When Gao Xiaosan told Liu Yue'er about the temporary recruitment of people in the warehouse, Shang Chengzheng was mixed in the middle of a group of laborers from other villages, squatting in the ground outside the door of the main house, facing the scorching sun, both irritable and patiently waiting to receive his wages.

For more than four months, he seemed to have become a different person entirely. The fine skin and tender flesh of the past have now become black and rough, and there are still many new and old wounds on the arms and calves; The palm was still wrapped in a strip of rotten cloth that had long been unable to see its original color, and a few days ago he carried a stone from outside the Zhuangzi to the master's house, and accidentally slipped when he crossed the ditch in front of the village, and as a result, the sharp stone edge cut a deep and long bloody wound on the palm...... The hair has also grown long, no longer the neat and clean flat head of the past, and the thick black head is full of dust and dust, soaked in sweat and dried by the wind, like a broken felt sheet on the forehead. As a result of the long hours of heavy physical labor, the amount of food increased significantly, and the body looked much stronger than before, and the muscles and muscles that had been exposed to the sun shone with a dark glow. His eyes also lost the agility and agility of the past, and were more like a pool of quiet pool water, and his dark eyes became deeper and quieter. Now he was wrapped in a group of laborers, and apart from being obviously taller than the people next to him, no one could tell that he was a polite graduate student a few months ago, let alone that he was a stranger who came to this world inexplicably.

He's become an ordinary laborer through and through.

"Shang Cheng!" The mistress of the main house called his name in the hall.

He hesitated for a moment, then glanced around with a slightly wooden face held high, and it was not until the hostess's house called his name again that he got up from the crowd, walked into the courtyard, bypassed the ten or twenty people who were squatting or standing under the porch, and entered the hall.

"Shang Cheng, right? You're here on the seventh day of June, right? The hostess looked at the account book spread out on the table, and without waiting for him to answer, she turned the account book back page by page, pressed her fingers against the account book, and crackled with one hand on the simple abacus; Turning the pages one by one, the number on the abacus became more and more tired, until he turned to a page and stopped, and then said to him without raising his head, "Seventeen days of small work, the salary is four yuan a day, a total of sixty-eight yuan, right?" ”

“…… Right. Shang Cheng swallowed. His gaze swept over the three men at the table. The male protagonist sits on the main seat, squinting his eyes as if he is pretending to sleep; The heroine's family is nervously recalculating the numbers. There was also a woman who looked younger than both of them, holding a crimson wooden box tightly in her hand, and standing behind the heroine's house with a respectful expression. This is the second lady of the main family.

"Sixty-eight." The heroine's family calculated, spit out a number, and the woman next to her immediately counted so many copper coins in the money box one by one, and piled them on the table with a bang, and counted them in her mouth: "Sixty-eight Wen." So the hostess carefully dipped the bald pen resting on the inkstone in black ink, and prepared to write down the number in the account book. At this time, the male protagonist's family closed his eyes and muttered something. The hostess said, "I'll pay you seventy yuan." Then the second lady took out two more copper coins from the closed money box and put them on the table.

When settling wages, it is the etiquette of the Lord's family to be hired to add a few extra dollars to the hired workers.

"Thank you, owner." Shang Cheng bowed slightly and saluted a few people. This is the etiquette he deserves. Then he took out a shriveled purse from his bosom, put all the few copper coins on the table, tied the purse with a thin hemp rope, and made another salute.

"That's it, I've prepared wine and food at home, stay and eat and drink, and then leave tomorrow morning." The male protagonist said. He didn't even open his eyes when he spoke, and it was still as if he was pretending to sleep.

Before the wages were settled, the men had already eaten the nominal meal at the master's house, but according to the folk custom, if the master was satisfied with the work of the workers, he had to keep the workers for another dinner, and then send them away the next morning. It seems that the male owner of this house is still satisfied with the workers.

"Thank you, owner." Shang Cheng bowed again.

He took two steps backwards with his small purse in his hand, and then turned and walked out of the hall. This is also the etiquette that the laborer should have to the master's family when settling wages. Of course, if the master was not satisfied with the work of the laborers, and was unwilling to pay for the laborers to eat and drink at home for nothing, he would not have been treated with such respect by Shang Cheng. In the first place where Shang Cheng went to work, he just didn't understand these rules and etiquette, and he took the money from his employer and left, so he was ridiculed by the people around him, and he didn't understand what he should do until someone kindly instructed him.

The man who had kindly instructed him was now waiting under the porch of the hall to receive his wages, and when he saw him come out, he moved his buttocks on the bench on which he was sitting, and made room for him, and when he sat down, he whispered, "How much has it been done?" ”

This man's face is old, it is difficult to distinguish his age at first glance, his thin face is exposed to the wind and rain and the sun, and it is as dark as the door god pasted on the door of the dealer's house, the corners of his eyes and forehead are crawling with fine wrinkles, there is a clear old scar on his upper lip, a small ball of oily red flesh is slightly bulging on his lips, and his mouth is not very close, and it always looks like he is mocking and sneering. The two eyes in the small eyes were extremely flexible, even if they were talking to Shang Cheng, their eyes were looking around, and they didn't seem to be quiet for a moment.

"Seventy." Shang Cheng said. He untied and re-tied the thin hemp rope that had been worn around the mouth of the purse, then lifted up his coat and threaded a strand of hemp rope through the rough belt around his waist, and then twisted it with another strand of hemp rope to make a loop. This belt was made by a cobbler in Huojiabao for eight cents, and it was a real cowhide, thick and strong; The iron buckle of the belt was made by a blacksmith he had made, and it was very rough. The blacksmith didn't ask for his money for this gadget at that time, but a few days later, Shang Cheng saw this type of belt for sale in several large grocery stores in Huojiabao, the lowest price was forty wen a piece, of course, the appearance was also very exquisite, the best belts, the buckle was also branded with the pattern of "Fu Lu Shou".

The man smacked his lips enviously, swallowed and said, "I'm only forty-five dollars." ”

Shang Cheng grinned at him. Tian Xiaowu came three days earlier than him, but he received the most common salary of two and a half yuan a day in small workers, but he later got the highest salary in small workers, four yuan a day. However, the two of them did different jobs, Tian Xiaowu had never been like him, carrying a hundred and ten pounds of big stones from outside the village to the village more than ten or twenty times a day. And this extra salary is not easy to earn, and now Shang Cheng's back is full of bruises and blood marks from the edges and corners of the stone, even if he sits in the shade under the corridor that the sun can't shine and waits for the money to be paid for dinner, there is still a hot pain on his back that has been crushed by the stone. It wasn't a piece of pain, it was a pain in patches across the entire spine, as if a flame was scorching the festering flesh......

Fortunately, Tian Xiaowu also knew what hard work he was doing, and he also knew that he was unwilling to talk more now, so he didn't talk to him anymore, and turned his head to look forward to a sumptuous dinner with the familiar contractor next to him.

Shang Cheng tentatively leaned towards the back of the house wall, the moment the wall touched his back, the pain like a knife and a pinprick from the wound made him can't help but take a breath of cool air, the person is like a cat with a tail stepped on, the consciousness has not come out, the body has been separated from the house wall and sat upright.

“…… It's still the fourth uncle's Lian'er, handsome, diligent hands and feet, and a good cook, I heard people say, and can read and break words......" Tian Xiaowu, who was chatting with people about which family's daughter in the Zhuangzi was seen as capable, turned his head and glanced at him strangely, and asked, "What's wrong?" ”

Shang Chengqiang endured the burning pain on his back, and tried to squeeze out a smile on his face: "...... It's okay. Accidentally put ......."

Are you alright? Before Shang Cheng finished speaking, Tian Xiaowu had already turned around and continued to talk to people about the daughters and daughters-in-law in Zhuangzi who were working one by one, and it was a big thing to have a little flesh wound, as long as they didn't hurt their muscles and bones, and broke their arms and legs, then they were all fine. However, after being interrupted by Shang Cheng, he also forgot the daughter of the Li Sijia who was still hanging in his mouth just now, and excitedly pointed his finger at a half-lying and half-sitting laborer on the ground, and asked: "Duan San, I heard that when you were working in Zhoujiazhuangzi the year before last, you also hooked up with a little widow, is there really such a thing?" ”

The man with his eyes half-open and half-closed, lazily replied: "There is such a thing......

As soon as the people around heard the man say this, they immediately became interested, and said, "Tell me all about how you hooked up with that little widow." Even those who were a little farther away craned their ears and kept tapping their eyes in this direction. The man was also encouraged by the enthusiasm of the crowd, half-sat up against the wall, opened his mouth and just said: "The autumn of the year before last, ......", suddenly a very majestic cough from the male protagonist's house came from the hall, which seemed to remind everyone what the occasion was here. With this cough, the laborers who had already gathered around the man also dispersed with all kinds of regretful and envious expressions. Tian Xiaowu ignored the prestige of the male protagonist's family, and still whispered with interest: "Third brother, let's hear it, how did you hook up with that little widow?" But the man paid no more attention to him, and leaned against the wall and closed his eyes.

Shang Cheng didn't notice what was happening around him, he was carefully tilting his head up, letting the back of his head against the wall, grabbing the stool with both hands, so that his back no longer had contact with the wall, and hanging his back in the air one by one, the dirty short coat made of coarse cloth would no longer rub against the backbone, and the festering skin and flesh were blown by the occasional breeze under the porch, and the cold and cold and quiet made him feel much better.

"Brother Monk," Tian Xiaowu, who was entangled in the story of the laborer and the little widow to no avail, and felt bored to sit down, turned his face and asked, "Has Uncle Seventeen told you that the matter of the imperial court is going to raise troops, is it true or false?" "He, like Shang Cheng, is also a registered villager in Huojiabao, but he is different from Shang Cheng, whether Shang Cheng can be added to the guard from the township is indispensable, but he is a heart to eat food and become a soldier.

"Uncle Seventeen didn't mention it, and I didn't ask." Shang Cheng said with his eyes closed. A cool breeze swept under the porch, extinguishing the flames burning on his spine, making his spines as cool as if they were soaked in ice water. He was so comfortable that he couldn't help but let out a **.

"I think it's true, otherwise why would Uncle Seventeen go to Guangliang one after another?" Tian Xiaowu said. It is not so much that he is discussing with Shang Cheng whether the matter of the imperial court raising troops is true or false, it is better to say that he is comforting himself. His dreams are that the imperial court will raise troops to crusade against the Tuqi people, so that the Governor's Mansion will select young men from the township to supplement the guards, and if he needs more manpower, maybe he will have the opportunity to serve as a soldier and eat food.

Shang Cheng was silent for a while, and said, "I heard that the guards put up a recruitment flag in Guangliang, why didn't you go over and join the army?" ”

Tian Xiaowu pouted. He'd heard the news, but could he go? Guangliang recruited the border army, the guard he wanted to vote for. The Border Guards are two different things.

"Aren't they all food and soldiers?" Shang Cheng changed his posture and lifted the hem of his gown and threw it on his shoulders, which made it more comfortable. One has worked in several places, and they are all village warriors, so he also knows a little about Tian Xiaowu. Tian Xiaowu's eldest brother and second brother each married a wicked mother-in-law, and when his parents died, the two sisters-in-law pleaded with his two brothers and took away most of his share of the property, not to mention the land, even the house only left him a broken thatched house that was about to collapse, but fortunately, he was an adult, and he had the strength to support himself by doing part-time jobs everywhere. But short-term odd jobs are not a real long-term livelihood after all, and there is no crop in the field to make a living, and he has no skills, so he can only barely mix and be half-fed for six or seven years, but he has barely saved a few money, let alone ask for a daughter-in-law, who is willing to marry his daughter to him and accompany him to endure hardships? That's why Tian Xiaowu moved the idea of joining the army......

"Why are you all eating food and becoming soldiers?" Tian Xiaowu said a little anxiously, "The border soldiers can't go to fight with the Tuqi people, what's the point of nesting on the propaganda platform of that big beacon tower every day?" In the summer, the sun is shining, the cold wind blows in the winter, and you have to report to the sentry commander when you pee. I ate moldy noodles, wore the clothes left over from the guards, and only changed my defense once in three and five years, so that I could come back and see the fresh face and look at the big girl and the little daughter-in-law...... This is also called 'all eating food and being soldiers'? ”

Shang Cheng was silent. What Tian Xiaowu said was good, and the treatment of the border army was indeed far inferior to that of the guards. It was something he had witnessed. He went on a long trip for Liu Laozhu, and sent military food to Beizheng Ruqi Village, which is a big village of the Yanshan Border Army, where a battalion of border troops is stationed, and those border soldiers are all ragged and sluggish, how do you look at it, how do you not look like a soldier, but more like a prisoner, and the food is even worse than him, a laborer, brown rice and rotten vegetables are thrown into a pot of stew, and you can smell a musty acid gas from afar...... It is said that the treatment of the border army in this kind of military village is quite good, those border troops who have been guarding the beacon tower for many years are even more miserable, the road is blocked by heavy snow in winter, and it is not uncommon to see things that cannot send grain, vegetables, firewood and grass for two or three months, it is said that 30 years ago, there was a propaganda police station in a winter without food for three months, when the grain was delivered, there were only two people left in the half of the soldiers of the half sentry, and the four eyes were red like wolves that had been hungry for a long time in winter...... It was because of that tragic incident that the imperial court revised the law and allowed the various beacon towers on the border to increase the amount of grain stored in the winter to forty days......

After being silent for a while, Shang Chengcai said, "The situation in the guard army is not necessarily much better. If you really want to fight with the Tu Tsu people, life and death on the battlefield will be a matter of moments......"

"Whatever!" Tian Xiaowu said indifferently, "Life and death are fateful, why do you want so much?" If there is a day when I go to the battlefield, it is my life to be hacked to death by the Turgis, and if they don't kill me but are hacked to death by me, it will be my life. I think that after three or five battles, as long as I don't die at the hands of the Tu Tsu people, even if I don't have merit, I can get a few rewards, and when I come back, I will find a matchmaker to talk about a family ......."

Shang Cheng couldn't help but laugh when he heard him say it so lightly, and was about to say where there would be such a good thing, but when the words came to his mouth and swallowed back, he changed his words and said, "Then I'll go back and ask Uncle Seventeen to help you ask in the county seat." He is familiar with the captain of the county guard, if there is still a vacancy in the guard, please ask him to help you talk about it in front of the captain. ”

Hearing Shang Cheng say this, Tian Xiaowu immediately smiled and thanked him repeatedly, and promised that as long as he could become a guard as he wished, he would give Shang Cheng his half-thatched house in Huojiabao as a thank you gift. Shang Cheng just smiled and didn't say anything.

Tian Xiaowu came to the uproar, said words of gratitude for a long time, and then pulled the topic to other things: "I heard that you fought with Captain Guan a few days ago, and you also picked up a few guards?" When he finished the work at hand and returned to Huojiabao, he heard from others that he had missed a good show, and the monk knocked down the guards from the officers to the soldiers, which made him beat his chest and frustrated for several days.

Shang Cheng didn't want to talk about it more, so he said lightly: "That's the captain who let me." If it's really on the battlefield, he like me can deal with two ...... with one hand" Usually in the game of wrestling, he is very easy to deal with like Captain Guan, just relying on his height and arm length can make Captain Guan unable to get close, even if he is close, Captain Guan is far less powerful than him, and he can be pushed away with two strokes; When the two wrestled that day, Captain Guan suffered a loss in strength, and he grabbed and pushed him, and easily folded his head. As for him winning those guards, it was just lucky, although those people watched him fall the captain, they still didn't take him seriously, they just wanted to tease him once, and there was no order in the formation when they surrounded him, so he was cleaned up one by one by three punches and two feet. If people were serious with him, those soldiers would be able to easily pick him up; As for the captain of the tube...... He really didn't care.

"I heard that they told you to be a soldier at that time, why didn't you go?"

Shang Cheng scratched his head. It's not a good question to answer. Why didn't he go to the army? With such an unclear identity, how dare he become a soldier? Besides, Captain Guan had already recognized him as the monk who was caught by himself at the city gate, and he still dared to go to Captain Guan's men to eat food? Even if he wants to be a soldier, he has to go to a distant place, he is not familiar with the place, and no one can figure out where he came from, so he can no longer worry about where he is here, even if he falls asleep, he is afraid that he will accidentally talk in his sleep and reveal his origin...... Alas, it would be nice if he could really reveal his origins, and I was afraid that no one would believe him, and what was even more terrible was that people not only did not take his truth as crazy, but also arrested him as a Turk, and at that time I was afraid that cutting off his head was a trivial matter......

Seeing Tian Xiaowu staring at himself with dumb eyes, Shang Cheng had no choice but to casually make up a set of rhetoric to perfunctory: "Before I came to join my relatives, I had a hexagram in Shangjing, and the hexagram said that I must not eat the emperor's grain in two years, otherwise I will invite disasters, and maybe I will have to die." ”

"Huh?" Tian Xiaowu immediately shut his mouth. This kind of thing that has to do with ghosts and gods is always the most awe-inspiring.

After saying these words for a long time, the matter of settling the wages of the laborers is almost over, and the sky is also a sunset, and the red clouds are like brocade, and the Dayan Mountain in the distance is like a light veil, gradually disappearing into the darkness and becoming hazy and blurred. Smoke rises from every house in the Zhuangzi, and the air is filled with the intoxicating smell of burning wheat stalks, and the smell of steamed buns and pancakes is also mixed in. The long-term servants of the lord's house had already put together several long wooden tables in the courtyard in front of the hall, and were placing several wooden basins the size of a basin on the table, in which were green and shiny seasonal vegetables, and white fat slivers flickered among the leaves, shimmering with seductive brilliance and enchanting aroma. The golden pancakes, the yellow steamed buns, are stacked on top of each other, like hills; There are also several wooden barrels under the porch on the side of the courtyard, and there are sticky porridge and fragrant liquor......