The Ming Dynasty’s Prodigal Son - Chapter 1871
[1871. Chapter 1781 The Taste of Happiness]
At this time, the French envoy has arrived in Rotterdam.
Not only that, the Spanish messenger has also arrived.
The fighting in the entire northern province suddenly stopped, and all the troops and horses faded away like a tide.
Peace is what people long for, but this sudden peace obviously made all the Dutch people feel extreme discomfort first.
The rationing system began to be gradually abolished.
The former market began to be rebuilt again.
Those who had experienced the long-term war stood blankly on the streets full of ruins, looking at everything in front of them as if they were in a dream, feeling very unreal.
After six years of brutal war, people seem to have become unfamiliar with peace.
So much so that even the slightest noise still made them nervous.
But soon, soldiers from the First Army appeared on the streets and began to maintain new order.
Immediately afterwards… Wang Xizuo issued many decrees and began to restore calm to the streets.
All existing militias were disbanded.
And… began to issue severance currency to them.
Of course, this currency is still the Ming Dynasty treasure banknote.
People look at the piece of paper in their hands and feel it is real, but also funny.
Is this thing… still useful?
Fortunately…the first batch of cans have already begun to appear on the market.
This is the supply for the fleet, if it is landed as the first batch of supplies.
And… only treasure money is allowed to be purchased.
In this way… these are worthless pieces of paper, and suddenly people realize… it seems… it is not worthless!
In the eyes of sailors, canned food is actually not wonderful. It can even be said to be like pig food.
You know, for more than half a year at sea, the main food they ate was canned food. Now they would rather eat black bread like sawdust than take a bite of this canned food.
Therefore…a large number of cans began to be supplied directly to the Northern Province.
………
When little Joseph was born, the war in the Northern Province was about to begin.
In the past six years, he had ignorantly experienced the war that swept through the entire northern province, and every day of starvation due to the war!
Since childhood… his father rarely went home. In the Northern Province, his father followed the infantry regiment in the lowlands to deal with the Spaniards. They had long since been separated from the regular army, so he would travel from time to time along the French border. Ambush the nearby Spaniards, and once the Spaniards launch a massive attack, they immediately retreat into the dense forests of France.
When his father came home, little Joseph looked at his father. He was a thin man with a sallow face, his cheeks were deeply sunken, his eyes were bloodshot, and there was an old sheepskin scabbard on his waist. The clothes were like strips of cloth, and there was no trace of military uniforms.
What caught his attention was that his father was carrying a bag on his thin body. There was a pile of banknotes in the bag, which was twenty taels of silver. In addition, there were some coals that he had picked up.
He put the coal into the basin, lit the fire starter first, and then ignited the coal, and a slight warmth rose!
Winter in the Northern Province is really cold.
My father’s face was cold, and like all veterans, he looked like he would avoid strangers.
It seemed… that he had forgotten how to laugh.
At this time, my mother talked about the difficulties in the family over the years. Everything that could be sold was sold. In order to supply cannons for the army, there was almost no iron in the family. A former horse in the family was also requisitioned. So far, the Governor’s Mansion has no intention of returning it.
My father just listened silently and said nothing.
Little Joseph leaned against the coals, feeling drowsy and hungry.
His mother found some vegetable soup and let him eat it.
There is… no food left at home.
Winter has arrived too.
It seemed that whether the war was over or not made no difference to little Joseph!
Early the next morning, his father left, still indifferent and silent. With his dry lips, he only touched little Joseph’s forehead, then packed up his things and went out.
As usual…my mother grimaced again at this time and began to complain naggingly.
No matter how difficult the life is, men never care about things at home, cursing how cold this winter is. Or, reheating yesterday’s vegetable soup, complaining about the loss of rations, not knowing what else to eat in the future.
Little Joseph was drowsy with his hands on the blanket. He was very hungry, but…it seemed that his life had been like this since he was born. Even though he was hungry, this was the most ordinary day.
It was late afternoon.
The wind outside, as usual, whistled loudly, blowing the broken wood door!
It’s just that today is obviously different from usual days!
Suddenly, the door was pushed open!
The mother got up and was reluctant to light the lamp. Fortunately, she heard her husband’s voice.
Little Joseph had no feelings for his father at all. It seemed that… father was just a noun. He continued to curl up in the blanket and take a nap!
In fact, moving less will save him some energy and seems to make him less hungry!
Then, my father seemed to whisper something, and then the lights turned on.
Before he could figure out the situation, his father took little Joseph out of the blanket.
This time when he came back, his father’s expression became much gentler.
His shabby clothes seemed to be a little different. There was a red silk tied on his arm, which was particularly bright.
The father took little Joseph and sat down by the charcoal fire. He, who was taciturn, began to speak: “Under the Governor’s Mansion, we need a team of servants. My old boss decided to let me work in the police station, and I will be paid two taels of silver a month. “
As he said that, he took out a glass can from the cloth bag he brought out this morning.
“This is bought in the market, thirty-seven copper coins.”
As he spoke, there was a sound of saliva rolling in his throat: “This is brought by our fleet, which has defeated the pus-filled Spaniards… …”
He continued to mutter, saying something that little Joseph did not understand: “Now, the Northern Province is under the direct jurisdiction of the emperor, and we are now loyal to His Majesty the Emperor…”
As he spoke, he used the dagger familiarly, Pry open the glass can.
At this time, little Joseph, who was still drowsy, cheered up.
Because he smelled a strong smell of meat!
So, I stared straight at the can.
The father’s iceberg-like face seemed to melt suddenly at this moment, revealing a hint of a smile.
Then, with his thick hand, he touched little Joseph’s disheveled head.
“This thing is called a can…it is supplied by His Majesty the Emperor.”
After that, he took the iron spoon and gently scooped some on the top of the glass bottle. His father’s bloodshot eyes were staring at the spoon. Something dark on the top!
My mother has come over and is watching carefully, as if guessing the ingredients of this food.
The father was not in a hurry to eat, but carefully placed the spoon on the charcoal fire, as if hoping to warm the food in the spoon.
While looking at the contents of the spoon, he sighed: “It only took His Majesty the Emperor a few hours to defeat the Spaniards and win eternal peace for us…”
When the food on the spoon became warmer, , the father picked up the spoon, gently dipped his fingers into the soup in the spoon, and then put his fingers into his mouth to suck.
This was the man’s first time eating canned food.
In the morning, he bought the can and kept it close to his body. Even if he felt hungry and uncomfortable at noon and afternoon, he would not take it out to take a bite.
He was used to being hungry, so he kept these cans to take home!
Now, even though I just dipped my fingers into some meat sauce and put it in my mouth, my whole body… seemed to be crispy and warm!
Little Joseph wolfed down the meat sauce in the spoon!
In this mouth… there was a strange smell of meat and the unique taste of the sauce, which immediately made little Joseph feel like he was surrounded by candied fruits.
What he was chewing in his mouth was actually beef…
Beef had such a unique chewiness that little Joseph didn’t dare to swallow it, but instead chewed it repeatedly in his teeth.
So…so wonderful.
It seems that there has never been such a magical thing in the world that can make little Joseph feel that there is such a warm thing in the world.
So…first spoonful, second spoonful.
The family sat around here, the only sounds were chewing and swallowing.
Little Joseph felt the taste of happiness for the first time.
He looked at his father affectionately. His father ate less and only liked to dip his fingers into the meat sauce. The large pieces of beef in the can were naturally delivered to little Joseph’s mouth.
Halfway through the meal, little Joseph felt that the more he ate, the more hungry he became.
Suddenly, the spoon in my father’s hand became a little unstable, and a few drops of meat sauce fell to the ground.
The mother wanted to speak, wanting to blame her husband.
But in an instant, the man who had always had a cold face suddenly burst into tears. Tears fell from his bloodshot eyes and dripped into the charcoal fire, making a crackling sound.
The man sobbed, choked with sobs, and the spoon in his hand trembled.
“Wang Xizuo… Governor Wang Xizuo said…” The man choked and said: “There will never be another war, there will be no more starvation. This is… this is what His Majesty the Emperor… has done to the Northern Province. I promise…no one will die in the ravine again…we…we…”
Tears are like floods opening, seemingly endless.
Little Joseph looked up. He probably only understood that the emperor had promised that he would have canned food like this in the future.
This is the most ordinary night in Rotterdam Port. It is so ordinary that even the moon is no different from ordinary days. At this moment… stars appear and fall on this most ordinary firewood hut.
For the people in the firewood house, this was destined to be the most extraordinary day.
Little Joseph slept very soundly that night. Even in his dreams, he pouted, and the smell of meat still lingered in his mouth. This was the taste of happiness.
…………
On the last day of this month, it’s not too much to ask for a monthly ticket.
(End of chapter)
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