Twelfth lunar month twenty-nine, night.
Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan were lying on the kang, with pomegranate lying beside them, and all of them stayed up with their eyes open.
"Xiaobao, the Chinese New Year will be coming tomorrow, and we are one year older. Do you have any thoughts?" Wang Juan couldn't sleep, and looked at the roof with the light in the room.
"I don't have any thoughts, just pass the New Year, I've long been used to it, you lean against the wall, don't stick to the wall, the fire wall over there is hot." Zhang Xiaobao didn't sleep either, thinking about other things, at noon today, There was news from the place where the county government of Sanshui County was.
This time can be regarded as profitable. Tomorrow there will be more than three hundred taels of silver in the account. The cucumbers are not white, and the money invested in the grass curtain behind is only twenty-seven, eighty-two, ten times the profit. The people on Zhuangzi also sent it to other places, not too few.
Wang Juan also felt the heat next to him, moved towards Zhang Xiaobao, and said: "I didn't tell you any thoughts about the New Year. I said you have any thoughts about Zhuangzi next year. You should always make a summary. right."
"Well, I have ideas. This year is a special year and a harmonious year. Thanks to the efforts of everyone in Zhuangzi, both Zhang and Wang Zhuangzi have achieved good results in the construction of spiritual civilization and material civilization. Zhuang always..."
"To be honest." Wang Juan interrupted impatiently when Zhang Xiaobao was about to say such a thing. She had heard too much, and she was already numb.
"It's really too difficult. I don't have any money. How can I live next year? I have to think of some way." Zhang Xiaobao estimated his own money. Some carrots can get thousands of dollars. Soybean oil is almost sold in the past few days. The hot sauce just stopped yesterday, and they were all coaxed out by people who wanted to have a good year.
On the whole, I can have one thousand six hundred and seven hundred taels in cash, which is a lot. Many people will not earn it in their lives, but this will not satisfy themselves. Roads will be built next year, a place must be planned, and a lot of purchases will be required. The things, plus the money from the government, cannot be less. I heard that someone will check the land next year.
"Have you thought about it?" Wang Juan helped Zhang Xiaobao to tease the place on his neck.
Zhang Xiaobao moved by himself. This northwest is not good at this point. In winter, there is a kang underneath, which burns too much. There is a chilly wind on it. Both sides suffer. It is better to light the stove in the house to increase the temperature, but I can still feel the wind blowing by my side that I don't know where it came from.
"Say, have you thought of a good way?" Wang Juan urged.
"There is no way. When everyone is busy in the spring, I am going to set up a market in Xiaoqiao. We have a lot of exchanged items in our warehouse. At that time, we will take out some of them every day and put them there for the two villagers. People exchange, and the exchanged things can continue to be exchanged.
Everything must be set by the people in our yard and exchanged at the same value. Otherwise, other money will be used to make up for it. Then there will be people coming from nearby villagers. By then..."
"By then, are you going to collect taxes? Isn't that possible?" Wang Juan interrupted and asked while listening to Zhang Xiaobao's words.
"What kind of tax? As long as the market is up and we have the right to set prices, we can get a lot of benefits. We can build a few small warehouses and rent them to put things, we provide protection, and we can also get two small ones in that place. Tea stalls or snack bars, no matter how you can earn some money, you don’t have to worry too much about making money."
Zhang Xiaobao's voice gradually weakened, and he looked sleepy, and it was almost enough to say this.
Wang Juan seemed to be infected, followed by a yawn, tilted his head, and fell asleep leaning on Zhang Xiaobao. The topic just now has been settled.
The pomegranate and the clothes lay there, watching the two sons finally fall asleep, got up and checked whether the stove tube extending outside was smoking, sprayed some water on the connecting place, and saw no bubbles appear. Then he was relieved, turned and left the house.
I went outside to check the two who were sitting there reading together, and told them to pay more attention to the stove at night, and then went back to lie down and fell asleep slowly.
…
Sanshui County, where the county magistrate lives behind the Yamen.
Cheng Lingxiang hugged the concubine in his arms and couldn't sleep for a while. He estimated how much help the cucumbers sent out this time could get. The cucumbers sold for a few days, if you want to say that the news has reached the ears of the caring people a long time ago, but nothing Anyone who sent someone to ask about it, the paperwork that was submitted has not yet responded, as if it fell to the sea.
"Master, that cucumber is so delicious, don't give it to others, just keep it." The little concubine in Cheng Lingxiang's arms still has the ruddy face after the passion just passed, and she stretched out an arm and kept on Cheng Lingxiang's body. Said moving.
Cheng Lingxiang frowned, "What do women know? If you don't send it, where can I find my future? It's not easy to want to eat. Tomorrow I will send someone to send money there, and then I will get some cucumbers back."
The concubine also became honest, and stopped asking about this matter, "The master is still good. Selling a cucumber that is usually worthless at that price, well, the master is also good for other things."
With this exaggeration, Cheng Lingxiang touched his concubine's smooth body and was a little bit ready to move. He turned over, and his passion reappeared.
…
The next morning, the people sent by the county magistrate Cheng set off with the heavy money. There are so many people on the street today. They all want to take advantage of the morning to buy some things that are not ready at home as soon as possible. And the pair in the family hasn't been prepared yet, so I eagerly begged someone to write it.
When Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan got up, everyone in the family was busy, especially in the place where cucumbers were planted in the back. The people in the yard picked the cucumbers with dew and piled them on the sidelines, preparing to wait a while and give them to all the people in the village. Sent to the dealer's house.
"This is the Chinese New Year, or it is lively here, I don't know if I will go back or stay at your home during the Chinese New Year."
Wang Juan and Zhang Xiaobao now no longer eat milk, just drink porridge, and eat two bites of pickles made with tofu. The body needs enough nutrients. Thinking of the New Year, Wang Juan doesn’t know how to arrange it.
"According to common sense, you should go back, but common sense still has exceptions. Didn’t they say that we can’t be separated from the time we can open our eyes together? We cry as soon as we separate. You will live in my house this year. No way, the two families go back and forth in the evening."
Zhang Xiaobao knew what Wang Juan meant, that he wanted to spend a year with himself at the same time, and even abandoning the previous things completely, he also thought so. From here, then two people are destined to work together.
"Okay, that's it. When will Erniu be dispatched? It's also grand after fifteen." Wang Juan pulled a bone marrow into his mouth and nodded in agreement.
"No fifteenth, it's too late, the sixth day, now it's a little harder, it will be fine later, find a place, pull back the medical stone, put it in early when the ground is civilized, and see how the output is." Zhang Xiaobao put it in the end. Drinking a sip of porridge, decided.
The New Year is naturally different from usual. Zhang Wangshi is busy with the housekeeper and has no time to visit his children. The yard in the village and his family members have all gone back. The manpower is obviously reduced. They all treat one person as a few. Yes, the whole yard was instructed to go back and forth, one by one was so tired that they didn't want to leave, but their faces were full of joy.
Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan had eaten, and they didn't exercise today. They divided the ten firecrackers made in a few days into five and sent them to Wang's house. They also took the pomegranate along with them.
Time passed slowly in the expectation of countless people. Zhang Xiaobao and Zhang Xiaobao washed the covered hands in the basin. Even if the dumplings were packed in advance, they would go to sleep for a while in order to watch the night. They had the willpower. The child's body is not easy to bear.
As the evening approached, every household lit a fire outside the house, took out the prepared bamboo poles, and threw them in to make the noise ceaselessly. The slightly wealthier households added some salt to make the noise louder.
Zhang Wang's family also prepared a lot of bamboo. Zhang Xiaobao and Zhang Xiaobao went to Wang's house first, and then came back here. Seeing someone throwing bamboo into the fire, they also took out the five hanging whips, and put them three tonight. Hang up, put one hang out at noon and one in the evening tomorrow.
Zhang Wang, Zhang's father, the old lady and the old man also stood in the yard listening to the sound, put the two children in their arms, and enjoyed the affection, waiting for the pomegranate side to light the firecrackers and cover their ears to hide. When there was a bigger movement, the whole family was surprised.
Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan didn’t tell others about making firecrackers. They just wanted to give everyone a surprise. It turned out to be good. Not only was there a surprise, but it also frightened people. It was so loud that everyone was stunned until the pomegranate went to light. It was only when the whip was put on the second time.
"Xiaobao, what is this? It sounds like a lot of movement, so I can make more money to sell it." Zhang Wangshi is still more economically savvy, and when he saw the thing ignited, he thought about business.
"Mother, this thing is called firecrackers. It's not easy to do. There may be an accident. If there are too many people who know, they will accidentally leak the recipe. There are many profitable transactions. Don't do this first." Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juanke I don't want to make everyone aware of the firecrackers now, and the Wang family should react like this when I want to come.
"My son said, go, it's time to eat dumplings." Zhang Wang was right to think about it, he stopped making this idea, and went into the house with his family. The dumplings are already in the pot and there are still on the table. For a hot pot, the junior kowtows to the elders for New Year's greetings, and only after they get a red envelope, can they start eating.
Seeing the adults eating there in full swing, Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan had to pick something that could bite, such as duck blood, tofu, and small lamb. After a few bites, the two put down their chopsticks and said to each other almost at the same time: "It's been three years since Kaiyuan, Happy New Year."