Great Tang Idyll

1

The sky was not cloudy; the two mountains leaned against each other. Wild birds chirped in the forest; the sound of the flute; the small village named Qin; the wind blew exhaustively.

On the 22nd day of the twelfth lunar month, there was another day until the Little New Year. Twenty bailiffs escorted three horse carriages and protected the magistrate to a village in the farthest reaches of the San'shui County— the Qin Village. This was also the place where a lot of people from the Imperial Court were tricked into visiting.

Magistrate Jia got out of the carriage and looked back distressingly at the two carriages transporting the goods. All of the items inside were bought by him. There were 200 catties of plain oil, 20 piculs of white flour, and 10 piculs of rice.

According to the rules left by the magistrate of the San'shui County, New Year gifts have to be delivered to the poor in various places. Qin Village was the farthest from the county seat, and it was not close to any other places. Certain items had to be brought out of the village in small batches to be traded with other people. This place could be described as the poorest place, and this was the first stop that was made.

Later, they will get closer and closer, up until they finish delivering to the people at the county seat. By then, it would probably be the thirtieth. The only difference from before was that the gifts that Magistrate Cheng gave were provided by the Zhang and Wang families. To be precise, the gifts were taken from Zhang Xiao'bao's and Wang Juan's warehouse.

Magistrate Jia had intentions of swindling money, so of course he had to provide the gifts himself. The oil, white flour, and rice arrived first, and there were two more carriages behind them that would come later. Those carriages were loaded with fabric, meat and vegetables.

Magistrate Jia purchased all of the items from the Zhang manor. The price was 20% higher than the normal price. The reason was very simple. It was almost New Year, so wouldn't the price go up?

In order to deliver gifts to everyone in the county who should receive the gifts, a total of 6,000 strings of coins was used. 90% of that amount was the profit earned by Zhang Xiao'bao and Wang Juan. 30% was given to the residents and the remaining amount was kept by the two of them. Compared with the amount of money earned at the wharf, it was not much. However it was especially meaningful for the residents. Although they were only given 30% of the net profit, it was 20% higher than before.

In the past, they would sell the things they raised in their own homes, and buyers would also try to lower the price. Ever since the master took charge of selling the items, the residents didn't have to worry about anything. The master had ways to help them keep the prices fixed.

"Six thousand strings of coins, gone just like this." Magistrate Jia looked at those items. The pain was akin to having parts of his heart ripped out. He muttered to himself, and followed the bailiffs forward.

Fortunately, there were many mountains, and the wind blowing from other places was blocked by the mountains, so it was not so unbearable. It was noon at this time, but the sun did not come out in the morning. It was unknown who had a leisurely spirit and was playing the di'zi flute. Music resounded throughout. Usually, Magistrate Jia enjoyed listening to the sound of flutes, like the Xiao flute, which produces deep and rhythmic music, but today the sound was harsh on the ears.

"Old man Tuo, tell the child to stop playing the flute. Hurry up and help carry the items. The Magistrate has brought gifts for the village." Bailiff Tong, who had been following the Magistrate, shouted loudly to the other side. His voice echoed in the mountains.

Once the di'zi flute stopped, ten or so people rushed over from ahead and some were leading donkeys. On these kinds of roads, there were no rides that were better than donkeys.

"Two days ago, I heard a bailiff say that my lord will personally come over here to deliver the gifts. At first, I didn't believe it, but today we came here to try waiting for my lord. I can't believe that my lord did actually come. On behalf of the people of this village, I thank my lord."

The Villager Chief, Old Man Tuo, bowed when he appeared in front of Magistrate Jia. He spoke as he body shook.

Magistrate Jia felt like blood was dripping from his heart, but he still had to make a caring expression on his face. He stepped forward and supported the Old Man Tuo's hand, "Old Uncle, I have come late. Hurry up and get people to carry the items. Later, fabric, meat and vegetables will arrive. In addition to spinach, there is also cucumber. I hope that everyone can enjoy the New Year."

Speaking of green vegetables made Magistrate Jia want to cry. If it weren't for these green vegetables, would he have spent this much money? Additionally, what was considered to be poor in the San'shui County was dependent on the severity of this year's crop failure. So, practically everyone was poor. Apart from those who had their own manor and were too prideful to ask for gifts, everyone else did not bother with being courteous.

He was the magistrate afterall. When he said that he would give gifts, the people thought that this was the Imperial Court's benevolence. If it was someone else who was giving out the items, perhaps the people would be more hesitant to accept the gifts.

Were the people actually poor? Before the weather had turned cold, they sold liang'pi. Tthey never stopped selling savory crepes. When the wharf at the Little Luo'shui was being constructed, workers were recruited, and now people worked there as porters. There were also more than 700 bailiffs. Apart from families who had two sons or a pair of father and son that both worked as bailiffs, almost every family had one person working as a bailiff. At the very least, more than 600 families didn't have to worry about being poor.

I spent 6,000 strings of coins just like this. I have taken office for a month already, but I have not earned any extra money. Nearly half of the money I earned from elsewhere was used.

Magistrate Jia watched the villagers happily place the items onto their donkeys. He didn't know whether he was feeling hate or helplessness anymore.

However, before the money in his hands turned warm, it was almost New Year. This year, the Zhang family didn't give anything. They wanted to not pay a single coin. Magistrate Jia didn't have the courage to do that. The people were accustomed to receiving gifts from the Imperial Court during the New Years. The amount didn't matter. As long as the people received something, they felt happy and that the Imperial Court still cared about them.

As a result, the Magistrate and the Magistrate Assistant drew up a list with names, addresses, and how many items to send. Then, they made the list into a public notice to notify the people. Some people were really grateful and then even knelt down and kowtowed outside of the Administrative Office.

Magistrate Jia had no choice. He sent someone to ask which merchant in the San'shui County was willing to pay the money. Some were tempted, but because of the Zhang and Wang families' power, no one dared to agree. After pushing the responsibility back and forth, time was running out, so the magistrate had to pay for it himself. He thought about buying some from the streets, but the quantity was too small.

"There are still 7,000 strings of coins left. There shouldn't be any other expenses, right? They are too cruel. From then until now, they have taken 19,000 strings of coins from me." Magistrate Jia looked at the cheerful expressions of the villagers, and walked to the side by himself to think about the thoughts on his mind. While thinking, he spoke aloud.

"My lord, you said you want to give out 19,000 strings of coins to the people?" The bailiff, who had followed behind him like a ghost, heard the Magistrate's words and asked.

"Nothing, I didn't say anything. Go help them out. Do you plan to loiter around me or something?" Magistrate Jia was startled. If he didn't respond in time, the bailiff could have spread these words around and put up a notice. Where would he find all of this money from?

The people were almost done loading the items over there. There were too many items so they would have to make two trips. Once the Village Chief ordered people to lead the donkeys away, he went up to Magistrate Jia and said, "My lord, you are such a good official. With these items, we will not have to worry about the new year. My lord, please come into the village for a drink of water. Please get on the donkey."

"Oh, then I have kept my lord here for too long. My lord is busy with other affairs. I will leave first." The old man was very easy going. Since the Magistrate didn't want to go, he did not insist. His legs trembled as he walked and he still had to go back and forth.

Seeing that most of the villagers had left, Magistrate Jia breathed a sigh of relief and looked at the road. He thought about what the bailiff had said about the distance— a layer of skin would be lost for every trip to that village.

"My lord, should we make use of this opportunity to go and see what the conditions are like in the neighboring areas?" Bailiff Tong suggested to Magistrate Jia again.

What Magistrate Jia found to be the most annoying right now were the bailiffs. He didn't have a good excuse to decline, so he could only bear with it, "Okay, let's head back a bit. If we encounter people, we will have a look at the third house."

"The third house? Since my lord wants to go, we shall go." Bailiff Tong agreed. He helped Magistrate Jia get into the carriage and at the same time, he winked at a bailiff next to him, who then immediately got on his horse and left.

Now, there were only seventeen bailiffs left in the team. They walked in the other direction to the side. After walking out for an hour, they saw a small village. There was no manor here, but there were more than 40 households living here. The surrounding area was just land. There were some small piles of dirt with some hemp plants grown in it. Although it was snowing, the plants were not completely covered.

Since Magistrate Jia came from a fishermen family, he knew what this was. It was likely that by the time spring comes, the hemp would be almost completely soaked by the snow, and then the hemp can be placed into the river to absorb even more water and then it can be used to make ropes. Hemp ropes that were made like this are more sturdy than ropes made from fresh hemp soaked in water. People liked to weave fishing nets using this kind of hemp rope.

When Magistrate Jia and others arrived at the first house at the head of the village, the barking of a dog was heard in the yard, and it stopped when the owner called it back to it's doghouse.

Magistrate Jia naturally didn't want to be bitten by a dog, so he actually went to the third house in this village. In the courtyard surrounded by locust trees and thorns, a woman was using her hands to protect a one year old child as the child learned to walk. When the child tried to lift his leg up and put it down, he ended up falling forward.

"Hehehehe." Magistrate Jia couldn't help laughing when he saw the foolish appearance of the child. He remembered the memory of his child learning to walk.

"What are you laughing at, my lord?", asked a bailiff next to him.

"Nothing. I just think the little child is interesting. This child seems to be stronger than other children." Magistrate Jia put away his smile and said to the bailiff.

"My lord, this child may be stronger than the children in other places, but they are much worse than the two little masters of the Zhang and Wang manors. Those two..."

"Go in and ask them how things are going at home?" Magistrate Jia interrupted the bailiff directly. He hated those two manors the most, and he felt uncomfortable whenever he heard others mention them.

The bailiff immediately said, "My lord, there is no need to ask in this area. This child is the son of the bailiff Song Yang. My lord can go inside. Song Yang's parents should be there. His family is a little poor, so the Zhang manor sent his family gifts a few times. Lesser was given to his family this time. My lord, how about let's go to a different house?"

Translator's Notes

1. Little New Year (小年)

The Little New Year is also known as Festival of The Kitchen God, and falls roughly a week before Chinese New Year. The Kitchen God is the supposed to be the god that looks over and protects the house.

Read more here: China.org.cn: Little New Year