Amid the drizzle, the train traveled very smoothly through the fields.
The first-class compartments are equipped with large leather seats and ample space between them.
This train starts from Donghai and ends at Dongcheng, the capital of Beijiang Province, the northernmost of the four provinces in the Northern Territory, which is also the provincial capital where Lu Ming once attended university.
In the first-class compartment, there were some businessmen going to the Northern Territory on business or for trade.
Lu Ming could even hear the familiar local accent, but he could only sigh in his heart.
Sitting next to Lu Ming was a sloppy Western uncle who looked very artistic. At the moment, he was performing magic for a fat rich woman across the tea table, making the rich woman laugh from time to time.
Lu Ming frowned. This sloppy uncle was Mrs. Sherlock's cousin Pirlo.
Yesterday, the government received a real-name report that Pirlo was suspected of small-amount fraud.
After a simplified court trial, in addition to returning the stolen money, Pirlo was sentenced to 500 hours of community service.
And because Pirlo graduated from a reputable normal university, he was recommended to the education center.
It just so happened that a charity organization was building a public welfare primary school in a county in the five southern provinces and applied for two teachers to do the preliminary work and train local teachers. Although the charity organization would pay a certain fee to the education center, it was a tough job for the teachers, so Pirlo was recommended to this charity organization.
In this way, together with another female teacher named Zhang, Pirlo also became one of Lu Ming's companions.
Before leaving this morning, Sherlock called Lu Ming again and again to say thank you.
Lu Ming slowly sipped the straw and smiled at Pirlo. Actually, this guy had solved a difficult problem for him. Otherwise, it would be really hard to find teachers who were willing to go to the countryside in several provinces in the south of the Yangtze River to do charity work in a hurry.
Take Teacher Zhang for example, a pretty lady in her twenties who had just graduated from a secondary normal school. She seemed to be hoping to enter Fernald College, but she needed a resume of public welfare work and experience in teaching in remote provinces, which would give her a high score in the comprehensive assessment of Fernald College. She had only registered for teaching at the Education Center in the past two days.
So, it can be said that these two volunteer teachers were a result of coincidence, 50% of their own efforts and 50% of luck.
The rich woman's laughter was getting louder and louder, and had already caused many passengers to roll their eyes.
"Pirlo, keep your voice down!" Lu Ming coughed beside him.
"What are you doing?!" The rich woman immediately glared at Lu Ming.
"Baby, this is my boss, my boss!" Pirlo immediately nodded and bowed to Lu Ming, and the temperament of an artistic uncle disappeared without a trace.
The rich woman gritted her teeth and said, "No matter how much he offers you, I will give you double. Come to my company!"
Pirlo sighed deeply, "Baby, I also want to go to your company, but I am a knight, a gentleman, and I must be loyal to my boss, my employer. This is the rule I must abide by. It is the character that my father taught me since I was very young and it runs in my blood!"
"Get lost, pretending to be a grandson!" The rich woman suddenly changed her expression, "Do you think I don't know what kind of person you are?"
Pirlo was stunned, his face turned pale, "You, why are you swearing?!"
"You're like a stick. I think you're good at making people happy. I give you face, but you don't want it!" The rich woman picked up the drink on the table and poured it on Pirlo's face.
"A gentleman uses his mouth, not his fists!" Pirlo was splashed with water all over his head and face, and he stood up in embarrassment to wipe it off.
Obviously, he had no experience in really quarreling with a shrew, especially one as wealthy and powerful as this one.
Lu Ming turned around and could only pretend not to know him. It was so embarrassing.
Over there, Teacher Zhang looked at this scene with disgust.
"What are you laughing at?!" The rich woman glared at Lu Ming.
Lu Ming was too lazy to pay attention to her. He picked up the newspaper and said calmly, "Your current actions have violated the Railway Safety Law of the 1920s. The law has not been repealed yet. You may be sentenced to jail! Even according to the current regulations... Never mind..."
It's a very simple legal issue, I'm too lazy to waste my words on it. It seems like it would be a good idea to always have an apprentice by your side.
The rich woman looked Lu Ming up and down carefully, and then stopped talking.
He is obviously a well-informed person, otherwise, he would not be able to see through Pirlo.
Pirlo cursed in his heart. In the past, he would have started to threaten this shrew long ago. But he glanced at Lu Ming, gritted his teeth, sat down, and turned to look at the scenery outside the window.
The train rattled on and on, and the first-class compartment returned to its original quietness.
…
There has been no change in Sansha Town, but a sign with the words "Sansha Primary School" was hung on a mud house at the entrance of the village.
Looking at the mud house, Pirlo felt like crying but had no tears, and Miss Zhang frowned even more.
To celebrate the arrival of the two teachers, the town mayor Liu Sili cut a few pounds of meat from the market early in the morning and sent it to Boss Lu's house, and Mrs. Wei made two large pots of dumplings.
Liu Sili's family also came to the Lu family. There were four people in the family, including him and his wife, their daughter, and his father Liu Jingtang.
Liu Sili actually has one son and three daughters. The eldest daughter married in the county town, the second daughter married in Lin County, and the son attended middle school in the county town.
The youngest daughter who came here is thirteen or fourteen years old. She has been learning to read and write from her grandfather. She has already been promised to someone and will get married next year.
Lu Ming called the foreman Zhang Agou and his wife.
Together with Heitou, Sun Bo and others, there were more than a dozen people, and the yard was full.
The dumplings steamed in a big pot are delicious. Mrs. Wei is very skillful. The dumplings have eighteen folds and are small and beautiful.
According to the local custom, men sit at one table, and women and children sit at another table. However, Teacher Zhang is an exception and is allowed to sit at the men's table. After all, she is one of the main guests.
Pirlo became interested in Zhang Agou, who had dark skin but looked strong and powerful. He changed his seat and sat next to Zhang Agou. He pinched Zhang Agou's muscles with a greedy look on his face.
To be honest, Zhang Agou took a special shower today and changed into the cleanest cloth clothes and pants. Although there were many patches on his clothes, they were clean. If he had the image of a coal-skinned man in the past, Pirlo would have covered his nose and hid away long ago.
Lu Ming was helpless. It seemed that Pirlo liked men, so he remained unmarried. However, in this day and age, it was impossible for a man to come out, otherwise he would be drowned in saliva.
"Pirlo, Teacher Zhang, you two will stay here temporarily. There are two rooms in the west wing. You can each stay in one of the dormitories temporarily. The conditions here are not very good. Thank you for your hard work, Teacher Zhang."
Lu Ming picked up the bowl; it was filled with a bright yellow drink. "Come, I'll toast you. You are so noble and upright. You have worked so hard to come to this poor place to teach and educate people!"
Pirlo was unbearable in Zhang Agou's enthusiasm and hurriedly raised the bowl of homemade white wine, "Boss, you are too polite!" But he knew who this boss was, his nominal cousin-in-law, and he kept reminding him.
Teacher Zhang had just entered society and it was difficult for her to enter Fernald College. It was obvious that she came from a poor family. Naturally, she didn't know who Lu Ming was. She just thought he was a coal boss who came here to dig coal and was doing charity work to gain fame and win the hearts of the villagers. She didn't want to be polite to such a person. "I can't drink alcohol, and this drink doesn't look hygienic."
The laughter and joy at the table died down.
Lu Ming smiled and said, "No, it's our Donghai drink. This should be the Grandparents Orange Juice. They are all in cans, very hygienic. Just pour it into the bowl. Otherwise, you drink it from the can?"
"Grandfather and grandson water? Authentic grandfather and grandson water?" Teacher Zhang was stunned. She had just graduated and had not found a job in Donghai. She had always been very frugal and would occasionally buy some drinks, but she had not yet reached the stage of having free drinks on hand every day.
Lu Ming smiled: "Yes!"
Mrs. Wei was very considerate and had already opened a can of drink and handed it to Teacher Zhang.
Although she is called Mrs. Wei, she is actually only in her early twenties. She was once the wife of Wei San, and she has a very pretty appearance.
Teacher Zhang took it awkwardly and looked at Lu Ming. He suddenly felt the benefits of following a wealthy coal boss.
In this remote area, you can still drink authentic Donghai Zusun Water, and the dormitory arranged for you. Although the house is not big and it is a wing room, it is very clean and elegant inside and out. It has everything you need, and there is even a radio on the table. It is much better than I expected.
As my thoughts turned, I remembered that I had sat in a first-class seat that I had never sat in before. I thought, the money was not paid by the charity organization. Charity organizations are very strict in reporting expenses and they have to announce them to the public. How could they book a first-class seat for me
"Mr. Lu, thank you!" Teacher Zhang held the can with both hands, but when he saw that Lu Ming was holding the bowl, he felt that it was not very appropriate, so he put the can down and picked up the bowl.
Everyone started laughing again.
The dumplings smelled delicious. Lu Ming ate a few and looked at Liu Jingtang next to him. "Uncle Liu, is there something wrong? It seems like you have been trying to tell me something."
Liu Jingtang smiled bitterly: "I can't hide anything from you, Mr. Lu. I wanted to wait until you finished your meal before telling you. Now you're here and you haven't even had a rest yet."
Lu Ming smiled and said, "Tell me, what's the matter? What's the matter about Hei Laoliu?"
After hesitating for a moment, Liu Jingtang sighed, "No, it was my old friend, Boss Guo from Jingyang Mine. He knew that I followed a boss from Donghai. He called me yesterday and hesitated for a long time. He was embarrassed to say it, but I asked him and found out that it was him. He wanted to find out about you from me to see if you have enough funds and if you are interested in his mine. He is willing to transfer the mine to you at a low price, or you can buy shares. He still has the mining rights for more than 30 years."
After a pause, Liu Jingtang continued, "Although he is my former boss and old friend, I still have to say this, Mr. Lu. I am bringing this to you on his behalf. It is my duty as a friend. But I think he wants to hand over the mess to you and leave with a large sum of money. Mr. Lu, I remind you that it is my duty as the shopkeeper to my boss."
Lu Ming smiled and said, "Then let's see what the price is. If it's reasonable, there is room for cooperation."
Liu Jingtang was startled and looked up.
Lu Ming smiled and said, "Just reply to him like this."
Liu Jingtang blinked his eyes, but he knew that although the boss in front of him was young, he was not an easy person and must have his own plans.
"Okay, I'll call him when I get back."