As long as he hides in the kitchen and doesn't have to worry about maintaining his appearance, for Zhang Shou, eating a few dumplings is just a matter of time.
In the past, he was just confused, but now as he walked in the village, he had a vague judgment in his heart.
The village where the Zhang family is located has a total of thirty or forty households, with a population of more than a hundred. It is not very big, but it is not very small. Almost all of the village is tenants, with different surnames, and there are no rich farmers who farm independently.
There are no other landowners.
For the countryside far away from the city, where there is no royal law but only patriarchal clan law, this kind of situation where various surnames live together and only their orphans and widowed mothers are considered wealthy is absolutely abnormal.
Moreover, in the past three years, he has never seen that kind of ruffian or bully. Even if Qi Liang has encountered debt collection by creditors, it is still a normal private loan, mainly because Qi's father is not engaged in production but is heavily in debt.
Found it.
Thinking about it now, the tenants in this village should have been carefully selected. If so, the Duke of Zhao was not indifferent to them. At least he not only raised orphans and widows, but also established a good family for them.
living environment.
However, right now, this quiet village, far away from the hustle and bustle, is becoming like a vegetable market.
This noon time is the only chance to rest during the daily harvest. There are no longer only children in the village, adults have come back from the fields. Especially now that the harvest season is almost over, people's voices seem to be loud.
Taller.
So, when the eight guards from Zhao Guogong's mansion were purchasing for the eldest lady and themselves, the villagers at home faced those guards who could tell from their clothing that they were very luxurious. When asked what they wanted to buy, they
Extremely excited.
Datong shop needs boards, and building a new bed also requires boards. But in such a small village, where can you get the best boards?
At this time, Zhang Shou saw with his own eyes that Yang Laoguan, the oldest man in the village and who claimed to be highly respected, asked his two sons to carry a pair of coffin boards that he had saved all his life to the door of his house. He personally invited the well-dressed Zhu Hong.
He came over and immediately pointed at his untied board and started boasting wildly.
The old man would occasionally tap on it with his fingers to prove that the wood was indeed of good quality.
As for Zhu Hong... I heard that this was a coffin board that he had saved early, and his whole face was a little blue.
Zhang Shou originally just stopped to watch the excitement, but when he realized that Zhu Hong had seen him, he was moved and took the initiative to step forward.
Sure enough, Zhu Hong showed an obviously relieved expression when he saw him coming.
"Master Longevity," he saluted first, then coughed dryly and said, "We are just staying here temporarily for a few days, how can we appropriate other people's longevity materials..."
Looking sideways at the old man Yang with his eyes wandering around, Zhang Shou knew what the villagers really thought about the old man who had already put his foot into the coffin board. He immediately interrupted Zhu Hong and said seriously: "
I know, the word longevity material sounds unlucky. But if it is unlucky, why do people prepare boards in advance, and some people even unsaw and paint the boards directly before they die?"
"It's very simple, just to wash away diseases and disasters. Since it can be washed away, it proves that this thing that sounds unlucky is actually very blessed. Moreover, the people in this village are warm and simple. I heard that you
They are guests from afar, staying here temporarily but lack of beds, so they are willing to give up the things they have accumulated all their lives. If you are not willing, they will only think that you look down on them."
Zhu Hong only felt that there was something wrong with what he said, but Zhang Shou really said it too sincerely, so he was a little hesitant without knowing it. Especially when he saw that the father and son beside him were obviously a little angry, and they were clearly annoyed by Zhang Shou.
When Shou hit the mark, he became even more embarrassed. However, the last straw that truly broke the camel's back was yet to come.
"It's impossible to make a decent bed without good boards. I don't think it's possible for the government to make a special trip to send boards from the capital? It's okay to cut down trees now, but if you don't say anything else, they won't be dried.
How do we start work? If you are concerned that this is a long-lasting wooden board, then let’s leave my bed to you and give me a new bed made from this board. How about that?”
"How can that be done!"
After staying up all night on the tree on the back wall of Zhang's house, Zhu Hong, whose eyes were still bloodshot at this time, suddenly felt numb. Although the eldest lady and Zhang Shou were not married yet, the wife regarded him as a future uncle, so even if he
Deep down, I feel that Zhang Shou, who grew up in the countryside, is not worthy of a young lady except for his face, but it is impossible for him to let Zhang Shou sleep on a bed made of coffin boards just because of his taboo!
What if my life is shortened if I turn around... Bah, bah, bah, don't think about it yet...
He took a deep breath and finally said bravely: "In that case, I will just buy the board!"
He took a look at the board, which was obviously old and had been wiped and rubbed by someone, so it still looked quite round, and had not yet been made into a coffin. He warned himself not to be taboo about such mysterious things, and said firmly: "Twenty taels."
I’ll just take the silver!”
The Yang family's father and son suddenly became very happy. When they saw Zhang Shou turning around and discussing the price with them sincerely, the three of them immediately nodded like chickens pecking at rice and agreed wholeheartedly.
Seeing that Zhu Hong didn't ask anyone for help, he put down the money and carried the board away. Yang Laoguo held the heavy snowflake silver in his hands. After they had gone away, he took a step forward and asked Zhang Shou in a low voice: "Little
Sir, where do these guests in your house come from? I wanted to offer you five taels, but he actually gave me 20 taels per bite! After all, rich people don't even need to make money, they only use silver."
"Haha, I'm from the capital." Zhang Shou smiled as he said this. Seeing Yang Laoguan immediately take a breath of cold air, he added slowly, "He's from the Zhu family of Duke Zhao's mansion."
He deliberately exposed Zhu Hong's origin, and then he noticed that Yang Laoguan's expression suddenly changed. On the contrary, the two sons of the Yang family were just purely shocked, as if they thought it was strange that such a high-ranking nobleman suddenly had a relationship with his small village.
.
"Buy your board for twenty taels, go to Carpenter Xu's place to saw it, polish it and paint it to make a bed. This urgent need is solved. Otherwise, if you buy it from somewhere else, the transportation and labor costs are all money, so he spent the money well.
.Moreover, they won’t live in my house permanently. Once they leave, it will be useless for me to keep these bed boards. Naturally, I will return them to you. Every time they come back, I will give you an advantage!"
Zhang Shou deliberately said it in an extremely relaxed way. The two sons of the Yang family felt that they had taken advantage of it and were overjoyed for a moment. The elder one even bowed and said: "Thanks, Mr. Young, otherwise we wouldn't be able to earn this money. I'll give it to dad later."
Order a pair of good fir boards and cover the ceiling for a few taels of silver, and the rest will be enough for our two boys to get wives!"
"Huh, just those two useless little things. The little gentleman is willing to teach them how to read and read, but they don't study hard. They deserve not to get a wife! It's the two of you. The upper beam is not straight and the lower beam is crooked. Why don't you get out now? Get in!"
Yang Laoguan suddenly cursed a few words, and then drove away his two sons unreasonably. Then with a complex expression, he handed the twenty taels of silver he had just carried back to Zhang Shou.
Seeing this scene, Zhang Shou, who had already made some assumptions in his mind, was naturally surprised: "What are you doing?"
"If I had known that it was from Duke Zhao's mansion, I would never have accepted these twenty taels of silver. Young gentleman, please return it on my behalf!"
Zhang Shou naturally refused to answer: "Are you afraid that the people in Zhao Guogong's mansion think you cheated them of their money? He gave it to them himself, and you didn't ask for the price. Besides, aren't you complaining about your back and leg pain all day long? Take the money and go and treat yourself well. Look at the doctor, if he prescribes medicine and adjusts his condition, he can live for a few more years. The Duke of Zhao's mansion might have to pay a hundred and eighty taels to buy a bed in the capital, but he doesn't care about this little money!"
"That's not what you say..." Yang Laoguan, who was always known in the village for his powerful and loud voice, now had a low voice. After a long while, he sighed, raised his head and said, "After all, I was once a soldier under Zhao Guogong. , this life would have been lost outside the Great Wall if Zhao Guogong hadn’t called a military doctor to save it when he was patrolling the camp. Besides, using coffin boards to make a bed for a living person..."
When he said this, he suddenly paused and looked at Zhang Shou in confusion: "By the way, how come the people from Zhao Guogong's mansion come to this country and make beds? It sounds like they want to stay there permanently? Is it possible that they live here? Mr. your home?"
Zhang Shou was originally glad that he finally found a suspected insider who could find out the ins and outs of this village. But when he heard Yang Laoguan's words, he felt as if a basin of cold water had been poured on him.
But he knew how cunning this old guy was, so he quickly took a strong dose of medicine.
"Forget it, I'm sitting at home behind closed doors, and my fiancée falls from the sky, and she's still the eldest daughter of the Duke of Zhao!"
However, he never expected that as soon as he finished speaking, Yang Laoguan's eyes lit up and he shouted with a smile: "It turns out to be my uncle!"