The waves slapped against the side of the ship, and the clouds in the day moved with the wind. Under the setting sun, the willows were dyed red.
On this evening, Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan's fleet finally entered the canal. Based on their current speed, they would reach the capital in another two days.
The splint on Xiao Bei's arm had been removed the day before yesterday. Xiao Bei, who had not washed his arm for a month, would soak it in water when he was free. It was only today that he realized something was wrong. Most of his body was darker than his arm, and his arm was too white. It looked awkward no matter how one looked at it.
After asking around, his brother and sister ran to the ship in front to make arrangements. Xiao Bei could only use a thin shirt to cover his arm and ask others for help.
Xiao Yuan was showing off his cleverness to others, reciting, "Separate from the turbid, separate from the turbid." Xiao Bei came looking for him.
"Brother Xiao Yuan, I have something to ask you." Xiao Bei usually called him Xiao Yuan, but today he added the word "brother."
Xiao Yuan was shocked and looked at Xiao Bei warily. He then looked around. Luckily, there were people around. He asked, "What's the matter?"
"I won't use the tripwire anymore. Look at how scared you are," Xiao Bei said when he saw Xiao Yuan's timid look.
"Of course not. We're on water. I'm afraid you'll set fire to it." Xiao Yuan did not relax.
"Let me test you. Do you know why people can become darker?" Xiao Bei's eyes turned, and he put his hands behind his back, looking knowledgeable.
Xiao Yuan nodded and said, "I know. Places where the sun doesn't reach are white. Look, people who often stay indoors are usually white. People who work outside are usually black. Let me give you a pair of binoculars. Look, the person on the boat behind is still sitting in the shade and writing while the sun is setting. He is white. Look again, that person who is struggling in the water is black. It's obvious that he fell into the water by accident. Look at his face, it's black, right? Look at the overturned boat beside him."
"I see it. Save him, quickly save him. Someone fell into the water. Team Zero, where's Team Zero? Go down." As Xiao Bei listened to Xiao Yuan, he used his binoculars to look back and forth. Suddenly, he realized that the person struggling in the water wasn't swimming. Instead, the boat had capsized. He scanned the surroundings and realized that there was a person dragging two people and swimming towards the shore.
Xiao Bei was no longer in the mood to turn white or black. She shouted at the people around her. When she shouted, someone on the boat in front of her had already jumped into the water. As the waves churned, they quickly approached the person who had fallen into the water.
Seeing that the strong No. 0 Seedling Protection Team had met someone, the nervous little ones heaved a sigh of relief and sat on the deck as if they had collapsed.
"You scared me to death. Xiaoyuan, you just said that it's fine to just bask in the sun, right? If the white parts are tanned, wouldn't the black parts be even darker? " Seeing that it was really the members of Team Zero, Xiao Bei was no longer worried. Thinking of his own matters, he asked Xiao Yuan.
"Of course. The more you get under the sun, the darker you get. In the end, you'll be as black as coal. Why do you ask?" Xiao Yuan replied.
"No, nothing. I'm just asking. My clothes aren't comfortable. I'll change." Xiao Bei left in a hurry after saying that. She entered the cabin and sat there thinking for a while. Then, she opened the door and said to the guard outside, "Get someone to make me a set of clothes. The kind that doesn't have a sleeve on the right arm."
The guard nodded and went to find someone to report. Xiao Bei and the others didn't have a lot of clothes. They grew quickly, so they usually had three sets of clothes made every season. As they grew, they would have them made at the same time. Unless the clothes were torn, they would make a set at the last minute to avoid wasting it.
This set of clothes that Xiao Bei had suggested needed to be reported. In particular, Xiao Bei's request had to be made known to Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan.
The news was quickly passed to Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan through flag signals. The two of them were waiting for the people from the Miao Protection Team to rescue them. Fortunately, they had flipped over in the canal. If it had been in the middle of the Yellow River, where the current was the most rapid and there were whirlpools, it would have been difficult to rescue them.
After receiving the news, Wang Juan couldn't understand why Xiao Bei wanted a set of clothes that didn't have a right sleeve. However, Zhang Xiaobao smiled and said to Wang Juan, "Xiao Bei must have felt that the color of the right arm is different from other parts of the body. I had this thought before, but I didn't get someone to make clothes at that time. Instead, I rolled up my trouser leg. At that time, I thought it was very smart, but now I know it's very stupid."
Wang Juan thought about it and felt that it was more or less the case. She smiled and said, "Xiao Bei must be very anxious. Think of a way. Then we won't have to make clothes."
"Okay. After lunch tomorrow, get someone to get some mud and stick it on them. Let them bask in the sun for a day. The color will change to about the same."
Zhang Xiaobao came up with an idea.
Usually, Xiao Bei and the others would also bask in the sun. Compared to the children who often stayed indoors, they were slightly darker, but healthier. In fact, the little guys had patches of black and white on their bodies. It was just that Xiao Bei's arms, which were originally black, were too white.
At this time, the people who had fallen into the water had been brought back. They were a boatman and three passengers. They took advantage of the fact that the water transport wasn't too busy to ferry over. They didn't expect that when they were about to reach the shore, they would accidentally overturn. The boatman could only barely save two people, and the remaining one almost died.
Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan didn't go to meet the rescued people. The two of them looked at the water below and thought about something.
After a while, Zhang Xiaobao said, "If we provide the local people who ferry back and forth with a bigger boat, can we avoid the danger of the boat capsizing?"
"They can't afford a big boat even if they work for a lifetime." Wang Juan rejected Zhang Xiaobao's suggestion.
"Then why don't we lend it to them first and pay them back bit by bit?" Zhang Xiaobao said again.
"Then we'll lose money. Until the big boat breaks down, we won't be able to earn back the capital." Wang Juan looked at Zhang Xiaobao in surprise. She meant to say, "Why are you so stupid today?"
Zhang Xiaobao nodded. "That's right. That's why we have to continue with the ferry. But we can't sit on the boat for nothing. It costs at least one copper coin per trip. If it costs one copper coin per trip, don't you think there will be more people willing to take this route?"
"Then we can only maintain the same income if the number of passengers can double what it is today. What are you thinking of doing? I was just thinking if we should fork out some money to build a bridge here. We don't expect to make money, but we can leave a good reputation. "
Wang Juan was confused by Zhang Xiaobao's words. She felt that Zhang Xiaobao's thinking had suddenly become sluggish.
Zhang Xiaobao continued, "What I mean is that we can build the bridge, but we can't let people cross for free. If it's a single trip, we'll charge one copper coin per trip. If it's a frequent trip, we can apply for a monthly or annual pass. Not only can people cross, but goods can as well. But if the goods weigh more than three hundred catties, we'll have to pay one copper coin more."
"You want to charge a bridge protection fee? That's a challenge. Have you ever heard of anyone paying to cross the bridge? "Wang Juan reminded.
"Don't use our name. Just find someone. The bridge is easy to build. There's no need to use piers. Just connect the two sides. Use iron chains and board. Both sides don't have to be iron oxen or copper oxen. Pour some cement and put in some pebbles. It's heavy and sturdy.
First, arrange a few people to guard both sides of the bridge. If there's a situation where people don't pay and run away, it's enough to guard one side. If there are children who need to run between the two sides to go to school in the future, this can be free, but the children can't carry too many things.
This price is cheaper than the ferry, right? Moreover, it's safer. When the time comes, people can choose to walk or take the ferry. Little by little, the people will accept the fact that crossing the bridge costs money. When the time comes, the road will be the same. Actually, we can't make much money by building roads now.
If we were to build roads in prosperous areas, we would be able to earn money by opening shops by the roadside. If there weren't many people, we would just be spending money. Once the commoners were used to spending money to cross the bridge, we would build more roads. We would build new roads beside the old roads. Every time we walked, we would have to spend money. Those who didn't want to spend money could walk on the old roads. Naturally, the speed would not be as fast as the new roads. Furthermore, those who walked on the new roads would be able to rest for free in the small houses built by the roadside.
When the time comes, you'll have to make up for it. The most important thing in the service area is to provide hot water. As long as the people in the caravan come, they'll be provided with a pot of hot water. If they're pedestrians, they can't ask for money. "
Zhang Xiaobao explained his idea while Wang Juan listened at the side. When Zhang Xiaobao finished, Wang Juan asked, "What if someone crosses the old road to the new road and returns to the old road when they're almost there? What will you do?"
"Let the people in the service area watch. Usually, there will be a service area set up every half a day. The hot water and rest are free, but you must have a pass to come here. However, other things are not free, such as medicine, dry food, tools needed to repair vehicles, etc., are not free.
Occasionally, we'll send people to patrol on horseback. If they catch them, they'll have to pay double the money. If they don't pay, we'll take away their goods and not give them money. "
Zhang Xiaobao felt that he had too much money in the future and couldn't spend it all at once. He planned to use it on road repair and collect tolls. It was likely that because there were few people coming and going, there wouldn't be much money left after deducting the maintenance fees. However, it was better than having no money at all.
Otherwise, he would have to build more roads in the future. It would be better if he could get some money back.
Wang Juan lowered her head and thought for a moment, then asked, "Do you think it'll work?"
"How do I know? Let's try it first. If it doesn't work, we'll talk about it later. What if it works? Let's build the bridge first. We'll start with the bridge and arrange for people to do it immediately."
Zhang Xiaobao made up his mind and asked his people to come in and arrange it.
Wang Juan said, "Why don't you try the bridge on the Changjiang River first?"
"That won't work. That's not our home. Besides, there are too many people coming and going there. What if someone is dissatisfied and makes trouble? It's a deep-rooted idea to not spend money on the bridge. Even businessmen think so. They don't care how much it costs to build bridges and roads. Let's start with a place with fewer people first. "
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