The windows and doors of the side rooms were very simple. There was even a room without a door. The outside room on one side was the kitchen, and there was a very simple broken door. The other room was the storage room, and there was no door. There was only a doorway.
There were two rooms on the other side. One was a small room that could be lived in, and the other was Du Fu's study room. There were all kinds of books that Du Fu had collected. Of course, it also included all kinds of documents and poems that he had written.
At the corner of the main house, there was a very inconspicuous toilet room. It was even smaller than the side rooms. Because it was used for the toilet, it was placed in the most inconspicuous position.
On the other side of the main house, there was a two-story chicken coop. There were more than ten hens in it. This way, their whole family could eat eggs every day.
Although the rooms were very simple, Du Fu's life was still quite good. At least he had three rooms that could be lived in, plus a study room, a living room, a kitchen, a bathroom, and a storage room. If it was in the city of the future, this would be considered a big house. Of course, Du Fu was in the suburbs and not in the city, but the size of the house was indeed enough.
Usually, there wouldn't be any guests who needed to stay after visiting. Therefore, there were enough rooms for three people.
Du Fu and his wife, who was more than ten years younger than him, naturally lived in one room alone. His two sons and one daughter lived in another room in the main hall. The rooms on the side that could be lived in were always empty, in case there were distant relatives who came to stay overnight, or friends who were kicked out by their wives and could temporarily stay for a night.
As for Du Fu, if he had a quarrel with his wife, or if he suddenly wanted to read, he would go to the study room. In the study room, Du Fu would feel at ease. Moreover, the wooden sofa in the study room could be opened. After it was opened, the area directly doubled, so sleeping in it was not a problem.
Perhaps he was too focused on pacing and thinking about the problem, so much so that even when Ang Lee walked to the door, Du Fu did not notice him. He was still pacing and thinking about the problem in the yard.
Behind Du Fu, there were children playing from time to time. After playing for a while, they ran back and forth between the yard and the storage room, disturbing the hens in the yard and causing them to run everywhere. Du Fu, who was focused on the problem, turned a blind eye to it.
There was a very simple straw shed above the gate. That way, when it was raining, one would not get wet by standing at the gate and knocking on the door. This was a standard feature of many families. Even the poorest families would have a rain shed at the gate.
The courtyard wall was made of earth and wood. The bottom half was piled yellow soil, and the top half was densely packed with tree branches................................................
The upper layer was made of tree branches. If the wall was too high, it would be more likely to collapse. It was more stable and sturdy if it was shorter. However, the short wall would prevent hens from flying out. Therefore, a layer of fence had to be added on top. At the same time, it could also play the role of blocking the view. However, it could only block the view roughly. It was considered a semi-transparent wall.
If it were not for the fact that Du Fu's courtyard wall was in the form of a fence, Ang Lee would not be able to see Du Fu in the yard, let alone stop his car.
Of course, Li An felt that the main reason why Du Fu designed his courtyard walls this way was to broaden the view. Their courtyard was not big to begin with. If the courtyard walls were built too high, people would feel like they were imprisoned in the courtyard. For a cultured person like Du Fu, this kind of oppression was the most unbearable. After all, this was a common problem for many cultured people.
The mud wall should have been there for a few days. Some vines had taken root at the bottom of the low wall and climbed to the top of the upper layer of the fence. There were even slender branches that stretched out, wanting to continue climbing higher. Unfortunately, there was no place to borrow strength. They would fall down before they could climb too high. Then, more branches would climb up again and again, and then fall down again and again. There were also some small grasses that settled on the sides and top of the wall. When the breeze blew, they would dance gracefully.
It was because of the addition of these small grasses that the monotonous mud wall gained some color. At the same time, it also became more lively. Looking at it from afar, it was pleasing to the eye.
"You all can leave! I'll go in alone. "
Ang Lee asked his subordinates to leave. Then, he walked to the gate alone and looked at Editor-in-Chief Du in the yard with a smile.
Du Fu still did not see Ang Lee. However, the children playing in the yard saw someone at the gate, so they ran over excitedly. They followed the crack of the door and asked, "Who are you? Why haven't I seen you before?"
The one who spoke was a young boy who looked to be five or six years old. He should be Du Fu's son without a doubt. Behind him should be his youngest son and daughter.
"Oh, who are you?"
Ang Lee asked with a smile.
The little boy said proudly, "I'm the son of the head of the family. My name is Zong Wen. What's your name?"
Ang Lee said with a smile, "You're Zong Wen! Behind you is your brother Zong Wu! "
"Hey, how do you know that's my brother Zong Wu?"
The little boy suddenly had a trace of trust in Ang Lee. He felt that Ang Lee must know his family. Otherwise, how could he know his brother's name?
However, in Ang Lee's view, the little guy in front of him was a little fool. He said that his name was Zong Wen, so his brother must be Zong Wu. Many families had such a tradition of naming. For example, if the eldest son's name had words, then the second son's name would generally be Wu. There were too many examples like this.
"Haha! Because I know your father! Of course, I know your names. "
Ang Lee said with a smile.
In fact, Ang Lee did not know much about Du Fu's family situation. He only knew that he had two sons and a daughter, and a wife who was more than ten years younger than him. As for the children's names, Ang Lee did not know.
"Ah Ye, someone is looking for you."
Zong Wen heard that Ang Lee was Du Fu's friend, so he quickly called Du Fu who was pacing and pondering.
Du Fu was thinking too seriously. It was not until his son called him many times that he reacted and walked to the door.
"Oh! Assistant Minister Li is here. Greetings, Assistant Minister Li. "
Du Fu did not expect Ang Lee to come and visit. He was a little surprised and quickly bowed to Ang Lee.
"Chief Editor Du, you don't have to be so polite. I was just passing by and saw Chief Editor Du standing under the tree, so I came to take a look. Oh! I didn't expect our Chief Editor Du to live in such a simple and crude place! "
Ang Lee sighed sincerely as he walked into the courtyard and admired the scenery of Du Fu's residence.
Du Fu said a little embarrassedly, "It's not easy to live in Chang 'an. There are too many places that need money. I have to leave some savings for emergencies. As long as I can live in a place, it's enough. Assistant Minister Li, please come in."
The mistress of the house heard the noise and quickly came out of the house to see Ang Lee.
This woman didn't look very old. She was even younger than Li An and much younger than Du Fu. She was also quite pretty, giving off the feeling of a pretty daughter from a humble family. Of course, if she was compared to people like Yan Ruyu, she was much worse.
"Assistant Minister Li, this is my wife, Madame Yang. Greet Assistant Minister Li."
Du Fu quickly said.
"Greetings, Assistant Minister Li."
Madame Yang quickly bowed and her attitude was very reserved.
"You're welcome. Please get up."
Ang Lee stretched out his hand to let Madame Yang get up. He took out some candies and distributed them to the three children who surrounded him.
"Zong Wen, Zong Wu, thank him."
Du Fu quickly scolded the children who only knew how to eat candies.
"Thank you …"
The three children looked at Ang Lee together.
"What cute children! Chief Editor Du is blessed to have a son and a daughter! "
Ang Lee praised with a smile.
"Assistant Minister Li is too kind. My house is simple and crude, and I don't have anything good to entertain Assistant Minister Li. Zong Wen, go to the store in the east and buy a pot of good wine on credit."
Du Fu felt that he should be a good host and take out a decent meal to entertain Ang Lee. There was still some dried meat at home, but there was no wine. He had to buy it on credit.
Ang Lee naturally could not let Du Fu, who was not well-off, spend money. He quickly stopped him and said, "Don't go. This official is not Li Taibai. I don't like to drink. I just want a bowl of water. Tea is fine too. Hot, not cold."
While refusing to let Du Fu spend money, Ang Lee put forward his own request. A bowl of hot tea or water.
"Mother, go soak the Da Hong Pao that Taibai sent last time."
Du Fu quickly ordered and led Ang Lee into the main hall.
In this era of the Great Tang, many main halls were additional structures, located in the center of the residence. However, the Du Fu Clan was not well-off and could not afford to build a main hall of its own. Thus, the middle of the three main rooms served as the main hall.
The light in the room was good because the walls were smeared with white lime, so it was naturally quite bright.
The Da Hong Pao was soon served. The fragrance of the tea leaves could be smelled from far away. At first glance, one could tell that it was the best tea. It was definitely not a fake.
In the Tang Empire, most of the businessmen were very well-behaved. They believed in honesty and rarely used fake products to swindle people. If they were discovered, their reputation would be ruined and they would not be able to survive in the business world for the rest of their lives. They were not like some businessmen in the later generations who openly sold fake and inferior goods on the Internet. It was simply a scam.
"Good tea, it's really good tea! It's authentic. "
Ang Lee took a sip and sincerely commented. He then said, "Taibai Li's salary should be about the same as Chief Editor Du's! He can also afford this Da Hong Pao. "
Du Fu said with a smile, "Assistant Minister Li is right. Taibai Li's salary is less than mine, but he has written many more articles than me. His royalties are not cheap. His total income should be more than this official's. However, Taibai Li is a forthright person who spends a lot of money, so he has not saved much. Perhaps he bought this Da Hong Pao on a whim."
"Hahaha! It's really interesting. This Taibai Li is still the same! I was born to have a use for my talents. Money will come back after spending it all. He doesn't care about money at all! "
Ang Lee said with a smile.
"It's all thanks to Assistant Minister Li that he can be so forthright."
Du Fu said.
"It's all thanks to me. What do you mean?"
Ang Lee asked curiously.
"It's like this. Ever since Assistant Minister Li asked the imperial court to start the Tang dynasty newspaper, Taibai Li accepted the job of editor. Not only did he have a stable income, but he could also make money by writing poems. So, as long as he is short of money, he will work hard to write. As long as he writes, he will have money. So, of course, it's all thanks to Assistant Minister Li. It's all thanks to Assistant Minister Li that this official can have today's job."
Du Fu said truthfully. He was naturally very grateful to Ang Lee.
Ang Lee nodded and said, "You're right. This official has been a good person for once, haha!"
Of course, the reason why these two people could have these two jobs was naturally that their literary level was high enough. Otherwise, how could they have such positions?
In addition, Du Fu was serious in his work and had a down-to-earth personality. He was very suitable to be the chief editor. On the other hand, Li Taibai drank too much and was a little unrestrained. Even if his literary talent was better, no one dared to pass the chief editor to him. If he accidentally got drunk and didn't review the Tang Dynasty Report properly, it would be a big problem.
It was not a big deal to make some mistakes in ordinary articles. But if something went wrong in the article about the imperial court's policies, such as writing the emperor's reign name wrong or writing the emperor's name, which should be taboo, and so on, it would be too troublesome. Worst of all, it would be jailed. Moreover, it would not be only Ang Lee who would go to jail. A large number of high-level officials in charge of the Tang dynasty newspaper were likely to be implicated.
However, Li Bai's literary talent was really very good. He was also useful in the Tang dynasty newspaper. With the recommendation of Du Fu, who was the chief editor, Li Bai entered this political newspaper of the Tang dynasty and became a travel editor in charge of collecting literary works. He traveled around and wrote whatever interesting things he found to enrich the content of the newspaper of the Tang dynasty. The content written by Li Bai's literary talent was bound to be more beautiful, and the readers would like it more. Li Bai received a certain amount of remuneration every time he wrote an article, so he was particularly enthusiastic. He wrote various poems and articles one after another without any urging.
After all, Du Fu was the chief editor. His salary should be more than a little higher than Li Bai's. It should not be a problem for him to have more than twice the salary. However, Du Fu said that his actual salary was not as high as Li Bai's. Du Fu also took time to write some articles himself, which was enough to show that Li Bai wrote too many articles.
It was not that Li Bai was greedy for money, but that he spent too much money. He also had a strong self-esteem and was unwilling to accept other people's help. Therefore, once he ran out of money, he had to force himself to write more articles.
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