lady, please calm down

Chapter 411 Comrade Paoze and his son

June 18th, night.

Chen Chu transformed into Changshan Zilong.

Maoer was willing to do the long slope.

After some hearty communication, the little family turmoil in the evening disappeared.

The next day.

Chen Chu went out early in the morning and planned to visit Futai Yamen.

The envoys led by Chen Bokang, the Huainan economic strategist of Zhou Dynasty, and Wang Shu, Minister of War, are still stranded in Caizhou. Chen Jingyan and Zhang Chunxiao from Qi Kingdom originally planned to accompany each other for a formality.

Unexpectedly, Wang Shu was a bit serious, and he actually had the attitude to find out the truth about what happened in Sizhou and Yangzhou in May.

In this case, Chen Chu needs to go over and put on a bad face.

On the same day, the cat didn't get up until midnight.

After washing and eating, Mao'er twisted Liu Man, who was slightly sore, and walked to the desk, pondered for a moment, and picked up a pen to write a letter.

My younger brother Sheng Wu, seeing the word is like meeting him.

In the following days, Chen Chu transferred to Sizhou, which was the last state capital to be fully controlled by Huaibei.

At this point, Huaibei has completely controlled the six states of Tang, Cai, Ying, Shou, Su, and Si, starting from Tongbai Mountain in the west and reaching the East China Sea in the east, with a population of more than three million.

In addition to the Hebei Road and Kaifeng Mansion, which have actually fallen into the hands of the Huaibei Clan, as well as Yang An's Second Independent Brigade stationed on Shandong Road, half of Qi's country is in hand.

To control a place, you need to find a development path for it.

For example, in Cangzhou Prefecture in Hebei Province under the rule of Ximen Gong, Chen Yinglang vigorously promoted salt drying in salt fields due to suitable lighting and climate, which has achieved initial results.

Another example is Tangzhou, which is mountainous. In the early years, the Agricultural Research Institute promoted mushroom farming there. Now it is booming. Tangzhou mushrooms have become a well-known product on both sides of the Huai River.

The price of farmed products is naturally much cheaper than those collected from the wild. In recent years, the "mountain delicacies" that were once reserved for dignitaries have found their way onto the dining tables of many well-off families in Caizhou.

Needless to say, there is no need to say more about the state capitals such as Caizhou and Yingzhou that rely on commerce.

Chen Chu went to Sizhou to see if the place with abundant water conservancy could produce some unique products, such as pearls cultured in freshwater and dried seafood.

If kelp and sea sausage could be produced in batches, then paired with Tangzhou mushrooms, crushed and ground into powder, wouldn't there be MSG?

The benefits of cultured pearls are even greater.

Chen Chu only knew the basics of pearls, so he needed to find an old man in the local area who had been dealing with aquatic products all year round to discuss it.

After Chen Chu left home, Mao'er naturally became the person in charge of the palace.

On the night of the 18th, Mao'er was so angry that she announced the punishment of being grounded for ten days. In fact, she regretted it the next day.

I originally thought that when Cai Hua couldn't hold it in anymore and sneaked out, I would say a few words to her and the matter would be revealed.

Unexpectedly, Cai Hua actually stayed in Qingpu Garden and did not go out.

After Mao'er stayed in Hanchundang for four or five days, he couldn't hold it in any longer.

June 24th, it’s hot in the afternoon.

The cicadas were chirping outside the window, and the cat was shaking the fan to lull a pair of children to sleep. After not feeling sleepy at all, he simply got up, dressed, and went to Qingpu Garden.

But don't want to.

In the house, Yu Nong, A Yu and Cai Hua were gathered around an ice plate, seeming to be eating something. Seeing the cat coming in, Yu Nong quickly took the plate back.

Cai Hua, like a female bandit, rolled up the storekeeper and stepped on the ice mirror with one foot. When she saw the cat coming in, she also took back her foot and simply straightened her clothes.

The three of them didn't know what they ate, and there was black and purple juice around their mouths.

"What do you want to eat?" Cat asked with a small face.

"No, no, no, Ayu and I just came to see Sister Cai and will leave immediately."

Yunong shook his hands and explained.

As for the grounding, they are not allowed to visit.

Ayu, who had her back to Mao'er, pointed at Yunong's mouth with her fingers. Yunong realized it later and quickly wiped a handful on her mouth, and her palms were suddenly dyed black and purple.

Seeing that he could no longer hide it, Yu Nong took out the plate again and took a careful look at Mao'er.

Inside the plate were plump, ripe, purple to black mulberries.

These berries are worthless.

Nowadays, there are no rare fruits in the palace. But these berries, which were rarely eaten in childhood, can evoke people's emotions the most.

It's the season for eating mulberries.

Taking a look at Cai Hua and the other two people, Mao'er felt a faint feeling of being isolated. Cai Hua was such a careful person. He immediately noticed this and couldn't help but pointed at the plate, "Want to eat? If you want to eat, come over to Yunong and bring it to the princess." Get a stool.”

"Oh~" Yunong was very positive.

Mao'er was a little arrogant and said, "You didn't call me. I'm such an uninvited guest."

"Tsk~ I call you princess and you still get out of breath, right? You are the princess outside, but in this room, we are just sisters. If you don't come, the three of us will be separated."

It was both a joke and a step. The cat stopped when it was good. He smiled and ran forward, stretched out his hand to protect the plate, "I will eat! Leave some for me!"

"Hee hee~"

"Hahaha"

"Are Sister Keke and Sister Cai not angry anymore?"

Yu Nong, who hated seeing her family quarreling the most, clapped her hands happily.

But Cai Hua and Mao'er both turned their heads and looked over, saying in unison: "When did we become angry? We are like sisters!"

On the first day of July, Qin Shengwu, who was in Cangzhou Prefecture, Hebei Province, received a letter.

The letter came from my cousin. In addition to expressing concern, the letter also vaguely mentioned the daughter of the Zhe family.

Perhaps because of the setback she suffered from Qin Shengwen, Mao'er wrote very carefully in her letter, repeatedly stating that she thought Zhe Yan'er had a good character, and if her cousin already had a crush on her, just pretend that she hadn't mentioned it.

Qin Shengwu didn't know what his parents and brother thought about this matter, but when he read the letter, he felt a little sad. He felt sad for his cousin.

Now the Zhao family and the Qin family all rely on their cousin and his wife to take care of them, and they have the opportunity to lead a life that they could not even imagine before, and have the opportunity to see the magnificence of the world.

But due to family background, both Zhao and Qin families provided little help to Mao'er.

Now, even if Mao'er had the opportunity to use their brother, he was so cautious, lest Qin Shengwu think he was being forced.

Qin Shengwu put down the letter, sat in the military camp and couldn't help but sigh, and thought to himself: His cousin is still too soft-hearted. With her status as the head of the Zhao and Qin families, as long as it is beneficial to the family, there is no need to discuss it and directly identify someone. One person has to complete this marriage!

Let alone the daughter of the Zhe family, she is an ugly woman with no salt, and she must marry whomever she is asked to marry!

You can't just accept the protection of your cousin's wings, but don't want to contribute to her!

Qin Shengwu secretly scolded his brother for being confused and unable to see the joints.

After thinking about it for a moment, Qin Shengwu took up his pen and wrote back. "As long as it is beneficial to the King of Chu and the Princess, and beneficial to Ji'er and Ran'er, it is up to my sister to make the decision." '

Thousands and two hundred miles north, we reach Yuzhou City on Zhongjing Road in the Kingdom of Jin.

This is the center of the Jin Kingdom's military garrison. Nearly half of the residents in the city are Hanxiang soldiers and military dependents.

At the beginning of the year, Yuzhou City, which was worried about her husband and son, had been suppressed for a long time because of Dajin's military attack on Qi State. At that time, rumors spread around the outside world. Some people said that Dajin was so powerful that it had captured Qi State's Hebei Road.

Some people also say that Dajin suffered heavy losses on Hebei Road, and even the chief and deputy marshals Wanyan Zongbi and Wanyan Xiebao were killed in the battle.

It was not until the end of April that a group of Hanxiang troops returned to their hometowns, and the atmosphere in Yuzhou City became a little more lively. At the same time, the news of Dajin's first defeat after the founding of the country was also confirmed with the return of the soldiers.

The first day of July, evening.

In Pigskin Alley, more than a dozen people gathered at the home of Zhang Xiaoyin, the commander of the Hanxiang Army, to have a drink.

Nineteen-year-old Zhang Xiaoyin was so thin that she looked only sixteen or seventeen years old due to lack of food when she was young.

He was the youngest among the people present, but at the wine table, everyone was extremely respectful to him.

After three rounds of drinking, Zhang Xiaoyin took out a money bag from his arms and threw it on the table. He said with a hearty smile: "There are fifteen five-tael silver barley in it, one ingot for each person. Brothers, please share it."

Everyone couldn't help but look happy when they heard this. The five taels of silver should be enough for the first half of the year!

I have been away from home for only half a year this time, and there is no chance of receiving a reward if I lose the battle. The child and my wife are waiting for something to be eaten.

Everyone was overjoyed, but they were both veterans of the army, had experienced life and death in Hebei, and had done beheading business together in a prisoner-of-war camp, so they were a little embarrassed to take the money. The lean Hu San gave in against his will: "Xiao Yin earned all this money. We just ran errands. We gave him too much."

The wine table suddenly echoed, either insincerely or sincerely, "Yes, Xiao Yin, please take some more away."

It's important for Paoze to be pretentious, but the mouths waiting for food at home are also real.

Zhang Xiaoyin waved his hands magnanimously and said with a smile: "Brothers are very polite to me! Take whatever is given to you. In the future, our wool and leather business will only get bigger and bigger. We still need more hard work from our brothers." Miles."

Zhang Xiaoyin's family arrived at the end of April and somehow became prosperous. He first redeemed his mother from the Huanyiyuan run by the Jin people, and then got a start-up capital from nowhere to start a business of collecting wool and leather.

The task of everyone here is to walk around the streets and villages in their free time to help Zhang Xiaoyin collect supplies, and the latter packs them up and sells them.

As for who they sold it to, they were all brothers who had known each other for a long time. No one took the initiative to ask about this taboo matter.

After hearing what he said, everyone embarrassedly divided the money.

But at the end of the day, there was still one silver barley left in the purse. The silver was counted according to the head. Everyone couldn't help but be surprised and asked one after another: "Who didn't take it?"

After a long time, Hu San noticed that Lu Sixheng had only been drinking and not talking since he sat down. He couldn't help but whispered: "It's the fourth brother who didn't take it."

The burly Lu Sisheng was the first Yuzhou Xiangjun who cooperated with Tian Qingyu, the chief of the Hejian Xiangjun, to kill the Jin people in the prisoner of war camp. Because of his brute strength, he was respected by the commander.

"Fourth brother?" Zhang Xiaoyin called in a low voice.

Lu Sixheng then raised his head and glanced at the money bag, but said: "Xiao Yin keeps my money for our big things in the future. It's useless for me to take it back."

This last sentence made the joyful atmosphere disappear.

During the period when everyone was captured, Jin Ting for some reason stopped the food and wages that were supposed to be sent to each family. It was early spring at that time, and the Yuzhou army members were forced to stay outside the mansions of Jin and Liao nobles all day long, grabbing some of the scraps thrown out by others. The soup is cold and hot.

This was another elimination process. Mrs. Lu Sixheng had just given birth and was weak and had no strength to grab food. She eventually starved to death at home.

When the neighbors discovered that the Lu family had not opened the door for several days, they climbed over the wall and entered the house. What they saw was the Lu family's wife, who was so hungry that only one piece of skin was left. His nine-month-old child also starved to death next to her mother. .

When he died, he still held his mother's withered breasts in his mouth.

Because of this, Lu Sixheng, who was already alone, said that money was of no use to him.

Everyone was silent, and Zhang Xiaoyin slowly spoke again, "Everyone needs to remember that walking around the streets to collect wool is just a pretense. Don't really regard yourself as a businessman. With a golden man weighing on your head, we will not live a good life!" Now there are more than a thousand people in Yuzhou City who have participated in the prisoner-of-war camp killing for gold. We need to contact everyone in advance. When the time is right, we will cooperate with the Huaibei uprising! Become an upright Han family!"

More than a dozen men nodded solemnly. It seemed that this was not the first time for such a treacherous private meeting.

The Battle of Hebei broke their superstition that the Jin were invincible. At the same time, the killing of Jin in the prisoner-of-war camp was like a sharp knife hanging above their heads.

There were tens of thousands of Han and Bo soldiers involved in this matter in Nanjing and Zhongjing Road. It was impossible for so many people to keep a secret.

One day, the purge of the golden people will come.

Before the Dongchuang Incident, holding together for warmth and relying on the State of Qi as a retreat and backing became the only choice at this time.

These days, they have been taking advantage of the wool harvest, and have been communicating with Pao Ze in various camps and armies, so that when the Jin people take action, they will have some power to protect themselves and wait for Qi's reinforcements.

After a long time, Hu San suddenly whispered: "Xiao Yin, if we have established contact, when will the incident start?"

Zhang Xiaoyin said: "Don't worry, it is said that the Jin Dynasty court may have a big change recently. Before the big change, Jin Ting would have no time to talk to us."

"When will the big change happen?" Hu San asked excitedly.

What disappointed him was that Zhang Xiaoyin shook his head, "I don't know, it could be this winter, it could be next year, it could be the year after."

At the beginning of Xu Shi, it was dark.

After the banquet was over, Zhang Xiaoyin sent the brothers out of the dilapidated courtyard and turned around to the hall, where he saw his mother hunched over and packing the dishes.

Zhang Xiaoyin stepped forward, took the bowls and chopsticks from her mother's hands, and said with a smile: "Mom, let me wash it. Your waist is not good, so don't be tired."

However, Zhang's mother stubbornly took back the bowls and chopsticks and murmured: "These things were not done by you men."

Zhang Xiaoyin stopped talking, just smiled, and started to clean up with her mother.

Seeing this, Zhang's mother sighed helplessly, straightened up her aching waist, and taking advantage of the dim light outside the house, she looked at her son carefully with distressed and guilty eyes, and murmured: "I blame you all, mother, when my son should grow taller, Mom can't get you food; when it's time for my son to get married, Mom will be a burden again."

The mother and son had been living in Yuzhou for many years, but Zhang's mother had been kidnapped into a place like Huanyiyuan since Zhang Xiaoyin was young. To put it bluntly, it was a government-run brothel.

When they were young, they were forced to pick up customers. When they got older, they had to do things such as washing and sewing clothes. If they couldn't do it anymore, they would be thrown out to fend for themselves.

Fortunately, Zhang Xiaoyin managed to get the money from somewhere to redeem her mother.

This is why Zhang's mother is sad. When her son was young, he needed her, but mother and son could only see each other secretly a few times a month. Now that her son has grown up and reached the age of marriage, there is another one. The mother who came out of 'Huanyiyuan'.

A mother-in-law who has been a prostitute, who from a good family is willing to marry her daughter?

Zhang Xiaoyin's nose couldn't help but feel sore when his mother said this, but he had sworn before among the dead at the foot of Fucheng that he would never shed another tear in his life.

Blinking his eyelids several times quickly, he wiped away the tears that had just formed in his eyes, and then he raised his head and smiled at his mother, "What are you talking about, mother? In the early years, if you hadn't saved some food every month, the dogs in Huanyiyuan would have been separated from each other. Give me the hole, and my son will starve to death a long time ago. There is no need for a real man to have a wife. In the future, my son may also make great achievements and win a wife for my mother. Then let’s see who dares to chew my mother’s tongue!”

After hearing this, Zhang's mother wanted to smile at her son, but years of humiliation and hardship made her almost forget how to smile, and it took a long time to squeeze out a raw smile.

However, Zhang Xiaoyin laughed out loud, "Mom, you look so pretty when you smile!"

Zhang’s mother was a little embarrassed, but then she sighed again, “Son, I don’t know what you’ve been doing lately, but you’ve made a fortune, and you’re in and out of the house all day long, and I can’t help it. My heart is beating with fear. You are the only one left in your father’s lineage. This time when I went to Hebei, I was blessed by the Buddha to escape death. Can you live in peace? Mother doesn’t ask you to fight for mother’s life. I only ask you. It would be nice to live in peace for the rest of my life."

Zhang Xiaoyin, who had always listened to her mother, retorted at this time, "Mom! My son's escape from death was not due to the blessing of Buddha! In this world, gods are unreliable. You can only rely on the swords and guns in your hands." The robe behind you!"

"Amitabha~Amitabha~"

Zhang's mother quickly put her hands together and apologized to the gods and Buddhas all over the sky to prevent her son from being punished by heaven for his disrespectful words to the gods.

Seeing this, Zhang Xiaoyin smiled and shook his head, "Mom, I am doing something big! From now on, the suffering that our mother and son have suffered will never happen to our children and grandchildren again!"

Seeing her son's promise, Zhang's mother didn't believe it and said, "How can a dozen of you do such a big thing?"

I’m talking about these people who are having a drink at home today.

Zhang Xiaoyin subconsciously glanced south and said firmly: "Mom, there are more than a dozen of us, there are tens of thousands of brothers in other places!"

Zhang's mother was startled and was about to speak when she suddenly heard a knock on the courtyard door.

It's dark now, who will come to the door at this time?

Zhang Xiaoyin first glanced at the simple knife standing in the corner, then looked at the courtyard door warily and shouted: "Who is it?"

But I heard someone say: "May I ask, can wool be sold here?"

Zhang Xiaoyin will never forget this voice for the rest of his life. He couldn't help but tremble slightly with excitement, but he still followed the rules and asked the code, "What kind of wool does your guest want?"

"I want white wool for three pounds and twenty-two cents, and black wool for one pound and twenty-three cents."

Right!

Confirming that it was correct, Zhang Xiaoyin took three steps and two steps at a time, and in an instant he rushed to the door and opened the courtyard door.

In the dusk, there was an old man in his late forties, wearing a felt hat and dusty from travels.

When the old man saw Zhang Xiaoyin, he looked up and down and smiled before he spoke.

Zhang Xiaoyin suppressed his excitement, looked around, and then invited the old man in.

Then he closed the door and held the old man's hands, "Godfather! Why are you here in Yuzhou!"

This old man was none other than Zhang Chuangen, a veteran of the Fifth Regiment of the Huaibei Army's First Brigade, who dug Zhang Xiaoyin out from the pile of dead people under Fucheng City.

Zhang Chuangen laughed, stared at Zhang Xiaoyin with joy, and laughed at himself in a low voice: "The older you get, the less promising you are! After you left Fucheng, the old man was very worried, so he went to Commander Xiang to harass you. I finally got transferred to the military command as I wished. Now I work under Li Dutou, and I am specifically responsible for your line!"

"." Zhang Xiaoyin couldn't help but be shocked when he heard this. He knew his godfather's stubborn and unwilling temper, but he shamelessly asked for a transfer just to see him more often?

Seeing him dumbfounded, Zhang Chuangen suddenly slapped his forehead, opened his bag and said in detail: "By the way, don't you like to eat our Huaibei watermelon candies? I didn't have many when I was in Fucheng. This time, I will bring you some." One jar. And this rice cake, which is a favorite snack of children in Huaibei. Unfortunately, it was damp on the road and not so crispy anymore."

Zhang Chuangen rambled on and dug out a bunch of snacks. Perhaps he was worried that it would not be to Zhang Xiaoyin's taste, so he looked at the latter with a slightly nervous expression.

Zhang Xiaoyin lost his father when he was young. He no longer had even a vague impression of his father in his memory. He had never been treated as a child and loved so much.

With a pop, Zhang Xiaoyin knelt down, looked up at Zhang Chuangen, and choked with sobs: "Godfather!"

Hey, I vowed never to shed a tear again, but Zhang Xiaoyin couldn't control it in the end.

(End of this chapter)