The wooden plate in his hand looked strange, which made Bi Maokang very curious.
This wooden disk is not a flat plate, but has many grooves of different shapes in the middle.
Some are square, some are round, and some are long, and I don’t know what they are used for.
Obviously, this is the dinner plate.
Zuo Mengeng had no reason not to use the good things in the collective canteen.
It’s impossible to make an aluminum dinner plate, but it’s still easy to make it out of wood.
When Zuo Mengeng took Bi Maokang to fill the rice with vegetables, the old man finally understood the purpose of the dinner plate.
Nowadays, the back camp is a grassroots operation, and everything is simple and simple, which is also reflected in the canteen.
Although there are many meals prepared, the variety is very limited.
There are two staple foods, corn rice and mixed-noodle steamed buns.
White flour buns?
Thinking too much.
Zuo Mengeng doesn't have that much money.
As for the vegetables, it's even worse.
Cabbage, only cabbage.
There were stewed cabbage and pickled cabbage, but other than that, there was nothing else.
The first time he ate in the cafeteria, Zuo Mengeng suspected that it was a Korean cafeteria.
There's nothing we can do about it.
There are no fresh vegetables in winter, only stored cabbage can be eaten. Don't think about meat or anything like that. We simply can't afford to supply so many soldiers.
However, meat oil is added to the stewed vegetables, which can give you a bit of meat flavor.
This is beyond the lives of many ordinary people, and it also makes the soldiers extremely satisfied.
The food is mediocre, and the taste of rice cooked in a big pot is just that.
Bi Maokang took two bites, but it was really hard to swallow.
When he looked at Zuo Mengeng again, the young man was devouring his food, as if there was some extraordinary delicacy on his plate.
"It's very rare for you, a son of a wealthy family, to live in poverty and live happily."
Zuo Mengeng laughed.
"This is not about living in poverty, but about equality between officers and soldiers. In this military camp, everyone has the same food and clothing expenses."
In the back camp, the most emphasized thing is equality.
Anyone, regardless of whether they have money or not. Even if you have money, you can only maintain consistency in the military camp.
Even if you have the money to buy good things from outside, you are not allowed to bring them in.
This rule has been strictly implemented since Zuo Menggeng.
Seeing that Bi Maokang didn't even take a few bites of the food, Zuo Mengeng knew that it was not to the old man's taste, so he had to say: "Let the rest of the food be given to the younger generation."
Bi Maokang is inexplicable.
"As a gentleman, how can you eat what others have left?"
Zuo Mengeng remained calm and didn't feel anything was wrong.
"Compared with these unrealistic rules, food is not allowed to be wasted in the military camp."
As if to confirm his words, an order suddenly came from a corner of the cafeteria.
"Everyone is there, reciting poetry."
In an instant, everyone raised their voices. A poem that Bi Maokang has known since childhood resounded in the cafeteria.
【It's noon on the day of hoeing, and the sweat is dripping from the soil. Who knows dishes on the menu, A Journey! 】
Bi Maokang turned around and couldn't see clearly how many people there were, but his eyes were attracted by the paintings on the wall.
It's not a treasure, its quality is extremely ordinary, but what's shown in the painting is clear.
Under the scorching sun, a tired and poor old farmer was weeding. Big beads of sweat fell on the seedlings, but they didn't bother to wipe them.
Next to the painting, the poem "Compassion for the Farmers" gave Bi Maokang a direct feeling to his soul for the first time.
He stopped Zuo Mengeng's movement and said with a smile: "Now that I think about it, I'm not full yet, how can I let you do it?"
After that, he grabbed the chopsticks and started eating with big mouthfuls.
It looks so sweet, as if you are tasting delicacies from the mountains and seas.
The most vivid pleasure is brought by the evolution of thought. After a simple meal, Bi Maokang finished eating in a daze.
But what happened next made him realize that it turned out that he could go further here.
Seeing Zuo Mengeng picking up the plate and about to leave, Bi Maokang couldn't help asking: "Why do you still need to take it away now that you've finished eating?"
Zuo Mengeng helped bring his dinner plate over.
"Mr. Dongjiao, in our place, whoever has eaten has to clean the tableware themselves."
Bi Maokang was really shocked when he heard that even the tableware had to be cleaned by himself.
Although he is not a person who advocates luxury, he is surrounded by servants at home. If you want to drink tea, someone will make tea; if you want to eat, delicious food will be laid out.
Bi Maokang didn't even remember how long it had been since he had been in the kitchen.
After all, he was an old man. Of course, Zuo Mengeng couldn't let Bi Maokang clean the tableware himself, but did it for him.
Only when he saw so many soldiers cleaning their own dishes did Bi Maokang realize that this place was really different.
After lunch, Zuo Mengeng wanted to continue showing Bi Maokang around, but Huang Zongxi came over.
"There is a problem with the accounting in the Finance Department. No one is familiar with the new accounting method. Come and teach us quickly."
Finance was the top priority, and Zuo Mengeng did not dare to neglect it, so he had to entrust Bi Maokang to a second lieutenant, who would accompany Bi Maokang to continue the visit.
Without Zuo Mengeng by his side, Bi Maokang felt more comfortable.
"Are you a scholar?"
The lieutenant was very excited when he faced a celebrity for the first time.
"Li Xiangzhu, who was born in late life, was a scholar of Hejian Mansion in the fourth year of Tianqi."
Bi Maokang asked: "Since you are a scholar, you should have obtained fame. Why did you come here and become a warrior?"
Li Xiangzhu smiled bitterly.
"I don't know what I know. Last year there was a severe drought in Jifu and the refugees caused chaos. Wan Sheng's family's farmland failed to produce any harvest. Just when he was helpless, thieves came and destroyed their home. Forced by helplessness, Wan Sheng had no choice but to take his wife and children around to beg for food. Several times He almost died in the wild. Even so, the two children could not be saved. Wan Sheng and his wife lived here just in time for Qianzuo to recruit workers. Although there was no way to tie the chicken, Ke Ren had to live, so he had no choice but to go to the dock. I worked hard, earned some money and food, and finally got through this winter. Without Qianzuo, Wansheng's family would have died. This kind of kindness will never be repaid. Later, Qianzuo's rear camp recruited troops, and Wansheng was the first to sign up."
Bi Maokang was quite puzzled.
"Since you were affected by the disaster, why didn't you ask the local government for help? You have a great reputation, how can the government ignore it?"
Li Xiangzhu laughed loudly, and his laughter was quite tragic.
"Fame? What does fame mean to a scholar? Unless he has a rich family, otherwise, like Wansheng, those officials and landlord bullies are eager to swallow up Wansheng's family wealth. From the first year of Tianqi to the present, Wansheng has never received a pill from the academic master. Rice. All the preferential treatment given to scholars by Wansheng has been completely stolen by the dog officials."
Bi Maokang was so angry that he had no idea that official corruption had reached such an extent that even scholars were being exploited.
But soon, he calmed down.
He had also heard a lot about the situation that Li Xiangzhu mentioned when he was at home, and it was not unique to Kisuke.
If it weren't for this, I'm afraid he wouldn't be as ambitious as Zuo Menggeng.
"When you take power in the future, remember the suffering of today and don't repeat the same mistakes."
Li Xiangzhu was stunned and didn't understand why the senior in the examination room spoke like this.
After almost seeing the military camp, Bi Maokang noticed the smoke rising into the sky next to him.
"Come on, take me over there and have a look."
The iron smelting factory and the gun-making factory have always been Bi Maokang's favorite places. This is his area of expertise.
Next to the huge hydraulic forging hammer, Yang Gui and others were listening to the command of a young man.
"Uncle Yang, this transmission arm is too heavy and the efficiency is not high. I suggest you make it shorter and lighter so that the forging hammer can be made larger."
Yang Gui and other veteran craftsmen did not have any complaints and immediately began to modify the forging hammer.
Bi Maokang noticed that the young man was holding a piece of paper with very complicated lines drawn on it. There were also some words he didn't recognize, which looked very mysterious.
"What is this?"
The young man explained carefully.
"This is a mechanical calculation formula. This can be used to effectively calculate the optimal construction specifications of the hydraulic forging hammer and improve the efficiency of the hydraulic forging hammer."
Bi Maokang asked doubtfully: "Isn't this the knowledge of China?"
The man said happily: "This is Western knowledge. Qianzao introduced it and taught it to us. It is indeed much faster when used in calculations. Many problems in the past have been easily solved."
Bi Maokang asked tentatively: "You are the people of China and are in heaven, but you are willing to fall down and learn this barbarian learning. Are you unwilling?"
The young man smiled heartily.
"The old man is joking. Qian Zao once said that it doesn't matter whether the cat is black or white, as long as it catches mice, it is a good cat. Western arithmetic is more convenient and easier to use, so just learn to use it. I have five thousand years of Chinese history, and the reason why it has been able to prosper It does not decline because the sea is open to hundreds of rivers and has great tolerance. Why not learn from the strengths of hundreds of schools of thought to enrich your own flesh and blood?"
Bi Maokang listened quietly and savored it carefully.
I was surprised to find that in this place, even a humble young man’s knowledge, openness and magnanimity were refreshing.
This... is such a vibrant place!
