In Lin Sanzhu's opinion, this was the best and best thing to say. He should always be grateful when people gave him so many steamed buns.
The sudden words of begging for money made Butler He stunned for a moment, and then his face was full of joy. His whole family was working as errands in He's house, so they naturally hoped that the master would get better and better. Therefore, what this beggar said was really true. It suited him so well.
"Wait a minute!" Butler He stopped Lin Sanzhu, and then, in front of everyone's surprised eyes, he grabbed eight more steamed buns and put them into Lin Sanzhu's baggage.
There was no one who was not good at beggars who were used to seeing their faces. Naturally, he knew that because this beggar had honey on his lips, the housekeeper of He Mansion grabbed more steamed buns for him.
Therefore, Lin Sanzhu, who was carrying his baggage and grinning silly, soon heard a steady stream of flattery words coming from him:
"Young Master He is inscribed on the gold list!"
"Young Master He is healthy and healthy!"
"Young Master He is getting married!"
"How young master, there are flowers and candles in the bridal chamber!"
"Young master, why don't you give birth to a precious son soon!"
Butler He: "..."
Servants: What? Is it possible to give birth to a child early with flowers and candles in the wedding room? Please, their little boy is still nursing.
…
After finding a clean place, Lin Sanzhu arranged the steamed buns one by one and tied the bundle tightly.
This way you won't be afraid that the buns will fall out.
After exiting Santingmen, we arrived at Changting Academy. Changting Academy is the largest academy in Hengxi Town, with nearly two hundred students in it. On both sides of the academy are several smaller private schools.
A place where the scholarly atmosphere gathers has naturally led to a lot of cultural industries. No, there are more than a dozen bookstores open opposite the academy. Enlightenment books, the Four Books and the Five Classics, and all kinds of pens, inks, papers and inkstones are really available.
Lin Sanzhu was illiterate, so he naturally didn't recognize the various store names on the plaques. He touched the dozens of copper plates on his body, chose the most inconspicuous bookstore and walked in.
When he saw someone coming in, shopkeeper Gao stepped forward and greeted him with a smile, "What do you want to buy?"
As for the old cotton-padded jacket Lin Sanzhu was wearing, it did not weaken the expression on Shopkeeper Gao's face at all.
Their business of opening a bookstore is different from other businesses. In the opinion of shopkeeper Gao, anyone who comes to a bookstore must be a scholar, or there must be a scholar in his family.
As the old saying goes, people should not be judged by their appearance, and sea water should not be measured by their measure. Even though people are living in plain clothes and living on a vegetarian diet, and their money is tight, someone might suddenly leap over the dragon's gate at some point and become famous.
Therefore, for Shopkeeper Gao, every visitor is a guest, and he never does anything contemptuous.
Seeing the friendly tone of the other party, Lin Sanzhu's discomfort became much better, "Shopkeeper, does the book store have the Three-Character Classic for the little boy's enlightenment?"
"Guest, please wait."
When he heard that they were buying the "Three Character Classic", shopkeeper Gao didn't waste any time. He turned around and went to the bookshelf to get the books. "This is a batch that just arrived, and it still smells like ink."
Lin Sanzhu wiped his hands on the cotton-padded jacket again and again, then took it and turned it over. The paper of the book was white and tough, and the printing characters were black and bright. It looked expensive at first glance.
Sure enough, when I asked about the price, it was two hundred and twenty cents. Guaiguai, it was twenty cents more expensive than what the clan leader said.
Lin Sanzhu subconsciously touched the copper plate on his body, "Is there any cheaper one?"
Shopkeeper Gao went to get another book and said, "If the guest wants it, I'll give you a hundred cents!"
The newly taken out book looked like it was 60% new, so it must have been there for a long time. Lin Sanzhu opened it and looked at it. Compared with the one just now, although this "Three Character Classic" was much older, it had many pages and chapters missing. , exactly what you need.
However, he couldn't come up with a hundred coins.
Lin Sanzhu's ears felt hot, "Shopkeeper, is there anything cheaper?"
Seeing the embarrassment on the other party's face, shopkeeper Gao had an idea. After calling the boy to guard the store, he got up and went to the warehouse.
After about half a cup of tea, shopkeeper Gao came out with a stack of books and said, "I forgot to dry these books. I found out that they were infested with insects a few days ago. It's really a pity. Guests, you can take a look at them. If there are any that can be used, you can use them." Thirty pieces of paper are enough."
When he heard that it was only thirty articles, Lin Sanzhu was delighted. He quickly reached out to take the book, and then he couldn't wait to read it.
As a result, after flipping through several books in a row, Lin Sanzhu couldn't help but be a little disappointed. Not only did these books have cavities, but some of the pages were about to fall off.
The only good thing is that the moths only ate the edges of the paper and did not eat the words on it.
Lin Sanzhu read through more than a dozen books carefully, and finally picked out a "Three Character Classic" that was of decent quality and bought it.
"Shopkeeper, are there any cheap pens and ink in the store?"
He had just paid thirty coins, and now Lin Sanzhu had twenty-eight coins left. If possible, he wanted to buy pens and ink as well.
Knowing that what the customer said was cheap, it was definitely the cheapest kind, so shopkeeper Gao directly found many defective products from the wooden frame on the side. In fact, they could not be regarded as defective products. For example, these ink blocks were accidentally dropped. The broken ones, and these brushes, are basically trial pens from the bookstore, and some have only been sharpened.
Even so, the price is not cheap, no, a broken ink stick is twenty cents a piece, and a brush is fifteen cents, and this is already the lowest price.
Shopkeeper Gao picked the largest piece of broken ink for Lin Sanzhu, and also chose the brush that only had a sharp edge.
Lin Sanzhu was calculating in his mind. Twenty cents plus fifteen cents made a total of thirty-five cents. After taking out all the copper coins in his pocket, there was still a difference of seven cents.
That’s right, there are still seven essays left!
what to do?
Why don't you buy the brush for the time being? Lin Sanzhu stretched out his hand to take out the brush, but in his mind, the scene from yesterday's ethnic studies came to mind again.
Lin Sanzhu gritted his teeth, untied the package, put it on the counter, and said, "Please help me, shopkeeper, to take a look at the package. I'll be right back!"
After that, he hurried out of the book shop and walked quickly to the south dock of the city.
Shopkeeper Gao just thought that the guest had gone home to collect money, so he put away the books and packages, as well as the ink sticks and writing brushes he had just selected, without thinking too much.
…
November and February every year are the busiest times at the dock. On the one hand, the New Year's Eve is approaching, and on the other hand, the weather is getting colder and colder. Who knows when the river will be completely frozen. For traders, if there is insufficient inventory, Wouldn't that mean running away from business?
Therefore, in the past few days, all the goods coming and going on the dock, food, use, and entertainment, took advantage of the heavy snow to fall, and the merchants prepared all the goods that should be prepared before the year.
Naturally, the porters at the dock are not worried about finding work these days.
However, if you are a stranger, then the easier moving work will not be your turn.
No, Lin Sanzhu walked around the dock and found that except for carrying rice and grain, which could be worked at any time, other things like fabrics, boxes and cages, porcelain, etc., had long been taken care of by various gangsters.
According to their opinion, if you want to join, you must first pay a membership fee of fifty cents, and fifty cents can only guarantee a month's work.
Lin Sanzhu only came here temporarily to earn money to buy brushes, so naturally he wouldn't pay the entrance fee or anything like that.
Not knowing where Lin Shi and the others were, Lin Sanzhu looked back and forth several times, but no one was seen.
He looked up at the sky and saw that it was almost late. He had to rush back. The road would be difficult to walk when it got dark.
Thinking like this, Lin Sanzhu didn't hesitate anymore, gritted his teeth and walked quickly to the grain ship.
You've come here, you can't go back empty-handed.
The grain boat was full of rice, all packed in sacks. There were one hundred catties, one hundred fifty catties, and two hundred catties. Lin Sanzhu picked the one hundred and fifty catties. He could get a penny for carrying two bags. .
Lin Sanzhu did the math and found that he could earn seven cents just by moving fourteen bags.
Fourteen bags doesn’t seem difficult.
However, there is always a gap between expectations and reality. No, when the 150-pound sack pressed on his back, Lin Sanzhu couldn't straighten up at all. He could only bend forward with all his strength and grab it with both hands. He tried his best not to let the sack slip to the ground, then took a step forward, took half a step back, staggered like a drunken man, and walked forward with difficulty.
When he finally carried a bag of grain off the boat, Lin Sanzhu was soaked with sweat.
Every time you move a bag of grain, the person in charge will give you a piece of bamboo, and you will be paid based on the piece of bamboo.
Lin Sanzhu looked at what he had in his hand and saw that there was still a difference of thirteen pieces. He gritted his teeth and walked to the grain ship again.
…
When the sun set, Lin Sanzhu appeared in front of shopkeeper Gao with tired steps.
What is held in the palm of the hand is seven cents of money that has been covered with heat.
"Shopkeeper, I'll give you the difference of seven coins!"
Lin Sanzhu's face was full of smiles, and his son finally no longer had to envy others.
Shopkeeper Gao was a little touched. He never thought that for seven cents, this man would actually go to the dock to work as a coolie.
Alas, if I had known better, I would have saved myself the seven cents.
But on second thought, Shopkeeper Gao felt that this was actually quite good, because only when you work hard can you value what you get.
I hope the children in this family can cherish what their father has given them.
Before leaving, shopkeeper Gao went to the warehouse and brought out a roll of white paper. Although it was damp and moldy, it did not affect the children's calligraphy practice.
Lin Sanzhu thanked him again and again, and his originally weak steps became much brisker. Haha, with these pieces of paper, his dog finally lacked for nothing.
…
Chapter 9 White Flour Steamed Buns
The wild vegetable soup in the pot has been heated several times, but her mother-in-law didn't say to start dinner, and Mrs. Zhou didn't dare to put it on the table.
However, Mrs. Zhou was not angry. With more children, it was normal for parents to prefer which one they wanted. Didn't she also prefer her eldest son Yuan Feng?
Zhou believes that as long as parents can control the direction and be impartial in major matters, it is not too much.
Besides, although my mother-in-law loves her brother-in-law, she has never seen her do anything unreasonable for her brother-in-law after so many years of marriage.
Just like this time Gouzi went to school. At first, she and her second younger siblings were worried about whether her mother-in-law would secretly give money to her brother-in-law. But after so many days, her mother-in-law didn't loose a penny of the money she had on hand, which made her My second brother and sister felt a lot more at ease.
Speaking of studying, Mrs. Zhou immediately thought of Lin Yuanqiu in the past few days. Mrs. Zhou really didn't expect that a little kid who was only five years old would have such a temperament. You said that in such a cold day, you have to be like this every day? Morning, what a hard work.
She originally thought that it would be good if Gouzi could persist for three or two days, but unexpectedly, it has been more than ten days, and he is still unstoppable. He gets up early every day and never fails to study.
Zhou felt that if it had been Yuan Huai, he might have been lying in bed, unwilling to move.
This is not because Zhou is looking down on her son. In fact, when she went to the river to wash clothes today, she heard Lin Shi's wife say that there were already two children in the clan who were clamoring that they did not want to go to the clan school.
In the past few days, Mr. Zhou often thought that if Gouzi was born into a wealthy family, and based on his hard work these past few days, he might actually be born a child.
As for why he is not a scholar or a scholar, Mr. Zhou shook his head. How could it be possible? They all say that dragons give birth to dragons and phoenixes give birth to phoenixes. Just because of the laziness of the couple from the third house, a dog can be admitted to a boy's school. I'm afraid it's already sucking milk. Very energetic.
After adding a handful of firewood to the stove, Mrs. Zhou looked out the door. It was already dark outside, and she didn't know when her brother-in-law would be back.
Hearing from her mother-in-law that her brother-in-law went to town to earn money, Zhou shook her head and felt that it was more likely that her brother-in-law went to town and wandered around. After all, it was not like he had never done such a thing before.
Only the mother-in-law would be deceived by her brother-in-law again and again, always feeling that her youngest son still has hope of progress.
