Chapter 87 The old sword, the lame and the blind
A one-armed man, a cripple man, a scarred face, and a blind eye. Three people and five eyes were all looking at Li Zhang at this time, and Li Zhang also looked at them, but he was a little depressed at this time because he doubted whether Lu Wu had not heard clearly. He was looking for a hospital guard, not helping the disabled find employment.
"Uncle Wu, don't you help introduce it?" Although Li Zhang was a little suspicious, he did not show it on his face. Instead, he smiled and greeted him.
"These are all my old brothers. The injuries on their bodies were left by the Khitans back then. Although they were old, they did not lose their skills. The one with one arm called Lao Dao, and the other with the other called Zaiyan. Just watch and call me!" Lu Wu pointed at the three of them and introduced casually.
When Li Zhang heard that the injuries on these three people were actually left by the Khitans, he couldn't help but feel respectful, so he bowed solemnly: "Since all the brothers of Uncle Wu, they are my elders. From now on, I will call Uncle Knife, Uncle Lame and Uncle Blind!"
"You don't have to be polite, just call me Lao Dao in the future. Brother Wu also told us before that, twenty cents of money per year, the lives of our three brothers will be handed over to you!" Lao Dao with an arm stood up and said. Although he only had one arm left, he was tall and stood like a mountain, looking very dignified. He should be the leader of the three.
How do I divide the three people with 20 guanqian? Li Zhang was also a little confused when he heard this, but he did not ask directly, but laughed again: "Twenty guanqian a year is not much, but I have many people in my family. Are the three of them confident that they can keep their home safe?"
"Dalang, these old brothers have all been on the battlefield to kill people. Later, after retreating due to injuries, they usually make a living by escorts. But now they are old and want to find a safe job. With their ability, it is nothing to be a small guard!" Lu Wu interrupted again at this time. He also saw that Li Zhang was a little suspicious of Lao Dao and the others, so he explained.
Lao Dao is also a personal genius, so he naturally could hear what Li Zhang said. He smiled at this moment, then looked at the blind eye behind him, that is, the one-eyed scar face. Then he waved his right hand and a cold light flashed in front of Li Zhang. Then he heard a "bang" sound, and a dart with a finger-long hairpin nailed to the wall. A gecko with a broken tail was struggling desperately.
"The blind dart is a great idea. It is definitely a hit wherever it is. The lame man is good at fists and feet. As for me..." When Lao Dao said this, he suddenly pulled out the knife from Lu Wu's body, and threw a few swords like lightning. Li Zhang only felt that the other party's knife was extremely fast, and he couldn't even see the shadow of the sword clearly.
"Good martial arts, no wonder Uncle Wu would recommend you a few!" Li Zhang immediately praised. In fact, he didn't understand martial arts at all, but at this time he could also see that Lao Dao and others were very good at all. It was quite cheap to hire three masters in twenty kilns.
"I saw it. If it weren't for my affection, I'm afraid you wouldn't have invited me, the old brothers, even if you spend a lot of money!" Lu Wu also smiled proudly at this time. What he said was the truth. Lao Dao and the other two have been outside for many years. They were originally going back to their hometown near Chang'an to retire, but he invited them out again.
Li Zhang was convinced at this time and immediately praised Lu Wu for a few words. It was almost three o'clock, so Li Zhang arranged for Lao Dao and his friends to rest first. Unfortunately, the place at home was not big, so he could only complain that they had to squeeze in with Douzi and others for a night. However, Lao Dao and the others didn't care, so they went to bed after eating something.
However, Lu Wu did not go to rest, and Li Zhang and his son did not leave either. After Lao Dao and others left, Lu Wu asked in a deep voice: "How is it, what official position has the imperial court granted you? Have you ever seen the queen?"
"Brother Wu, the imperial court asked someone to take care of Jingcang pastures, but you also know that I don't know a lot of words, so how can I have the ability to handle such complicated accounts?" Li Yonghe was the first to shout with a bitter face. When he was on the road just now, he was almost worried.
"I know that the place in Jingcang pasture is indeed a good job, but the relationship is a bit complicated. You don't have experience in this area, but the problem is not big. I can find a few experienced officials to help you. It's best not to do this account with others. You don't know much about literacy, so this is indeed a big trouble." Lu Wu frowned when he heard this.
"Uncle Wu, I have a solution in terms of accounts." Li Zhang smiled at this time.
"What are you going to do?" Lu Wu asked in surprise at this time, and Li Yonghe also looked at him.
"Douzi and the others have been learning to keep accounts with me, and now they can stand alone. Since the accounts cannot be handled by others, they might as well pick one out of Douzi and let him help manage the accounts." Li Zhang said with a smile.
"No, how can a child let the account in such a complicated pasture?" Lu Wu said angrily when he heard Li Zhang's words.
"Uncle Wu, don't underestimate Douzi and the others. I'll get something over. You'll know if you take a look!" Li Zhang said and ran to the counter, then took out a book from the store and handed it to Lu Wu. He used to take charge of the account, but now Li Zhang has also begun to hand over these things slowly to Douzi and the others. After all, he can't focus on these two small shops.
Lu Wu took the account book and opened it, but found that the accounting method inside was completely different from what he knew, and there were even some strange symbols and tables. Finally, after Li Zhang's explanation, he slowly understood these accounts. At this time, he found that Li Zhang's account was not only simple, but also clear every account, and the in and out was even clearer, even clearer than the accounts in the yamen.
"Uncle Wu, you can hand over all kinds of miscellaneous tasks in the pasture to the old officials you find. As for recording the accounts, you can hand them over to Douzi and the others. At worst, I can just take time to help them check, and there will definitely be no mistake!" Li Zhang said confidently at this time.
After doing business for so long, Li Zhang has seen many other people's accounts, but it has to be said that the accounts in the Song Dynasty were too backward in terms of accounts. He used words directly to keep accounts, and there was not even a form. If you want to check the accounts, you had to calculate them one by one. Sometimes the input and output items were not matched at all. The accounting methods he brought from later generations were better than those now.
"Are you sure there will be no mistake?" Lu Wu asked with some concern at this time.
"Uncle Wu, you can take away this account book and let those who are wise to take a look, and you will know then!" Li Zhang said confidently again. Although his account book was written in Arabic numerals, it was marked with Chinese characters next to it, so ordinary people can understand it.
Seeing that Li Zhang was so confident, Lu Wu and Li Yonghe couldn't help but look at each other. Then Li Yonghe finally tentatively said: "Or let Dalang find someone to try it. If it doesn't work, then change it. Anyway, I, the new official, have just taken office, and it's understandable that I have made some mistakes."
"Well, let's do it for now. After all, there are really no people around us, so we can only use this method for the time being!" Lu Wu finally nodded at this time. The officials always brought a group of followers when they took office, but Li Yonghe had no preparations for this. Moreover, the time for taking office was urgent, so it was not easy to find someone who could trust, so they could only do this first.
After talking about Li Yonghe's errands, Lu Wu asked Li Zhang again. When he learned that Li Zhang was going to Zishantang to study with the prince, he immediately slapped his thighs and said, "This is the real good thing. Dalang, after you go, you have a good relationship with the prince, and you will be much more promising than your father in the future!"
"Good things are good things, but studying..." Li Zhang finally felt bitter in the end. He had been reading for more than ten years in his previous life, and he had been tired of it. Although he had suffered a lot in society later, he still felt much better than when he was studying. But now he has to study like he did in his previous life, and he mainly memorized classical Chinese, which also made him feel a sense of dark future.
"Studying is even more good, and the prime minister teaches you personally. No one can ask for such good things. Let's set up our home in these three days and go to Zishan Hall in three days. Maybe you will have the chance to be appointed as a marquis and prime minister in the future and become the first prime minister of your Li family!" Lu Wu said excitedly again at this time.
"The relatives of the foreigners are prime ministers? Why does this matter feel so unreliable?" Li Zhang muttered in a low voice when he heard Lu Wu's words. Of course, he did not dare to let Lu Wu hear these words.
That night, Lu Wu and Li Zhang and his son discussed it until the second half of the night, and then he had a quick rest. The next morning, Li Yonghe and Li Zhang's formal confession came over. With this confession, it also means that Li Zhang and his son have been separated from their civil status and have officially become an official, and the official status represents a series of privileges, such as they can rent a cheap official house, and the court also gave them several sets of clothes that were not worn for occasions, etc.
The official house must be rented, because there are too many people in the family and cannot be squeezed into the store all the time. Moreover, the housing prices in Kaifeng are too high. Even if Li Zhang earned some money, he could not afford it for the time being. So early the next morning, Li Zhang and his son and Lu Wu went to the official house. The so-called official house was actually built by the imperial court and rented specifically for officials. The area is large and small, and the size of the yards that can be rented is different.
In the end, Li Zhang and the others fell in love with a two-in-one official house. In addition to the front hall and back yard, there were two rows of wing rooms on both sides, which were enough for Li Zhang and his family to live in, so they rented it and then started moving. In addition, the business in the store also required Chou Niang and Huo Zi and others to take over. As a result, Li Zhang was also very busy over the past three days.
Three days passed in the blink of an eye, and Li Zhang finally settled his home. Li Yonghe was also preparing to take Douzi and several veteran officials Lu Wu found to hand over to the Jingcang grassland. Li Zhang was about to go to Zishantang to start his own companionship study, which made him feel both nervous and somewhat expectant.
Chapter completed!