Lao Wang walked very slowly, following behind the pack horse, swaying slowly, enjoying this rare peace.
The sky has darkened, and the surrounding neighbors' yards have been lit up with bits of light. Only the yard of Lao Wang's house is still dark.
Lao Wang felt quite helpless. If he could join the guards under Su Duwei, he could afford not to mention a candle worth fifteen cents, but also the white wax used by the rich man Li's family in the village for studying.
Dahao from the next village is in the army. When he was suppressing the bandits at Sanniangzi Mountain, he divided up 10 taels. Later, he divided it up several times and divided up another 20 or 30 taels. If I can join the Guards, I will not die.
The pension is 500 taels. The first few dozen taels can also help the family live a good life.
"Dad, why did you buy so many things? It cost a lot of money, right?"
Dani walked out of the yard, looked at the package on the pack horse, and asked with distress on her face.
Lao Wang smiled and showed the oil paper package in his hand to Da Ni: "Ni'er, look, what did dad bring you?"
Erni, who was following behind, raised her head, flattened her nose, and smiled: "It's meat, eldest sister, it's meat."
Lao Wang drove the packhorse into the yard and handed the oil paper bag to Dani, his wrinkled cheeks blooming with joy:
"This is a reward from the Commander-in-Chief. He asked me to bring you three some food, and asked you to eat meat."
"This oiled paper bag was personally handed to me by the captain's little personal soldier."
Dani handed the oil paper bag to Sanni and then came over to help Lao Wang unload the grain from the pack horse. Er Ni nimbly got in and held the bridle of the pack horse to prevent it from moving.
After unloading the food, Lao Wang took the towel brought by his mother-in-law and wiped his sweat. His wrinkled face smiled brightly: "I brought back some meat. You cut some for the old man. I haven't seen any meat in the house for a while."
.”
Mrs. Wang was a small-minded person, and she felt sorry for the hard work of the packhorse. Looking at the oil paper package opened by Sanni, she felt as if she was distressed:
"Ah, how can I give you so much meat? Are you secretly working for the captain? You are already tired enough from working on a pack horse during the day. You should take more care of yourself."
Dani had already untied the two bags unloaded from the packhorse, saw the copper coins and grain in the bags, and silently calculated:
"Dad, not counting this bag of grain, the money given this time is 30% more than usual. This official job is also very good."
Lao Wang wiped his sweat and said with a smile on his face: "It's not that bad. When I went there before, I regretted not being able to escape. It's so easy to get official money. The money given is small and it's dangerous.
It was also dangerous this time, but Captain Su commanded it well and the brothers in the Guards fought bravely, so we civilians basically did not encounter any danger."
Erni picked up her pocket, her little eyes rolled around a few times, and she calculated: "Including this bag of grain, it is 40% higher than the market price. Dad, is there such a job? I will follow you next time."
Will you go together?"
Mrs. Wang wiped the dust off her body for the head of the family. After hearing Erni's words, she gave Ernizi a towel:
"You damn girl, are you able to go to that war-torn place? Just stay at home and be a prostitute. When your eldest sister gets married, my mother still expects you to help me organize the house."
Listening to the noise of his wife and daughter, Lao Wang's eyebrows were as bright as his second daughter's, smiling. He was working so hard outside, not just to let the four of them live a good life. He looked at Ernie and Sannie.
Drooling over the barbecue, Dani helped her mother-in-law cook the pot, and the swarthy old Wang felt warm in his heart.
"Send a portion of the meat to Grandpa."
Lao Wang gave Er Ni instructions and sat on the stool. Lao Wang looked like the head of the family. He looked at his wife who was busy at the stove and added:
"Your grandpa will also send a copy."
The woman who was cooking the pot also had happy eyebrows, patted her hands on her clothes, and said in a loud voice:
"Third brother, if you dare to give it a try, look carefully at your skin and I'll divide it, you careless thing."
Although she was scolding, Mrs. Wang's eyes were full of smiles. When was the last time there was so much meat at home?
The year I got married, my parents-in-law took advantage of the famine in the riverbank and didn't seem to be able to buy so much meat.
Our Lao Wang is suffering.
After dinner, Lao Wang was lying on the kang. His wife's tossing and turning made him irritated. He reached out and slapped her on the buttocks: "Why are you making such a fuss? Why don't you hurry up and go to bed."
"I can not sleep."
"You are very tired. Last night we slept under the bandit camp in Erlong Mountain. Captain Su from the Guards was on duty and he didn't dare to sleep a wink all night. Today he took my car back to Beiyang.
I didn’t even open my eyes the whole way.”
"Master, can we still have our turn to do such a job?"
Mrs. Wang finally asked her what was in her heart. She ate a lot of barbecue tonight and it tasted so delicious.
Mrs. Lao Wang had been calculating in her mind for a long time. She felt that although this business trip was far away, she still made enough money. There was also the bag of grain. If it were a famine year, this bag of grain would be worth Lao Wang's.
That's a lot of money for the trip.
Lao Wang chuckled and said nothing. Before leaving, he had heard the truth. Captain Su had told him personally that he should gather at Nanguan Camp in two days. He could at least get such money again.
Moreover, in the past few days, he spent his sleepy time bothering Captain Su, just to make him remember him. Even if he could not join the Guard, he would always have something to do with him.
Lao Wang's wife misunderstood his meaning and sighed in disappointment:
"If it's gone, it's gone. It doesn't matter if you don't run away to Beizheng. I heard from Li Zheng in my aunt's village that four or five young people from Beisanli were lost on the way to Beizheng. There were no pack horses left.
, I was really worried at that time, for fear that you would also encounter those bandits."
When Lao Wang heard this, he became excited and said cheerfully: "I met them. I also met those bandits."
This time, not only Mrs. Wang was scared, but also the three little girls who were eavesdropping in the next room screamed out in fear.
Lao Wang held down the woman who wanted to teach Nizi a lesson with the sole of her shoe, and said happily:
"Otherwise, where do you think that bag of grain came from? It was Captain Su who dug out the bandit's den, got it out, and gave each of us one bag, while the guards who were accompanying us had two bags each.
"
"The treatment of the guards is so good." Mrs. Wang felt sour in her heart.
Lao Wang lay down and began to feel confused: "Well, tomorrow you pack a few eggs, I will take Da Nizi and go to the captain's place to hang out. The captain has not married yet, if I can get the captain to accept the offer,
It's best if I join the Guards. If not, it's okay if I can fall in love with Dani, then we can make a lot of money."
"Why do you want to join the Guards..."
When Old Wang's wife heard the snoring, she subconsciously swallowed back what she said, stood up, helped Old Wang cover her stomach, and lay down herself, but her heart was filled with Old Wang's words, "Join the Guards."
The next day, Lao Wang told his mother-in-law the benefits of joining the Guards, and her eyes widened.
"Can I get five hundred taels if I die?"
"My dear mother, how could you get so much money? I don't believe it. I don't believe it. The five hundred taels of silver didn't come from the strong wind. He could have taken it out casually while patrolling the city camp."
Lao Wang urged Dani to put eggs in the basket and glared at her:
"What I heard with my own ears, can it be true? Erhao from Dongjiazhuang in the west of the city died during the suppression of bandits and took 500 taels. When I pass by Dongjiazhuang today, I will ask about it."
"Damn it, Nizi, why are you so stingy about three or two eggs?"
After Lao Wang scolded his eldest daughter, he wanted to do it himself. Although Lao Wang's wife complained that she didn't believe it, she still took it by herself and put all the eggs in the family into the basket. This was a great thing for the family.
…
Su Lu had just gotten up when he heard a familiar loud voice in the yard.
"Da Nizi, hurry up and take the broom. How can you let your personal soldiers sweep the floor? We rough men can do such rough work."
Su Lu was confused, could it be that Su Yun hired a servant while he was not at home?
But why does this voice sound familiar? It sounds like Lao Wang, who has been chasing me to join the Guards these days.
