hair dancing in the air.

The dark-skinned man pulled his daughter over: "Awu! A noble guest has come to our house! Quick! Quick, pay your respects! Call him Young Master Wang!"

This is a small girl who is dark and thin. Although her black hair is long, it is a bit withered and yellow. She looks like she is only five or six years old. Perhaps because she is too thin, her eyes look particularly large, or perhaps because her clothes are too wide, that broken little gray robe she wears looks like a big sack on her, dragging to her ankles.

"Greetings, Young Master Wang!" The little girl bowed generously, without the timidity that ordinary children have toward strangers.

Wang Yang bent down: "You are called Awu, right? Which 'wu' character?"

The little girl's expression changed, and she looked at her father.

The dark-skinned man patted his daughter: "You go prepare food to entertain the young master first! Dad will come to help you in a while."

The little girl looked at Wang Yang, leaned close to her father, and whispered: "Is it to prepare very good food?"

The dark-skinned man nodded embarrassedly: "Of course, Young Master Wang is a noble guest; you go prepare the bowls and chopsticks first, Dad will come right away."

The little girl promised and ran into the house.

The dark-skinned man looked embarrassed and said hesitantly: "There is one thing this lowly one forgot to tell the young master in advance, but since the young master has already arrived, this lowly one cannot hide it. My daughter, my daughter she..."

Wang Yang asked curiously: "What's wrong with your daughter?"

"She... she is a double-five child."

"What?" Wang Yang didn't understand.

This question sounded like dissatisfaction to the dark-skinned man, so he hurriedly cupped his hands and apologized: "Please don't be angry, young master! If the young master has taboos, we will look for another place to stay!"

"Taboos? What taboos? What is the double-five child you just mentioned?" Wang Yang felt inexplicable.

"Young master hasn't heard of a double-five child? Awu... Awu is... is born on the fifth day of the fifth month."

Wang Yang remembered a custom in ancient times: On the fifth day of the fifth month, do not raise the child.

"Raise" means to raise. Folk superstition regards the fifth day of the fifth month (the Dragon Boat Festival) as an "evil day," so various activities to remove evil and filth were developed.

In modern society, if you give birth on the Dragon Boat Festival, it's a Dragon Boat baby. But at that time, it was considered inauspicious, thinking that a double-five baby would hinder parents or even others. Therefore, people tried their best to avoid giving birth on the fifth day of the fifth month, and if they had to, there were many cases of abandonment and not raising them.

Wang Yang naturally didn't believe these things and said: "The taboo of double-five is purely nonsense. Meng Changjun was born on the fifth day of the fifth month, and didn't he still leave a name in history!"

The dark-skinned man said happily: "I knew the young master is knowledgeable! You wouldn't care about these things!"

Wang Yang smiled: "What does this have to do with being knowledgeable?"

"The more you know, the more open-minded you are! Unlike these people in our village..." The dark-skinned man's mouth showed a hint of bitterness, and then he smiled: "Sigh, never mind! Can the young master tell me about that big shot surnamed Meng, so I can talk about it with others in the future."

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Note: ① The name "camp household" is related to the fact that their wives and family members live in camps, and it is also related to the fact that their household registration belongs to the camp office. Interested students can refer to He Ziquan's *Military System of the Wei, Jin, and Southern Dynasties* and Chen Yuping's *Research on the Military Household System of the Wei, Jin, and Southern Dynasties*.

② There are too few documents left from the Southern Qi Dynasty, and it is impossible to reconstruct the prices at that time in detail based on existing historical materials. But if the Northern and Southern Dynasties are treated as a whole to build a price system, there is a certain basis. The disadvantage is that one can only sacrifice the fluctuations and differences in prices between dynasties, which is also something that cannot be helped.

The price system presented in this book is based on the broad scope of the Eastern Jin and Northern and Southern Dynasties. *Family Instructions of Yan* says that a commander in Yexia was very corrupt but stingy, and his servants' meals were "based on fifteen coins," which shows that fifteen coins is lower than the standard of servants' meals. If the dark-skinned man takes out thirty-three coins, if he really wants to eat, he can also make do with the protagonist for a meal. But the dark-skinned man emphasized that "he can't eat anything good," which is also the truth.

③ People in the Northern and Southern Dynasties liked to add the word "A" to nicknames. In Wu dialect, they call themselves "A-Nong," call the younger generation "A-Nu," call children "A-Er," and call fathers "A-Ye." There are also many cases of adding the word "A" before names and courtesy names. So the name Awu is actually "quite ancient" hhhh.

④ Don't listen to the dark-skinned man's nonsense; Meng Changjun's surname is not Meng...