Make a long-term worker as an old attack

It's hard to live in troubled times, no matter whether you are rich, poor, noble, or cheap, you should suffer a little bit, but the suffering of the poor is always much earlier than that of the rich.

After coming to Chengcheng for two or three days, Niu Geng still couldn't find a job. Apart from the help of his cousin, he also went to the labor market in the south of the city and waited to see if there was any employer willing to recruit people. As Tang Shu said, it is too late for rich households to resign, so who can afford to recruit people?

In the evening, Niu Geng squatted in a corner of the head market with nothing to gain, and the guys who were waiting for work all dispersed in twos and threes. Niu Geng lowered his head, scratched the ground with a branch, and was calculating an account in his heart.

After I invited the doctor to show my mother yesterday, after deducting the doctor's visit fee, the money for the medicine, and the cost of repairing the dilapidated house, the remaining money can last for a month. If his mother and he have to starve to death? !

Niu Geng was feeling depressed when he suddenly saw his Uncle Niu Zhuang trotting over, waving the cigarette pipe and pot all the way.

"Big nephew, big nephew!"

"What's the matter, uncle?"

"Found it, found it!"

"What did you find?" Niu Geng was puzzled, but seeing his uncle's happy face, he immediately reacted: "But did you find a job for me?"

Niu Zhuang was old and couldn't breathe after running all the way, so he could only keep nodding his head.

"Really?! Which company do you work in?"

"No." Niu Zhuang shook his head, stroked his chest a little, which made it easier: "I'm going to be a postman."

"Postman?" Niu Geng was puzzled, and asked, "What kind of job is this?"

"You boy, it's good luck. There is a post station in our city. A few people left a few days ago, and they have to recruit postmen in the past two days. It's just that as a postman, I have to meet two people. Words, I am also acquainted with the guy who recruited people, let you come over tomorrow, he will meet you, no problem to start work."

"But uncle? What is a postman? What should I do?" He seemed to have heard this word somewhere in his not very bright mind, but at the moment, he couldn't remember it at all.

"It's just delivering letters to people. Gengzi, didn't you say you can ride a horse? That's good. If you know how to ride a horse, you can deliver some urgent letters. It's good, it's good."

"Is that so, Uncle." Niu Geng felt happy when he heard that, and immediately became cheerful.He dragged Niu Zhuang home for dinner.Niu Zhuang couldn't shirk, so he had to follow Niu Geng.

The next day Niu Zhuang brought the burdock to the post station, nodded and bowed and sent the burdock to the recruiter Xu Yiguan. The Xu post officer looked up and down the burdock with his nostrils up and down, and after asking a lot of questions, So he allowed Niu Geng to come over, and after giving him two uniforms, he told him to come and report early tomorrow morning, and then sent him away. During the period, he didn't mention the salary and treatment. Although Niu Geng wanted to ask, he thought it was a dignified Uncle found a job, and I couldn't go wrong. Although I felt uneasy, I suppressed it.

After working for half a month, Niu Geng gradually understood that this postman's work looks more respectable to outsiders than a long-term worker, but the hardship he endures is not much lighter than that of a long-term worker. It would be better if he could deliver letters on horseback. One can be sent back and forth to the next post house within one day, but if it is a delivery, especially for heavy goods, it will take five or seven days at least, and half a month at most.If he is alone, there is nothing to say, but Chang Liu mother is at home alone, he is really worried.

Fortunately, Uncle Niu Zhuang's family can help take care of him, and it can also give him a little peace of mind.

Contributing to hard work is a trivial matter, what makes Niu Geng most uncomfortable is the embezzlement of the post officials. Although these postmen are doing royal work, the money they get is the residue and carrion left behind by the post officials. On this day of payday, Niu Geng padded the amount of money he received from the cashier, which was less than [-]% of what he paid when he was working in Xue's house.

On the one hand, the old postman who often partnered with him was surnamed Chang. Because he was the seventh eldest in the family, everyone called him Chang Qi. He came to the side.

"Niu Geng, hurry up and put the money away, don't slump in front of people, and report to the post officer after people see it."

Surprised, Niu Geng looked around for no one, put the money in his clothes, and asked, "What? Can the post officer scold me for this?"

"It's fine if it's just scolding. If he sees that you are not satisfied with taking the money, he will deduct even more in the future."

"Seventh brother, what is the reason for this? We postmen don't do all the work, and those officials and masters don't need to break a drop of sweat to get the money, why do they want to withhold our money?"

"Keep your voice down, bro!" Chang Qi was so frightened that he was about to cover Niu Geng's mouth, and lowered his voice again: "Whoever told him to be a serious eater of the emperor's food, we, at best, worked temporarily. If someone who eats imperial food wants you to leave, it’s not a matter of spitting stars, it’s so hard to find a job outside now, it’s good to have something to eat.”

Niu Geng held his breath in his chest, but thinking of his old mother who was waiting for the rice, noodles, oil and salt to cook at home, he had no choice but to bear it. He clutched the money bag in his arms and went to the market to exchange for some food, and then grabbed a dose of medicine for his mother, and then went to the market. go home.

The couple's tight days are going well, but Niu Geng's body is getting weaker day by day, and the medicine is not getting better, because she thinks the medicinal materials are expensive, so she doesn't want to drink it. It was hard to boil the medicine and drink it down. When Niu Geng went out to deliver the goods, the stubborn old lady didn't touch the medicine, and just lay on the kang humming. Niu Zhuang's family was going to hire a doctor for her, so she If he refuses to live or die, he feels sorry for the expenses of those outpatient visits.

Once, Niu Geng was in a hurry and asked his old mother why she saved some money and didn't see a doctor. Then Niu Geng's mother hesitated and said that she wanted to tell Niu Geng a daughter-in-law.

The house in Sanyuan County that had been agreed upon had long been ruined. Niu Gengniang saw that her son was over 25 years old and did not have a wife by her side.

Niu Geng felt distressed and helpless in his heart. Is it meaningless for his mother to save this money? He doesn't want anyone in his life except Qing'er, but he can't tell his mother what he said.Niu Geng could only show his temper, and asked the doctor to look at it again, and he was relieved after taking the medicine.

After the boiled medicine was brought into the house, Niu Gengniang sat on the kang with her back leaning against the wall, crying while looking at the bowl of black medicine.

"Bowl after bowl, it's all money, son."

"Mom, you are not feeling well, you need to drink medicine to cure your illness."

"What's the problem? I'm old. Who doesn't have a headache? Such a waste of money. When can I marry you a wife?"

"Wait a little longer, mother, I'm not in a hurry." As he spoke, he blew the medicine and delivered it to his mother's mouth.

"Don't be in a hurry, I'm in a hurry. If you can't even marry a wife, I will close my eyes in the future, but how can I see your father?" Niu Gengniang was very stubborn, she turned her head away, unwilling to take the medicine.

"Mother, you're fine, what did you say to close your eyes? If you close your eyes, your son won't be alive. Take the medicine quickly."

After hearing this, Niu Gengniang obediently drank the medicine.

While putting away the things at home, Niu Geng said: "Mother, I have to deliver something the day after tomorrow. This trip is far away, and it may take about twenty days to come back. I can see enough rice noodles at home. I pasted the doors and windows with paper again, and piled up the firewood in the yard. If it rains, you can cover it with oiled paper, so as not to be burned by moisture. You drink this medicine on time, what’s the matter? The matter is called Uncle Niu Zhuang’s family. You stay at home well, don’t worry about marrying me, and I will feel at ease after taking care of myself.”

After drinking the medicine, Niu Gengniang wiped away her tears and agreed.Since he walked out of Xue's house, Niu Geng seemed to have grown up overnight. In the past, Niu Geng was the one who hugged her in Xue's house. When he arrived here, it was her who hugged his son. During two or three months Well, the boyish Geng Zi who used to be had long since disappeared, and the current Niu Geng really looked like a real man.

Two days later, Niu Geng packed his things and went out before dawn. Before leaving, he saw his mother sleeping on the kang, and couldn't bear to wake him up. As soon as the morning glow left, Niu Geng looked back at the dilapidated old house for several times before leaving, and then thought about the money he was earning every month, wondering when he would be able to save enough for the repair of the house. money.

The delivery of the goods this time was very unsatisfactory. The group was led by two post officials, followed by six postmen, and carried three carriages to the border between Shanxi and Shaanxi provinces.What is in this box, these postmen have no right to ask, only two postmen know.In the first few days, the burdock smelled a sweet and greasy scent through the box, but in the next few days, the scent became stronger and stronger, and at the end, there was even some rancid smell in the scent.

In fact, in the first few days, after smelling the smell, Niu Geng realized that the box might contain some fresh fruits and the like, and these were most afraid of delay, so he wanted to remind the postman several times to hurry up, but They were all stopped by Chang Qi.He could only follow the post officer, wandering around, taking his time, and even passing through larger towns a few times, the two post officers would have to play for a day or so before they were willing to continue on their way.Although Niu Geng was anxious, there was nothing he could do.

Originally, the 20-day round-trip journey was delayed for more than ten days. One month later, Niu Geng set foot on the gate of Chengcheng again. I bought an old hen and weighed some eggs, ready to go home and feed my old mother well.

Along the way, Niu Geng walked briskly, almost half-walking and half-running, but the closer he got to home, the more Niu Geng felt that things in his field of vision became more and more wrong. Why was the familiar place surrounded by whiteness, as if a lot of white cloth wrapped the house , Even from a distance, he saw a few soul-inviting flags fluttering in the wind, and the eaves with the soul-inviting flags looked like his own house.

Niu Geng felt a chill in his heart, his eyelids twitched suddenly, he hugged the hen and carried the egg and ran towards home in three steps and two steps. The colder it is, the weaker the calf becomes.

The one wrapped around the white silk is clearly the door of his own house. The yard and house that was in good condition when he left are now covered with white silk. In the yard, there is still a small pile of firewood that he chopped when he left, and the firewood is parked next to it. A thin coffin made of Sakamaki. Uncle Niu Zhuang and Aunt Niu Zhuang were wearing white clothes and burning paper money in a brazier in front of the coffin. Aunt Niu Zhuang couldn't help wiping away tears.

Niu Geng walked to the gate of the courtyard with trembling legs, his hands loosened, a basket of eggs fell, and a piece of porcelain was broken on the ground.