After the autumn rain, it was much colder. The restaurant Between the Clouds and the Water lived up to its name. Wild fish hadn't washed up here, and local fish couldn't be found here either. The people in the restaurant had to fish some fish from the pond in Zhuangzi and put them in the middle of the restaurant that was surrounded by a net.
The tables on the first floor where fish could be caught were also full. Only these tables could be used to eat and fish at the same time. Compared to other places, the price was also higher.
Today, not only were there many customers here, but there were also many customers eating on the first floor and the second floor. Almost every customer was carrying a plate with a number written on it.
When it was almost time to get a person's number, a waiter came over to greet the customer. The customer followed the waiter to a private room on the second floor and discussed with Steward Zhang about buying popcorn. It was the snack that popped out of the popcorn, glued it with sugar, and cut it into pieces.
As for how they talked inside, the people outside didn't know. All the merchants who came out didn't say anything when they were asked.
"Waiter, come here, I want to ask you something." In a room on the second floor, two merchants, one thin and one fat, sat opposite each other. They were looking at the scenery outside while eating and drinking. The number of words on their plates was a little late. They couldn't wait any longer, so they had to call the waiter over to ask.
The waiter came over with a smile and stood beside them respectfully. "Sir, please tell me. As long as I know, I will tell you everything I know."
"I heard that the popcorn is the rice that was originally used to make seeds? Is it true that it was drenched by the rain? " The fat merchant thought that when they entered the room later, they would need to talk about the price. For example, if the popcorn was drenched by the rain, they would have to lower the price and so on.
The waiter blinked twice and coughed softly to clear his throat. Then he said, "Sir, you know about it? Yes, there was such a thing. You didn't know that day. That guy, let me tell you, there were so many people. It was so dark that you couldn't see anything. It was about to rain.
Everyone was anxious, especially the owners of the grain store. They were so anxious that their eyebrows were on fire. Guess what they did? Lighting up the lanterns, that guy lit up half the sky. He swung his scythe, and the rice fell one by one. Unfortunately, it was too late. Just as he was about to collect the scythe, there was a loud crack of thunder, and who knew how many people were killed.
Then, raindrops as big as soybeans came pouring down. That guy, just listen. There are sounds of rain everywhere. This lowly one is watching from the second floor. I saw the uncut rice seedlings get smashed down by the rain. The rice grains get smashed everywhere. That guy … "
"Dude, what are you talking about? It's raining so heavily at night. Can you see the rice grains flying over there while standing here? Let me ask you, are those paddies moldy? "
Listening to the waiter's boasting, the thin merchant interrupted the waiter unhappily.
The shop assistant didn't feel embarrassed at all. He smiled and said, "Sir, you are right. I heard it from others. Please excuse me. You asked if it's moldy? No, absolutely not. Listen to this lowly one. At that time, I heard that the owners of the grain stores were so anxious that they cried. That guy looked so pitiful.
Guess what happened? Zhangjia Zhuangzi collected the paddies that were soaked in the rain and sold some new seeds to them. They were so touched. That guy kept praising Zhuangzi and cried even louder than before.
Other people would be done for if they encountered such a thing, but the Zhang family's farmstead didn't care. That night, they collected the drenched rice and began to peel it. After peeling it, they placed it in … something and threw it into the fire. The entire farmstead heard the sound of a clanging sound. That fellow sounded like thunder.
This lowly one went to see it the next afternoon. That guy, can you guess what this lowly one saw? You definitely won't be able to guess. It came out right in front of this lowly one's eyes. Oh, it's so scary. "
"What's scary?" The shop assistant said and gestured, which really attracted the two merchants. At the critical moment, he suddenly stopped.
"That's a good question. What's scary? Don't worry, this lowly one definitely didn't see a big worm or a wild wolf. We don't have those things here. Even if we do, we don't need to be afraid. Zhuangzi has a protection team. You don't know that the protection team is very powerful. That guy … "
With a clatter, a string of coins was thrown on the table. The thin merchant didn't say anything and just looked at the shop assistant.
"That day, this lowly one saw some planks in the courtyard of the manor. On top of the planks were pieces of paper. A small mountain of rice was piled on top of the paper. Beside it, there was also someone boiling sugar to make the rice stick to the rice."
The shop assistant changed his expression and said what the two wanted to know as quickly as possible. At the same time, he picked up the 20 coins and put them into his sleeve.
"Well, then do you know what turned the rice into flowers?" The fat merchant asked again.
"No," the shop assistant answered without thinking.
With a clatter, another 11 strings of coins were thrown on the table. This time, there were twice as many coins as last time. The two merchants didn't know how to carry them, but they were strangely heavy.
"I don't know. Please don't take them out. Even if I know, this lowly one can't say." The shop assistant directly said.
The two merchants looked at each other. The thin one nodded and the fat one said to the shop assistant, "Do you want to change to a better place to work?"
"Yes, but I don't know. The housekeeper said that this lowly one will be a shopkeeper in a few days." The shop assistant stopped smiling and said seriously.
The thin merchant looked at the shop assistant and thought for a while, "Then you have to work hard. I heard that Zhangjia Zhuangzi is selling chickens recently. Do you know how many of them haven't been sold?"
"You mean chickens? Yes, we're selling them. Not only chicks, we're selling ducklings and geese as well. There are so many of them. That fellow, when I came out this morning, I saw a flock of chicks running back and forth in the farmstead, chirping non-stop. That's what they look like. They're half the size of my palm and are so furry. "
Speaking of this, the shop assistant's face was full of smiles again, and his hands were also on the drawing board. When the two merchants heard this, they sighed at the same time. They exchanged for a string of ten copper coins and pushed it in front of the shop assistant.
"There are about 6,000 left to be sold. You have to give them to the farmers on Zhuangzi first and to the surrounding Zhuangzi as well. If you want to buy them, you have to be quick. Otherwise, you won't have anything left. This lowly one has a list here. Please take a look. It has the size and price of each bird written on it."
When the shop assistant put away the money, he told the two of them what they wanted to know. He also took out a piece of paper with some words written on it.
The fat merchant took it and handed it to the thin merchant. On it was written the number of days and the price of three kinds of birds. The male and female birds were calculated separately. It also said what to feed them, which ones were cheaper and which ones grew faster. It was very detailed.
"Who should I talk to about this matter?" The thin merchant folded the paper and put it away.
"When it's your turn, you can talk to Steward Zhang directly. If you want to ship them back yourself, we'll see how much you can negotiate. If you want to ship them back to Zhuangzi, you'll have to pay more."
After the shop assistant finished speaking, he saw the two of them and immediately left.
*****
At noon, the weather was a little warmer.
Some of the 80 children were tired from walking. They found a place under a tree and squatted there to eat. Everyone was carrying a big bag. Although it was a little heavy, there was a lot of things inside. There was water and meat, and some people even packed some washed fruits.
"Brother Yongyao, did you arrange someone to go back and do the poisoning thing?" The person who gave the bad idea, who was called Brother Xing Yi by Han Yongyao, came over with half a lamb leg in his hand and asked in a low voice.
"Humph, Brother Xing Yi, don't worry. I've arranged everything. Brother Xing Yi, try the lamb chops my family brought me." Han Yongyao handed over several pieces of smoked lamb chops.
"Good, it's good that you've arranged it. Brother Yongyao, try my leg of lamb. I brought three this time." Xing Yi took out a leg of lamb to exchange.
The two of them laughed sinisterly.
Li Xun was also eating at this time. He was surrounded by a few people who had stayed with him from the grassland to the desert.
The things they took out were different from those people who came here for the first time. Most of the things they carried was water. There was no whole roast chicken, no lamb leg, no lamb chop, and no sauced beef. They were all kinds of fried noodles, and there were some hard jerky inside.
They grabbed a handful and stuffed it into their mouths, drank some water, and slowly chewed. They also licked away the little bits of foam on their mouths and hands with their tongues.
"Young Master Li, looking at the things they brought, it seems like they won't last more than a few days. Are you really going to give them a beating?" A person finished the food in his mouth and asked softly.
Li Xun's face was gloomy. He looked around at the people who were eating and snorted coldly, "That's what I said at the beginning. If they were willing to come, I would have let them know in advance that the journey this time would be very long. They actually dared to bring so much meat and bones that take up so much space. Beat them. The journey has already been divided into ten portions.
I won't let them off easily. "Li Xun's big matter was to summarize the situation and report it to his father. He wanted his father to allow him to send people to survive in the harsh wilderness for a longer period of time. He hadn't added the intelligence gathering and anti-reconnaissance yet.
After Li Xun finished speaking, those people didn't know what to say.
Li Xun thought for a moment and said, "When the time comes, apart from those who are in the military, I will give them a position as a tribute to their hometown. Rewards and punishments will be fair."
"Thank you, Young Master Li." When the people around heard that the imperial nephew had secretly given them a position, they thanked him one after another. Otherwise, with their age, they might not be able to pass the exam. It would be very difficult for them to get a position.
"Young Master Li, the fried noodles we brought can't last until then. It's estimated that it will take half a month. What should we eat at that time? Can you tell us a bit?" A person next to them suddenly thought happily. The backpack was only so big. If there was too much, it wouldn't be able to walk. If they ate it all, how would they replenish it? The grass was already yellow, and the wild vegetables couldn't be eaten.
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