The ordinary days are in February of the following year, the snow and ice have melted, the wind blowing on the face has lost its chill, and the willow trees by the river have spit out new shoots.

This is a busy time in the countryside, spring ploughing, spring planting, and the plan of the year lies in spring.

Without waiting for the first month, Xu Ping returned to the village and organized the villagers to repair the fields and control the ditches and dams. Around the dam that was repaired last year, more than 500 acres of land have been opened for rice planting, which has been deeply cultivated before winter, and the ridges must be leveled at this time. The corresponding sweet sorghum planting area has decreased, and there is still a lot of silage left.

On this day, after Xu Ping assigned the work of each class, he received several staff members in the courtyard who came to pick up the farm tools bought from the village.

Li Yuncong smiled and said to Xu Ping: "Little farmer, do you still have reed seeds in your village?" I have opened a lot of wasteland in my village this year, and I want to plant a little. ”

Xu Ping looked at his black face and wanted to slap him, all the owners he dealt with were outside, and this guy was the most treacherous. What opens up a lot of wasteland? It's not that the silage making in Xu Pingzhuang has spread out, and there are a lot more Zhuangzi planting sweet sorghum this year, and the seeds are not easy to buy. Li Yuncong has always been stingy, he was reluctant to make a move when others moved, and when he saw Xu Pingzhuang at a high price, he began to sell a large number of sheep at a high price, and he made a lot of money and became red-eyed.

Xu Ping didn't want to hide these techniques, and the nearby Zhuangzi used various methods to get out of his own Zhuangke Xu Ping knew about it, and he never stopped it. Relying on the technology brought by the previous life to eat alone, what kind of climate can this bit of income become? Agricultural technology is not as good as sugar, and it will not hinder Xu Ping from making money if it is promoted.

However, Xu Ping, a small landlord like Li Yuncong who can only play clever, still looks disgusted, and said angrily: "I have a lot of places to use sorghum in my village, and I have recently added a few horses, and I can't use it myself, where is the excess to sell to you!" Let's look elsewhere! ”

Ye Tianlong, who was on the side, said excitedly to Li Yuncong: "Outside Li Yuan, I have a village!" Yidou only charges you 200 yuan, full of conscience! Do you want it? ”

Li Yuncong couldn't stop sighing: "Fat Ye, you just grab the money!" Although this is a time when there is no catch, the grain in the capital is less than 50 wen a bucket, and you dare to ask for 200 wen for sorghum that no one eats! It's still enough money! You are so black-hearted, you are not afraid that God will hit you with thunder! ”

Ye Tianlong pursed his mouth: "Do you want love!" You still hit me with thunder, God is blind to bless people like you! Seeds, I'm selling seeds, don't you understand? ”

Relatively speaking, Ye Tianlong is more atmospheric than Li Yuncong, and he has ordered the most farm tools from Xu Pingzhuang, and he is ready to do a big job in the new year, following in the footsteps of Xujiazhuang. This kind of big customer, Xu Ping looks much more pleasing to the eye, and looks at him with taste.

At this moment, Tan Bennian, the director of the restaurant in Baisha Town, ran in from outside, panting and said to Xu Ping: "Little master, Mrs. sent someone from the capital to bring a message, saying that the old master is sick, let you go to the capital immediately, 100,000 urgent, don't delay!" ”

Xu Ping was taken aback and stood up.

Daddy Xu Zheng's body has always been strong, but it is inevitable that he will get a little sick all year round, and he has never seen his mother nervous. If you use 100,000 urgent words this time, my father must be very sick.

Since Xu Ping came to this world, his small family can be said to be a father and son, and they are happy. Although my father is greedy for money, and my mother wants to love face, they all have a little problem, but they never do too much, and they are all kind-hearted ordinary people. This is an ordinary small family, and it is precisely because of the ordinariness that the preciousness of family affection is even more revealed.

Called Xu Chang over, gave a few words, and Xu Ping rode out of the village.

From Baisha through Zhongmu, all the way along the official road between the east and west of Beijing, to the capital is almost eighty miles away. Xu Ping set off in the morning and arrived at his home in the capital in the afternoon.

As soon as he entered the door, Xu Ping realized that the atmosphere was wrong. Baofu and Dou'er were listless, one squatting on the wall to decoct the medicine, and the other choosing vegetables on the side.

Seeing Xu Ping, Dou'er immediately put down the dishes in her hand and flew to Xu Zhengfang, shouting in her mouth: "Madam, the little official has arrived!" ”

Bao Fu came up to greet him, and Xu Ping asked him, "What happened at home?" ”

Without waiting for Baofu to answer, Zhang Sanniang had already come out of the house, and before she could speak, she shed tears: "My son, you are here!" Come and see your daddy-"

Xu Ping couldn't take care of Li Baofu anymore, and as Zhang Sanniang entered the house, he saw his father Xu Zheng lying on the bed, his face was yellow, his eyes were blank, and he looked directly at the roof.

Xu Ping stepped forward and asked softly, "Daddy, where are you uncomfortable?" Why did you suddenly get sick? Is it that it has been warm and cold recently, and you have a wind chill? ”

Xu Zheng turned his head to look at Xu Ping, let out a long sigh, and just shook his head.

Zhang Sanniang stepped forward and pushed her husband: "You said it!" The two of us raised our sons, didn't we just want to contribute to our parents? When are you lying in bed like this, when will you be a head? ”

Before he finished speaking, tears flowed down again.

Xu Zheng looked at Zhang Sanniang and sighed again, but still didn't speak.

Seeing that this was not a solution, Xu Ping got up and dragged his mother to the outside room, and asked her in a low voice, "What's going on?" Daddy is angry with others outside? ”

Zhang Sanniang carefully looked at the movement in the house, and then lowered her voice and said to Xu Ping: "Da Lang, do you remember that you bought 20,000 catties of sugar from our shop in the palace before the year?" ”

Xu Ping nodded: "Remember, it took me a few days to prepare the goods when I went back to the village." No, I told my dad at that time, be careful of being bullied by the palace servants and powerful people, and my father said that it was okay, but it was a serious business. Could it be that something happened to that shipment? Didn't receive the money? ”

Zhang Sanniang sighed: "I haven't seen a penny of cash!" Folding, folding, folding and only giving us a bunch of old tea, which is already rotten, and the rats don't take a bite! That's it, but it was discounted to us as a good new tea, and 20,000 catties of sugar were given away for nothing! ”

Xu Ping was stunned when he heard this: "How can there be such a thing?" ”

How could this not happen? No matter who it is, my Great Song Dynasty court will never give cash happily, even the officials' salaries, most of the time they are half given in cash, and half of them are discounted, otherwise so many goods are monopolized by the imperial court, who will they sell to? Not to mention a businessman's family. I don't know how many businesses were bankrupt by the hands of public officials when they broke their expenses, and the official business had to rely on the hard apportionment of the commercial houses.

Zhang Sanniang couldn't help wiping her tears again: "More than 10,000 yuan, Dalang, you also know your father's temperament, isn't this asking for his life?" ”

Xu Ping hurriedly comforted his mother: "Money is all foreign things, you can earn it at any time, but your body is your own, you should persuade Daddy, just think that you have never earned it, don't be angry." ”

Zhang Sanniang smiled bitterly: "When it comes to the word money, can your father be persuaded?" ”

Xu Ping was also silent. My father is good at everything, but he takes money too seriously, and he keeps every penny to death. One or two thousand of them are gone all of a sudden, which really kills him.

But what problem can lying in bed solve? It's only right to find a way to get the money back.

Xu Ping asked Zhang Sanniang: "That shop is not our family's, what does the Li family say?" ”

"What can you say? I just promised to ask someone to find a way, but I let it out, this kind of thing is too troublesome, I don't know what went wrong, and I don't guarantee that I will be able to get the money back. ”

Listening to Zhang Sanniang's words, Xu Ping also thought about it. It's easy to buy sugar in the palace, but it's troublesome to pay, and there are too many departments involved. According to the rules at this time, it is impossible to give all the money in cash, and the salaries of officials and soldiers are all found to be special orders of the emperor, not to mention the payment of merchants. But most of the time, although the expenses are broken, they will not let the merchants suffer such a big loss, and the monopoly products are useless in the hands of the imperial court. Normally speaking, it is reasonable to lose one or two percent after the discount, and the officials who have passed through the middle always have to get some benefits, and the public world of the Great Song Dynasty is not to talk about, and the officials who receive the discount are often at the loss of the officials. But if he embezzled more than 20,000 yuan of money, it was definitely not something that the officials below dared to do, not to mention that it also involved a wealthy family like the Li family.

Who would dare to do that?

Xu Ping immediately thought of Ma Jiliang. Ma Jiliang's official position at this time was to promote the treasurer in Beijing, and most of the things that were paid were from the treasury under him. The discount when making payment is not a sudden statement of how much money you have, how much I will give you, and it will often be folded and folded. For example, the person who paid at the beginning said that I will use alum to fold it for you, but there was not so much alum in the library, so it was changed to how much alum was folded and how many spices were folded, and the spice library was not given to you, and then changed to how much tea was discounted. Twisting and turning like this, some suffer losses and some make cheap, and the clearest thing is the officials who handle it, and this is also the time for them to make profits.

With such a large amount of money as one or two thousand yuan, how can you do it without the nod of a high-ranking official?

In the past, when it came to money, Xu Ping mostly endured it if he could, but not this time. It's not a matter of the amount, the Ma family is in trouble with their family, when is it the head of this one time and again? What's more, Xu Zheng's temperament, he can't ask for money back, and his illness is only afraid that it will be difficult to get better.

After thinking about it, Xu Ping said to Zhang Sanniang: "Mom, you just have to persuade Daddy, I will find a way to pay for the goods, I must get the money back, and I can't give people 20,000 catties of sugar for nothing." ”

Zhang Sanniang raised her head when she heard this: "You can't even do the identity of Taiwei Li, what can you do?" Da Lang, as the saying goes, the people don't fight with the officials, don't cause trouble. ”

Xu Ping said: "Sometimes it's not that the official university works, one thing descends one thing, and the world is leveled, where is the reason to be robbed of money in vain?" Rest assured, I'm in control. ”

"What are you going to do?"

Xu Ping actually didn't have a clue, but when his mother asked, he had to reply: "I'll go to the shop first, look at the tea that was folded to us, and then think of a way." You just have to wait at home for news. ”