On one side of the mountain, there were pavilions and small buildings for people to swim in. On the other side of the water, there was a gentle murmur. Paddlers walked along the shore with bamboo poles. On the other side, they were happy and sad. They listened to children singing about fishing boats.
"Dad, Dad, here, here."
At the Little Luoshui Pier, a group of children were carrying backpacks and preparing to go to the other side of the mountain. A girl among them looked at the boat in the water and suddenly shouted to one of them. When a middle-aged man and a fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy stood out and looked over, she waved her hand and turned to the other children beside her and said, "My house is here.
I'll bring you to my house later. My brother's roasted shrimp is delicious. "
"Weiwei, is it comfortable to sleep on the boat?" A six or seven-year-old child who was about the same age as Weiwei asked curiously.
"Well, more or less. I fell asleep after a while." Weiwei looked at her house and put the backpack in front of her. She opened it and took out the things inside.
"Weiwei, why are you here?" The middle-aged man asked Weiwei when the boat came over. He was relieved when he saw that there were other children beside Weiwei.
Weiwei happily moved forward and let the boat come closer. When the boat came closer, she began to pass the things in the bag to the middle-aged man and her brother.
"Brother, Dad, this is what I got when I went to school for the half-month exam. There are five century eggs, three salted goose eggs, one foot of silk, and a new set of toys for playing house. I changed them into hairpins and gave them to my mother. These ten copper coins are also my reward.
Dad, you don't have to pay me next month. I learned well. They didn't ask for money and even gave me things. Dad, you don't have to make clothes for me. The school will make them for me. "
Weiwei handed the items over one by one and said that each one was correct. Then, she pointed at the five seeds embroidered on her chest. One of them was a sprout. "Weiwei has a sprout now. In half a month, she has recognized 113 words. They said that other than Sister Liu 'er, Weiwei is the fastest to recognize the most."
The middle-aged man took the items one by one. Hearing his daughter's words, a look of disbelief appeared on his face. In just half a month, he had spent a hundred copper coins to send his daughter to school. Including food and lodging, he had to fork out another fifty copper coins. In just half a month, his daughter had brought back so many things for his family.
Two kinds of eggs and a foot of silk would cost more than twenty copper coins, which was close to thirty copper coins. He also got back ten copper coins. There was also a hairpin. This hairpin would cost at least forty copper coins. In total, it was half a month's worth of tuition, food and lodging.
Also, from next month onwards, he would no longer need to take money from Zhangjia Zhuangzi. He had not seen his daughter for half a month, and she had become fairer and fatter. Would Zhangjia Zhuangzi do this? Could it be that his daughter had stolen other people's things?
Thinking of this, the middle-aged man's face darkened. He was just about to ask when a person wearing the Zhang family's inner court uniform came over. He was holding a small bag in his hand.
"You must be Weiwei's father, right? I am the Zhang family's three-star errand boy. This time, I brought the children out to have a look and see the people and things outside. I originally planned to look for your boat when I returned. Your boat has always been sailing Between the Clouds and the Water. I didn't expect to meet you here. This is Weiwei's other prize. Please take a look. "
The errand boy handed the bag over and said, "In the future, Weiwei doesn't need you to pay a single copper coin. Everything will be managed by the Zhang family. Fishing doesn't require too many people. As for your son, Lu Feng, if he is willing, the Zhang family can arrange a job for him."
"Ah? This is salt? It's at least five catties. " Zhang Zhongren took the bag and immediately knew what it was. He opened it and was even more certain of the things inside. He knew that the salt here was controlled by the provincial government. It wasn't expensive, but it wasn't cheap either. Fortunately, he didn't eat a lot.
The official price was 10 to 15 copper coins per bucket. When he went to buy it, some sold for 30 copper coins per bucket, while others sold for 40 copper coins. Five catties of salt was 20 copper coins. However, this salt was different from what he usually ate. This was fine salt, so it was whiter than the usual salt. It wasn't easy to buy it even if one had the money.
After listening to the errand boy's words, it seemed that his daughter, Weiwei, was enjoying a good life there. His son could also find a new job.
"Father, I want to work and earn money to support the family's expenses." The middle-aged man's son reacted quickly. The other things weren't important. If the Zhang family said that they would find a job for him, it definitely wouldn't be something that could be found anywhere. This kind of good thing was brought by his sister, so he definitely couldn't miss it. He pulled his father's arm and reminded him.
The middle-aged man didn't agree just because of a few words. He asked again, "What's so good about my Weiwei?"
"Don't worry, the Zhang family won't harm Weiwei. Weiwei has learned more things in half a month than other people combined in two months. She hasn't learned anything before, and she's smart and not inflexible. That's why the Zhang family made this decision," the errand boy explained patiently.
Seeing that his father was still asking, his son became anxious. "Father, if the Zhang family wants to harm us, what other methods do they have to use?"
"Oh, right, the Zhang family is good. Then what can my son do?" At this time, the middle-aged man also thought it through. With the power of the Zhang family, as long as his home was still on this river, it was too easy for the Zhang family to harm them. There was no need for them to go through so much trouble.
"There are three workshops in Sanshui County, and one of them is a food processing workshop. The original manager can't handle it, mainly because his skills in processing seafood and freshwater fish and shrimp are not good enough. I heard from Weiwei that Lu Feng is better than ordinary fishermen in this aspect. He can be the manager of the seafood processing workshop there. Is it possible?"
The errand boy directly gave the position of manager. Although it wasn't the chief manager of the workshop, it had a lot of power and responsibility. Naturally, it would be more profitable.
Weiwei also knew some things when she was studying there. When she heard that her brother was going to be the manager, she happily said to her father, "Father, that manager will get a salary of 500 copper coins a month. He will also be given food, clothing, accommodation, and transportation during the holidays. He can work for ten days and take a day off to go home."
"Really?" The middle-aged man didn't expect the Zhang family to directly give such a position. He turned around and looked at his son, afraid that his son couldn't do it.
Feng 'er met his father's gaze and said, "Father, I will try. If it really doesn't work, I will come back to continue fishing."
The middle-aged man finally relaxed and nodded, "Okay, then my son will try. This errand boy, if my son causes any trouble, look for me. I will take responsibility."
The errand boy was also relieved. He didn't expect that it would be so difficult to arrange a better place for someone to work. If it wasn't for Weiwei, he wouldn't have cared about his son.
"Don't worry, as long as Lu Feng doesn't put poison in the seafood processing, he won't cause any trouble. Tomorrow, let Lu Feng go to the Li family's farmstead and find the person in charge there, then he can go and do his job. I still have to continue playing with the children, goodbye."
After the errand boy was settled, he cupped his hands to the middle-aged man, patted Weiwei's head, and walked back.
"Father, I'm going to play. I'm going to play at the lake over there. You can go there by boat." Weiwei put her backpack on her back and said to her father. Then she went back. The other children at the dock wanted to go to Weiwei's house to take a look, but seeing that the errand boy didn't want to go, they gave up the idea.
After the group of children left, Weiwei's mother came out of the cabin. Just now, she couldn't show her face because her man and son were there, so she could only stay in the cabin and listen. When she heard that her daughter had exchanged a toy for a hairpin for her, she even wiped a few drops of tears.
"Mother, I have something to do." Feng 'er saw his mother come out and said happily.
"Good, when you get there, do your job well. Don't embarrass your sister. They are so good to us because of your sister." Weiwei's mother also knew why the Zhang family did this.
The middle-aged man was in a good mood and handed over the hairpin in his hand. "Madam, look, this is what your daughter earned for you."
"What madam? She is an old woman. Quickly send this to the first family in Linshui." Weiwei's mother snatched the hairpin, blushed, and turned back to the cabin.
The middle-aged man slightly pushed the boat, and like a small fish, the boat changed direction and went to the first family in Linshui. With a turn and a push of the pole, the boat was perfectly controlled. Just this move of the pole was enough to deter many people who were rowing the boat. The middle-aged man smiled and muttered, "Our Lu family is all good at this."
*****
During the hunting season, the toads in the field croaked regardless of day or night. Some people listened leisurely, while others felt irritated.
Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan belonged to the group of people who were leisurely. The two of them were swimming in the area behind the yamen where the family lived. The second courtyard that they entered would be the courtyard where the two of them would live in the future. The courtyard door would reopen elsewhere, leaving only a small door here.
The two of them held important positions in the family. Many people in the inner courtyard had to come over to discuss matters, so they were given a courtyard with two entrances. In addition to the yamen at the front and the garden at the back, there was a small corner door next to it that allowed people to come directly to Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan.
The coal from Elm Village was being loaded into carts and shipped away by boat to Zhangjia Zhuangzi to be used for smelting. It had only been half a month, so no one had noticed or interfered.
The two of them were lying on the surface of the water, holding onto the letter written by the frustrated Li Xun. The letter stated that no one had lit the fire, and no one had bought a large amount of wood. Li Xun was asking Zhang Xiaobao if the expert in his imagination had made a mistake in his calculations.
"Xiao Bao, did you calculate wrongly? Did we underestimate the enemy? No one from Jingshui River has come to make trouble. "Wang Juan was also a little uncertain. They had waited for half a month, but nothing had happened at the river.
Zhang Xiaobao and Weiwei smiled and said, "If it were me a few days ago, I wouldn't have done anything either. It wouldn't have worked, and I would have exposed myself in advance. In another two days, the winter wheat will be harvested. That's the time when the transportation ability is tested the most.
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