The first year of Zhongping, mid-August.

Fierce fighting between the Han army and the Yellow Turban Army continued, especially in most areas at the junction of the two prefectures, as well as in Jinan and Beihai counties in the north, with hundreds of thousands of soldiers of the two armies engaged in bloody battles every day, large or small, and millions of displaced refugees poured into Xuzhou and Runan, and the more remote coastal area of Langya County was also full of homeless and desolate displaced people.

As soon as the news of the Han court's cancellation of the party ban and the release of all the detainees of the party reached Langya, as many as 30,000 Qingyan refugees also entered the jurisdiction of Xiahe City.

In the simple and elegant study of the county Yadongyuan, Cheng Bing saw Liu Cun, who was in the dust, bowing respectfully to him, kindly stepped forward to help him, and carefully looked at Liu Cun, who had been tanned, and asked with concern: "Why is Zijian so haggard?" ”

"My lord, the students have been at the beach for half a month, leading the people to build salt pans, and laying the foundation before the arrival of the big waves and winds, otherwise it will be abandoned this year, and once the midwinter season comes, it will not be able to go to the sea at all."

Liu Cun replied truthfully, from the beginning he called himself a student in the face of officials, and many people began to laugh at him behind his back, but over time everyone got used to it, and Liu Cun was generous, known for his benevolence and righteousness, and his reputation for knowledge, courtesy, generosity and benevolence slowly spread, and gradually won the favor and respect of the general public, including the official gentry.

Recently, there has even been news: Liu Xi, the monarch of Langya, has been discussing with his subordinate Wenwu, and is ready to allocate a recommendation quota to recommend Liu Cun, who has a generous personality, magnanimity and benevolence, is willing to give, and leads thousands of displaced people to open up wasteland and cut down wood production to save themselves.

Cheng Bing listened to Liu Cun's words, nodded with satisfaction and returned to sit on the low couch, and motioned for Liu Cun to sit on the mat on the side: "Zijian, this official has no choice but to call you in a hurry, it's pure helplessness!" In the past few months, your Zhuangzi in the north of the city has sheltered thousands of displaced people, using measures such as cultivating wasteland, building Zhuangzi, digging mud in the mountains, digging up canals and planting trees, etc., to provide rice and grain for the displaced people, and insist on giving soup and relief in the north of the city every day, with countless living people and immeasurable merits, making an example for all the rich gentry families in the county, and winning the heartfelt gratitude of countless people, so this official summoned you this time and bothered you again, and I feel guilty in my heart! ”

Liu Cun, who had just knelt down and sat down, hurriedly bowed his hand and bent over: "The adult has a heart for the people, and the student only does something within his bounds, so he should not be praised by the adult. ”

Cheng Bing was very happy, and lowered his voice to make a request: "Zijian, this official wants to buy 100,000 rice grains from the granary set up by the Mi family in Xuzhou in the East China Sea to help the victims, but the treasury is embarrassed and unable to do anything, and I also ask Zijian to help me." ”

Liu Cun was taken aback: "My lord, if you take out 10,000 yuan of rice and grain money, the students may be able to make it up by gritting their teeth, and no matter how much they can't do!" ”

Cheng Bing laughed: "Zi is in a hurry, listen to the arrival of the official, remember the set of ingenious flowers and birds and wine utensils you asked the official to present the monarch two months ago?" ”

Liu Cun nodded stunned: "Student remembers." ”

Cheng Bing's voice was lowered: "In the middle of last month, Mi Zizhong brought a generous gift to Kaiyang Wangcheng to celebrate the birthday of the monarch, the monarch was happy, took out the exquisite wine utensils you offered, and entertained Mi Zizhong and other seven heroes in the world, everyone saw the set of exquisite wine utensils that were as white as jade depicting flowers and birds, and immediately marveled, suspecting that it was made in heaven, Mi Zizhong indulged in the treasure light for a long time and couldn't extricate himself, bluntly said that the set of green jade wine utensils you gave him has been called a peerless treasure, every time he took out the banquet guests, the guests were fascinated by the eyes, Who knew that when he saw the king's set of brilliant drinking utensils, he knew that there were such luxurious treasures in the world, and he said bluntly in public in a trance: If he could ask for a set of tribute to his old father, who was addicted to alcohol, he was willing to pay two hundred gold rewards. ”

Liu Cun suddenly realized, and then his face was full of embarrassment, and he seemed to struggle for a long time before he bit his cheek and said: "My lord knows the anecdote that circulates among the craftsmen of my Han pottery industry, looking at today's workshop, only the pottery kiln in the student's house and the pottery kiln of the Min family in Ruyang, there have been two crystal white utensils, which are purely given by the sky, there is no one in ten thousand, and it can be met but not sought!" Thanks to the blessing of the heavens, the students occasionally found several sets of painted pottery in the kiln a few months ago, and since then they have opened the kiln hundreds of times in a row, and they have never encountered painted pottery again. ”

Speaking of this, Liu Cun swallowed his saliva vigorously, and let out a long sigh in Cheng Bing's expectant gaze: "There is indeed a set of treasures in the student's home, and it is also a painted white jade wine set that came out of the same kiln as those two sets of treasures a few months ago, but the style is slightly different, if ...... If it can be helpful to adults, students are willing to return immediately and bring it to adults! ”

Cheng Bing, who is eight feet tall, stood up suddenly, helped Liu Cun up from the low couch under his crotch in one step, and nodded again and again with excitement on his face: "Zijian is high and bright, and it lives up to my expectations, and this official will definitely make up for it!" ”

Liu Cun bent down respectfully: "Master Xie cultivates, and the student will ride back on horseback, and strive to send it to the adult as soon as possible." ”

"Good, good! It's hard work! Cheng Bing held Liu Cun's hands and shook them again and again.

In less than half an hour, Liu Cunce entered the manor in the north of the city, found Lu Ping, who was directing hundreds of young men to crush the wide field with stones, and took him to the ten-zhang high locust tree and asked in a low voice: "Has the Mi family looked for you recently?" ”

Lu Ping shook his head: "Since sending someone to send a hundred blacksmiths and 20,000 catties of pig iron last month, the Mi family has never looked for the small one, and the shopkeeper of the Mi family's branch in the city, Mi Feng, has met with the small one almost every day, and has never mentioned anything else, Lord, what happened?" ”

Liu Cun shook his head, pondered for a moment and asked, "If you are the head of the Mi family, would you like to take out two hundred gold to test whether I have mastered the skills of making painted pottery?" ”

Lu Ping was taken aback, but after thinking about it, he said: "The Mi family is rich in the world, it is rumored that the Mi family has as many as 30,000 diners alone, shops are all over the Han states, and various workshops in Donghai County stretch for dozens of miles, with dividends of hundreds of millions a year. ”

Liu Cun gradually understood: "It's okay, if you have money to spare recently, buy more green bricks and gray tiles and shipbuilding wood from local merchants and major workshops, pile them in Zhuangzi and store them, and when you have the opportunity, you will put all the newly repaired parapet walls of Zhuangzi with bricks, as long as you don't exceed the imperial court customization, all the houses are divided into workshop areas and residential areas according to my requirements, all built with green bricks and gray tiles, it is estimated that we will use it soon, in addition to the 2,000 acres of land that has been planted with beans around it, there is a lot of clay in the north of Huangdao Mountain, They are all excellent raw materials for making pottery and firing cement powder, and they must be used as soon as possible. ”

"Rest assured, the little one has already bought the thorny hill north of the Zodiac Mountain, and when he turns around, he will ask someone to build an ash kiln and dig clay to mine stone, and he will definitely do it beautifully." Lu Ping is becoming more and more capable.

At noon the next day, Liu Cun held a set of white, yellow and green painted ceramic wine utensils that his son Liu Zhen had successfully imitated, and respectfully sent it to Cheng Bing's bookcase.

After Cheng Bing carefully opened the delicate and luxurious sandalwood box, he was so excited that he gasped for air, stretched out his trembling hands, took out the long-necked wine jug with a unique shape, and repeatedly looked at the flower and bird patterns on it that were still immature, looked at it and looked at it, touched and touched, and reluctantly put it into the box for a long time, and nodded heavily to Liu Cun with a long sigh: "Zijian, go back and wait for the news, if nothing else, before the end of the year, you will be summoned by the monarch as Maocai, if the monarch adopts the official's advice, It is likely that you will be appointed as the commander of Xiahe County. ”

Liu Cun was extremely shocked: "This is ...... My lord, how is this possible? ”

Cheng Bingzheng said: "What's impossible? According to the ancestral system of the imperial court and the rules of the county, the monarch of the feudal county has the right to appoint and dismiss the officials of the counties under his rule, and only need to report to the imperial court afterwards. Just ......"

Speaking of this, Cheng Bing's narrow eyes showed a little guilt: "Zijian, you have always supported this official, and this official can't be ashamed of you, to put it in my heart, this county order that governs a radius of 100 miles is not good!" Since the Yellow Turban Rebellion, people of insight in various states and counties have been deeply worried about the chaos in the world, and have resigned and retired for various reasons, and the eunuchs in the court have controlled the government and bewildered the saints, making the entire Han officialdom dark, and the panic is unbearable, and the taxes of the court are becoming heavier and heavier, and the punishment is becoming more and more severe. ”

"Although the situation of my Langya country is slightly better, but in the past few months, it has also been full of displaced people, riots are frequent, and there are several people around the monarch who have quietly returned to their hometowns, and the counties in the north of the kingdom, Dongwu, and Gumu have been ruined by the yellow turban mob for more than half a year, and almost no one wants to go to the above three counties as officials! The official has self-knowledge, to do scholarly poetry, to get some scripture interpretations or something to make a living, but by no means to be a magistrate, and the county order of the official is only temporarily received, after all, it is still to return to the monarch's side, but for several months no one is willing to take over, now the displaced people are surging, the wilderness is mourning, and no one is willing to take over this burden, and the county has been in deficit for many years, and the treasury officials are empty of four walls, if there is an accident, what is good? Urgent! ”

Cheng Bing sighed and shook his head weakly, he was not in the mood to continue, sighed for a long time and slowly turned out of the bookcase, approached the nervous Liu Cun, patted his arm gently, looked into his eyes and said sincerely: "Zijian, although the official does not have a deep friendship with you, but the official knows that you have a splendid chest, it is definitely not a thing in the pool, but there is just a lack of an opportunity, now this county order is very tricky, it is full of hardships and dangers for others, and I am afraid that if you don't do it well, you may still have to worry about your life, so you are afraid to avoid it, but for Zijian, it is not an opportunity!" As for how to choose, Zijian decides for himself, no matter what happens in the future, this official will treat Zijian as a friend. ”

Liu Cun was really moved: "I implore the adults to make it clear, what do students need to do?" ”

Cheng Bing smiled happily: "You don't need anything, just wait for the news at home, by the way, if it is feasible, then send the official a set of 'King Kong pottery' tea set, my mother likes it very much, two months ago, the official brought back the set of King Kong pottery tea set sent by your head of the family to pay homage to my mother, my mother was overjoyed and cherished it very much, who knew that my mother wrote a few days ago, and said sadly that she broke a cup and did not succeed. ”

Liu Cun took a step back and respectfully bowed: "My lord, the students will go up the mountain to select materials when they go back, and they will definitely send a unique set of tea sets to adults within half a month!" ”

Cheng Bing was pleasantly surprised, raised his hand and thanked him solemnly: "Thank you Zijian first, this official will definitely report Zijian's high righteousness to his mother in the letter!" ”

In the afternoon of the next day, Liu Cun, who had returned to the Zhushan Pass, stopped, sat on the stone under the scorching sun, and silently overlooked the neat and wide rows of red brick and green tile workshops at the foot of the mountain, the neatly arranged houses on both sides of the river, and the 500 acres of rice ears that began to glow with golden light and thousands of acres of green fields.

In the half year since he came here, Liu Cun has lived a heavy day every day, but now that he looks back, he suddenly finds that everything in the past is like an illusory scene at his fingertips.

At this time, Liu Cun didn't know how to describe his mood, a little joy, a little satisfaction, a little worry, a little fear...... It seemed more heavy, so heavy that he couldn't breathe.

"Lord—"

As soon as Liu Cunmeng turned around, he saw more than thirty young people who were logging down respectfully and saluted him, and quietly took a long breath and stood up: "Isn't it stipulated that you don't have to start work at noon?" How did it come up? ”

The young men looked at each other, and a middle-aged man with a stocky figure and thick arms stepped forward to salute: "Lord, the villagers are talking about the kindness of the Lord every day, everyone is unwilling to rest, even the women are rushing to work, and always warn the children who can enter the Mongolian school and study at home not to forget the kindness of the Lord and the mother, and the younger one also told the brothers that if you are cheating and cheating, you are not worthy of being a man, so as long as you have the strength, you are willing to do more." ”

Liu Cun's eyes were moist, he turned to the sea behind him and looked at it for a long time, and when he turned around again, it had returned to normal: "The noon sun is too poisonous, find a shady place to rest, I have received everyone's wishes, but I don't want to see everyone tired and tired every day, what do people live for?" In addition to working in exchange for food and remuneration, they also need to take care of the family, honor their parents, need a wife, need children, need to live comfortably, need to multiply, and happily watch their children and grandchildren pass on from generation to generation. ”

A group of men heard the red-eyed eyes, and Liu Cun muttered emotionally: "I don't know why there are so many words today, but these are the words in my heart, although we have never spoken to each other, but I have never regarded you as slaves in my heart, but I have regarded you as my own fathers, fellow villagers, brothers and sisters, whether you believe it or not, this is what I say in my heart, alas!" Forget it, let's go and rest, I just came back from the city, I'm tired, and I'm going home. ”

After Liu Cun finished speaking, he jumped down and led the horse down the mountain slowly, without scheming to look back again, not knowing that all the men knelt down at his back, their faces were full of tears, crying like children.

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