Chapter 1: Seongnam (4)

The rain was shining brightly, and most people were smiling when they looked at the blue sky. Especially those strong men who took the risk to stay on the boat to help, the thought that they would be carrying a bag full of rice home today, their hearts were full of happiness and pride. Five buckets of rice, even if you are full every day, it is enough for the whole family to eat for half a month. But no one spoils food like that, and it's still summer, and the wilderness outside the city has shepherd's cabbage, bitter herbs, snow red, and yellow flowers. Kick out the women and children of the family, and bring back several large baskets of fresh wild vegetables every day. According to the ratio of five portions of vegetables to one part of rice, plus some small fish and shrimp fished out of the canal, you can make delicious vegetable dumplings, enough for the whole family to eat sweetly for months.

When unloading tomorrow, it would be nice if there was another rain like this. Someone prayed silently to the clear sky. If you can earn another five buckets of rice tomorrow, and dig a few vole holes in the field in the fall, you may be able to survive this winter! By next year, at the beginning of spring next year, won't the emperor Lao Tzu, the bastard who abandoned the wilderness and entered the city, end? With strength and idle fields in the countryside, who would let their wives and children starve?

Diametrically opposed to everyone's face was Chengbo, the housekeeper of the Zhou Mansion. The old fellow had sat down on the deck since the last thunderclap sounded, his face as pale as death. Although the sudden rainstorm did not overturn the ships, the cargo on each ship was more or less wet. Thinking of the solemn expression on his face when the master ordered him to come to the dock to unload the goods, he longed to plunge into the canal. More than 20 large ships, even if only the outermost layer of grain and grass bags on each ship is damp, it will affect the number of nearly 100,000 catties. He simply can't afford it, and he really can't afford it.

Seeing that the old butler was reluctant to fulfill his promise, the strong men who were helping on the ship slowly gathered around. The old butler was not the only one who was shouting and praying for help, the old guy was pretending to be stupid, and the bastard who looked like a vendor on the ship was not sick or sick, and everyone couldn't let him escape.

Realizing that the momentum was not right, the overseers began to slowly move closer to the butler Chengbo's side. They carried either leather whips or wooden sticks in their hands, and as soon as someone gave an order, they were ready to use their hands at the same time to knock the poor ghosts who could not open their eyes into the river.

Just as the two sides were tense, the head of the vendor sitting in the cabin took the initiative to come out. first made a gesture to the group, and then helped Chengbo with one hand in the crowd, patted the other party's shoulder, and comforted loudly: "Hey, it's not a big deal!" There are unforeseen circumstances, and it has nothing to do with your old man! Hurry up and arrange for someone to unload the grain, and tomorrow find an open space to re-dry the rain-soaked ones. My master will send someone to handle the wet rice, you can rest assured! ”

Chengbo's eyes rolled in his sockets, vaguely proving that he was still a living thing. "Zhang, Zhang Gong is saying, master, master will not ......" He hesitated to ask, but was quickly interrupted by a trader surnamed Zhang.

"I said no, no. You don't have to ask! ”

"Ahh Oh! Oh! Villain, little old man understands! "Chengbo, the housekeeper of the Zhou Mansion, was so shocked that he was reprimanded, and his spirit instantly recovered a lot." Little Lao'er is going to hire someone, this is going to hire someone! You take care of it, you take care of it! ”

"Not anymore today!" The trader surnamed Zhang waved his hand very magnificently, as if there were thousands of troops standing behind him. "Since there is a lot of wind and rain today, it must be that we have not arranged the time to unload the grain. Let the grain sit on the ship for a day, and tomorrow morning, and start work before the sun rises. You first give everyone the reward that the old and young masters deserve, and people risk their lives to help us build food, we can't be untrustworthy! ”

"Hey, hey, little old man understands. Little old man understands! Chengbo's face finally showed a little blood, and he kept nodding his head. He turned around and beckoned to the family, opened the lacquered cloth on one of the ships he was on, and carried out the bags of polished rice, and distributed them to the helpers on the spot.

"Don't send wet rice, you can't hold it. Give them dry rice, and the money will also pick up the meat, don't send the white money of the past two years! It's all on my account! The trader surnamed Zhang waved his hand again and intervened loudly. (Note 1)

He was so honest and trustworthy, but it made the strong men who helped feel embarrassed, and they gathered around and said: "Wet rice is also in it, and wet rice is also in it." Anyway, with a bucket, it can't be short. Go home and put it in front of the windowsill to dry for a few days, and it's dry! ”

"Brothers, you don't have to be polite. What should be sent, Zhang can't let everyone suffer! The vendor smiled and bowed politely to the crowd. If you think that Zhang is still credible, please come early tomorrow to help unload the rice. According to the salary promised by Chengbo before the rain today, let's start early and finish early! What do you think? ”

"Trustworthy, trustworthy!" The overjoyed strong men didn't say yes.

"So let's set the time?" The vendor surnamed Zhang thought about it for a while, and tentatively asked for everyone's opinions, "Is it early?" What about the time? ”

"It's already dawn!" The brawny men responded.

Regardless of whether Cheng Bo was in pain or not, after finalizing the time with everyone, the trader surnamed Zhang commanded all the families to initiate wages for the strong men who had helped. The family members obviously respected him very much, and they didn't object to it, so they honestly removed the bags of rice that had been wet by the rain, and took out the dry polished rice from the middle of the cargo ship, and gave it to everyone one by one. The strong men didn't expect that there would be so much income today, and they couldn't find furniture to hold rice for a while. The trader surnamed Zhang smiled, and ordered someone to find a large pile of brand-new straw bags and lend them to everyone without hesitation.

"You're a good man!" Receiving the favor of the vendors, the strong men thanked them with smiling faces. The trader surnamed Zhang shook his head and replied in a low voice, "It's not my favor." It was the head of my family who said that no one should be rich or unkind. I'm just doing what my head says! Don't dare to deceive the lord and ask for credit! ”

"Then the head of your family must also be a great good man! I don't know which living bodhisattva it is? The strong men carried the rice bags and gratefully asked the names of the good people.

"My master's surname is Li. It is the Pushan Gong of the current dynasty. Inquire and you will know who my master is! The trader surnamed Zhang smiled, very proud of the head of the family.

"Pushan Gong! That's a great official! "The strong men have no concept of knighthood at all, anyway, they think that the other party's head of the family must be higher than the county commander, so they want to praise them with all possible words. The trader surnamed Zhang had obviously heard too much of this flattery, and he didn't stop it, but smiled and waved his hand again, and walked slowly to the cabin.

Cheng Bo, the housekeeper of the Zhou Mansion, was already sweating in distress, and he didn't dare to question the decision of the trader surnamed Zhang in front of everyone, but now he finally saw the opportunity, and hurriedly chased after him, hunched over and reminded: "Why do you want to give new rice to these poor ghosts?" One person will be rewarded with thirty or fifty wen, and I believe they don't dare to be verbose! Manager Zhang, if the lord knows about this......" He looked behind him, trying to keep his voice to a minimum.

"What the lord needs most at the moment is people's hearts, what is a few buckets of rice, a hundred and ten hanging money? There are ones in Liyang City! The trader surnamed Zhang changed his politeness and svenness in front of everyone, and suddenly made a straight face and scolded coldly.

"You're old, you're right. Small, lowly and short-sighted! The housekeeper of the Zhou Mansion was so frightened that he shuddered again, and hurriedly accompanied the smiling face to self-examine.

As they spoke, the two of them had already entered the inner cabin, so they were no longer afraid of being heard. The trader surnamed Zhang glanced at the housekeeper and shook his head with a sigh. "You idiot, how can you drill into the eyes of money? These fifty or so men are not even afraid of the lightning and thunder just now, if they can be recruited into the army, aren't they all good hands? A few buckets of rice, a few buckets of rice for a person's heart, dozens of strong men, isn't the lord still unaware of this account? Go busy with what you should be busy with! Don't patronize money-saving food. Remember to put the rain-soaked rice in a separate place tomorrow, dry it and send me a letter. I will send an official ship over and send the wet rice directly to Liaodong! ”

"No!" The butler leaned his back against the cabin door, his fists clenched.

"Come on, if you pretend, you can be a civilian staff member at most! Can't pretend to be a general! The trader surnamed Zhang pursed his lips and sneered in a low voice.

"Don't you want to make you happy?" Cheng Bo, the housekeeper of the Zhou Mansion, took out his best skills and said with a salivating face.

"You've arranged things properly, I'm naturally happy!" The trader surnamed Zhang snorted coldly and continued: "Who was the young man who took the lead in helping on the boat just now?" The hands and feet are so neat! You help me to find him carefully, this son will definitely not be in the pool in time! (Buy out the work, please support the genuine)

"You've got a crush on him?" The butler groaned slightly, then responded with a smile. "That's a blessing for his boy. I asked him where he came from this morning. He said that his surname was Cheng, a Ping'en person, and he deserted to Guantao to join his relatives! ”

"Hmm!" The trader surnamed Zhang stroked his beard lightly, "Listening to this son's words, it seems that he has read a book?" ”

"I've been in a private school for a few days!" The butler smiled and teased what he knew, "I also paid attention to him just now, and he seems to have the strength of his hands and feet." With a casual drag, more than 200 catties of rice bags can be pulled up. ”

"I saw it too!" The trader surnamed Zhang nodded lightly and praised the housekeeper's observation ability, "You want to find a way to get him an errand at the county office, don't tell him who helps." Let him know when it's time to hire someone! ”

Cheng Bo, the housekeeper of the Zhou Mansion, hurriedly patted his chest and promised, "Lin County's order over there, there must be no problem." At present, when the army is in chaos, it is natural to arrange a few more errands. It's just ......" He thought about it, and then hesitated to remind: "Even this son seems to have some woman's kindness, and he may not be of great use." I just saw that he was saving the fish that fell on the deck, tens of thousands of them fell, and he was stupid to save a few of them, and I don't know if he was stupid or too self-conscious! ”

The trader surnamed Zhang glared at the housekeeper and interrupted the person's nonsense for the third time, "You don't understand!" He put away his smile and explained solemnly: "This young man is bold, careful, and compassionate. In this troubled world, it is not the ruthless and ruthless people who can be of great use. The more compassionate he is, the more open-minded he is at critical moments. What is most lacking around the lord is this kind of talent. You take care of him first, and when I need it, I will naturally focus on promoting him! ”

"No. Subordinates obey! Cheng Bo, the housekeeper of the Zhou Mansion, gave a military salute to the merchant surnamed Zhang with a hippie smile, and then turned around and walked out of the cabin. As soon as he saw the daylight, he had that Maitreya Buddha-like smile on his face again, patted the man's shoulder, beat the man's chest, and his eyes were full of kindness and love.

Seeing Cheng Xiaojiu and Wang Ermao each carrying a straw bag at the back of the line to receive wages, he smiled and beckoned, calling the two of them to him together. Then he turned around and whispered to the family: "These two little strong men did our family a great favor just now. Especially this little brother Cheng, who was the first to rush to the lacquered cloth of the boat cover, contributed a lot. The remuneration of the two of them was doubled, ten buckets of polished rice per person, and two hangs of meat were good, and they were not to be deducted. Our Zhou family can't let good people suffer, you must remember! ”

The family members did not know where the sun came out today, and even the old butler, who had always been known for his stinginess, became so generous that he bowed his eyes and agreed loudly. "Alas! I'll make a note of it! ”

"Can you take it, do you want someone to help you get it home?" Turning his face to Cheng and Wang again, the old housekeeper asked kindly.

"Take it, take it. If you can take it, don't dare to bother your old man! Wang Ermao was stunned by the great happiness and stammered in response.

"What about you?" didn't hear Cheng Xiaojiu's thanks, and the housekeeper Chengbo was a little unwilling.

"Thank you for your concern. The younger generation can take it. If the old man is of any use to us in the future, he will do so. But if you can, you will never dare to shirk! Cheng Xiaojiu was dizzy for a while before he was convinced that he was not dreaming, so he secretly pinched himself and pretended to be very calm to salute the other party. After straightening his waist, he staggered suddenly, stumbled a few steps, and leaned on Wang Ermao's shoulder before finally standing firm.

"I'm a person whose loess is buried in my neck, how can I have so many things!" Cheng Bo smiled and signaled that Cheng Xiaojiu didn't have to worry too much. The reason why I take care of the two of them is completely out of the love of the elders for the younger generations.

With his instructions, the family members naturally filled the rice bags of Cheng and Wang with as much refined grain as possible, anyway, the rice belonged to the owner's family, and most of the buckets and half the buckets could not fall into their hands. Cheng and Wang thanked them again, and then went to the people's house by the canal as fast as they could, borrowed a chicken cart, and ran home with the day's harvest.

"Boy, you're pretty good!" Looking at the young man's disappearing back, the trader surnamed Zhang, who had been secretly observing him, scolded with a smile. His arms instantly strengthened, and his muscles bulged faintly along the sleeves, as if he had firmly controlled the fate of the young man.

In troubled times, it is rare to find talents. But if they are not for my use, they will be killed for me. This is another command from his father-in-law, and Mr. Zhang remembers it very firmly in his heart.

Note 1: The meat is a five-baht coin minted by Emperor Wen of Sui, which is full of weight and high copper content. The white money was minted by Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty, because it was mixed with too much lead, so the money was white, and the people were unwilling to accept it.

Alcohol's note: Xiaoyou's new book "Shang Yun" needs everyone's support, please take the time to read it.