Chapter 228 Protecting All the Weak People
Qin Yao and Liu Ji were covered in dried mud, looking extremely dirty.
The horses and the carriage were not in much better condition. Although they were washed by the stream before entering the town and were not so dirty, they had to be cleaned again now that they had settled down.
Money makes things easier, so I gave the innkeeper an extra hundred coins and asked the waiter to help wash the car and horses.
This also includes hot water for Qin Yao's family to bathe.
Like its owner, Lao Huang is now also a clean horse. Normally, he is quite irritable when outsiders approach him, but now he knows he needs a bath, so he obediently lets the waiter tie him to the pillar outside the back door and wash him.
While Mr. Huang was enjoying himself, Qin Yao and his wife took turns taking their children to bathe and wash their hair.
After being out for so many days, I was already covered in sweat.
Da Zhuang watched Qin Yao's family busy washing and dressing, feeling like he was watching something strange.
He was also covered in mud, but that was cleared up by just running cold water over the back of his feet.
He rubbed the mud on his clothes with his hands, brushed it off, and continued to wear them.
It's not that I don't care, it's just that I have nothing to change into, and I'm afraid of ruining my already fragile and patched linen clothes by washing them.
Qin Yao and Si Niang were the first to take the shower. After they were done they went out to let Liu Ji and the three boys go in.
The mother and daughter sat on a stone bench in the backyard, watching the waiter scrub the carriage while waiting for Liu Ji to come out and wash the dirty clothes.
Da Zhuang was also washing the car. He was reluctant to pay the waiter for help, so he just fetched water and washed it himself.
Si Niang's curious big eyes were darting around everywhere. It was the child's first time staying in an inn, and the experience here made her feel very novel.
He looked at the half-open room next door with his big eyes for a while. Liu Li had turned on the light and was sitting at a small table reading a book.
After a while, he looked at the waiter and Uncle Dazhuang who were washing the car, and a puzzled expression appeared on his little face.
Why doesn't Uncle Li help Uncle Dazhuang?
Doesn't Uncle Dazhuang feel tired? Why doesn't he ask Uncle Li to work?
Uncle Dazhuang and Uncle Li are neither brothers nor relatives, so if Uncle Dazhuang washes the carriage, will Uncle Li give him extra compensation?
Si Niang had many doubts in her mind, but she knew it would be bad to ask now.
So the little girl held it in until Liu Ji and his two sons came out of their bath, and Qin Yao took her back to the room to rest. Only when only the mother and daughter were left did she ask her doubts.
Qin Yao didn't expect that Si Niang could actually observe these details. She thought that six-year-old children were like San Lang, who only thought about eating, sleeping, and playing after waking up.
"Why is it like this, mother?" Si Niang asked, holding her chin.
Qin Yao thought for a moment before saying, "Because their status is not equal."
Si Niang looked even more puzzled, "Why? Is it because Uncle Li has money and Uncle Da Zhuang doesn't?"
"Yes and not entirely. In addition to the inequality in money, they also have inequality in power."
Now that things have come to this, Qin Yao feels that there is nothing left to say, and it wouldn't be a bad idea to know the gap between classes sooner.
Only by adapting in advance and making good use of the rules can you move forward better.
However, the equality and human rights in Qin Yao's bones will never be erased!
While telling Si Niang about the huge power gap between scholars, farmers, merchants and artisans, and the rule of the supremacy of imperial power, he also warned her that no matter what position she will be in in the future, she should not forget the essential equality and human rights.
Moreover, there is one thing that cannot be ignored in the prosperous country - below the scholars, farmers, merchants and slaves, there are even more vulnerable women.
Seeing that the little girl was listening very seriously, Qin Yao couldn't help but ask curiously: "Can you understand what I said?"
Si Niang nodded heavily, and she clenched her fists without knowing when. She said,
"Mother, I will study hard, and when I grow up, I will become as strong as you and protect the sisters who are weaker than us!"
"No!" Feeling that this was not enough, Si Niang added seriously, "It is to protect all the weak people!"
Qin Yao stroked her thin but straight back, her heart filled with pride, "Our Fourth Mother has such a lofty ambition at such a young age, it's great, Mother is proud of you."
Being praised!
Si Niang immediately raised her chin up. She wanted to be the proudest daughter of her mother!
If her stomach hadn't been growling, the little girl would have recited two more texts.
"Madam! Madam!"
Liu Ji's shouting was heard from outside the door.
Qin Yao held her forehead with her hand, what a worrying man.
The sound came from far away and the footsteps were chaotic and dense. The four father and sons who had finished washing clothes and went to the front hall to order food rushed in with the same anger.
As soon as he entered the room, Liu Ji slapped the small table in the room and complained to Qin Yao angrily, "This is a shady shop! This is a shady shop!"
Erlang also had an indignant expression on his face, and said, "Mother, how much do you think the shopkeeper here wants for a bowl of plain noodles?"
"How much?" Qin Yao embraced Si Niang, who was startled by her own father's slamming on the table, and gave Liu Ji a warning look, "Calm down. We are still staying in the guest room of the inn. Why are you calling it a shady shop so loudly? Are you afraid that others can't hear it? Isn't it convenient for you to kick us out?"
"That, that's not the case." Liu Ji glanced at the dark sky outside the house. Who would want to sleep on the streets?
But this shop is too shady!
Liu Ji gave Erlang a look, and Erlang exaggeratedly raised one of his hands, put up three fingers, and continued: "A bowl of vegetarian noodles costs thirty cents!"
He emphasized: "It's plain noodles!"
Sanlang followed up, "It's plain noodles, without meat."
Liu Ji also said: "We had a bowl of plain noodles in another town during the day and it only cost fifteen cents."
He knew that food prices were soaring, and a bowl of vegetarian noodles at fifteen cents was already three times the usual price. Although it was hard to accept, he would be hungry if he didn't eat, so he gritted his teeth and endured it.
After all, the family had just added seven taels of silver in income, so they could afford it.
But after only twenty miles, a bowl of plain noodles has risen to thirty coins. If this isn't a scam, what is it?
After hearing the whole story, Qin Yao secretly took a breath of cold air. This price is indeed exaggerated.
But when he sent Liu Ji out to ask, he found out that all the customers were ordering noodles at the same price today. Liu Li also expressed helplessness. He had just asked Da Zhuang to ask other restaurants on the street, but they were all closed. This was the only one in town, so he had to eat there even though it was expensive.
And it's not that the shopkeeper is cruel, but the price of grain here is more than three times more expensive than in Kaiyang County.
When we think of the nine bandits who were so bold as to rob and kill people even at the government post station, we can see that the food shortage problem here is already very serious.
Liu Ji was silent.
Dalang tried to find out, "We still have some dry food. How about some bread? It's delicious if you boil some hot water and eat it with it."
Thanks to Dalang's hard work in promoting the food, Erlang, Sanlang and Siniang all expressed that they were looking forward to eating dry food.
Qin Yao waved her hands, "It's time to save and spend. It's not like I can't afford thirty cents for a bowl of noodles."
Just think of it as dining in a super luxurious five-star hotel.
(End of this chapter)