"Third uncle! Third uncle!"
The little girl held Wang Zhong's hand with a bright smile on her face.
Wang Zhong bent down and picked up the little girl. The little girl hugged Wang Zhong's neck, put her hand to cover her mouth, and whispered in Wang Zhong's ear: "Let me tell you, my mother-in-law made a lot of delicious food!"
Wang Zhong laughed: "Oh? A lot?"
"There are so many!"
The little girl opened her hands to describe it, her expression and tone were somewhat exaggerated.
Wang Zhong said: "Then let's go back quickly and see what delicious food my sister-in-law has made!"
"Go back! Go back!" the little girl shouted happily.
As soon as Wang Zhong entered the second door with the little girl in his arms, he saw Mrs. Wang Li coming out anxiously. Seeing that Wang Zhong looked normal and was smiling, not tired or strange, his expression became a little brighter.
But I still couldn't help but feel a little worried.
Wang Zhong took the lead in greeting Mrs. Wang Li: "Sister-in-law!"
"Thank you for your hard work, uncle!"
Mrs. Wang Li saluted Wang Chongfu.
"It's just sitting in the tribute courtyard for a few days. It's very hard. But it's my sister-in-law who takes care of the house and outside. It's really hard!"
After getting along with Wang Zhong for a long time, Wang Li knew that Wang Zhong was always polite to her, and she did not argue with Wang Zhong. She immediately changed her tone and asked directly: "Uncle, are you hungry? Should you bathe and change first, or eat first?"
Wang Zhong said: "Let's take a shower and change clothes first!"
Mrs. Wang Li hurriedly walked forward and stretched out her hand to take Wang Qian'er from Wang Zhong's hand: "Sister Qian, come to mother and let your third uncle bathe and change clothes."
Although Wang Qier couldn't bear to leave her third uncle, she knew that his third uncle had just come back, so she obediently stretched out her arms and let Mrs. Wang Li hug him.
There was hot water on the stove, but Wang Zhong didn't ask anyone to prepare it.
In the past nearly two years, whether it was hot summer or cold weather, Wang Zhong always bathed in cold water. Wang Li didn't understand it at first, but as time went by, he gradually got used to it.
Wang Zhong walked to the bathroom, took a bath with cold water as usual, and then changed into a loose, wide-sleeved uniform, and then came to the dining hall.
While Wang Zhong was taking a bath, Mrs. Wang Li had already had the prepared meals brought to the dining table one by one. The round Eight Immortals table was filled with
"Third uncle, hurry up, hurry up, if you don't come, I will finish all the delicious food."
Wang Zhong hugged the little girl in his arms: "Fortunately, Third Uncle came quickly, otherwise he would have to pick up the leftovers from my sister Qian's food!"
"I've been suffering in the Gongyuan these days, uncle, eat more!" Wang Li helped Wang Zhong scoop out a bowl of hot soup to relieve the fatigue of many days.
"Thank you sister-in-law!"
"Mom, I want some soup too!" The little girl next to her immediately started shouting when she saw Mrs. Wang Li serving soup to Wang Chong.
"Okay, okay, Mom, let me serve it for you!" Mrs. Wang Li said dotingly. As she spoke, she filled another bowl of meatball soup and placed it in front of the little girl.
"Uncle Third, meatball soup!" Wang Qier showed off the meatball soup in front of her to Wang Zhong like a treasure.
Wang Zhong rubbed Wang Qian'er's head and said, "Sister Qian, you need to eat more. Eat more so that you can grow up quickly!"
"Uncle San will eat it too!"
"Let's eat together!"
With Wang Qian'er, a living treasure who brings lively atmosphere, the meal will be more delicious than before.
The next morning, Wang Zhong was lying on a bamboo deck chair beside the bamboo forest outside the backyard, holding a cattail leaf fan in his hand and a eucalyptus table beside him, eating tea leisurely and blowing the autumn wind, feeling very happy.
Not far away, there was smoke rising from the kitchen, and Yu Chu's second daughter-in-law was grilling meat skewers carefully in front of a simple stove made of red bricks.
From time to time, Wang Zhong would open his eyes to take a look, and then close them again.
"Salt!"
"cumin!"
"Brush oil!"
"A little bit of pepper powder!"
"Apply oil again!"
"chopped green onion!"
"..."
Wang Qier sat on the small ladle next to her, staring at the barbecue that Yu Chu's second daughter-in-law was churning in her hands, and kept swallowing her saliva.
"Brother Zihou is so elegant!"
As he was directing Yu Chu's second daughter-in-law to barbecue, a familiar voice suddenly rang.
Maybe he has just entered the period of voice change, and his voice is a bit different than before, a little more hoarse and harsh.
Wang Zhong stood up. When he saw the person coming, he smiled and cupped his hands and said, "Who am I? It turns out that I am the virtuous brother Zecheng. I have come to my humble residence with a high official. I am so radiant and radiant!"
After getting along with Wang Zhong for a long time, Chang Bai gradually understood Wang Zhong's temperament and knew that Wang Zhong loved to joke and was not as rigid and pedantic as those old masters.
"It smells so good!" Changbai's servant Han Niu was very attentive and helped Changbai prepare a small meal for him and asked Changbai to sit down next to Wang Zhong.
Wang Zhong waved to the little girl: "Sister Qian, come here quickly!"
Wang Qianer ran up to Wang Zhong in a hurry, her big black and white eyes full of curiosity, and she was looking at Changbai non-stop.
From ancient times to the present, people have always been happy with beautiful things.
Men like beautiful women. Although they all have their own preferences for vegetables and radishes, all beauties have their own characteristics.
And women naturally like good-looking men, who are as handsome as a jade tree in the wind, with a handsome face, a crown-like face, majestic air, and extraordinary manners...
And Changbai is the best among them! He inherited Sheng Hong's good looks and intelligence, and the calmness and sophistication of his maternal grandfather, Mrs. Wang. Although he is still young, his appearance is already very impressive.
If we only talk about appearance, Wang Zhong is really not as handsome as Chang Bai.
"This is your uncle Changbai, third uncle's best friend!"
"Wang Xi'er, pay your respects to your uncle and say hello to him!"
Wang Qian'er immediately broke away from Wang Zhong's hands, followed what her mother Wang Li taught her in the past, and bowed to Chang Bai to greet her.
Changbai was stunned, not because of Wang Qier's salute, but because he was not used to the sudden change in his identity.
He is a junior at home, and his oldest cousin has not yet gotten married, but now he has become what others call his uncle.
Although it was unexpected, Chang Bai was obviously very happy. When he took off the jade pendant from his waist and handed it to Sister Qian's little hand, he said, "I often hear Zihou mention my niece at home and praise her a lot. When I saw her today, she is really smart." It’s so cute. When we meet for the first time, this jade pendant should be regarded as a meeting gift from my uncle to my niece!”
Naturally, he said this to Wang Zhong because he was afraid of Wang Zhong's rejection.
pity! Changbai somewhat underestimated Wang Zhong's shamelessness.
Without Wang Zhong's reminder, the little girl was all smiles, holding the jade pendant in her hands, and said happily, "Qian'er, thank you uncle!"
"So good!" Chang Bai raised his hand and rubbed Wang Qier's little head, with a bright smile on his face.
"Sir, the meat is roasted!" Yu Chu's second daughter-in-law came over respectfully carrying a plate of golden and oily barbecued meat on bamboo skewers.
"Well, go and prepare some juice. I want to have a few drinks with Zicheng."
"Slave, go now!"
Yu Chu's second daughter-in-law is now arranged by Wang Li to serve as the leading nanny next to Wang Qier, responsible for taking care of the two little envoys in Wang Qier's room.
On the eucalyptus board next to it, there are already prepared thin pancakes, shredded cucumbers, prepared sauces, etc.
Wang Zhong spread out the pancakes in his palm, grabbed a few meat skewers and placed them on them. He grabbed the pancakes and clasped the hot mutton on the bamboo skewers. He pulled out the bamboo skewers with a strong pull with his other hand. After it came out, he immediately put the cut vegetables on top, poured some sauce on it, rolled it up and handed it to Chang Bai.
[In view of the general environment,
"The sheep that were just slaughtered this morning, please try how they taste!"
The little girl next to her couldn't wait any longer and urged Wang Zhong to roll one for her.
If you just eat meat skewers, it tastes good, but if you eat too much, you will inevitably feel tired. After all, there are too many seasonings on the meat skewers, but if you add a pizza and some vegetarian dishes, the taste will be completely different.
As soon as he took a bite, Changbai gave a thumbs up!
Although there is no shortage of delicacies in the Sheng family, and there is no shortage of cooks with superb cooking skills, such simple and crude ways of eating are rare.
Moreover, the method of eating meat skewers wrapped in pancakes was also more popular in the north in later generations. Changbai's ancestral home is Youyang. In recent years, he followed Sheng Hong to serve as an official abroad, mostly in places south of the Yangtze River, and less in the north.
Moreover, both Sheng Hong and Wang are from the south, so their diet naturally favors the south.
Changbai always followed rules and had a fixed time for eating. This was the first time that he was so casual. Moreover, Yu Chu's second daughter-in-law was really good at cooking. This meal lasted for more than half an hour.
Wang Zhong also went into battle in person, taking Chang Bai to barbecue together, teaching all the key tips one by one, while he made Wang Qier's belly round and bulging by playing around with him.
In the past, Changbai was busy studying at home and never left the door. Now that he suddenly came to visit, Wang Zhong was really surprised.
After eating barbecue, it was past noon. Wang Zhong led Chang Bai around the small bamboo village. Today's small bamboo village is no longer the small village with only more than 60 acres of land in the past. After recent years, With years of development, the scale of Xiaozhu Village has become larger and larger. Let alone the breeding farm, just the fields have increased four to five times on the original basis.
Some of them were newly reclaimed wasteland, and some were bought from small landowners from all over the country.
What really interested Changbai was the nearly semi-self-sufficient production chain on Wang Zhongzhuangzi.
Nowadays, Baishui Village basically relies on Xiaozhu Village to make a living. There is no shortage of work for the villagers. Poor men who could not get a wife in the past, as long as they are not lazy, are now making arrangements to find matchmakers.
However, in just over a year, Baishui Village has become the wealthiest village in the ten miles and eight towns, and the name of Xiaozhuzhuang has spread throughout Yangzhou.
If it weren't for the protection of Sheng Hong, the general magistrate of Yangzhou, he would have been surrounded by people and eaten.
After walking around and looking at the orderly areas, Changbai couldn't help but be a little amazed.
Although it is still in the most primitive stage of handicraft industry, reasonable planning already has the meaning of an assembly line, and the operation seems orderly and fast. Everyone performs their own duties and cooperates quite well.
"Is this the threshing machine unique to Zihou Village?" Changbai looked at the threshing machine stacked in the corner of the barn in front of him, his eyes full of curiosity.
Wang Zhong smiled and said: "Yes, this is a threshing machine. The gear drives the rotating shaft to make the drum roll. These "tentacles" on the drum can create an effect similar to beating, making the grains on the rice ears fall off. , saving a lot of effort. "
After saying this, Wang Zhong also asked Changbai to sit on it and experience it. Unfortunately, it was not the busy farming season. Otherwise, Changbai could have experienced the fun of harvesting rice on the spot.
Next to the threshing machine is a windmill, but windmills are not unique to Xiaozhuzhuang. They have appeared many years ago, but their popularity is not particularly high. Moreover, the construction of windmills requires a lot of craftsmanship, and ordinary carpenters may not be able to do it.
Changbai has been studying all year round. Although he has been to Zhuangzi and learned about mulberry farming from Sheng Hong and the farmers in his own village, he has never been exposed to farming in such detail. Only with Wang Zhong, he has Really see things in reality that are not in books.
"This thing can only be used in rice?" Changbai asked curiously.
Wang Zhong said: "It can also be used to remove wheat!"
Changbai suddenly said: "No wonder my father admires this thing so much that he even wrote a special note about it and reported it to the officials!"
"If this product can be promoted, people all over the world will benefit greatly!"
Chang Bai turned around and looked at Wang Zhong, bowed and held his hands in his hands, and said in a sincere tone: "On behalf of the people of the world, Bai thanks Zihou!"
"I am not the first to create this thing. I just repaired it according to its characteristics and improved its performance." Wang Zhong said modestly.
"This is what Zihou calls "Gewu"
? Changbai asked.
Wang Zhongdao: "Everything in the world has its own laws for its existence and development. In ancient times, our ancestors walked out of the wilderness and gradually evolved from hunting for a living to slash-and-burn farming. Until now, everything is progressing.
It is said in the university that knowledge comes from studying things, and knowledge comes after studying things. Do you really think so? "
Chang Bai was stunned for a moment, looked at Wang Zhong with a smile on his face, and once again cupped his hands and said, "Please give me some advice from Zi Hou!"
Wang Zhong said: "In Yu Zhong's opinion, the so-called way of a saint is nothing more than what the people use every day!"
"The way of the saint! Common people use it every day!" Changbai's eyes widened, his eyes narrowed suddenly, he was very surprised.
"I wonder what a saint is in Zicheng's eyes?" Wang Zhong asked.
Changbai came back to his senses, thought for a moment, and said, "Those who preach to the world and educate all people like the most holy teachers can be called sages!"
Wang Zhong looked at the several threshers in front of him, at the windmills piled in the corner, and at the warehouse full of rice. He turned around and walked out. He walked out of the warehouse and did not stop until he reached the edge of the field. down.
Wang Zhong pointed to the stretches of farmland with crisscrossing roads and asked, "In Zicheng's eyes, what are these?"
Changbai looked in the direction pointed by Wang Zhong and said, "It's a stretch of fields and golden rice!"
The rural examination was held in August, and now it is late August, not yet September. There is still some time before the autumn grain harvest, but the rice in the fields is already growing quite gratifyingly. The ears of rice are gradually turning from dry to full, and the eyes are also turning from green. Gradually turns golden.
"In my opinion, these are the lives of ordinary people!"
Wang Zhongdao: "Ordinary people in the capital of Guizhou only have a few acres of thin farmland at home. If the weather is good, the weather is good, and the family has a small population, they can barely grow enough food to satisfy their hunger, but those with a large population can only rent from wealthy gentry households. Plant the fields.
All kinds of taxes, labor, labor, and the food and clothing for the whole family all depend on the output of the land. However, if there is a famine, drought, locusts, or floods, our wealthy families will still have enough to spare. For food, ordinary people can only sell their sons and daughters, or sell themselves into slavery. Life and death are in the hands of others. "
After hearing this, Changbai nodded with deep understanding and said, "Yes, these fields of rice are indeed the lives of the people!"
"We study hard day and night in order to take the imperial examination and become officials. In the future, we can serve as officials and govern the world for the imperial court. If in the future, Cheng is sent to the local government, has Cheng ever thought about how to govern? Only then can he be able to do so. When the people are rich, is it because the treasury is full?"
"I think it's nothing more than resting with the people, encouraging mulberry farming, and dredging water conservancy!"
"Knowing that you may have to govern a place in the future, you will think about how to govern and how to herd the people. This is also the study of things."
Wang Zhong's explanation made Chang Bai suddenly enlightened and suddenly said: "That's it!"
Wang Zhong asked again: "If in the future, someone can find a thousand kilograms of yield per acre, so that the people no longer have to worry about having a belly, do you honestly think that this person can be called a saint?"
"A yield of one thousand catties per mu?" Changbai was almost startled by Wang Zhong: "If this is the case, this person can naturally be called a saint!"
Wang Zhong raised his head and looked at the sky, and then looked down at the ground, as if he was moved by emotion, and said with great emotion: "Set up your heart for heaven and earth!"
Then he raised his eyes and looked at the crisscrossed fields in front of him, and at the breeding farm and oil mill behind him beside Xiaozhu Mountain, and continued: "Dedicate your life to the people!"
Then he looked at Changbai: "Continue the secret learning for the saints! Create peace for all generations!"
"If you can accomplish this goal in this life, your time in this world will be worthwhile!"
Changbai was so shocked that he couldn't speak.
