As he spoke, Qiu Yizhi rummaged in his bosom with his right hand for a while, took out a thumb-sized, bright yellow thing, put it in his open palm, held it high, and said, "Do you all recognize this thing?"
"Wow! Gold!"
"Gold! Gold ingots!"
There was a commotion among the crowd.
Qiu Yizi chuckled and said, "Since everyone knows this thing, they also know its value. I just want to ask, do you want it?"
Those who don’t want it are fools!
Hearing this, everyone shouted one after another: "We want it! We want it! We want it! We want it!"
Qiu Yizi raised the corner of his mouth and said, "It seems that everyone wants it. But it's not difficult! You see there is a tree over there. Whoever can cut it down and carry it to my feet will get this gold ingot." As he said that, he raised his left hand and pointed forward.
As if controlled, everyone looked in the direction of Qiu Yi's finger - they saw a small jujube tree growing at the base of the city wall. Jujube wood is thick and cannot be cut easily, but this jujube tree is only as thick as a soup bowl, so as long as the right knife is used, it is not completely helpless.
While everyone was hesitating, suddenly someone raised his hand and said, "Sir, I am a woodcutter. Can I give it a try?"
Qiu Yizi looked in the direction of the voice and saw the leader who was collecting the money just now. He smiled and said, "Why not? If you have the ability, go cut down the tree for me, and then you can come over to receive the reward."
The man agreed, took off the bag containing the money raised by the crowd and put it on the ground. He took out a hatchet from the bag and said to the old man Fan, "Teacher Fan, you just read the document to us. You can take the copper coins here yourself."
After saying that, he picked up the hatchet in his hand and walked towards the jujube tree under the gaze of everyone.
The man walked slowly to the root of the jujube tree, holding the knife in one hand and holding the trunk with the other, gently shaking it a few times, and then stroking the bark. He seemed to have some confidence, and said loudly: "Sir, I'm going to do it now!"
He saw Qiu Yizi nodding from afar, and he became bolder. He swung his hatchet and chopped at the jujube tree about half a foot above the ground.
The man claimed to be a woodcutter, and indeed he was not lying. He was very skilled in chopping trees. In the blink of an eye, he had chopped down the small jujube tree at the root, carried it on his shoulders, and brought it to Qiu Yizi, and asked, "Sir, I have chopped down the tree. Do you want to make it into a flagpole or a shoulder pole?"
Qiu Yizi saw that this man was of medium build, medium height, and not outstanding in appearance. At first glance, he seemed to be just an ordinary woodcutter, and might be just like any other man at a second glance. However, he did not expect that this man had such courage, and he immediately admired him very much.
So he smiled and said, "What do I want this tree for? I just want to test whether there are really talented people with extraordinary courage and insight in Shanyin County. Well, find a random place to put the tree down and come to claim your reward."
The man held the tree trunk with one hand and scratched his head with the other, and asked, "Where is the 'anywhere' you mentioned? Please point it out so I can put the tree down."
Qiu Yizi laughed loudly and pointed to the ground below: "Here, this is a random place, put the jujube tree down."
Qiu Yizi waited for the man to throw the newly cut jujube tree on the ground, then he reached out and put the gold ingot in his hand, patted him on the shoulder, and said, "Good boy, you have some skills. What's your name?"
The man took the gold ingot without hesitation, but because his knapsack was not with him, he had to hold the ingot in his hand. He clasped his fists and bowed to Qiu Yizi, saying, "My name is Meng Hong. I have just heard Teacher Fan read the notice that the adults posted at the city gate. It is said that the military salary is at least two taels of silver per month. I wonder if it is true or false?"
Qiu Yizi smiled and said, "Of course it's true! If you cut down a tree, I will give you gold. If you work for me, I will give you silver. Why? Do you want to be a militiaman under my command?"
Meng Hong nodded and said, "That's right. I have a large family, and no matter how hard I work farming and chopping wood, I still can't get enough to eat. I was thinking of coming here to earn some money so that my mother and children can have a full meal."
(Meng Hong - Di Qing)
"Good!" Qiu Yizi praised again, "A gentleman loves money, but he gets it in a proper way. Although it is not a big ambition for you to serve as a soldier under me and get paid, it is not shameful. But you have just seen my documents. I will not accept the only son in my family."
Meng Hong said hurriedly, "Don't worry, sir. Don't worry, sir. I have a younger brother who is about ten years old. He is studying in a private school and preparing for the imperial examination. He can also take care of me. My wife gave birth to a big fat boy last year. He is white and tender, but he eats too much... That's why I wanted to come here to join the army and eat this royal ration."
Qiu Yizhi nodded with satisfaction. Just as he was about to speak, he saw Zhao Chengxiao leading two of his brothers walking quickly towards him from a distance. He called out loudly, "Brother Zhao, come here. I have recruited a soldier for you."
After hearing this, Zhao Chengxiao quickly stepped forward, bowed to Qiu Yizhi, turned his head and looked Meng Hong up and down several times, and asked: "Sir, is this little guy the soldier you recruited?"
Meng Hong is neither tall nor short, but he looks a little short in front of Zhao Chengxiao, who is tall and mighty like a black tower.
Qiu Yizi smiled and said, "Brother Zhao, what you said is true. Fighting is not like hanging clothes. Why do you need to be so tall? If you are shorter, when the two armies are fighting, arrows will fly over your head. Isn't it just right to save your life?"
As soon as Qiu Yizhi finished speaking, everyone started laughing. Even Zhao Chengxiao, who was usually quite serious, smiled and said, "Your Excellency is indeed knowledgeable. Why didn't I think of this?"
Zhao Chengxiao said to Meng Hong again: "I think you are a man, since the master has said so, I will accept you. Go back and pack up, and report to the county government tomorrow morning. But I have something to say first, don't think that you are here because the master has personally recruited you, so you can act so arrogant in front of me. Everything must be done according to the rules!"
Before Meng Hong agreed, Qiu Yizi said, "Yes, that's right. I treat the newly recruited soldiers the same as my old soldiers. I won't bully them or show partiality to them. Meng Hong, do you understand?"
After all, Meng Hong was a woodcutter who had never seen the world. After hearing what Qiu Yizi and Zhao Chengxiao said, he was confused and didn't know how to respond. He just nodded continuously.
Seeing his honest look, Qiu Yizi felt relieved: "Well, since you have earned one or two taels of gold from me with your ability, I will not reward you anymore. Go back and settle your mother and children, and come back tomorrow."
He turned to the crowd and said, "I know that Shanyin County is poor, so I offer you a monthly salary of two taels of silver, which is enough for your family to eat and wear. But this money is not earned easily. If you think you have the ability, come and sign up with General Zhao."
As soon as Qiu Yizi finished speaking, the crowd exploded. They immediately surrounded Zhao Chengxiao and others, and everyone raised their hands to sign up, eager to try.
Qiu Yizi was very happy to see this lively scene, so he squeezed out of the crowd with confidence, but saw Wen Lingjiao standing far away, stretching out her hand to wave him over.
When Qiu Yizi walked in, Wen Lingjiao pointed to a two-story teahouse nearby and said, "Sir, Mr. Lin and Miss Wu are drinking tea and enjoying the view in the teahouse. Please come over!"
Qiu Yizi looked in the direction she pointed, and sure enough, she saw Lin Shuhan standing by the railing, smiling and nodding at her. She also stretched out her hand to greet him, and then invited Wen Lingjiao to go upstairs with her to meet Lin Shuhan.
Lin Shuhan and Wu Ruofei seemed to have been there for a long time, and the two bowls of tea on the table were half empty.
When Wen Lingjiao saw this, she told He'er, "He'er, did you bring this year's new tea with you? Why don't you make some tea for them?"
He'er was startled when she heard this, and quickly agreed and retreated quickly.
Wu Ruofei was a person who was good at observing people's expressions. Seeing that He'er's expression was different from usual, he asked, "Miss He'er seems a little unhappy? Did Miss Wen scold her just now?"
Wen Lingjiao smiled gently, nodded slightly and said: "He'er did something wrong, so of course I have to punish her."
Qiu Yizhi, who was standing by, was afraid that they would delve into this matter further, so he immediately interrupted the topic and said to Lin Shuhan, "Mr. Lin is really extraordinary. The document is clear and popular, so that even illiterate people can understand it clearly, saving me a lot of words. I think if the recruitment is successfully completed this time, Mr. Lin should be credited with the first merit."
Lin Shuhan was not polite and nodded, saying, "In ancient times, Cangjie created characters for people to read and communicate. The ancient philosophers used refined words in their prose, but that was because they had no choice but to use knives as pens and bamboo as paper. People today are trying to be sophisticated and misunderstand the original intentions of the ancient sages. They insist on writing so difficult that others can't understand it. It's really unreasonable."
As they were talking, He'er had brought a tea tray with four bowls of brewed tea neatly placed on the tray. She brought it to the table steadily, distributed it to everyone one by one, bowed to everyone, and then stepped back to stand aside.
Lin Shuhan had talked a lot and his mouth was a little dry. He was the first to raise the tea bowl and gently opened the lid. The fragrance of tea leaves spread out from the bowl and enveloped everyone.
Wu Ruofei took a deep breath of the tea and exclaimed, "Is this the West Lake Longjing tea of this year? How come it smells much better than what I usually drink? Miss Wen, where did you get all this tea from?"
The tea that Wen Lingjiao usually enjoyed was all donated by the believers below, because many of the believers of Tianzun Sect were wealthy businessmen, so the things they sent were naturally good things. However, Wen Lingjiao had been spoiled since she was a child, and she only thought that these things were natural, but she had never thought about where they came from, so she naturally couldn't answer Wu Ruofei's question.
Lin Shuhan waved his folding fan and said, "If not, you don't know this. Let me explain it to you slowly..."
Everyone knew that Lin Shuhan was going to show off his knowledge, but he was indeed talented and knowledgeable, and his insights were so broad that they could not help but be convinced. So they held their breath and listened to him attentively:
"Most good teas are produced in the mountains, because there is a lot of fog on the mountains, and the tea absorbs the essence of the fog, so it naturally becomes good. In an ancient well in the valley of West Lake in Hangzhou, there is an old tea tree that grows from the edge of the well wall, like a dragon. Because of the influence of the spring water in the ancient well, this tea tree is constantly surrounded by fog, so the tea produced on it is undoubtedly the best in the world. However, since there is only one tree in the world, and the tree is old, the yield is rare, so the tea produced next to this well is all called Longjing tea. Although its color, aroma and taste are better than ordinary tea, it is not surrounded by fog on the top of the mountain because it is in the valley, so it cannot be called the best."
Wu Ruofei suddenly realized: "Could it be that these are the tea leaves I use every day?" (To be continued)