Zhu Ming didn't know anything about Kaifeng, he was busy studying roasted tea with his father.

"The roasted tea stove in the video seems to be built so high." Zhu Ming compared his crotch.

Zhu Guoxiang bent down to experience the feel: "Don't guess, how to come easily, slowly adjust the height in the future." ”

Zhu Ming recalled the video of roasting tea he saw on the Internet and said: "I remember that the pot used for stir-frying tea seems to be shallower than the stir-fry pot. ”

Zhu Guoxiang has never operated it, only knows a little theory, and guessed: "The shallow pot may be more susceptible to heating, and the tea leaves in the pot are heated more evenly." ”

In fact, that kind of shallow pot is called "wide pot", which was only invented during the Anti-Japanese War. Moreover, deep pots and shallow pots have their own advantages, such as Longjing tea, which is not suitable for stir-frying in shallow pots.

A mason, building a stove.

The three frying tea pots should be put together, and the pots have not yet been made, and they have been customized by a blacksmith.

After watching for a while, Zhu Ming walked to the steaming tea room next to him, and there were already tea pickers returning with tea leaves.

"Such tender tea leaves are also picked?" Zhu Ming couldn't help but reach out and touch it.

The tea worker hurriedly stopped: "Village chief, you can't touch it, and if you touch it, you won't be able to sell it at a price." These are all wax tea buds, and only a little can be picked every year. The price of one pound of wax tea can be worth more than ten pounds of first-class tea. I can't touch my hands, so I can only pinch them with my fingernails, and I have to throw them into the water to soak them. ”

Zhu Ming didn't do it again, the tea worker is a professional.

Zhu Guoxiang also came to watch the steamed tea, and said while watching: "Last year, I planned to tidy up the waste tea mountain, but it was delayed because of the construction of water conservancy. But the waste tea mountain can also pick tea, pick some casually, and use it for roasted tea experiments. As for the tea mountain in Daming Village, it is still steamed in the old way. Wait for the roasted tea method to have an effect, and then slowly expand the production of roasted tea. You can't change everything at once, you have to leave time for tea workers to practice their skills. ”

"That's for sure, otherwise if we mess up, we'll definitely have a problem with our funds." Although Zhu Ming is anxious, he also knows that some things are not in a hurry.

After staying in the village until the Lantern Festival, Zhu Ming took Bai Sheng and Shi Biao down the mountain.

On the third day of the Lunar New Year, he had already gone down the mountain to drink with Bai Saburo, who had gone home for the New Year. The two made an appointment, and they set off on the sixteenth day of the first month and went to Yangzhou City by boat together.

It didn't take long to take the boat, and at the confluence of the Han River and the Yang River, I went directly to the shore and changed to walking.

Ahead lies the turbulent Golden Gorge, with a total of 24 shoals. The helmsman of the Bai family has no ability to pass, and if he doesn't pay attention to it, the ship will be destroyed and people will die.

"This place is steep," Zhu Ming observed the situation of the mountains and rivers, and said to Bai Chongyan, "In case of war, at the confluence of the two rivers, a walled fort can be built to block water and land transportation, and 100,000 soldiers and horses will not be able to pass." ”

Bai Chongyan said with a smile: "Da Lang is a soldier who knows the soldiers, no wonder he can break through the thief village." ”

They marched under the cliffs of the river, the cliffs on both sides of the river, and the cries of apes could be heard from time to time.

Zhu Ming kicked the weeds under his feet: "There is actually a road here." ”

Bai Chongyan explained: "These paths are stepped out by slender men, and without slender men pulling boats, no matter how good the helmsman is, he will not dare to cross the Golden Gorge." ”

After walking a short distance, they came across a group of slender men.

Dressed in tattered clothes, some were wrapped in linen blankets. Lie down or sit, rest in a relatively open area, and wait for a boat to arrive here to pick up the work.

There is no arable land here, and there is not a few grains of grain to grow, so you have to rely on the fiber to survive.

Zhu Ming actually stopped and didn't leave, took out some dry food from his baggage, and immediately distributed it to those slender men.

The slender men were surprised, and they stood up and took the food.

A man in his forties and fifties, with gray hair, seemed to be the leader of this group of slender men, he bent down and hugged his fists and said: "My name is Gong Da, thank you for the reward." ”

Although Bai Sheng didn't know Zhu Ming's intentions, he helped boast: "This is Zhu Dutou of Xixiang County, who killed the anti-thief Zhu Zhu, killed the bully Xiaobai, and also broke the Black Wind Village that has been entrenched for decades. ”

Gong Da was suddenly in awe, and hurriedly saluted again: "I have heard of the name of Zhu Dutou from the merchant ships passing by. They all said that there was a good man in Xixiang County, called Zhu Dutou, a winged tiger. There is also a fierce general under his command, who is the former mountain patrol Biao Zhang San. Zhu Dutou wants to take a boat across the Golden Gorge? We have been pulling fiber for generations, and we are very familiar with the dangerous shoals here. ”

Zhu Ming sat down next to the slender men, nibbled on dry food together, and said: "My family used to run sea boats, and some ports also need to use boat pullers, and I feel very close when I see you." ”

Gong Da asked, "What kind of ship is the sea ship?" ”

Zhu Ming said: "A sea ship is a ship running in the sea? ”

"What is the sea?" Gong Da asked a very outrageous question.

Zhu Ming said: "The sea is boundless, and it is full of water as far as the eye can see. Sometimes, it takes several months to take a boat before you can dock for business. ”

"A few months on a boat? That's a lot of water! "Gong Da couldn't imagine that he had been in the mountains all his life and had never heard of the sea.

So, Zhu Ming began to tell the ancients, and once again made up overseas stories.

The slender men all gathered around, munching on dry food and listening to the strangeness, and from time to time let out bursts of exclamation.

After getting acquainted with each other thoroughly, Zhu Ming asked, "How are you doing?" ”

Gong Da shook his head and sighed: "No." In my grandfather's generation, I couldn't finish the work of pulling fiber, and merchant ships came over every day in the Han River. Later, the government did not allow the sale of tea privately, and there were fewer merchant ships to run business. Many fiber workers can't fill their stomachs, so they don't do this anymore, either go to the mountains to cultivate the land, or try their luck to find sand. ”

"How much do you earn a day now?" Zhu Ming asked again.

Gong Da still shook his head: "It's not good, it's not like you can take jobs every day." If I don't come to the ship for a month, I'll have to rely on my brother to support me. My mother-in-law and my brother are both farming in the mountains, and they can't harvest a few grains a year. ”

Zhu Ming continued to inquire and roughly understood some of the situation.

If they have a job every day, they are very profitable compared to farmers. Although it is hard and dangerous, I can earn sixty or seventy yuan a day.

It is a pity that the business in Hanzhong has withered, and the number of merchant ships has dropped sharply, and they often do not work for ten days and a half months.

Even the government doesn't bother to take care of it, these slender men belong to all hermits.

There are so many hidden households who have fled in recent years, and it is no wonder that the registered population of the three counties of Yangzhou is less than 250,000.

After chatting for a while, Zhu Ming got up to say goodbye, and the slender men saw him off one after another.

They are also idle, and Zhu Ming will send dry food as soon as he comes, and tell them strange stories. Such a petty official, the slender men like it very much, and they think that Zhu Dutou is a good person.

It was only after sending out two miles that the slender men stopped.

Zhu Ming asked: "You said that you can pan for golden sands here, but you can do it casually, or do you have a head in charge?" ”

Gong Da said: "There are a few leaders, and they have also drawn a territory, and they will fight and kill people if they cross the line!" There are also individual customers, like rats stealing rice, who dare not let others know. ”

"The government doesn't come to collect the gold rush tax?" Zhu Ming asked again.

Gong Da said: "In the past, I had to collect it, and there was a lot of gold. I don't accept it now, and I can't find a few. Those gold diggers are also bitter haha, they dare to work hard with officials! More than 20 years ago, when the eldest son of my family was born, there were short-sighted officials to collect gold taxes. None of them could go back, and they all sank into the river, so frightened that the officials did not dare to come again. ”

Damn, that's awesome!

Like the miners, these gold diggers are born seeds of rebellion.

Zhu Ming asked again: "All of them are panning for gold in the Han River?" ”

Gong Da said: "There are dangerous shoals in the Golden Gorge, and there are also many shoals, so I pan for gold in those shoals. In the mountains on both sides, there are several small rivers that can also pan for gold. There is also a gold mine in the mountains, which used to be managed by the government and was later abandoned. Waste is waste, and you can still dig gold, and it is occupied by a good man. ”

It is estimated that the gold mines were exhausted, and the official management was bloated, so the gold mined was not enough for administrative expenses, so it was abandoned by the order of the Tsunehei Division.

But in private hands, scrap gold mines also have to be earned.

Zhu Ming asked, "What is the name of the man who occupies the gold mine?" ”

"What is the name of the big tiger Gong Xiu, I haven't seen it, I only heard that he has a lot of strength and has killed a tiger with a knife." Gong Da said.

What splits the big tiger?

Obviously it is Pi Dahu, the common name of Pixiu!

The heroes on the rivers and lakes who used false rumors and nicknamed Pixiu became tigers who were hacked to death.

After asking some more information about the gold diggers, Zhu Ming bowed his hand and said goodbye: "If you have difficulties in the future, you can go to Daming Village to find me." Daming Village is the former Black Wind Village, and if you go there, you can ensure that you will not be hungry. ”

Gong Da said happily: "Zhu Dutou is really a righteous man!" ”

Those slender men also waved enthusiastically, asking Zhu Dutou to come to Golden Gorge often in the future.

The two sides parted, and Bai Chongyan was quite puzzled: "What do Da Lang and the slender man say they are doing?" ”

Zhu Ming asked, "What is the purpose of reading?" ”

Bai Chongyan said: "Self-cultivation Qi family rules the country and equalizes the world." ”

"How to govern the country? How to level the world? Zhu Ming asked again.

Bai Chongyan said: "When you are an official in the imperial examination, you should promote benevolent government and education. If you benefit one party outside, and assist the Son of Heaven inside, you will be peaceful in the world and rich in the sea. ”

Zhu Ming asked: "Do you know how much grain is in one acre of land?" Ueda geometry? Nakata Geometry? Shimoda geometry? If you don't know all this, how can you collect taxes? If the taxes are insufficient and the treasury is empty, how can the country be governed? If taxes are levied too much and the people are poor, how can the sea be rich? ”

"To collect taxes, you can have officials," Bai Chongyan said, "As an official, you only need to control the adjutant, how can you do everything yourself?" ”

Zhu Ming said with a smile: "You don't even know how many buckets of grain you collect in the field, how do you know that your officials don't secretly deceive?" Even in your name, go to the countryside to extort tyranny! ”

Bai Chongyan was silent and began to think seriously.

Zhu Ming asked again: "How much grain does the San Lang family have to harvest every year?" ”

Bai Chongyan said: "The fields and properties are all taken care of by my eldest brother. ”

"That is to say, you don't even know how much grain you have in your own field," Zhu Ming said with emotion, "Don't talk about governing the country and leveling the world, I'm afraid you can't even gather the Qi family." ”

Bai Chongyan said: "If you ask everything, how can you have time to study?" How can I have time to study? ”

Zhu Ming said: "The world is full of knowledge, and the practice of human feelings is the article." The avenue of the world does not have to be found in books. I went to suppress bandits to do learning, and talking to the slender man was also learning. ”

Bai Chongyan argued: "If you give a good courtesy, the people will not dare to be disrespectful; If the righteousness is good, the people will not dare to disobey; If you have a good letter, the people will not dare to be ruthless. If the husband is so, then the people of the Quartet will carry their sons and come to the place, and use the crops? ”

This is the original words of Confucius, as long as the superior abides by etiquette, righteousness and faith, he can be supported by the people, and he does not have to study how to farm.

Zhu Ming smiled: "Do you only read half of your book?" Confucius said that he was not as good as the old peasants in farming, which meant that special people should do special things, and the superior only needed to control these special people. People in politics may not know how to farm, but they must know how much grain to harvest in one acre of land. Otherwise, how to royal your majesty? How to prevent scamming? In addition to food, you also need to know about industry and commerce, and you also need to know these slender men and gold diggers. ”

Bai Chongyan fell silent.

Zhu Ming also said: "Confucius and Meng said that it is necessary to govern the world benevolently. However, the actual situation is different in different places, and the good government here is the bad government elsewhere. If you don't understand and communicate with the people, how can you know whether you are practicing good or bad government? You want to be kind to the people, but when the decree comes out, it forces the people to flee into the mountains. Is this the work of a gentleman? ”

Bai Chongyan stood for a long time, and suddenly bowed down: "A certain has been taught!" ”

(End of chapter)