Winter, a field of white snow; wind, coming lightly; cold, not feelings; who says helplessness, flowers will bloom.
Zhangjia Zhuangzi's plum blossoms had bloomed a few days ago, but not as many as today. Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan woke up early in the morning, wrapped themselves up, and ran to the thicket of plum blossoms together.
In order to be able to smell the fragrance of the flowers, they paid special attention to their noses and covered their noses as much as possible. When they reached the place, they took off the satin cloth in front of their faces and inhaled with all their might.
"Xiao Bao, do you smell it?" Wang Juan asked Zhang Xiaobao with her eyes closed, looking intoxicated.
Zhang Xiaobao also inhaled with all his might, the kind that used his nose. After a while, he said, "Do you want to hear the truth or the lie?"
"Let's tell the lie first." Wang Juan was still intoxicated.
Zhang Xiaobao used his hand to warm his nose, which had turned red from the cold. "It smells so good. It makes me feel that this smell can't be described with any words. I smell a strong aura, I smell an unforgettable memory, I smell a fragrance from the ancient times, I smell …."
"You can tell the truth now." Wang Juan interrupted Zhang Xiaobao's lyrical speech.
"The truth is that the place where we are standing is upwind. The wind mixed with some fine snow brushed past our backs, making the pink and white plum blossoms sway gracefully, bringing the smell of spring, taking away the pollen of the flowers, taking away …"
"I was wondering why I didn't smell it. It turns out that we were standing in the wrong place. Why didn't you tell me earlier? Follow me and inhale. Come, let's go over there." Wang Juan's intoxicated expression changed, and she pulled Zhang Xiaobao to the other side of the thicket.
"There are two more days before the New Year. Today is the 28th of December. Is the Jia County Magistrates not going to make a move? Don't tell me it's on the thirtieth? "Wang Juan covered her nose, which could no longer smell anything, and said in a muffled voice.
Zhang Xiaobao's condition was worse than Wang Juan's. He had already blown his nose three times, and his eyes were red. It was unknown whether it was because of pollen allergy or because of the cold. He turned his head to avoid the direction of the wind and said, "Who cares? I don't believe that they will dare to send people here to fight and kill. Let's go and see how much we still need to prepare for the New Year."
*****
In a flat area between Zhuangzi and the small bridge of the Wang Family, next to the market, there were many busy farmers.
Pieces of wooden planks were erected and inserted into each other, forming simple houses one after another. These simple houses had at least two doors, and some even had four doors, one next to the other.
In these houses, there were tables and chairs, as well as many basins made by people to cook hot pot. Next to them, there was a space a few dozen steps away from them, where charcoal was placed. Zhangjia Zhuangzi had the most charcoal. They had already bought a lot of charcoal in the county, which caused the price of charcoal in the county to rise by at least three times.
It seemed that it brought inconvenience to the people in the county, but in fact, it allowed many people who worked in their families to earn some money. After cutting down trees and burning charcoal, they could sell it to Zhangjia Zhuangzi, or to be exact, to Zhang Xiaobao.
Back then, Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan had discussed this matter. This might give the Jia County Magistrates an excuse to attack them. After all, the price of goods had risen. Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan didn't care about this. They just increased the price when they bought the goods, and they even asked the local government runners to help them buy the goods from the people who burned charcoal. This saved them a lot of trouble.
The main reason was that the two of them felt that by doing this, there would be a lot less trees. In the end, there wasn't so much vegetation here. The places where the trees were cut down were not replanted at all, and they didn't want to either. They directly became land. This was a newly opened land, so they could enjoy the treatment of tax exemption.
So many simple houses were one of the ways that Zhang Xiaobao could solve the problem of not being able to go home during the New Year. Other than the two main families who needed to worship the Lord, the other villagers didn't need to do this. Some of them only knew where their ancestors came from, but they didn't know who their ancestors were. The family tree that was passed down by word of mouth was no more.
During the New Year, Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan didn't know which house to go to. No matter which house they went to, it would make the other house seem too empty. Zhang Xiaobao decided that this year, everyone would celebrate the New Year together. The villagers could eat their own food or share it with others.
In addition to these, Zhang Xiaobao took out a lot of meat from his storeroom. He planned to cut it into slices and treat the villagers to hot pot. With so many people gathered together, it was naturally very lively. Even the workers Between the Clouds and the Water could change back and forth.
"Okay, these houses are enough. Together with the houses in the market, we can celebrate the New Year together." When Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan arrived, a worker in charge of the construction site shouted loudly to the surrounding villagers.
The villagers put down their work and looked at the houses around them. Their faces were filled with happy smiles. Previously, everyone celebrated the 15th of the first lunar month together. At that time, there were torches everywhere and all kinds of snacks. Zhuangzi was not as rich as it was now.
This year, they didn't expect that the main family would also be preparing to celebrate the New Year. When the time came, they could pay a New Year's visit to the head of the main family on the night of the 30th. It was even more lively than before.
"This is good, isn't it? Between the Clouds and the Water is not far away. We can even send the finished goods over there. When we set off the firecrackers, we can set them off on both sides of the bridge. The only regrettable thing is that we don't know how to mix fireworks. We can only use fire. The things that explode are all the same. We should use something like magnesium powder. "
Zhang Xiaobao looked at everyone's happy expression and felt happy. The whole thing was a big family. He thought that not only were the adults happy, but the children would also be happy.
Wang Juan was also imagining the scene during the New Year. It was much livelier than before. In the past, everyone lived their own lives. To set off firecrackers, they had to go outside to set off their own firecrackers. There weren't so many people gathered to eat together.
The people who came to pay a New Year's visit carried expensive things and said hypocritical words. How could it compare to now? The smiles of the villagers were not fake.
Thinking of this, Wang Juan sighed with relief and said, "Yes, it's really good. That lord from the imperial court doesn't have to worry about no one serving him. I wonder, have you ever heard of a lord not celebrating the New Year at home and going to other people's restaurants?"
"No, I've never heard of it. Maybe it's not written in the books? It's passed down from generation to generation. There are always some deviations in history. For example, some things that happened in our country have long been buried in the tide of history. Except for those who really experienced it, who knows what's behind a certain thing? "
When Zhang Xiaobao thought of this, he felt a little sentimental. It was the most difficult thing to find the truth of things.
"Who cares? Anyway, it's fine as long as it's lively here. Let others worry about other people's affairs. I don't know what Jia County Magistrates is doing now. We didn't give him anything else, only 500 grams of wood ear and 300,000 sounds of firecrackers."
Wang Juan didn't care about those things anymore. What she wanted to do now was to enjoy this kind of life and maintain this kind of life with Zhang Xiaobao. Suddenly, she thought of Jia County Magistrates. Since this county magistrate came to Sanshui County, it seemed that he didn't have a good day and was restrained everywhere.
Zhang Xiaobao thought of the county magistrate who came here to make a lot of money and also felt funny. He said, "In addition to the original money in his family, he should have about 7,000 taels of silver left. It's the New Year, so he should give some to the people behind him, right? He'll lose a lot of money.
Originally, I wanted him to do good things and help develop Sanshui County. When Sanshui County became prosperous and he accumulated enough political achievements, I would give him a sum of money when he was promoted. I have never opposed corrupt officials who are capable and can do practical things for the people.
County Magistrate Cheng was greedy, but he was only greedy for small amounts of money. He never asked for extra taxes, and he didn't let the yamen runners work in the slightly richer people's houses through his position. The most important thing is that he knows how to adapt to the situation. After we got in touch with him, he always defended us and helped the people become rich through us. "
"Yes, yes, County Magistrate Cheng is really good. He knows how to know his place. Since we gave him money, he didn't accept money from others. As long as we don't do anything, no one will blame him. Even if he left with 30,000 taels of silver, no one will say that he is a corrupt official.
Jia County Magistrates is different. He hasn't taken office yet, and he only wants to make money. Not to mention that he will do something for the people when he comes to the county, he didn't even ask him what he can do. He directly went against us and came with the purpose of destroying us. How can we not teach such a person a lesson? "
Wang Juan also had a look of righteous indignation. She put herself in the position of the strong. She thought that the new county magistrate must first maintain a harmonious relationship with Zhang Xiaobao and the Wang family. He should take the initiative to surrender. She felt that with Zhang Xiaobao around, she was right to do so.
Zhang Xiaobao also deeply agreed with Wang Juan's thinking. Everyone had their own position. Why didn't she think about looking for a partner instead of suppressing him? He had shown enough sincerity on his side. He had repaired the house, sent the things, and gave all kinds of hints.
After doing all these things, Jia County Magistrates still didn't change his original intention. He still thought about money. He still had to think about it according to his method. Like County Magistrate Cheng, he didn't have anything he wanted. He didn't lack money, he didn't lack things, and he even helped him get political achievements. He sent him to the capital to be an official.
Being an official in the capital was better than being a local official. It was an honor to be an official in the capital.
"Sigh! After squeezing out Jia County Magistrates, I hope to find another person in the county to replace him. We can't always transfer people from outside. It's really not convenient to use them. "
Zhang Xiaobao pointed at his own face with his finger and said faintly.
"Then you thought of a way to get rid of him?" Wang Juan really didn't know how to get rid of a county magistrate. What's more, when this county magistrate came, he was welcomed by so many people.
"Give him an incomplete political achievement, and he will leave." Zhang Xiaobao winked at Wang Juan and said.
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