Chapter 62 My Territory

  The Song Dynasty had many important festivals, with the Lantern Festival being the most important, followed by Cold Food Clear and Bright, then New Year's Eve, Winter Solstice, Dragon Boat Festival, Double Ninth Festival, and Mid-Autumn Festival ranking last among the major festivals. Only one place was particularly lively, Hangzhou, where you could watch the Qiantang Tide. When Su Dongpo served as the governor of Hangzhou, he wrote a poem: "The Wu people have grown up by the tide, venturing out to sea and forgetting their lives without pitying themselves. If the ruler of the Eastern Sea knew his intentions, he should teach them to change the salty sea into mulberry fields." Later, many Su fans defended Su Dongpo, saying that this poem should not have triggered the "Uprising of the Poetry Case". However, this poem itself had problems. Although it told the Wu people to value their lives and stop playing with the tide, if a nation lost its blood spirit, they wouldn't even dare cross a single-log bridge, waiting for foreign invaders to slaughter them instead. The latter part was even more wrong, saying that humans should dare to conquer heaven and sea, turning the vast ocean into mulberry fields. This was the most magnificent scene in Northern Song history, as due to low yields and high population, they competed with mountains for land, lakes for land, and seas for land. Even a thousand years later, common people still enjoyed the legacy of the Song Dynasty, including the fertile lands of Zhejiang, Jiangdong Weirs, and various terraced fields and paddy fields.

  The Mid-Autumn Festival in Beijing was just a matter of course and passed quietly.

  The Double Ninth Festival is very lively, and some traditional ancestor worship activities are still preserved, but this tradition is changing, becoming a tourist festival. In the capital city, people who have nothing to do go out of town to climb high places, gather at Cangwang Temple, Sili Bridge, Yantai, Maolugang, Dulegang and other places.

  The elder sister insisted on choosing this festival to worship her parents, and Song Jiu had no choice but to follow.

  On the Double Ninth Festival, people wear chrysanthemum flowers, one flower per person. However, since this year has an extra third month, it's a bit cold on the Double Ninth Festival and many chrysanthemums have begun to wither. There are also some chrysanthemums that are in full bloom. Song Jiu gave each student one flower and announced that they would have the next day off.

  Double Ninth Festival even officials have to take a holiday, two doctors have nothing to say.

  Song Jiudai brought several painters to post the ninth and tenth paintings on Yu Street. In fact, all 20 paintings were completed. However, the task of the four painters was not over yet, as each painting required four or five draft copies. Placed on Yu Street, where there were many people, no one would tear them down, but due to wind and sun exposure, they could not last long. They had to be replaced every now and then.

  Four painters will still have to work for two months before they can officially finish.

  Song spent quite a bit of money.

  To get what you want, you have to pay for it, no way around it.

  Two new paintings have come out and people immediately went over to take a look.

  Another strange building, but not as large in scale as the previous paintings. The first painting is a building next to Xiao Hong Bridge, with two peculiar buildings of different heights, green in color, with small pictures on the edges. The shorter house has three floors and is very spacious. The first floor is a restaurant, the second floor is where geishas perform songs and dances, and the third floor is an activity area with many tables and chairs. Also seen are those strange billiard tables and two kinds of cards that have never been seen before. The four-story building is a bedroom, but what's strange is that there are no walls outside, only a curtain. When you pull it open, the outside scenery rushes into view, and when you close it, the inside can't be seen from the outside, allowing people to sleep peacefully inside.

  The sixth painting is also strange, a colorful large building, with a stage in the center where people are performing, surrounded by four layers of corridors up and down, with seats and boxes on the corridors, beautifully decorated, with many spectators sitting. But from this building onwards, the riverbank gradually opens up, so there are some elegant houses situated on the north bank of the Nanbian River.

  Someone finally said: "What a big piece of glass."

  It's just glass.

  China also produces, but the quality is not good. Song Dynasty scholar Cheng Dachang deliberately compared Western glass with Chinese glass: When cast in China, the color is very bright, but the material is light and brittle. If hot wine is poured on it, it will break immediately. As for those from overseas, the production is different, rough and dull in color, but surprisingly, even if boiling water is poured on it, it is no different from porcelain or silver, without any damage. In other words, Chinese-made glass has a good brightness, but it's not durable and breaks easily. Western glass may be dark in color, but it's durable. The reason is simple: although some techniques were obtained, they are not comprehensive. China uses lead nitrate and gypsum to produce glass, while the West adds soda ash. As a result, one produces lead glass and the other produces practical potassium-sodium-calcium glass. What can China do without soda ash? It has no choice but to import glass from foreign countries.

  Once the ingredients are exposed, anyone who understands will be shocked and amused. Don't mention the sand from Nanshan, the sand is all the same everywhere. There's no need to add anything miscellaneous, it's not good if you don't add it, and it's even more chaotic if you do.

  Is it glass or not, ordinary people dare not confirm, it is glass, there are glass cups, glass bottles, glass lamps, glass bowls, and some small decorations, how can a large piece of glass window be fired? But have to admit that the two buildings are extremely beautiful.

  There were also those who were well-informed, and they knew that these buildings would soon appear on the desolate river islet outside Dongshuimen. Now one-third of the area has been outlined, and two-thirds have not been drawn yet. Some curious people went up to take a look, and all they could see was reeds drifting by, wild birds chirping, and some miserable commoners, before returning in confusion.

  ……

  Women in the Song Dynasty also drank wine, because the degree was low, some were only a little higher than beer, so Wu Song could drink eighteen bowls, if he tried Er Guan Tou instead, forget about fighting tigers, he wouldn't even be able to walk on the road and would fall down early.

  Older sister is drinking chrysanthemum wine.

  Chrysanthemum flowers are picked when in full bloom, mixed with wheat grains to brew wine, and stored until the next year's Double Ninth Festival to drink. It is said that this can cure headaches, specifically chronic migraines. However, during the Song Dynasty, a monopoly on liquor was enforced, requiring people to purchase yeast from relevant government departments for brewing, and limiting the amount of liquor brewed, lest the authorities come knocking on their doors.

  There were others, the eldest brother-in-law with two children, the fifth sister and her husband and their child, the seventh brother-in-law and the pregnant seventh sister, Yu Ping and Cui Er, Zhang's old woman and her two grandsons didn't need to go, the rest all had to go to South Mountain.

  A poor man in a bustling city is ignored by everyone, while a rich man in a remote mountain has many distant relatives.

  Song Jiu's condition is getting better, and relatives are coming more often. Song Jiu is also very calm about it. It's just human nature!

  If everyone were without selfish desires, the world would be in harmony.

  Actually, the most miserable one is the eldest sister. On one side is her husband's family and on the other side is the only descendant of her natal family. The eldest sister can only take care of both sides. If Song Jiu hadn't come, she would have continued to be the same old bookworm who still thought that the two brothers-in-law owed his family.

  This is the most common Chinese woman, can be saucy, can scold people, has a bit of petty mind, but can manage the household and get by, has sympathy, can endure hardship and tolerate humiliation, put aside the strong outer shell, actually has a heart like gold.

  So Song Jiu was very afraid.

  I'm not afraid of Zhao Kuangyi, I want to get what I've paid for, that's a fair deal, but I'm afraid of Big Sister. At least this flesh owes Big Sister too much.

  "Xiao Jiu, can you bring the paper money?"

  "I've brought some food, including chrysanthemum cakes and some fruit. We'll eat on South Mountain at noon."

  "We pay respects to our parents, you're thinking about food."

  "Sister, if we don't eat anything, we'll starve. I think our parents in the afterlife should be happy to see us living well, not struggling to even get a meal."

  "You're quibbling again."

  "Xiao Jiu, who taught you how to eat like this?" Wu Jie asked. She couldn't understand many things now, including Song Jiu's change in personality, his studies, and the way he ate.

  "It was that tendon-picking teacher who taught it, and he also said that when going west, there are many countries where people don't even know how to use chopsticks, they only use knives and forks to eat." Song Ji cut off the topic.

  "How can that be?"

  "This is still okay, going to Tianzhu, people there don't use chopsticks or knives and forks, they directly grab food with their hands, and even go to the toilet on this side and then come back to eat on that side."

  "You're going to die, saying such disgusting things!" Fifth Sister hit Song Jiu's head.

  "Really, Fifth Sister," said Yutong, "it's also recorded in Xuanzang's 'Journey to the West'."

  Big sister smiled, this is good, husband and wife are harmonious, only the jade lotus's appearance is not beautiful, but it's also pretty, just not as big as Pan's family's little girl's butt, giving birth is hard. Of course, can't say that, will make people embarrassed...

  The older sister felt very happy, she had two children of her own, the fifth younger sister had a child, and the seventh younger sister was also pregnant. Plus, the youngest brother who she worried about the most had made something of himself, and there was such a beautiful young woman by his side, so she no longer had to worry.

  They packed up the food and drink, and also brought along the items for worship, and left the Song family. The old woman's little grandson also wanted to follow, having been at the Song family for many days, slightly packing up, wearing new clothes, eating well, the three of them had a big change in appearance, but the old woman and the boy still spoke little, just like a guest who came to the Song family. Song Jiu didn't care, happy to be idle and free, it was just this little girl who stuck to people. Not being his own daughter, Song Jiu looked at the old woman, the old woman said: "Ninth Master, if you're not afraid of trouble, take her with you."

  Song Jiu wanted to say something, but he was afraid of trouble. He didn't dare speak up, fearing that his sisters would sympathize with him and scold him again. So he could only hold the little girl and follow the army of over a dozen people as they marched out of the city.

  Out of the East Water Gate is the Hu Long River, and opposite is Sha Zhou. The rich are carefree and run far, while those without money casually stroll around in a circle before heading home. Sha Zhou is also a good choice for the people of Dongcheng District, so today it's very lively on Sha Zhou. Some children and young boys and girls are flying kites, and from time to time, silvery laughter rings out.

  The elder sister looked at this sandbank with a complex expression. Now she felt at ease about everything, but just this sandbank made her feel uneasy.

  "Big sister, fifth sister, seventh sister, this is my territory. In the future, it will become the most lively and beautiful place in the Song Dynasty, with many people coming every day."

  "Xiao Jiu is still bustling and beautiful, I'm so worried about it that I couldn't sleep well."

  This is also true.

  Song Jiu thought for a moment and decided to reveal a little bit of information, so he said: "Follow me."

  They walked over the stone bridge, taking them to that "Research Institute", and took Big Sister in to take a look. But something embarrassing happened to Song Jiu. Song Jiu went in without issue, but just as Big Sister was about to enter, the guard stopped her: "Madam, this is a national confidential area, please stop here."

  Song Jiudao said: "Brother Bing, this house was built by me."

  "Song Chengshi said, 'It doesn't matter who created it, I only know that this is the Emperor's decree. Except for you and the scholars from Yanfa, as well as the officials who came to study, no one else is allowed to enter. If you want your sister to come in, you must bring an imperial edict.'"

  Seventh Sister asked in surprise: "Little Nine, are you sure this is your territory?"

  Here is the translation:

  PS: By the way, let's talk about glass in the Song Dynasty. The Song Dynasty had glass, but it was of poor quality. However, they used glass and mercury to create thermoses, as well as glass flower lamps. Last year, I bought several thousand glass lanterns, spending over 10,000 strings of cash. A single Song Dynasty glass flower lamp costs several strings of cash.

  Let's talk about the difference between a string of cash and a guan of cash. A standard string of cash is equal to 1,000 coins, while a guan of cash is a bundle of cash that sometimes has less than 1,000 coins, such as 900 or 800 coins. In the early Song Dynasty, one string of cash could buy a square meter of land in Lu Mongzheng's mansion, which would be worth at least 300,000 yuan today.

  With one string of cash, you could also buy 100 dou of wheat, 50 dou of rice, or 12.5 kilograms of grain. Some people say that during the Tang Dynasty, income was low and money was used as currency, with a dou of grain costing only five coins. However, this is not true, as during the Song Dynasty, a dou of grain cost several dozen coins.

  In later periods, the normal price for wheat was 30 coins per dou, while rice cost over 70 coins per dou. Based on these prices, one string of cash could buy around 600 kilograms of rice today. If we calculate based on silk prices, one string of cash could buy eight zhang of silk. However, if we calculate based on salt prices, it's a different story - during the Tang Dynasty, a dou of salt cost only several dozen coins, while during the Song Dynasty, a kilogram of salt cost over 20 coins.

  Overall, one string of cash was equivalent to around 700 RMB today. Another example is that one string of cash could buy a beautiful pet dog, which is roughly the same value.