It was windy and snowy, covered in silver, and the earth was completely white.
A team walked into Qinjiazhuang, everyone was wrapped up so that their faces could not be seen. Several village guards rushed to stop them. One of them shouted loudly: "Who is coming? Qinjiazhuang does not accept visitors?"
"Huzi, the young master is back." Someone shouted, it was Xue Rengui.
"Young Master?" The escort looked at everyone in surprise. If Xue Rengui's voice hadn't been familiar, they would have drawn their swords. One person shouted: "It doesn't look like it, show your face."
In the team, Qin Huaidao was very satisfied with everyone's principle and vigilance. He crossed his legs, stepped forward on his horse, and pulled off the towel wrapped around his face: "You guys are good, and you are willing to do this to defend the village. I doubt everything is possible!"
"
"It's really the young master. I've met the young master!" Everyone saluted.
"It's cold, don't freeze, let's go."
"Thank you for your concern, young master. There is a fire and you won't be able to freeze." Everyone said and got into the woods one after another.
"There is a fire, why don't you see it?" Cheng Chumo stepped forward and looked around curiously. The dense woods were covered with white snow. There was no fire anywhere, not even smoke.
Regarding the issue of guarding Qinjiazhuang, Qin Huaidao did not explain it, not because he did not trust Cheng Chumo, but because it was too troublesome and too cold to explain, so he rushed into the village.
Xue Rengui saw that Qin Huaidao didn't say anything, so naturally he didn't say anything. He looked at the commanding heights and smiled with satisfaction. He was not here, and the team protecting the village he commanded did not lose face. They were still on duty in the cold weather, and they also drove horses into the village.
Not long after, Qin Huaidao and his entourage came to the ancestral hall and dismounted one after another. It was meal time, and many people were queuing up to get food. Mingyue came up to greet them: "Young Master, please prepare food for everyone."
"One for each person, let's get some hot soup for everyone to go over and cool off the cold." Qin Huaidao explained, hurried into the ancestral hall, sat down by the bonfire, and in twos and twos pulled off the scarf and the coat wrapped around him, all of which were confiscated
Damn it, it's too cold this way after the snow. Without these clothes, I might freeze to death in the Qinling Mountains.
"No, we have to find a way to get cotton clothes, at least woolen clothes." Qin Huaidao thought, his mind flew to the grassland. There were sheep on the grassland, and almost no one wanted the wool. It was just troublesome to transport it, so he had to find a way.
Others gathered around, unwrapped their coats, and stretched out their hands to warm the fire. Qin Huaidao threw dry firewood on the bonfire. Several women came over with hot soup. After eating a large bowl of hot mutton soup, they felt much better.
Jia Youcai hurried in after hearing the news and shouted happily: "Young Master!"
"Uncle Jia, sit down and chat." Qin Huaidao pointed to the low stool next to him.
Jia Youcai didn't bother to sit down and said: "Young Master, the Holy Sage has sent people to ask several times and said that as soon as you come back, you will go to the palace to meet the Sage. It looks like there is something urgent."
"It's going to be dark soon. If you go over to the city gate now, it should be locked. If you can't get in, what's the matter?" Qin Huaidao asked curiously.
"I didn't say anything specific. By the way, King Wei came here in person three days ago. He wanted to buy the method of making a stove and was willing to pay 50,000 coins. The old slave didn't dare to agree and refused. He said he would wait until you come back to find time.
Let's go to Prince Wei's Mansion." Jia Youcai said quickly, sitting down to warm himself by the fire. He was even more afraid of the cold as he got older.
"Fifty thousand guan? It's quite rich." Qin Huaidao said disdainfully.
Cheng Chumo smiled and said: "The king of Wei got the support of the family and granted rewards to Yangzhou and Xiangzhou, which are prosperous places. In the tenth year of Zhenguan, he even led the military governor of Xiangzhou, the governor, Wei, Li, Wei, Ming, Xing, and Bei.
The rewards are countless, more than those of the prince, so it is not surprising that he is rich."
Qin Huaidao didn't pay much attention to King Wei and asked: "Uncle Jia, how are you doing in Tianzhuang these days?"
"Everything is normal. It's just too cold. The first warehouse was completed. It snowed two days ago. The second warehouse couldn't be built. The bricks couldn't be laid, so we had to stop work."
"Where's the stone transporter?" Qin Huaidao asked.
"The stone transporters overturned their vehicles several times and injured people. Fortunately, it was not serious. I was worried that something serious would happen, so I asked them to stop, but they were unwilling. They said that they finally had a profitable business, and they would not be allowed to do it unless they did it in the future.
They didn't want to stop, so they had to find a doctor who would be stationed in Qinjiazhuang these days to treat him at any time."
"Well done. What about the briquettes? They didn't seem to stop when they first came here?"
Jia Youcai smiled bitterly and said: "They are not willing to stop. Without the sun, the briquettes made cannot be dried. They can only be stored in everyone's room. It is about to be full. I originally planned to stop work tomorrow, but I really can't put it down. Young Master
It’s just the right time for the Lord to come back.”
"No need to stop, it's a good idea to put it in everyone's room. They are all making stoves. The stoves also need to be dried by fire. They happen to be dried together. I would like to tell everyone to make the fire hotter. Don't freeze it in the cold weather. Don't save briquettes. But you have to be careful.
Is it safe? Also, how was the exchange?" Qin Huaidao asked.
Jia Youcai said gratefully: "I exchanged tens of thousands of them. One briquette was exchanged for a bundle of dry straw, which is about thirty kilograms. The designated open space was full. I was worried that there would be too much straw and did not dare to collect any more."
Thirty kilograms of dry straw is a lot. This exchange method is a real profit. Qin Huaidao said quickly: "Continue to exchange and collect as much as you have. Just find an open space to stack the straw. In addition, I will teach you a simple method of use. It does not necessarily have to be used."
For the stove, just use bricks, stones mixed with clay to build a small stove."
Seeing Jia Youcai's confused look, Qin Huaidao simply asked people to find bricks, build a cylinder around it, and put a few wooden sticks inside to lift it up. Jia Youcai understood it at a glance and said, "This is similar to a stove."
"That's right, seal the inside and outside with clay. Make it thicker to prevent the heat of the fire from escaping. The overhead objects are best made of iron bars, which are resistant to burning. Just put three flat stones on the top of the stove to cushion the utensils, but there is no
The stove is convenient and cannot be moved, but it can be used." Qin Huaidao explained, pointing to the small stove.
Jia Youcai couldn't guess Qin Huaidao's intention. What else could the straw be used for besides burning? Besides, there were already so many straws. He had no other explanation other than doing good deeds. After thinking about it, he turned around and talked to everyone, and agreed: "I understand, I will go now."
I told them that I was taking some with me after work. After using briquettes these days, they wish they could get more."
"Go ahead and remember the more the better." Qin Huaidao emphasized again that it is really a waste to transport briquettes and not use them. Straws can be used to make toilet paper. As long as the price is cheap enough, who will use toilet paper? That is a big profit.
Anyway, I don’t think about it for a day.
At this time, Mingyue led three girls over, one carrying a large pot of mutton noodles, and the other carrying a large pot of meat cakes. Others came in behind to give everyone bowls and chopsticks.
Everyone was very hungry for a long time. After eating two large bowls of noodles, they all came back to their senses. They added two meat patties and drank some hot soup, and their health was restored immediately. Qin Huaidao asked others to clean up and signaled for others to leave.
Said: "Brothers, we finally came back alive. This trip was too hard, but fortunately the harvest was good."
Everyone laughed when they thought about the harvest.
Qin Huaidao looked at everyone and continued: "The total number of mules, donkeys and horses is 160, worth about 1,500 taels, plus 23,600 guan of silver, the total is 25,110 guan, eight people
Divide it equally, about 3,137 guan per person, I will take the mules, donkeys and horses, and another 1,637 guan, and we will divide it after the medicinal materials are sold, do you think it is okay?"
Everyone looked at Qin Huaidao with some surprise, he calculated so quickly?
"Why, you don't agree?" Qin Huaidao asked.
Cheng Chumo hurriedly said: "No, no, you calculated the numbers too quickly and the brothers couldn't react. However, your method of division is not good. You have to take the big head. There is no reason to divide it equally."
"That's right, there is no such way. You are the one who takes the lead in this matter. Without you, our brothers would have nothing. And we are Shangguan. According to the rules, you have to take the big head. The remaining brothers can share it equally. You guys
Is that right?" Yuchi Baolin also came out to express his position and looked at the others.
Qin Huaidao didn't wait for everyone to express their opinions and rushed to say: "Listen to me on this matter. Since we act together, we must share the spoils. This is the rule. We will divide it like this in the future. Don't ruin the friendship. The donkey, mule and war horse are in urgent need at the village.
I'm not polite to you, don't mention the big head again, otherwise I won't be able to play with you if I have the chance in the future."
"this……"
Everyone doesn’t know what to say. It doesn’t matter if you have more or less money. The key is that you will become unfamiliar if you don’t play with it. Once you become unfamiliar, what’s the point?
"Okay, then brothers have taken advantage." Cheng Chumo said gratefully.
Yuchi Baolin also said: "That's right, there is really no such way, it is against the rules. Since Brother Qin mentioned this, we accept it. Keep this friendship in our hearts, and we must take it with us if good things happen in the future."
"Yes, we listen to you, we can divide it however you want, but you can't help us play together."
Everyone expressed their opinions one after another, and their eyes were full of emotion.
It doesn't matter how much money you have, everyone is convinced by this fairness.
Xue Rengui had never thought about having his share and wanted to refuse. When he saw the look Qin Huaidao gave him, he swallowed his words and felt warm in his heart. He was very happy for his original choice.
Qin Huaidao didn't like to be polite and interrupted: "Brother Cheng, give it to everyone, have a good sleep."
"Okay!" Cheng Chumo agreed.
Everyone was very happy. It was more than 3,000 dollars. No one with such a big pocket had ever had so much money.
After dividing the money, everyone chatted for a while, then a member of the mountain guard hurried in, bringing with him a gust of cold wind, and shouted as he entered: "Young Master, there is a man outside, calling himself Qianniu Guard, and he wants to see you.
"
"Let him come in." Qin Huaidao signaled, looking at everyone in surprise.
Everyone shook their heads, expressing their ignorance.
Not long after, a man dressed as a Qian Niu Guard hurried over on horseback, stopped at the door, turned over and dismounted, and bowed: "Master Qin, are all brothers here?"
"Li Yixie?" Qin Huaidao saw that it was Li Junxian's son. He was running in a hurry. It was obvious that he came in a hurry. He couldn't help but asked in surprise: "Why are you here?"
"The Holy Spirit has summoned you!" Li Yixie quickly explained.
"How did the Holy One know that I was back?" Qin Huaidao asked.
"Baiqisi has been looking for you crazy these days. A brother from Qianniuwei saw you in Lantian County and immediately went back to report. The Holy One asked me to come over and leave quickly. The Holy One was worried," Li Yixie explained.
road.
"looking for me?"
"I don't know that."
Qin Huaidao was a little surprised. The city gate had been closed, and the Holy Emperor actually asked people to come out to announce that something was definitely going on. But no matter how big the matter was, it had nothing to do with him. There were many ministers in the court. What could it be? He stood up and said, "Wait a moment, please change."
Just put on some clothes and leave, so that no one else comes to show disgrace to me."
"Okay, hurry up." Li Yixie agreed.
Cheng Chumo took the opportunity to ask: "Brother, if you can come out, you must have a token, right? Can the rest of us follow you back to the city?"
"It should be no problem. Your Majesty didn't say that I would only summon Mr. Qin. Just follow him in." Li Yixie agreed wholeheartedly. They are all from the martial arts lineage and are familiar with each other.
"Okay, then I'm tired. I'm all dirty. I have to go back and wash myself off." Cheng Chu smiled silently and gave everyone a look. Everyone nodded knowingly and put their belongings on the horse's back.
Not long after everyone was ready, Qin Huaidao also changed his official uniform, motioned Xue Rengui and Luo Zhang to the side, and whispered: "Brother Xue, I feel that something is serious. The security of the village needs to be strengthened. If you have anything to do, come to the Supervisory Office."
try to find."
"Understood!" Xue Rengui agreed.
"Luo Zhang, go back and let Uncle Jia settle the mules, horses and donkeys. You will bring more than fifty war horses tomorrow, and the mountain guard team will be expanded to fifty people. The trophies brought this time include weapons. You can choose and take away the rest.
Equip the village protection team, the transportation cannot be stopped, and no accidents can occur, just let it go, I will bear the responsibility if anything happens!"
"No problem, if you need help for anything, feel free to call!" Luo Zhang promised.
Qin Huaidao nodded and went out. He originally wanted to see how the cement was being fired, that was what he was most concerned about, but the Lord summoned him and he had to get up. He could only put down and get on his horse.
The group left in a hurry and quickly disappeared into the wind and snow.