Reclaiming Wasteland: Carefree Mountain Farmer

Chapter 201 Petty Bourgeoisie
On the last afternoon of the year 8 AD, people from all over the country went home to prepare for the New Year.

498 walked into a large building carrying a basket of clothes, towels, and soap.

【Wonderful Bathhouse】

After Si Jiuba, Hu Yan, and her younger sister Xiao Ya went inside with their monthly passes, they found that there was still a queue.

The three of them stood at the back of the line and waited.

Women are bound to talk while queuing up. In this era, there are no cell phones to play with, and several women usually take a bath together, so it's bound to be lively.

The lobby was noisy, filled with people talking, and there were also young ladies who had just finished showering, wearing beautiful clothes and tossing their freshly washed long hair as they walked out.

498 looked at the red slogans on the nearby wall.

[No STDs allowed! Those bleeding will be fined!]

The writing is like that of an older woman, full of aggression.

Fortunately, no one thought there was a problem with this in this era; all women felt it was the right thing to do.

No woman wants to bathe in the same pool as a woman who is bleeding.

Si Jiuba took out his monthly pass, and Hu Yan behind him whispered, "Sister, it seems like the price of monthly passes is going up next year."

At that moment, a young woman and a little girl of about eight or nine years old entered from behind.

The young woman asked, "Has the monthly pass price increased? By how much?"

Si Jiu Ba, Hu Yan, and Xiao Gua turned around and saw a young woman dressed like a Han Chinese (from the county).

The young woman was dressed quite cleanly, unlike the rough clothes worn by ordinary country folk. Her clothes looked like those of a farmer who had spent a dozen or so taels of silver.

But their temperaments are different.

Mountain farmers are never so polite to people, nor do they subconsciously lower their posture, nor do they show that kind of politeness as if they don't often come to the city.

The mountain farmers are different; they seem more natural and fearless, and their clothing is designed for ease and convenience.

Even someone as young as 498 takes time to style her hair and likes pretty clothes, but she prefers to do it herself and isn't afraid of others seeing her outfits.

If we categorize them according to their level of education as mountain farmers and Han Chinese: 498, Xiaoya, Huyan, and the young woman in front of us.

Because of their formal education from a young age, 498 lived in the best public opinion environment among the people of Shanxi Agricultural University.

He naturally became a domesticated mountain farmer.

Xiao Ya has no household registration and therefore no confidence.

Hu Yan has no household registration, no blood relation, and no official status. She is a customer taken in by the head of this family and doesn't know when she will be driven away.

Xiao Ya casually replied, "It didn't snow this year. The newspaper said that the reservoir will be storing water next year, and groundwater will be used sparingly. Bath tickets have increased from ten to fifteen coins, and monthly passes have increased to four hundred coins."

Upon hearing this, the young woman chuckled and said, "Is that so? Four hundred coins isn't expensive. It'll only cost six hundred coins for adults and children combined."

498 didn't want to talk to these people and continued to move forward slowly.

As Hu Yan walked forward in line, she asked curiously, "What does your family do? I think I've seen you a few times before when I was taking a shower."

The young woman chuckled and said, "My name is Wang Li. I come almost every day, except when it rains or I have something to do. I usually come once every one or two days, otherwise I feel uncomfortable."

Hu Yan, who was worried about her marriage every day, liked to meet new friends and quickly said, "Are you from the city? We live nearby, just two miles away."

Wang Li also felt that the three girls were all from the city and was willing to get to know them.

“My home is in the north of Luonan County, only four or five miles away from Luoyang City.”

Hu Yan was somewhat disappointed when she heard that Wang Li was from outside the city.

Hu Yan would prefer to marry a city dweller.

The little girl asked curiously, "Don't you get tired of coming to the city to take a bath every day? I don't even want to walk two miles."

Wang Li said proudly, "What's so tiring about this? Our county sends grain, cloth, soap, and tea to the city. More than a dozen trucks come every day. I just say hello, sit in the truck for a while, and come over on my way. When it's time to go back, I arrange a time and go back."

Wang Li's father-in-law was Li Tangqing, a high-ranking official in Jiangxia City.

Li Tangqing had stayed in Yangzhou for several years, but her daughter-in-law didn't go anywhere else; she stayed near Luoyang to take care of her mother-in-law.

After her mother-in-law went to Jiangxia, her daughter-in-law Wang Li stayed in her hometown county near Luoyang, citing the need to take care of her son and daughter. She simply didn't want to leave the area near Luoyang.

Neither Li Tangqing nor his son could persuade him. His son, Li Anmin, refused to say a word about his beautiful wife and instead tried to persuade his father not to take it to heart.

Throughout history, countless men have been unable to control their wives, but ruthless individuals like Beijiwu, who dared to threaten to kill their wives, have always been a minority.

Keeping women like Li Hong in Luoyang and arranging jobs for them, while sending people like Jiang Rong and Gao Conglian back to their hometowns to retire, is simply the most benevolent approach taken by Arctic Martial Arts, not a compromise or a sign of helplessness.

This is the lower limit. If anyone dares to cause trouble or try any clever tricks, they will know where the upper limit of Arctic warfare lies.

The rule that the empress dowager must not interfere in politics is a fundamental principle established by the Northern Army.

Arctic Wu can control himself, but he can't control the group of men under his command.

Whether they are soldiers or intellectuals, there are plenty of men who can't control their own women.

Arctic Martial Arts School's approach to dealing with these people is hereditary, effectively confining the threat to a specific geographical area.

Li Tangqing couldn't control his women, so Beijiwu's appointment of him was limited to trivial matters that kept him away from money and power, and he was transferred away from Yangzhou, a region with many merchants.

He was capable but couldn't control women. Beijiwu's attitude towards him was to use him and then move him to another place, treating him like a high-ranking official.

Li Tangqing was not a confidant of Beijiwu. Soon, another high-ranking official's family member entered the bathhouse, who was neither a confidant nor one of their own, but rather a tool for securing a spot. Chai Yuzi entered with her maid and said to Wang Li in front of her, "There are so many people today. It would be better if there were fewer."

Wang Li smiled.

At this moment, Si Jiuba turned around and said disdainfully to a few people from out of town, "This place is for public use. It was built with city dwellers in mind, not people from outside the city."

Chai Yuzi immediately realized that the person in front of her was a public household member, and one of the first in the public household group.

They are the kind of mountain farmers who rely on themselves, not their parents!

A certain kind of temperament is hard to fake. Chai Yuzhi had met many young ladies from prominent families in the city, as well as sons and daughters of wealthy households, but none of them were as confident as the woman in front of her.

She gave Chai Yuzi a peculiar feeling.

Mountain farmers!
Many people doubt that the Shan Nong people existed and that King Wu was a Han Chinese.

There is a lot of evidence to prove that King Wu was a Han Chinese. The most direct evidence is that similar evidence is circulating among the elderly in Beiyuanwei.

The most crucial point is that Beijiwu's brother gave similar testimony back then, admitting that there was no mountain farmer tribe and saying that it was all a lie.

However, such evidence was quickly refuted by various facts.

How can Han Chinese prove they are Han Chinese?
The people of Shannong have proven their existence with strength and culture that surpass those of the Han people.

Unique writing system, unique language communication methods, unique production technology, unique cultural attire, and a unique understanding of themselves and the world.

Chai Yuzi had seen this unique temperament in many people from the mountain agricultural province, such as Wang Qing, the governor of the province, Sang Yang'an, who was always gentle and kind, Meng Hetong, who was silent, and Xue Chonghu, who was also silent but gave people a serious feeling.

King Wu never held grand banquets, rarely met with the families of his officials, and even when he went hunting, he kept his distance and had many people present.

Chai Yuzi had never met King Wu, but she believed that the real mountain farmers were just like the young woman in front of her, giving off a radiant feeling.

"Are you from the mountain farm?" Chai Yuzi still asked.

Si Jiuba said irritably, "I am from the Mountain Farmer Kingdom! I am a public household of King Wu!"

The little girl boasted, "This is my sister! Our family has two registered households, both of us selling newspapers for King Wu!"

The fact that 498 is a family's good fortune has made hundreds of thousands of other public households extremely envious.

Having two households in one family is far more impressive to ordinary people than having two families in one family!
Wang Li asked curiously, "That's amazing! How does one family manage to have two household registrations?"

Hu Yan's identity is somewhat complicated; she is both the one who caused the previous generation of 496 employees to lose their jobs and the one who created the next generation of 496 employees.

After Hu Yan described the incident in a boastful tone, the Si Jiu Ba family quickly became stars and the talk of the town in the bathhouse.

In a large public bathhouse that can hold 500 people, a group of women sat in a circle by the poolside, listening to Hu Yan and Xiao Ya's nonsense.

Some people offered me tea, while others offered me dried persimmons.

Not far away, there is a shower area that can accommodate 100 people, where many adults bring their children to shower and rinse off.

Many people can take a shower at home, but they prefer the pleasant feeling of being able to soak their whole body in hot water at a public bathhouse.

The women here are mostly from wealthy groups in the city and nearby counties, and they don't care about things like rising water bills.

Men also have their own bathhouses, and there are also smaller bathhouses in various county towns.

Because most people only bathe here once every ten days or so, the pool water is very dirty, and you can clearly see the filth floating in it. So people with a little money still prefer to go to big cities to bathe.

In the counties surrounding Luoyang, people have developed the good habit of taking a bath at least once every ten days or so.

The climate in Luoyang is not humid, so it's not a big deal not to take a bath.

In the hot and humid south, people tend to sweat a lot, and they will develop an odor if they don't shower for several days.

In Annam, which is further south than the south and has a more severe climate.

Liu Jingshun took his son and daughter for a short bath in the river, and then the whole family went ashore to go back for dinner.

Today is Chinese New Year, and Liu Jingshun felt he should take a bath to bring good luck.

Liu Jingshun couldn't smell his own body odor, and he had long been used to the dark bodies and textures around him.

This region was fortunate to have such a hardworking man, and Beijiwu was also fortunate not to have discovered Liu Jingshun and not to have inquired about Annam's affairs again.

Otherwise, once Liu Jingshun had enjoyed a day of happiness and experienced the life of the people of Luoyang, he would never want to go back to being a mountain bandit again.

I broke out in a sweat while eating a meal.

I broke out in a sweat after using the toilet.

It gets sticky after just a few steps.

Wearing clothes made of tree bark that don't breathe.

They drank murky river water or sediment.

They eat crudely processed salt and cassava, which is poisonous and doesn't taste good.

The meat of various animals is also terribly unpalatable.

If you reach out and smear your hand on a woman's body at night, you can feel a handful of mud.

Flies and mosquitoes that you can't get rid of.

(End of this chapter)