Bi Gou and Yao Chong look at each other. If the words came out of someone else's mouth, they would have slapped him. How could a rich businessman be so cheap? He has too much money and nowhere to spend it?
However, hearing Zhang Xiaobao's words, they have to believe him. They squint their eyes and think about how to make a businessman take the initiative to increase their wages. This is a problem.
Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan continue to fish and shrimps. After catching a few more fish and feeling that they have enough for lunch, Zhang Xiaobao takes off his clothes and jumps into the river. He dives in and starts to fish for river snails. Maybe the people nearby don't eat river snails, so there are a lot of them in the river. After a while, a large basin of river snails is thrown on the shore.
Someone comes to pick up the basin and sprinkles a layer of fine salt to let the river snails spit out the mud. As soon as Zhang Xiaobao comes ashore, he is covered with a cloth. When the cloth is removed, Zhang Xiaobao has changed into a pair of shorts.
"Good, we have a good meal for lunch. With ginger and garlic juice, chopped green onions and coriander foam, we can drink two cups of yellow wine. It's better than the gods." Bi Gou feels that he has come up with a way to increase people's wages. When he comes back to his senses, he sees a lot of river snails and says a dish.
"There is a dish for lunch, fried spicy river snails." Zhang Xiaobao says the name of a dish.
"Eat it raw." Yao Chong, who also comes back to his senses, supports Bi Gou.
"Grandpa Bi, Grandpa Yao, listen to Xiao Bao. If you eat it raw, you may get infected with parasites. If you really want to eat it raw, let people get more from the river. After a few days, you can eat it after screening. " Wang Juan quickly persuades them. She is afraid that the two old men will die from eating it. Even if there are no parasites, there are some bacteria in the river snails. If they accidentally eat it, they will be tortured half to death.
Yao Chong and Bi Gou sigh at the same time. Obviously, they just want to eat something raw. It seems that they didn't have a good time on the road. The two of them had been living in Sanshui County for a long time, so their stomachs had long adapted to the local environment. Changing places made them uncomfortable, so they wanted to eat raw food to nourish their appetites and fight poison with poison.
"There should be some in the restaurants in the city. Let's go back and cook a meal for the two elders." Zhang Xiaobao thought that his own restaurant would have some in stock to satisfy the two old men.
Bi Gou was overjoyed. He nodded excitedly. "Good, good, we can still see the little ones. It's lively. The little ones aren't with you? "
"I went to Mount Wenshan in Maozhou first. If you're not busy, you can come back in a few days." Zhang Xiaobao had already put on his clothes when he spoke. He sat down again and continued fishing.
"There's no hurry. We're a bunch of old farts. We just want to give you and Cuckoo a hand. My old arms and legs can't bear the burden of marching and fighting, but I can still help pick vegetables and cook, as long as you don't think we're a burden. "
Bi Gou explained the purpose of his visit. From his words, it seemed that there were still people on the way.
"Oh, who dares to say that you can't help? If His Majesty finds out that you're only in charge of washing vegetables and cooking, he'll punish me. With you guys here, I'm relieved. I originally wanted to let the people of the Inner Yard take care of that, but I was worried that they couldn't shoulder the heavy burden at such a young age. With you guys here, the big problem is solved. "
Zhang Xiaobao quickly flattered. With a group of old men, the Inner Yard could spare some people to do other things. How could the people who came with Bi Gou and Yao Chong be ordinary? Any one of them could easily deal with the problems of a province or a prefecture.
"Haha, haha." Bi Gou laughed happily. He was not modest at all and looked full of confidence.
Yao Chong was also happy. He squeezed his wrinkles and said, "We just came back because of you and Cuckoo. If it were others, they wouldn't have such a big face."
"That's right, that's right. Others can't compare to me and Cuckoo. On the way … should I send someone to welcome them?" Zhang Xiaobao was worried about the old men walking behind them.
Bi Gou waved his hand and said, "No need. It's not that they can't keep up. They were traveling and saw this broken bridge and insisted on painting. Why can't they understand that painting is more important or coming early to eat good food?"
"Then you brought people here and didn't help to repair the broken bridge?" Zhang Xiaobao felt that it was immoral to treat a broken bridge as a scenery when they saw it.
"Repair what? There's a new bridge next to it, but they say that the broken bridge is good. If the broken bridge is good, why would the locals build a new bridge? They see the broken bridge as a beautiful scenery, but the people from the new bridge see them as fools, "Yao Chong said disdainfully.
"Don't mention them, don't mention them. Let them wander behind. Their worldview is too small. The scenery they see on the road is just a corner. With Xiao Bao and Cuckoo, they taste the delicacies of the world and see the world's scenery. They say that the broken bridge and flowing water reflect the mortal world, but I write about the smoke of war and the flames of war. "
Bi Gou made a dough with his hands and sighed.
Yao Chong saw that there was enough fish and was not in the mood to fish anymore. He casually threw the hook into the river and put his other hand on his knee. He said to Zhang Xiaobao, "Should we ask His Majesty to write a decree into the law and order employers everywhere to raise their wages?"
Zhang Xiaobao shook his head. "No, the prosperity of different places is different. How do we set wages? According to the situation of each place? The people will definitely migrate in large numbers. It's complicated and can't be solved in a few years. I can't wait. "
"I know." Bi Gou said, "Xiao Bao issued an order to all the merchants in the Tang Empire to raise their wages. Anyone who disobeys will be dealt with."
"Grandpa Bi, do you think I'm so useless that I need to use threats to achieve my goals?" Zhang Xiaobao mumbled.
"Threats are also a kind of ability. I want to threaten them, but they're not afraid. Did you forget what happened in the capital during the New Year? The prices of all kinds of things skyrocketed. Once the rumors spread, the prices fell. "Bi Gou smiled at Zhang Xiaobao.
Zhang Xiaobao gritted his teeth. "I really didn't say that anyone can't raise their wages during the New Year. And the rumors didn't come from the people. I was tricked by His Majesty and can't clarify it. If I really told others that I don't object to the price increase, the price would go out of control that day. It's like forcing a cow to drink water. If you sell me, I'll have to help you count the money. I'll gladly do it. "
Wang Juan smiled and leaned on Zhang Xiaobao. She had a blissful expression because she knew that Zhang Xiaobao was not threatened at all. Even if he was tricked, he would still endure it. It was all for the sake of the greater good.
"Hahaha, that's why I said that Xiao Bao and Cuckoo are good kids. Speaking of which, the world is very interesting. More than a decade ago, the people didn't have a good life, but they could still live a stable life. Now that their lives are better, the people's hearts are wavering. When the national treasury was poor, they worried. When they had money, they still worried.
Probably only His Majesty is in the best mood. Before we came, the palace was being renovated. The old single-story palaces were all being torn down and replaced with the lowest four-story palaces. The officials wanted to persuade them but didn't know how to open their mouths. His Majesty is using the internal treasury. Not only is he building the inner palace, but he's also building the offices of the various departments. If this was 15 years ago, would His Majesty dare to do this? Xiao Bao, if His Majesty is good, His Majesty must be good too. "
Bi Gou's tone changed as he spoke. His meaning was very clear. It was Xiao Bao who helped His Majesty earn the internal treasury, which was no less than the national treasury's income. Otherwise, how could His Majesty be so rich?
Zhang Xiaobao smacked his lips twice. He was not embarrassed at being criticized at all. Instead, he was very proud. He raised his chin to Wang Juan who was leaning on his shoulder and said, "Madam, you talk to the two grandpas."
"I'm leaning on you to rest for a while, but you don't let me feel comfortable." Wang Juan rolled her eyes at Zhang Xiaobao discontentedly. She sat up straight and smiled at the two old men. She said, "The palace is only so big. Building tall buildings is a reasonable use of land. If all the villages in the Tang Empire have more than four-story buildings, there will be a lot more land. Am I right?"
The two old men didn't say anything, which was a tacit agreement.
Wang Juan said again, "When His Majesty builds the palace, he pays for the materials and wages. He never takes credit. The suppliers of the materials benefit, the workers benefit, and the officials benefit. When His Majesty is happy, he also benefits. In other words, when a part of the money is spent, everyone will be happy. "
"How can he be happy when the money is spent?" Bi Gou felt that Wang Juan's words were twisted logic.
"You mean that he will be happy if he doesn't spend the money. Later, I'll ask someone to put 100,000 strings of cash on the table. Grandpa Bi, look at the money, stare at it, and you will smile." As Wang Juan spoke, she smiled. She thought of a joke from many years ago. There was a crosstalk comedian who said this.
Bi Gou frowned and said, "I'm not stupid. Why would I smile when I look at your money?"
"You can ask your family to take out the money and put it in front of you. You will smile when you look at it." Wang Juan said.
"Haha." Yao Chong laughed and patted Bi Gou's shoulder. "You've been tricked by Cuckoo. Now, what we're talking about is not whether to smile when looking at the money, but whether His Majesty should be thrifty. His Majesty's money is earned by Xiao Bao. Without Xiao Bao, His Majesty will not be extravagant. If His Majesty is not extravagant, the officials will not imitate him. If the officials do not imitate him, the people will live in peace. "
"Ah? According to Grandpa Yao, I deserve to die. But if His Majesty doesn't build houses, the officials don't build houses, and the people don't build houses either. No one has a house to live in. If His Majesty doesn't eat meat, everyone will be vegetarians. If His Majesty doesn't make new clothes, everyone in the Tang Empire will have to wear ragged clothes. In other words, my act of helping His Majesty earn money has allowed the people of the Tang Empire to live a good life. "
Zhang Xiaobao described himself as a good person according to Yao Chong's words.
Hearing Zhang Xiaobao's words, Bi Shu and Yao Chong laughed again and nodded.
"Xiao Bao, you are right. It is because of you and Cuckoo that the people of the Tang Empire live a good life. Otherwise, why would the people treat you so well? Tell me about the solution to increase wages and solve the unbalanced distribution of resources. "
After joking, Bi Shu, who was in a better mood, asked another question that he did not understand.
Zhang Xiaobao continued to shake his head. "I can't say. I have to wait for the imperial court to issue a decree. If I say it in advance, it will be easy for someone to take advantage of me. I can talk about the local arrangements first. Please listen and give me some advice."
*****
Li Longji, who was mentioned by Zhang Xiaobao and the others, was in the Hanyuan Palace, accompanied by Wu Huifei and Empress Wang.
Li Longji was reading the memorials on the table in front of him while making comments. Empress Wang and Wu Huifei were reading a book. One was reading "The Structure of Guns", while the other was reading "The Function of a Bank".
It was not that the three of them had come to a deserted place like the Hanyuan Palace to experience life, but that they had nowhere else to go. There was a huge construction project in the palace, and everyone was working at the same time. Not to mention the three of them, even the palace maids and eunuchs had no place to stay. Those who were on duty took a folding stool and found a place to rest.
The officials sat on rattan chairs and wrote on the table in front of them. Occasionally, one of them would stand up, walk a few steps, and run to another rattan chair to report.
"Your Majesty, what is the solution that Xiao Bao discussed with you? Tell me about it, so that I can help you think about it. "Wu Huifei covered her mouth and yawned. She asked Li Longji, who had just put down his brush.
"Sigh ~! You all came to ask me, but Xiao Bao didn't tell me at all. He was afraid that others would pester him, so he pushed me to the front. Why don't you believe me when I say that I don't know? "
Li Longji said helplessly.
Wu Huifei didn't believe him. She asked coquettishly, "Your Majesty, if you say that you don't know, then why did news spread from Xingqing Palace that you saw Xiao Bao's plan and said that it was a good plan?"
"I was tricked by him. The words he wrote on the paper he handed me were like flowers, and there were only four words: 'This plan is a good plan'. I was confused by it, so I read it out loud while guessing. Do you understand now?"
Wu Huifei had asked Li Longji six times already, so he had to explain.
Wu Huifei nodded in shock. "I understand now. Zhang Xiaobao is taking revenge. Your Majesty, you have been wronged."
"Sigh, righteousness, it's all for the sake of righteousness." Li Longji had a pained expression on his face.
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