"Wow, that's beautiful!" On the bank of the Bianhe River, a child watched the fireworks in the inspection village not far away, clapped his hands and shouted.

His parents sat on the sidelines, watching the fireworks in the sky, and they were distracted together.

When the fireworks gradually went out from the bright night sky, the middle-aged man sighed: "In the past few years, I have sometimes seen fireworks in the capital. It's just that although the fireworks there are lively, they are not as beautiful as tonight. ”

The woman beside him only smiled softly and did not speak.

This family was originally from Sizhou, and a few years ago, they recruited boatmen on the Bianhe River, and since then they have been drifting on the river. Look at the winter is about to begin, according to the practice of previous years, it is about to enter the time of winter. For a few months, they only relied on odd jobs in the capital to make a living, which was very difficult for the people on these ships. Especially this summer, the child's mother had an illness, and her savings were exhausted, and the winter was even more sad. On the boat, I heard that Yongcheng County was recruiting people here, and Shi Qiang, the head of the family, made up his mind and came here early to prepare for recruitment.

The family was on the bank of the Bianhe River, watching the fireworks in the inspection village, waiting for dawn.

Early in the morning of the second day, after asking about the way, Shi Qiang took his family to the dock next to the inspection village, and saw the list of recruits next to the tea shop from a distance.

After begging for hot tea at the tea shop, the family waited slowly. After a short time, I saw two men yawning, went to the tea shop, took the table stored here and moved it outside, spread out the paper and pen, and sat under the list.

Shi Qiang hurriedly stood up and arched his hand in front of the duke: "Xiaomin Shi Qiang, dare to ask my brother if he is recruiting people here?" ”

The public looked up at Shi Qiang, pointed to the list behind him and said, "It's clearly written here, it's not that you can't read." -- The state unveiled the list to reclaim wasteland in this area. As long as the net worth is innocent, you can apply, and the official will give you grain and rice. ”

Shi Qiang smiled embarrassedly: "The little one went to school for two years when he was young, and he recognized a few words randomly. I'm afraid that it will be unfortunate and full of people. ”

A public man laughed and said, "Now that the river has not frozen, how many people will apply before the winter." Since they are literate, they are no more than ordinary people, and according to the rules set by their work, they can pay more grain and rice. ”

Shi Qiang was overjoyed when he heard this: "Is there still this rule?" It was a real surprise. ”

At the moment, he registered his place of origin, and the public said: "Since you are boating on the river, you can find someone you know and have a document as a guarantee." If there is no guarantor, you have to stay in the shed that has been temporarily erected over there for a few more days, and when there are more people coming, you can only count after mutual insurance. ”

Shi Qiang agreed again and again, said goodbye to the two, and went to the dock to find an acquaintance to be his guarantor. He has been on the river for many years, and he has many acquaintances, including the boat that brought him into Beijing, the generals who escorted the boat, and many people who knew him.

When he arrived at the dock, he saw a general who was escorting a boat in his hometown, Shi Qiang said loudly: "Brother Su family, if you have trouble, you will be in trouble." ”

After talking about what he encountered, Shi Qiang took out ten copper coins and stuffed them into the hands of the general Su Yineng: "Brother take it to eat and drink." ”

Su Yineng said: "How embarrassing is this? Fellow countrymen, what is it worth doing small things! ”

As he spoke, he went ashore with Shi Qiang. The two walked on the road, Shi Qiang asked, "Look at it, it's going to be winter, why is my brother still resting here?" Even if the schedule is generous, once the river is closed and the winter is released, won't you be able to return to your hometown? ”

Su Yineng said: "I won't return to my hometown this winter, I will transport rice and stay in the capital for a few months." Wait until the beginning of spring next year, transport some goods from the capital and make some money indiscriminately. Did you see the smoke last night? There are a lot of inspection systems here, and we are asked to transport them to the capital to stay here for two more days. ”

"It turns out that fireworks are also made here." Shi Qiang said as he went to the tea shop with Su Yicheng.

After completing all the formalities, a local archer took Shi Qiang's family to a row of temporarily erected sheds on the edge of the inspection village, and said to them: "You guys settle here for the time being, and someone will come to take you to build a house these days." Every day, people come to eat, and you don't have to worry about eating and living. ”

Shi Qiang looked left and right, and said, "Okay, okay, it's better than living on a boat." ”

At this moment, Du Zhongxiao brought Jin Shu to summon a few people to come over to check. Looking at the newly built shed, Du Zhongxiao said: "The new shed is built, and it is inevitable that the humidity will be heavy at night, so prepare more charcoal for baking at night." Otherwise, it won't be good if the people who have cultivated the fields get sick first. ”

Jin Shuzhao was a little embarrassed: "Official, the trees in this area are scarce, and firewood is not cheap. We don't have much money and food in our hands, and the officials have to recruit more people, so we can only save everywhere. Otherwise, I'm afraid that there will be no rice in the pot by then. ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "There are many places around that produce charcoal, you can buy it and transport it along the river." The most difficult thing about opening the field is not how many people are recruited to pile up here, but to let the people who come eat well and live well, and work happily. Don't worry about running out of money, you can ship fireworks and firecrackers to the capital in these two days, and you will have money back after selling them. This is a long-term deal, enough to support us to open the field. ”

Jin Shuzhao agreed, with a look of embarrassment on his face. Although the state supports Du Zhongxiao's cultivation of fields, the local government always lacks funds, and it is not easy to move the money and rice from Yongcheng this year. How many people can this money support? You can only save everywhere.

Seeing Shi Qiang's family looking left and right in front of him, Du Zhongxiao stepped forward and asked, "Is your family new?" I've been here almost every day, and I haven't seen you before. ”

Shi Qiang recognized the official uniform and hurriedly saluted: "I've seen the official." Xiao Yuan ran a boat on the Bianhe River, and only arrived here this morning. ”

Du Zhongxiao nodded, saw the two soldiers over there carrying the meal, and said to Shi Qiang: "You guys go to eat." This one is Jin Kongmu, if there is anything, you can go to him. As long as you work hard, you will not be able to treat you badly. ”

Shi Qiang thanked him and took his wife and children over to receive the meal. Seeing that it was two steamed buns, a piece of pickles, and a big bowl of porridge per person, I was very satisfied.

After looking around, Du Zhongxiao said: "There are only a dozen families now, and it can't be a problem." You should post the articles widely, especially at the ferry terminals, so that everyone knows about them. There are tens of thousands of families who run boats on the Bianhe River all year round, and they have no food and clothing in winter, and there are always people who are willing to come to us to work and beg for food regardless of their hard work. Don't worry about the money, our pyrotechnic workshop is big, and the money will come in. ”

Jin Shuzhao reluctantly agreed, still worried about money and food. In his eyes, Du Zhongxiao is young after all, and he has never done anything in the world, and he doesn't know how to do things lightly. Recruit people, once the money and food are at the bottom, there is no food to eat, and you don't know how to clean up when something happens.

Du Zhongxiao didn't care, as early as a few days ago, when he was making fireworks, he sent someone to bring samples to Tokyo, and he had already found a dealer. At this time, it is obvious that the benefits of the meeting and the tooth people come, and the business of the government, they are all cautious. In this era, the formula of gunpowder was quite imprecise and there were few large fireworks, and although there were fireworks in the city of Tokyo, they could not bloom in the air and had no color, which was quite primitive. According to the principle of flame color reaction learned in his previous life, Du Zhongxiao added various substances to it, which was gorgeous and colorful, and several tooth people had already promised to pay when they saw the goods.

After checking everything, Du Zhongxiao stood in front of the shed, looking at Zhuangzi who had nowhere to go, with a serious face. Not only did he use outsiders to cultivate the land, but he also used the people he brought over from his own state and town, that is, he wanted to use these people to break through the social pattern in this area.