After leaving the sword shop, Shen Lang went to the money shop to exchange for some coppers——
Even if he spends a few dollars or dozens of silver dollars, if it is just for daily life, the purchasing power of silver dollars is still very strong.
In a small county like Changsheng County, where prices are relatively low, one silver dollar can buy forty pounds of pork and more than two hundred pounds of rice.
Therefore, when buying groceries and eating every day, you must first exchange some copper coins.
One silver dollar, excluding the exchange fee, can be exchanged for 990 copper coins. It is a big bag when packed in a bag.
After cashing in the coins, Shen Lang went to the market to buy food for Xiao Yu and Xiao Zhao.
After buying a big fresh carp for Xiao Zhao, he went to the butcher shop and said to the butcher:
"Cut three kilograms of fine meat and chop it into fine pieces for me."
"Okay!"
The butcher cut off a large piece of meat with a knife and weighed it on a scale. It was exactly three pounds or one tael.
For the sake of Shen Lang's official uniform, the butcher didn't cut off the extra ounce of meat. He raised his two knives and chopped randomly, then wrapped it in lotus leaves and handed it to Shen Lang.
Shen Lang paid for the meat with copper coins, carried the big fish and wrapped it in lotus leaves out of the vegetable market. When he turned the corner, he put the fish and meat into the dot pen space with a thought.
He went back to the sword shop to retrieve the long sword with the blade opened and the rosewood scabbard. Before leaving, Shen Lang asked the shopkeeper another question:
"Shopkeeper, what do you think of the eldest son of the Zhao family in the north of the city?"
The shopkeeper's face suddenly turned pale, and his lips trembled as he said:
"My lord, my lord, I am unjustly accused! I, I have never said anything bad about Young Master Zhao. I am so unjustly accused..."
Shen Lang was speechless for a while, too lazy to say anything more, so he turned around and walked out of the sword shop and walked away.
The shopkeeper of the sword shop trembled with his legs and sat down on the chair, feeling both fear and contempt in his heart:
"Look at that boy's appearance as a heroic young man. I thought he was a serious person, but he actually wanted to be the Zhao family's bastard! Damn it, I was drunk a few days ago and accidentally said something in front of my disciples: Zhao family's maid is dead.
There are too many things, things are too strange, why did this word get out? What kind of bully who deceived his master and destroyed his ancestors betrayed me?"
Not to mention that the shop owner of the sword shop is suspicious.
After Shen Lang took the sword, he randomly found a beggar on the street corner and asked:
“If someone who has no one to rely on and no relatives dies, where is he usually buried?”
"Did the official mean beggars? When our beggars died, they were naturally wrapped in a straw mat and buried in a mass grave in the north of the city!"
"Thank you."
After throwing a handful of coins into the beggar's broken bowl, Shen Lang wandered to the west of the city like an idle fool.
There is a small barracks in the west of the city, where thirty county soldiers are stationed.
That's right, in the entire Changsheng County, there are only thirty county soldiers with regular pay.
However, if you really want to send out soldiers to suppress the bandits, you can use the thirty county soldiers as the backbone at any time and pull out two to three hundred militiamen in the county town who can use flintlock muskets and form a phalanx.
If more time is given to expand the scope of recruitment to the countryside, then there will be no problem in recruiting one to two thousand militiamen in the entire Changsheng County.
These days, it's too easy to train a musketeer.
Just practice for a few months during the off-season, and you will have a soldier who can form a formation and fire a gun.
It may not be possible to fight a big battle, but it is more than enough to wipe out ordinary bandits and bandits.
By the way, when Wangjiazhuang was annihilated before, 200 militiamen were sent.
After returning to the county seat, the militiamen were disbanded on the spot and returned to their homes with the rewards. The thirty regular soldiers returned to the barracks in the west of the city to station themselves.
It was noon now, and the sun was shining brightly. The county soldiers were not young soldiers, and their military discipline was average. It was already difficult not to disturb the people. It was impossible for them to train under the bright sun. They had already gone back to the barracks to escape the heat and rest.
So Shen Lang, wearing a government uniform, stood and looked across from the barracks for a long time. He even climbed onto the roof across the street and poked his head into the barracks for a while without attracting anyone's attention.
After watching for a while, Shen Lang jumped off the roof, stopped wandering, and went back to his residence.
I heard the sound of the courtyard door opening.
The cat, which was lying on the edge of the pond, under the shade of the big mulberry tree, enjoying the coolness and drooling over the fish, suddenly put on a weak and cute look, turned back and meowed sweetly at Shen Lang.
With telepathy, the cat knew that Shen Lang was back even without looking at it with his eyes.
But before Xiao Zhao could get over to act cute, the little fish jumped out of the water and complained to Shen Lang:
Shen Lang, the cat had another bad idea just now and wanted to catch me again! Please teach it a lesson!
Miwu~ That's not the case, the fish is being cunning, and people just want to play with it...
Humph, you obviously want to eat me!
Miwu~~No...
During telepathy, the two little demons were quarreling fiercely, and Shen Lang could only shake his head helplessly:
"Okay, don't argue anymore. I've brought you food. Please save your energy for eating."
After saying that, he took out the big fish from the space of the dot pen and put it into the cat basin, took out the lotus leaf bag, untied it, and threw the meat dumplings into the pond.
The cat and the fish, who also loved dry rice, immediately ignored the argument and ate their respective delicacies happily.
Whether it's a cat or a fish, they are all little things weighing just over a pound.
But their stomachs are simply bottomless pits. Cats can eat four to five kilograms of fresh fish in one meal with their bellies open. Fish have a slightly smaller appetite, but they can also eat more than three kilograms of various foods in one go.
No matter how much they eat, their bellies will not swell. And they can eat the same amount of food again only half a day later.
While the cat and the fish were doing their own meals, Shen Lang sat on the edge of the pond, gently stroking the cat's soft and white back hair, and said with a low smile:
"Xiao Zhao, you have been eating so much every day, but why haven't you grown in size? The little fish has grown to one foot, but you are still the same little one as you were a few days ago."
Miwu~ I will grow up. One day, I will grow into a big tiger. Shen Lang, why do you have a sword in your hand?
"Of course it's because I want to practice swordsmanship. The martial arts I practice is 'ten steps and one kill'... As for me, when I was a child, I dreamed of becoming a hero. I could be a hero with a man, a horse, and a pot of wine. I could eliminate violence and be good with a sword.
End of the world.”
Shen Lang said with a smile and hummed another song: I once dreamed of traveling to the end of the world with a sword and becoming a dashing swordsman...
The cat also hummed a song in its heart: "Wandering the world with a fierce and daring body, shocking the dreams of the world..."
Shen Lang was stunned for a moment, with surprise on his face: "Xiao Zhao, how do you know this song?"
You taught me this!
"I taught you?"
Yes, when you enlightened me and when I was learning "White Emperor Xuan Gong", a lot of strange things came into my mind...
"..."
Shen Lang was speechless, he really didn't know this happened.
In fact, it is true that the little demon can gain enlightenment and wisdom by using the magic pen, but simply opening up the mind and gaining wisdom does not mean that the little demon has knowledge.
Just like a human being born with normal intelligence, if he is isolated from the world as a baby and has no one to teach and learn, he will be just like a mentally retarded person when he grows up, and he will not even be able to speak human words.
Therefore, the enlightenment of the Dian Jing Pen not only makes the little demon enlightened, but also instills some of the knowledge and information of Shen Lang, the master, into the little demon.
In addition, when Shen Lang touched the "Monster Taming Technique" little moon, part of his knowledge was also left in the "Monster Taming Technique" little moon.
When the little demons are integrated with the exercises they have practiced, a copy of that knowledge and information will be copied and instilled into the little demons' minds.
Because of this, Xiao Zhao, a small fish who was still a little ignorant when he was first enlightened, and who was just like a human infant, was able to make rapid progress in intelligence in just a few days.
Even if he can't speak yet, he can still express his "heart" to Shen Lang in complete sentences.
After trying to understand this section, Shen Lang couldn't help shaking his head and laughing:
"It seems that from now on, no matter what jokes about the earth pop out of Xiao Zhao or Xiao Yu's mouths, there will be no need to make a fuss."
At this time, Xiaoyu suddenly asked him: Why did you go home so early today? Are you fishing at work?
"I don't call it fishing at work, I call it leaving early and absenting myself from work."
Ah! If you leave early and are absent from work, won’t your wages be deducted?
"No, I asked for leave verbally. My boss also agreed."
That's good, that's good. I'm worried that you won't be able to make money in the future and won't be able to support us. After all, cats can eat so much...
Hey, fish, why are you so embarrassed to talk about me? Even if Shen Lang doesn't feed me, I can hunt it myself, okay? I can even feed him in turn, can you do that?
Oh, ask Shen Lang to put me into the river and see if I can feed him.
Seeing that the two little guys were about to quarrel again, Shen Lang quickly smoothed things over:
"Okay, okay, we are all a family, what is there to argue about? Be harmonious and friendly, and don't quarrel easily. Well, I came back early today because I have business. In the afternoon, I have to take the time to practice. In the evening, Xiao Zhao,
I will take you to a place, give you some pens, and you can help me bring something out..."