When the first heavy snow fell on the ground, the surrounding scenery changed. Whether it was the bare tree branches or the still green pines and cypresses, they stood there with strips or pieces of white.
The ducks and geese didn't go to the pond in the morning, until noon, they barked and rushed to the place with water. There were patches of messy footprints on the snow, Xiao Hong followed behind with a bamboo pole in his hand. The guys in front seemed to be hers.
Cherry led one of the servants on the Zhuangzi to pick up the chicken food, and murmured in her mouth, summoning the chickens hiding in the nest. At a time, more than 1,900 hens and a hundred roosters were flapping fans one after another. The wings ran out.
Er Niu checked the brown sugar piled like sand in the warehouse, turned around and locked the door, and helped Pomegranate take care of the earthworms. They opened up the mess piled up on the earthworms to prevent them from smoking, and then put them away. Even if the surrounding snow is piled together, he can find the little boy.
Pomegranate followed Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan to see if any "house" had been knocked down. The cucumbers in the field had already begun to climb, and she would feel distressed if anyone died.
When we arrived at the place, what caught our eyes was a yellowish-brown color, and there was no white snow at all. The villagers took the initiative to clean up the snow without any greeting. The small houses were all standing there intact. The snow that fell on the curtains of the house was also swept away.
When the villagers saw the little son and the little lady Juanjuan coming, they came to say hello, with sincere and respectful smiles on their faces, which had nothing to do with the identity of Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan.
"Uncle Wang, is there a snow leak in your house? Is it still warm in the house?" Wang Juan asked softly when he greeted her by himself.
"If you go back to the little lady, it's warm, it's too warm, and the house doesn't leak snow. It's strong. Thanks to the house and the kang that Zhuangzi paid for repairs. Otherwise, I will be tired again this year, my old man. I have never seen such a good master."
As soon as Uncle Wang talked about the family affairs, his eyes narrowed and he almost couldn't see. When he said something, he would pull the son next to him to kneel and kowtow, naturally being supported by the pomegranate.
"Well, that's good. The Chinese New Year will be in less than a month. How will the family’s New Year’s goods be prepared? This year’s New Year’s Eve, everybody on the Zhuangzi will send two catties of pork, one catty of vegetable oil, and six feet of cloth to let the villagers have a good time. year."
Zhang Xiaobao liked the feeling of being a family, and said with a smile.
"Little son, we can't bear so many things, you are..." Uncle Wang didn't know what to say.
"I am buying people's hearts. In the future, there will be some things that cannot be known to outsiders on Zhuangzi. Buy people's hearts and help me keep them secret." Zhang Xiaobao told the truth.
"Little son, let's not say that it is the heart, the old man is yours, but the old man will guard everything that the young man wants to get, and whoever wants to ruin it, the old man will fight hard." Uncle Wang said excitedly. Then, other people around also followed suit.
Everyone knows in their hearts that people’s hearts are exchanged. If you are good to me, I will treat you well. Except for the two Zhuangzi of Zhang and Wang’s family, I have not seen any master family who buys people’s hearts in this way, and builds houses for them, and works. If you don’t give money, you still have meat for a meal, and if it’s cold, you can warm the wine to warm your body.
Zhang Xiaobao glanced at Wang Juan. The two felt warm and warm together. Wang Juan's lips moved slightly, Zhang Xiaobao nodded, and Wang Juan said:
"Dear folks, this year is still a little worse. In the coming year, more chicks will be hatched on the cherry side. Whenever you want to raise them, they will come and collect them. Some livelihoods."
As soon as I said this, the dealers became happy, and some even cheered twice to vent the joy in their hearts. The snow didn't seem to be so cold anymore.
There are only a few little children who come from Gezhuang to play and don’t have any happy thoughts. They are not from the Zhangwang Family Zhuangzi. They don’t know anything else, but they know the things they give during the New Year. One person is two catties of meat. , Doesn’t that one have a lot of people who want to make dumplings and bake pies
There is also the vegetable oil, which can be fried a lot of things to eat, and the cloth is enough to make new clothes. Comparing each other, the little boy complains a little bit about the grown-ups, why didn't he go to Zhangwang's two Zhuangzi in the first place.
Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan were relieved seeing that there was no problem here, they said two more encouraging words, and left under everyone's respectful eyes.
"Why are you telling the truth?" Wang Juan asked Zhang Xiaobao on the way back.
"I really want to talk to them about theory, and I'm going to recite the Analects or Thousand-Character Essays. Can they understand? The farmers need very simple things. They can eat, wear warm, and live in a stable environment. It was shown to other dealers that this is the greatest need for spiritual and material civilization."
"Yes, they are all kind people. Be nice to them and they will remember it for a lifetime. I decided to build a school when it gets a little warmer, so that the little children in our two villagers can study." Wang Juan was in Sighed over there.
"It's not just our two Zhuangzis, but also the children of other Zhuangzis around. The children of other Zhuangzis just need to bring some staple food, and I will leave the others." Zhang Xiaobao thought further.
"Are you sick?"
"You have medicine? Stop teasing with you. I let all the children in Zhuangzi come to learn, and my reputation will be lost. When there is a disaster over there next year, I will send the food for free. Who would I dare to take my home? I crushed him to death with the hearts of the people."
"I still don't understand what kind of person you are. You have so many operations, and you can make a little money. In the end, it is worth it to get that piece of land for a hundred households." Wang Juan has been trying to figure out Zhang Xiaobao. I want to know what his heart is, but I have been unsuccessful.
Zhang Xiaobao glanced at Wang Juan next to him and smiled, "Don't guess about men. Similarly, I never think about how women think about it. Sometimes we don't know ourselves, let alone understand others.
To be honest, I really don’t care. Loss and gains are nothing in front of me. I’m talking about money, but I care very much. I know that my parents and grandparents all want to support this family business. I can What I did was help them.
Material acquisition and spiritual acquisition are separate, just like you give money to a street beggar. Even if you don’t admit it on the surface, you subconsciously regard yourself as a good person. The reason why these animals can’t beat people is not only Just because people can use tools, the most fundamental thing is that people at a certain moment will pity and sympathize with the weak, thus uniting the weak. "
"Don't tell me this. I don't understand. I know that the world is a existence of the weak and the strong. I learn so many things for my family. It's that simple to give and gain." Wang Juan felt himself at this moment. The train of thought followed Zhang Xiaobao, very uncomfortable.
"Well, let’s not talk about it. Since your family is gone, let’s start a new family here. We don’t have a great ancestor. Then we will become the next generation of great ancestors. It’s snowing. A cow was frozen to death in Zhuangzi, and there was cow bone marrow to eat."
Zhang Xiaobao really didn't want Wang Juan to obey him in everything. Seeing Wang Juan reacted quickly, he couldn't help but laugh.
"When did it freeze to death? Didn't I hear?" Wang Juan licked his lips with his tongue, really slandering.
"A cow of Chen Hao's family in Zhuangzi is too old to work. It freezes to death when it snows. I'm going to give him six pennies, and he will report for it, so he can eat the cow later. "
"Is it wrong? I remember that his cow was still alive and passed in front of the yard in the morning. What's more, it's not too cold today. After the snow, the temperature has risen." Wang Juan frowned and asked, seeming to be thinking about what happened in the morning. .
Zhang Xiaobao shook his head sadly. "Yes, it was fine in the morning. Who knew it would freeze to death in a while. If it was not frozen to death, then it would be scared to death. The cow looked at it, it was so snowy, it was over. I drank cold water and committed suicide."
"You slandered like this? You have to slaughter other people's cows for food?" Wang Juan is now clear. Of course, she will not ask why cows can drink water to death. She can think that Zhang Xiaobao will ask her back. People can die if they drink water. Why can't cows? I don't understand this.
"Six gangs of money are enough to buy a calf. I will give you the money the officials asked for. I will buy a half-sized cow, which can also be used when plowing in spring. When I go back, I will make you beef gluten, which is tender and chewy. The head will not break the teeth." Zhang Xiaobao chose to bribe.
"I want to eat tendons, it's a bit spicy."
…
Where can the wind blow and snow, and the green hills are decorated with white clothes.
As the Chinese New Year is getting closer and closer, the price of brown sugar has doubled. Er Niu obeyed the young man’s instructions and immediately shot it. Twenty taels of silver became sixty taels. Before the money was warm, he received the young man again. To order a large number of small flat bamboo baskets or small bamboo boxes, they must be woven.
When waiting for the first batch of bamboo baskets to be delivered, the cucumbers at the back of the courtyard of the main courtyard of Zhangjiazhuang were already three inches long.
"Pomegranate, there are three cucumbers here. The three of us are one. You help us peel off the cucumber skins." Wang Juan went to pick three relatively large cucumbers and handed them to the pomegranate.
Pomegranate took it stubbornly and nodded, "Cucumber, winter cucumber, smells sweet. How much does this one cost? I looked at it as a seedling a while ago, and this will grow up."
"Don't worry about the amount, just eat, hurry up, Xiaobao and I are waiting." Wang Juan hadn't eaten the greens for more than a month, and saw that the pomegranate was still in a daze, so he urged.
The pomegranate finally came back and began to pound the skin. What the three of them ate was a joy.
Five days later, Song Jinggong put the bamboo box containing six thorny cucumbers on the table in front of the county magistrate Cheng Lingxiang.