Returning to Horseshoe Lake, the sky above our heads turned fish-belly white.
Xu Mu rubbed his neck, and as soon as he got out of the car, he found Jiang Caiwei and several village women, Mrs. Lian, preparing breakfast.
"Xu Lang." The little maid's wife looked happy.
Xu Mu suddenly discovered that no matter where he went, as long as he returned to Zhuangzi, his little maid wife would always have this happy expression.
"Caiwei, you haven't recovered yet." Xu Mu walked over in two steps and held on to his body.
I still remember that day in Weicheng. In order to save the family business, the little maidservant was as strong as a lioness and refused to give in.
"Xu Lang, you're much better. I'll make fish porridge later, and ask Xu Lang to eat it before going to bed."
Seeing that he could no longer persuade him, Xu Mu had no choice but to nod. It's just a small job, I guess there won't be any problems.
"My boss is back."
Wei Feng and the heroes from Qinglong Camp got up early and prepared to go into the mountains to cut trees.
Xu Mu looked a little guilty for this group of old brothers. After all, no matter how hard he said it, he could not trap and kill Beidi Dog after all the life and death rounds at the border.
"My boss, we and these people have told you last night that no matter what happens in the world, we will follow my boss."
"After all, in this world, there is no one like my boss who can lead us to beat Di Gou happily."
Behind Wei Feng, hundreds of heroes from the Qinglong Battalion all nodded resolutely.
Xu Mu's expression moved slightly, but he did not refuse pretentiously. He took a few steps forward and hugged Wei Feng.
"My boss, I'm going to cut down the forest soon. I estimate that we can build a lot of wooden houses in this day. Hey, girls like Zhang Ergou's black fool. I wonder if I will give birth to a black baby next year. "
Many heroes laughed loudly, and Xu Mu also smiled. What was even happier in his heart was that these veterans of Qinglong Camp were finally slowly integrating into Zhuangzi's life.
Of course, the problem of feeding a family of 600 people is not too tight just by making wine. But after running around all night last night, Xu Mu had already figured it out. It's hard to say, if one day the surnamed Hou dies, the world will be in chaos again. At that time, relying only on these people, it is very likely that he will fall into passivity.
Chang Shiro's side already has fifty thousand soldiers.
But in Xujiazhuang, thousands of private soldiers were notarized, but not enough people were gathered. It's a pity that too many of the three thousand old soldiers died at the border.
It is necessary to think of some ways to recruit at least a thousand private soldiers.
"Chen Sheng." After Wei Feng and others had gone away, Xu Mu took a heavy step and walked in the direction of Zhuangzi.
"Master, what's wrong?" Chen Sheng, who had a broken arm, was obviously not used to it, and even the robe on his body was dressed crookedly.
Xu Mu sighed, took two steps closer, and helped Chen Sheng straighten his robe.
"My boss, that rough lady got up early today, otherwise she would have knelt down to help me put on my robe."
Xu Mu smiled. Everyone in Zhuangzi knew that Chen Sheng was afraid of his wife, but he kept denying her. He was so anxious that he broke off the bamboo branches and went back to the house to say that he would beat his wife. But every time, he was kicked out in despair.
"Chen Sheng, what's going on with Zhou Zun?"
"It's time for Brother Zun to go to Lizhou. Don't worry, boss, Brother Zun is doing things very steadily."
After a moment of silence, Xu Mu nodded.
In Qinglong Camp, most people are from Lizhou, and they gather in rural camps.
This time, he specially asked Zhou Zun and Zhou Luo to bring more than thirty cavalry and horses, as well as bows and dogs, to distribute pensions to the remaining relatives in Qinglong Camp.
Although this kind of thing is a bit stupid, in any case, he is proving an attitude. As long as he is Xu Mu's men, even if they die, they will still receive pensions.
"Chen Sheng, please hurry up and build a few more kilns to burn bricks. In February, there will be winter snow."
"Don't worry, boss."
Chen Sheng broke his arm. From now on, he can only stay in Zhuangzi and be a caretaker leader.
Xu Mu couldn't help but tremble for a while, raised his hand and patted Chen Sheng's shoulder.
…
At the end of the month, the ice begins.
There was finally a slight chill in the air.
Today is the first day of the month, the day when monthly salary is paid.
Two days ago, Xu Mu sent people to cloth shops in several big cities and purchased hundreds of sets of warm robes.
This time they returned from the border and brought back more than 50,000 taels of silver and treasure, in addition to being distributed to Wei Feng and others and used for pension purposes.
On the wine counter, thanks to the care of the little maid and wife, there were still twenty to thirty thousand taels. In addition to the share of killing the old bandit... In total, the entire Xujiazhuang has more than 100,000 taels on hand.
He seems to be a rich man.
Of course, the most valuable thing is not the silver, but the young and strong men, the weapons and armor, and the private soldier's notarization that will not be missed by the government.
But it is very likely that these things will turn into smoke as the troubled times continue.
"Madam has started to pay monthly salary!"
On Horseshoe Lake, a thunderous yelp finally came.
Not long after, more than a hundred people from the village crowded into the huge wooden shed, and everyone had a look of joy on their faces.
As for Wei Feng and others, needless to say, the amount of money Xu Mu distributed was enough for them to use for a long time. According to Xu Mu's wishes, even if these people wanted to return to their hometowns and become wealthy landlords, he would not stop them.
But no one left.
The man who licks the edge of his knife only has battlefield conquests in his mind.
Jiang Caiwei sat on the counter, also showing a slight smile, looking back at Xu Mu from time to time, and then turning back, making calculations familiarly.
In the past, Xu Mu rarely participated in the monthly salary payments, and most of them were left to Jiang Caiwei herself.
But after returning from the border this time, he wanted to cherish this time even more.
"Sister-in-law Lian, one, two or four dollars."
Mrs. Lian trotted over with a smile, grabbed the money and wanted to walk back.
"Sister-in-law Lian, please bring some warm robes with you. If you have a few people at home, please bring a few sets with you. Your boss... specially sent someone to buy them."
“The best little boss in the world.”
Sister-in-law Lian was stunned for a moment, then after praising her, she smiled even more happily. He ran back in a panic, picked up three sets of large robes and two sets of small robes, and then walked back excitedly.
When the people in the wooden shed saw this, they all cheered. Several older men knelt down and kowtowed in Xu Mu's direction.
In previous years, when winter comes, I have no warm clothes, so I can only chop bark into pieces, or press dry grass and stuff it into the interlayer of my thin robe, just to survive the winter and not to freeze to death in a daze.
Xu Mu asked the kneeling person to stand up first. He could understand the gratitude of these people. In these years, cotton cultivation was not yet popular. At most, outsiders would bring some to the southwest border of Ji Dynasty.
The rich had furs and silk and linen to keep out the cold, while the poor had nothing.
"Shen thirty thousand, six cents."
"Ma Xiaoyun, six dollars."
"Ma Xiaoteng, one penny. I should learn from your brother. If you miss work again, you will be kicked out of Zhuangzi. Do you understand?" Jiang Caiwei pretended to be angry.
"Madam, don't drive me away, I know, I understand."
"I'll lend you three dollars to buy some good food for my children."
…
I don't know how long it took before Xu Mu walked out of the wooden shed, raised his head and looked at the dark sky.
To be honest, there are many things he wants to do, such as transplanting cotton to the southwestern Xinjiang, trying to refine perfume, or copying a few poems that have been famous for centuries and posting them on the front of Chengcheng Academy. Lose the teeth of those bullshit scholars.
But these are all matters of the prosperous age.
But in front of him, there was already a chaotic world.
