Both sides of the river are green, and the grass is green with dragonflies. The sky is blue with few clouds, and the water is blue with dew. Swallows gather and make a sound when the wind comes. Wild flowers move with the waves, a little sparkling.
Early the next morning, Song Jinggong came to the Luoshui River. Looking at the scenery in front of him, he should be in a good mood, but he felt that something was wrong.
From San Shui County to here, it was already late yesterday. In addition, he wanted to see if there was anyone following behind him. Therefore, on the way, he randomly found an inn to stay. As a result, he saw the person with the silver beside Steward Zhang.
After he confirmed that there was someone following him, he wondered if this person was stupid. Did he not know how to follow? Others would try to keep a certain distance from the person being followed, but this person was good. He was following about twenty steps behind.
Every time he stopped and turned around to look, he would normally try to hide, but this person was different. He just kept looking straight ahead and acted like he didn't know him. Did he think he was a fool? How could he not remember people after such a short time?
This was not the most annoying thing. He had already found an inn, and there was another inn next to this one. If he was following him, he should have stayed in that inn.
In the end, he stayed in the same inn. He ate in the hall, and there were two tables by the window. He actually sat on one of them, facing each other. He did not even spit at the person in front of him. There were not many people, so there were many empty tables. Otherwise, why would they not sit and eat together?
How was this following? This was clearly surveillance. He did not know what Manager Zhang was planning. Did he want to shed all pretense of cordiality?
Song Jinggong stood on the shore not far from the pier and thought. What was going on? Why did he feel uneasy? Was it because of the person following him? Was it because of Manager Zhang's attitude? Was it because he was wronged by the Zhang Family and the Wang Family in Zhuangzi? It did not seem to be the case.
After thinking for a while, Song Jinggong attributed his emotions to his actions this time. He thought that it was because his actions this time were too big, and he was too good at tricking people.
He turned his head and looked at the person who was squatting about ten steps away from him. At this time, the person was fiddling with the grass on the ground. From this distance, he could see that there was a black mass of ants under the person's feet. The person was using the grass to fight the ants.
Song Jinggong let out a long sigh. He really wanted to go over and ask that person, how old are you?
How could such a person be sent out?
Shaking his head, Song Jinggong didn't want to waste his time on this idiot. It was better to look at the unsellable goods that were shipped back from the French lands.
Thinking of this, Song Jinggong walked towards the dock. The boat he had hired was still docked there. Of course, this boat didn't come with any money. As a swindler, he wouldn't pay for the boat. Instead, he had an agreement with the Fan Gang. He would split the profits 50/50 with the Fan Gang.
When Song Jinggong arrived at the dock, someone on the boat had already recognized him. He hurriedly ran over and respectfully greeted, "Hello, Great Scholar Song. Have you found someone to buy Gan Xun? That's great. We've spent a lot of money on food and drinks these days. If we can't sell it, we'll lose a lot of money. "
His attitude was respectful, but his words carried a hint of complaint. Song Jinggong also knew that if it were anyone else, they would be unhappy.
"Yes, soon. Where's Sonny? Get him here. I have something important to discuss with him."
The person Song Jinggong was talking about was a small noble leader of the Fan Gang. After interacting with this side for a long time, he had picked up some of the habits here.
When the person who greeted Song Jinggong heard Song Jinggong ask about the leader, his face unconsciously showed a trace of happiness. He still respectfully replied, "Great Scholar Song, my king has found a way to make money. He has already left this place and will probably return in two days."
"Make a fortune? He can make a fortune? Good. How can he make a fortune if he doesn't know? Where is the fortune? "Song Jinggong laughed. This Fan Gang came here to make a fortune? Dream on.
Hearing Song Jinggong's disdainful tone, the person was slightly dissatisfied. However, he still maintained a smile and continued, "My king really did find a way to make a fortune. He also said that when you arrive, he will let you go and take a look."
Seeing how confident he was, Song Jinggong was also puzzled. Could it be that Sonny Gan really got lucky and found something? He felt that it was impossible, so he asked, "How did Sonny Gan find it? Where did he want me to go? "
"Someone came over and asked if we wanted to buy a chicken. He said that he could buy a chicken for two copper coins. The kind that can lay eggs when it grows up," the person replied.
This time, Song Jinggong was no longer confused, but dumbfounded. A chicken cost about 30 copper coins, which was not too expensive, but a hen was different. It could lay eggs, and no matter how cheap the eggs were, they were still worth one copper coin. When a chick grew up and laid eggs, it would not take too long. Half a year would be enough.
Two copper coins to buy a chicken and feed it some food for half a year would only cost a few copper coins. It would be even more economical to let it find its own food. Half a year later, the money would come in continuously.
This price was too cheap. Hens could not lay eggs when they were hugging their nests. After a few days of delay, the eggs that they laid would be worth a few copper coins. How could it be so cheap?
Liar. I never thought that I, Song Jinggong, would meet a liar. This was the most intuitive thought in Song Jinggong's mind. However, he did not know how the other party cheated him. Since the other party was selling chickens and not eggs, he could tell the difference at a glance.
"Okay, I'll go over now. Find someone to lead the way." Song Jinggong really did not understand. He wanted to see it for himself. He called out and glanced at the foolish stalker. He was led away from the dock and rushed to the place where the chickens were sold.
*****
Birds chirped and butterflies chased each other. In the distance, the green mountains were surrounded by fog. Beside them, the oblique light stirred up dust.
Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan had just woken up in the morning. After drinking milk, they did not continue to sleep. Together, they went to the vegetable garden in the courtyard and prepared to continue cooking for the adults. The two of them just needed to drink some soup and swallow some crumbs.
"There are no kidney beans? I wanted to stew some. "Wang Juan looked around and did not find any kidney beans. Instead, there were cowpeas.
Zhang Xiaobao, on the other hand, was like a thief. He struggled to pull out a small eggplant about two inches in diameter from the eggplant field. He used his thumb to dig out a small piece and stuffed it into his mouth. He nodded his head in satisfaction.
"Xiao Bao, what are you doing? It's not suitable for you to eat eggplant right now. Why are you sneaking around? "Wang Juan saw Zhang Xiaobao secretly eating and didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
"I'm afraid others will find out. The eggplant is too small. It's a pity to eat it like this. But this is the time when the eggplant is the sweetest. Try it."
As Zhang Xiaobao spoke, he dug out another piece and gave it to Wang Juan.
Wang Juan really did not know what to say. Such a big person actually did this kind of thing that only a child would do. She reached out and patted away the small piece. "Can you do something more serious?"
"Then forget it. Xiao Hong, eat it. It's very sweet. After you finish eating, help us pick the eggplant. We'll eat this for lunch today." Zhang Xiaobao readily accepted and gave the small eggplant to Xiao Hong.
Xiao Hong took it and really ate it. She didn't have anything to eat in the morning. She only had two meals a day. It was good to eat some eggplant.
Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan were stunned when they saw Xiao Hong eat the eggplant in a few mouthfuls. After a while, Wang Juan said, "Xiao Hong, don't worry. After Xiao Bao and I earn the money in the next few days, we'll definitely let the person who works the most in Zhuangzi eat four meals a day. Morning, noon, and night, as well as supper."
"Thank you, Cuckoo. Actually, we're already used to it. Not to mention four meals, even three meals would cost a lot more." Xiao Hong's eyes lit up. She felt that this was impossible. Which Zhuangzi would give their servants four meals a day?
Wang Juan also knew that Xiao Hong wouldn't believe it if she didn't eat four meals a day. She didn't say anything more. She pulled Zhang Xiaobao to look at other dishes while Xiao Hong picked the eggplants.
"Actually, just four meals is not enough. These people are always working hard all day, and they have to be on call in the middle of the night. In the future, we have to prepare more fruits for them to replenish their nutrients. Wool comes from sheep. The better their health, the more things they can do."
Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan went to a small field of green onions and squatted there. It was enough for a normal person to eat three meals a day. Those servants were too tired. Moreover, they lived in Zhuangzi as a family.
Without children, parents would be sad. Without parents, children would be sad. Stability and unity were the most important. With enough nutrition, people's lives would be longer. When he and Wang Juan grew up, the next generation of Zhuangzi would also be born. Zhuangzi also needed to have the culture of Zhuangzi.
"Well, don't worry. I'll arrange it when the time comes. You're in charge of planning, and I'll be in charge of organizing. In the future, if there are more servants and guards, I'll be in charge of training. While I'm still young, I'm going to find some military combat information of this era and combine theory with practice to make tactics."
Wang Juan also supported this point. She also wanted to apply what she had learned. Seeing Zhang Xiaobao's nervous gaze, she smiled and said, "Don't worry. I won't rebel. I won't implicate the Zhang family. What are you going to cook for lunch?"
"Eggplant, roasted with fish, steamed with green onions and sauce, garlic eggplant, minced meat eggplant, and dry fried eggplant. For this dish, you need to use the water of the chili seedlings. Shredded eggplant, braised pork ribs with eggplant, and braised eggplant with rapeseed with peas. Eight, that's enough. Add an eggplant with seaweed and shrimp soup.
Zhang Xiaobao counted on his little fingers and said one by one to Wang Juan. After listening, Wang Juan nodded seriously and said, "Okay, I think this is a good idea. I'm going to eat tofu tonight. I'll rely on you. It must be a tofu feast."
"No problem, I'll definitely complete the task. The only thing I'm worried about is whether the shredded eggplant made with brown sugar will taste bad. Later, I'll get some charcoal and filter out the brown sugar residue. It'll be more convenient to cook in the future."
Zhang Xiaobao dared to agree as soon as Wang Juan said so. He looked eager to try, which made Wang Juan speechless.
"Well, anything is fine. Do you think that swindler Song won't do what you want?" Wang Juan brought the topic back to the main topic.
"Don't worry. I know people like him. His mentality is the same as mine when I first started to cheat." Zhang Xiaobao said indifferently.
If you have space on your bookshelf, please add it to your bookshelf. If you have votes, please vote. It's not easy. Please understand me. I'm happy to write, and you're happy to read.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
