"Mother, this is not made by a powerful person. It is an auspicious sign. There is a family who planted cucumbers in summer, and in winter, they bear cucumbers. The county magistrate has already reported it. On the 15th, someone will come down to check. Mother, which cucumbers do you think are good? Pick them and eat them."
Deputy County Magistrate Zhang Mingsheng was afraid that his mother would expose this matter. If that was the case, he would not be able to eat cucumbers in the future. Other benefits would also be lost. Wouldn't the people of Zhangjia Zhuangzi hate him to death?
Mother Zhang was stunned. She looked at the cucumbers carefully and then turned to look at her son. She reached out her hand and touched her son's head. She said,
"Oh, I was wondering why there are so many cucumbers. So it is an auspicious sign. My son, don't worry. I understand. I understand. This is an auspicious sign. It is not easy for the people to live. In the future, you must remember not to do things that cut off people's livelihood. When the auspicious signs in Sanshui are almost there, other places in Tang will also have auspicious signs."
Song Jinggong was frightened when he heard this. This old lady was not simple. She actually understood everything from the deputy county magistrate's simple words. Fortunately, the old lady was a good person. She knew to help him hide the truth. He was relieved.
The deputy county magistrate also knew that he could not lie to his mother. He helped his mother into the house and said while walking, "Mother is right. I will remember mother's teachings. I will never do things that harm people's money. Moreover, my mother likes to eat cucumbers."
Mother Zhang laughed, "You know how to make your mother happy. Pick a few more cucumbers and bring them back. I will dip them in the chili sauce and eat less. I am not afraid of spiciness."
Mother Zhang really walked in. It seemed that she also understood that as long as the people who came down to check saw the cucumbers alive, it would be the biggest success. As for the future, these cucumbers would be useless. She would eat a lot of cucumbers herself.
Seeing the two of them go in, Song Jinggong's task was completed. He had to go back early. He did not know what things were going to be busy over there, especially the firecrackers. It seemed that he was going to be sold again. He was also a High Scholar. It was fine if he was an advisor, but he still had to do business outside.
Song Jinggong and Steward Wang led the caravan back. Some of the carriages were borrowed, but they didn't lend the people. The drivers were all farmers from the Zhang and Wang family who knew how to drive the carriages.
*****
In a small courtyard belonging to Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan in Zhangjia Zhuangzi, the two of them were practicing military boxing. Every move they made looked pretty good, but there wasn't much strength behind them. In less than an hour, the two of them were sweating profusely.
He was afraid that he would catch a cold from the cold wind outside, so he stopped there for the time being. He returned to the house to change his clothes and wipe his sweat. It was time for snacks again. He ate fried carrots as chips and cucumbers as fruit. There was also a bowl of egg soup beside him.
The two of them put the food into their mouths and slowly chewed. They tried their best to chew the food into small pieces so that their bodies could absorb it. Now, the two of them basically ate seven or eight times a day to replenish their energy. Compared to children of the same age, the two of them were obviously taller and stronger. This was the result of training and eating.
"Erniu has been out for a few days. I don't know if he can find the Wheat Rice Stone. It will be spring plowing in a few days. The wheat has been planted long ago and will be coming out soon. Do you think we will have a drought this year? We have to prepare in advance. I've asked around. There are already tankers. A few of them are enough to supply water for two Zhuangzi. "
Wang Juan ate two carrots and drank a mouthful of soup. She leaned back on the chair she had made and lay down comfortably as she asked casually.
"It's not hard to find. I've already told him what it looks like. When the time comes, he can ask someone to draw it and spend some money. Many people will help him find it. I don't remember there being a drought this year. In Shandong, there seems to be no rain this year. It's still the same in spring and summer.
The current Prime Minister seems to be surnamed Yao. He was a very powerful person, but he was demoted. He handled the drought very well, and the locust plague was the same. If we go, it's just to find some benefits for ourselves. If they can't do it, I'll give the method of planting cucumbers to the imperial court. "
Zhang Xiaobao was still eating cucumbers. In this short while, he had eaten two of them. He only stopped to drink the soup when he felt that his mouth was dry. He was making judgments and choices.
Wang Juan didn't say anything, tacitly agreeing with Zhang Xiaobao's decision. If it were her, she also didn't have a better idea. In fact, she also knew that with Zhang Xiaobao's brain, it wouldn't be a problem if he wanted to get more land. However, he didn't want to give up the 100 households' food. This was not only a matter of money, but also a matter of status.
She and Zhang Xiaobao didn't care about this status, but the Old Master couldn't. There was also the Old Master. Once he lost this status, the Old Master's health was very likely to be affected. This was something that Zhang Xiaobao definitely didn't want to see happen.
Zhang Xiaobao drank the last mouthful of soup, patted his stomach, and also closed his eyes for a while. When he felt that it was about time, he opened his eyes and said, "It's time to arrange a job for Xu Si. Let's see how capable he is first, then we'll assign him a position according to his performance."
"En, there's also a new person you found. If you didn't mention it, I would have forgotten. These two days, he has been recuperating on Zhuangzi. He should be a little fatter, but he was a little too thin. He didn't give the impression that he was a reliable person. What are you going to arrange for him? There doesn't seem to be much to do on Zhuangzi."
Wang Juan also opened her eyes. If Zhang Xiaobao didn't mention it, she would have almost forgotten about Xu Si.
"Yes, I will hand over the matters of the market to him, especially the pricing. This position is very important. If he does well, I plan to set up a business group next year and let him be in charge of it. We will be able to remove ourselves from this position. In the future, I will take the imperial examinations.
In this world, it's not good to be weak, especially when it comes to power. What do you plan to do in the future? Tell me, and I will give you some advice. I usually don't do this kind of thing for others. "Zhang Xiaobao didn't forget to tease Wang Juan.
"I will also be an official. When the time comes, let's see who gets promoted faster. There are female officials here, right?" Wang Juan didn't care about Zhang Xiaobao's teasing and said proudly.
Zhang Xiaobao was stunned when he heard this. "Forget it. What kind of work do female officials do? You are not suitable. Now is not the same as before. There are no longer women in power. Li Longji even got rid of his aunt. You still want to stand out? How about this, I will hand over the matters of the family to you. You just have to take care of the family. "
"I don't want to stay at home all day. I want to have my own career." Wang Juan obviously didn't agree.
"Do you think that it is so easy to take care of the family? In the future, there will be more and more people in my family. You will have to understand all the relationships and interests. Don't you want to train people? When the time comes, there will be more people for you to train. Let's not talk about this for now. It is still too early to talk about it. Let's go and meet Xu Si."
Zhang Xiaobao saw that he couldn't persuade Wang Juan, so he gave up. He got off the chair and waited for Wang Juan to get off the chair. Then, they walked out together.
These two days, Xu Si had been doing well. He ate as much as he could every day. This was what Zhang Xiaobao had told him. He was too thin and needed to eat more. This way, he would be able to do more things in the future. He didn't want to tire himself out during crucial times.
Xu Si didn't object and really ate as much as he could. He slept for at least ten hours every day. He wanted to make himself fatter. After a few days, there were some results. His face had obviously become rounder.
Today, he woke up very late. Just as he finished eating and didn't have time to think about what to do, Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan came together.
"Little Gongzi, are you going to find something for me to do?" Xu Si became excited when he saw the Little Gongzi. He had been waiting for him to arrange something for him to do. He also felt uncomfortable if he was always like this.
Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan looked at each other. Wang Juan said, "Yes, you have something to do. Can you read?"
"Replying to Miss, I can't read." Xu Si couldn't do anything about this. He felt that the Little Gongzi and Wang Juan needed someone who could read, but he couldn't lie.
"En, it's okay if you can't read. You can slowly learn in the future. You should know what the farmers around here need, right?" Wang Juan was a little disappointed, but she still encouraged him.
Xu Si nodded vigorously this time. "I know, of course I know. Don't tell me you want me to guard that grocery store? I will definitely guard it well. "
"Why guard that grocery store? That small place isn't suitable for you. After the 15th, you will set up a market on this side of the bridge. You need to buy the things that the farmers need now. You will go outside and negotiate the price. In the future, you will be responsible for setting the price for all the goods that the farmers bring.
You can also keep the things that you can't exchange here. When the time comes, you can sell them to the other bigger cities. From now on, you will do everything by yourself. Tell Shiliu what kind of things you want to buy and how much you want. Take the money from her and go buy them. The others won't care. "
Zhang Xiaobao also spoke at this time. Xu Si almost fainted when he heard this. He had never done these things before. Today, he was the only one in charge. He wanted to refuse, but he knew that if he really didn't accept this task, he would no longer be able to follow the Little Gongzi in the future.
Xu Si gritted his teeth and finally nodded. "Okay, Little Gongzi, don't worry. I will definitely take care of this matter. I will think about it and find Pomegranate when the time comes."
Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan didn't say anything else. They turned around and left. It didn't matter if they lost or gained. The main thing was that they wanted to see Xu Si's ability. When the time came, they would be able to adjust their positions.
A few days passed in the blink of an eye. It was the 15th of the first lunar month. Everyone was busy again. The firecrackers from Zhuangzi were sent everywhere. In the past few days, the number of people had increased by several times. The person in charge of selling firecrackers was Song Jinggong.
On the same day, County Magistrate Cheng Lingxiang of Sanshui County led a group of people to make preparations. They were ready to welcome the people who came to check and verify the auspicious signs.
He actually made it into the top ten of the newcomer list. If he is still here tomorrow, there will be five more chapters.
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