Xu Mingyang, who was moving forward, was not stupid enough to leave the group. He knew the situation in the Hundred Thousand Mountains very well. He had been here twice in the name of traveling. This was the advantage of being the provincial governor. He had nothing to do usually. No matter where he wanted to go, as long as he was not too far away from Lu Zhou, no one would object.
He wanted to go to the Hundred Thousand Mountains to play and have others by his side to protect him. Therefore, he had also seen some of the situations in the Hundred Thousand Mountains. Usually, it was okay, but occasionally, there were dangers, especially when they left the main road.
There were all kinds of poisonous insects, snakes, and other animals that specialized in eating meat. The danger was not small. Usually, people who came to travel had to move forward according to the requirements of the people they were protecting. They were not allowed to leave the group casually.
He did not think that all the animals in the Hundred Thousand Mountains would obediently worship the emperor like the people.
Therefore, even if he walked in front, he was still under the protection of the large group.
However, there was a difference between the front and the emperor. There were relatively fewer guards, so there were fewer animals that were scared away. Some animals even saw that there were fewer people in front and wanted to ambush or something.
This was his opportunity. There were only eight bullets left. No matter what, he had to kill a few more prey.
As for whether Xiaobei and the others would let others kill the prey, Xu Mingyang was not worried at all. No matter how much the emperor liked Xiaobei and the others, it was impossible for him to be biased in this regard.
Even Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan were the same. Winning or losing was not important to their younger siblings. It was just cooking, not to mention practicing. How could a group of children make delicious food?
Of course, even if it was not delicious, he was willing to eat it. He did not want to go to the docks to do heavy work with the people of Lu Zhou. It was not only embarrassing, but how could he carry a more than 100 kilograms sack? Was there a more than 100 kilograms sack at the docks? Probably not. It was at least 200 kilograms. The people who worked there were all very strong.
With the idea of not doing heavy work, Xu Mingyang became serious. He held the binoculars to look for prey. From time to time, he stopped to aim, but he did not shoot easily. Only when he felt confident, he pulled the trigger.
After two hours, Xu Mingyang finally finished firing the remaining eight bullets. However, the result was not very ideal. He only managed to catch four prey, two chickens, a rabbit, and a snake. The last snake was really stupid.
He knew very well that he had aimed at a bear, but in the end, he had killed the snake in the grass beside it. If it weren't for the fact that someone who specialized in scouting had picked it up for him, he would have thought that the shot had missed.
Apart from the fact that he was able to hunt the prey, there were two points. One was that Xu Mingyang now knew that he couldn't just aim and shoot the prey. He dared to bet that if he was given another ten bullets, he would definitely be able to shoot better than now.
This was because he had discovered a little trick, which was to control his breathing. When he was gasping for breath, it was best not to shoot. Even if he was lying on the ground, it would affect the accuracy of the gun.
The second was that he knew that the bear could run so fast. When he didn't hit the bear with his shot, the bear turned and ran, not giving him a chance to shoot again. It seemed that in the blink of an eye, the bear had entered the woods and could no longer be found.
The gunshots elsewhere also stopped. Xu Mingyang didn't know how many shots Xiao Bei's nine children had fired, and he didn't have the energy to count. Even if he wanted to, he couldn't. This was because not only was there the sound of gunshots, but there was also the echo of gunshots in the mountains. Who knew how many people fired at the same time? The sound of gunshots rang in his ears endlessly.
Putting away the gun, Xu Mingyang asked someone to help bring the four prey to the middle of the team.
He was very satisfied with his performance today. Usually, there was no limit to the number of bullets, and it was impossible for him to hunt more than three prey a day. Today, he was able to perform exceptionally well under pressure.
But when he returned to Li Longji's side, he was dumbfounded. In front of him were a few small piles of prey. There weren't any big guys, only a bear. Looking at the wounds on the bear, he knew that the bear had suffered a lot of blows.
It was bloody, and it was all wounds. It was definitely not caused by a single shot. Beside the bear, there were six other animals, a total of seven.
There was no need to guess. Xu Ming Yang already knew that this pile of animals belonged to the person who had the most injuries out of the nine children. However, he was very confused. There were a total of seven animals that belonged to one person, but not every animal had only one wound on its body.
Especially that bear, there was almost no wound on its head, and there was no bleeding at the heart. So, how did it get killed? Looking at the bleeding points in other places, he could guess.
If he didn't guess wrong, it was definitely tortured to death by a single shot, or it bled to death.
"Ha, Xu Mingyang, you only got four small things. Whether it is the number or the weight, you lost. When you go back, you have to work at the dock. Ai, what a pity, we wanted to cook for you for two months, but you didn't give us the chance. It really made us speechless."
Seeing Xu Mingyang come back, Xiao Bei immediately ran forward, looked at the four prey, shook his head, and said with a regretful look.
Xu Mingyang's face became very ugly. First, he looked at Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan, and then looked at the emperor. He found that these people didn't have any other expressions. He knew that Xiao Bei and the other nine people didn't have any other help.
But he was still very dissatisfied and said, "Why are there so many bullet holes on the bear's body?"
"Because there were so many bullets that hit it, do you still need to ask?" Xiao Bei said confidently.
"So many bullets hit it, can it be considered a person's prey? You might as well say that it was nine people combined. Compared to me, I definitely won't win. "
Xu Mingyang really didn't want to work at the dock. Shameful, it was really too shameful. If he really went, it would definitely be known by others in the future. How could he raise his head in front of others?
A dignified third rank provincial governor actually did such a lowly job. Others might not say anything to him in front of him, but behind his back, they would probably give him the nickname of 'Living Provincial Governor'.
It would damage the prestige of an official, and was not something a gentleman would do.
Xiao Bei didn't know what Xu Mingyang was thinking. When he heard the question, he asked, "Let me ask you, Xu Mingyang. Out of the nine of us, eight of us gave you a punch, and the last one hit you in the head with a brick. Who do you think killed them?"
"Naturally, it was with a brick." Xu Mingyang answered without thinking.
"Yes, there are nine of us. That's how it is when we use guns to shoot a bear. Eight of us didn't kill the bear, and the last one killed the bear. Naturally, the credit goes to the last person." Xiao Bei followed Xu Mingyang's words.
"You just said it was with a punch." Xu Mingyang reminded.
"Alright, I'll say it again. There were nine of us, and eight of us hit your arm with a brick. In the end, one of us hit your head. Who killed you?" Xiao Bei continued to play along with Xu Ming Yang's words.
Li Longji and the others couldn't help but laugh. To Xiao Bei, Li Longji was all too clear. If she had to quote classics or something, she could only look for Xiao Yuan. But if it was a normal conversation, she felt that she could come up with a lot of fallacies.
Especially when she was talking to you, she looked very serious. If you really thought that she didn't know anything and wanted to explain it to her clearly, she would definitely become more and more confused.
Xu Mingyang was a little confused at this moment. He raised his hand to rub his temples and said to Xiao Bei, "That's not what I mean. What I mean is, look, there are nine of you, and others helped to shoot. Even if the last shot was fired by the most important person among you, don't you think it's unfair to me?"
"Ah? You're saying it's fair? Fair, why is it fair? What is fair? What is fair? Is it even? "
When Xiao Bei heard this, she also asked in confusion. She tried her best to tiptoe and gestured with her hand above her head. She really wanted to reach Xu Mingyang's head, but even if she raised her arm, she couldn't reach Xu Mingyang's head. She just tilted her head back and forth to level it.
Xu Mingyang was stunned and immediately became speechless.
He understood what Xiao Bei was trying to say. She was saying, if you want to talk about fairness with us, how old are you and how old are we? I'm not even as tall as you when I raise my arm, and you want to talk about fairness with us like this?
For a moment, Xu Mingyang felt very embarrassed, but he still couldn't bring himself to admit defeat and work at the docks, so he asked, "When you were on the battlefield, did the enemy not hit you because you were young?"
"No, then let me ask you. When you were on the battlefield, did you not shoot because you were alone and the other party was nine people?" Xiao Bei stared and asked.
"Hahahaha." Li Longji laughed even more heartily. He didn't care who won or lost. He came out to play for fun, and now he felt that it was very interesting.
Xu Mingyang's expression became even uglier. "I don't believe that any of you can shoot so accurately. Every shot was at a critical moment and at a critical position. For example, this bear. How can you be sure that it was killed by the person who killed the other six prey? Can you be sure that it was him or her who aimed that shot intentionally? "
"No, we can't compare to you. We're not like the snake you killed in the end. It was hiding in the grass, but in the end, its head was still smashed by you. Admirable, truly admirable. You scared away the bear beside you. I'm guessing that the bear will be scared and tell its descendants that there was a person with very accurate marksmanship. Thankfully, that person didn't aim at me, or there wouldn't be any of you.
Back then, I came out to hunt with Brother Snake. In the end, Brother Snake wanted to trick me by making me stand at a conspicuous spot. In the end, that person saw through Brother Snake's trick. He wanted to eat the snake's gallbladder, so he pretended to aim at me, but he actually shot Brother Snake unexpectedly. Brother Snake sacrificed himself just like that. Haha, I'm dying of laughter. "
As Xiao Bei spoke to Xu Mingyang, she held her stomach and laughed.
"Haha ~ ~ ~!" When the surrounding people heard Xiao Bei's words, whether they were guards or waiters, they couldn't help but laugh.
Li Longji even pinched his own thigh. He was laughing so hard that his stomach hurt.
Xu Mingyang was completely dumbfounded. He didn't expect Xiao Bei to be so eloquent. After pondering for a moment, he finally gave up on finding excuses. He gritted his teeth and said in a huff, "Alright, I'll consider it your win. Isn't it just two months of work? One meal at a time. If I do it, I can get closer to the people."
"Alright, I guess you're right. Go back to work. I'll give you the bullets and you can continue to shoot. But we won't compete unless you can take out other stakes. The prey you've hunted now is yours. You have something to eat again. Congratulations."
Xiao Bei said to Xu Mingyang in a very magnanimous manner.
She couldn't continue shooting today. Her arm still hurt. She would probably have to get her brother and sister to rub it with medicinal wine tonight. She could only try using a rifle the next day.
For children, there was no such thing as an adult. If they exercised too much today, their muscles wouldn't be able to adapt and wouldn't be able to recover for a few days. Usually, they would be fine after a good night's sleep.
Xu Mingyang suppressed his gloomy thoughts and asked for a lot of bullets. He continued to accompany Li Longji and the others as they moved forward to look for prey.
While walking, he didn't forget to take this opportunity to get closer to the emperor and talk to Li Longji.
"Your Majesty, this subject discovered a secret when I was fighting with Patrol Inspector Zhang and the others." Xu Mingyang wasn't in a hurry to look for animals to shoot. Seeing the emperor looking around with binoculars, he said.
In fact, Li Longji didn't have to hunt prey. He was looking at the terrain here and wondering if there was a place that could be used if there was a war. If he could pull a few troops over and have a confrontation exercise here, what kind of harvest could he get?
Hearing Xu Mingyang's words, he observed and asked, "What secret? Tell me. "
"Replying to Your Majesty, this subject discovered that when shooting, it's best to hold your breath and then shoot. If you shoot, the gun will be very stable and won't deviate too much, unless there's an accidental situation."
Xu Mingyang replied. When he said that the gun wouldn't deviate too much, he would feel embarrassed if there was an accidental situation. Clearly, the snake that scared the bear away was one of his masterpieces.
Li Longji didn't speak directly. After looking around again, he said, "This is the conclusion you came to? Do you know what are the two main points that we have to remember when we Great Tang riflemen are training? "
"This subject doesn't know," Xu Mingyang replied. At the same time, he had a vague idea in his mind.
Sure enough, Li Longji said to him, "One of the points is that you must control your breathing before you fire the gun. The second point is to try your best to make the shot unintentional. That is to say, your subconscious mind controls your body to fire the gun in that instant instead of you deliberately pulling the trigger with all your might. This is especially true for snipers, as they have reached a level where they can fire at will. That is, there will be a moment when your body doesn't know whether to fire the gun or not, and the bullet will just fly out."
"Ah? How is that possible? Isn't that like telling a story? "Xu Mingyang couldn't help but ask in astonishment.
"How is that not possible? You know how to walk, right? Don't tell me that every time you take a step, you have to think about which leg to take first, how to take that step, how much strength to use, and put your mind on that leg?
You can reach this level after countless training. It's like how you walk. When you shoot a certain number of times, it's just like how you walk. When you move forward, you don't raise your leg to raise it, but to go somewhere. It's the same with firing a gun. You don't have to pull the trigger to move, but to hit someone. Your skills are still far from that. Work hard and take advantage of the opportunity to come here with me. "
Li Longji said to Xu Mingyang. Then, he shook his head regretfully. It seemed that he wasn't understood by others. He continued to use the binoculars to look for targets.
Xu Mingyang stopped. Weiwei followed behind and pondered over the emperor's words.
Gao Lishi also slowed down slightly. He said to Xu Mingyang, "That's how Lil 'Nan fired the gun earlier. She took only a short time to aim. When she actually fired the gun, it was completed in an instant. Xiao Bao and Cuckoo also fired the gun almost instantly.
It's like how you write when you're not deliberately practicing calligraphy. If you want to write every stroke well, it won't be as comfortable as writing when you're not paying attention. Of course, no matter how you write, your handwriting won't look good. I've seen your handwriting before. "
"Yes, I'll work hard to practice calligraphy in the future." Xu Mingyang agreed gloomily. It was one thing that he couldn't win against others in terms of shooting, but now, it was related to calligraphy. Who could he complain to?
*****
Li Longji and the others stayed in the Hundred Thousand Mountains for half a month before they returned to the construction site of Lu Zhou's railroad. They finally got to see how the railroad was built.
On the flat land, the construction workers were all from Great Tang. They helped to carry the railroad tracks and the sleepers. They were very careful and did not ask for speed. They were all recruited from places around Lu Zhou. They were paid, and their meals were not bad.
There were four shifts in total. Each shift worked for six hours. After that, they could rest. However, they could do other manual labor. Moreover, because the beach was humid, they could drink some wine.
When they encountered mountains or slopes, they would be replaced by people from other places. There were people from Xinyuan Island and Kunlun slaves.
These people worked in three shifts. They were not as tired as Zhang Xiaobao said. It was not that they did not want to, but they could not. If they really did that, they would work for eight to eighteen hours a day. It was fine in the first few hours, but in the end, they would be exhausted.
If that was the case, it would be better to let them rest. They would work for eight hours and then sleep. After four hours of sleep, they would wake up and work for another four hours. They would eat and continue to sleep to ensure that they had stamina.
However, when they worked, they had to be fast. Those who were slow would be whipped.
Moreover, because they had to rest for a long time, their meals were not good. There was no meat at all. The only meat was when they were cooking. When they were stewing in a big pot, they would sprinkle a spoonful of oil on it when it was almost done.
There was a lot of oil in the bowl, and no matter who scooped it, there would be oil in the bowl. However, the dishes were not greasy. Under normal circumstances, the oil was used to keep the dishes warm so that the heat would not dissipate so quickly.
The staple food was not very good. It was not comparable to the people of Great Tang. They ate rice, white flour, millet, sorghum, and the like. Generally, they ate highland barley, which was usually used to feed the animals.
If there was something good, it would be the salted vegetables. They tasted good and were salty enough. Not only was there a lot of salted vegetables near the beach, but it was the same on other roads as well.
They were afraid that the people who worked would not eat enough salt and would be exhausted.
Even so, the people who worked felt that the food was good. This was because they could not see what the people of Great Tang ate when they worked. The captives who were captured on Xinyuan Island felt that the food in Great Tang was very good.
At the very least, there was a wide variety of dishes. Moreover, the taste was more than twice as good as what they used to eat.
When they were on the island, it was not easy for them. They were also very tired. Moreover, they had to hunt for long periods of time. Their meals were usually eaten or cooked in stone pots.
How could it compare to the food they ate now? There were many "good" seasonings in the dishes, and the chef was skilled as well. The food tasted delicious. If there was a flaw, it would be that there was no meat.
It was not that there was no meat at all. Since the people of Lu Zhou lived near the beach, the least valuable food was fish. Every two or three days, fish would be cooked for them. They were much better off compared to the people in some places in Great Tang.
Xu Mingyang was also inspecting the food. When he saw how happy the slaves were during the meal, he had a sad expression on his face. He said to Li Longji, "Your Majesty, I've realized that ignorance is a kind of happiness sometimes. They're content with food like this. How pitiful. "
Li Longji looked at Xu Mingyang in surprise. He nodded and said, "It's because they're not from Great Tang. Don't you think so, Little Bei?"
Li Longji asked Little Bei and the others. He wanted them to talk about the pride that Great Tang should have.
Who knew that before Xiao Bei could reply, Little Hai would speak up.
"Yes, ignorance is a kind of happiness. However, when you think that others are ignorant and have a bad life, and you think that you know more and have a good life, it's sad. You think you have a good life, but don't you know that there are others who have a better life than you?
Those who are willing to be ordinary are actually enjoying the results of those who are willing to work hard. Life is not about how you want to be ordinary because your food, clothes, and necessities are all provided by others. Hence, the true enjoyment of life is how much you can provide for others.
Those who live in seclusion are the most hateful people. They don't even have the courage to stand up, unless they can refine their own things, get their own food, salt, and clothes. That way, they won't be a burden to others.
Otherwise, their so-called leisurely life is built on the hard work of others. I hate people like that the most. They always have to do something, even if it's to go out and teach. "
"Yes, my Big Brother Little Hai is right. Don't trample on the hard work of others and then say that you're noble. Look at me, I'm also working hard, even though I'm still young."
Little Bei immediately supported Little Hai.
Xu Mingyang was stunned. He had never thought that Little Hai would be able to say such philosophical words. Regardless of whether these words were right or not, at the very least, these words should not have come from the mouth of a child.
Suddenly, he looked at Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan, who were standing not far away. What he meant was, how many things did these two teach their younger siblings, and how to make them understand?
Li Longji smiled and said, "You don't have to look at Xiao Bao and Cuckoo. They never directly teach these things, they only guide them. You don't have to be surprised if Little Hai can't say anything else. The two of them don't teach the same thing. Every child may understand what they say differently, but there's no right or wrong."
"Oh." Xu Mingyang didn't quite believe him and replied.
Little Bei immediately said, "Xu Mingyang, did you forget something? You haven't gone to work at the docks yet. Do you want to wait for us to leave before you go? Or do you want to run away after you get there? We have a bet, you know. You have to pay back your debts. "
Xu Mingyang's face turned red. He did have this thought, and he wanted to delay it for as long as possible. He didn't expect that just as he made up his mind, Xiao Bei would point it out. He thought that Xiao Bei would forget about it as he played.
After all, when they were on the mountain, Little Bei and the others had never mentioned anything about him working at the docks again. He did not expect Little Bei to remember and mention it now.
"Tomorrow, I'll go tomorrow." Xu Mingyang agreed. However, he felt sad inwardly. If this matter was exposed, many people would laugh at him in the future. Although he could make a name for himself, what was the use of a name? Lu Zhou was still the Lu Zhou of the Zhang Family and the Wang Family.
Most importantly, a name was not necessarily a good name. He was the one who lost the bet. The people of Lu Zhou would definitely know that he was paying back his debt. If this were any other place, he would have shared the joys and sorrows of the people. He would have accepted it if the people said he was good.
'Oh, my life. If I see the Zhang Family and the Wang Family in the future, I'll have to stay as far away as possible. It's not worth it.'
"It's a promise. You'll go tomorrow. Don't repeat the same thing over and over again," Little Bei said. After that, he no longer mentioned the matter. He followed Li Longji and slowly walked around the construction site. He looked at everyone working hard and hoped that the railway would be completed as soon as possible. That way, it would be much more convenient for him to travel to Lu Zhou from the capital in the future. He did not need to take a boat. How could a boat be faster than a train?
*****
Early the next morning, Xu Mingyang did as he said. He woke up and ran to the docks. He planned to work for a while before he went to accompany the emperor.
However, when he got to work, he was dumbfounded. He had agreed to work for a meal. Normally, he would just have a meal. However, when he arrived at the docks, someone was already cooking for him. It seemed like they did not intend to bully him at all.
At the docks, he was responsible for recording the goods going to and from his place. After recording for about 15 minutes, he wanted to leave.
However, someone stopped him. The person who stopped him was from the Chamber of Commerce.
"Provincial Governor Xu, do you need to excuse yourself?" the person from the Chamber of Commerce asked.
"Excuse myself? It's not convenient for me. I'm going back. I've already recorded a lot. "Xu Mingyang thought to himself, 'I'm working. Are you going to keep an eye on me?'
The other party nodded: "Oh, you want to go back? But it's not time for a meal yet. Do you want to renege on your bet? "
"How is it not time yet? Isn't 15 minutes enough for a meal? Hurry up and eat. It's enough. "Xu Mingyang glared at the other party.
In fact, he did feel that the time was shorter, but he had a reason. He ate so fast. There were people who ate faster than him. He didn't even mention it.
"Lord Xu, could it be that you eat raw rice at home and don't need to cook? Think about it, isn't that the case? Normally, when I eat, I have to cook. A meal needs to be cooked for a while before it can be eaten. If you really only eat raw food and finish it in a quarter of an hour, then you can leave now. I'll immediately report to Xiaobei and the rest of the girls.
When the time comes, I don't know if someone is watching you eat in your residence. However, I still advise you to continue to stay there. It's already good that I didn't ask you to carry anything. "
The person from the Chamber of Commerce had no intention of backing down. He questioned Xu Mingyang rudely.
Xu Mingyang glared at him again: "You didn't say that it was going to be a meal like this. Speak honestly. Who would say that a meal includes eating when talking to others?"
"But you didn't say it. Since you didn't say it, why should we follow what you said? Xiao Bei said that if they lose, they will cook a meal for you every day. You can eat it when the time comes. Based on this, the bet should be the same.
When they said it, they would cook a meal for you to eat. If you lose, why did you omit the cooking? If you think that we are too slow, I will go find Xiao Bei and the others and let them cook for you. We will see how much time it takes. We can even give you the time to eat. After all, we said that we would cook. What do you think? "
The person from the Chamber of Commerce pointed at the person cooking. The threat in his words was very clear.
Xu Mingyang didn't expect the other party to be so shameless. However, after thinking about it carefully, the other party's words were reasonable. That's right. Since they said that Xiao Bei and the others would cook a meal, then his meal should naturally be the time to cook a meal.
However, it shouldn't be like this. The time to eat a meal could be long or short. Cooking a meal was even more so. Especially if Xiao Bei and the others were to cook, wouldn't they need to prepare for half a day just to prepare the ingredients?
By the time they finished cooking, the sun would have turned into the sunset. If they were really forced to come over and cook a meal, wouldn't they need to rest for a day and a night? Wouldn't he need to sleep?
Xu Mingyang turned his head to look at the person cooking. He was finally afraid and didn't want Xiao Bei and the others to set a time. He asked: "What are they making?"
"In reply to Lord Xu, they are making something very nutritious for you. It's turtle soup for you. Just wait, it won't take long before you can eat it."
The person from the Chamber of Commerce spoke as if he was concerned about Xu Mingyang. He then gestured for Xu Mingyang to sit back down and continue working.
Xu Mingyang's vision suddenly turned black. Looking at the stall and the slow fire below, a single turtle soup would take an entire day to cook.
Xu Mingyang returned to his seat and took down two notes. He couldn't help but ask: "Why is it this dish? Can't I change it? "
"Could it be that you want to eat Buddha Jumps Over the Wall? Oh, that's Between the Clouds and the Water's signature dish. I'll change it for you tomorrow. "The person from the Chamber of Commerce replied smoothly.
"No, no, I don't want Buddha Jumps Over the Wall. You will need three to five days to prepare for Buddha Jumps Over the Wall. By then, I will be buried in a hole and won't be able to jump over the wall." Xu Mingyang shook his head vigorously. He had eaten it before and also heard the steps of Buddha Jumps Over the Wall from the waiter. He couldn't wait.
The person from the Chamber of Commerce asked again: "How about bear paw?"
"Bear paw takes even longer to prepare. I'll take this turtle soup. I want to nourish myself. Can you put an umbrella on top of it? You don't have sour plum soup, but you should have cold water, right?"
Xu Mingyang finally accepted his fate at this moment. He felt that he should have thought about it. The idea that Xiao Bei and the other nine children came up with when they gathered together was definitely not that simple. No matter if he won or lost, his days wouldn't be easy.
It was a pity that he was cheated by others. He had delayed working at the docks for a single meal. Two months, two months. He didn't need to make anything else. The turtle soup would take at least four hours, right? Unless he used other methods to cook the turtle first, but the nourishing aspect was lacking. It was best to simmer it slowly.
At noon, just as Xu Mingyang thought, the turtle soup was not ready yet. He discussed with the people from the Chamber of Commerce to give him some lunch first. It was not counted as a meal and he had to continue working. Only then did the people from the Chamber of Commerce agree.
In the end, he ate lunch at the docks. It didn't mean that he had to eat outside. There was a cafeteria at the docks. After receiving a tray, he could go in and choose the dishes. There were many types of dishes, more than 30. There was a combination of meat and vegetables. He could eat whatever he wanted, but there was a limit to the amount. There was enough staple food and egg soup.
Xu Mingyang admitted that the cafeteria at the docks was not bad. Not only was it free, but there were so many dishes. Not all construction sites would prepare more than 30 dishes for you.
In other places in the Great Tang, food was also provided, but there were only a few kinds of food, and they had to eat it over and over again every day because it was cheap. Moreover, when it was time to change shifts, those who changed shifts would be given a cup of white wine. There were probably very few construction sites in the Great Tang that could provide such food.
But it was good. What was his identity? He was a provincial governor. How could he eat with other people at the bottom? Listening to their messy words, when had he ever suffered like this? Except for the two days before when no one gave him food.
Depressed, Xu Mingyang didn't have much appetite. He ordered a vegetable dish with cucumber and scooped some soup. He found that the egg in the soup was too fragmented. He complained and poured it into half a bowl of rice. He hurriedly finished it with the rice and ran out to work under the umbrella.
It was not until evening that he ate the boiled turtle. It tasted good, but he would rather not eat it. He only begged that he didn't need to come tomorrow.
Xu Mingyang took a free car back to his residence. He was not in the mood to see the Emperor. He directly asked someone to boil a pool of water and soaked in it. He also asked two people to massage him. He groaned and went to sleep after washing.
The next morning, he got up early and counted the days. Today was the school break. He called his youngest son, who was born by his concubine, over. He was eight years old, about the same age as Xiaobei and the others.
He gave his son a glorious and difficult task. He sent his son out to the amusement park to find Xiaobei and the others to play. The other children were also on break today. He estimated that Xiaobei and the others would be able to play with others at the amusement park.
Xu Mingyang told his family that they would send him sour plum soup at the dock at noon. Otherwise, he would die of heat. He rode a horse and rushed to the dock at the fastest speed. He estimated that he would not be able to come back for another day. The Zhang Family and Wang Family were too wicked. They would definitely not let him go.
Sure enough, when he arrived at the dock, he saw someone cooking soup. He didn't even need to ask what soup it was. It was guaranteed that it would be cooked for a day. Cooking something can be fast and slow sometimes. Even if you put some lamb chops in it, you can't say anything about it for a day. The longer it was cooked, the more delicious it would be.
At the same time, the amusement park was also like what he thought. When the children were on break, they all ran to the amusement park to play. He didn't know what was so fun about it. Every time they were on break, they would play, and they didn't get tired of playing.
Xiaobei and the other eleven children also came to the amusement park by car. They didn't want to play any entertainment. They just wanted to have children to play with.
Xu Mingyang's youngest son had been waiting for a long time. His surname was also Xu, and his name was Xu Wan. He was far from the age of having a nickname. When the time came, he would give him a nickname that was opposite to Wan. Otherwise, the word Wan would not sound good.
When he saw Xiaobei and the others, Xu Wan came over and accompanied them according to his father's instructions. He didn't speak. No matter what Xiaobei and the others played, he would protect them. For example, when they were on the slide, or when he was thirsty, he thought that Xiaobei was also thirsty, so he ran to get water and bring it to them.
At first, Xiaobei and the others didn't notice. They thought that it was just an ordinary child who was willing to play with them. There were other children around, chattering happily and playing with them.
But after a long time, Xiaobei and the others finally realized that something was wrong. When other children came to play, other than talking, they also played by themselves. Why didn't this one play by himself and insist on accompanying him? He said that he wasn't thirsty, but he actually brought water three times in a row. Why couldn't he drink it if he was thirsty?
"Stop, you … What are you doing?" Xiaobei stopped Xu Wan, who was about to run to the place where water was provided.
"I, I'm drinking water," Xu Wan answered.
"Don't give it to us. Drink your own. We'll drink it when we're thirsty," Xiaobei reminded him.
Xu Wan shook his head. "No, my father said that I must serve you well. Otherwise, I will be punished when I go back."
"Your father is …? What's your name? "Xiaobei asked again.
"Xu Wan," Xu Wan answered.
Xiaobei and the others suddenly understood. Xiaobei said, "You're Xu Mingyang's son, right? You can play by yourself. Don't worry about us. Don't worry, your father won't dare to punish you when you go back. If he does, he won't go home tomorrow night and will continue to work at the dock. Seriously, he brought his son here. That's too disgusting. Isn't it just two months of work? This is called joining the masses. What a good opportunity. "
Xu Wan shook his head. "No, my father said that I can play with you. It suits your status. Other children can't."
"Why can't other children? What are our status? Ha, status? We're third-rank officials. Based on our status, you can do it? It's more appropriate for your father to come over and play with us.
Our status now is that of children. Why can't other children? According to what you said, we don't have anyone to play with. Don't pester us. Just tell your father that we want to play by ourselves. "
Xiaobei was most disgusted by mentioning their status for no reason. They didn't have many people to play with. If they mentioned their status, wouldn't they interact with other children in the future?
"Then, then can you ask my father to finish his work earlier? When my father came home yesterday, he was exhausted. He really can't bear the hardship. Also, my father said that he already knows what to do. Just give him a chance. "Xu Wan said according to his father's instructions.
Xiaobei shook his head. "No, a bet is a bet. You can't do it after just one day? Other people don't say that they can't survive. How tired can it be to record things at the dock? If you say no, it means no. If you continue to pester us, we won't play anymore. We'll go back and teach your father a lesson. If you don't believe me, you can try. I'm so angry that I sold my son. "
Xiaobei actually knew what Xu Wan meant. It wasn't that Xu Mingyang knew what to do, but that he knew that he was wrong and was begging for mercy.
But it was absolutely impossible. Work had to be done, and it had to be done for two months. It wasn't to punish Xu Mingyang, but to gradually change his mentality when he was working. He always thought that as an official, he shouldn't have too much contact with the people. He should be high and mighty.
Xu Wan was frightened when he heard Xiaobei's words. He nodded and ran to the dock with his head down. He had to report to his father in case he was punished at night.
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