Late Qing Dynasty Executioner

Chapter 8 Caobang
Zhang San took the lotus leaf bag and went back home first. After all, it was inconvenient to carry such a big bag on him, and it would be a big trouble if he lost it.

If the items cannot be sold, they can be returned to Chen Gu. If they are lost, I am afraid I will have to pay for them. This is one or two taels of silver. A farmhand working for a landlord only earns one or two taels of silver in a month.

One tael of silver sounds like a lot, it can buy 100 kilograms of rice, but the farmhand has to eat by himself, and if it is just food, it would be fine, but he also has to pay taxes and have clothes to wear. If he also has to support his wife, children and parents, then it will be difficult to make a living.

Zhang San is the third son in the family. He has two older brothers, an older sister who is already married, and a younger sister who is still young.

With such a ranking and the situation of siblings, although he could not get much of the family property, he did not have to bear the major responsibility of supporting his parents. In addition, his parents were only in their early forties and could still work and earn money. Therefore, although he lived in poverty, he had the capital to live a carefree life.

Generally speaking, you can have a meal even if you don't have a proper job.

So Zhang San joined the canal transport gang at the dock and made a living. In fact, this was still a righteous path. He could just hang around like this for now. If there was extra work at the dock, he could earn some money. If there was a vacancy in the future, he could officially take over.

It's just that it's not easy to have a shortage. After all, in this era, every family has many children, and all walks of life are generally passed down from father to son. Zhang San's father is not in the canal transportation business, so it is difficult for him to fill the vacancy.

Of course, this is more or less an opportunity, what if there is a shortage?
Or accomplished something great.

After Zhang San returned home and hid the lotus leaf bags, he thought about it and took out another dry lotus leaf to wrap some more. He also put a little in his mouth to try it.

Wang Wu is the middle-aged man whose chest was stabbed by Chen the Assassin with a bamboo pole. Although he was stabbed by Chen the Assassin with a bamboo pole that day, the stick only penetrated one centimeter into the flesh, and the injury was not serious. After seeing a doctor and resting for a few days, he was able to go back to work.

"Zhang San, you guys go to the vegetable market and pick up some vegetable leaves." Wang Wu walked over and shouted to them.

There is a water transport mission today. The Cao family's brown sugar needs to be shipped out, but the work is not much, and the formal members of the water transport gang are enough. Peripheral members like Zhang San can only watch enviously from the sidelines.

So Zhang San packed some more seasoning on himself and went out to the dock, mainly to see if there was any work to do that day.

The umami taste is so deep that I will never forget it. Although the two tastes are not exactly the same, they are very similar.

When Chen Kui was making it, he added a little salt in order to increase the weight and to make the taste of the MSG itself stand up to the test of others.

If you are lucky and meet an important person visiting Jiangjin County, you may be able to earn some tips by helping to carry their luggage, so people will come here to hang out when they have nothing to do, and it is lively with people bragging and gambling together.

That day, Zhang San took Wang Wu to see a doctor and spent twenty cents. He used the remaining eighty cents to buy wine and meat for Wang Wu. Wang Wu took him into the Cao Gang because he was a picky person. Although he was only a peripheral member, not everyone could join. Wang Wu was a backbone of the Cao Gang, so he had a quota for peripheral members.

As soon as the MSG stuck to his tongue, a salty and fresh taste spread in his mouth. Zhang San's eyes lit up involuntarily. It was really delicious!
Where did Chen Gu get this thing?
Zhang San looked at the lotus leaf bags with eager eyes, and he began to believe that a pound of this seasoning could be worth one or two taels of silver, because he had only tasted this delicious flavor once when he drank old hen soup during the Chinese New Year two years ago.

There is not work at the dock every day, but the people who transport the grain need to come here every day, because in addition to the regular and quantitative grain that needs to be transported, there are also materials from the gentry and wealthy families that need to be transported from time to time. Although these jobs are sporadic, they are additional income.

If this seasoning can produce the flavor of old hen soup, it is indeed worth the money.

Several peripheral members hid in the corner to avoid the cold, but their eyes were fixed on the Yangtze River. What they hoped most at this moment was that a merchant ship from outside would suddenly appear, so that they would have work to do.

If Wang Wu has an accident in the future and there are no adult children in the family, then Zhang San can take the place left by Wang Wu and become a formal member of the Cao Gang. If someone else has an accident, Wang Wu can also help Zhang San.

This is actually equivalent to the relationship between master and apprentice, so Wang Wu came over and called out to them casually.

This is actually a good thing. After they come back from picking up leaves at the market, they will help with cooking. Of course, they can also eat when the meal is ready. People in this era still eat two meals a day, but carrying is definitely a heavy physical job, so they must add a meal in between.

The coolies didn't have much to eat, so all the staple foods were brought from home in a certain amount. As for vegetables, each person brought some. They took whatever they had, and if it wasn't enough, they would go to the vegetable market to pick up some rotten vegetable leaves.

There were not many vegetables at the beginning of the year, so Zhang San and a few other peripheral members went to the vegetable market to pick up some rotten vegetable leaves. After sorting them out, they mixed them with the cabbage and radishes brought by Wang Wu and others and cooked them into a pot.

The biggest reward is a pound of fat meat given by the gang leader. The gang leader does not have to do physical work. He is responsible for liaison work, mainly bargaining with government offices and gentry, and there will naturally be some benefits.

After making some money, they naturally have to give back to the gang members, such as giving them some meat as an extra meal at noon, giving them some gifts during the New Year and other festivals, and lending a hand when a gang member's family is in trouble.

As for the extent to which it can be achieved, it depends on the personal character of the gang leader.

If you do well, everyone will naturally support you; if you do not do well, your brothers will become alienated from you.

The leader of the Cao Gang in Jiangjin County was named Wang Jian. He was not very tall, only about 1.6 meters tall, but he was very strong. He came over carrying a pound of fat meat and threw it on the chopping board with a smile on his face.

"The boss is so generous!" Zhang San complimented.

In this era, fat meat is much more expensive than lean meat, and even more expensive than pork belly.

Zhang San said that the gang leader was generous, but he was actually complaining in his heart that Wang Jian must have made a lot of money from this brown sugar transfer, after all, he usually brought in cheap things like pig's feet, ribs, and beef tripe.

Since I brought a big piece of fat meat today, I am sure I have deducted money from my brothers.

The fat meat was cut into large slices, then cut into long strips and thrown into the pot to cook with cabbage and radish. When it was almost time to serve, Zhang San added some MSG.

"What did you add in it?" Wang Jian asked with a frown.

"I brought these seasonings from home!" Zhang San replied.

"Really?" Wang Jian couldn't help but raise his eyebrows and said, "Then scoop a bowl of soup and drink it first."

Zhang San was stunned for a moment, then he understood what Wang Jian meant, so he quickly took a spoon and scooped a bowl of soup.

Although he was nervous, Zhang San did not forget to take advantage and scooped up most of the oil and water from the noodles.

The gang leader and several other peripheral members were extremely upset by this.

Wang Jian pulled the corner of his mouth hard. Usually, this first bowl of soup was exclusive to him. His muscular body was built by relying on this first bowl of soup.

However, Wang Jian breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Zhang San finished the soup.

(End of this chapter)