Yazi suggested: "Let's not talk here. There is a tea shop in front. If you have anything to say, go and talk in the tea shop."
"Master Hou, how about we go to the tea shop and sit for a while?" Yang Yuan said to Hou Dafu in front of him.
Hou Dafu looked back at the dock behind him, hesitant on his face.
Seeing this, Yang Yuan said again: "Of course, it will not waste Master Hou's time in vain. No matter how much Master Hou earns at the dock today, I will pay for it."
Bian Yazi also said: "Hou Dafu, shopkeeper Yang is a big shopkeeper from Datong. I won't cheat you of this money."
Hou Dafu looked at Yang Yuan, hesitated for a moment, and finally nodded.
The three people came to a tea shop not far from the pier.
Yang Yuan gave the tea shop owner a tael of silver alone and asked him to prepare a table of meals.
While the tea shop owner went to prepare food, Yazi whispered: "Hou Dafu, I heard that you can make cannons. Is it true or not?"
"You want to build a cannon?" Hou Dafu looked at Yang Yuan in surprise and said, "Are you from the imperial court?"
"Don't worry about it." Yazi said, "Just tell me whether you can make cannons!"
Hou Dafu shook his head and said, "No."
After hearing this, Na Yazi's face turned ugly.
I thought that Hou Dafu could make cannons, so I recommended him to shopkeeper Yang from Datong. He wanted to make a fortune from it. You must know that the money promised by the other party was quite a large amount, and it was only enough for him to work for a year. Earn.
Yang Yuan suddenly said: "Master Hou, we won't let you work in vain. As long as you can make cannons, you will be paid ten taels per month. What do you think?"
"Ten taels?" Na Yazi was stunned.
Twelve taels of wages a month was enough for him to work in the tooth shop for more than half a year.
"Really ten taels?" Hou Dafu was moved.
I work at the dock every day to move and unload cargo, but I still can't make thirty bucks at the end of the day. When there is little or no work to do, I often go hungry because I can't make any money.
Yang Yuan smiled and nodded.
Hou Dafu hesitated for a moment and asked, "Can you tell me what you are going to do with the cannon?"
Yang Yuan said: "I am dissatisfied with Master Hou. Our boss has a village that is often harassed by bandits, so we want to get some cannons to protect the village and deter the bandits."
The imperial power did not go to the countryside, which resulted in the areas outside the county being dominated by clan elders and gentry. It also provided a breeding ground for bandits. In some places, banditry was frequent, forcing villages to form villages to protect themselves and fight against bandits and horse thieves.
Therefore, it is not surprising that Yang Yuan said that he built cannons to ward off bandits.
In the Hongwu or Yongle period, naturally no one would have dared to build cannons privately and use them. Now in the forty-seventh year of Wanli, officials are corrupt. As long as they don't attack the county with artillery, officials at all levels will just turn a blind eye and pretend not to know. .
"It turns out it's to prevent bandits." Hou Dafu thought for a moment and said, "What kind of cannon does your boss want to build?"
Yang Yuan smiled and asked: "I wonder what kind of artillery Master Hou will make?"
"You were lying to me just now. It turns out you can make cannons!" Yazi stared at Hou Dafu bitterly.
Hou Dafu ignored that tooth. He could see that the shopkeeper Yang in front of him was the one talking. He said: "Tiger cannon, big and small Folangji can be used. You can also try the general cannon."
"Great." Yang Yuan was delighted.
Unexpectedly, the Hou Dafu in front of him was such a talented person that he could actually build so many kinds of cannons, especially the large and small Folangji and Hu Zun cannons, which were suitable for their Hutou Village. The bulky general cannons were not used.
At this time, he had decided that even if Hou Dafu did not agree to go to Datong with him, he would kidnap people to Hutou Village.
Hou Dafu said: "The cannon needs suitable manpower to use it after it is made. Does Shopkeeper Yang have a good hand at using the cannon?"
"No." Yang Yuan shook his head.
However, he doesn't think it is difficult to use cannons. There is no shortage of firecrackers in the village. The cannons are large firecrackers, and the firecrackers can be used as gunners.
Hou Dafu said: "I know a few good cannon masters. If shopkeeper Yang is willing to hire them, each person will only need three taels of silver per month."
Yang Yuan looked hesitant.
He came here just for the craftsmen who made the cannons, and he didn't value the people who used the cannons. There were so many firecrackers in Hutou Village, and they could even use the firecrackers, but they couldn't even use the cannons.
But he was worried that rejecting Hou Dafu's request would make Hou Dafu unwilling to follow him to Datong.
After a moment's hesitation, he said: "Since Master Hou has spoken, let's do as Master Hou said, three taels per person, and then go to Datong with Master Hou."
Hou Dafu nodded and said, "Don't worry, Shopkeeper Yang, it won't be a loss at all to hire them for three taels of silver."
When Yazi heard this, he sneered in his heart.
After talking for a long time, the money given to him was not that much. If he could make cannons and had no teeth, he would have agreed to go to Datong and earn the salary of ten taels of silver per month.
As a member of Yaxing, Yazi naturally would not tell this story. Instead, he said with a smile: "Shopkeeper Yang, you have found the person who made the cannon, right..."
Make a motion of twisting money with your hands.
Yang Yuan smiled and said: "Don't worry, as long as people get on the carriage, the money they should be given will be given to them with both hands."
"Haha, thank you so much, Shopkeeper Yang." Na Yazi cupped his fists and cupped his hands.
Although I can't earn twelve taels of wages per month, I can still earn a lot of money if I complete this job.
It happened that at this time, the tea shop owner bought a table of food and served it on the table.
Yang Yuan gave the tea shop owner a tael of silver, and the meal he delivered was worth eight or nine cents of silver. It included meat, vegetables, and was full of oil and water.
Hou Dafu couldn't help but swallow when he saw the dishes on the table.
He worked at the dock all day long, and it was hard for him to have enough food and clothing. Where could he get such delicious food?
Seeing this, Yang Yuan smiled and said: "Master Hou, let's eat first. After dinner, we will go see the cannon masters you mentioned."
Hou Dafu didn't even take chopsticks, he just grabbed a piece of chicken drumstick on the plate, tore it off and ate it in big bites.
Yazi, who is at the same table, rarely eats the food of one or two tables. He picked up the chopsticks and picked up the meat and vegetables on the plate to eat.
The three of them quickly ate all the food on the table, and even the vegetable soup on the bottom of the plate was licked clean by Hou Dafu.
After eating and drinking, and calculating the expenses of the tea shop, Hou Dafu took Yang Yuan and walked towards the pier.
There is a shack area not far from the dock, where people who usually work on the dock live here.
Arriving at the slum area, Hou Dafu skillfully walked through several narrow alleys and came to a dilapidated thatched house.
Hou Dafu stood outside the thatched cottage and shouted: "Brother Chen, Brother Hu, Brother Zheng, Brother Li, come out quickly to greet the distinguished guests."
As he finished speaking, a short, rough man with dark skin walked out of the thatched cottage.
When Hou Dafu saw that only one person came out, he asked: "Brother Dadao, how many other brothers are there?"
Li Dadao squinted his eyes and glanced at Yang Yuan and Na Yazi, and then said: "They have all gone to the dock, and I am the only one at home."
"I knew I would have gone to the dock first." Hou Dafu slapped his thigh in annoyance.
From the tea shop to the slum area, you need to pass outside the dock. He had not seen any of them while working on the dock before. Unexpectedly, within one meal, except for Li Dadao in front of him, the rest of the people had gone to the dock.
"Who is this?" Li Dadao asked Xiang Hou Dafu, looking up and down Yang Yuan.
At the same time, Yang Yuan was also sizing up Li Dadao in front of him.
This man named Li Dadao is not tall, but has a strong build. He stands with his legs on the ground, giving people a particularly stable feeling, not like a coolie working at the dock.
