Hanhou

"The father of Dai Guoxiang was originally surnamed Zhang. He used to be a retainer of the Marquis of Yingyin and was given the surname Guan. The new county magistrate is also surnamed Zhang and has to be elected. You can ask the village elders to find out if he is a relative of his clan."

Near noon, the boys and girls sat opposite each other in front of the hearth. The copper rack on the stove was removed and replaced with a newly made grill. The mutton and beef were cut into finger lengths and placed on the grill to be heated within a short while. Curled, grease slid and crackled into the fire.

With the flames jumping, the aroma of barbecue permeates the room, and the edges are browned. Sprinkle a little salt, and you don't need to dip it in other sauces, it is a rare delicacy.

Under the influence of Zhao Jia, the girl also changed from two meals a day to three meals a day, and even the servants at home benefited from it.

Although it is just a meal, it is very precious.All the servants of the Wei family are willing to die for the girl.That's why the girl has the confidence to say that she has loyal servants who can easily disappear people with ulterior motives.

"Just do as you say, and I will tell the elders in detail." The girl picked up a few pieces of mutton with long chopsticks, put them on a wooden plate, and waited for it to cool before eating.

Zhao Jia didn't have so many scruples, so he blew directly and sent the meat slices into his mouth.The fresh and tender gravy washes over the taste buds. Although there is no cumin pepper, it is still so satisfying that I want to sigh.

Sure enough, food can make people happy and make people feel better physically and mentally.Before, he was upset about the new Shaling County magistrate, so after eating a few pieces of barbecue, his irritation disappeared immediately.

"I was just talking about this show, but I didn't expect you to actually do it." Zhao Jia said.

"Which thing you said is not a good thing? Now that I have heard it, I will naturally do it." The girl picked up the wooden chopsticks and put the cool roast meat into her mouth.

The two had known each other since childhood, and there were no outsiders present, so there was no need to talk about too many rules, and naturally there was nothing to say.Seeing that the beef was roasted, the girl was the first to grab it.

Zhao Jia shook his head and continued to roast the mutton.

It is indeed something to be proud of to be praised so much.However, he also secretly reminded himself that he must be cautious in what he says and does in the future, and that's all for his own people. If he leaks his words in front of outsiders, it may cause trouble.Especially when a new magistrate of Shaling County was airborne, and he obviously couldn't get along with the other party.

Zhao Gongcao used to be the gatekeeper of Wei Taishou, and as the son of Gongcao himself, he was naturally marked as Wei Taishou.

If the new county magistrate does not follow his personal feelings and only concentrates on doing his job well, then naturally hello, hello, hello everyone.But judging from the girl's words, this possibility is really not high.

"Sister said earlier that someone was inquiring about the livestock farm?"

Seeing Zhao Jia stop his chopsticks, with a frown, Wei Qing raised his eyebrows and smiled lightly: "Why, are you afraid?"

"It's not that I'm afraid, it's just troublesome." Zhao Jia muttered.

He just wanted to raise cattle and sheep, and live a good life in the border county, but troubles came one after another.The Xiongnu was still staring at the north, and there was such a big Buddha on his head. He really wanted to find a witch to see if he had a bad year.

Wei Qing'e said slowly: "Leaving aside the personal grievances between Wei Shijun and Dai Guoxiang, your livestock farm is also conspicuous enough. There is no guarantee that you will not be targeted."

"It's not worth it." Zhao Jia shook his head.

"Isn't it worth it?" The girl put down her wooden chopsticks and counted the items, "It was true in the past few years, but this year's slaughter of cattle and sheep is enough to attract attention."

Zhao Jia paused slightly.

"The imperial court is promoting the method of ox farming, and the border counties are also encouraging the farming of livestock. I don't know about other counties and counties where such a large number of cattle are slaughtered, but in the land of clouds, if you look at Shaling, Yuanyang, Taolin and other counties , you are really the only one. Coupled with the method of bull nose piercing, it is absolutely impossible to "make a fortune in silence" as you said."

"This method has existed in the previous dynasty. I just saw it from the bamboo slips." Zhao Jia said.

While working as a mascot in the prefect's mansion, he often read classics.

The first emperor burned books to bury Confucianism, but he did not burn books on agriculture, animal husbandry and medicine.There are agricultural books left during the Warring States period in Wei Taishou's mansion.Although the content is messy, and it is recorded in seal script, it is very difficult to read, Zhao Jia still gritted his teeth and persisted, he did not hesitate to copy the enlightenment readings of the pre-Qin period, and even asked the bamboo slips to ask him to treat him as a doll, and finally stumbled down. .

Only in this way can he know that as early as the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, some people used cattle to plow the fields, and pierced the nose of the cattle to tame the cattle.

It is a pity that by the time the dynasty was established, many methods had been lost.

Those who actually plow the fields are illiterate and cannot see these bamboo slips.And people who have classics, unless they are particularly interested in farming and animal husbandry, may not read such miscellaneous books.

The reason why he didn't report it to Wei Taishou was that he wanted to wait for the bullocks to be slaughtered, to test them at home first, and then promote them in the county after the results were obtained.Just relying on a roll of bamboo slips is really not convincing.

I don't want to take the first step, but the livestock farm is being targeted.

"It's troublesome." Zhao Jia murmured.

"Indeed, it's troublesome." The girl corrected her expression, "I have a share in your livestock farm, and I hope to use it to save money and help my child rebuild the family. So, you must be careful, and you must not snatched away by others."

Hearing the girl mention this, Zhao Jia couldn't help but twitched the corners of his mouth, feeling that the atmosphere couldn't stop being serious.

"Sister, you haven't recruited a son-in-law yet."

"Always plan ahead."

"……All right."

Zhao Jia knew very well that the girl's worry was not unreasonable.Not to mention anything else, just the method of large-scale captivity and domestication of bullocks is enough to make people envious.

The reason why he was able to successfully establish a livestock farm is inseparable from the land connections he inherited from Zhao Gongcao.

But there are pros and cons.

Labeling the prefect's mansion is bound to be seen by Wei prefect's hostile forces.Just like Zhang Tong, the newly appointed magistrate of Shaling County, it is impossible to say that Guan Fu should be executed in order to repay Guan Fu for his kindness.

"As you said, if you can report the method of taming bullocks to Chang'an, it is indeed a great achievement."

Hearing Zhao Jia's words, the girl's expression sank.

"There is no other way?"

"There is a way. Send my old servant to Wei Shijun..."

At this point, Zhao Jia suddenly stopped, remembering what Wei Yue had said to him when he met Wei Yue a few days ago.

Is it a coincidence?

Or did you mention it deliberately?

Girls can know the origin of the new county magistrate. As Wei Taishou's subordinate, he has half-stepped into the political circle, don't he know?Impossible to think about with your toes.

"Maybe I really need to owe more favors."

"Favour? What kind of favor?"

"Nothing." Zhao Jia shook his head.

Things have not yet been determined, it is not easy to draw conclusions.Just as they speculated about County Magistrate Zhang, no matter who the other party is or which camp he stands in, everything can only stay at the level of inference until there is no real plan to make a move.

"We still have to be on guard," the girl said.

"I understand that. But there's no need to be too nervous. No matter how Shaling County is governed by Yunzhong County, even if County Magistrate Zhang wants to do something, he won't be unscrupulous."

No matter how arrogant he is, Wei Shang is his immediate boss after all.

It is true that Guan Fu has a lot of power, but he can't just cross the border and intervene in border counties as a prime minister of a vassal state.If he really did this, he would definitely be courting death. Prefect Wei would probably wake up laughing from his dreams.

"Anyway, it's good that you have a bottom line in your heart." The girl breathed a sigh of relief, and found that the charcoal fire was not as hot as before, so she immediately ordered the maid to remove the grill and bring new charcoal and hot soup.

"Don't worry." Zhao Jia said with a smile.

"If you say that, I will believe it. But if I really lost the livestock farm, I will ask you for the [-] yuan!"

"Yes, sister, don't worry!"

Seeing Zhao Jia clasping his hands, the girl was amused again, and said instead: "You said a few days ago that you want to make bean sprouts and make stone mills, so is there any care?"

"Preparing, as long as there is a result, it must be sent to sister first."

"I'm not in a hurry here, I got something good, send it to Wei Shijun's residence first." The girl urged.

"I understand, and I will never forget it." Zhao Jia stared at the leaping flames, and two oranges were reflected in his eyes.

"By the way, is the third son back?" The girl changed the topic.

"How does sister know?" Zhao Jia was surprised.

"The cavalry entered Yunzhong City a few days ago. My family's healthy servant went to Shiyan and happened to see him." The girl said, "I remember that the third son treated you very well, and he taught you all your calligraphy. When you go to the city, you might as well meet face to face. We met each other when we were young, so it’s not good to just become strangers.”

Zhao Jia didn't make a sound, just looked at the girl with a strange expression.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" the girl asked strangely.

"If you tell me like this, it's not like a sister, but like a mother."

The girl stared wide-eyed, picked up the poker tongs and was about to throw it over.

Zhao Jia hastily raised his sleeves to cover his head, pretending to be afraid and said: "Sister, don't throw it away, you will lose your appearance!"

The maid outside the house heard the sound, and carefully looked inside the door, and found that her own girl was smiling, looking energetic, closed the door again, returned to the original position, and tightened the jacket on her body.

A moment later, a reed chicken suddenly flew down from the wall, apparently coming from the front yard. The maid stood up quickly, grabbed the chicken wings, and held it upside down in her hand. The movements were crisp and skillful, and she had obviously done it countless times.

Weighing the weight of the reed chicken, the maid decided to make chicken soup for the girl for dinner today.

Zhao Jia's worries were not wrong. When he and Wei Qing'e were talking about the new Shaling county magistrate, the person in the topic was also studying himself.

The Shaling County Official Temple was built in the reign of Emperor Gaozu and suffered several wars.Although it has been refurbished, it is still somewhat dilapidated.

The earth walls outside the official temple are all mottled, especially the part near the gate. One section uses the method of rammed earth in the Qin Dynasty, and the other section is made of mud, obviously made in different periods.

Walking into the gate of the official temple, the dirt roads are the same as the houses, and the tiles on the roof are also very simple.

Only when you enter the main hall can you feel the solemn atmosphere that official temples should have.Going to the second hall, you can see the young officials in the county carrying bamboo slips, raising a cloud of dust from time to time.

After the second hall is the residence of the county magistrate.

The house was not lit, so it was a little dark.

A low table is placed in the room, on which there are dozens of rolls of bamboo slips and several pieces of wooden tablets, with knives and pens placed on one side, and ink sticks placed randomly on the side.

Zhang Tong sat behind a short table, without a crown, but wrapped his hair in a cloth scarf.Unfolding a roll of bamboo slips with both hands, looking at the contents, the brows became tighter and tighter.

After a while, Zhang Tong put down the bamboo slips and called the old servant who was guarding the door.

"A mere child who holds a good dharma in his hand, but is greedy and does not want to benefit the people, I should take it!"