Great Tang Idyll

Book 2: Chapter 11

Many thanks go to Jesse for commissioning chapters 08-12!

Swarms of dragonflies flew close to the ground, or turned to the pond. They occasionally touched the water surface to leave behind ripples, then they artfully flew around a lotus leaf and continued flying to an unknown location.

The dry sandy soil was exuding heat, and looking at it made people feel like they were in a distorted trance. The chirps of the cicadas were buzzing unceasingly. The tree leaves covered with a thin layer of dirt were slightly curled. The insects that rested on the leaves spat out foam to envelop it body away from the heat.

The old yellow dog ran into the water basin with his tongue out and he licked it vigorously a few times. Then, he hid under the big pagoda tree, and he laid in the tree's short shadow with his paws stretched forward. He rested his head on his paws, and his ears hung low on both sides. He squinted his eyes and occasionally looked at the chickens walking casually by.

The chubby house cat jumped to the window sill and curled herself into a ball. She didn't even move when the door creaked open. The little swallow went out with its parents to look for food. The swallows ate the dragonflies, and the dragonflies ate the insects.

The old cow stood steadily in the cattle pen and he stared blankly at the things around him, as if he was reminiscing the paths he had once walked. Only his tail kept flicking to drive away the mosquitoes and flies that wanted to come over to take advantage of him.

After the bell rang, it was break time for the little children who have been studying for the past hour. There were still three more hours until lunch time, but the children were already waiting in their seats. After a while, someone brought them food.

Their lunch included a small bowl of goat's milk that released a musky smell, a plate with two veggie-filled buns, and a crispy brown fried egg. Originally, this period was supposed to be an exercise period, but it was later removed since the kids helped with work at home, played in the mountains, and swam in the water.

Before eating, the teacher lectured them, "A meal, a portion. One must think about how hard it is to come by. "

The little children agreed in unison to study hard in the future and repay the master family, then they started to eat. The teacher nodded with a smile. He held a book in one hand to read, and he occasionally drank the cold sweet mung bean soup provided by the master family to relieve the heat.

Zhang Xiao'bao and Wang Juan laid in the swimming pool in the Zhang household's yard, and they each covered their face with a lotus leaf. Shi'liu, who has finished her work already, was sitting on a small bench on the side to keep watch of her two little masters. She was also holding a book in her hands, and she occasionally yawned from feeling tired. She was exhausted from thinking about growing mushrooms these past few days, but she still could not make any progress.

"Xiao'bao, do you think my family can get some rewards this time? Like the feifs your family has. That would be great for my family."

Wang Juan's voice came from under a lotus leaf. She waited for a few seconds, but Zhang Xiao'bao still didn't respond. She reached out and touched him. Zhang Xiao'bao's body immediately sank into the water. Just when the water was about to enter his mouth, he moved quickly and fixed his posture. He actually fell asleep.

Wang Juan had to repeat her words again.

"Oh, you're asking about this? It should be possible. After all, those grains and poultry are under the name of the Zhang and Wang families. We gave out so much, so we're bound to get something back in return. The Imperial Court can't disappoint the people.

I had a dream just now. I dreamed that the six ponds on our side were all connected together and there are several small bridges on the manor. The boats were swaying in the water while the people in the boats were humming melodies and picking lotus seeds in each pond. There were little fishes swimming and playing in the clear water. "

While talking, Zhang Xiao'bao moved his two calves gently, and he swam to the shore. He pulled a wooden boat that was placed in the shade and he pulled into the water. Then he pushed the boat while he swam towards Wang Juan. There were snacks and juice on the boat. They were scared that cold beverages weren't good for their stomachs, so they didn't put ice in the juice.

Wang Juan drank a sip of fruit juice and smacked her lips. "The waterway should be designed well. It should have high and low sections. It is best to directly connect the ponds to the small river near the front of the door. The water path should be in order, starting from the first pond, and then at the end, the sixth pond can flow into the river.

We also need to remember to install the net, or else the fish will swim away. We can hold a special wine drinking ceremony1 too. We just need to build a wooden corridor along the small river, and then plant some trees on the open space on both sides. From afar, it would look like a painting, and up close it will look ethereal. As long as we don't occupy the fertile land, no one will care about what we build. Even when winter comes, people can drink warm wine and enjoy the snow. "

"Yes, and look for flowers and willows2 in summer." Zhang Xiao'bao added in.

"Let me drown you." Wang Juan reached out and pressed Zhang Xiao'bao down.

*

At noon, the day was getting hotter. Some people who were idling around with nothing to do decided to spontaneously set up a stall on the small bridge. Today's new pricing did not come out and everything was the same as last night. No one dared to break the rules. If someone broke a rule, then the person would be kicked out.

Er'gou ate some food in a hurry, and was about to get busy again. He checked which stall needed to be restocked, if the meat was still fresh, if anything at the food stall was broken, and if the food handlers washed their hands. He only collected yesterday's rent since they haven't sold anything today yet.

At the same time, he told a few stall owners that there were too many dirty things left uncleaned when they left last night, and he asked them to keep that in mind today. Then he made small talk with a few people he was familiar with-- they talked about things like whose toddler was able to walk now, or whose pig stopped eating. They drank a bowl of tea at a tea stall while chatting. When they were done, the tea stall owner refused to take their money, so they left behind a small packet of salt as a payment.

There were now more people eating in the Between The Water And Cloud Restaurant. Today, Li Cheng went around looking for the manors' masters, but to no avail. Afterwards, he went to fetch the Rubik's Cube, and he also ate lunch at the restaurant. He went up to the second floor and ordered a few dishes and chilled grape wine. He also asked the waiter to chat with him. again.

It was a given that the waiter didn't dare to refuse. He stood on the side and helped Li Cheng pour wine. He muttered silently in his heart thinking about what he could say and what he could not say.

"Let me ask you a question. Are you from around here?" Li Cheng took a sip of wine and another bite of food, then he placed down his chopsticks and turned to ask him.

"I am. My family lives on the manor. Including myself, we have been there for three generations." The waiter replied back respectfully while filling Li Cheng's wine glass again. He picked up two ice pieces and placed them in the wine.

"Then do you know what your Master is busy doing all day? Why can't I meet them?" Li Cheng asked again.

The waiter shook his head blankly, "I don't know. How could my Master tell me what he's doing? Maybe there's something important? How about you keep checking?"

"Then do you know if there's anything important going on these days?"

"Important things? Yes, I actually know a little bit. My Master is a good person. He heard that there is a place suffering from a severe drought and a locust plague, so he ordered people to bring grains and our chickens, ducks and geese over there. The grasshoppers there are in bad luck. You might not know, but the chickens on our Manor are different; they started eating grasshoppers when they were young. I still remember that there was a chicken called Ol'black. That guy, oh man was he abnormally clever. Regardless of where the grasshoppers were hiding"

"That's enough. I see, Ol'black is a good chicken. Let's not talk about that for now. Are there any other major issues?" Li Cheng felt satisfied when he heard the first part, but after listening a bit more, he found that something was off so he quickly interrupted the waiter.

The waiter stopped despite wanting to continue talking. He swallowed two mouthfuls of saliva. Since he continued asking, the waiter had to respond. "Other major issues? Yes, the swineherd on our manor has an old sow that just gave birth to piglets. Guess how many there were? Twelve. Oh man, it was actually pretty scary to see. We knew that pig was different; she was able to climb trees, oh man..."

"Stop. When I'm asking you questions, don't make up random stories. How could a pig climb trees? Are there any other major issues?" Li Cheng wondered if this waiter was clever or dense.

"Oh, that pig can actually climb trees. The wind was strong so a tree was blown crooked, and then the pig was able to climb up that tree. Let's talk about something else then. I heard that a wharf was built on the Little Luo'shui River in the San'shui County. Oh man, that place is huge. The mountains were dug up, and I heard that when the workers were digging, they saw a gigantic snake. Oh man, that snake was two zhang3 long. No one had the guts to catch it and it just slithered away on the sand. Oh man...."

"Oh man, stop talking about the snake. Let me ask you, how is your family's life like?" Li Cheng finally figured that this waiter was not stupid at all. He was more than clever. When he asked the waiter anything, the waiter would just talk about things that everyone else knew, and he did not disclose a single word that shouldn't be mentioned.

The waiter still kept a respectful demeanor. He helped Li Cheng move the dishes closer and replied, "It's okay. My family is pretty good nowadays. We raised chickens and they were taken away on a carriage to eat grasshoppers over at that place. I also caught four piglets. By the time it's New Year's, they will be big enough and I'll slaughter one of them so my family can eat pork. The remaining three can be sold to earn some extra money for my family. "

"Sigh~! In my opinion, your family's life is not very good. The pigs can't be sold for much since oher families will also be selling pigs during the New Year's. It might be better if you find a new Master." Li Cheng took a liking towards this waiter--- he was smart and he had tight lips.

The waiter shook his head, "We don't need to sell the pigs ourselves. The Master will set the price and negotiate with other merchants. We will slaughter the pigs first and sell them at different prices according to different places. The same goes for the chickens, ducks and geese."

"Aren't you scared that your Master will deceive you and deduct part of the money?" It was the first time that Li Cheng heard that the master helped the residents negotiate sales, so he assumed the master wanted to take advantage of them.

"If the master wants to deduct some money, then so be it. The master will have some extra money to spend on the New Year's." The waiter replied with an indifferent tone.

This time Li Cheng was even more surprised. Is it possible that the residents of both manors were stupid? They didn't even care if their master made deductions. That's good though; it's hard to find such honest residents elsewhere that were this willing to work for the master. If they were brought to the new manor, wouldn't it be great? Thus, he decided to try to buy them.

"Do you know that there is a new manor over there? The master of that manor is more amazing than your current master. Even the local authorities will have to respect that manor's master. How about you tell this to the families you're close with and move to the new manor together. When you move there, a house will be built for you, and you can pay a small portion of the cost every year, and the house will be yours in just a few years.

Then you can raise chickens if you want to, and you can catch pigs if you want to catch pigs. During the New Year's, you will be given some fabric to make new clothes. What do you think? It's impossible to find a master this good."

The waiter almost couldn't hold in his laughter when he heard this. It seemed like the people from that manor didn't inquire carefully about the things here. How could they compare to the tailor-made outfits provided by the Zhang and Wang manors? How could they compare to being able to receive gifts that were delivered personally by the Master's wife? Raising chickens? Where would they buy the chicks from?

1. Special wine drinking ceremony

During this ceremony, people will sit along the side of the river and a goblet of wine will be placed in the upstream portion of the river. Whoever the goblet stops in front of will have to pick up the goblet and drink the wine. Originally, the purpose of the ceremony is to dispel bad luck, but later, it became a game for poets. The person that the goblet stops in front of will have to compose a poem, but if they are unable to, then they would have to drink the wine as a punishment.

2. Looking for flowers and willows

This is a euphemism for courting young girls or playing around.

3. Two zhang is about 7 m.