In the evening, a few board cars walked slowly on the dirt road to the old school field. On the first one, a man of twenty-seven or eight, with a short beard and a square face and flat eyebrows, was leaning on the pile of sacks, his hands in his sleeves, his head bowed, his neck curled, and enduring the cold wind of the north.

Lu Shui is a member of the Yamen of the Military Preparation Road. In the morning, after Master Kong, the boss in the yamen, came back from the water village, he first scolded Qiu Ba in the hall, and then gave an order to his subordinates: send 2,000 silver "grain" to the old school.

Hearing the word "grain", combined with the boss's previous attitude, the subordinates immediately understood. Then in the evening, the prepared "grain" was sent by Lu Shui, a small official.

After swaying in the cold wind for half an hour, Lu Shui, who was sitting on the wheel, saw the tattered old school yard from afar.

However, what made him sit up in the cold wind were the sailboats parked in the river beside him.

Before this, there had been a much-anticipated sailboat on the Haihe River from time to time, and now everyone is used to seeing it, and they will no longer be onlookers. And today, when Lu Shui saw a row of such tall and beautiful soft sailboats up close, he couldn't help but be amazed.

As the convoy moved on, the officer's attention was diverted, and he saw some people who shouldn't be there.

Most of these people Lu Shui know, and they are all wealthy businessmen and stewards in the Dazhigu area.

These stewards, who were wearing fur coats and carrying a small entourage, were lining up at the moment, waiting in front of the old school with a respectful face, each holding a name card in their hands, and they seemed to be waiting to see them.

"Who has such a big face?" Lu Shui was shocked at this moment. You must know that these stewards and tents are all characters on the scene, and they deal with high-rollers and businessmen who come and go from the south to the north on weekdays, and people like Lu Shui can't talk at all. And today, these people are gathered in front of the old schoolyard, which makes the little official very incomprehensible.

Lu Shui, who was muttering in his heart, jumped down from the carriage the next moment: he was in front of the door.

After seeing the convoy, the soldiers in green jackets in front of the old school yard who were holding fire guns with short swords came over to them: "What are you doing?" ”

"The one who delivers the grain."

"Wait."

While Lu Shui was waiting, he saw those stewards respectfully handing over the names to the two masters in front of the school.

"Cha Mo is a southerner?" In Tianjin, a commercial city that has been mixed with land and water for half a lifetime, I felt a little taste at this moment: "What news did Xu leak in the past two days?" No, when I go back, I have to inquire about this surnamed Cao! ”

At this moment, accompanied by several green jacket soldiers, a middle-aged man wearing a robe and looking like a tent walked out of the school gate, followed by a group of people.

After the middle-aged man came out, after getting to know Lu Shui briefly, he ordered the package to be opened for inspection without saying a word. So the sacks on several large carts were unloaded with a few bags.

"What is the total?" This middle-aged man's surname is Bai, and he speaks authentic official dialect, grabbing the grain in the sack and starting to inspect it.

Although Lu Shui is a small official, he is a hereditary official in the yamen of the Ming Dynasty, and he is also a local snake in charge of military rations, and he is humble and powerful. So when he usually gives food and rice to the Qiu Bamen, it is very dragging.

However, the scene he saw at the gate of the camp just now made Lu Shui's attitude inexplicably much better at the moment: "The white tent room, the total number is three thousand six hundred quintals, half of the beans and wheat. Well, only half of it was shipped today, and it will need to be shipped again tomorrow. ”

After listening to this, the white tent did not speak, first finished checking the handful of black beans in his hand, and then grabbed the wheat in the sack and looked at it. After checking them one by one, the tent patted the dust off his hands, and then checked the paperwork and documents handed over by Lu Shui.

After reading the paperwork, he sneered and said to Lu Shui: "It's all two-year-old wheat, mixed with buckwheat." The bran didn't go without saying, and the black beans actually accounted for half of it. About the military men of Tianjin Wei, they eat black beans on weekdays to live? ”

Speaking of this, the white tent room laughed viciously: "Are the northerners hard? Hehe, in my general's territory, inferior rice and black beans are used to feed animals! ”

Lu Shui couldn't help pouting in his heart: The Southern Barbarian is hypocritical.

Today, these beans and wheat are not only stale grains, but also the wheat is not peeled, and a lot of black beans are also delivered, which is a bit humiliating in it. However, why did he do this, Lu Shui thinks that Nan Bing should be a little forced in his heart Your boss and my boss are arguing like that, and they still expect to eat white noodles?

However, Lu Shui did not take the pot after all, but threw the pot out with a gentle attitude: "The total amount of these grains and wheat is a lot, enough for two thousand silver, but the grain is a little old." As for the reason, I am humble, and I just listened to it, and I think General Cao knows the reason for each one? ”

"Hmph, of course I know." The white tent sneered again: "Well, two thousand taels of silver horse material is considered two clear." But if there is any deduction in the total, then don't blame my general's marching method! ”

"Don't dare, don't dare, ten is enough!" Lu Shui's heart sank at this time: It stands to reason that no matter which way of giving food and grass to the soldiers and horses on weekdays, there will always be seven deductions and eight discounts according to the rules. Today, however, the total amount of this grain, regardless of its quality, is sufficient according to the market price.

What does this mean? Lu Shuixin said: Master Kong doesn't dare to go too far?

In the next moment, Lu Shui, who instantly passed everything he saw and heard today in his mind, made the most important action in his life.

I saw him arch his hand, with a dissatisfied expression on his face: "Alas, don't hide it from Brother Bai, my family has really gone too far." They are all soldiers who are going into battle, and they don't even have a good mouthful, alas! ”

"Oh?" Hearing Lu Shui say this, the white tent raised his eyebrows and became a little interested.

Lu Shui smiled next, and then stretched out two fingers: "There are two thousand catties of fine noodles on the lower hands, all of which are new wheat of this year." If General Cao is interested, he is willing to sell at 90% of the market price. ”

Hearing this, the white tent looked at Lu Shui with interest behind his back hand, and then asked with a smile: "Probably also the military quartermaster in the official treasury?" ”

"Hehe, Brother Bai is an understanding person." Lu Shui laughed dryly and then said, "Please don't make a noise about this matter, Brother Bai." In the lower official position, there are only two thousand catties that can be called. ”

"I'll tell my boss about this." The white tent room's attitude eased a lot at this time: "Well, I know the kindness of Friend Lu, and we will be closer in the future." ”

"That's definitely, definitely!"

Lu Shui left the old school in this way, and used the authority he had accumulated in exchange for some illusory kindness, and he didn't know whether he was making money or losing money.

However, the problem was quickly clarified. After Lu Shui went home in the evening, he told his retired Lao Tzu about today's incident, and then the father and son went out and started looking for someone.

The Lu family is an old native of the Acropolis, and it is very quick to inquire about anything. What's more, this matter has begun to spread, after all, so many big business houses are taking action, and people with intentions are inquiring.

So that night, the Lu family father and son figured out one thing: all those "pretty goods" that have passed through Tianjin in recent years are all the handiwork of this General Cao.

"Hahahaha." Lu Shui, who figured out the reason, slapped his legs at home and laughed: "It turned out that the God of Wealth had arrived, no wonder, no wonder!" ”

Lu's father, who was already in his fifties, also clapped his hands on the side: "Master Kong, this is hitting the iron plate, you can't make a mistake, tomorrow is a good errand, our old Lu family may have a creation!" ”

"Yes, yes!"

...................................

Early the next morning, Lu Shui organized his subordinates to start loading the truck. On this trip, he not only packed all the beans and wheat that he had pulled less yesterday, but also packed the two thousand catties of fine flour that he had worked hard to replace with mildew and rotten wheat, and transported them all to the old schoolyard.

I didn't want to wait until he arrived on the bank of the Ziya River to find that early birds were everywhere.

On the banks of the long river, the cargo ships at the end of the title were connected in a line, and all the rice and grain were stacked on them. There are not only grain boats along the river, but also live pigs and sheep, cabbage and pickles...... It's all there.

Lu Ping was mixed up in the grain heaps during the day, and he could identify at a glance whose merchant houses belonged to the cargo flags on the bow of these ships; Even by looking at the sack, he could guess what kind of cargo it contained.

So his eyelids have been jumping all the way: these ships look at the flags, and almost all of them are the private boats of those big merchants who came to post yesterday. There are not only polished rice from the south, but also expensive Taicang white grain, in addition, there are also refined noodles from the north, which are the same color as those loaded in his car.

"It's a pity that Master Kong still wants to make a fuss about the grain and grass...... Lu Shui sighed as he rushed to the old schoolyard.

When I was about to get to the door, the scene of queuing yesterday reappeared, but the waiting person was replaced by the major wealthy businessmen themselves.

These wealthy businessmen are all the leading figures in Dazhigu. At this moment, these old men are sitting firmly in their carriages, holding the stove in their hands, and placing the "thermos pots" and teacups brought from the south by their sides, patiently waiting to enter the old school field.

After seeing this scene, Lu Shui had no doubts, and happily sent all the grain and straw he brought to the old schoolyard.

Then when he entered the old school field, he found that the dilapidated school field was already in full swing.

Many craftsmen and apprentices are repairing the fence of the school yard, and the ground is piled with green bricks and cement at some point.

Others were digging the foundations, apparently with the intention of building a new house. Outside the school wall, on the mudflats to the west, there were teams of civilian carts pushing earth and rocks to the ground, apparently intending to raise this useless low-lying land.

"It's really rich to make ghosts grind!" Lu Shui sighed while handing over the goods to the white tent.

What he didn't expect was that the white tent not only did not take advantage of him afterwards, but also gave him the full amount of silver to buy noodles at the normal market price.

And that's not all. When Lu Shui received the silver, he was actually led to a line in front of a dilapidated house on the school grounds.

This flattered Lu Shui, at this moment, there were wealthy businessmen in front of him and behind him.

After a while, Lu Shui was put into the house by the green-jacketed soldier with the firearm.

Then he saw two middle-aged men sitting side by side behind the table, tall and white, looking like merchants.