But on the other side, in Quanzhou City in the evening, smoke rose from the chimneys of every house into the air, and pedestrians on the street were also in a hurry, rushing home to have a warm meal with their families. dinner.
Gu Er led Shitou, who had just come out of the military camp, and drove towards home on horseback.
"Sir, the third battalion will be disbanded in a few days. When the brothers return to their respective counties, what will we do?" Shitou asked.
Gu Er and Shitou are now helping to train the batch of rural warriors transferred from various counties in Quanzhou for centralized training in the third camp.
Gu Er, however, took his time and glanced at Shitou and said, "Zihou has his own arrangements. I'm not in a hurry. Why are you in a hurry?"
Shitou chuckled and rubbed his head: "Aren't I worried about the young master?"
"What's there to worry about!" Gu Er said: "Since Zihou called me all the way from Bianjing, is it just to ask me to come over and help him train a few local warriors?"
"By the way, didn't the pastry shop in front have some new pastries? Go buy some and give them to Sister Rong and Brother Chang to try." Gu Er pointed at the pastry shop on the road ahead with his riding whip and ordered. Stone said.
By the time Gu Er and Shitou returned to the small courtyard that Wang Zhong had arranged for him, carrying the freshly bought pastries, the cook had already prepared dinner.
"Er Lang is back!" Seeing Gu Er, Zhu Manniang immediately greeted him with a smile. Gu Er hugged Sister Rong and returned to the back room with Zhu Manniang. They sat at the dining table. Zhu Manniang urged the maid to bring all the food.
After a while, the family of four began to use chopsticks. Zhu Manniang served Gu Er and her two children with a smile on her face, looking like a good wife and loving mother, which made Gu Er, who had been lacking love since childhood, even more satisfied with her.
In the past few days, Gu Er has been on duty at the military camp as usual. Although the third battalion is about to be disbanded, Gu Er has always been a responsible character. Based on the idea of being a monk and ringing the bell for a day, in the last few days, not only did he not let this The heroes of the countryside were a little lax, but on the contrary, they were more severe than usual.
Fortunately, the local heroes were already accustomed to Gu Er's rigorous training, so nothing happened.
But Gu Er would never have thought that the situation in the military camp was calm and the village heroes did not cause any trouble, but his backyard was the first to catch fire.
Gu Er had just told Mannia that the Third Battalion was going to be disbanded. He could stay at home with her and their children for a while. He thought that what was waiting for him would be Mannia's thoughtfulness, shyness and joy, but he never expected Zhu Mannia's reaction. Just as he expected.
"The Third Battalion is about to be disbanded?" Mannia looked surprised: "Erlang is the Yuhou of the Third Battalion. Now that the Third Battalion is about to be withdrawn, where will Erlang be transferred?"
Seeing the surprise on Zhu Maniang's face, although it was somewhat different from what he expected, Gu Er didn't feel anything was wrong: "It's not clear yet. I'll ask Zihou another day."
Zhu Manniang's heart skipped a beat, then she quickly adjusted her mood and forced out a rather sweet smile: "It doesn't matter if the errand is gone. As long as Erlang can be safe and our family of four can be together, the slave family will be satisfied."
Having shared the same bed with Gu Er for seven or eight years, Zhu Manniang had already figured out Gu Er's temperament and knew what Gu Er cared about, so she naturally followed Gu Er's wishes when speaking.
Sure enough, as soon as she said these words, a smile appeared on Gu Er's face. He looked at his children, then at Zhu Manniang, and said firmly: "Don't worry Mannia, I will definitely make a difference for you, Sister Rong, and Brother Chang will live a good life."
Zhu Manniang smiled and took the food for Gu Er, and said: "Erlang is talented in martial arts, wise and brave, I believe Erlang can do it!"
"Erlang must be tired from training the soldiers in the military camp. How about I accompany Erlang to have a few drinks to relieve his fatigue?" Zhu Manniang asked softly with concern.
"good!"
Zhu Manniang immediately asked the maid to buy wine, and then she personally carried the wine pot and filled Gu Er with wine one cup at a time until Gu Er was drunk.
The next day, as she watched Gu Er and Shitou go to the military camp, Zhu Manniang asked the maid to take care of the children at home while she went out to do shopping.
There are many people outside, and Brother Chang is too young to take him out. In the past, Zhu Manniang often went out alone, and the envoy didn't think there was anything wrong.
In a deserted alley in the city, Zhu Manniang looked around before entering the door to make sure no one was following her, then she walked into the alley.
"Manniang!" The man who had been waiting in the side alley for a long time smiled when he saw Zhu Manniang, but he couldn't help asking: "Why are you so anxious to meet her all of a sudden?"
"How did you go about the things I asked you to inquire about?" Zhu Maniang asked quickly.
The man said: "I have inquired clearly. From last year to now, the nearby sea area has not been very peaceful. Many pirates have appeared and robbed passing ships. Several merchants have jointly submitted a letter to Zhizhou, begging the Yamen to send troops to sea to destroy the pirates. The Yamen These newly trained soldiers and horses are probably going to fight pirates!"
"Fight pirates?" Zhu Manniang couldn't help but guess: "Did Prince Hou bring Erlang from Bianjing just to fight pirates?"
The man shook his head helplessly and said, "That's all I heard about!"
"What use are you!" Zhu Manniang looked at the man with disgust, and then said to herself: "No, we can't stay in Quanzhou forever!"
"Gu Tingye refuses to return to Bianjing, what can we do!" The man looked helpless.
"His eldest brother is not in good health to begin with. Who knows how many more years of good life he will have. He is not favored by the old Marquis. If he is not in Bianjing all the time and waits for his eldest brother to go, wouldn't the Marquis' Mansion be in trouble? It's his brother's." Zhu Manniang analyzed calmly.
"Is it possible that we can't kidnap him back?" the man said angrily.
Zhu Manniang sneered: "Take him back? He's a soft-spoken guy, not a tough one. Not to mention you and me, even if there are another seven or eight big men, they may not be his match."
"What should we do?" Zhu Dalang frowned, all his eyes on his sister Zhu Maniang.
Zhu Manniang thought for a while and said, "I'll try again in the next few days to see if I can persuade him to go back!"
"What if it can't be done?" Zhu Dalang asked.
Zhu Manniang thought about it, but she still didn't dare to say it too harshly: "Let's try it first!"
As he spoke, he opened the cloth covering the bamboo basket he was carrying and handed Zhu Dalang the silver check he had just received from selling the jewelry. He also did not forget to tell him: "Now that I have an IOU at home, all the jewelry Erlang bought for me will be sold." It’s almost over, brother, please don’t gamble anymore, otherwise it’s time to tell Erlang to spot the clues.”
As soon as he saw the banknote, Zhu Dalang's eyes lit up, and all his attention was attracted by the banknote, and he repeatedly said: "I won't gamble anymore, I definitely won't gamble anymore!"
Zhu Manniang looked around again and whispered: "Brother, be careful these days. Erlang is coming back. Brother, please don't let him see you."
"Then I'll stay away. If something happens, just let me know as before and I'll come find you again."
Zhu Manniang nodded, crouched, stood on tiptoes and looked around, then walked out of the side alley, and Zhu Dalang quickly turned and left.
But before he had gone far, he had just turned the corner, and before he could see clearly, a sack covered his head.
The next morning, Gu Er was training his soldiers in the military camp. Suddenly, the sergeant on duty came to report that Wang Zhong had something important and told him to go there.
Gu Er walked out of the military camp and found that the person who came was none other than Yu Chuer, Wang Zhong's personal eldest follower. Gu Er, who knew that Wang Zhong was definitely not an unprovoked target, immediately followed Yu Chuer all the way to where they were riding. When they arrived at the county government office, Yu Chuer didn't want to lead Gu Er to the back hall, but instead went straight into the cell.
Just when Gu Er was full of doubts, he saw Wang Zhong in the cell who was sitting at the table eating wine. There were also two braised vegetables, a plate of edamame, and a plate of spiced broad beans on the table.
"Zhong Huai is here, sit down!" Wang Zhong saw Gu Er, stood up with a smile and gestured for Gu Er to sit down.
Gu Er only felt that he was filled with doubts. He really couldn't figure out what kind of medicine Wang Chong was selling in his gourd. After sitting down, he looked around and couldn't help but said: "Zihou's interest is different from that of ordinary people. He has to go all the way to eat and drink." Come to this prison."
Wang Zhong took the jug and poured a glass of wine for Gu Er, and said: "It's not because there is anything special here, but because there is a person in prison at this time, and he has some relationship with Zhong Huai, so the news will be leaked, so now I specifically asked General Zhong Huai from the second grade of junior high school to come here."
"Come, let's have a few drinks first, lest Zhong Huai loses interest in drinking later!" Wang Zhong picked up the wine glass and invited Gu Er to drink with him.
Gu Er had a drink with Wang Zhong. When he saw Wang Zhong pouring wine for him, he couldn't help but stretched out his hand to block it. He looked at Wang Zhong and said, "Zi Hou had better speak clearly first, otherwise the wine will be meaningless."
"Forget it!" Wang Zhong put down his wine glass and glanced at Yu Chuer, who immediately ordered: "Bring this person up."
The two jailers immediately walked into the inner room, took out a man whose hands and feet were bound with iron shackles, and asked him to kneel in front of them.
"Is it you?" Gu Er looked at the man in front of him, his expression suddenly changed, and he looked shocked: "Aren't you dead?"
The man immediately knelt down and kowtowed and begged for mercy: "Second Master Gu, please spare your life. I didn't lie to you. It was all Mannia's idea!"
"What do you mean?" Gu Er frowned, his eyes full of shock. The first time he saw this man, Gu Er had actually guessed it, but he didn't want to believe it.
The man had been tortured for a long time, and he dared to hide everything. He confessed everything like a dumpling: "It's Mannia. Mannia took a fancy to your identity as the legitimate son of the Hou Mansion, and envied the wealth of the Hou Mansion. Then she I chased you all the way to Jiangzhou. Mannia also said that you were kind-hearted and the most compassionate person. Only then did you lie to you that I was dead and she was helpless, so you were willing to take her in!
Second Young Master, it was all Mannia’s idea, but I didn’t do anything! "
Gamblers like Zhu Dalang were most afraid of death. Wang Zhong only tortured him a little and he couldn't stand it anymore.
Yu Chuer brought a package and put it on the table. Wang Zhong said: "Zhong Huai, open it and take a look!"
Gu Er opened the package and took a look. It was full of gold and silver jewelry. Some of them were bought by him for Mannia, some were left by his deceased mother, and there was also a pair of long-life golden locks that he had given to Sister Rong and Brother Chang. , with the names of Sister Rong and Brother Chang engraved on it.
"Why are these things here?" Gu Er looked at Wang Zhong in shock and confusion.
Wang Zhongdao: "They were all things that Zhu Manniang took to the pawn shop and were redeemed on the second day of the Lunar New Year. As for the money in exchange..."
Wang Zhong did not continue, but looked at Zhu Dalang who was kneeling on the ground next to him.
Gu Er couldn't guess that all the money must have been given to Zhu Dalang.
"Logically speaking, this is Zhong Huai's family matter. I shouldn't be involved. I just can't bear that Zhong Huai is deceived and taken advantage of. Now I have done everything I should do. How to deal with the matter is up to Zhong Huai." Come on! I won’t interfere!”
Wang Zhong bowed his hands to Gu Er, stood up and left, followed closely by Yu Chuer. Only Gu Er was sitting on the bench, his expression changing uncertainly.
······
The scorching heat has faded and autumn is getting stronger, but Quanzhou is still the same as usual, and the sea salt is still being dried in full swing at the salt drying field.
Countless large ships returning from overseas trade were anchored in Quanzhou Bay, and merchants from Fujian also gathered in Quanzhou City, bringing with them tea that is abundant in Fujian, and taking away countless spices and precious woods brought back from overseas. and countless novelties.
The Shipping Department has long been on track. Of the ten apprentices that Wang Zhong brought from Yangzhou in the past, two are now staying in the salt field. The rest are either working in the Shipping Department or temporarily working as small swordsmen and pen clerks in the Yamen.
Even though Wang Chong was the general magistrate of a state and had great prestige, he could not change the court's practices. He could only let the few named disciples he brought to serve as small swordsmen and pen officials for the time being. He could not let them become officials because they were all There is no fame in him.
Even if you are the chief bookkeeper of the county, you must have a reputation to do so.
After all, the establishment of Baishui Academy was too short, and it has only produced one scholar so far.
However, although these registered disciples of Wang Zhong were not officials, no one in Quanzhou, including the governor Chen Jun, dared to look down upon them.
The autumn air is crisp, but the daylight is bright. Wang Zhongzheng is wearing a straw hat, rolled-up trouser legs, and straw sandals, leading his nieces and nephews to work on the newly built terraces the year before last.
This place was originally a barren mountain. Wang Zhong was planning to vigorously develop terraced fields in Quanzhou. He saw that the mountain was surrounded by water, with one large, two small, and three streams, as well as several natural wells, all of which were flowing out cold groundwater. , the water quality is excellent, and the water in the stream is formed by the water from these wells.
This mountain was originally the private property of a local wealthy family, and was later bought by Wang Zhong.
Originally there were only about ten acres of dry land on the mountainside and twenty acres of paddy fields at the foot of the mountain. They were all scattered and unsystematic. After Wang Chong passed the exam, he felt that part of the place could be turned into terraced fields, so he bought the entire mountain. , hiring people to help open up wasteland, cut down forests, prepare land, and pile rocks and soil. It took more than two years to gradually complete the transformation.
In particular, the water channels were sorted out, water from two large and three small streams was introduced into the fields for irrigation, and a series of interconnected irrigation channels were built from top to bottom to form a systematic irrigation canal.
Nearly half of the place below the mountainside has been built into terraced fields, surrounded by mountains and forests. You have me among you, and you among me. The rest of the place has also been converted into dry land where appropriate. It was originally only a few dozen acres of paddy fields and dry land. The area grew to several hundred acres, a village was built at the foot of the mountain, and more than fifty households of tenant farmers were recruited.
They are also planted in waterways, with two seasons a year. The early rice is transplanted in mid-to-late February and harvested around mid-June. The late rice is planted one month apart and is planted in mid-to-late July and harvested in mid-October.
Now that the Mid-Autumn Festival is approaching, the rice seedlings have just been planted in the fields for more than a month, but they are growing quite gratifyingly. The seedlings are growing taller and taller, and the paddy fields are already green.
Today is not like the real world, where there are so many chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Fortunately, Quanzhou has developed at an impressive rate in the past few years. Under the call of the yamen, the people have started breeding one after another, and the big households have built a number of breeding buildings. Farms, chickens and ducks are everywhere.
Wang Zhong also promoted septic tank technology in the countryside, taught people how to build livestock sheds that made it easier to collect livestock excrement, and spread the method of retting to all people so that they could use all the available waste. Use everything to increase the fertility of the soil. Only in this way can we grow more food on limited land.
He also used his medical book, which was vaguely accessible to the sixth level, to develop many fertilizers and insect repellent potions and sprays.
At his farm, he took Wang Qianer, brothers Zhang Xin and Zhang Yi, as well as a few students who had just been sent from Yangzhou, to cultivate and select high-yielding and pest-resistant Taoist seeds.
Although Wang Zhong knew about agriculture, he was not a professional and had no breeding experience. After all, there were so many previous copy worlds that did not require Wang Zhong to study breeding technology deliberately. The country had its own professional talents.
The only thing that can be said to have something to do with breeding may be Wang Zhong's decades of experience in the "Old Farmer" copy.
In addition to seeds and chemical fertilizers, some advanced planting methods and planting patterns are also important reasons for increasing production.
Wang Zhong has been in this world for so many years, and has already given these things to the farmers in Yangzhou and Zhuangzi in the eastern suburbs of Bianjing.
Not to mention Yangzhou and Bianjing, only Quanzhou has gradually shown results in recent years. The output of the fields has not only doubled, but it has also increased year by year, especially with the increase in fertilizers and the promotion of retting technology among the people. , the annual increase in output in the field has stabilized. Compared with before, the yield per mu has increased by nearly 50%.
The people's pursuits are not high. They just want the weather to be smooth, their parents, wives, children, and their families to be safe and healthy, and not to worry about food and clothing.
On the ridge of the fields, on the winding path that sometimes appears and disappears, Wang Zhong, wearing a raincoat, a bamboo hat on his head, wearing straw sandals, and rolling up his trousers, walked in front, followed by Wang Qian'er and others who were also dressed in the same style. With his ears raised high, he listened carefully to Wang Zhong's story.
Follow Wang Zhong down to the fields to observe and record the changes in the rice seedlings.
Suddenly a fast horse galloped over and stopped at the edge of Zhuangzi at the foot of the mountain.
Gu Erfei dismounted, asked Wang Zhong's location from the village's household registration, and immediately hurried up the mountain to look for Wang Zhong.
After walking half a stick of incense, I saw Wang Zhong and his party in the field.
"Zihou! Zihou!" Gu Er stood at the edge of the field, waving and shouting.
"Zhong Huai?" Wang Zhong straightened up and looked around. When he saw it was Gu Er, he immediately waved and responded loudly.
(End of chapter)
