Zuo Datou saw off the last group of servants during this period. When he left the kitchen, he saw a man not far away wearing an indigo cotton-padded jacket and looking around with his face covered. This kind of dress could only be...
"Mr. Meng." He stepped forward and saluted.
"Is there enough food?"
"Enough, thanks to your advance instructions." Zuo Datou reported the situation, "But the food taken today is much more than in the past."
"It's normal." Meng Changqing said, "Thank you for your hard work. When the middle shifters get off work, you can relax a little."
"We were practicing in the military camp and we were much more tired than now. It's okay."
The number of servants was small, so Meng Changqing originally wanted to keep the evening shift for eight hours, so that the evening shift would directly become the morning shift, and the original morning shift and middle shift would be postponed to complete the shift.
However, although the servants were few in number, they did a good job, and the construction of the city wall was progressing in time.
Meng Changqing simply let the night shift rest for one shift, so that all three shifts could rest for 12 hours, and her construction site only stopped for the least efficient four hours.
The Zeng brothers mingled with the crowd and walked towards the city wall of Yangmen County.
Not long after walking, the person in front of him stopped and said, "What's wrong?" Zeng Laosan was blocked by the person in front of him and could not see what was going on in front of him.
"Don't squeeze, there are officers and soldiers blocking the front."
"What officers and soldiers?" Boss Zeng was panicking, wondering whether the soldiers on both sides had not agreed upon it, and one side wanted to release the person, while the other was unwilling to let him go.
Just as he was making random guesses, Zeng Laosan was already moving forward.
Boss Zeng had no choice but to follow him, apologizing to others while reaching out to catch Zeng Laosan.
"This is what the county master wants. We from Beishan County will send out vehicles and troops to escort you to Yangmen County."
Zeng Laosan saw from the gap that Master Bing was holding a horse, and the horse was pulling a large cart. The cart could squeeze a lot of people.
"Master Bing, we are here to work, where do we bring the money?" Many people thought that this was the county boss's way of asking them to collect money.
"I don't want your money." The soldier leading the horse roared: "The county master had good intentions, but he was afraid that you would encounter bandits on the road, so he asked us to escort him. He was also afraid that you would not have enough leg strength for the long distance, so he asked us to hitch a ride and send him there. You.”
The soldier waved his whip, causing the people beside the carriage to lean back in shock. "Listen up, it's a long way to go. If you're young, you can get in the carriage. Others won't let you sit if they want."
Zeng Laosan knew the man holding the horse, who was the group of guards who often delivered meals.
He knew that the man was easy to talk to, so he stepped forward and asked, "Master Bing, my home is in the village below Liangzhou. Can I sit down?"
"Come up." Zeng Laosan is young and thin, so he certainly meets the requirements.
Seeing this, some people compared their figures and saw that someone about the same size as Zeng Laosan was also sitting up. The soldier leading the horse did not chase anyone away.
Seeing that the people here were almost gathered, and no one came back from behind, I knew that all the people who were going home were here, so I led the carriage and set off. There were officers and soldiers with swords guarding the crowd on both sides.
Zeng Laosan was so tall that he sat in a carriage. He was crowded with many people and found it very lively.
His eldest brother did not have such luck and could only follow behind the car.
The soldiers leading the horses often turned around and chatted with them.
"Our county master wants to dig a well near the kitchen. You go back and ask about it. If there is someone who can spot the location accurately, if you bring him here and he actually digs out water, the county master will give you a tael of silver." ”
One tael of silver!
Zeng Laosan counted on his fingers but couldn't figure it out.
All he knew was that when he went to a rice shop to buy grain, he could get four cents per liter to shell millet, and one tael of silver was...
He raised his head and asked Boss Zeng next to him, "Brother, how much is one tael of silver?"
"The current price of silver is one thousand coins."
"How many millet grains can one thousand silver coins buy?" Boss Zeng was not very good at calculating this, so he asked Qian Baoshan, who was sitting in the other corner of the carriage, "Food prices are not high this year, and one tael of silver can buy three stones of millet grains."< br>
Only then did Zeng Laosan realize that if he saved three kilos of food, his family could last for half a year.
"It's a pity that I can't look at the location."
He didn't know how to read it, and he didn't know anyone in this area, but someone in the same group was interested.
Once the officers and soldiers are sent to Yangmen County, they will no longer be sent.
Zeng Laosan got out of the car and followed his elder brother, continuing to walk home.
Watching the sun in the sky getting more and more westward, the two of them walked faster and faster. No matter how fast they went, it was already dark when they returned to the village. Fortunately, there were many people from the same village traveling with them, so they were not afraid.
As soon as a person enters the village, the dogs in the village bark.
I thought there was a thief in the village, so I came out with a stick to see, but it turned out to be someone from my own village, and I even saw my own child in the crowd.
"Oh, the people who were captured to serve are back!" Someone shouted, and almost everyone in the village woke up.
Every house opens its door and comes out to recognize people.
After the crowd was surprised, they came back to their senses and asked, "Did you escape back?"
After listening to the letter, Li Zheng also came to the gathering place and cursed with a black face: "You don't want your life! You don't care about anything and run away. The whole village will be implicated by you!"
"Uncle Qian, don't worry, we didn't run away." Boss Zeng said, "We had twelve hours of free time during the shift at the construction site, and Master Bing allowed us to come home to see us."
"Yes." The returning servants agreed, "The soldiers will send us to Yangmen County in person. If you don't believe me, you can ask."
"Hey, I said, we have been delayed for so long on the road and we can't stay at home for a few hours. We should go home quickly and don't let the cold wind blow here."
"Yes, yes, go home quickly."
Li Zheng saw that what they said was true, and it was hard to scold them anymore. Although he had doubts in his heart, he could only wait until tomorrow.
The Zeng brothers found their brother and his mother in the crowd of onlookers and took them home.
"Brother, are you telling the truth?" Zeng Laoer walked home with a cane.
Zeng Laosan rushed to say: "Can it be false? Go home quickly, we have brought good things."
As soon as he got home, Zeng Laosan urged his boss to take out the contents of the package.
In order to see what they brought back, the family rarely lit up the lamp.
Unwrapping the wrapping cloth, there was something wrapped in the cloth. Zeng Laosan opened it, revealing two solid bowls of rice with millet rice inside.
"Where did this come from?" Zeng's wife asked in a trembling voice, "Whose property did you steal?"
The second sister-in-law of the Zeng family swallowed, thinking that even if it was stolen, she would never let them return it.
Every day at home, there is porridge that is so thin that people can be seen in the light. Since winter, she has not had a bite of millet rice.
"Mom, this is not stolen." Zeng Laosan explained, "It was given to me on the construction site."
"Is it given on the construction site?" asked the second sister-in-law: "Is there rice millet food to eat where you work?"
"Yes." Zeng Laosan said, "As long as you work, you can eat three meals a day."
Mrs. Zeng grabbed her eldest son and asked, "Is it true?"
Boss Zeng nodded, "This is a good place to go back to. The guards are easy to talk to, and women are also needed on the construction site. This time I come back and want to bring Meizi with me." (End of Chapter)