Xiao Dong shook his head and said, "Shopkeeper Wei, do you think I'm joking? I can give you the money now, but you have to tell me the truth, how long will it take for this mast to be repaired?"

Wei Erbao didn't lie. Yesterday, he received a deposit from Qin Lao Wu and went to several timber shops overnight to find wood suitable for masts. It is also true that two of them said that they could not find suitable wood, but the other two shops did not ask for much money, but only said that it would take some work to find suitable wood. Wei Erbao was a greedy person, seeing Qin Lao Wu's anxious expression, he guessed that he must have something urgent to go to sea, so he made up his mind to hammer a sum of money on him. He rushed to the dock early in the morning and asked Qin Lao Wu for silver. He offered Qin Lao Wu a price of one hundred and ten taels of silver, and he had already made an calculation in his heart, secretly thinking that even if Qin Lao Wu bargained with him, he would give him another twenty taels of silver at most. As long as he can sell it for ninety taels of silver, he can earn at least thirty taels of silver, which is already the silver he can earn in half a year. At this moment, Xiao Dong didn't think about it, so he promised to give himself two hundred taels of silver, and the deposit of thirty taels of silver was counted as the money for his own treatment, wouldn't he make a lot of money? At this moment, Wei Erbao was afraid that Xiao Dong would regret it, so he hurriedly nodded and said, "At most half a month, I will definitely repair the mast for you." If it can't be repaired, you can tie me to the ship and use it as a mast!"

Wei Erbao originally thought that he had sworn by a curse, and Xiao Dong would be satisfied. Unexpectedly, Xiao Dong frowned, and said, "Shopkeeper Wei, can you help and repair the mast a few days in advance?"

Wei Erbao was stunned and wanted to shake his head, but seeing that Xiao Dong was slightly dissatisfied, he hurriedly said cautiously: "You don't know something." The mast on your ship has broken in two, and it is impossible to repair it, so you can only make a new one. It is not difficult to build a mast, it only takes two or three days to complete. But the wood used to make the mast is not easy to find. Our Dongliao County is bordered by the sea in the south, and there are reed ponds on both sides of the east and west, and we can't find suitable trees. Although there are mountains outside the north of the city, they are all stone mountains, and there are not many tall trees, and the government strictly prohibits them from cutting them down without permission. If someone is caught cutting down trees, they will be beaten with a board and then confiscated into the army, or they will be locked up in a prison for several years. It is because the timber in our Dongliao County is trafficked from other places, and if it is used urgently, it must be sent by the timber shop to go out of the city from the north gate, cross the Motianling, and go to the Sujiapu two hundred miles away to buy it. It will take at least eight or nine days to get there. I've been telling you for half a month, but I'm afraid I'll say less. ”

Xiao Dong heard that it would take half a month to pull the anchor and set sail, and he was anxious. It's just that looking at Wei Erbao's appearance, he didn't think he was deceiving himself. After all, Dongliao County is a remote place outside the Guan, and it is not uncommon to not be able to raise suitable wood for a while. It's just that this time I went to Fuso, I had something very important to do. Encountering a strange explosion at sea delayed the trip. If it is delayed for another ten days and half a month in Dongliao County, it will have to miss a major event.

Thinking of this, Xiao Dong's face was gloomy, and he turned his head to Zhang Shi, who was standing on the side, and said, "Zhang Yuanwai, what do you say?"

Zhang Shi thought to himself, if you ask me what to say at this time, wouldn't it be embarrassing for me? This is a natural disaster, not a man-made disaster, and even if you miss the trip, there is no way to do it. It's just that although he was quite dissatisfied with Xiao Dong in his heart, he had a respectful look on his face, and said in his mouth: "Shopkeeper Wei doesn't want to lie, but if we want to wait here for another ten days and half a month, I'm afraid that we will miss our affairs." As for how to find the best of both worlds, I haven't figured it out yet......"

Xiao Dong was furious and almost scolded. It was only because of Wei Erbao's presence that he couldn't hold back the anger in his heart, secretly thinking that Zhang Shi, a bastard, was really a slippery head, and what he said was the same as if he didn't say it. When he was annoyed, Qin Lao Wu said on the side: "If you can get a mast from other ships, it will be a good way to deal with emergencies." ”

When Xiao Dong heard this, his heart moved, and he hurriedly said to Qin Lao Wu: "Your method is good. Let's look at the docks, and if there is a suitable mast, we can buy it for a lot of money. ”

Before Qin Lao Wu could answer, Wei Erbao said with a smile: "Boss Qin's idea is good, but our Dongliao County is a remote place, and there are few ships on the sea. If you don't believe me, you can look at this dock, where are the big ships?"

Everyone turned their heads to look around, and sure enough, as Wei Erbao said, there were five or six boats moored on the dock, most of them were small sampans, and only one sailboat was slightly larger, but the mast was thin and short, and it could not be used on the big boat that everyone was on. Xiao Dong paused and said, "Why did we get to this ghost place in a daze, is it the will of God?!"

Zhang Shi looked embarrassed, he and Shopkeeper Hu, Shopkeeper Song and others greeted Xiao Dong in every way along the way, and at this time, seeing Xiao Dong manic, for fear of touching his moldy head, he was silent one by one. doll

Xiao Dong was extremely angry when he saw everyone's appearance, he snorted, and said: "If we fall here and miss a big event, you can only lose all your money." Right now, even if you take out five hundred taels of silver, as long as you can get a mast, it's worth it!"

Wei Erbao heard Xiao Dong say "five hundred taels of silver", and his eyes lit up. He said to Xiao Dong: "If you are willing to spend five hundred taels of silver, this matter will be much easier." ”

Xiao Dong grabbed a straw like a drowning man, and hurriedly said to Wei Erbao: "Shopkeeper Wei has an idea, just say it! As long as the big ship can be repaired, we will definitely thank you." ”

Wei Erbao's face was full of joy, and he said with a smile: "I have an idea, but I don't know if you are willing to hear it." ”

Before he finished speaking, Xiao Dong said in a loud voice: "Please speak, please speak, let's listen to it!"

Wei Erbao said: "Our Dongliao County is a bitter cold place outside the Guan, and there are no rich businessmen. However, there is a Zhuangzi three or four miles away from the north city, and there are 100 households. Most of these families are surnamed Wang, and they are named after Zhuangzi Wangjiazhuang. There is a big family in Wangjiazhuang, known as Wang Yuanwai, who is the most anxious for justice and righteousness, helping the poor and helping the poor, and is the first good person in our Dongliao County. I heard that he started by selling livestock and made enough money, so he bought a large piece of land outside our Dongliao County and built a house. Later, he invited the clansmen who lived outside the gate to Dongliao County and lived in one place, so that there was this Wangjiazhuang. ”

Everyone listened to Wei Erbao's rambling talk about Wangjiazhuang, which had nothing to do with repairing the mast, and they were a little confused. Xiao Dong was anxious, originally thought that Wei Erbao had some good ideas, but he didn't expect him to say a lot of words, but he was boasting about a big family surnamed Wang. Xiao Dong thought to himself, this bastard has a treacherous face, could it be that he deliberately tricked me?!

But I heard Wei Erbao say: "This king is a living bodhisattva in this world, and I don't know how many good deeds such as building bridges and repairing roads." During these days, Dongliao County was haunted, and everyone said that it was those death row prisoners who had a red errand. Someone invited a great god to do the work. The great god said that if he wanted to end the matter, he had to build a temple near the left side of the dharma field to appease the evil spirits who had been killed. Then ask the Taoist priest to exorcise ghosts, so as to ensure the safety of Dongliao County. When Wang Yuanwai heard about this, he was willing to donate 10,000 taels of silver to build a temple on the Demon Sky Ridge. After the temple was completed, Zhang Tianshi was invited from Longhu Mountain in the Guannei to do it, and the evil ghost who was killed on the Sky Ridge was killed. If there are evil ghosts who refuse to be reincarnated and still dare to do so, after Zhang Tianshi seals them, he will do a great ritual to beat these evil ghosts to the point that they will no longer be able to harm people. ”

Wei Erbao said this, paused slightly, and then said: "At present, the construction of the temple will be undertaken by the king. The old man said that this temple should be built on a grand scale, and there is no need to worry about the silver. I heard that the housekeeper of the palace personally went to Liaoyang Mansion to purchase bricks, stones and wood, and many of them have been transported back and stored on the Demon Heaven Ridge. After the masonry and wood are ready, the construction of the temple will begin......"

When Wei Erbao said this, Shopkeeper Song couldn't help but speak: "Shopkeeper Wei, if this surnamed Wang doesn't build a temple, what does it have to do with us?

Wei Erbao smiled and said, "Don't worry, everyone. The temple built by Wang Yuanwai is really related to you. I heard that the timber that Wang Yuanwai spent money to buy was piled up on the Sky Ridge. Think about it, among all the wood, how many of them can be used as masts?"

Wei Erbao's voice fell, and Xiao Dong and the others were all bright. Wei Erbao continued: "If you want to repair the mast as soon as possible, you might as well discuss with Wang Yuanwai, and it is a good idea to buy wood from him." ”