Exile at the beginning: I rule the world by drawing cards

Chapter 31 Resigning to Make Money
Sanjiang Village has lived peacefully for many years, but now a life has occurred, causing people to panic, but business must be done and cannot be delayed.

Early the next morning, Qin Mengshang arrived at the river embankment and told Mrs. Chen about his resignation.

Mrs. Chen's mind was sharp, and she immediately cheered up when she heard this: "Is it because Hedi has not been paid this month that you want to leave?"

She really didn't like Qin Mengshang at first. She thought about what a delicate official lady could do. She was lucky not to cause trouble to her.But after getting along with her for half a month, this girl, apart from being a bit of a prodigal, is also quick and smart in her work.

Now that she is leaving, she feels really reluctant to leave.

"Not entirely." Qin Mengshang gave a rough outline of his plan. "I went to the town to look around. There were few food stalls. I planned to make something simple first to test the water. I gave it to you and Li Zheng last time. My uncle gave me the cold konjac shreds, what did my aunt think of it after trying it?"

Old Mrs. Chen began to reminisce. The bowl of old man's food last time was very delicious, and she also made some wine. The children's mouths watered when they smelled it. She tasted it and it was indeed good, but what about konjac silk?
Konjac?

Old Mrs. Chen suddenly jumped up from the stool: "What? The thing you sent me last time was made of bean sprouts?! You didn't know that stuff was poisonous. You want to harm me, girl--"

Qin Meng Shang said: "Auntie, I told you last time, and you are full of energy and have a loud voice. You are still fine."

Mrs. Chen: "."

At that time, her attention was all on how much seasoning was put in the bowl, and she didn't listen carefully at all. Now she realizes it is too late. It has been four or five days, and it has been discharged long ago!
Qin Mengshang smiled and pulled her to sit down: "Don't worry, Auntie, the konjac tofu made is not poisonous."

Mrs. Chen's mouth twitched, she flicked her sleeves and said, "It tastes good, but you put too much oil in it. There is still a layer of oil floating on the bottom of the bowl after eating. If you do this, I'm afraid the business will be ruined." What a loss!"

Nowadays, oil and salt are expensive, how can we afford such waste?Even in the restaurant, no one from Qin Meng Shang was willing to put any condiments.

"Auntie, of course I won't let myself lose money."

There is a bowl of noodles and eight kinds of noodles at the stall in the town, and there is not much oil or water.She planned to sell the small portion at seven cents and the large portion at nine cents.You can buy a large bundle of thick noodles for twelve cents, which can hold eight or nine bowls if divided on average. With the courgette shreds and sauce, the cost of each bowl is about three cents.

If you include the cost of tables, stools and tableware, it will be far more than that, but there is always an initial investment.

After some discussion, Mrs. Chen agreed: "According to the rules, women and children do not need to go to the corvee. Now that your husband is well, you don't have to go. However, something happened in the village and the government has not found any clues yet. You have to be careful when going out alone."

"I don't have to." Qin Mengshang nodded in agreement and asked what the current situation was at the government level.

When the government was mentioned, the old lady had a bad expression: "No one bothered to report missing to the government before, but now that everyone is gone, who will care? Ergouzi usually called me aunt, but this suddenly disappeared. Alas, his mother-in-law Life is miserable!”

Chen Ergou disappeared for six days, and the government sent someone over on the seventh day when his body surfaced.With modern communications so advanced, it takes a lot of effort to solve a case. There was a human life in this remote rural area, and the government was so indifferent. The murderer may have escaped long ago.

Qin Mengshang sighed and did not continue the topic. He casually asked if there were any carpenters nearby.

"Carpenter?" Old Mrs. Chen thought for a while and said, "Little Shuang's father can do some carpentry, but his legs and feet are not convenient and he hasn't been out for many years. You have to ask first. If not, you should go to the town to find someone. Just do it.”

When Zhao Yushan was young, he learned carpentry from a carpenter in the town. He was good at craftsmanship and made exquisite things.

Unfortunately, his leg was accidentally broken by a beam. Since then, he has been sluggish and gradually gave up on this craft. He usually helps repair doors and windows at home and does whatever he can.

The Zhao family has been supported by Mrs. Ji all these years. Mrs. Chen pitied her for the difficulty of raising a family by herself, so she asked her to help in the Hedi kitchen.

Qin Mengshang wanted to make a simple foldable table that would be easy to lift.

Mrs. Ji didn't understand this, and she didn't know if her man could do it. He just wanted to take her back with him after he finished his work in the kitchen.There was an incident on the river embankment yesterday, but the work was not suspended, and the kitchen provided lunch as usual.

The completion deadline given by the government is September, and it will be July in just two days, so we must hurry up.

The workers who discovered the body yesterday were so frightened that they did not come to work today.

Sun Dawang sat under the tree by the river and ate cakes, staring at the place where the windlass was set up, and said: "They are so courageous. Chen Ergou just fished it out of the river yesterday, and today he dared to go into the river to release rocks. Just thinking about it makes my back feel cold.”

Zhou Lingqi silently took a bite of the scallion pancake. He had to say that this woman's cooking was much more delicious than in the kitchen. Why hadn't he noticed it before?
Sun Dawang didn't get a response for a long time, so he turned to look at him: "Zizai, aren't you afraid?"

Zizai was Zhou Lingqi's pseudonym, and he did not tell Sun Dawang his real name.

"The person is dead, there is nothing to be afraid of."

Sun Dawang didn't know if this person was too calm or if he was too timid.But then I thought about it, and it seemed that from the day I met Zhou Zizai, he had an inexplicable feeling about him.

He was also a civilian coolie, but he was able to come up with ways to improve the winch, which saved the workers a lot of effort.

Sun Dawang glanced at him unconsciously and muttered to himself: "You look about the same age as me. What did you commit to be exiled here?"

Zhou Lingqi lowered his eyes and said nothing. After finishing the cake, he asked: "When will the river embankment be paid?"

We all felt a little unhappy because we didn't get this month's wages, but we didn't dare to make too much of a fuss despite the pressure from above.

"Who knows?" Sun Dawang bit off a piece of cake like he was venting his anger, "You still have to keep a small amount of wages! Foreman Li has not been seen in the past few days. He is probably afraid that we will ask about the wages, so he is hiding away."

Zhou Lingqi raised his hand to block the sunlight falling in the shade of the tree. His dark eyes flashed and he said nothing. He patted the dust on his clothes and stood up, preparing to leave.

"Just leaving? It's not even time yet."

Sun Dawang chewed the shriveled cake in his mouth, and almost choked to death when he opened his mouth.

Zhou Lingqi didn't stop, just said "I'll ask when the wages will be paid" and left directly.

Sun Dawang, who stayed where he was, was confused.

Should he ask?Where to ask?Foreman Li didn't come today, why do you ask?
Of course, Zhou Lingqi did not go to ask Li Zhang, but went to the woods upstream of the river embankment to dig out the official silver hidden in Chen Ergou.

The monthly wages for Hedi were paid by the county government and were exchanged for copper plates or broken silver before being sent to the workers. However, Li Zhang seemed to be anxious and took out the official silver directly.

Chen Ergou's body was washed down the river and happened to be stuck on the river embankment.

After Zhou Lingqi found out, he got the official silver from him. Now Li Zhang is holding back his wages, presumably because he is worried about the lost silver.

The salary gap is easy to fill, but the government's accounting books are difficult to fool.

(End of this chapter)