The husband's son-in-law

The Lantern Festival in Zhaozhou City is not much fun to do.

In fact, the people in Zhaozhou City only have two or three days to celebrate the new year, from the [-]th to the third day of the new year. After that, the street vendors and shops on the streets will open when they should.In fact, it is also understandable that the common people who are struggling to fill their stomachs have no spare time to celebrate the New Year.

The people who built roads outside the city stopped working for one day except on the [-]th day of the new year, but they didn’t stop afterwards, because the above said that during the Chinese New Year, wages were raised from the first day to the tenth day of the new year. Wen, the woman's husband Lang Jiuwen, tripled, who would be happy to celebrate the New Year.

For the common people, if they have the money to take care of their food, this is really a good year.

When the [-]th is over, the year is over, and Zhaozhou City is getting more and more lively.This kind of liveliness is different from the bustling consumption and hawking of lanterns in Beijing. This is the spirit and spirit on the faces of most of the people at the bottom. Bright and smiling.

Those who lived well in the past were few, and the villagers in the villages outside the city carried burdens and went to the city to sell vegetables, and their faces were numb with bitterness.The people who live in the city seem to be from the city, but some have a family of more than ten people, crowded in a small yard, without a field, and have to buy root vegetables, which costs a lot. When you come out to live, whoever takes an extra bite of food will be punished.

It's different now, every family has a rich man, it would be nice to go outside the city to build roads, one ration less, and five penny and three penny a day to pay for vegetables and a catty of meat money.

What a wonderful thing, I wish this road could be repaired for a year or so.

The grass grows and the warbler flies in February. Gu Zhao received letters from the governor of Shaozhou and the prefecture of Wuzhou.

The magistrate of Shaozhou wrote some beautiful polite words, and the content is that he can fix it if he wants to. We in Shaozhou have no objection, but we in Shaozhou are in a difficult situation. Even if we want to help our brother Zhaozhou, we are powerless.

The scene words are still very nice.

Mozhou is the capital city of Nanjun Chief Secretary, so naturally he looks down on this poor Zhaozhou brother, and the magistrate of Mozhou doesn't take Gu Zhao, a fellow magistrate, seriously, and speaks bluntly.Shaozhou and Zhaozhou next door are not within the scope of the Chief Secretary, so they are much more polite.

But the theme of the two states is similar: you can fix it yourself, don't bother us.

After Gu Zhao got the words, with a smile on his face, he asked about the road construction in the south. The fastest progress was the road for planting forests in Zhaozhou.

Then it's time to build a factory.

When the people who built the road saw this open and fast road, they thought it was all repaired, and they couldn't help but feel disappointed. Why did it get better so soon?They are also greedy for other villages. The roads leading to other prefectures and counties have not been repaired. If they can make money for a day, they will not.

But I didn't dare to be lazy, the supervisor and clerk looked at it, if I was lazy and didn't work hard, I wouldn't let me do it, so I tried my best, and the result——

After the repair is over, there is nothing to repair, and there is nothing to earn.

"I don't know, I haven't received the notice from above, so it should be all right?" said the supervisor.

Someone took two cents and asked Li Da's place. Originally, they wanted to ask the captain to do a favor, whether he could let his family go to work in other places, and see if they needed manpower in other places.

"Why do you go to other places?" Li Da was surprised, "We haven't finished repairing here, and the work is endless. We need to build factories, pull sand and stones, and burn cement to pour this road. Those in Zhoucheng, and those going north from the North City Gate."

The man was stunned for a moment, the road is leveled, why hasn't it been repaired yet?

What factory?What cement?

But you don't care what is what, if you have a job, you will get money, everyone is eager for it.

In the middle of February, a cement factory was built with a bang. There is clay outside Zhaozhou city, and the limestone mountain is in the north, far away from the south gate. In, but the smoke coming out and going in is shaking, and those whose homes are in good condition still feel that they have crushed the roads in the city.

Gu Zhao cared about efficiency, so he didn't care about these gossips. Once he was a foolish official, he pretended not to hear, and directly opened the city gate to transport limestone into the factory for firing.

The common people are very happy, especially the road builders, it would be nice to save some effort.But the small merchants in Zhaozhou City sighed and complained, saying that those who worked all day long walked through the city, and now some ladies and wives are afraid to go to the streets, so who is his business for? ?

No matter how messy the new adults are, they don't care about the life or death of the common people.

But this rubbing has not yet been twisted into a rope, so I asked the big merchant to discuss a countermeasure, and the big merchant pressed him down first.

"It's a good thing for Mr. Gu to build roads. Why are you shouting all day long? As far as your family's business is concerned, before the road was built and the stones were transported, I didn't see any ladies and wives coming into your shop every day." He yelled back politely.

There are also those who are cheerful and comforting, "Don't get angry and don't get angry, you can make money with kindness. Mr. Gu said that the road outside Zhaozhou City has been repaired, and the road in our Zhaozhou City will be repaired later. Let's make a concession for business, and bear with it." It will be fine in two to three months."

It’s not that the business was delayed because of pulling the stones to the south, but the relationship between the previous month’s profit of 50 taels and the current profit of 30 taels, let’s be tight first.

"I didn't see that Mr. Lin's food and money donations add up to 3000 taels of silver."

Hearing the amount of money that Mr. Lin gave out, the complaining gasped, "So much? Would Mr. Lin be willing to pay?" He said so, it was to give Mr. Lin face, and he thought clearly in his heart that this was not the case. Idiot?

I really listened to the words of the new official.

The small and medium-sized merchants couldn't get the favor of the big merchants above them, so they let them bear it and went back full of complaints.

"The Chen family is so domineering, why don't they care about it."

"I don't know, Mr. Chen's eldest son has been taken care of. I heard that he is working for Mr. Gu."

"Master Lin donated food and money, and the Li family and the Chen family went to Rongguan to help. What did our new adults do?"

The small merchants couldn't figure it out, and could only bear with their irritable faces, transporting stones back and forth in the city.

"This rock is so big, how to build a road? Don't trip people up."

"Who knows how to fix it? They say it's cement. Who has seen this cement since last year and this year? Could it be that the newcomers arranged it randomly, and said that they would build roads for the city, so that all the elders were obedient. It is not rare to walk this road of mud and water."

"That's right, who cares, it's bad luck." Delaying his family's business.

Bolin County.

Chen Jiadalang took a detour, instead of going directly to Rongguan, he went to Bolin first.His family is not as anxious as the Li family. After all, the county magistrate of Rongguan is the uncle of the Li family. The Li family has been recorded by Mr. Gu. Naturally, he can't wait to fly to Rongguan to do business, so he left Zhaozhou and went directly to Rongguan. The road of the tube is near.

Chen Dalang played a trick, he always felt that his father was fascinated by the new master, and he was fed an unknown amount of ecstasy soup. Anyway, it was out of people, effort and money, and he kept telling them to respect Master Gu and not dare to make mistakes.

what.

Unconvinced, Chen Dalang agreed to his father on the surface, but in fact he always felt that the new official was just talking about it, and his father was getting old, so he was appointed to be cheated.Since last year it was said that it was a road construction, what kind of cement road was built, let alone let their Chen family have a meritorious road.

Where is the road?

Mao didn't see it.

Chen Dalang was dissatisfied, but his arm couldn't twist his Lao Tzu's thigh. This time he took the opportunity to go to Rong Guan to do something, so he had to expose the lie of Mr. Xin. He thought to himself, Bolin was the first to build roads, and it's been more than half a year. If you build it whole and complete, there will always be ten feet, right?

He had to see what the concrete road looked like.

If not——Chen Dalang sneered, he had to tell his old man, let this flamboyant new official fall hard!

Chen Dalang left Zhaozhou City, because roads were being built everywhere here, afraid that someone would see that he didn't go to Rongguan, went to Bolin and turned around to complain to his father, so he rode around the path on horseback, getting confused, logically. It's time to plant the forest, but the dirt road is still full of potholes.

What cement road, I didn't see it.

It really is a lie.Chen Dalang rode with his entourage for most of the day, seeing that it was getting dark, and it was not safe to drive at night, the entourage said, sir, there is a village ahead, let's stay overnight.

Then he drove to Qiantou village.

The people in this village were all on guard when they saw the faces of outsiders. The Chen family's attendants reported the name of Chen's family and gave some money. The villagers relaxed their guard and invited the three of them to sit in the courtyard and rest.

Chen Dalang asked: "Old man, is this Bolin Prefecture?"

"Are you going to sow the forest? You have gone astray." The old man returned, stood up and pointed in the direction, "You will go around the back of our village tomorrow and walk for a long time—oh, if you ride horses, it will be soon, soon You can see Tongtian Road."

"What is the road to heaven?" Chen Dalang asked.Sowing forest in a prefecture and county, what other way to reach the sky?

The name is so big that even Zhaozhou City dare not call it that.

The old man smiled with wrinkles on his face, and his front teeth were missing, but he didn't care, and said happily: "That road is what we call it. I heard it is a cement road, but it is so good. The road is smooth, I have never seen such a good road in my life, the cement road is called low..."

Is there a difference in the name of a road?

Chen Dalang doesn't believe it, this old man has lived in a rural village all his life, what kind of world has he seen?Can this cement road be as good as the green brick paved in front of his Chen's house in Zhaozhou City?

Seeing that the Chen family didn't believe it, the old man didn't argue, and he'll know when he sees it tomorrow.

He has lived for most of his life, and he has never walked such a road. It rained a few times a year ago, and the rainwater washed away the water even more cleanly. There were no stones, no potholes and mud pits, and the top was flat, so he would not stain his shoes and socks. What a way.

I heard that the village road will be built when I have free time. The village road is not as wide as the county road, but when I think that such a road can be built in the village, the old man can eat two more meals if he is happy. If the village road leads to the main road, After that, when the children work in the fields, he can carry the vegetables to sell in the prefectures and counties, and walk briskly on it, how wonderful.

Chen Dalang didn't believe it, so he slept in the farmhouse and Yijiang for one night, got up early the next day, and went to Bolinfu County to eat again.

"Master, look, is the road ahead that the old man said?" The entourage's eyes were full of shock.

Chen Dalang looked from a distance, a straight and broad stone blue road, because there were weeds and wild flowers on both sides, it seemed that the road was clean. The green brick road in front of the house is similar."

But when the horses passed by, the horse's hooves made a rattling sound, Chen Dalang and his followers were speechless at the road, and they didn't know what to say, especially Chen Dalang.

Green brick roads are good, but green bricks are expensive, and there are cracks in the bricks when paved, and weeds will come out of the cracks. After a long time of wind and rain, the bricks underneath will move, and sometimes it rains. The uneven bricks were lifted, and the gaps exposed the sewage on the feet.

Now there is a gap in the middle of the road, but it can't be smaller, and it's solid. Not even a single weed will grow. It is loaded with heavy powder, and some are sand, but it can be pushed and walked briskly by one person, without any effort.

Chen Dalang saw this situation straight.

His family is in the jewelry business, and the emerald stones that can be opened are heavy. Because of their preciousness, a cart full of stones is loaded. From the mountain to the village where the stones are opened, four or five guys pull a cart along the way. Protect and go.

I'm afraid that the stone will fall and be smashed, and there will be no good luck in it.

It is natural to protect it.

Chen Dalang got off his horse, and the soles of his boots stepped on the road, his eyes and face could not hide the surprise, "It's smooth, so flat." He walked without breaking his feet, and was flat.

Sometimes stones are stuck in the gaps between the bluestone bricks, which makes it hard to walk on.

"What's on the back of the car?" Chen Dalang stopped a villager and asked.

The villagers replied: "It's cement powder. It needs to be transported to Zhaozhou City in the north. After a few months of repair, we will be able to connect the road with Zhaozhou City!"

This is the cement road.Chen Dalang's heart was agitated. He had never seen such a road before, so he suppressed it and asked, "Will this road be washed away by rain? It's cement, don't get muddy when it rains."

The villagers looked at people as if they were fools, "You must be from outside, not from our prefecture. It rained several times a year ago. After washing away the dust on the road, it is brighter and more beautiful."

What mud, never seen the world!

Chen Dalang didn't care about being laughed at. Now his eyes are full of concrete roads.

Good way, really good way.

The cement road Mr. Gu said is now realized, which is better than their green brick road. Does that mean that the government schools and factories that he told his father can also be realized?

Chen Dalang was overjoyed and agitated in his heart, he couldn't hold it back, he turned his head, it was impossible, he had to go back home first, and explain it clearly to his father, otherwise he was stuck on this road and didn't have the heart to take care of it.

Mr. Gu really needs to curry favor with her.

This Chen Dalang turned back with his entourage, ran horses along this county road, and arrived at Zhaozhou City directly to Chen's Mansion.The gatekeeper was still surprised, why did the uncle come back so soon?Didn't you say go take care of it?

Before I had to ask An to say hello, I saw the uncle ran inside like a gust of wind.

Why are you in such a hurry?

Chen Dalang entered the main courtyard in a hurry, and he opened his mouth to call his father before he got to the courtyard. He was in such a hurry that Master Chen inside thought that something had happened.

"father!"

"Didn't you go to Rongguan? Why did you come back but what happened?" Master Chen was also anxious. Could it be that Rongguan is so difficult?It shouldn't be, it's only been a few days, and Cheng Dalang has just arrived in Rongguan, right?

Chen Dalang couldn't hide his excitement, and said: "Father, you are right, Mr. Gu is really amazing, so amazing, I came back from the cement road that planted forests, and it was so smooth and fast..."

After Mr. Chen explained the whole story, he first smoked his own son, and this kid even played tricks with him, because he didn't believe what he said, and scolded: "...I'll let you take care of the errands. My lord, you ran to sow the forest for me."

When the smoking was over and the fuss was over, Mr. Chen asked Da Lang to tell the story again, and what he heard was that his beard was raised, and he happily ran along the beard, patting his big and round belly with one hand, so happy.

"Your father, I have already seen it, Mr. Gu is like this." Master Chen gave a thumbs up proudly.

Fortunately, fortunately, this time I didn't get stuck with Mr. Gu to take Joe.Master Chen was happy, thinking in his mind, after Rong Guan's errands were done, he had to listen and follow what Mr. Gu said in the future.

But is this cement road really as good as Dalang said?

Merchants in Zhaozhou City have a popular activity recently - go to Bolin to see the road.

When Gu Zhao heard it: ...

This activity is just like a modern tour group, it is still the most fashionable and trendy place, rushing to go there, the first group of people who have been there will come back to Zhaozhou City, shouting, beaming, and gesticulating with their arms , began to talk about the cement road.

"Okay, okay, I brought water on purpose, and splashed it cleanly, without any mud."

"It's smooth and comfortable to walk up, and I even pushed the car off, it's not a hassle or effort at all."

"My baby is running around on it, but the road is hard, so be careful if you fall and bleed."

"You're not going to fight with people on the road. It's better if the road is hard. You don't need to repair it every day, and it won't be broken."

"It is."

……

The first wave came back and blew it. Naturally, some people didn’t believe it. The second wave went to see it.

Naturally, I saw it and laughed.

"If you don't believe what I said, how is this road? I didn't exaggerate half a point, did I?"

The second wave was ridiculed, they couldn't move their eyes, and even said: "Good way, good way, you are not exaggerating, I am ignorant."

"It's not that you are ignorant. If Mr. Gu said that the road is being built, I don't know there is a cement road."

"Master Gu is really capable."

Everyone praised.After one, there will be two. They have all arrived at Bolin, and all of them have come. Naturally, they will go to Bolin Prefecture for a stroll, buy some fresh specialties, eat and drink before going back.

It is convenient and fast to walk on the road.

The people of Bolin recently specially greeted the old men from Zhaozhou City. The old men had a lot of fun watching it, and they also liked to hear them talk about road construction, how it was built, and how long it took...

I asked a lot, and the people in Bolin spread word of mouth, and I don’t know how it spread. Lord Gu has supernatural powers. At the beginning, there was no food on the mountain, and Lord Gu loved the people like a son. He blew up the mountain in anger, and then the food inside Stone, this stone is the origin of the cement road.

The merchants in Zhaozhou City were amazed when they heard it, is it true or not?

Do not believe?I don't believe that the mountain is still there. When the mountain was blown up, the surrounding villages were shaken.

What the local people said was sound, and the merchants felt that even if it wasn't [-]% or [-]%, Gu Daren had supernatural powers.

Later, when Gu Zhao found out, "..." Thank them.

From now on, you won't really fabricate myths and come up with local characteristic monster stories, will you?

The road in Bolin is well repaired. The merchants in Zhaozhou City whispered and held back their bad farts in private earlier, but now they have digested them all by themselves. way.

As for the 63 merchants who donated money in the first wave in the early days, they would sit at home happily, looking forward to the stars and the moon all day long, waiting for the road to be repaired, erecting a monument of their family’s merits and imprinting their surname on the road.

Then we have to blow up a firecracker, give out happy money, hold a banquet, and have a good time.

The small merchants who did not donate the silver would also be tempted by this, and would like to have his family's name printed on the road, but if they can't afford that much money, even if they use their family savings, they still don't know whether Mr. Gu will accept the silver or not. If you donate money, those big masters in front will definitely go ahead of them.

But the signature on this road is so exciting. After thinking about it, those small traders who thought the workers were transporting stones will still gather together and collect money in a mess. Your family is 30 taels, mine is 40 taels, and wrote a petition. .

Willing to donate to Yinchengli Road, can you sign it.

These people were afraid that Mr. Gu would look down on the few thousand taels they put together, but unexpectedly, Mr. Gu thought for a while and said, "If you have a good heart, then build a road of kindness from a hundred schools of thought."

What is it?

Gu Zhao originally wanted to change the structure of Zhaozhou City, so naturally he would not demolish it—there was not such a large amount of money, and it would take a lot of money to settle down. Now the priority is to make money, not spend money, except for necessary road construction and factory processing.

Now the roads in Zhaozhou City are messy. Gu Zhao wants to build a few main roads and main streets. In fact, the width of the roads is easy to repair. Some houses have open spaces at the door. Some are concave, and a road is drawn as a whole, which is wider. This is the main street of the residential area.

The shop streets radiating from the yamen were originally wide—it was convenient for carriages to load and unload goods and receive people. At that time, the space left was wide, and this place was also planned to be repaired and leveled. It belongs to the main commercial street and the main government office street.

For Baijiashan Road, from the north gate to the south gate, a central axis should be built as much as possible.On the main road of the central axis, a small stone tablet is erected every two or three meters, with the donors written on it, and then some surnames are printed on both sides of the roadside.

When the cement was still dry, the carpenter carved the formwork, and the workers walked on both sides, and the rubbing was done, and when it was dry, it was deeply branded on the road.

The old men who donated money to build the road last time did the same thing, but this road has too many signatures and the monument is small. Let's jointly name it, unlike the previous exclusive naming of 63 people.

Always keep something special for those who have more money.

Gu Zhao explained the matter. He and Zhou Zhou are going to Jiting. It is impossible to arrange all the sales this year. We must focus on the main ones first.

Ji Ting's glass, Ji Ting's coconut, making coconut oil, coconut soap, and desiccated coconut—the coconut is not yet ripe, but the factory is closed, and he still has to figure out how to get it out. Watch it every week.

Coconut products are okay, but Gu Zhao wants to leave the glass to Zhou Zhou.

There is only one piece of colored glaze, just like selling lo-mei in Ningping Prefecture, because the only one piece is scarce, it is definitely a good business and expensive, Gu Zhao does not believe in other merchants, these merchants are now only because they see profits in him. trust him.

If there are greater interests, maybe he will be red-eyed.

Gu Zhao wants to keep the glass business a secret first, and there are few shipments. He wants the Li family to gain a firm foothold in Zhaozhou.Only when the economic foundation is solid can he have a greater right to speak. Otherwise, he will implement the pie one by one, and the big merchants and middle-level merchants will be more firmly rooted. If he wants to do something later, will he rely on his conscience?

Gu Zhao had this idea because he was at the mercy of the superiors in Beijing.

The reason why he went to Zhaozhou instead of Zhongzhou was because someone stepped in behind him.He is time-traveling and has skills, what if he doesn't?What if the family members are not acclimatized and get sick when they arrive in Zhaozhou?

At that time, the further south Li Xia went, the more uncomfortable he became. He lost a lot of weight and took half his life.

If this matter were left on his own family, Gu Zhao could hate him to death, but what's the use of hating?Others speak lightly, no one treats him as a dish, what can he do?Nothing can be done.

Gu Zhao didn't want this to happen again. When he arrived in Zhaozhou, he hoped that the common people would live a good life, but he was not selfish. He wanted the Li family to establish itself in Zhaozhou and become a family trusted and respected by everyone. have real power.

Not to mention anything else, he is a co-prescient, and there is a prefect Chen Master above him.

... First, a batch of glass is produced, and with money, some house slaves and guards are bought.

"Then the original mansion was too small." Li Zhouzhou was not surprised when he heard what Xianggong said, he was thinking about his family.

Gu Zhao said: "When the time comes, there will be money and people, and it will be possible to buy the one next to it and renovate it. It's not urgent, it's a later story, it's just that the two of us will not be able to come down for a month, and my father said to stay in the house to see Fubao, Not going to overseer—"

"Take Fubao." Li Zhouzhou smiled, "Didn't Mr. Xiang think so long ago?"

Gu Zhaohe laughed, "Isn't it difficult for me to convince Dad, Dad loves Fubao, we both go to Jiting to work, although the road is not far, but Jiting is more south and poor, Dad definitely doesn't want Fubao It's up to Zhou Zhou to persuade Dad to go to the troubles with the two of us."

"Besides, Dad is happy to go to work as a supervisor. How boring it is to stay home and watch the children."

The most important thing is that after the two of them left, Fubao became a 'left-behind child'. Although it was only a month, Fubao was born and has always been close to him. He never said that the two fathers were not in front of him and disappeared. moon.

Gu Zhao wanted to take it there, even if he and Zhou Zhou were busy, he would take Fu Bao to the same room with him, or go out with Zhou Zhou to see the address of the factory and pick up people and things.

Li Zhouzhou told his father.

Li Da heard something - the two wanted to take Fubao to Jiting, and immediately refused.

In the end, it was Fu Bao who came here coquettishly, Fu Bao pestered grandpa, coquettishly said that he was reluctant to part with his father and father, if his father and father went far away and Fu Fu couldn't see him, Fu Fu would be too thin to eat.

Grandpa can't go to work with the old man either.

Li Da: ...

Anyway, finally agreed.

At the beginning of April, the foundations of the roads in Zhaozhou City began to be laid, and the people in the city cooperated with each other. On this day, I saw Master Gu’s family leaving the city. There were horse-drawn carriages and guards on horseback. They seemed to hear a puppy barking inside. cry.

"Master Gu, where are you going?"

"Looking in the direction, it seems to be Ji Ting."

I don't know what to do.

The one with a quick mind was Mr. Gu who went out of the city, and sent people to follow him, wanting to see what Mr. Gu was going to do again.