As Zhu Hao's memory in this life, there is a large pond covering an area of two or three acres in the backyard.

This house is located in the south of Anlu City, adjacent to the Han River, it is a large mansion with shops in the Sanjin Courtyard given by the official family, it is transformed into the official residence of ten thousand households in Xingzhongshu Province in the former Chaohenan Jiangbei and other places, covering a very wide area, the pattern is magnificent, the big pond is the lotus pond in the back garden, no one has taken care of it for a long time and has long been abandoned, Zhu Hao's mother took over a simple stroke, and now it is just an ordinary reservoir.

As the official carried bags of salt out of the warehouse and poured them into the pool in front of the people, Zhu Niang and Aunt Li's hearts were dripping blood.

Zhu Hao deliberately looked at the salt grains sprinkled on the ground, as he thought, the official salt was just like that in recent years, there were many impurities, not to mention snow white.

Even if others don't make trouble with this kind of salt, it is only a matter of time before people eat it.

There were more than 200 stones of salt left in the warehouse, all of which were poured into the pool, and the water was covered with white salt flowers, and more than 40,000 catties of salt could not be completely dissolved for a while.

Seeing this, Zhu Wanjian immediately asked the official to take a stick and probe into the pool water to stir to accelerate the dissolution of salt.

Zhu Niang and Aunt Li sat on the ground, looking at the pond full of salt flowers, wanting to cry without tears.

Zhu Wanjian walked up to the second daughter, with a bit of smugness in her expression: "Two brothers and sisters, I did this for your good!" It is said that women can't show their heads casually, especially the third brother and sister, you are a lady, you have been my Zhu family all your life, and every word and deed involves the face of the Zhu family, don't blame the brother for not helping...... Everything is in the interests of the family! ”

Zhu Niang did not answer.

She no longer had the heart to pay attention to this brazen second brother.

The neighbors who mixed into the backyard couldn't stand it anymore, and discussed: "If something happens to the shop, it's just a matter of not coming forward to help, and colluding with the government to embarrass the orphans and widows of the brothers' families, but they have the face to say that it is for the good of the family?" ”

"Yes, why is this kind of person so thick-skinned?"

If the onlookers are relatively neutral, their emotions are easy to be manipulated by others, but the neighbors who usually have deep contacts with Zhu Niang understand Zhu Niang as a person, and they support the orphans and widows in this courtyard at this time.

Zhu Wanjian couldn't hold her face, and shouted loudly: "Who chews the root of the tongue and talks nonsense? Zhu family affairs, when will it be your turn to talk nonsense? ”

Some people are indignant.

"If the shop is taken back by the Zhu family, no matter what I do in the future, I will not come to patronize it!"

"Yes, what kind of family is this kind of family that embarrasses orphans and widows? Stay away from ...... in the future."

……

……

An hour later.

Outside the large manor five miles northeast of Changshou County, hundreds of acres of fertile fields are bordered, the rice is rippling like blue waves, and the trees on both sides of the road are lush and green.

Under the shade of the trees, a carriage stopped in front of the vermilion lacquer gate, and Zhu Wanjian got off the car and entered the gate with the plaque of "Zhu Mansion" surrounded by several small servants, and went straight to the inner hall of the middle courtyard.

The inner hall is hung with a plaque of "loyalty, filial piety, festival and righteousness", below is a portrait of a military general wearing armor and holding a spear, and at the table, an old woman in her fifties is kneeling on the futon with her back to the door, holding a chain of Buddhist beads in her hand, closing her eyes and twisting the Buddhist beads while muttering something in her mouth.

"Mother, I'm back."

Zhu Wanjian walked behind the old woman, her face stretched, and her pride and excitement were overflowing.

The old woman opened her eyes, stopped what she was doing, got up and bowed respectfully to the portrait, and then turned to look at her son.

The old woman's face was graceful, but the years had carved marks on her face, and the slightest change in her expression wrinkled her face.

She is the de facto helmsman of the Zhu family now, Zhu Jiashi.

"The shop and salt have been successfully sealed?"

Zhu Jia's face was calm, as if it was none of his business.

Zhu Wanjian said with a smile: "It's not sealed, but the salt in the warehouse has been poured into the backyard pool." There is no salt to sell in the shop, and the creditor will definitely come to the door to collect it, and then we will instigate them to pay off the debts of the house that the court has rewarded the third child...... Infallible. ”

"Why is the good salt ruined?"

Zhu Jia's face was cold.

Zhu Wanjian was originally invited to take credit, but after listening to his mother's words, he hurriedly explained: "Mother, isn't our purpose to recover the shop and the Sanjin mansion, plus the dozens of acres of land that the old three families have outside the city?" What if the salt arrives at the county government and the third daughter-in-law finds a way to get it back? This plan is a ...... for the soldiers."

"That's it!"

Zhu Jiashi stretched out his hand to interrupt his son's nonsense, "You went to seal the shop with the people from the government, and no one commented?" ”

Zhu Wanjian was a little annoyed: "Why didn't anyone say it?" They are all talking about our Zhu family's embarrassment of orphans and widows, and they also say that the third family is a festival woman from the imperial court, and it is unkind and unjust for the family to do this......

But the third son had a bad head, and said that he would destroy all the salt, so he borrowed a donkey from the slope and agreed to come down. If someone hadn't said anything, he wouldn't have made this decision. ”

"Hmm."

Zhu Jiashi bowed slightly, and did not care about it anymore.

Zhu Jiashi looked up at the military general on the portrait, and his expression was gloomy: "If the third child knows under the spring, will he stand on the side of Wei Niang today?" ”

Zhu Wanjian said with a straight face: "The third child is filial piety, and he will definitely support his mother's decision, and besides, how can a rigid person like him let his wife and concubine show their heads outside?" If the spring had known, he would have been grateful to his mother. ”

Zhu Jiashi thought for a moment, "Why did the third child take the initiative to ask Ying to go to the north to quell the rebellion, and finally ended up with no bones? Is it not good to stay in Anlu with peace of mind and be a hundred households?

"Now that your father is bedridden, your brother is stranded in Beijing and does not return, you don't want to forge ahead, and your younger brother is bent on taking the road of the imperial examination, who will complete my Zhu family's mission?"

Zhu Wanjian's eyes widened: "Mother, my father is a thousand households in Jinyi, why did he move his family to this small place in Anlu in the capital?" You've always been talking about the mission of the family, what kind of mission does our family shoulder? ”

Zhu Jiashi did not answer.

"Mother, if you don't say it, forget it, why do you always blame me for not wanting to make progress? What's wrong with me? Isn't it all I take care of the shop and the grange at home? There are more than 100 taels of silver per month! ”

Zhu Wanjian said proudly.

A sneer appeared at the corner of Zhu Jia's mouth: "One hundred taels per month, of which fifty or sixty taels are paid by tenants, and another fifty taels are paid by the third daughter-in-law. Don't wait to take back the third shop, even the fifty taels of income are gone. ”

"Who said it, it is the good feng shui given by the imperial court to the third shop, located in the commercial center of the south of the city, and there are many wealthy families around, so there are huge profits...... She can pay 50 taels a month to her family, who believes that she will not hide it privately? ”

"Besides, why don't you say that your eldest grandson is out drinking? There are not a hundred taels of money that flow out of his hands every month, but seventy or eighty, right? How do you get used to it? My family has five rabbit cubs, and the total monthly use is less than a fraction of his. ”

Zhu Wanjian shouted and retorted.

Zhu Jiashi said angrily: "Your eldest brother is in Beijing, he ......"

was about to say something, but when the words came to his lips, Zhu Jiashi stopped abruptly.

Zhu Wanjian said disdainfully: "My brother is in the capital, how can he also be a deputy Qianhu of Jinyiwei, and he will inherit the position of Jinyiwei Qianhu of his future father, so you are going to be the grandson of Changfang, right?"

"Well, if you finish what you have entrusted you with, it will not be here to hinder your eyes...... Mother, you continue to worship the Buddha, and your son retires! ”

Zhu Wanjian left straight away with anger.

Zhu Jiashi looked at his son's back, and there was a sadness in his eyes that hatred of iron could not become steel.

……

……

Rice shop backyard.

The crowd has dispersed.

Zhu Niang and Aunt Li were holding shovels, trying to get out the undissolved salt in the pool, and her sister Zhu Ting was helping to tie the shovel to a long bamboo pole.

Zhu Hao stood on the rockery in the wide backyard, silently observing the topography below and judging the direction of height and height.

"Xiao Hao, come over and get salt."

Zhu Niang saw her son stunned and stunned in a high place, and couldn't help urging.

At this time, Zhu Hao had already used two questions to learn from his mother about the situation he faced after his newbirth.

May of the ninth year of Zhengde!

Anlu Prefecture!

An Lu Naixing Wangfu is located, nine years of Zhengde, and the future Jiajing Emperor Zhu Houxi is the same age as himself, at the age of seven.

With this message, he immediately understood what he was working towards.

However, the most urgent thing at the moment is to solve the current crisis in the small courtyard.

Zhu Hao walked to the big pool and looked at it, there was indeed a lot of salt at the bottom of the water that had not yet been dissolved, but these salts had been mixed with a large amount of silt, and even if they were fished out, it was difficult to remove impurities.

"Mother, with such a fishing method, even if you can fish out one or two percent of salt, it is not clean...... To whom is this impurity-ridden salt sold? At that time, if someone eats something wrong, I'm afraid that the money from selling salt won't be able to cover the cost of soup and medicine, right? ”

The question raised by Zhu Hao made Zhu Niang's last hope disillusioned.

As his son said, taking out salt and selling it will not help foreign debts, and may lead to a greater crisis.

Aunt Li approached: "Young Master Hao, since you know this, why do you still want people to pour salt into the pool?" ”

Zhu Hao said: "Mother, auntie, if you believe me, just listen to me, find someone to renovate the backyard, find a way to refine the salt, and manage the new salt to be whiter and purer than before......"

Zhu Niang looked at her son in surprise: "Xiaohao, what are you talking about?" ”

The five-year-old little Zhu Ting next to her looked at Zhu Hao with a look of adoration, "Brother, is it really okay?" ”

"Mother, I have seen a method in an ancient book that can purify salt ......"

"Where did you read the ancient books? How can you be literate if you are not enlightened? ”

“…… That's right, the book is full of pictures, describing the salt-making process in detail, and you can understand it at a glance...... Mother, don't care about the details, now we are dead horses as live horse doctors. ”

"But...... Refining salt requires firewood and utensils, and we can't afford it. ”

"For the time being, we don't need that, we'll use the scorching sun...... It's the height of summer now, and salt will crystallize in a few days, but you need to find someone to divide the backyard into three large pools and twelve small pools, which are connected to each other by a diversion trough, and now go and call Uncle Zhong and Yu San to ......"

In Zhu Hao's incomplete memory, there are actually helpers in this shop, who help carry grain and salt bags on weekdays, as well as do some chores, and are paid according to their work.

Uncle Zhong and Yu San were originally wharf husbands, and they came to the grain store from time to time to help, and they had a good relationship with Zhu Hao's family.

"Madam, look ......"

Aunt Li had no idea, so she could only look at Zhu Niang.

Zhu Niang's expression was solemn, and she nodded slowly: "Drying salt is indeed the last resort, even if the salt out has impurities, it is stronger than the salt fished out, if it doesn't work, we will take it to the city and sell it to farmers in the mountains......"