Each of the four families held the right coupon, and Cao Bao accepted the left coupon. Zheng Anping saluted again, thanked the elders and villagers for their witnesses, and the three parties said goodbye. This time, four pairs of mothers and sons followed the five people towards the abandoned city.
After entering the city, Cao Bao admonished: "Every house must be dedicated. Cleaning can only be done after people leave the front house; but if someone comes in, avoid it. Clean one house every day. During the rest of the time, you should take care of other things. Today It’s only half a day, but it’s enough to tie a broom. Dinner will be eaten in the city. The women eat a bucket together every day, and each meal gets five liters.” Then, Cao Bao brought four pairs of mothers and children into Zheng Anping’s west courtyard, and divided the wings on both sides. He pointed out four rooms and asked them to stay. Then he called Wuwang and said: "Every day, we will allocate it, but we will tell you from my son." He also asked the four women to report their ages, and named the oldest one as the elder.
Arrangements have been made, come out on your own. Thinking that everything in the city is not ready, it would be better to buy some more. For example, there is no place to grow the millet in these four households, and no place to cook it. Is it possible to let women and children eat together with a bunch of grown men?
After coming out, Cao Bao found Zheng Anping and expressed his thoughts. Zheng Anping agreed very much. They discussed what they wanted to buy and quickly made a list. But the question is where to buy it? There are also traders in the countryside, but they come and go erratically, and they only have small gadgets. What they want to buy are basically tableware, as well as baskets, dustpans and other containers, which merchants cannot bring with them, so they can only buy them in the market. The nearest market is Huayang, which is closer than Xingyang in the north; but Xingyang market is large and has many goods, which are both cheap and good. As a result of the discussion, we decided to ask Uncle Tang to buy it in Xingyang and take advantage of the opening of the car dealership to deliver it.
It was obviously too late today, so how to get four pairs of mother and son to eat became the central topic of discussion. The final conclusion is that the men leave after eating and call the women over to do it again. That is until the new cutlery arrives. After the discussion, Cao Bao stopped talking nonsense and got up directly to Xingyang. The rest of the people should do whatever they want.
When it was time to eat, Cao Bao hadn't come back yet. After everyone discussed it, they had to change the order and let the women eat first. So the men scooped out two buckets of millet, carried two cans of water, and called Wuwang to inform them of the meal. Then everyone saw an interesting scene: Wu Wang was walking in front, and four women followed behind with their children, taking a shortcut from Zheng Anping's west courtyard to the inn. The men hiding aside couldn't help laughing when they saw it.
The women were given instructions on tripods, bowls, water, millet and other items, and told them to be careful of sparks. Wu Wang also withdrew, closed the door, and allowed the woman and children to cook and eat inside. He sat outside the door, waited for them to finish eating, and then took them back.
Zheng Anping and others then walked to the door and asked Wu Wang, "How about knotting a broom?"
Wuwang said: "Everyone has two, so there will be no problem."
Zheng Anping asked: "Why do you get so many?"
Wu Wang said: "His son is pulling grass, and his mother is making brooms. Wouldn't you rather have two brooms most of the day?"
Xiao Si said: "While he is not here, why is he watching the broom?"
Brother Su said: "What about the broom?"
Zheng Anping said: "Four brothers live alone, I may not see their broom." Everyone smiled and came to Zheng Anping's west courtyard together.
The most obvious feeling is that there is less grass. As expected, there were eight knotted brooms in the yard. They were simply made of hay tied into a bundle, and then longer grass was braided into straw ropes and tied together. They picked it up and weighed it, and found that the bundles were relatively strong. Everyone felt that these women must be willing to work and capable of working, and they felt relieved.
When they came back, Mr. Cao also came back. Stand in front of the door and talk to Wuwang. I couldn't help but laugh when I learned that everyone went to visit the newly knotted broom. Seeing everyone coming back, he laughed and said, "Is it virtuous to kiss a woman's broomstick?"
Xiaosi said: "Just look at his ears."
Cao Bao said: "Women have four virtues, and virtue includes work. Work is among them."
Zheng Anping said: "Sir, if you go to Daliang, what will the four brothers do as matchmakers?"
Cao Bao slapped his forehead and said, "That's a mistake, that's a mistake!" Everyone thought that Cao Bao had forgotten to do it, but Cao Bao said, "It's too late! I've made my four brothers worry for days!" Everyone laughed.
Cao Bao said: "I went to Daliang to talk about this matter. When Lu Bo was there, I heard that the girl from the wine shop outside Yimen recommended herself as a matchmaker. The next day, I went to receive the order. Lu Bo said, his father has promised I will give the daughter's birth date to Lu Bo, and your Majesty will ask someone to divine it. Once the date is found, I will inform you as soon as possible. Fourth brother, don't worry about it."
Brother Su patted Xiao Si and said, "Your Majesty, you have done it yourself, so why worry! His father has given you a generous consent, so why worry brother!"
Xiaosi's face was red, excited, and shy. He didn't know what to say, so he ran away. Everyone laughed.
Cao Baofu said to Zheng Anping: "Guan Ling should also know that the marriage is only granted between morning and evening. There should be an order in the near future. I should congratulate you now!"
Everyone cheered and congratulated Zheng Anping again. Zheng Anping's expression was calm, and he thanked everyone one by one.
Cao Bao said: "Tang Shudan's day is coming, and the things for Jia should arrive with him. If the chariot can be set up, everything can be done."
Zheng Anping said: "There is lack of wealth in the city, and everything is difficult. However, when it was first built, everything was unprepared, and there were just a lot of needs. This is very difficult."
Cao Bao said: "It's only because of the difficulty that we can see the merit!"
While chatting, there was a knock on the door. Wuwang opened the door, and all the women stood at the door, saying, "We have finished eating and would like to return."
Wuwang took them out, and they bowed slightly to Zheng Anping and left in a hurry.
The men then walked in and saw that the bowl had been cleaned with weeds. The women couldn't wash the cauldron because it was too big, so they could only leave it there. There was almost no porridge left in it. The two bushels of millet were not finished, only about half a bushel was left. These details made Zheng Anping feel more favorable to them.
A few men cooked porridge on a cauldron and ate it themselves. Seven men ate three bushels of grain.
The next few days were relatively peaceful, and the women were arranged to clean various official residences, including the car dealership. Xiaosi went out on patrol every day, while Cao Bao wandered around as usual, and visited Guanyi City from time to time. The remaining five people herded cattle and sheep while harvesting mature millet. They could harvest more than half a basket in a day and dried it on an abandoned house foundation. The chickens, puppies, lambs, and calves have all grown up, and there are no diseases. There is harmony and tranquility in the abandoned city, a pastoral scene.
Uncle Tang and others rushed to the first bus and brought the things Zheng Anping and the others bought. Zheng Anping gave each woman a Li, two bowls and two jars, plus a basket and a dustpan. From then on, the women no longer had to go out to the inn to eat. Every afternoon, Wuwang and Wuer would carry a bushel of millet in each hand and pour it into the basket, leaving them to cook and eat on their own.
One day, Cao Bao found these women and asked them about the situation in their parents' hometowns and asked them if they wanted to go back to their parents' homes. Of course they wanted to go, but the journey was far and a woman couldn't go back.
Uncle Tang left two companions behind to maintain the operation of the car dealership and left them enough millet and cooking utensils. The two of them usually don't stay in the industry very much. They often go out and don't know where they go. Cao Bao chartered the ox cart and took a woman and her child back to her parents' home from time to time. Go out in the morning, rest overnight, and come back the next day. When I come back, sometimes I bring a young man directly with me. Sometimes, a few days later, a young man will come to my door. They are all young men from the women's natal families. Cao Bao introduced these people to Zheng Anping, saying that they were the postmen he selected. In about a month, all four postmen were gathered. Xiaosi takes them running along the river every day.
After passing the assessment, Zheng Anping allocated one hundred acres of land to each of the four people, which was regarded as their salary. It was only May at this time, and there was still time to plant seeds. So the newly harvested millet grains were immediately transformed into seeds and sown in the fields.
During this month, the millet harvest in Guanyi is almost finished, and the puppies can run around on the grass to catch game. Then, Huayang Automobile Dealer’s first business came.
A total of four carriages checked into the carriage house. The cooking utensils suddenly became tense. The two coachmen asked Guan Ling for their caution and borrowed a tripod. Cao Bao went over in person to accompany him.
This convoy was transporting goods to Daliang. Xiaosi, dressed in military uniform, brought a newly recruited postman and a coachman with Tang syndrome to drive with him to Daliang.
After Xiao Si left, Brother Dog took on the task of detecting thieves and walked around with a halberd every day. The four women had enough to eat for a month and did not work much, so their bodies gradually became plump. The child also became stronger. Zheng Anping gave them a day off and asked them to take the millet they had saved back to their homes in Guanyi to subsidize the family and bring back some necessary supplies. The two places are not far apart. After breakfast, they went out with Cao Bao. They came out in the afternoon and followed Brother Dog home, just in time to make dinner.
The changes visible to the naked eye in one month spread throughout the small city of Guanyi. As a result, the spread became more and more evil, and they became the concubines of the officials, and the children became concubines, and soon they might give birth to sons for these officials. Of course these rumors will come back, making Zheng Anping and the others dumbfounded.
A few days later, Xiao Si came back with the motorcade, and the person who followed him turned out to be Mr. Zhong Yue.
Mr. Zhong Yue said politely as always: "I haven't seen Mr. Zheng for a long time. He is very handsome." Zheng Anping thanked him.
Mr. Zhongyue greeted everyone one by one and said: "Your Majesty is very pleased to hear about the achievements of my brothers. Within a few months, my brothers managed the city, managed the people in peace, harvested grains, and prepared grain." . Car dealers and trade are restored, post roads are gradually opened, and news reaches all directions. I am a humble commoner who will obey your orders and work hard to achieve great results!"
Everyone responded: "The division should be divided!"
Mr. Zhongyue said: "The fourth brother's trip will bring about a marriage. Your Majesty has repeatedly expressed your condolences that Mr. Zheng's marriage may be about to take place."
Zheng Anping said: "I have been so kind to you, so I dare to repay you with death!"
Five people arrived at the car dealership, ready to have dinner and rest for the night before returning to Huayang. The owner of the goods probably made a lot of money from this trip and invited everyone to have a meal at the car dealership. Everyone refused to say goodbye and had to go to the car dealership to have dinner together. During the banquet, although they only had porridge and water, they ate with great interest. The guests and hosts had a great time, met to buy goods, and even took this trade route. The drivers worked together to guarantee that there would be no mistakes.
