Wan Lei dragged his tired body away from the Women's Normal University. It was already past ten o'clock in the evening. Fortunately, there were street lights in the center of the city, otherwise it would be more difficult to walk at night. As the former capital of the Yuan Dynasty, Beiping City has a history of more than a hundred years.
This city is big, but it is empty. Coupled with the years of war, most of the buildings in the city are in dilapidated condition.
In addition, many main roads in Beiping City are still dirt roads. They are dusty on sunny days and muddy on rainy days. There are often cow and horse feces on the roads. Open drainage ditches are set up on both sides of the main roads. Since they are open-air, the stench rises to the sky in summer. In Wan Lei's opinion,
The living environment in Beiping City is really not very good. In the future, when the "national" power is sufficient, planning and reconstruction will definitely be needed.
In addition, Beiping City is rectangular in shape, with a circumference of nearly 30 kilometers and an area of about 50 square kilometers, which is equivalent to three-fifths of the area of Chang'an City in the Tang Dynasty and close to the area of Tokyo in the Song Dynasty. The only commendable thing about Peiping is that the roads are neatly planned, and the longitude and latitude
It is clear. Due to the square outline of the city and the straight and regular streets, the urban pattern is still somewhat spectacular, which lays a good foundation for future reconstruction.
Wan Zhai is located near the Drum Tower, living by the water, which is also considered a golden area. The Women's Normal School is in the original Imperial College, only ten minutes away from Wan Zhai. In the past, he was always waiting for his wife to go home with him, but today she is not here.
In class, he had to be a solitary traveler.
It was already late at this time, but the lights were still on in the houses on both sides, and the chirping sounds kept ringing. These weavers started working all night. They ordered wool threads from the spinning mills and weaved them into wool blankets or woolen cloths.
A small part is sold for self-use, and most of it is sold to trading houses in exchange for wages.
It is precisely because it is profitable that they work so hard. Now, at least one out of ten households in Beiping City has a loom, and some people have more than one loom in their home. The development of the textile industry has not only brought benefits to weavers.
The benefits have also spawned many downstream industries, such as the printing and dyeing industry, the embroidery industry, and the sock-making industry, with many employees. Since then, Beiping City has become a city that never sleeps, which has also driven the consumption of kerosene. The oil well in Zhaozhuang outside the city is also exploited day and night.
In addition, some weavers hired at high prices from the south also brought with them the techniques of staggered yarn color matching and heddle-plucking patterns, so that words such as folded branches, group phoenixes, and chess games slowly come to life on the woven blankets. Under the guidance of these skillful craftsmen,
Under careful teaching, many women in Beiping City learned to weave. The quality of Yan cloth was relatively good, the flowers were beautiful, and the price was relatively cheap. It soon sold well in Shandong and Shanxi.
Of course, the textile industry in Peiping has just started, so it cannot be compared with the Susong area. As early as the Song Dynasty, cotton cultivation gradually spread from Lingnan to the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, and the cotton spinning industry took root in Jiangnan. In the early years of the Yuan Dynasty, Wunijing, Songjiang Prefecture
A woman named Huang Daopo returned to her hometown from Hainan Island and brought advanced cotton textile technology back to her hometown from Hainan Island.
After years of development, Songjiang Prefecture has become the cotton textile center of the Ming Dynasty. It produces tens of thousands of pieces of cotton cloth per day and is known as the world's most famous silk weaving city. Even the old silk weaving city Suzhou and Hangzhou cannot compare. It is not just the output.
Gao, Songjiang cloth is also extremely exquisite. It can even weave dragons, phoenixes, bullfights, unicorns and other patterns, which are more exquisite than those in paintings. It is a magical skill. Even the emperor's dragon robe was woven by the skilled craftsmen of Songjiang Prefecture.
At the beginning, Wan Lei didn't believe that people could weave patterns such as dragons and phoenixes, thinking that they were embroidered on them. However, after seeing the python robes and official patches of many high-ranking officials, he couldn't help but be amazed. Of course, this kind of cloth
It was only used by the imperial court and could not be worn by ordinary people.
The textile industry in Beiping City is mainly based on mass production, facing the majority of middle and upper-class consumers. Of course, after developing to a certain scale, Beiping City will enter the cotton spinning industry and compete with the textile industry in Jiangnan. If a steam engine is developed,
Weaving looms, the cotton spinning and hemp mill industries in the south of the Yangtze River, which were mainly hand-made, would suffer a fatal blow. And Songjiang Prefecture was the main source of finance and taxation for the Ming Dynasty, and the Ming court would also be hit hard.
Wan Lei lowered his head and walked through two alleys in deep thought, but he heard a shout of "Sir, wait" from behind. He didn't need to look back, and he knew it was Li Yuan. She lived in Tiefu, not far from Wanzhai, so it was
Comrade, this little girl is really brave enough to dare to say hello to a strange man at night.
But it's no wonder. The public security in Beiping City can be described as good. There has not been a single murder case in the past six months, and there has been no petty theft. Men and women can go out confidently and boldly at night. It is true that the house is not closed at night and the streets are not picked up.
All these achievements were achieved not only because of the diligent control of officials at all levels in Beiping City, but also because of the good propaganda policies. The whole city has formed a consensus that it is glorious to get rich through hard work, and it is shameful to commit crimes. Everyone has a job and is rich.
No one is willing to take the risk to earn money. After all, Shuntian Mansion's punishment for prisoners is harsh, and those who commit crimes will be driven to the mining area to dig coal.
"Sir, why are you walking alone? Won't your wife come to pick you up?" Li Yuan trotted to catch up.
"I am a grown man and not a child. How can I ask my wife to come pick me up? I can just walk back by myself." Wan Lei said nonchalantly.
"How can this be done? Sir, you are the pillar of wisdom of our Beiping City. There are many people outside who want to do harm to you. If they assassinate you, our Beiping City will be in danger."
"No, the success of Beiping City today is not due to me alone, but the result of everyone's concerted efforts. Even without me, the people in Beiping City will live and work in peace and contentment, and the army will be loyal to the people." Wan Lei waved his hands repeatedly.
"Sir, you are too modest. Without your command and control, we would not be able to live and work in peace and contentment today. Not only the students admire me, but even my uncle, who has been an official for many years, always feels inferior to me."
"Skills are just specializations. Mr. Tie is good at governing the people, and I admire him very much."
"Oh, it's a pity that the student is only a girl. Otherwise, I really want to learn from the teacher and learn how to govern the country and bring peace to the country."
"Well, it's good to have ideals, but you need to study for a few more years and practice for a few more years. Once you understand what it means to manage the world and make money, it's not too late to talk about peace and stability."
"What the teacher teaches is that the students are taught."
While the two were talking, they saw a person running like the wind on a skateboard from a distance. Wan Lei didn't need to look to know that the person coming was Zhao Xueer, and that he had come specially to pick him up.
"Ah, I'm late. Why did you walk back by yourself? It's too dangerous." Zhao Xueer jumped off the skateboard and looked Wan Lei up and down. She found that her whole body was still intact, so she leaned next to him and said:
"Sister Wei'er seems to be feeling a little uncomfortable. I've been keeping an eye on her, but I didn't expect it to be too late."
"What's wrong with her?" Wan Lei became anxious and his pace quickened a bit.
"I don't know, she was depressed after coming out of Tiefu, maybe because she was drunk." Zhao Xueer said, glared at Wan Lei, and complained: "You know you are anxious now. You used to be busy all day long.
I don’t want to spend time with her, really.”
"Oh, I'm busy, aren't I?" Wan Lei blushed a little, because he had never really spent time with his wife since they got married, let alone spent their honeymoon.
"Sir, he worries about his country and forgets his family. He is comparable to Dayu who visited his house three times without ever entering. The students admire him." Li Yuan, who was following him, flattered him again.
However, her flattery hit the horse's leg. Wan Lei shook his head and ran towards the door of his house without saying a word. Zhao Xueer just looked at Li Yuan up and down, let out a slight sneer, and chased after her on a skateboard.
Li Yuan was left alone standing there.
As soon as he hurried back home, before Wan Lei had time to wipe the sweat off his face, he realized that something was wrong with the atmosphere at home. It was quiet. The Zhao brothers, who usually like to brag and spank, were sitting in the courtyard with their heads hanging down, enjoying the cool air.
Seeing that Wan Lei was back, he hurriedly came over and whispered: "Boss, Madam doesn't come out of the room. She seems to be ill."
"Are you sick? Why don't you go and ask the doctor soon?" Wan Lei took three steps at a time and came to the outside of the main room. When he pushed the door open, he found that it was locked from the inside.
"Boss, this is not an ordinary illness, it's probably a heart disease." Zhao Quanzhong reminded in a low voice in Wan Lei's ear.
"Okay, you all go back to sleep. There is no need to keep watch." Wan Lei waved his hand to let them all go and have a rest. Then he gently knocked on the door a few times, but no one answered. He knocked a few more times.
, the light finally turned on in the room, and he slowly came to answer the door. From time to time, there were a few slight coughs, and it seemed that he was really sick.
With a "squeak", the door finally opened. Under the light, Fu Wei's pale face was reflected. Under his messy hair and disheveled clothes, he looked very decadent.
"What's wrong? What's wrong with you?" Wan Lei rushed into the house and supported his wife.
"It's okay, maybe I'm tired, just take a nap." Fu Wei's lips trembled, but tears began to fall down again.
"You still say it's okay? Don't cry, don't cry, tell me, who asked you to be appointed..." Wan Lei helped his wife to the bedside and wanted to examine her carefully, but Fu Wei suddenly hugged his head and pressed her red lips against hers.
The warm, soft feeling on his lips made him feel his chest tightening, and he was immediately pressed down on the bed.
Being pinned down by his beloved wife, Wan Lei's mind went blank. He never expected that Wei'er, who had always been conservative and reserved, could be so enthusiastic and proactive. After a long time, Fu Wei finally let go, but raised his pink fist and hit
She beat her husband's chest "hard" and cried, "It's your fault, it's your fault, it's all your fault."
"Yes, yes, yes, it's all my fault. It's my fault for not spending time with my Wei'er." Wan Lei let her beat him and let her vent all her grievances and dissatisfaction. That was fine.
"It's just your fault. Why don't you marry me?" Fu Wei beat him harder.
"Don't cry, don't cry, how could I not want you?" Wan Lei was a little surprised and thought to himself: What medicine did Mrs. Tie give my Wei'er today? Why is the vinegar smell so strong?!
"You dislike me, so you don't want me!" Fu Wei finally stopped, but his tears became even more abundant.
"Ah!" Wan Lei whispered, and then he understood. If this was not the case, he looked at his wife who was crying like a tabby cat, and then at her petite body.
As soon as he gritted his teeth, he turned around suddenly and pressed her under him...