North and South groceries

Apu, who was in Chang'an, wrote to Luo Yong, saying that they would stay in Chang'an City for a while, and that they would set off for Hexi on another day after this year's crop of sweet potatoes matured in Chang'an City.

Luo Yong wrote back to him, telling him that their people lived well in Changle County, and that he would take care of the affairs here, so that Apu didn't have to worry about it.

In addition, Luo Yong also asked him to meet Azhi. If Azhi wanted to come to Hexi, they would bring Azhi along when they set off back to Hexi.

Both Hengzhi and Azhi are quite old. When Hengzhi came to Changle County to look for Luo Yong earlier, he didn't expect to stay here for such a long time.

Judging from the current situation, it seems that they will stay here for a few more years.Dean Tang told them that the saint intends to manage the Western Regions and put Luo Yong here in Changle County.

Hengzhi is a workaholic. He doesn't feel bored working in the workshop day after day.

There was also that nice woman who liked his character and background, and often took the opportunity to chat with him, Hengzhi was not only indifferent, but also a little impatient, always felt that she was wasting time in these meaningless conversations.

It's just such a stick, and I really like Ah Zhi very much. When Luo Yong told him about it, he still had a shy look on his face.

But he also said, if Ah Zhi is willing to come, that's fine, if she doesn't want to come, then don't force her. After all, this land in the west of Hexi is not as prosperous and lively as Chang'an City, and the road is far away and difficult to travel.

A few days after the two masters and apprentices talked about this topic, Guo Xiaoke from Gaochang City sent people over, saying that they encountered difficulties in the process of laying the wooden track from Gaochang to Dunhuang, please use these disciples We help each other.

The problem they encountered was mentioned by Tang Jian and others before Luo Yong. There is a wide canyon in that place, and it is relatively deep. , is also very difficult.

This time Guo Xiaoke's people came over, and Luo Yong's disciples took a wooden carriage to inspect the site. After returning home, they discussed for several days, drew a bunch of sketches, roughly calculated the cost, and finally made it for Guo Xiaoke. A quotation for his subordinates to take back.

A few days later, Guo Xiaoke, who was in Gaochang City, received the quotation. When he opened it, his eyes were as big as copper bells!

That coffin board is trying to trick him, right?How much money does it cost for that short distance?And the last one, what the hell is "sweet potato three loads"?Look at the handwriting, could it be that old man Tang Jian added it himself?

Qi returns to Qi, this road should be repaired and still has to be repaired, who told the people under him to not be able to handle it by themselves.

Thinking about all these years, since he followed today's sage to attack Luoyang, the eastern capital, in recent years, he has never made any achievements in battle.

Earlier in Chang'an City, even Ashina, who had just descended to Tang Dynasty for a few years, was unwilling to be with him, and even Xue Wanche's stick was better than him. He is also eager to make contributions.

However, the grandsons of the Turkic gang said they wanted to fight, but they didn't fight, causing him to sit in Gaochang city and wait, there was no battle to fight.

Fortunately, this year's luck was good, and I got a job of sending people to Chang'an City to donate grain seeds, which can be regarded as a little show in front of the emperor.

However, the reason why the emperor sent him to Hexi was not to get food. What he wanted was to expand the territory, and what he wanted was a large area of ​​land in the Western Regions. Guo Xiaoke knew this very well.

But right now there is no battle to fight anyway, and the small countries in the Western Regions are doing well, so he can't suddenly lead a large army to fight there.

This wooden track must be repaired, and the big ditch in the middle will cost money, and it will have to be filled. If the money is not enough, some gold objects will be used to pay for it. Anyway, as long as there are military exploits in the future, these external things will definitely be there again.

In fact, Guo Xiaoke really wronged Luo Yong this time. Although Luo Yong had read the price list, he did not do anything wrong with it. In fact, it was a reasonable price calculated by his disciples.

The last "three loads of sweet potatoes" was indeed something that Tang Jian insisted on adding. Remember it.

Besides, when it comes to building bridges, either the distance is short and a few logs are crossed across the top, or the height is small and the brackets are set up below, and it is repaired slowly one by one.

This time, the bridge was built on the canyon, with a width of more than four feet and a depth of more than ten feet.The distance is so long and the height is so high, it is not so easy to build a bridge out of thin air.

Guo Xiaoke, who has never been engaged in engineering, still uses those disciples who have a lot of technology, and this problem is a piece of cake for them.

This person is also very bachelor, and he didn't send anyone to negotiate a price with Luo Yong's disciples, or give them a deposit first, and directly sent them all the money, silk and gold utensils needed to build the bridge. Copper, iron, gold, silver and silk were shipped in a lot.

The meaning of this is obvious. I have already given the money. If the bridge cannot be repaired properly, you can figure it out by then.

"Tsk, or it could be said that the people from Wagangzhai are all bandit leaders." Mr. Tang commented with an IOU written with "Three Dans of Sweet Potatoes" in his hand.

When the sweet potato is harvested this year, he will have to take this IOU and go to Gaochang City again, looking for Guo Xiaoke to ask for sweet potatoes, so the old boy should not play tricks on him then.

On the other side, after Guo Xiaoke ordered the money, silk, gold and silver to be sent away, he sat at home with staring eyes waiting for news.

A few days later, someone under his command came to report that Luo used those disciples to build a shed on both sides of the canyon, and it seemed that construction would start soon.Guo Xiaoke heard about it, and felt a little satisfied, the speed of this action was not bad.

A few days later, someone from below came to report that Luo used those disciples to transport fine iron bars as thick as several truckloads of fingers to the construction site. Three feet.

"It's just to build a bridge. Why do you need so many fine iron bars?" Guo Xiaoke, the stick, still thinks that the disciples Luo used can rely on wood and stones to build a bridge over the canyon.

A few days later, another hand reported that Luo used those disciples to transport a batch of cement from Changle County. The color of the cement was not the same as the original yellow cement produced in Changle County. The cement produced in Chang'an City is only slightly different.

This time Guo Xiaoke couldn't sit still in Gaochang City anymore, so he took a wooden carriage and took a team of soldiers to the construction site.

He went right this time. He witnessed the first use of later generations of concrete technology in contemporary bridge construction, and it was also the first time he heard about the cantilever construction method.

He watched with his own eyes that the fine iron bars were placed and spliced ​​into two arcs that were two lengths long and one half wide, and then pulled up many towers through the two pre-built towers at both ends of the cliff. The rope, after a whole day of hard work, spliced ​​the two arc-shaped fine iron structures together, making it fixed on the canyon in an arched shape.

The most difficult step has been completed, and the next step is to use this arch structure as a support, build a bracket on it, and lay a straight reinforced concrete bridge over it.

In the evening, everyone sat in the shed at one end of the canyon to have dinner, and everyone was talking and laughing. Although the environment was a little rough, the food was very good. There were meat, vegetables, and rice noodles. Even the cook , They were all specially brought from Changle County.

Hengzhi and the others finished their dinner, and while it was still dark, they got together again to discuss tomorrow's project. Guo Xiaoke went over to listen, but didn't understand, so he simply sat back by the fire and let The soldiers gave him another bowl of Huto, held it in his hand and began to eat it.

Luo Yong's disciples, I heard that they are all from low backgrounds, and they all know how to live, and they don't want to starve themselves when they come out to work, watching the food cooked, although it looks simple, the taste is very good Well, none of the cooks in his house did this well.

"Are you from Changle County too?" Lao Guo was talking to a worker next to him while eating Hoto.

"I'm from Dunhuang." The middle-aged man smiled at him somewhat honestly.It was not the first day for Guo Xiaoke to come to them, he was quite a senior official, everyone was quite cramped at the beginning, but after two days he got used to it and it was fine.

"You are from Dunhuang, how come you come out to work with them like Changle County?" Guo Duhu asked him.

"I happened to go to Changle County to look for work in those two days. I heard that they were hiring people to build bridges here. The wages were high, but the work was difficult, hard and dangerous. Many people in the area did not like it. If I dared to come, I asked at that time, and they saw that I was strong and not as timid as that one, so they accepted me." The man finished eating a bowl of Hoto, and then went to the side of the pot to drink another bowl.

"How much money can you get for a job like the one you hang on the basket today." Guo Duhu asked again casually.

"!" The man had a mouthful of Hutu in his mouth at this time, and before he could speak, he stretched out two fingers to make a comparison.

"Twenty Wen?" Isn't that a little too little?

"Two hundred." The man swallowed the Hoto in his mouth and said with a proud face.Usually, there are not so many. It is because today's job is more dangerous that they are given more, but there are not many on weekdays.

"That's okay." Guo Du said in a protective voice.Two hundred wen was a bit more than he had imagined.

"It's so dangerous, you're not afraid?"

"Hehe, it's not a big deal. Isn't there a rope tied to my body? I have checked it back and forth many times, and nothing can go wrong."

Today, they spent a lot of effort to connect the two arc-shaped fine iron structures together, and even sent a special person to sit in the basket and slide along a rope tied to the two pylons at both ends. Go to the location in the middle of the canyon, do the calibration and final fixing work.

The wind is strong in the canyon. Sitting alone in a basket and hanging out of thin air, it can scare people to death. Those who are not brave enough will never dare to go up. Several people went up today, but they all came down one after another. The last one Hold on, and stay on it until the end of today's project.

"Then you can earn some money with this job this time." Guo Duhu said.

"If you work here for a month, you can earn at least one year." Speaking of the salary, the man from Dunhuang laughed so hard that he couldn't see his eyes.

When he said this, the men next to him also became happy. Before they came to work here earlier, they heard that the wages here were high. More than they thought.

Among these people are those from Changle, those from Dunhuang, those from Jinchang, and those from Huren. They used to do anything, but this time they made money doing this job of building bridges, and they will continue to do this in the future. Intend.

Construction in such a wilderness is indeed very bitter, especially in such a hot summer, when the sun is shining during the day, the Gobi Desert is scorching hot, just like throwing a person into the stove to roast, sweating He was covered in mud and didn't even have a bath water, so he worked day after day with his sour and smelly body.

At night, it is so cold that people can almost freeze to death. The wind on the Gobi Desert is blowing, sometimes it sounds like howling wolves, or like thieves coming in groups. I have worked hard all day, and I can't sleep peacefully at night.

However, such hard labor and dangerous construction seem to be nothing in front of the monthly return of consistent money.

Every evening after work, these people sat together to eat, and when they talked about the wages, everyone felt complacent and satisfied, thankful that they had found a good job.

When they finished the work and paid their wages and went home, the family members didn't know how happy they would be. With so much money, they didn't know how much food they could buy.

Those cakes and snacks, there is nothing to begrudge, as long as the wife and children want to eat, just take the money to buy it.