When Mao Mao heard Xiaobei agree, the worry in her heart disappeared. She immediately promised Xiaobei, "I will definitely get first place in this afternoon's competition. I will show the other boys that we girls are better than them. First, we must be first."
"This … friendship comes first." Xiaobei wanted to say that girls were better than boys, but she suddenly remembered her identity. She was afraid that she would put too much pressure on Mao Mao and not perform well, so she could only say something official.
However, Xiaobei said, "You have to perform well, show yourself, and respect the spirit of sports. What's your surname? What's your father's name? "
Xiaobei was not in the mood to tell Mao Mao what her surname was or what her father's name was. She asked very straightforwardly. She still had to negotiate later. There were more than 13,000 dogs. She had to take good care of them. Many puppies would appear in three or four months. If she grasped the opportunity, she could make a lot of money.
Xiaobei had not been in a good mood for the past two days. She kept finding trouble with Xiaoyuan. Xiaoyuan had no choice but to find her family's doctor. After observation and diagnosis, she found that she was under too much pressure. To a large extent, it was caused by the negotiations with her brother and sister.
In fact, it had only been a few days, but Xiaobei had never experienced such a difficult negotiation. More importantly, it was difficult for the nine of them. As the target of the negotiation, her brother and sister had nothing to do. They dealt with the military, political, and economic information on time every day. Then, they ate and slept well. When she woke up this morning, she even heard two people running to the rooftop. One was playing the guitar, the other was playing the piano, and they were singing "Swallows Fly Together."
It was too much of a blow. She had to prove herself in other ways.
Xiaobei and the other eight siblings had been thinking about what to do to divert their attention. They wanted to temporarily break away from the vicious circle of negotiations with her brother and sister and redefine themselves.
The doctor said that her psychological behavior was not normal now. She needed psychotherapy and wanted to send a professional doctor to help.
In the end, Xiaobei and the others refused. They did not need anyone's help. They could adjust themselves.
Xiaobei thought that she had found an opportunity to cooperate with Mao Mao's father. Then, in the next six months, they would invest, raise, breed, train, migrate, rent, or sell.
In this way, she could temporarily get rid of the pressure brought by her brother and sister.
Mao Mao did not know that Xiaobei had her own difficulties. Xiaobei looked at Xiaobei's excited expression and thought that she had thought of a good idea to help her father. Then he said, "My surname is Song. My father is Song Dakang. Xiao Bei, are you going to lend me some money?"
"I'm not lending. I just said that we're working together. Borrowing money is for a moment, and working together is for a long time." After saying that, Xiao Bei felt like he was lying to Mao Mao, so he continued, "It's easy for me to lend money to your family, but your family's development is still slow. Why don't you work with us? Our channels for obtaining information are different. It may seem like your father's share of the profits is relatively small, but in terms of absolute profits, it is much more."
"I don't understand. In any case, I believe in you. You won't harm my family. If even you want to harm my father, then the Great Tang will have no hope." Mao Mao said very seriously.
"Of course, we can do wrong things with a kind heart, but we definitely can't do right things with a bad heart. Brother and sister don't care if we fail to help others. At most, they will be responsible for compensating for the loss, but they won't allow us to build our success on the pain of others."
Xiao Bei promised Mao Mao. She knew that after her group of children did something, there would always be brothers and sisters helping to clean up the mess. Even if they knew that they were not doing well enough, they still supported them from behind. The purpose was to train the nine of them. The prerequisite was that they had to put their hearts and minds in the right place.
"My father should be here in a while. The person in charge of the loan at the bank will be resting at noon." Mao Mao was afraid that Xiao Bei would be anxious from waiting, so he said this.
"I'm not in a hurry. You play well. I'll go somewhere else to take a look." Xiao Bei ate two mouthfuls of rice and four mouthfuls of dishes at this table. She picked up the plate and continued to walk to another table.
After lunch time, Xiao Bei and the nine of them finally had time to rest. She asked someone to bring them a bowl of hot soup and finished the food on the plate. Each of them held a large pear and listened to the yamen officials who had also finished eating speak on the stage. At the same time, they pondered over what Xiao Bei had just said.
Mao Mao's father hadn't arrived yet. She really couldn't wait. She could only look for him personally after the table tennis competition ended.
"Officials really talk a lot. They don't stop talking." Four or five meters in front of Xiao Bei and the others, a man's complaining voice sounded.
As soon as this person finished speaking, another person beside him said, "They wanted to say it before, but Xiao Bei said that the competition had started first. They didn't dare to say anything. Now that they're resting, if they don't say what they've prepared beforehand, wouldn't it be a waste of time?"
"I don't object to their words. When children play, they say that children are good. What did you hear them say? Economic construction. My child is only six years old. Do you want him to carry bricks? Speaking of economic construction, it's better to talk about the safety of children's meals. My child came home a few days ago and told me that when we ate at school, half of the salted duck egg was smelly. "
The third person turned his head and complained to the two people who had spoken earlier.
Xiao Bei and the others' attention couldn't help but be attracted. How could they give smelly eggs?
When I was young, I liked to eat smelly salted eggs the most. If they weren't smelly, I wouldn't eat them. At that time, they were all smelly. We're poor. My two children are like me. They're willing to eat smelly eggs. In the future, when your children encounter smelly eggs, they can exchange them with my children. It's fine if the salted eggs are smelly, as long as the meat isn't. "
The second person who spoke retorted the third person. While speaking, the sound of saliva swallowing could be heard. It seemed that he really liked to eat smelly salted eggs.
"Xiao Yuan, have you eaten salted and smelly eggs?" Xiao Bei was very curious. Why did people like to eat smelly eggs?
Xiao Yuan shook his head. "No, the ones we eat are not smelly. The yellow ones are oily. I heard that brother's guard at the door say that there's someone in the kitchen who specially marinates the smelly salted eggs. It seems that the eggs are marinated for a period of time. Why don't we go back to the kitchen and ask? Try a few. It's probably similar to stinky tofu. Anyway, it's marinated for more than 28 days. "
"Seems like there's no problem with the school's food." Xiao Bei had just eaten and wasn't hungry. He didn't think too much about the smelly eggs for the time being.
The three people who had spoken earlier seemed to have found a topic and began to discuss the smelly salted eggs. Some said that if there wasn't enough salt, the eggs couldn't be eaten. Others said that the eggs that had been taken out to dry under the sun couldn't be eaten.
As they spoke, the topic went astray. From the salted eggs under the sun to the deterioration of the ham under the sun, from the deterioration of the ham to the deliciousness of the air-dried chicken, from the air-dried chicken to the roast duck of Sanshui County, from the sweet sauce of the roast duck to the shredded meat that could be used to make the sweet sauce.
From the 'shredded meat in sweet sauce' to the planting techniques of green onions, from the need to bury them deep in the soil so that there would be more green onions. From the deep soil to the yam eggs, from the yam eggs to the potatoes that hadn't been popularized yet.
From the potatoes to the benefits of foreign species, from the benefits of foreign species to the practical use of plunder in war, from war to artillery.
"Speaking of artillery …" The person who had spoken first began to comment on artillery in an authoritative manner. "It's indeed powerful, especially when used against man-eating cavalry. Once it's fired, even the horses would be scared off. The people on top would fall down like dumplings. I've thought about it before. It's powerful, but it's too expensive. How many bullets can one shell make? The imperial court should use more bullets to hit people. "
"That's not right. How can bullets be compared to shells? How far can bullets fly? How far can shells fly? Shells explode everywhere. It's hard to say if the bullets can hit people. Current guns can only shoot up to 500 meters, while shells can fly up to 1,000 meters. "The third person who spoke commented like an 'expert.'
The first person who spoke was unconvinced. "Who told you that bullets can only shoot up to 500 meters? You're talking about pistols. Long guns can shoot up to 3,000 meters, and shells can fly up to 7,000 to 8,000 meters without a problem. "
Xiao Bei and the others looked at each other and communicated with their eyes. In the end, they confirmed that this person was talking nonsense. The best pistol at home could shoot up to 130 meters, while the average one could shoot up to 40 meters. The furthest one could shoot up to 170 meters.
Long guns could indeed shoot further. The furthest one could shoot up to 2,500 to 600 meters, with a killing range of 1,400 meters. This kind of gun was very rare. Most of them required a killing range of 100 to 400 meters. The special sniper rifle at home could only shoot up to 1,100 meters. That didn't mean that it could shoot as far as it could accurately shoot the enemy.
Xiao Bei and Xiao Bei had said that the manufacturing of guns was still not accurate. They relied on many imprecise situations to produce an accurate gun by chance. Or it could be specially modified later. With the addition of a scope, it could only shoot up to 800 meters and have a higher hit rate.
Usually, they pursued an accurate sniper shot up to 400 meters. Moreover, good marksmanship at this distance did not require a scope. As for shells, they could only fly up to 4,000 meters, which was the furthest one could go. Usually, the guns used could not shoot as far as guns, such as grenade launchers, small infantry cannons, and mortars.
When the nine people felt that the three people speaking were interesting, they continued to listen to them.
"Don't argue, don't argue." The second person who spoke tried to persuade them. "Anyway, we don't know. I only know that the weapons of the Tang Empire are powerful. Xiao Bao and Cuckoo would rather spend more money than to let the soldiers pay with their lives. Speaking of the real source, I think it's the transportation cost. Due to the confidentiality of the technology, they have been transported from Lu Zhou, Ji Li Province, and the capital to the front line.
I heard that the munitions factory is going to be placed here and at the seaside. When the time comes, there will be a lot of soldiers guarding it. There are many places we can't go. Even if we want to visit, we have to check eight generations of ancestors. We are not allowed to bring anything with fire or dangerous metal pieces on us. "
"That's right. You can't even bring a needle." The first person who spoke continued, "I know. There's a needle at the back of the gun. If you poke it forward, the bullet will fly out. You want to bring a needle over and make the bullet fly out?"
"You know? I'll join the military training tomorrow and touch the gun. I'll tell you when I come back. "The third person still didn't like the first person. The two of them had quarreled just now.
The second person who spoke began to persuade them again. "Go, go. I found that after the transported things are put down, the things that have just been robbed or excavated are transported elsewhere. The transportation is switched section by section. The road here is not easy to travel, whether by water or land. After the last section is finished, many cars and boats can't go back immediately.
The cars need to be repaired, the boats need to be checked for wear and tear, and the animals need to rest. Generally, the animals need to rest for ten days before they can go on the road again. Is it because they can't do anything with the extra ten days? Animals need to rest, but people don't. People just need to sleep. As a result, there are more idlers. As a local, I'm afraid that they will cause trouble. "
"I'm also worried. They need to eat. I'm worried that the price will be raised. But this can't be helped. Maybe we can only solve part of the problem when the munitions factory is built here," the first person said.
The third person didn't continue to argue with the first person. Instead, he said, "If I have a business, I'll hire them temporarily. Anyway, they have nothing to do. They have good stamina to do transportation."
"Let's stop talking. The officials have finally finished reading. The competition is about to start. The top 16. Haha, this group of little guys is so nice." The second person sat up straight and looked forward to the start of the competition.
"I'm going to pee." The third person stood up.
"Let's go together." The first person followed.
After sitting up straight for two seconds, the second person also stood up. "After listening to you, I also feel suffocated. I didn't drink much water just now."
The three people left, but Xiaobei and the other nine people couldn't focus on the competition.
Xiaobei turned his head and asked the inner court next to him, "Are there many people staying in Yizhou to repair the boats and carriages?"
"Yes, and there are also people who drive the animals. The road is not easy to travel, so the animals can't go back immediately. They need to grow fat. It takes about ten days. As for the donkeys, they don't need to rest for too long. Their bodies can recover, but donkeys have bad tempers."
The inner court answered.
Xiaobei thought for a while and then asked, "Can't we ask them to work?"
"The situation has just started, so other logistics are still transported from nearby places. The cannonballs in the distance were transported before and were escorted by soldiers. Later on, people started to use manpower. It will take about a month at the earliest to arrive.
Maybe after a while, there will be more idle people. However, it's not easy to recruit local people. Excluding their rest time, they can do other things in less than eight days. "
The inner court answered again.
"Stupid, how can it be a waste of manpower?" Xiaobei felt that eight days, or even seven days, was a lot. The main problem was that for people who only transported goods, they only had a little free time. In fact, there was a seven-day periodic labor overflow in Yizhou. It was like a part of the money from the bank was never taken away.
"Xiaoyuan, do you think it will be helpful to us if we make good use of them?" Xiaobei asked Xiaoyuan, who was closest to her.
Xiaoyuan lowered her head and thought. Xiaohai suddenly said, "We need to choose the type of work well. The longest continuous cycle can't exceed seven days. It's suitable for short-term, non-continuous work, such as dockside porters or construction site porters.
In fact, farming is also fine. We can hire many people at once and plough a large area of land in a short time. But now, the farming season has passed. If we change to embroidery, breeding, hotel service, carving, wine, and other industries, it's not suitable to ask them to work. "
The other eight children nodded. They felt that Xiaohai was right. If they wanted to use this labor force, they had to consider clearly what they wanted them to do.
After a while, the top four were decided. Xiaobei's eyes lit up and she suggested, "According to what Brother Xiaohai said, let them participate in the construction site porter work. Brother and Sister have designed a new city area and are lacking manpower. Why don't we find them and let them work for seven days? The other locals can do other things.
What do you think? If you agree, we have to do it quickly. Otherwise, others will beat us to it, especially Brother and Sister. If they think of it first, we have nothing else to do. How can we continue to negotiate? Let's take a break. It's tiring.
You didn't directly negotiate, so you won't understand the frustration. In the beginning, I hoped that Brother would miscalculate the benefits. Later, I settled for the second best, hoping that Brother would fight over the details of our negotiation. That would mean that Brother had no other choice.
Dreams are beautiful, but reality is cruel. Even if it was Sister, none of my expectations were realized. It's difficult, really difficult. Why don't one of you give it a try? "
Xiaobei looked at Xiaoyuan. Xiaoyuan quickly shook her head. "I know without trying. We feel that it's difficult now. Back when Brother and Sister were younger than us, how difficult was it when they went to negotiate with that bunch of officials? That bunch of old fogeys were all smart.
We feel that we can't handle this little bit of pressure. How did Brother and Sister persevere? Everyone praises Brother for being a serial schemer, but wasn't the situation back then continuous? Who was the opponent? Every time Brother and Sister gave in, they would definitely leave behind an opportunity to advance. Countless times, they took advantage of losses to achieve what they have today.
If we want to reach Brother and Sister's height, we have to suffer even more. So what if it's difficult to negotiate with Brother and Sister? If it really doesn't work out, we can give up on negotiations and ask directly. Brother and Sister will give it to us. Back then, Brother and Sister couldn't give up. Thinking about it this way, do you feel better? "
"Alright, when we can compete with Brother and Sister in a battle of wits, we can go anywhere in the world. Now, there's an opportunity to integrate the surplus labor force produced during the transportation process due to objective conditions. We'll let Brother and Sister see that we're still very powerful. "
Xiaobei's mood had indeed improved. Wasn't it just that they felt that they had failed in the negotiation because they couldn't get any benefits? What was the big deal? Their opponents were very, very impressive. They were Brother and Sister who could fight with the entire imperial court officials, including Uncle Emperor, and win.
After thinking it through, the nine little fellows began to arrange people to keep an eye on the various transportation teams and pull them together to provide labor output to the construction site.
They themselves were waiting for Mao Mao's father, Song Dakang, to appear quickly. This way, they would have two new business deals and increase their own advantage in the process of negotiating with Brother and Sister.
The competition was still going on.
The three 'parents' who had previously said that they were going to the outhouse did not go back. They gathered together to talk.
"Big Brother, the two of us cooperated pretty well, right? Did we reveal any flaws? "The second person who spoke asked the first person who spoke.
The first person who spoke wiped the sweat on his forehead and shook his head. "I don't think so. I believe that with the little ancestors' intelligence, they should be able to think of recruiting people to work. It's really not easy for Little Master and Little Lady. On one hand, they're attacking Xiaobei, Little Master, and Little Master, and on the other hand, giving them new hope."
"Big Brother is right. Everyone says that our Xiaobei and Xiaoyuan are very powerful. There's also Daonan and Xiaonan, Xiaoqiang, and the others. The common people think that they're all good. They only think that it's magical and good Fengshui. Only we know how Little Master and Little Lady educate their younger siblings.
Have those adults who think that their children can't compare to other people's children ever thought about how much they've sacrificed? In fact, it's like planting crops. Leaving it alone and carefully tending to it will definitely result in different results. "
The third person who spoke sighed. He was also so nervous that he was sweating. If the little ancestors had seen through him just now, not only would he not be able to complete the task that Little Master and Little Lady had asked him to adjust his younger siblings' mood, it would even make the little ancestors feel even more sad.
"How's the other aspect? Will Song Dakang spill the beans? "The first person who spoke, who was also the big brother, asked.
The two people shook their heads. One of them said, "It shouldn't be wrong. Last night, Little Master deliberately asked someone to set up a trap and made an agreement with Song Dakang. The little ancestors gave people a lot of pressure, but they didn't give people pressure from themselves. They gave people pressure because of Little Master and Little Lady. Who is Song Dakang more afraid of?"
"That's right. Let's wait for the news. We've made a contribution. I hope the little guys can grow up well. My child is about to be born. When he's born, I'll directly send him to the department in charge of parenting in the inner yard. I estimate that after ten years, even if he can't compare to the little ancestors, he'll be close to them."
When the big brother talked about his unborn child, his eyes were full of gentleness. He was very confident in the education system of the inner yard children.
*****
"I'm a dog breeder. I'm short of loans. I can't raise dogs anymore. I'm a dog breeder. I'm short of loans …"
Outside the prefectural academy, Song Dakang kept repeating the same sentence in front of a small mirror in his hand.
He had been practicing since last night. After sleeping in a daze, he started to repeat it again in the morning. But he was still worried.
He was indeed a dog breeder, and he was really short of money. He needed a loan, but he was not in a hurry. He used to provide funds for four schools at the same time. He took six percent of the total funds provided by the society for each school.
Moreover, he used money to build roads and simple bridges for several villages.
With the receipt, he could easily get a loan from the bank.
But Song Dakang didn't want to do that. Six years ago, when he planned to invest money in the Chaoyang Operation, he never thought of getting a loan through this. He just felt that since he had money, it was right to help more children. He helped people to build bridges and roads, and it was very comfortable to hear a word of praise.
If he had to do that today before he got a loan, he felt that it was demeaning to himself. He was willing to spend money on the children, but it was not for any benefits.
He planned to find someone to borrow some money to get through this uncomfortable period of time.
Who would have thought that Xiao Bao would send someone to find him last night. He asked him to tell his daughter that he would get a loan and then come to see her. He said that with his daughter's playing skills, there was a great chance that she could attract Xiaobei and the others, and thus pave the way for him to appear.
There were two other people who had also received the mission. One was a herdsman in the northern area of Hebei Province. Later, he moved his family to Yizhou, and now he was not doing well. The other was a man who had a lot of contact with the Turks in Fengzhou, and raised eagles and hounds at home. Three years ago, he came to Yizhou with five eagles.
Xiao Bao told him not to be surprised or excited when he saw the two of them. Perhaps he wouldn't be able to meet them, or perhaps he wouldn't be able to connect with Xiao Bei and the others. In that case, he would have to act one or a few more times until they connected. That was because his 13,000 plus dogs were very useful.
So now was the time to test himself. He had to be steady and treat it as the first time he met Xiaobei. In fact, it was the first time he met Xiaobei. He had to be like a normal person. No, a normal person.
He repeated it twice, and then went in.
Song Dakang kept encouraging himself. As expected, he repeated it twice in front of the mirror, took a deep breath, and walked into the school.
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