Chen Xizhi and a group of Hu merchants went to Shengzhou and sent Du Zhongxiao to the Shuai Mansion.

The two sides saluted, and Du Zhongxiao said: "Now is April and May, the best time of the year." The envoys and the merchants lived in Shengzhou for a few days, and then returned to Yizhou after the railway was repaired to Juyan. Otherwise, it will be difficult to trek on the road. ”

Chen Xizhi was ordered to go back to Yizhou to deal with the floating wealth left there for Chen Ximing, and it was not urgent, so he hurriedly thanked Du Zhongxiao after listening to his words.

Du Zhongxiao said: "It's late today, you will return to the post house temporarily, and I will pick up the wind for you in the house tomorrow." ”

After sending Chen Xizhi and his entourage away, Du Zhongxiao said to Fu Bi: "Looking at Chen Xizhi's appearance, he is not in a hurry to return to Yizhou, what does the deputy envoy think?" ”

Fu Bi said: "Chen Ximing stays in the capital and does not return, he must dedicate Yizhou to the imperial court and let Chen Xizhi go back to deal with chores." He wants to return to Yizhou, and Zhao Zi should send troops to accompany him. Otherwise, what if Chen Ximing's things at home are generally gone, and he stays in Yizhou? If the railway can't be repaired in Juyan, Zhao Zi will be at risk of taking the army to Yizhou, and Chen Xizhi understands this truth. He was willing to wait, and that was for the best. ”

Du Zhongxiao nodded: "That's true." From Juyan to Yizhou, a total of 15,600 miles. The railway is not in Juyan, and it is not easy for Zhao Zi's headquarters to transport grain and grass to support the westward expansion. After all, you can't wait! When the railway arrived in Juyan, Zhao Zi's army marched westward, and it was much more reasonable to transport baggage and protect the workers who built the road. ”

Fu Bi said: "Let Zhang Sheng and Zhao Zi urge the people who repair the road to be faster." The railway can be repaired to Juyan in June and July, and Zhao Zi with a large army can go to Yizhou before September, and there is still a month or two to transport the baggage. Otherwise, if the railway is repaired to Juyan, Zhao Zi can only bring two or three thousand men to Yizhou. If Gaochang attacks Yizhou in winter, it will not be easy. ”

Du Zhongxiao said with a smile: "Deputy envoy, although Gao Chang has not yet sent an envoy, I don't know his thoughts, but the possibility of attacking Yizhou is not very large." Yizhou has been separated from Gaochang's autonomy for a long time, and he has not seen any move by Gaochang, so it is impossible to send troops when the imperial court enters the west. ”

Fu Bi said: "Entering Yizhou is a big plan of the imperial court, and there must be no surprises." Gaochang's possible changes must be counted. ”

Du Zhongxiao nodded and did not speak. After these few months, Gao Chang's situation knows a little more. Since last year's defeat to Black Khan, Gaochang's situation is quite not optimistic. After losing Qiuzi, there are not many areas controlled by Gaochang State, and there are not enough manpower and material resources. In the face of the Black Khan's attack, Gaochang's defense was already struggling, and it was unlikely that he would send troops to Yizhou at this time and offend the Song Dynasty.

Of course, the distance was too far and the rescue was too late, so Du Zhongxiao did not dare to take risks. Once the westward advance encounters a setback, Zhao Zi's soldiers and horses have an accident, and the follow-up will be very troublesome. The best thing to do is to take it steady, not to take risks, and to take it one step at a time.

Wang Pu carefully stuffed the money into the pocket of his underwear, stood up, and said loudly: "Everyone will drink in my store today, everyone has a share!" ”

Cen Xiaoer on the side said: "Outside, you must have made a fortune today, so you are so generous!" ”

Wang Pu said: "How old are you, what do you know!" I have always been generous to the people in the village, how can I ever deduct it? ”

Cen Xiaoer said: "If that's the case, you just need to tell me how much money you sold today." ”

Wang Pu waved his hand again and again: "These things, what do you say!" Anyway, I can understand the salary of each of you, how can I ask someone else's background! Go and call someone, come to my store, there is fish, meat and good wine today! ”

Cen Xiaoer laughed, ran to call someone, and followed Wang Pu to his store to eat.

Wang Pu's sheep are well raised, and the wool can be sold twice a year, once in spring and once in autumn. Today a few people from the village were called to help him transport the wool to the factory and sell it all. The income is a lot, but Wang Pu calculated that raising sheep is much less than opening his own store. You still have to calculate carefully in life and business, otherwise if you are not careful, you will lose a lot of income.

A few people from the countryside happily followed Wang Pu into Shengzhou City and went to his shop.

There were many customers in the store, Wang Pu took everyone to a pavilion next to him, called the little servant over, and ordered a table of dishes. This dish was prepared early, but the price was good today, and Wang Pu quietly ordered two more plates of meat.

After a while, the wine and food came up, and Wang Pu said: "It's the first time you come to my store to eat, how about you taste it?" ”

Cen Xiaoer said: "In the store, whether it is food or wine, it is naturally good!" If only I had to come every day, that would have been the same! ”

Wang Pu said: "What kind of nonsense is this! If I open a store, will I still drive customers out? As long as you pay, you can come every day! ”

The crowd laughed.

After three rounds of drinking, Wang Pu said: "Since we moved out of the mountains a few years ago and arrived near Shengzhou, speaking of which, life is much better than before. There are cattle and sheep raised in pasture, and there is land to plant, and there are no people who are short of food last winter. I've been a leader for more than ten years, and this is the first year. Now that a factory has opened in the city, it is possible to harvest wool, which is stronger than before. Now it seems that selling wool is much more profitable than selling horses and sheep. I prepared to wait until the autumn to sell more cattle and horses, and some sheep. ”

Wang Duotian on the side said: "There are people in the family outside the staff, so it can naturally be like this." We are all small households, there is so much land, and there is no extra manpower, how can we afford to raise so many sheep? In my opinion, it is better to farm more carefully, and there is always a shortage of food. ”

Wang Pu said: "That's not necessarily the case. There is a railway here in Shengzhou, and so much grain is transported from the Central Plains every year, and the price of grain cannot rise. On the contrary, the wool business is very good, if you raise too much, it is very profitable! ”

When these words came out, some agreed, some opposed, and it was very lively for a while. They were originally a tribe that moved out of the mountains to form a new village, and now they are working alone. Divided into a family, they have their own calculations and different views. Like Wang Pu's family, he was originally the leader of the tribe, and when he arrived in the village, he divided a lot of land and had a lot of manpower in the family, so he naturally wanted to raise more sheep. Like Wang Duotian's family, he and his wife have two small children, and the land can't be planted, so where can they still have the energy to raise sheep.

Cen Xiaoer said: "I heard my father at home say that although the price of wool collected by the factory is good, it is always necessary to collect more, which is extremely inconvenient. It's better to farm with peace of mind, and do some odd jobs in the city in your spare time, and make a lot of money. Now there is money everywhere in Shengzhou, and with money in hand, everywhere you go is like a first-class person, and someone is waiting for you. If you don't have any money in your hand, alas, you'll have to be left to chance. ”

Everyone nodded yes together. After a short period of turmoil since Katsushu issued banknotes, prices have stabilized and there has been little change in a year. As time went by, people got used to the new things, and their habits slowly changed. Now the people take money very seriously. No matter what you do, ask how much money you can get first, everyone is used to it.

After a while, two more plates of meat were served, and Wang Pu said: "This is the special sauce beef in the store, which is the most delicious, try them all." Speaking of which, you don't believe it, all walks of life in the interior were forbidden to slaughter cattle, and there was no beef to eat. But our river meanders because there are many cattle and sheep, and there is no such prohibition. Many customers from the mainland, when they come to Shengzhou, come to our store to eat this beef. ”

Cen Xiaoer said: "I often work at the train station every day, and I heard from the guests who said this rule. At the station, the sauce beef sells the best. When many guests arrived, they bought a pound to eat. ”

Other people rarely go out of the village, and when they heard this, they couldn't help but feel strange, and asked the two of them how to ban the slaughter of cattle in the mainland, which was very lively for a while.

Wang Pudao: "It is said that the border land is hard, but in fact, this year, everyone's life is good. If this continues, in a few years, why not worry about a few people in the village? I heard from people in the yamen that from this autumn onwards, the government intends to establish local schools. There are state schools in the state, and there are several schools in the local area to teach some literacy and arithmetic skills. ”

Cen Xiaoer said: "Outside the staff, such a school, do you want money or not?" ”

Wang Pudao: "I heard that as long as you give a small amount of money, don't let the school lose money, anyway, the teacher's salary is issued by the government." ”

Cen Xiaoer said: "This is a good thing. It's a pity that I'm old, otherwise I could have gone to school for two years. can be literate, can read and count, can easily find things to do in the city, and the money is high. ”

Wang Pudao: "It's nothing more than teaching for two or three years, if you want to go to school, who will stop you?" ”

Cen Xiaoer laughed when he heard it: "I am old, and then I will learn literacy like a child, what kind of system will I become!" It's a pity that it's too big to catch up with this good thing. If you have a child in the future, you must teach him to read and write, it is much more convenient. ”

In the past, the children in the village could walk and run, so they helped the family to do things, and there was no leisure time all year round. At that time, schools were opened, not to mention paying tuition, they were free to enroll, and most families would not send their children there. Now that I have moved to the vicinity of the city, my life is not as busy as before, and the conditions are better in all aspects, so I want to send my children to school. It is a good thing for the government to run schools.

When this matter was mentioned, everyone talked about it, asking where the school was running, what to do, and all kinds of things. Where does Wang Pu know so much? He just listened to the mention in the yamen, and he didn't know anything about the specific affairs.

Everyone was interested, and they discussed by themselves where to run a school, what kind of teachers to invite, and what teaching materials to use.

Cen Xiaoer said: "How can you guess the thoughts of the government? In this kind of school, the students who are taught must not be admitted to the Jinshi, but those who are admitted to the Jinshi should go to the state to study. Ordinary literacy books, I have seen the kind of small booklets in shopping malls, which are extremely simple and most suitable for teaching. ”

Wang Pudao: "You are illiterate, how do you know that you are suitable for teaching?" ”

Cen Xiaoer blushed and said, "I can't read, can't I let others read to me?" That kind of booklet, the meaning is simple, it is nothing more than recognizing some common words. If you really learn it, you can't read anything, so I know that the students I teach are not going to be admitted to the Jinshi. ”

When everyone heard this, they nodded their heads, feeling that what Cen Xiaoer said made sense. For those who take the Jinshi exam, I heard that it is a theory of poetry and policy, and those who want special knowledge are not literate. This school sounds like it is going to teach most people, and I think it is different from the knowledge of the Jinshi entrance examination. It is to teach people to read and write, so that they will not be blind in the future. As for the use of literacy, I can't think of it, maybe I can enter the yamen to do things?