A knife in love

Chapter 1197

Xiao Dong shook his head and said, "Treasurer Wei, do you think I'm joking? I can give you the money right now, but you have to tell me the truth, how many days will it take for this mast to be repaired?"

Wei Erbao didn't lie.Yesterday he received Qin Laowu's deposit, and went to several lumber shops overnight to find suitable lumber for masts.It is true that two of them said that they could not find suitable wood, but the other two shops did not ask for more money, but said that it would take some effort to find suitable wood.Wei Erbao is a greedy person. Seeing Qin Laowu's anxious expression, he guessed that he must have something urgent to go to sea, so he made up his mind to hit him with a big sum of money.Therefore, he rushed to the pier early in the morning and asked Qin Laowu for money.He offered Qin Lao Wu a price of 110 taels of silver, and he had already made up his mind, thinking that even if Qin Lao Wu bargained with him, he would let him at most 20 taels of silver.As long as the transaction can be made at 90 taels of silver, he can earn at least 30 taels of silver, which is already half a year's worth of money for him.At this moment, Xiao Dong didn't even think about it, so he agreed to give himself 200 taels of silver, and the deposit of 30 taels of silver was counted as money for his own treatment, wouldn't he be making a lot of money?At this moment, Wei Erbao was afraid that Xiao Dong would regret it, so he nodded and bowed hurriedly and said, "I will fix the mast for you in half a month at most. If it can't be repaired, you can tie me to the boat and use it as a mast!"

Wei Erbao originally thought that Xiao Dong would be satisfied with his swearing.Unexpectedly, Xiao Dong frowned, and said in his mouth: "Shopkeeper Wei, can you help me to repair the mast a few days earlier?"

Wei Erbao was startled, and was about to shake his head, but seeing that Xiao Dong was slightly dissatisfied, he hurriedly and cautiously said: "You don't know something. The mast on your ship is broken in two, and it is impossible to repair it. You can only do it." A new mast. It is not difficult to make a mast, it only takes two or three days to complete. But the wood used to make the mast is not easy to find. Our Dongliao County is facing the sea in the south, and the east and west sides are There are no suitable trees in the reed pond. Although there are mountains in the north of the city, they are all stone mountains. There are not many tall trees, and the government strictly prohibits them from cutting them down. If someone is caught cutting down trees, they will be beaten with a board. Then they will be sent to the army, and they will be imprisoned for a few years in the worst case, and they will be tortured. Therefore, the timber in our Dongliao County is trafficked from other places. If it is needed urgently, the timber shop must send someone from the north gate. Go out of the city, pass Motianling, and go to the Sujiapu two hundred miles away to buy it. It will take at least eight or nine days to do it. So I told you for half a month, I'm afraid it won't work. Say less."

When Xiao Dong heard that he would have to wait half a month before he could pull the anchor and set sail, he felt anxious.It's just that looking at Wei Erbao's appearance, I don't think he is deceiving himself.After all, Dongliao County is a remote place outside the customs, and it is not uncommon to find suitable wood for a while.It's just that there are extremely important things to do on this trip to Fusang.Encountered a strange big explosion at sea, which originally delayed the trip.If it was delayed for another ten days and a half month in Dongliao County, something important would have to be missed.

Thinking of this, Xiao Dong's face was gloomy, and he turned to Zhang Shi who was standing aside and said, "Mr. Zhang, what do you say?"

Zhang Shi thought that if you asked me what to say at this time, wouldn't it be embarrassing for me?This is a natural disaster, not a man-made disaster. Even if you miss the schedule, there is nothing you can do about it.It's just that although he was quite dissatisfied with Xiao Dong in his heart, he had a respectful expression on his face, and said in his mouth: "Treasurer Wei would not lie, but we have to wait here for another ten days and a half months. I'm afraid I'll miss our business. As for how to find a way to get the best of both worlds, I haven't figured it out yet..."

Xiao Dong was furious and almost cursed.It was only because of Wei Erbao's presence that he suppressed the anger in his heart, thinking to himself that Zhang Shi is such a cunning bastard, saying this is the same as not saying it.When he was getting annoyed, Qin Laowu said on the sidelines: "If you can get a mast from another ship, it would be a good emergency solution."

When Xiao Dong heard this, his heart moved, and he hurriedly said to Qin Laowu: "You have a good idea. Let's look for it at the pier. If there is a suitable mast, we can buy it with a lot of money."

Before Qin Lao Wu could answer, Wei Erbao said with a smile: "Boss Qin's idea is good, but our Dongliao County is a remote place, and there are few boats on the sea. If you don't believe me, you can take a look at this pier, where are there any big boats? "

Everyone turned their heads to look around, and sure enough, as Wei Erbao said, five or six boats were sparsely moored at the pier, most of them were small sampans, and only one sailboat was slightly bigger, but its mast was thin and short, and it could not be used by everyone at all. on this big ship.Xiao Dong paused and said: "Why did we come to this ghost place in a daze, could it be God's will?!"

Zhang Shi looked embarrassed, he, Shopkeeper Hu, Shopkeeper Song and others flattered Xiao Dong in every possible way along the way, seeing Xiao Dong's agitation and restlessness, fearing that he would be in trouble, so they kept silent.

Seeing the appearance of the crowd, Xiao Dong was extremely annoyed, he hummed, and said: "If we get stuck here and miss a big deal, everyone will lose everything. Even if we take out 500 taels of silver right now, As long as you can get the mast, it's worth it!"

When Wei Erbao heard Xiao Dong say "500 taels of silver", his eyes lit up immediately.He said to Xiao Dong: "If you are willing to spend 500 taels of silver, this matter will be much easier to handle."

Like a drowning man catching a straw, Xiao Dong hastily said to Wei Erbao: "Business Manager Wei has an idea, just say it! As long as the big ship can be repaired, we will definitely thank you very much."

Wei Erbao was full of joy, and said with a smile: "I have an idea, but I don't know if you are willing to listen."

Before he finished speaking, Xiao Dong said repeatedly: "Please speak, please speak, let's just listen carefully!"

Wei Erbao said: "Our Dongliao County is a place of bitter cold outside the customs, and there are not many rich merchants. However, there is a Zhuangzi three or four miles away from the North City, and there are hundreds of families. Most of these families are surnamed Wang, and they are named Wangjiazhuang after Zhuangzi. The Wang family There is a big family in the village, known as Wang Yuanwai, he is most philanthropic, helping the poor, and he is the most benevolent person in Dongliao County. It is said that he started his business by selling animals and earned enough money, so he came to us He bought a large piece of land outside the city of Dongliao County and built a house. Later, he invited the clansmen who lived outside the pass to Dongliao County and lived together in one place, and this Wangjiazhuang came into being."

Everyone heard Wei Erbao's rambling talk about Wangjiazhuang, which had nothing to do with repairing the mast, and they were a little confused.Xiao Dong was very anxious, originally he thought that Wei Erbao had some good idea, but unexpectedly he said a lot of words, but he boasted about a big family surnamed Wang.Xiao Dong thought to himself, this bastard has a treacherous face, could it be that he deliberately played tricks on me? !

But Wei Erbao said: "This king is a living Bodhisattva, and he has done many good deeds such as repairing bridges and repairing roads. These days, Dongliao County is haunted by ghosts. Everyone says that it is the death row prisoners who have been sent to the Red Army. Someone invited a great god to perform rituals. The great god said that in order to settle the matter, a temple must be built near the execution ground to appease the beheaded evil spirits. Then a Taoist priest was invited to exorcise ghosts, so as to keep the East. Liao County was safe and sound. Wang Yuanwai heard about this and was willing to donate 1 taels of silver to build a temple on Motian Ridge. After the temple was completed, Zhang Tianshi was invited from Longhu Mountain in Guannei to do it. The evil spirits killed on the Motian Ridge. If there are evil spirits who refuse to reincarnate and still dare to cause trouble, after Zhang Tianshi seals them, he will do a big ritual to beat these evil spirits to pieces, and they will never be able to harm anyone again."

Wei Erbao said here, paused for a while, and continued: "At present, the construction of the temple will be undertaken by Wang Yuanwai. The old man said that this temple will be built on a grand scale, so don't worry about the silver. The steward personally went to Liaoyang Mansion to buy bricks, stones and wood, and many of them have been transported back and stored on Motian Ridge. Only after the bricks, stones and wood are ready, the construction of the temple will start..."

When Wei Erbao said this, shopkeeper Song couldn't help but said, "Treasurer Wei, what does this have to do with us whether or not this Wang builds a temple? Don't tell me you want us to donate money too?"

Wei Erbao smiled, and said, "Don't worry, everyone. Wang Yuanwai's construction of the temple has something to do with you. I heard that the timber that Wang Yuanwai bought with money is piled up like a mountain on Motianling. You may wish to think about it. Among them, how many can be used as masts?"

As soon as Wei Erbao's words fell, Xiao Dong and the others' eyes lit up.Wei Erbao went on to say: "If you want to repair the mast as soon as possible, you might as well discuss it with Yuanwai Wang. Buying wood from him is a good way."

(End of this chapter)