It turns out that the wharf in Zhaojiazhuang has been expanded four times, and the stone steps on the road ladders have also been expanded four times to make it easier for people to get up and down and carry goods.
Various ships came and went on the previously deserted pier, and the laborers kept putting sacks on the ships and wiping sweat at the same time.
There is a beach about half a mile away from the river above the pier. Its name is Baiyin Beach. On the cliff above, there happen to be two crooked-neck yellow jujube trees, like two huge umbrellas. Several water-milled rice mills and a special wharf were built in Liushui. The rice from Zhao's rice shop was processed here and transported to the county for sale.
The roads above the ladder sills of Zhaojiazhuang Wharf have also been turned into stone roads, and they have been widened four times. Chicken carts, flat-head carts, donkeys, etc. come and go pulling goods.
At the Zhaojiazhuang pier and on the road, everyone's faces were filled with brilliance. The dull eyes in the past had been replaced by radiant expressions. When they saw Zhao Ping, everyone took the initiative to greet Zhao Ping with a big salute. A sister-in-law looked in the direction of Zhaojiazhuang and said, "Young gentleman, please Don’t worry, Mistress will be fine.”
Several men in their teens and twenties were patrolling, showing off their swords and saying, "Young Master, the little men also participated in the fight the night before. The bandits have been driven away."
Zhao Ping kept raising his hands to express his gratitude.
There were several men in their forties who raised the hoes in their hands and said, "Xiao Langjun, I heard that bandits came to Zhaojiazhuang, and we all rushed forward together. Although the bandits were powerful, there were few people after all, so in the end they were still there. Got kicked out.”
A few aunties looked at Zhao Ping and said, "Young Master, you are back. You are getting more and more handsome and you have grown taller." Some friends asked out of curiosity: "Young Master, is the county fun?"
Some young lady asked: "Little husband, I heard that you are very good at writing poems and lyrics. Is it true?"
There was a little daughter-in-law with a baby on her back who looked in the direction of Wangjiazhuang and then turned to look at Zhao Ping and asked, "Xiao Langjun, I heard that you entered the Tianjia class and defeated Wang Zihe?"
Zhao Ping returned the courtesy one by one, and then answered patiently one by one. Several children about the same age as Zhao Ping immediately ran towards Zhaojiazhuang, shouting as they ran: "The little man is back, the little man is back."
Zhao Ping also saw that many tenants had painted white plaster on the walls, or simply built new houses next to them, creating a vibrant and prosperous scene.
Zhao Ping also saw that a merchant had opened a small grocery store here. There was a constant flow of people coming and going, so the business was obviously not bad.
A somewhat shaky old man in his seventies, accompanied by a great-grandson, held a cane in his hand. Although his back was hunched, he was in good spirits.
He bowed to Zhao Ping and wiped his tears with his hands and said: "Little man, I have to thank my mistress and you. Now the villagers can wear warm clothes and eat three meals a day, and at least one meal a week." The meat meal is all because of the mistress and the young man. This old man has lived for decades, and this is the first time he has seen such a scene."
Zhao Ping hurriedly bowed in return and said, "Eunuch Yu, you must not do this. This will shorten your life. I don't dare to do it, I don't dare to do it!"
Yu Qiao looked happily at the surrounding villages that were becoming completely new. He couldn't help stroking his beard and sighed: "I have seen such a magnificent scene, and I will die without any regrets." Zhao Ping looked at the old man's face and said hurriedly: "Look at the old man's face glowing red, eight Ten is not a problem, and there may even be hope for a hundred.”
Yu Qiao looked around again, then chuckled: "I'm borrowing Mr. Xiao Lang's good words."
Zhao Ping also said happily: "I will definitely come to drink your birthday wine then."
Faced with Yuqiao, the oldest man in Zhuangzi, Zhao Ping did not dare to neglect him. He hurriedly stepped forward to help him and started making household chores with him. When he learned that this old man was good at wine, he immediately took out a jar of good wine from his cart. He gave wine to the elderly and personally delivered the wine to the elderly’s residence.
The old man's home is a large courtyard with more than ten people. The courtyard is lined with green bamboo and yellow oak trees on both sides. Chickens, ducks and geese are everywhere. The walls are all freshly painted, and six new houses are being built nearby.
Yu Qiao cheerfully told Zhao Ping and his entourage that since he now has a lot of labor at home, he used to not have enough food and clothing, and had nothing to do with his energy. Either transporting goods to the dock for delivery, or sending goods to the ship. The family's economy has completely improved. The whole family earns three thousand dollars a day. He also has two great-grandchildren in his family, one in his twenties and the other in his twenties. Tiantian has grown up. In the past, his requests for marriage were ignored, but now the matchmaker comes to recommend it. He has been engaged to the daughters of Lijiazhuang and Wangjiazhuang respectively. He will marry after the new house is built. Zhao Ping said happily: "It's such a good thing, a big day." I must come and ask for a wedding drink.”
Zhao Ping looked at the ordinary main room of this family and saw an Eight Immortals table inside. On the front was an incense table and an offering table with the inscription of Lord of Heaven and Earth on it, and on the side was an enshrinement to Lu Zu. Stoves and immortal charcoal bring prosperous days. Yu Qiao's old wife is still alive and is offering incense to Lu Zu respectfully.
With the support of Cuizhu, my mother insisted on welcoming Zhao Ping and the others at the gate of the courtyard with the housekeeper's family, Wang Gou'er and Miss Xia with their arms hanging.
When Miss Xia saw Zhao Ping, she grabbed the corner of Zhao Ping's clothes and kept crying. She expected to be very frightened that night.
Zhao Ping gently stroked Miss Xia's little face to express comfort while looking at her mother carefully.
Zhao Ping saw his mother's right foot tied with a strip of cloth, with tears in her eyes. She looked at Zhao Ping and kept shouting: "Ping'er, Ping'er."
Zhao Ping immediately pushed the golden mountain and fell the jade pillar and knelt down on the ground, kowtowed and sobbed: "Mother, please forgive me for being unfilial and causing mother to suffer." Lan'er also kowtowed along with him. My mother ignored the pain in her feet and nodded with her uncle and family. After looking at Jiang Jie and his daughter, she hurried forward.
The housekeeper Zhao Jie immediately stepped forward and helped Zhao Ping up for his mother. Her mother hugged Zhao Ping and carefully looked at Zhao Ping as he cried: "Ping'er has lost weight." Zhao Ping's eyes filled with tears and he looked up at his mother. Said: "Ping'er is not thin, which makes mother worried."
After Zhao Ping met with the housekeeper and his family again, he introduced Jiang Jie to everyone.
Hearing that he was a descendant of Jiang Kui, his mother struggled to salute Jiang Jie regardless of her own injuries. Jiang Jie said in an elder brother's tone: "Little sister, we are all members of the same family, so why should we be so polite?"
Hearing that Jiang Ying liked music, he gave her his zheng without hesitation and promised to teach her music theory.
Jiang Jie gave the manuscript of Jiang Kui's "Sparse Shadow" to his mother.
This is a priceless treasure!
After my mother solemnly put away the manuscript of "Sparse Shadows", she couldn't wait to hear Zhao Ping play "A Laugh from the Sea" and "Butterfly Lovers". It was my uncle who came out to resolve the embarrassment. People were coming in and out, so I had better try it inside. .
Only now did Zhao Ping discover that the livestock and poultry house on the left side of his house had been moved and was now a complete fairy soap workshop, as well as a yeast making room. The thin wooden door in the past had been replaced by a heavy door. , there are two sword-wielding servants guarding the door.
Regarding this precious technology, after careful consideration, Zhao Jie's family decided to leave it completely to Zhuangzi, but in the end the final decision-making power still rested with his mother.
This was also one of the main reasons why my mother came back from the county seat last time.
Now the livestock have been moved to Zhao Jie's family farm. Regarding the livestock and poultry houses here, Zhao Ping once proposed to move out and turn them into a fairy soap and yeast workshop, but his mother and the housekeeper and his family opposed it. After all, agriculture has been the foundation of China's thousands of years of history.
Unexpectedly, now they actually proposed to relocate and built more empty rooms. Several warehouses are in the housekeeper's small yard on the right.
Seeing Zhao Ping's joking look, Zhao Jie said sheepishly: "Food is the most important thing for the people. The old slave never expected that the Xian Zao business would be so prosperous. In order to prevent the most precious technology of Xian Zao from leaking out, the old slave had to ask for instructions. The mistress will use this place as a fairy soap workshop, and this was originally the intention of the young man." Zhao Ping walked in and found that the people working inside were either Zhao Jie's in-laws or his eldest son Zhao Tian's in-laws. Zhao Ping even saw Wang Xiaojia, Wang Xiaoyi, and Wang Xiaobing here.
Seeing Zhao Ping's doubtful eyes, Zhao Yun scratched his head in embarrassment and said, "We are a family now." Seeing Zhao Ping's doubtful eyes, Zhao Tian came over to look at Zhao Yun and then explained to him: "Although the three brothers are The villain's men were defeated, but their two younger sisters liked the villain's two brothers. In the past, the villain's family was poor and he did not dare to propose marriage. But now it is better. The matchmaker broke down the threshold of the family. Wang Yiniang and Wang Erniang were anxious, so they asked the matchmaker Come to discuss the matter. In addition, the four of them have already been interested, and the two siblings are also proficient in literature and calligraphy, so the villain's father agreed to the engagement. Now he is building a new house outside the compound, and then chooses an auspicious day to get married. Wang Yiniang and Wang Erniang Why don't you come over and pay homage to Mr. Xiao Lang?"
Zhao Tian turned around and looked towards a corner.
Soon, two shy young ladies came up behind Zhao Yun, one was eighteen years old and the other was sixteen. Although her skin was not that white, it was not bad either, but she also had pretty features and a convex figure.
The two of them came to Zhao Ping and said a blessing: "The slave family pays homage to the young man." Zhao Ping stretched out his hand and found that he had no gift. He looked at his mother, who smiled and said: "Ping'er, don't panic, mother." I have already considered it."
Behind the green bamboo appeared an eight or nine-year-old little maid whom Zhao Ping had never seen before. She took out a green jade bracelet from a small box and gave each of them a green jade bracelet on the spot.
The two girls were extremely excited. This was because their master had acknowledged their identities. Of course, they knelt down and said, "Thank you, mistress, and thank you, young master."
At this time, Zhao Jie stepped forward and said: "Xiao Langjun, now the stall is getting bigger and bigger, and the old slave and others are really too busy. The five children of the Wang family have all studied for several years. After reporting to the mistress for permission, now they He helped manage the fairy soap, soy sauce, vinegar, fairy charcoal, and fairy stove respectively, so Erlang, the old slave, came to the county town to concentrate on being the shopkeeper."
The mother also nodded to Zhao Ping, indicating that she agreed to the matter. No wonder Zhao Di can now safely work as a shopkeeper in the county town. It turns out that not only does the family have a future brother-in-law, but he also has a good wife who is not married. Mother gave them jade bracelets today. It seems that these five brothers and sisters have been approved by mother.
Zhao Ping looked at the cloth strips tied around his mother's feet and Wang Gouer's arm hanging with the cloth strips. Then he looked around, then changed the subject: "What's going on with those thieves?"
