Chapter 1: Choosing a Wife
more important! And far more terrifying than plaster!Yang Lin would absolutely never let the gunpowder formula leak out, not even a single ingredient!"Of course it's used as fertilizer! This nitrate..."Yang Lin, you must get a wife today!"
"You're eighteen now. According to the laws of our Great Qían dynasty, if you don't get married, your taxes will double."
"Therefore, both emotionally and logically, you should help your Uncle Three out by finding him a wife."
The village head, Zhao Fuguì, pleaded with Yang Lin, pulling him out.
Today is the day when the county government distributes relief to the displaced people.
War in the north, floods in the south, refugees become a plague.
The county government came up with a plan. For all the refugees who arrived in Jianghe County, male refugees were sent to join the army, and female refugees were sent to the countryside to be wives for the local men.
After half a year of sending people away like this, even the bachelors got married, but there were just too many refugees. The county office still had quotas to fill. The mountain village had already refused to accept refugees three times. If they didn't leave one behind today, Zhao Fugui wouldn't be able to meet his quota.
Yang Lin's mood was complicated.
Just crossed over and got a wife for free
Neither will do
Is heaven compensating for his regrets
In his past life, he studied diligently for years, taking the entrance exams for graduate school and then for doctoral programs. He finally got into the Science Institute, but because of his straightforward personality and lack of adaptability, even though he worked hard and became a senior engineer, he was still overlooked. In order to afford a house and dowry, he went to work at the Science Institute during the day and live-streamed himself roasting sweet potatoes in the evening, turning an honest STEM guy into a shrewd businessman.
Even though he worked day and night to make money, he still couldn't afford the exorbitant dowry his fiancée demanded. He was exhausted from working non-stop when he got into a car accident. Even as he lay dying, his former beloved called him a poor wretch!
Looking back……
Bah, it's better not to look back.
"Uncle, do they want a dowry" Yang Lin asked.
Zhao Fugui glared at Yang Lin: "What nonsense are you talking about Since someone has taken them in, they're already burning high incense, do they still need a dowry It's the other way around!"
"
No dowry, good idea!
"
Yang Lin sighed.
He subconsciously reached into his pocket, only to realize he had crossed over and didn't have any cigarettes.
In my past life, I was a heavy smoker. If I didn't smoke for a while, I would feel terribly uncomfortable.
However, under these circumstances, I can only give it up.
Right now, his conditions are indeed very bad!
He was an orphan, living in poverty with little to his name. He was a poor and pedantic scholar.
He has the head of an elm tree and is also very stubborn. He studied hard for years, but he didn't even pass the exam for a child scholar, yet he still just reads books.
He has neither achieved fame nor cultivated the land, living off the family fortune left by his parents. The estate is almost depleted, and in the village, he is a laughingstock.
"I tell you, this time there are ten girls, each one fair and beautiful. You can pick whichever one you like!" Zhao Fugui continued to urge him on.
"Still fair and beautiful"
Yang Lin's eyes lit up.
"Come on, what are you waiting for" Yang Lin urged.
Zhao Fuguang was stunned.
This kid shouldn't talk about poetry and shut his mouth when he speaks. He sees men enjoying themselves with women as debauchery, and human reproduction as vulgar. Is he not interested in women
This is not what I expected.
Yang Lin swaggered towards the village entrance, his heart brimming with excitement.
Great Qin is not part of known history. It lasted for three hundred years, with a lavish culture similar to the Tang and Song dynasties, but its industrial technology was only comparable to that of the Qin and Han dynasties.
There is no gunpowder, glass, soap, steel production, or salt refinement here...
For travelers, it's like a blank slate.
With such a favorable environment, with his knowledge and skills, he has ample opportunity to excel.
The past lives without worries are gone, reborn in this life, this time, I must live out my own unique self!
……
"Just me"
When Yang Lin arrived at the village entrance full of anticipation, he was stunned to find that he was the only one there.
Even the government giving out wives would be met with such indifference.
But Yang Lin also understands that everyone isn't wealthy. One more person means one more mouth to feed.
If there is not enough food, people will starve to death.
Besides the landlords, ordinary people are content with just one wife and would not dare to take a concubine.
At the village entrance, besides Officer Zhang Wu who led the way, there was only a line of thin girls.
They were all very young, the eldest no more than twenty, the youngest only in her teens. Their hair was unkempt, their clothes ragged and worn. They were thin and frail, swaying slightly in the breeze.
I'm hungry!
But their eyes were bright, honest and innocent, just looking at them felt comfortable.
However, being so freely chosen made Yang Lin, who had received a modern education, feel quite uncomfortable.
"A whole village has come here" Zhang Wu, the yamen officer, glared at Yang Lin with displeasure, frowning. "Fine, hurry and pick! The county office no longer provides food for you. Anyone not sent out today will be sent to the brothel!"
The women's faces were filled with terror. "Choose me, choose me."
I eat less.
"I can do the job!"
Pairs of pleading eyes turned to Yang Lin, and they cried out eagerly.
In the crowd, a slender girl with a thin frame bit her red lips and clenched her fists.
She, Li Yuyao, the emperor's only daughter, is the current empress!
Before the previous emperor passed away, he had not designated an heir. In the haste, the throne was passed to her.
However, on the third day of his ascension to the throne, the Yan King launched a rebellion, encircling the palace with troops. Court officials defected to the Yan King one after another.
In the blink of an eye, a generation of female emperors fell from grace. Under the desperate protection of her guards, she escaped the palace and fled south.
She didn't want to be ambushed and murdered by bandits halfway. Although the guards fought desperately to protect her, she survived but got separated from them and was lost in the mountains.
Without money on her, and afraid to reveal her identity, she who was always dressed in fine clothes and lived a life of luxury, almost starved to death.
Later on, she encountered a refugee caravan and followed them south all the way to Jianghe County. She was stopped by county officials and treated as a refugee, being sent to a village to become a wife for a local idle man.
The dignified Empress, reduced to being violated by a rustic villager, what a humiliation!
And now, she's going to be sent to a brothel
No! You absolutely must not go to the brothel!
She couldn't do what other women did, treating themselves like commodities and pushing themselves out there.
But there was also a secret hope that the other party would choose them.
The inner conflict and shame were suffocating her, making her face flush crimson.
Until Yang Lin's gaze shifted away from her...
She finally panicked.
"Choose me!"
It was almost shouted in a commanding tone!
Her voice is louder than other women's.
"I'm doing well, I'm nineteen years old, I play the qin, chess, calligraphy and painting. I... I can also spin yarn, I can endure hardship!"
Li Yuxiang calmly arranged her hair, revealing a breathtaking beauty.
She knew that beauty, for a woman who couldn't protect herself, could bring about many dangers.
Along the way, she deliberately messed up her hair, smeared dirt on herself, and made herself look dirty and disheveled.
The moment her hair was tossed aside, the village head and the constables on the side all stared in astonishment!
He swallowed unconsciously.
It's so beautiful!
Yang Lin's eyes lit up.
This aloof and cold temperament is breathtaking!
Zhang Wu regretted deeply.
Such a treasure, how come I didn't discover it sooner
No way, I absolutely can't let this kid get away with it!
Zhang Wu's eyes rolled, and he immediately urged, "Hurry up and choose! One girl, one hundred wen!"
"What" Village head Zhao Fuguang was startled. "Master, didn't you say it wouldn't cost any money"
Zhang Wu glared at Zhao Fu貴: "That was in the past, I went through mountains and rivers to bring you women. How about it, is 100 wen too much Do you think it's too much You can just refuse."
This is clearly a way to make things difficult.
"This..."
Zhao Fu Gui looked towards Yang Lin with worry.
One hundred pieces of writing is no small number.
Laborers earn no more than a few dozen coins per month. After deducting various levies and taxes, as well as the costs of food and lodging, a peasant farmer might not even save up a hundred coins throughout the year.
And Yang Lin's poverty was notorious.
"Sigh, I guess it's better to give up." Zhao Fugui sighed and shook his head.
"Just one hundred words."
Yang Lin didn't think much of it.
"I choose..."
Yang Lin drew out a long syllable, extending his finger and pointing it past the women one by one.
Li Yuyao eagerly watched the finger that could decide her fate, and it pointed at her.
Her heart was beating fast.
It's me!
However, the finger flashed past her face.
This moment, like falling into an ice cave! are my... maids. They grew up with me from childhood, they wouldn't hurt me."Li Yuyao also hurriedly came over, apologetically explaining to Yang Lin. As for the identities of Ziyi and Qingyi, ordina...