Looking up, the snowmen were lined up. Brooms were used as arms, and leather hats were worn. Red beans were turned into buttons, and the heart was happy.
Zhangjia Zhuangzi. During the afternoon break, the children who ran out of the school picked up their tools and started to build snowmen. Big snowballs rolled out one by one, and the smaller ones were placed on top of them. After adding some snow, the shape of a snowman was roughly formed.
Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan also joined in and gave pointers from time to time. The children were responsible for the work. For this, Zhang Xiaobao specially asked people to find some things from the grocery store, such as lower quality leather hats, brooms, red beans, and black charcoal.
He even took out a carrot and used it as a nose. Wang Juan didn't understand at first. Why did a child need so many things to make a snowman? The arms could be replaced with branches, and the other parts could be made with mud balls. This cost her more money.
Zhang Xiaobao said to her, "This is the cohesion. The children must have a sense of belonging to Zhuangzi from a young age. Everything is the best, and they are the best. Look, the children are more serious when they see these things."
Looking at the snowmen that were formed one by one, Wang Juan had to admit that once these things were taken out, the children's performance was different. They appeared more formal and organized more rigorously.
"Little Man, look, this is you, and this is me. I'll hold you until spring comes." Liu 'er held her little brother's hand and stood in front of the two snowmen, one big and one small, and said to her little brother who was not very mature yet.
Little Man was much better than when he was young. If others didn't say it, they wouldn't be able to tell that this child was the poor, small, dark, and thin child from before.
At this time, he was wearing thick clothes, a leather hat on his head, and a scarf around his neck. He held his sister's hand and looked at the busy people, smiling happily.
Hearing his sister's words, the three-year-old turned his head and said, "Sister, spring is coming. The snow has melted, and we are gone."
"Yes, the snow has melted. We … we …" Liu 'er did not know what to say. It was as if she did not want spring to arrive.
"You will turn into water and flow into the river together. Then you will turn into clouds, one big cloud and one small cloud, flying in the sky." Wang Juan felt that it was indeed difficult to understand the feelings of children. When they looked at the snowman, they did not want spring to come, so she said in a childish tone.
Liu 'er's eyes lit up. "Yes. When the time comes, it will become a cloud, and then it will become rain. It will fall on the flowers below. You can water one flower, and I will water the other. The two flowers will be together. When winter comes, it will become a snowman. It will be bigger than this year's snowman.
"Together." Young Man became happy again.
Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan also had a new feeling. When the seasons changed, there was sadness and hope.
A horse came from afar. It did not go to the place where the children were playing, but went directly to the courtyard of the main house. After a while, Steward Zhang came here and said to Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan, who were making a snow slide, "Little Master, Little Miss, the county magistrate is coming. He will probably arrive after dark."
"Oh, it seems that he still hasn't given up. Come, let's see what he is going to do. Tell people to keep a close eye on him, including the people he sees. It's best to even know what they say. "
Zhang Xiaobao stopped shoveling the snow in his hands and looked at the small bridge as he said.
Steward Zhang knew that the Little Master did not care about these things, so he nodded and turned to leave. Wang Juan complained a little unhappily, "Why did he have to come today? It's not easy to take the children out to play for a while, but his mood became bad again. He schemed against each other all day. If only we were really children who didn't know anything."
"Children want to grow up quickly, while adults want to go back to the past. We are back, so we should be satisfied. The nostalgia for life is not the pain of death, but the unwilling to lose the attention to this world. It's good to be alive." Zhang Xiaobao seemed to be used to fighting, so he said firmly to Wang Juan.
Wang Juan smiled, "I'm just saying. If you want to live a good life, you have to grasp more resources. The competition will never stop. Even snowmen have to face spring. Flowers bloom and wither, clouds roll and unfold, and tides rise and fall. What will come will come. As long as we can go further on this road, it's good."
"Yes, this is life. Fortunately, I have you. I feel much more relaxed. When the water in the swimming pool freezes, let's make ice lanterns. There's a little fiery red in the crystal, and a warm heart in the cold." Zhang Xiaobao's mood was also touched by the children's cheerful play. Usually, he would not say these words.
In order to leave more happy memories for the children, Zhang Xiaobao specially announced that there would be no classes today. Amidst the children's laughter and the snowmen's black eyes, the curtain of night quietly fell. A hazy full moon hung over the silent Zhuangzi.
*****
"Sir, please bear with it for a while. We're almost there. If you continue to eat instant noodles, you won't be able to eat anything else."
It was dark. A few lanterns were hung in front of the carriage, or were picked up by the yamen runners. Jia County Magistrates' team was getting closer and closer to Tuqiao Village. Jia County Magistrates had eaten a full meal some time ago. In his opinion, the instant noodles in the bowl tasted really good, especially with the meat and dried green onions added later. The taste was only a little bit worse when soaked in it.
At this time, he felt hungry again and wanted to eat another bowl. The yamen runners were reluctant to give it to him. These things were not available to ordinary people, so they persuaded him to eat.
Jia County Magistrates swallowed his saliva and said, "We're almost there? Okay, let's go faster. "
"Faster." Seeing that Jia County Magistrates no longer asked for food, the yamen runners were relieved. They shouted and the team moved faster.
In fact, if they wanted to, they could have arrived before dark. In order to give Zhangjia Zhuangzi more time to prepare, they delayed until now. The county magistrates in the carriage were not feeling well. They were also cold and tired.
When the carriage arrived at Zhuangzi, except for the occasional dog barking, there was only the sound of the carriage wheels rolling on the snow.
Jia County Magistrates lifted the curtain and looked outside. In the darkness, he saw a light along the road. He asked the yamen runners outside, "Why is that light still on? Could it be that someone is walking? "
"Sir, that's the other side of the small bridge. It's where the Zhang Family and Wang Family live in Zhuangzi. Every once in a while, a lantern will be lit to illuminate the road," the yamen runner said.
In his heart, he was thinking that if someone came to make trouble, they would avoid the places where the lanterns could illuminate and look for dark places. However, those dark places were where the Miao Protection Team was monitoring.
"I heard that there's a market here. Is it still open now?" Jia County Magistrates thought for a while but could not figure out who would walk on the road in Zhuangzi at night. He could only ask about other things.
"Yes, it will be the New Year in a few days. There will be more people coming to trade and buy things. There are also merchants coming from other places to buy pork. Zhangjia Zhuangzi has started to kill pigs."
When the yamen runner talked about Zhangjia Zhuangzi killing pigs, his face became more excited. When the time came, Zhuangzi would give them some meat. This year, there were hundreds of pigs to be killed.
Jia County Magistrates saw the yamen runner's expression under the light of the lanterns. He felt uncomfortable. If he were to kill the two pigs he raised, the yamen runner would not be so happy. "Is it because it's cheaper to buy things here? Zhangjia Zhuangzi is so smart. Why doesn't he sell it himself? "
The yamen runner shook his head, "It's not cheap. The pork here is sold separately. The pork shoulder is put together, the pig head is put together, the ribs and the meat are also put together. If you buy according to this, you will need to spend dozens of copper coins more for a pig."
"Oh? It's expensive? Then people come here stupidly to buy it? "Jia County Magistrates could not understand.
"Of course. You can buy enough in one go here. If you go elsewhere, you will need to pay more for the carriage. There is a carriage company in the county that will send carriages to wait here. Merchants who buy things can directly hire a carriage to take them back. This way, they can save half of the travel expenses." The yamen runner told him everything he knew.
Jia County Magistrates was happy to hear that the carriage company of Sanshui County was using the carriage company of Sanshui County. At least the commoners could earn more money. Just like what the yamen runner said yesterday, they would have more money to buy things. He could collect more taxes.
The yamen runner continued, "Sir, don't think that the carriage company only charges the same amount of money as when they go there. You can still earn more. On the way back, you can buy things from other places and sell them at the market here. If you have more things, you can sell them directly to Er Gou. Zhangjia Zhuangzi will work on them and sell them."
"So in the end, all the money will be earned by Zhangjia Zhuangzi?" Jia County Magistrates was unhappy when he thought of Zhangjia Zhuangzi making money.
"Yes, sir. Here we are. Do you want to cross the bridge first, or do you want to go directly to Between the Clouds and the Water Restaurant? Several buildings have been built at Between the Clouds and the Water, but they are not fully repaired yet. Only the original one can be used for business. "The yamen runner asked when the carriage came to a place where the roads were divided.
Jia County Magistrates hesitated and said, "Don't cross the bridge today. Let's go to the restaurant and ask them to serve the signature dishes. Oh, I forgot to bring money today."
Jia County Magistrates deliberately said the second half of the sentence. He wanted to make the Zhang family poor. The yamen runner understood the county magistrate's intention and said, "Sir, you don't have to worry about money. Just like before, you just need to eat."
"Well, the family in Sanshui County is good." Jia County Magistrates only felt happy at times like this. These days, every time he went out to eat, he specially picked the signature dishes. The more expensive, the better. He felt like he was taking revenge on the Zhang family.
When the carriage arrived at Between the Clouds and the Water, there was no more snow. The yellow sand covered the ground, giving people a clean and tidy feeling. Jia County Magistrates deliberately wore his official uniform today to let the people in Zhangjia Zhuangzi know that he came for them this time. He also knew that even if he didn't wear it, they would know that he was here. There were so many spies around him.
"Sir, you are here. Please come in. We will serve you on the second floor." The waiter came out to welcome him. When he saw that the new county magistrate of Sanshui County was here, he quickly greeted him.
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