Need for money

Since she came to the side hall and waited for Madam Zhang and her daughter to come in, Aunt Yu said something to sit down and eat together, she picked up the bamboo chopsticks first, and ate like no one else was there. Over the years, I have long developed the habit of eating as much as possible to ensure that my spirit can always be at its peak.

This habit is very important for martial arts masters, otherwise, if the mental state is not good due to hunger, it is easy to be attacked by the enemy.

Although Mrs. Zhang is introverted and timid, she doesn't dare to deal with Aunt Yu, but since her husband was dismissed from office and the family has no money, she seldom eats meat. She is an adult, it doesn't matter, but My daughter is still young.

So after a moment of hesitation, she responded, took her daughter's hand and sat down.

Zhang Ting is a bold one. Although she saw that Aunt Yu didn't talk much and was not easy to get close to, she immediately reached out and picked up the bamboo chopsticks in front of her, then picked up a large piece of beef and put it into her mouth.

She couldn't remember how long it had been since she had eaten beef, and she chewed vigorously, agitating her two cheeks.

A trace of embarrassment appeared on Mrs. Zhang's face when she saw this, but she didn't teach her daughter to eat more politely. She just took out the cotton handkerchief in her bosom and helped her daughter wipe off the oil and water overflowing from the corners of her mouth.

Seeing her daughter eating happily, Mrs. Zhang's face was covered with maternal love and a doting smile.

Aunt Yu sat on the side and saw that Mrs. Zhang was just serving her daughter some food, but she didn't take a bite herself. She felt a little fond of this woman, she is really a good mother.

Stretching out her right hand, she picked up a steamed bun with bamboo chopsticks, put it into the porcelain bowl in front of Mrs. Zhang, and continued to eat with her head down.

"Thank you." Seeing this, Mrs. Zhang quickly opened her mouth and thanked her again and again, but seeing that Aunt Yu didn't pay attention to her, she was a little embarrassed, then she picked up the steamed buns and ate them in small bites.

Qianlixiang is a well-known restaurant in Los Angeles, and the food made there is naturally delicious in color and fragrance. Mrs. Zhang just took a bite, and a strong meaty aroma came from the tip of the incense, so she couldn't wait to pick up the chopsticks, and hurriedly I also got a small steamed bun for my daughter.

Zhang Ting was used to being taken care of by her mother. She would eat whatever her mother gave her, and she ate a small steamed bun the size of a walnut in three or two bites.

Then he smacked his lips and said, "Xiaolongbao, mother, Tinger still wants to eat Xiaolongbao."

Mrs. Zhang told her to be quiet when she heard the words, and then took a look at Aunt Yu before picking up another bamboo chopsticks for her. Zhang Ting couldn't wait to reach out to pick it up. Yuan Bao said with a smile: "Mother, please quickly put away this silver ingot, tomorrow we will go to the doctor to see grandpa."

As soon as Xiao Zhang Ting's innocent and crisp words came out, Aunt Yu and Mrs. Zhang were startled.

Aunt Yu didn't expect that Zhang Ting would accept this little ingot because she wanted to see a doctor for her grandfather, and she felt a burst of admiration in her heart. Mrs. Zhang shook her right hand lightly, and the bamboo chopsticks and steamed buns slid down on the table, and she quickly turned her head away. , wiped away the tears overflowing from his eyes with his sleeve.

When she turned around again, her eyes were slightly red, she nodded and said: "Okay, mother put it away, tomorrow we will ask the doctor to prescribe medicine for Grandpa."

Zhang Ting stuffed the silver ingot into her mother's hand, nodded with a smile, stood up and wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes with her sleeves, then picked up the steamed bun that fell on the table and put it into her mouth , "Mother, this steamed bun is really delicious, you should eat it quickly, there are a lot of them here."

Aunt Yu stretched out her hand and patted Zhang Ting's head approvingly, and said, "Well, Mrs. Zhang, you don't have to be polite, eat more."

"Hey!" Mrs. Zhang responded, looking at her daughter, eating the steamed buns in the bowl, smiling, tears streaming down her face again.

Sitting in the hall, Lin Jingzhi was overjoyed when he saw that Zhang Jia had agreed to come down and was willing to help him. To be honest, if Zhang Jia hadn't come forward to help open up wasteland and dig canals, he would really have no idea.

There is a specialization in the art industry. Zhang Jia has been sitting in the position of managing the farm for so long, and he is determined to do something practical for the people. Over the years, he must have accumulated a lot of professional knowledge and experience in this field. In addition, there is another The commendable thing is that Zhang Jia has been working hard to open up this wasteland for the past three years, which greatly shortens the time it takes to survey the terrain, test the soil quality, plan the direction of the canal, and find a suitable place for the people to build houses in the early stage.

Speaking of time, for Lin Jingzhi, it is definitely very urgent, because once the locust plague breaks out, refugees from the north will flood into Liuzhou and Luocheng, and it will only take a few days. If there is no such person as Zhang Jia, He really didn't dare to open any wasteland or dig any canals, because he didn't have the time for preliminary research.

It is absolutely impossible for such a big matter to be launched rashly without planning a series of steps in advance.

Furthermore, once the locust plague is over, if there is no good choice, these refugees are very likely to return to their original places and continue to survive. How about continuing to dig rivers and flat fields for him?

So for Lin Jingzhi, time is very tight, which is one of the reasons why he attaches great importance to Zhang Jia.

"Mr. Zhang, I've always been quick to talk, and I don't like to be aggressive. I'll pay you 300 taels of silver when the work of opening up wasteland and digging canals is completed. What do you think?"

An ordinary family of four eats better, and the monthly expenses are only two to three hundred taels. Although Zhang Jia was an official in the past, 300 taels of silver is an astronomical figure for him.

Zhang Jia didn't know his share in the project of opening up wasteland and digging canals. Hearing this, he quickly shook his head, "It's too much, it's too much. Mr. Lin can give Zhang XX two 30 taels of silver, that's enough."

Knowing Zhang Jia's temperament, Lin Jingzhi did not immediately persuade him, but changed the subject: "Mr. Zhang, if you want to open up wasteland and dig canals, it is impossible for you to direct it alone. See if you can take your lead." When you were an official, how many assistants around you came together?"

Zhang Jia used to be in charge of farming, and there were seven or eight small officials under his command. Without the help of these people, he would not be able to do it alone. In just over three years, he investigated the preliminary work of opening up wasteland and digging canals. so carefully.

It's just that although he has resigned, those seven or eight petty officials are still eating the jobs of the government. It may be difficult for him to persuade them to resign from the position of tolerance.

"This, Zhang will do his best."

Seeing Zhang Jia's troubled face, Lin Jingzhi didn't understand why he was worried, but there was no mistake in poaching the corner of the official's house, "Mr. Zhang, I hope you will go all out in this matter, instead of Do your best, think about it, what a huge project it is to open up wasteland and dig canals. If you don't even have a few people around you who can use it well, how can it be done? Besides, they have followed you to explore the terrain, landforms, If you have a certain understanding of this project, if you can find all of them, it will be a great help."

Seeing Zhang Jia nodding repeatedly, but still frowning, Lin Jingzhi went on to say: "150 taels, tell these officials that no matter whether the matter is successful or not, when this winter is over, I will offer you 150 taels." Banknote!"

Zhang Jiahui refused to reduce Lin Jingzhi's income to himself, but the more silver taels he gave to his former subordinates, the more the better. Hearing that Lin Jingzhi was willing to give 150 taels of silver bills to himself, he immediately felt confident, so what about official posts? , Isn’t it just to earn some money to support the family?

As far as the monthly salary of the imperial court is concerned, they can't save 150 taels of silver even if they don't eat or drink for a lifetime.

"Okay!" Zhang Jia patted his thigh and replied, "Young Master Lin, I will leave this matter to Zhang!"

Lin Jingzhi smiled slightly when he heard the words, then frowned again, and reminded: "Mr. Zhang, the fact that the Lin family wants to open up wasteland and dig canals cannot be revealed for the time being, so you must be careful about finding those officials." Some, if any of these people like to drink and make mistakes, you can pick them out and put them away, and when the time comes, it’s not too late to invite them.”

Although Zhang Jia didn't understand what Lin Jingzhi was playing, seeing what he said was very cautious, he nodded in agreement. Among those few people, there were really people who liked to drink and brag.

The last time Lin Jing came here, he had seen the blueprints drawn by Zhang Jia and others, and he always felt that some parts were not satisfactory. Seeing that it was still early in the day, he suggested: "Mr. Zhang, do you have anything else to do today?" ? If not, how about we ride a fast horse now and go to the wasteland to inspect it?"

"No problem!" Zhang Jia happily agreed as soon as he put down the wine glass in his hand.

In the side hall, Aunt Yu's ears were very keen, and she heard the conversation between Lin Jingzhi and Lin Jingzhi clearly. Putting down the bamboo chopsticks, she glanced at Mrs. Zhang and Zhang Ting beside her, thoughtfully.