As the sea breeze blew, the canals were dug to create flowing water. The 100,000 mountains gave birth to many things, and the rain gathered. Lu Zhou was in danger.
Zhang Zhong planned to stay in Lu Zhou for another two years. He was worried that there would be another heavy rain next year or in a few days, so he ordered people to dig the canals in advance. There were some small rivers in the province, but they were too small. Behind them was the 100,000 mountains. Usually, they provided the people with many trees, fruits, meat, and furs.
The flood this time also provided the province with a lot of water. If there was a big river there, it would not have been washed away so thoroughly. Zhang Zhong planned to build two big rivers to connect to the mountains. There, he could get the spring water and rainwater from the mountains.
When there was another heavy rain, the water would not be saturated before it rushed out. Instead, it would flow directly into the sea through the two rivers. Then, he would build a few tributaries that connected the two rivers to the mountains. When the time came, all he had to do was to protect the banks of the two rivers. Even if he was no longer an official here in the future, as long as the new official was not a fool, he would understand the function of the two rivers.
In addition to reducing losses during floods, the two rivers also served another purpose, which was to allow the mountain dwellers, or those who hadn't come out of the mountains, to transport things out of the mountains faster.
When Zhang Zhong's order was passed down, the people did not object or question it. They immediately threw themselves into the project. The children helped with the fire, water, and food. In order to save time, the people did not need so many dishes. The more convenient the better.
Zhang Zhong initially wanted to provide meat, vegetables, and rice for every meal. However, for the first time, the people were disobedient. They refused to do anything and did not have time to stop and eat. In the end, Zhang Xiaobao came up with an idea. They would spread pancakes, stir-fry shredded meat, stir-fry shredded vegetables, smear sauce on them, put some pickles, and a green onion in them.
If there were people who wanted to eat seafood, he would put some crabs and sea hares. The people liked to eat such things. In this way, they would not waste too much time. When they were thirsty, they could drink water. When they were hungry, they could grab one and eat it. If it was not because it was difficult to steam the dough, Zhang Xiaobao wanted to give these people steamed buns.
Later on, he realized that it didn't work. The rolls could be eaten when they were cold, but the oil inside the buns would coagulate when they were cold.
There was no fixed time for food like the burrito. The children ran back and forth between the various places where the burrito was made and the sections where they were working. When the workers were hungry, they would eat one burrito at a time. The good thing was that they didn't have to worry about not being able to work when they were full.
With this method, everyone found that they could eat more. At the same time, they also had more energy to work. It wouldn't take too much time. A well-rolled pancake could be eaten in a few mouthfuls.
The commoners were very happy that such a good official was considerate of them in this regard.
When some people were happy, there would definitely be others who were unhappy. Liu Shaoqing and the other three were in a good mood in the morning, especially the other three who had obtained the recipe for making cakes. Each of them formed a small team and went outside to make cakes. In the end, only an hour later, bad news came.
As soon as they arrived at the place where they sold cakes, they heard the sound of people hawking cakes. When they went over to take a look, they were all dumbfounded. There were already people selling cakes here. One copper coin for three cakes, and they were measured by weight. Not only were there glutinous rice cakes that they wanted to make, but there were also millet cakes.
At the same time, there were also cakes with fillings, bean paste, white sugar, and jujubes. It could be said that there was a dazzling lineup and a variety of things. Especially the sellers, their clothes were very clean and tidy. Many people took out money to buy some cakes to try.
The money was all from the various transactions with the Zhang family over the past two months, and a part of it was the wages.
The people who were sent by Liu Shaoqing and the others to sell cakes did a little calculation and found that if they sold at this price, they would need to sell 30 copper coins in order to make 1 copper coin. They couldn't make much money in a day.
These people had no choice but to come back and tell Liu Shaoqing and the others about the matter.
"I can't stand it anymore. Zhang Zhong's family is too much of a bully. I found the method of making cakes in a book with great difficulty, but they secretly learned it and even sent people to sell it. They clearly don't want us to pay back the money."
Liu Shaoqing didn't need to ask to know that it was the Zhang family's doing. Only the Zhang family had the ability to find a recipe and spend a lot of effort. Besides the Zhang family, who else had the ability to make more cakes?
Cao Herui sighed and said, "Their reaction is too fast. They can make more cakes in one day. This shows that they already knew about it, but they didn't take it out. Everyone, think about it again. What else can we do to make money? I don't believe that they can learn to make everything. "
"How could there be a good prescription? They don't want to give us a way out. Let's go, we'll leave in a while. We'll go to Qinzhou and tell Zhang Zhong there that he has a good recipe for making tea. Then, we'll watch the two of them fight. "
Jiang Huanshi whispered to the three people. If they wanted to leave, they had to sneak away. There were people patrolling outside, so they were afraid that they would run away. However, there was a tunnel here that was dug a few years ago that led to the outside. After it was washed away by the flood, even if there was something blocking it, they could still dig it out.
The four of them didn't have anyone to build a house for them, so they found a place to build it themselves. It turned out that this tunnel was Zhang Yi's outer residence, which was at the edge of Zhou Mansion. When the four of them came back, they didn't want to build a house for them, so they moved here.
With Jiang Huanshi's suggestion, the other three also made up their minds. At worst, their families would help them out. They thought that Zhang Zhong wouldn't do anything to their families. They could only leave as the four of them. If all of them left together, it would be easy to be discovered.
Just as the four of them made their decision, the guard of the large courtyard hurriedly ran in and said to Liu Shaoqing, "Master, the Zhang family has sent a steward. He says that he wants to see Master and discuss a business deal with Master."
"Discuss a business deal? What business deal? I don't have anything here, what does he want to discuss with me? " When Liu Shaoqing heard the servant's words, his first thought was that Zhang Zhong had come to cause trouble again. After hesitating for a moment, he saw that the other three people also didn't understand. He said to the servant waiting there, "Let him in."
Following the sound of footsteps, the four people looked over and saw that there were only two circles on the person's chest. Their expressions immediately turned ugly. The Zhang family actually sent a two-star steward over. They knew this two-star steward. Five stars were the highest. According to their status, even if they didn't send a five-star, they should at least send a four-star steward.
This steward was only a two-star steward. He was clearly looking down on them.
"Master Liu, I am here to discuss a business deal with Master Liu. I wonder if there is anyone in Master Liu's family who is free?" The steward didn't show any flattering expression to Liu Shaoqing, nor did he look arrogant. It was just like two ordinary people who met on the street and talked to each other.
Liu Shaoqing snorted coldly, "Do you think that a two-star steward like you can make the decision? Bring your master here, then we can talk about it. "
The steward smiled, "Master Liu, you have misunderstood. This is my own business deal. It has nothing to do with my Master."
"You? Do business with me? Hahahaha ~! Good, that's great. Did you hear that? A servant from the Zhang family came to do business with me. Tell me, what gives you the right? Ah? What gives you the right? Let's hear it. How can a servant do business with a judge? "
When Liu Shaoqing heard the steward's words, he couldn't hold it in anymore. He laughed out loud and pointed at the steward for the other three to see. The other three also laughed.
Cao Herui looked at the steward and said, "You better go back and do your work. Otherwise, if your Master finds out about this, he will break your leg. This business deal isn't something you can do. You can't lie to us either. Listen to me and go back."
After he finished speaking, the four of them also laughed. Only then did the person speak, "I have 200 strings of coins myself. I can also borrow 200 strings of coins from my family. That's a total of 400 strings of coins. How much money do the four of you have? 400 strings of coins. As long as I do this business, I will earn more in the future. At that time, Master Liu will also earn more. Since Master Liu feels that I can't do business with you, then I will leave now. "
The steward turned around and left after saying that.
The four of them were stunned. Liu Shaoqing quickly shouted, "Wait, where did you get the money from? What kind of business do you want to do? Tell us. "
"The servants from the Zhang family are different from the servants in your family. Other than the monthly salary, they also get extra money. They don't need to spend their own money on food. The business I want to do with Master Liu is very simple. Master Liu will make prawn sauce for you. You will catch the prawns and get the salt yourself.
If you have enough servants, you can catch a lot of prawns a day and put them in the jars. I will come back to collect them one month later and pay all the money. This time, I want to buy 200 jars of 20 jars. Each jar is 500 strings of coins. I will pay you 20 strings of coins first.
If I do well this time, I will increase the number of jars next month. I will make money, and you will also make money. Master Liu, think about it. Do you want to do this business or not? If you want to do this business, you must produce 200 jars a month. Some of the prawn sauce can't be done when you deliver the goods. "
The steward stopped and told Liu Shaoqing about the matter. He looked at Liu Shaoqing and waited for his reply.
Liu Shaoqing thought about it and looked at the other three people. He asked, "Can you tell me why you want to buy so much prawn sauce?"
"What I do has nothing to do with Master. If Master agrees, I can do it. I don't have much capital. The 20 strings of coins is enough to buy the jars. Even if I don't come back to collect them one month later, Master will not compensate."
The steward straightforwardly refused to ask what he wanted to do with the prawn sauce.
Liu Shaoqing thought about it and gritted his teeth. He said, "Do it. What about the money? Let's write the agreement. "
He had thought it through. Even if the steward didn't come back to collect them in the end, he could sell the 200 jars of prawn sauce slowly. He wouldn't lose money.
Seeing that Liu Shaoqing agreed, the steward turned around and walked out of the door. He and another person carried a box in. When the box was opened, there were exactly 20 strings of coins inside. It was more than 120 jars. One person couldn't carry it.
Liu Shaoqing was also straightforward. He wrote the agreement and signed it on both sides. The deal was done.
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.
