The First Family of the Red Mansion

Chapter 2 Future Planning

After figuring out his cheat code, Liu Hu was overjoyed.

Although he still had to be wary of demons and gods like the Fairy of Illusion whose existence was unknown, the existence of lapis lazuli at least gave him the confidence to survive in this world.

Liu Hu found a hemp rope, hung the lapis lazuli around his neck, and then stuffed it into his clothes.

"Kitty, kitty."

Just then, Liu's shouts came from outside.

"Mother, I already told you yesterday that my name will be Liu Hu from now on."

Liu Hu muttered unhappily as he walked out.

"Isn't that a big cat?" Perhaps it was Liu Hu's recovery that gave Liu Shi hope. Recently, she seemed to have forgotten the pain of losing her husband and son, and she seemed to have become more lively.

"Yes, yes, you can call me whatever you like." Liu Hu could only reply helplessly to his mother.

After a quick wash, Liu Hu saw his mother preparing to boil water. Remembering the lapis lazuli water in his spatial storage, he quickly said, "Mom, I'll boil the water."

He snatched the wooden bucket from Liu's hand, picked it up, and walked outside.

Watching Liu Hu's hurried figure, Liu Shi lifted the corner of her tattered clothes to wipe her eyes, sniffed a few times, and a relieved smile appeared on her thin face.

Wangjiazhuang is located on the banks of the Chan River. Through this river, Liu Hu confirmed that the capital of the Great Zhou Dynasty was none other than Luoyang in his previous life.

Come to think of it, in the original novel of Dream of the Red Chamber, Wang Xifeng forced the son of the garrison commander of Chang'an to break off the engagement, and received a reply in just a few days. Obviously, Shenjing could not be Yanjing, Luoyang is more likely.

The Chan River is only about 60 miles long, and Wangjiazhuang relies on this river for drinking water and irrigation.

Liu Hu carried his bucket to a secluded section of the river. Looking at the clear water, he couldn't help but sigh, "This water quality is rarely seen in later generations."

Fortunately, Wangjiazhuang is located upstream of the Chan River. If it were downstream, not far from the capital, strange things would sometimes float on the water.

Put your hands into the water, and the rushing river water, mixed with aquatic plants, fish, and shrimp, pours into the pond in the space.

Strangely enough, the pond in the space seemed to be a bottomless pit; no matter how much water was poured in, the water level remained unchanged.

Before long, Liu Hu pulled up some reeds and other aquatic plants from the riverbank and planted them by the pond. During this time, he also found a few nests of wild ducks and casually tossed them into his spatial storage.

Seeing that it was almost time, Liu Hu carried the empty bucket back, and when he was almost back in the village, the bucket was instantly filled with water.

"Why did it take you so long?"

After returning home, Liu couldn't help but say a few words, but Liu Hu didn't pay any attention. He just chuckled a few times and then dashed into the kitchen.

After boiling the water, I served a bowl to my mother and myself, both to warm our stomachs and to satisfy our hunger.

To be honest, in this era, people in the countryside usually only ate two meals a day, which was a bit too much for Liu Hu, who was still growing.

"Mom, I caught a fish while I was fetching water. Can we just cook it and eat it?"

Liu Hu looked at Liu Shi pitifully.

"You went into the water?" Liu, who was about to pick up the bowl to blow on it to cool it down, raised her voice several octaves upon hearing Liu Hu's words.

"No, I just scooped it up while I was fetching water," Liu Hu hurriedly waved his hand.

To be honest, Liu was not good-looking, just like a clown matchmaker in a play. Fortunately, she didn't have a big black mole with hair on her face.

Liu Hugang looked at his reflection in the water. Although his body wasn't exactly handsome, it was ordinary enough. His appearance was decent, but he was dark-skinned and thin, and looked rather rustic.

However, everyone is basically like this. Except for the "scholar" from Li Xiucai's family, even those from better-off families are all dark-skinned, just not as thin. So no one should look down on anyone else.

But why does my mother's face look so familiar?

I've seen this old lady before?!

For some reason, this thought flashed through Liu Hu's mind.

Hearing her son say this, Liu's expression softened. She then slowly picked up the bowl, blew on it, and took a sip.

"Hmm? Where did you get the water today? It tastes good, without that usual fishy smell."

"I ran upstream for a while, and I'm almost at Jiajiazhuangzi, so I'm a little late today."

Liu Hu said nonchalantly.

"The steward of the estate didn't kick anyone out?" After taking a sip of water, Liu's pale face regained some color, and the fatigue from the past few days seemed to have vanished, leaving her feeling warm all over.

"No, we haven't reached their territory yet."

Liu Hu also picked up his bowl and took a sip. He didn't know if it was just psychological, but he felt that his injuries had healed a little.

"You're not allowed to go there anymore. If someone finds out, it'll definitely cause trouble."

Liu drank half a bowl of the wine, then got up and went to the kitchen.

Liu Hu had previously put a crucian carp, weighing about half a pound, in the bucket.

The reason for bringing out a crucian carp was that it helps with lactation, and since Liu had just given birth to her daughter, a crucian carp was just right.

With a clatter of pots and pans, a faint fishy smell soon wafted over.

"The crucian carp is perfect for making soup. You can drink it after it's cooked."

Just then, the girl lying on the kang woke up and started crying loudly.

Liu hurriedly picked up her daughter, untied the urinal, and immediately grinned, pinching the urinal and throwing it outside. A faint smell instantly filled the air.

After cleaning up the girl, Liu didn't shy away from anything and started stuffing food into the girl's mouth by lifting up her clothes.

Liu Hu was a little confused at first, but after he came to his senses, he blushed and hurriedly walked outside.

This is the first time I've encountered such a situation in real life, across two lifetimes.

"Tch! What part of your body haven't I seen? And now you're bringing it up here!" came Liu's mutterings from behind.

"Mother, give the girl some water from the bowl later." Liu Hu called out into the house as if he hadn't heard him.

In the blink of an eye, he arrived at his own field. Looking at the wheat seedlings that had been growing green again after a winter of hard work, Liu Hu felt a pang of sadness.

Last autumn, the original owner planted this land with his father and elder brother. In the blink of an eye, everything has changed. Not only has most of the land become someone else's, but his father and elder brother have also passed away.

Liu Hu came to the field that still belonged to his family and bent down to thin out the overly dense clumps of wheat seedlings. He didn't waste the thinned seedlings; he transplanted them directly into his space.

In one morning, he cleared one acre of wheat seedlings, leaving three-tenths of an acre of wheat field in the space, since not every clump of seedlings needed to be cleared.

When his stomach started growling, Liu Hu finally walked back, satisfied.

"Where did they go? They didn't even show up after the fish soup was cooked."

When Liu saw her son return, she asked him with a stern face.

"I went to the field to thin out the seedlings," Liu Hu quickly explained.

"Oh." Liu's expression softened noticeably. "Hurry up and wash your hands and eat."

There was an extra dish of crucian carp soup than usual. Liu Hu took a sip and almost threw up.

"Why does it smell so fishy?"

The fish soup was not only fishy, ​​but also lacked salt.

"What kind of flavor are you expecting? We don't have any ingredients at home, so just make do with this. It's meat after all."

"At least put some salt in it! Forget it, I'm not eating it," Liu Hu said sheepishly.

Liu's lips twitched, but she didn't say anything in the end. She just ladled out a bowl of fish soup and slowly drank it, sip by sip.

Upon seeing Liu's appearance, Liu Hu suddenly realized that this was no longer the modern era.

In this era, even the desire for freedom to consume salt is a luxury for ordinary people.

Moreover, Liu had just given birth and could not eat foods high in oil or salt.

"Did you run out of salt at home?" Liu Hu couldn't bring himself to apologize, so he changed the subject.

"It's all gone now, only half a jar of pickled vegetables left." Liu sipped the fish soup, looking like she was having a hard time eating it.

"How much money do you have left at home?" Liu Hu picked up a gray cornbread, added a few pickled vegetables, and started eating.

"What do you need the money for?" Mrs. Liu felt that the fish soup today was much better than before. This was how the family always ate it before. She didn't know what was wrong with her youngest son today.

"I'll go to Shenjing in a couple of days and buy some things while I'm there." Liu Hu swallowed the cornbread in a few bites and then picked up the porridge to eat.

"Why go to the capital? The salt shop in the pavilion sells it!"

"There are some things we don't have here, I'll go to Shenjing to take a look."

"There are only three taels of silver and one string of cash left in the house, and a few dozen loose coins."

"Is the money from the land sale included?" Liu Hu asked in surprise.

"Why wasn't it included?" Upon hearing this, Liu became anxious and began to calculate each item one by one.

"The twenty acres of land sold for 50 taels of silver. I spent 10 taels to buy two thin coffins for your father and your elder brother, and 5 taels for two sets of funeral clothes."

"Because their remains were never found, the two wooden bodies cost five taels, and the paper money and other expenses amounted to a little over one tael..." As she calculated, Liu's eyes reddened, and she couldn't continue.

Liu Hu also fell silent, but he didn't expect the land price to be so low now. Twenty acres of land only sold for 50 taels of silver, which is 2.5 taels per acre.

However, when I think about how the three Mongol tribes almost wiped out the scourge of the north decades ago, leaving the entire north uninhabited for miles around, I feel relieved.

Even though the Great Zhou Dynasty established its capital in Luoyang and migrated a large number of people from the south to the north, the north was still a land area with a small population, so it was naturally worthless.

It's quite ridiculous, really. In the Jia family mansion of Dream of the Red Chamber, a concubine's monthly allowance was two taels of silver, which was enough to buy about an acre of land near the capital. And this was just for a concubine who wasn't valued. For someone like Lady Wang or Grandmother Jia, it was 20 taels a month, which was enough to buy eight acres of land.

It's important to understand that the monthly allowance here is not their monthly salary, but rather their pocket money, since the Jia family takes care of their food, clothing, housing, and transportation.

At that time, the Jia family was no longer a ducal family; it could only be considered a middle-class family in the entire capital.

"It turns out that no matter the era, farming is never profitable."

"That's why I want to be successful!"

Liu Hu was extremely eager to make a name for himself at this time.

For an ordinary person to rise above others, there are only two paths: the imperial examination and military merit. Thinking about his cheat code, it seems that he can take both of these paths.

But considering the time cost of taking the imperial examination route, even if everything went smoothly, it would take decades to reach the top, and the policy would end with the person's death, and the tea would be forgotten once the person left. Our small family simply couldn't afford to wait that long.

The path of military merit is much faster. As long as you keep making contributions, you can keep getting promoted. Moreover, the Great Zhou Dynasty has only been established for sixty years and its politics are relatively clean and efficient.

With other tribes eyeing them covetously, military merit was highly valued, and it was rare for superiors to embezzle the military merits of their subordinates.

Forget about becoming a king or a hegemon; the timing isn't right. So the only path left for me is to join the army.

Fortunately, he had a cheat code; otherwise, given the original owner's physical condition and the fact that he was an only child, no family would have wanted him to join the army.

However, we still need to make the necessary preparations first.

After spending two days weeding the wheat seedlings in his field, Liu Hu decided to take advantage of the remaining two days to go to Shenjing (Beijing) as spring plowing was about to begin.

In Wangjiazhuang, I had very little information to obtain.

"Here's two taels of silver. Keep it safe and don't let any thieves steal it. Spend it wisely."

"Here are two more pancakes for you to take with you. Eat them if you get hungry on the road. I've filled your gourd with water. If you run out, just ask someone for some. Be polite when you talk to them."

"Also, if you're bullied, just bear with it. Our family can't afford to cause trouble, so don't get involved in anything..."

Listening to Liu's rambling, Liu Hu felt a strange sense of nostalgia, thinking back to his previous life when his mother was also constantly nagging him during his school days.

After packing, Liu Hu tightened his pack and strode towards Shenjing.

"Be careful on the road!" Liu's voice came from behind again.

"understood."

After getting onto the official road, Liu Hu headed south along it. Along the way, besides merchants heading to the capital, there were also large tracts of wasteland.

Only now did Liu Hu truly feel the desolation. This was near the capital, right under the emperor's nose!

"Where are you from, young man? Heading to Beijing?"

Just as Liu Hu was focused on his journey, a carriage suddenly stopped beside him. The driver was a robust middle-aged man, around forty years old.

Although he was dressed in the clothes of an ordinary wealthy person, his menacing aura was impossible to conceal.

The man who asked the question was sitting in the carriage. He looked seven or eight years younger than the driver, and his gentle demeanor revealed an air of authority.

"Those from Wangjiazhuang are heading to Shenjing."

Liu Hu stopped, took a sip of water, and replied with a smile.

These two people were no ordinary individuals. At the same time, a caravan not far behind them slowed down, intentionally or unintentionally moving closer to the carriage.

Liu Hu didn't want to cause any more trouble, but this kind of person, who was clearly not simple, was precisely the embodiment of trouble.

At this moment, Liu Hu just wanted to get rid of these two people as soon as possible.

But the man in the car seemed extremely enthusiastic: "Oh, we're going the same way. It's not close to Shenjing from here. Would you like to get in, young man? We can give you a ride."

"Thanks, but I'm dirty. I wouldn't dare get your bike frame dirty; it's just a few steps."

Liu Hu waved his hand and quickly left.

"Ha, an interesting lad!"

The man in the car watched Liu Hu's departing figure, smiled, and said...

"Indeed, his steps were very steady. Wangjiazhuang is more than ten miles away from here. Even if we set off at dawn, less than a quarter of an hour has passed, and this kid not only didn't sweat, but his breathing was also steady." The man driving the carriage said with a solemn expression.

"Your Majesty, should we send someone to investigate?"

"Daishan, don't be so suspicious all the time. There aren't that many assassins in this world. Besides, you're here."

The man sitting in the car waved his hand dismissively.

The coachman, known as Daishan, could only smile helplessly.

"Follow him, I want to see if this kid is a diamond in the rough," the man in the car urged with great interest.