271-280

Chapter 271

The shop was so lively that it was unimaginable. Originally, Lin Zhen thought that there were too many girls and boys who came to work in the shop. But just as Yan Canghai and others came in, groups of traveling merchants came in one after another. From what they said, some had heard of the name of Yurong powder and other goods in Kyoto, and some were called by good friends.

There were at least two or three girls or boys standing in front of the door of a guide.

And gradually, some people who knew that his shop was opening today and had done business with him came in to give gifts and look around.

"Boss Lin, good luck and good luck, business is booming." This was one of the people who supplied him with rice, Shopkeeper Ma.

Lin Zhen asked Niu Da to accept the gift from Shopkeeper Ma: "Thank you for troubling Shopkeeper Ma's wife to make this trip."

"No trouble, no trouble, it's not a trouble." Shopkeeper Ma knew that the goods of Lin's Water Powder Shop were sold outside, but he was still a little surprised to see the grand occasion in the shop.

Moreover, he had sharp eyes and could tell that those people were not ordinary people in the prefecture, but people who had some business. They were standing in front of the counter, nodding from time to time.

There was also a man with a full beard, who rubbed a piece of white stuff in his hands, rubbed it into foam and applied it on his face.

"Good stuff!" The bearded man said loudly to the people next to him, like thunder, "I can sell this thing for 20,000 yuan, not to mention 10,000 yuan!"

"Come over, let me try it too!" Another person squeezed the bearded man who had already washed his face over and tried the thing himself.

Lin Zhen saw that the wife of the shopkeeper Ma looked at the soap for a few more times, waved to the waiter to come up, and said, "Madam Ma, why don't you go to the second floor to take a look? The rouge and powder of our Lin's Water Powder Shop are very popular in Kyoto. No one who has used it doesn't say it's good. You can go to the second floor and let our shop staff try your makeup on you."

In fact, when Madam Ma came in, she found that the girls and boys here looked good, but because she was a woman, she didn't say much.

After hearing what Lin Zhen said, she looked at Shopkeeper Ma.

Shopkeeper Ma brought her here because Lin Zhen was a husband and was easier to talk to. Since Lin Zhen had invited her so warmly, he would not refuse: "Go ahead. You can also take some with you when we leave later. Boss Lin's goods are all good." Madam Ma

smiled and followed the waiter up the stairs to the second floor.

The second floor was also paved with tiles, and the lotus lamps and lanterns on the walls on the first floor were used. There were also waiters shaking ice jars in the middle to blow cool breeze to the room.

Moreover, Lin Zhen thought that the husband and the lady would wait for their family here, and it would be inconvenient to go down and mix with those people, so he specially ordered several sets of tables and sofas.

Madam Ma felt that everything in front of her was something she had never seen before. Why was the window changed to such a big size, with two layers of gauze hanging, gently fluttering in the wind.

The chairs that looked strange but should be very comfortable were placed with things that did not look like pillows, but were similar to pillows.

And the floor was so bright that people could not bear to step on it.

Chunniang and the others who had just received the two girls were inevitably anxious when they heard the excitement below, fearing that Lin Zhen's stall would be ruined. When they saw Madam Ma coming up, Chunniang and a boy came to greet her: "Madam, it's Chunniang, please sit here."

The two girls had already finished their makeup, and now they were holding the bronze mirror in their hands, touching their faces in disbelief.

Chunniang led Madam Ma to sit on the comfortable sofa, and was not in a hurry to let Madam Ma experience makeup. Instead, she looked at the makeup on Madam Ma's face and said: "Madam Ma is using the water-glossy powder that many people used in Kyoto last year. I have also handled some of this before. It is really very good. It doesn't look too white, not like the ones used in operas."

She was still patient, but Madam Ma's eyes had already fallen on the two girls and boys who had finished their makeup and were pulling them to put on makeup for them. She was asking what the prices were and immediately bought several sets.

She said in a somewhat introverted way: "Chun Niang, what products does Lin's Water-Powder Shop have? Show them to me."

Seeing her like this, Chun Niang said directly: "I will take Madam to try them out directly. There is a saying that goes, it is better to see them in person than to talk about them in a fancy way."

"Yes, that's the truth." Madam Ma smiled and couldn't help but look at the two girls who had put on their makeup.

Not only these two girls, but also the people who helped put on makeup on the second floor, how could their skin be so smooth and clear, and look so natural, unlike the water-glossy powder on her face, which was a little too white and looked a little gray.

Madam Ma was taken to the place where she washed her face by Chun Niang, and she opened a thin piece of soap, wet it and rubbed it into foam.

Before Chunniang introduced it, the two girls who had tried it first said, "Madam, that's soap. It not only smells good, but also leaves your face fragrant and smooth after washing it."

Chunniang couldn't help but smile knowingly, "Madam Lu is right. This soap contains the unique formula of Lin's Water Powder Shop. It not only washes your face very clean, but also has a moisturizing effect."

"We are using a trial product now. If you like it, you can take the full-size one back. It's slightly thicker and bigger than this one, and it can be used for a long time."

As she spoke, Madam Ma's face was already washed clean. Madam Ma was pleasantly surprised to find that this thing called soap not only had a lot of bubbles, but was also very convenient to wash. It was clean after a few rinses.

She couldn't help but say, "I'll take two pieces of this soap back later."

Chunniang wiped the water off her face carefully with a soft towel and nodded, "I've made a note of it. I'll ask someone to wrap it for you later." Chunniang

had already memorized the steps of putting on makeup. For today, she also practiced diligently at night.

This was the thing she had done most attentively and made her happiest. She even felt the joy she had when she was in the boudoir and sneaked out to play with her friends.

Flower dew, jade powder, lipstick, and eyebrows trimmed into beautiful willow-shaped eyebrows.

Chunniang patted the last thin layer of white jade powder on Madam Ma's face and stepped back: "Madam, take a look."

Madam Ma opened her eyes and looked at herself in the dim bronze mirror. She reached out and touched her face, a little unbelievable.

The woman in the bronze mirror looked more than ten years younger. Her whole face seemed to have a good complexion from the inside, white, smooth and shiny.

"This is really amazing," Madam Ma looked left and right, and there was nothing she was dissatisfied with. "Give me two copies of this jade powder, flower dew, lipstick."

"And don't forget the soap just now!"

The first to come were the traveling merchants, who would not bring people with them. Gradually, there were more and more customers like Shopkeeper Ma.

They all thought that Lin Zhen was a husband, and it would be better to bring his wife and husband, so the number of guests on the second floor gradually increased.

Like Madam Ma and the two wives before, they were all impressed by everything sold at Lin's Water Powder Shop, and the lowest price they asked for was two servings.

As time passed, the crowd was filled with people from the prefecture who were attracted by the excitement.

Lin Zhen glanced at the people on the first and second floors, and said to the waiter behind him: "Tell the people in the backyard to pay attention to the ice and replace it with new ice if it melts."

"Also check the cold drinks I asked them to prepare. It's hot, so it's more comfortable to eat something to cool off."

The waiter in yellow clothes kept the matter in mind and turned to the backyard.

The front was busy, and the back was also busy. Many guests bought a lot of things to take away after seeing them. Jade powder, flower dew, lipstick, soap, soap, vanishing cream and other things were constantly taken to the front.

There is also a separate area for making tea, but Lin Zhen just asked someone to make some iced cold drinks for the guests to choose from.

Suddenly, Lin Zhen was about to go to the second floor to take a look. The lively shop fell into silence. He looked back and saw Gu Lin, who was wearing a black silk robe and a jade hairpin, walked in. Behind him were Guan Peng Gao Tong and Jiang Jing and their wives.

Recently, they have been busy. Many people in the state have seen them riding in and out on horseback and recognized them at a glance.

"I greet you, sir." "

I greet you, sir."

"..."

"Well, no need to be polite," Gu Lin walked up to Lin Zhen and handed him the small box in his hand, "Uncle Lin."

Lin Zhen knew that he was busy with the border defense line of Lizhou recently, and he was happy to see him take the time to come.

He took the box from his hand and opened it on the spot. He saw that there was a jade carving inside that was not of the highest quality, but very spiritual.

There was a sculpture of a God of Wealth with his feet on a treasure bowl and holding a gold ingot. No matter how Lin Zhen looked at it, he felt that the God of Wealth looked a bit like himself.

Lin Zhen took the small God of Wealth, which was only the size of two fingers, in his hand, glanced at Gu Lin, and personally led him and his friends Gao Tong, Jiang Jing and others to the reception area: "You sit here for a while." "

Madam Gao, Madam Jiang, there are many other ladies and husbands gathered on the second floor. Why don't you go and take a look, so as not to accompany them here and stare at each other."

The three ladies lived in seclusion and it was the first time they met Lin Zhen.

But they had heard Lin Zhen's name several times from their husbands, and knew that he was the uncle of the prefect, and he also ran a workshop. Now this very wonderful and imposing shop was also built by him, and they were very curious about him.

After hearing what he said, she glanced at her husband's face and said yes.

Lin Zhen ordered the waiter behind her to take them to the second floor.

Guan Peng, Gao Tong, and Jiang Jing, who stayed behind, looked at the shop and looked at Lin Zhen with different eyes.

The three of them actually hadn't thought about coming together, let alone bumping into Gu Lin, but it was a coincidence that the four of them gathered together when they walked to the door, and there was no place to hide. The

people in the shop looked at Gu Lin and Guan Peng quietly, not daring to speak loudly, until a long time later, they were immersed in the bustle again.

Customers came in waves, and slowly, most of them were girls and boys who heard about it from acquaintances and rushed to try on makeup, buy jade powder flower dew lipstick, soap and vanishing cream, etc.

When night fell, the last customer walked out of the shop with his things in his hands. Lin Zhen breathed a sigh of relief, looked at Gu Lin who was still here, and took out the small jade carving from his sleeve: "It has contributed to the smoothness of today."

Gu Lin, who had been sitting in the reception area for an afternoon, knew how prosperous his shop was today and how much money he made.

He said, "It was carved according to Uncle Lin's style. It looks good."

Lin Zhen was a little skeptical when he first got it. Now that he heard him say it himself, Lin Zhen held the jade carving in front of him and felt that Gu Lin's filter for him was really thick.

He walked back and took advantage of Gu Lin's wide sleeves to pull his hand: "We will all go to the restaurant to have a meal and a celebration banquet later. You should go too."

In the fleeting handshake, Lin Zhen felt that his body temperature was a little high, which did not match his solemn expression at all.

He put the small jade carving into his sleeve and heard Gu Lin agree.

"Okay."

Lin Zhen told the people in the shop a few days ago that they would get together for dinner tonight. Although they were busy all day, they were still full of energy and quickly packed up the things in the shop, cleaned it up, and wiped the tiles on the lower half of the wall and the tiles on the ground with rags. They walked out of the shop one by one.

Lin Zhen asked Niu Da to lock the door of the shop, and waved his hand and said, "Take two people to go to the No. 1 and No. 2 courtyards to call all the people, and go to Juxianju!"

"Tonight's food and drinks are not fixed, you can leave when you are full and satisfied!"

"By the way, there are also your wages. I have asked people to carry them to Juxianju first, and we will have dinner while paying wages later."

The brothers and women thought this life was so beautiful that Xiaoxi, who was very brave, rushed over and wanted to hug Lin Zhen. However, when he approached Lin Zhen, his body was pulled by something and spun around. He was confused and thought he was trapped by a ghost.

Others who were not so brave cheered.

Chapter 272

Soon, all the people from Lin's Watercolor Shop arrived at the entrance of Juxianju. The shopkeeper of Juxianju was waiting outside with his people. When he saw Lin Zhen and his people coming, he came over with his robe in his hand, "Boss Lin, it is our blessing that you can choose our Juxianju."

Suddenly, he saw Gu Lin, who was standing next to Lin Zhen, wearing a black Luo robe and standing tall. His heart trembled and he quickly bowed to salute.

Lin Zhen glanced at Gu Lin and said, "There are only my relatives here, no prefect, shopkeeper, don't be restrained."

"Hurry up and ask someone to bring all the wine and food."

"Yes, yes, the wine and food have been prepared long ago, just waiting for Boss Lin to bring people to put them in the pot." Juxianju's business is pretty good on weekdays, because it is a mid-range route, and people with poorer conditions can occasionally come in to eat a few meals.

But if you have money, you are a fool not to make money. Niu Dayi, who was sent by Lin Zhen, said that he wanted to order ten tables of food, and the shopkeeper agreed.

The shopkeeper led Lin Zhen and the others in, "Boss Lin, there are five tables on the first floor and five on the second floor. I'll take you and Lord Gu upstairs."

"No need," Lin Zhen looked around and said, "Shopkeeper, have someone move the tables upstairs down and put them all on the first floor. It doesn't matter if they're a little crowded, it'll be lively."

"This..." It was indeed a bit crowded with all ten tables on the first floor.

But the shopkeeper did what the customers said, and ordered the people behind him: "Go and move all the tables down."

The men from Lin's Water-Powder Shop who came with Lin Zhen saw that there were only two waiters behind the shopkeeper of Juxianju, and they all volunteered: "Boss, let's go with them to move the tables, it will be done in a moment."

"Go," Lin Zhen said, and then he looked at the women and men as they went up the stairs, "You find a table to sit down first, eight people sit at a table."

The women and men still had to avoid the men and consciously sat aside. Most of them had never been to a restaurant before, and they looked around curiously with the corner of their eyes, and whispered to their friends next to them.

The men who went upstairs to move the tables also came down, and when they placed the tables, they were one meter away from the women and men, and sat together a little crowded. They

had just sat down when the shopkeeper brought the waiters to bring the dishes up, one soup and nine dishes, which meant perfection.

There were two pots of wine on the table for the men, and sour plum soup for the brothers. Lin Zhen knew that they were tired all day and hungry, so he poured himself a cup of rice wine and stood up: "Today is a good day for the opening of our Lin's Water Powder Shop. It is also a good day for you to work for me for a month and get your first month's salary. I will drink this cup of wine with you and then go to the front to pay you. You should eat and drink, and come forward when your name is called."

The workers sitting below also poured themselves wine or sour plum soup and stood up to toast him.

Lin Zhen drank it all in one gulp, asked them to sit down and eat something to fill their stomachs, and walked forward.

The wages that had been brought here were placed in front. Lin Zhen opened the box and looked at the copper coins and one-cent silver coins that had been counted and strung together with hemp ropes. According to the order they registered when they came in to work, he started to call out from the first one: "Zhao Sanya."

Sitting in front of a table full of food, everyone who had no appetite at all looked at him and the wages in the box. When the first name was called out, everyone who knew Zhao Sanya looked at her.

Zhao Sanya herself hadn't reacted yet, but Maizi beside her pushed her elbow and she woke up as if from a dream. She hurried to Lin Zhen.

Lin Zhen handed her the 92 coins that had been strung together and a one-cent silver coin: "This month's wages are 150 coins, plus the seven days of night shift, a total of 192 coins."

Although Zhao Sanya knew that she would be paid 150 coins a month when she came in to work, she still felt like she was dreaming.

This was higher than her brothers' wages, and the work was not heavy.

She took the money handed over by Lin Zhen in a daze, bowed to Lin Zhen, and walked downstairs with light steps.

Everyone looked at her with envy, and their heartbeats accelerated when they thought that they would also receive so much money later.

"Qian Zhuang." Lin Zhen called the next name.

A man stood up and walked towards him. Lin Zhen handed him a silver coin and ninety-two coins.

The man named Qian Zhuang was so excited that his face turned red. He kept saying thank you to Lin Zhen, and his eyes were red.

Only those men who played well with him knew that Qian Zhuang was the only strong laborer in his family. His father died early, and his mother raised them with great difficulty.

Qian Zhuang went out to find work when he was eight or nine years old, but he was young and people only gave him food, not a penny, so Qian Zhuang often wrapped his rations with leaves and went home to eat with his mother and sister. After growing

up with great difficulty, he relied on his strength to do hard labor everywhere, and could barely feed the three of them.

He heard about the recruitment of workers at Lin's Watercolor Powder Shop from the family of the owner who worked there. At first, he just thought that the work at the Watercolor Powder Shop would be more stable, unlike the irregular work outside.

But he never expected that the work at the Watercolor Powder Shop would be so good. Not only was there a fixed

salary of 150 coins a month, but there was also lunch at noon. It would be even better if he worked the night shift, as he could earn 6 coins a day and have another meal in the afternoon.

With 192 coins in his hand, Qian Zhuang clenched his fists, thinking that if the Watercolor Powder Shop was still recruiting, he would definitely let his sister come and try. It would be even better if she could work with him in the Watercolor Powder Shop, and life at home would definitely get better and better!

Names were called one by one, and wages were paid to them. Xiaoxi, Maizi and others who left a deep impression on Lin Zhen also received their wages.

Chunniang and others who had been in the prefecture for a while and had not started to work officially showed envy in their eyes.

Zhou Zhengchu, Shao Ying and others who were bought, and Achen, the guards and waiters who had been busy in the shop all day, did not have any thoughts.

They were Lin Zhen's slaves and Lin Zhen's personal property. As long as Lin Zhen gave them food and didn't beat or torture them, Lin Zhen would be a good master.

Suddenly, Zhou Zhengchu heard Lin Zhen calling his name.

His wife, who was sitting next to him and taking care of the children, was also stunned and said uncertainly: "Zhengchu, the boss seems to be calling your name."

Zhou Zhengchu stood up from his chair and walked towards Lin Zhen. He was strong and stood in front of the slightly slender Lin Zhen like a wall.

Lin Zhen looked up at him and said: "You seven are responsible for escorting goods and often run outside. The monthly allowance is 300 coins. Come and take it." Going

out is risky, just like the time in Dongyang County. If he had brought ordinary workers with him, he would probably have been tricked long ago.

So Lin Zhen considered all aspects and set their monthly allowance at this number.

The guards' monthly allowance was not as high as theirs, only 180 coins.

After distributing the monthly wages to Zhou Zhengchu and the guards, Lin Zhen looked at Chunniang and the others, "Chunniang, the eighteen of you have worked hard today, so it counts as one day's work, five cents each."

Chunniang and the others didn't expect that they would get their own wages, so they said softly, "Boss... we still need you..."

"Today's wages are not included. We will start deducting them after you officially start working."

"Come on, take today's wages first." Lin Zhen counted the five cents one by one, and when Chunniang came closer, he handed the copper coins to him.

"Boss." At this moment, Chunniang completely let go of the things in her heart, and her shoulders and back straightened a little.

"Take it, this is what you deserve. People who work should be paid." Lin Zhen looked at her and said.

Chunniang took the five cents and held it in her palm: "Thank you, boss."

She walked back to their table. Everyone at the table came from the state capital. They looked at Chunniang's hand holding the five cents. Even if they had been unmotivated before, they had different ideas.

They can support themselves with their own hands. Can they live like this for the rest of their lives?

Lin Zhen called the names of all the remaining people, and after paying them, he sat back in his seat and looked at them and said: "Hurry up and eat and drink. If you don't eat, the food will get cold."

The men and women with smiles on their faces shouted: "Boss, we have eaten a bowl of rice, and you haven't even eaten a bite. You should eat quickly too!"

Lin Zhen looked at his bowl of rice that he hadn't even eaten a mouthful of, and laughed dumbly. Of course, he hadn't even eaten a mouthful of food.

So he quickly took the lead and ate in silence.

They also had to send the girls and the boys home. The eight guards knew what was going on and only drank one or two glasses of wine.

When almost everyone was full and drunk, they sent everyone back one by one according to Lin Zhen's instructions. Chun Niang and the others, Zhou Zhengchu and others walked back by themselves.

Lin Zhen, who was slightly drunk, stood at the door of Juxianju, responded to the call of the girls and boys who were sitting in the carriage and preparing to go home, and watched them disappear on the street.

He said to Gu Lin beside him: "When they are busy, they are really busy, and when they are happy, they are really happy. Did you see that they are all happy?"

"Then is Uncle Lin happy?"

"Happy."

Lin Zhen nodded, with a smile on his face flushed by the alcohol: "We have a saying there, eating more people tastes better, eating alone will clog the intestines, and they come to work for me and have contributed their own efforts. I just make their lives a little better on this basis, so that everyone can feel a little more comfortable."

Gu Lin tilted his head and looked at him.

This principle is simple, and anyone can say it, but it is not an easy thing to actually do it.

Everyone has selfishness and endless desires, but his Uncle Lin seems to have no desires. Everything he does is what he likes and wants to do, and he is not stingy in sharing some of the benefits that originally belonged to him with others.

But it doesn't mean that he has no temper. Gu Lin, who saw him poking the roof of the Ma family and making a scene at Li Zhaodi's house in Liyu Village, knew that his Uncle Lin was just upholding what he believed to be good.

Gu Lin suddenly put his arms around his waist, pulled him into his arms, and took a bite of his slightly plump lips.

The hazy effect of alcohol in his head dissipated a little, and he looked at Juxianju, which had closed the door behind him but the candlelight was still on, and said, "Gu Shuanzi, you are getting more and more courageous." "

Well," Gu Lin snorted, let him go, and slightly bent his knees in front of him, "Come up."

"I'm not drunk." Lin Zhen exhaled the smell of alcohol and felt that he was really not drunk. Gu

Lin, who knew how much he had drunk, saw through it but didn't say anything. He followed his words and said, "Zhenzhen is not drunk, but I want to carry Zhenzhen back."

Relying on the fact that the alcohol was not strong enough, Lin Zhen, who was infected by the atmosphere and drank a lot, jumped lightly and jumped onto his back, hugging his neck: "Why are you calling me Zhenzhen again?"

Before he could answer, Lin Zhen, who was a little drunk, said, "But the last time you called me Zhenzhen was four or five days ago. It's okay to call me now, just don't let others hear it."

After all, in the eyes of outsiders, the two are still uncle and nephew, and one is a husband and the other is a boy. Such intimate names should not be called by people of their generation.

Gu Lin put his hand under his pig and carried him to the government office. He said, "It won't be long."

"Huh?" Lin Zhen didn't hear it clearly. He lay on Gu Lin's back and suddenly felt that Gu Lin's back was so broad. The hot body temperature passed through the thin clothes made of silk to him, as if it was going to boil the blood in his body.

Lin Zhenyi lowered his head and licked and kissed the back of his neck. The wet tip of her nipple slid across his skin, slightly wetting the roots of his hair on the back of his neck.

Chapter 273

Gu Lin paused with his hand under his pig.

Lin Zhen bit his neck with his teeth to estimate the strength, and then lay on his back.

Gu Lin: "Why don't you eat it?"

Lin Zhen hugged his neck: "I can see it but I can't eat it, forget it."

Gu Lin's body tensed up and turned his head to look at him. From where he was, Lin Zhen's straight nose slid out a beautiful arc, and there were still some water marks on his lips.

He flipped Lin Zhen up, stretched the back of his hand forward, and replaced it with a less sensitive wrist to pad Lin Zhen's pig.

Juxianju was not far from the provincial government office. Gu Lin carried him steadily and soon arrived at the gate of the government office.

There was only one yamen runner on duty at night. He heard the footsteps and came out. Seeing that the master was carrying a slender person, he subconsciously retracted his gaze: "Master."

"Go down."

"Yes." The yamen runner did not dare to look at it any more, nor did he dare to ask who Gu Lin was carrying back, and retreated to the back.

Suddenly, the yamen runner saw the clothes that the man on Gu Lin's back was wearing, and a light bulb suddenly flashed in his head. It occurred to him that it was the clothes that Boss Lin wore this morning, also a black silk shirt, but the buttons were pearls.

Looking again, the hairband was also the one that Boss Lin wore, with pearls.

The yamen runner touched his head and felt that Lord Gu really respected Boss Lin very much. As the governor of Lizhou, he personally carried someone back.

Suddenly, the yamen runner remembered that Boss Lin was a husband and Lord Gu was a young man. Was it inappropriate to carry Boss Lin?

Lulu in the backyard was no longer surprised. Seeing Gu Lin carrying Lin Zhen back, she hurriedly said, "Sir, I will go and get a basin of hot water for the boss."

Gu Lin put Lin Zhen, who was already asleep on his back, on the bed, sat on the edge of the bed, put his feet on his legs, and took off his shoes and socks.

The white-skinned feet were exposed, and the ten toes were a little round.

Gu Lin looked at Lu Lu who had brought in the water, stood up and wrung out the towel, then wiped Lin Zhen's face and neck.

Lin Zhen, who did not admit that he would be drunk by the rice wine, was indeed a little confused. He forced his eyes open and looked at Gu Lin who was wiping his face. He grabbed his robe and rubbed his face against it.

He was different now, which made Gu Lin even more difficult to resist.

Gu Lin looked at him with dark eyes, his unfeeling eyebrows were filled with a few traces of restraint and patience, and he quickly took off his outer robe and pulled the quilt over him.

Lu Lu looked at Lord Gu who walked out of the room, then looked at the boss who had closed his eyes on the bed, took out the used water, and held a smaller quilt and lay on the couch specially for the night watch.

The boss had drunk some wine, so she had better stay here to watch him in case the boss had to get up at night to drink water or go to the toilet.

The young man who was far away in Yingcheng, Yunzhou, took a boat for half a month and then took a carriage for seven or eight days to return here. After entering the city, he did not find Lin Xiaoyao in the house, so he asked others: "Where is the boss?"

"I went to Xinkan to check on a batch of goods. Why did you take so long this time?"

"I did something for the boss. I went to Xinkan to check it out." The young man had just got off his horse and heard that Lin Xiaoyao was not here, so he immediately jumped on the horse.

Suddenly, he turned his horse and said to the man just now: "I brought a batch of goods. It is a return gift from the big boss to the boss. Please accept it."

The man saw the young man's eagerness and responded.

Everyone here knows that this kid was picked up by Boss Lin from the pile of dead bodies. He respects Boss Lin as his own father. If anyone says bad things about Boss Lin, he will chase him and beat the dead.

The man walked out of the yard, thinking that the gift from the big boss who had been mentioned by the boss several times should not be a vulgar thing, but when he walked out and saw more than 20 carriages, he almost thought he was seeing things.

The man who came back with the young man said, "Put the things here first, and unpack them when the boss comes back."

"Oh." The man nodded blankly. The

young man who went to find Lin Xiaoyao had just ridden out of the Yingcheng city gate when he saw a familiar figure with five or six people coming here. The horse's hooves trampled the yellow sand, like a ball of yellow wind.

"Huh," Lin Xiaoyao, who was riding in the front, tightened the reins, "Are you back?"

"Foster father," the young man drove the horse to Lin Xiaoyao very respectfully, "Did you go to Xinkan smoothly? Did you encounter anything?"

"Everything is fine. I bought two good stones." If Lin Zhen and the Lin family came here, they might not recognize that the person in front of them was Lin Xiaoyao after just one or two glances.

His skin color was not white, and his hair was tied with a golden crown. According to local customs, the loose hair was braided into small braids wrapped with colorful silk threads.

He wore a robe with narrow sleeves, a cloak on his shoulders to block the wind and sand, and a fixed hood half covered his head.

It is unknown when the thin and healed scar on the left cheek appeared, but it does not detract from the fact that many girls and boys in Yingcheng want to marry this boss Lin. He

is rich and good-looking, so it is very cost-effective to be his wife!

The young man said: "Godfather, the letter you asked me to send to the big boss has been delivered, and the big boss has given you a lot of gifts in return."

Lin Xiaoyao's face suddenly became different from the young man's impression, and his tone was even a little anxious. He asked: "Where is my brother now, in Kyoto?"

For so many years, Lin Xiaoyao has been reading books by himself, and he has never stopped after he came out. He is very familiar with the process of the imperial examination.

If Gu Lin passes the imperial examination smoothly and gets a good ranking, the most likely possibility is that he will be a minor official in Kyoto and slowly gain experience.

If his ranking is average, he will have to fill the vacancies of local officials in various places and serve in unknown places for three to five years, ten to eight years, and then he can move after making some achievements.

The young man said, "I found the big boss in Lizhou. According to the information I got, the big boss's nephew is now the governor of Lizhou, and the big boss also lives in the government office of Lizhou."

Governor?

Lin Xiaoyao thought about it for a moment and was shocked. He didn't know what happened. Gu Lin actually became a governor of the fifth rank.

He urged the horse and took the young man and the remaining few people to the house in Yingcheng.

When he arrived, more than 20 carriages were still in the open space outside the house. Several people in the house ran out to see what the goods were and circled around them several times.

When they saw him coming, they hurried to greet him: "Boss Lin, you are back."

Lin Xiaoyao stepped on the pedal to get off the horse, walked to the goods in more than 20 carriages, and untied the rope of one of the carriages with his own hands. It happened that the carriage he untied was loaded with flower dew. As soon as he lifted the straw and quilt on it, he was hit by the cold air inside, which was very refreshing.

The young man came over and together with him, he uncovered the straw and quilt that were used to cover the ice so that it would melt more slowly: "Ice was used to protect it when it was loaded from the provincial capital of Lizhou. The big boss asked me to give this thing and the letter to my adoptive father, saying that he would understand."

Lin Xiaoyao had sold milk tea with Lin Zhen

before, and knew that his third brother could make ice, so it was not surprising to see things preserved with ice. But his subordinates were not like this. Ice, in Yingcheng, ice is a rare good thing, and you may not be able to buy it with silver.

But now it is used to store things!

Lin Xiaoyao unfolded Lin Zhen's letter while they were touching here and there around the carriage.

The expression on his face became softer and softer, and finally, he even smiled a little.

From another piece of paper, he also understood what Lin Zhen had sent him. All the goods were worth 70,000 to 80,000 taels in total, which was much more than his.

He folded the letter, put it close to his body, and told his men: "These are goods that need to be handled with care. Move them all in and assign someone to guard them."

"Yes."

Not long after, several things appeared in Yingcheng, Yunzhou, that made girls and boys crazy.

Jade face powder, flower dew, and lipstick suddenly became the latest words. Girls and boys gathered together, and if you didn't mention these three things, you were too out of date.

And this trend was still blowing towards the surrounding areas of Yingcheng. Many rich girls and boys would run dozens or even hundreds of miles to Yingcheng to buy these three things.

In Lizhou Prefecture, Lin Zhen's business expanded again after the shop opened. However, the next day, there were at least 20 to 30 merchants who came here to place orders. The least one only asked for more than 1,000 pieces of jade powder, flower dew, lipstick, and some soap because of the money in his hand.

Yan Canghai, a big customer, took the goods that Lin Zhen promised before, and asked for more than 10,000 pieces of soap, perfumed soap, and vanishing cream.

If the money in his pocket had not been emptied, he would have wanted more.

Add to that other merchants...

Lin Zhen's small workshop of dozens of people could not rush out so many goods even if he worked day and night, so he simply recruited workers again.

This time, not only did he recruit workers to make jade powder, flower dew, and lipstick, but he also recruited people from the three workshops of Lin's Soap Shop, Lin's Perfumed Soap Shop, and Lin's Vanishing Cream Shop.

Each workshop recruited 100 people, 70 women and 30 men.

Meng Xiaoshu, the elder brother of Maizi, who had already worked at Lin's Water Flour Mill and received his first month's salary, was walking on the mountain path with sweat all over his head. When he saw the familiar entrance of the village, he ran down directly.

"Grandma, Grandpa, where are my uncles and uncles?"

The old man with a hunched back was very happy to see his grandson coming, "Xiaoshu is here, sit down quickly, I'll fetch you some water to drink."

"Why did you think of coming here? Is everything okay at home? Nothing happened."

Behind the two old people was a thatched house that looked like it was about to collapse. It was very narrow, but a family of seven or eight people lived in it.

Meng Xiaoshu stood up to fetch water by himself, and said while drinking, "Grandma, my father and father asked me to come here. I have a great thing to tell you."

When visiting relatives, Meng Xiaoshu did not come empty-handed. He pragmatically bought ten kilograms of buckwheat noodles and two kilograms of sorghum rice.

His family was not rich. If he and his younger brother Maizi had not worked at Lin's Water Flour Mill, these things would not have been available.

When the old man saw what he brought, he refused to accept it. They knew what kind of life their sons were living. If they mixed some wild vegetables with the food, it would be enough for ten days. They couldn't bear to take it and let

their sons and grandsons go hungry. Meng Xiaoshu knew that his grandmother's family was kind, otherwise his father wouldn't have asked him to come and tell his uncles after hearing that Boss Lin was going to recruit hundreds of people. If the uncles' children and sons could work under Boss Lin like he and Maizi, life would be much better.

Meng Xiaoshu can still remember the day when he and Xiaoshu received their wages. When he put the wages in front of his father and father, their expressions were so happy that they couldn't help clapping their hands.

"What a great thing, Xiaoshu, come here, this is a chicken leg I dug on the slope, for you to eat." As Meng Xiaoshu was talking, a middle-aged man who was not short but a little too thin handed him what was called a chicken leg, but was actually just the root of a plant.

There aren't many of these in the fields, and they taste a bit sweet when chewed. They are a snack for children in the village.

When Meng Xiaoshu came here as a child, he would eat some, either dug by his cousins ​​or by his uncles.

The other people who came back with him also greeted Meng Xiaoshu.

Meng Xiaoshu took the chicken leg, looked at his uncles and cousins ​​and said, "Uncle, I really have a good thing to do here. Maizi and I found a job in the state capital before, with a salary of 150 coins a month and a meal at noon. If we meet--"

He hasn't finished speaking, his grandmother and grandfather behind him, his uncles in front of him, and his cousins ​​behind him all surrounded him, "What, what did you say, a job of 150 coins a month and a meal!"

Chapter 274

"Are you still hiring? If you are, let your cousins ​​go and try!"

"Cousin, what kind of work do you do? Can you really get paid? Don't be a liar."

Meng Xiaoshu patted his chest and assured: "We just received last month's wages, more than 190 coins."

His uncle pulled him anxiously: "Isn't it 150 coins? How come it's dozens of coins more?"

Meng Xiaoshu explained: "The watercolor shop has night shifts. When I work the night shift, not only can I have dinner at the watercolor shop, but I also get 6 coins a day for overtime, so it's more than 190 coins."

Everything that came out of Meng Xiaoshu's mouth made his uncle's family excited. They pulled Meng Xiaoshu and asked him again and again. The next day, Meng Xiaoshu's two cousins ​​and one cousin all followed him to the provincial capital.

As soon as they entered the state capital, they saw many young women and men rushing in one direction. Meng Xiaoshu knew that those people were just like him, wanting to find a different way for their relatives and friends, so he quickly said to his cousins: "They must all want to work for Boss Lin. Let's go quickly, because we won't hire any more people if we have filled up the quota!"

The men and men who followed him ran away immediately.

As soon as they ran into Guangshun Lane, they saw a tall man walking in the lane, shouting loudly: "All those who come to find work, line up. Women and men are on the left, and men are on the right. Those who don't follow the rules will not be hired even if you run to the front."

Many people were running around like headless flies. Meng Xiaoshu quickly grabbed his cousins ​​and asked them to do as the No. 2 courtyard guard said and line up.

It was still dark, and in order not to delay work, Meng Xiaoshu told his cousins ​​some of his experiences when he was looking for work, and asked them to stay here with peace of mind and come to find them when he got off work.

Although they were relatives, the two cousins ​​and one younger cousin did not want to trouble him. They said with a sense of security that they knew and asked him to go back to work.

Meng Xiaoshu followed the line that almost stretched to the Changping connection point to the second courtyard of Lin's Watercolor Factory. He saw many people, some familiar faces in the provincial capital, and some people who came from far away. Everyone looked forward, wishing to stand here to see what was going on in front. Several workshops

recruited hundreds of people, and Guangshun Lane became completely lively.

"Boss Lin, these are all the orders issued by Lin's Watercolor Factory as of August this year. Please check if there are any mistakes or omissions." Lin Zhen had just got off his horse and his feet had just touched the ground when the old student from the Watercolor Factory chased him here and handed him the account book. Lin Zhen

looked at the pig farm that was so close that he could already hear the pigs' screams. He took the account book and took a quick look at it.

Since Lin's Watercolor Powder Shop opened in June, the orders have been increasing day by day. Most of the merchants from all over Dayu are running here. Jade powder, flower dew, lipstick, vanishing cream, soap, and perfumed soap are loaded and shipped every day. The people coming and going make the prefecture lively all of a sudden. Several new inns and restaurants have opened on Changping Street, just to take advantage of this trend to make money from these merchants.

The pig farm that Lin Zhen came to see today was born for soap and perfumed soap. Both require a lot of oil. The pigs around the prefecture were almost sold out by him. He had no choice but to buy a piece of land outside the prefecture to raise pigs to supply the soap and perfumed soap shops.

Now several workshops are equipped with accountants, two in each workshop, and they use the forms he specifically requested, so all kinds of numbers are clear at a glance.

Lin Zhen compared the numbers in the account book and said to the accountant of the Flour Mill: "I have checked the accounts. There is no problem. The net profit of our Flour Mill in the past two months is still on the rise. After a few more months of stability, we can roughly fix the purchase volume of raw materials."

"Yes." The old student of the Flour Mill was the first accountant recruited by Lin Zhen, and they were all acquaintances.

Lin Zhen said: "You came from the Flour Mill, take a rest, or follow me to see the new pigs in the pig farm?"

When the old student heard Lin Zhen invite him to see the pigs, he was stunned for a moment and nodded: "Okay."

Several workshops are busy now, and Niu Da, the big manager, is so busy that his feet can't touch the ground, so Lin Zhen got Lu Lu a short pony and let her run around with him.

At this moment, Lu Lu heard Lin Zhen invite the accountant to see the pigs, and she couldn't help laughing.

Lin Zhen looked at her and said: "This pig is very useful. The soap and perfumed soap shops are looking at this place."

As they said, they walked inside.

Lizhou is vast and sparsely populated, with flat terrain. Lin Zhen spent very little money to buy this seven or eight mu of land in the suburbs.

The pig farm has been built. The walls are made of earth bricks, and the tiles are black tiles ordered by Lin Zhen in the city. Three long rows of houses stand there, surrounded by walls.

As soon as Lin Zhen and his friends approached the door, the gatekeeper spotted them. Seeing that it was Lin Zhen who had been there before, he quickly patted the barking dog's head and said, "The boss is here."

Lin Zhen looked at the ferocious dogs tied up, "Where is Manager Xing of the pig farm?"

"He's inside. He just bought a few sows and a dozen piglets. The manager is watching the workers put the pigs into the pigsty."

"I'll go take a look." This pig farm can accommodate more than a thousand pigs. When it was built, drainage, feeding, etc. were fully considered. It is spacious and bright. The workers joked with Lin Zhen that this is not a place for pigs to live, but for people.

Lin Zhen walked into the house where the piglets were screaming heartbreakingly. The spacious house was divided into rows of pig pens, many of which already had piglets and big pigs.

Several workers were putting the newly bought piglets into the new pig pens, but the piglets were very panicked in the unfamiliar environment. Their bodies, which were as long as an adult's arm, burst out with great strength. The men who were holding them were sweating all over, and the veins on their necks were exposed.

"This pig is good, strong and energetic. When it grows up, we will send its meat to our soap factory!" A dark and strong man looked at the piglets running around in the pig sty, his eyes shining.

The other thin but energetic man widened his eyes: "You want this one, and you want that one. Our soap shop is also waiting for these fat pigs to be refined into oil."

Manager Xing of the pig farm patted his head and said to the people in the two workshops: "My pigs have just arrived, and you have divided them all into your pockets. Aren't you afraid that they will be scared and stop growing meat?"

The dark and strong man said: "Manager Xing, we have no choice. The soap shop has a lot of orders. There is no problem with other raw materials, except this pork." The dark and strong man clapped his hands, "There are only a few big pigs to buy around the provincial capital, and the stock is about to run out. How can our manager not be anxious?!" The

thin and energetic man said: "It's the same for our soap shop. The manager has already run a long way to buy pigs!"

It is not easy to raise a pig nowadays. Only a little meat grows throughout the year, and not much fat is removed. Now the soap and perfume workshops need a large quantity, and we can't keep up with the fat.

Lin Zhen started to run this pig farm a month ago. Now there are only more than 300 pigs in the farm, including sows and breeding pigs. The rest are half-grown pigs that cannot be put into the market.

"You are just talking nonsense here, but the pigs can't grow more meat," Lin Zhen walked over and looked at the piglets in the pigpen who were not in good spirits and obviously not adapting to the new environment. He asked Manager Xing, "Where did you collect these pigs?"

"Boss." The people who were busy didn't expect Lin Zhen to come, and they were a little surprised.

Manager Xing said, "The relatives of the workers in the pig farm found out about it, and they took away all the sows."

"..." Lin Zhen looked at Manager Xing with an excited face and felt that it was a good decision to hand over this pig farm to him. He felt so fulfilled to collect pigs.

He asked Manager Xing, "Have you fed the pigs you bought before as I told you?"

"Yes, boss, come over here and take a look." Manager Xing took Lin Zhen to the pig pens where more than a dozen pigs had been bought for seven or eight days, and pointed to the pigs that were full of energy and jumping around inside. "Every meal is given enough pig food, and the meat grows very fast. For example, this batch of half-grown pigs can be slaughtered in four or five months."

Lin Zhen knew that modern pigs have feed and are mostly ready for slaughter in three or four months, but there is no ready-made feed now, so he can only make a simple version, adding some eggshells, dried fish powder, and some rice bran from grinding grain.

The most important thing is to use the rice slurry left after filtering the rice slurry sediment in the water-based powder mill. People are asked to bring it here every day, and the people in the pig farm cook it, and then mix it into pig feed for the pigs.

Of course, there are effects. For example, the half-grown pigs in the pigpen in front of him have smooth hair, fat backs, and the meat on their bodies trembles when they walk. They are not something that farmers outside can raise.

The pigpen where these pigs sleep is very clean, and their skin and meat are white. Lin Zhen couldn't help but pat the pig's back, which is almost as wide as his palm. He could already imagine the changes in the price of meat in the state government when his pig farm can supply normally.

They only want fat meat, not lean meat and offal. Although the people now lack oil and water and like fat meat, lean meat is still meat after all, and it is better to have it than not.

After looking around the pig farm, Lin Zhen, who had been patrolling outside for several days, returned to the yamen. He looked at the many horses and carriages in front of him and asked the yamen runner casually: "Who is here?" "

Inspectors from various places, and several county magistrates. The grain around the prefecture is about to be harvested, and the adults are going to inquire whether next year's farming will be the same as last year."

Lin Zhen was talking to the yamen runner, looking at his autumn clothes that were already a bit thick, and felt that time had passed really quickly.

In the blink of an eye, the planted grain will soon be harvested at home. This year, the people around the prefecture should be able to have a good new year.

In the main hall, the inspectors who were called here looked at each other after hearing what Gu Lin said, and finally gritted their teeth and said: "Sir...we...the soldiers under our command can't even have a full meal."

"The food and wages from three years ago have not been paid yet. We are powerless!"

Chapter 275:

Lizhou is poor and can't produce much food. The imperial court allocates grain and silver here every year, but no one has seen the grain and silver. Only God knows where they have gone.

These inspectors only know that they haven't received food and wages for three years. They are soldiers, and they dare not even put down their farm work on weekdays. If they put down their farm work, their families will starve.

However, the Che Luo Kingdom, which invades the border every year, shows no signs of fatigue, making them increasingly unable to resist.

The inspector who was speaking was obviously resentful. Once he started talking, he didn't care about anything else and just wanted to speak out: "Sir, not only have the food and wages from three years ago not been paid, but the soldiers under my command... To be honest, most of them are just three, five, seven or eight people with one sword!"

"Not to mention armor and horses, there is no trace of them!"

"The court knows that Lizhou borders the Che Luo Kingdom, and the Che Luo Kingdom plunders us every year, not giving us a grain or a penny, and they let us fight with others with this rolled sword on an empty stomach. We really can't afford it."

As he spoke, the other inspectors sat there. There were few people in Lizhou, and not many counties and prefectures, a total of 37 counties and prefectures.

In order to notify them and the county magistrates of various counties and prefectures to the prefecture, the prefecture government sent people out half a month ago, and only two-thirds of them have come now.

Gu Lin sat at the top, followed by Guan Peng, Gao Tong, and Jiang Jing.

Grain and salary were allocated from the Ministry of Revenue and transported to various places. Then, they were distributed to the soldiers according to the number of people in each place.

Gu Lin had learned from his official friends that Lizhou had not received any grain and salary for three years. Xu Zhizhou also wrote a memorial to the emperor, but it fell on deaf ears.

The problem has been left until now.

Gu Lin looked at the inspector who was resentful and said, "I will send a memorial to the capital as soon as possible to inquire about this matter."

The inspector below had obviously heard Xu Zhizhou say this, but in the end, nothing was done and he turned his head and ignored it.

Gu Lin said again, "This autumn harvest, the harvest in the villages around the prefecture is good. At that time, in addition to the taxes paid to the court, one year's grain and salary will be distributed to the counties first." "Next year,

when all places in Lizhou implement this year's farming strategy, we will make up for the grain and salary for another two years."

The inspectors and county magistrates below raised their heads and looked at the handsome but unkind young prefect in front of them.

A county magistrate who had heard the rumors said, "Sir, I only know that the crops in the villages around the prefecture are growing well, but I don't know how the specific harvest is?"

Guan Peng couldn't suppress the smile on his face. His white teeth matched his purple complexion. He even joked, which was rare, "You guess."

He always showed a serious face, and the people in the county had never seen him like this. The county magistrate who asked the question was stunned and said a bold number: "One hundred and twenty catties per mu?"

He had heard before that the crops this year grew well because the land was turned deeply and manure was used. He was thinking big by adding 40 catties to the harvest in previous years.

Guan Peng showed more teeth, and his voice was a little floating: "Two days ago, I took people to the countryside and saw with my own eyes that a family harvested grain. One mu of land had 200 catties." When

these words came out, both the county magistrate and the inspector were shocked. Many of them opened their eyes and mouths wide, and couldn't believe what they heard.

From the original 80 catties per mu of land to 200 catties per mu of land, isn't it a miracle?

The areas where these county magistrates are located are very far away, and they didn't catch up with this farming. At this moment, they are so angry that they are about to beat themselves to death.

This time they must follow the footsteps of Mr. Gu and decide on the farming next year as early as possible.

In a blink of an eye, the lively autumn harvest kicked off. The grain tax collector just went to the village to say something, and on the same day, people from several villages brought their families and children to the yamen to pay grain taxes.

Grain tax is levied on the basis of headcount, and everyone over the age of eight has to pay taxes.

At this time of year in previous years, every household was miserable. They couldn't even fill their stomachs, but they had to watch the grain being handed in, and they had no place to express their resentment.

But this year is different. They don't have to pay taxes on the land they reclaimed, and the land in previous years has had an unprecedented bumper harvest, so they are willing to pay the grain tax.

While resting in the yamen, Lin Zhen saw many farmers. Although they came to pay grain tax, their faces were full of joy of harvest, as if you could squeeze a handful of honey from their faces.

In addition to this grain tax, they also had to return the grain seeds and plow silver owed to the yamen on credit. They could settle the bill with silver or grain.

Lin Zhen saw an old man with a hunched back said straightforwardly: "For grain, our family brought grain. Sir, our family can harvest so much grain this year, all thanks to you adults. Paying these grain taxes makes us feel comfortable!"

After these months, the yamen runners wearing official robes and carrying wide blades have different thoughts in their hearts. They talked to the old man with a pleasant face and helped some of them who were carrying heavy things.

Lin Zhen stood under the corridor and watched quietly.

Suddenly, a familiar sound of footsteps came from behind.

He turned around and knew it was Gu Lin without even looking. He looked at Gu Lin and said, "When my people went to collect pigs a few days ago, they found an important raw material suitable for making the cement I mentioned. After the autumn harvest, when everyone is not busy, we can burn cement to pave the road."

"First, with the provincial capital as the center, gradually spread it out to the surrounding counties and prefectures, especially Dongyang County, which is now an important channel for transporting goods from Lizhou to the outside." "Once

the road is opened, not only the goods from the provincial capital, but also the specialties of Lizhou can be circulated quickly, and the people's lives will be better."

It is true that if you want to get rich, you must build roads first. Once the road is opened, there will be more things to do.

Digging roads, filling roads, including making cement, can generate a lot of work, so that the people can get a few cents of wages.

Gu Lin heard him talk about the benefits of cement roads and knew that if such a road was built, it would be more convenient than he could imagine.

He said to Lin Zhen: "We have found the black stone they were looking for. In an uninhabited place 80 miles away from the state capital, someone once dug out the exact same black stone."

"There is news about coal?" Lin Zhen was a little surprised. It was only autumn, but he clearly felt that the weather had suddenly become colder, and it was getting colder day by day, almost the same as the winter in Anyuan Town. It hasn't

snowed yet, and when the real winter comes, it's unimaginable how cold it will be.

Gu Lin nodded: "I have confirmed that it is the black stone you showed me, Uncle Lin."

"Okay, with coal, we can have a warm New Year," Lin Zhen shrank his shoulders due to the sudden cold wind, and said to Gu Lin, "Coal is very useful, and it is very stable for heating and temperature rise. It's better for the government to control it." "In the future,

all coal mines discovered will be managed by the government, and strict mining regulations will be formulated, and follow-up measures for mining will be prepared."

Lin Zhen explained to Gu Lin the dangers of mining, the pits dug out, and how to deal with the waste coal slag.

After he finished speaking, he looked at Gu Lin's face and body, which had completely transformed into an adult.

After this year, Gu Lin would be seventeen years old. Many boys at his age would have become fathers.

And he himself would be twenty-eight years old.

Suddenly, just when Lin Zhen was feeling a little emotional, a man he had never seen before and looked a little unfamiliar walked in from outside and came straight to Gu Lin: "Master Gu."

Gu Lin seemed to know him. He asked him to wait aside and continued to talk to Lin Zhen for a while. He returned to his usual expression after Lin Zhen left.

The man handed him a letter in his arms: "Master Gu, this is a letter that the master has instructed that if it cannot be delivered to you, it must be destroyed and must not fall into the hands of others."

There was no mark on the envelope. Gu Lin took a thumb-sized porcelain bottle that he handed over with the letter.

After returning to the house, he soaked the letter paper in water and poured the powder in the porcelain bottle.

The powder dissolved in water, and a few lines of words appeared on the originally blank paper.

Gu Lin picked up the paper and looked at the content on it. After a while, he tore the paper into pieces and threw it into the pen washer.

The person who successfully delivered the letter stood aside, like a wooden sculpture, without saying anything.

This was the second letter Gu Lin received. The person who wrote the letter was not a stranger. He was the person who was rescued by Wei San on the boat that day, the eleventh prince of Dayu, Qin Ziwen.

The last letter described the situation in the court. Because Qin Ziwen, a living proof, made it safely from Xuzhou to Beijing, several high-ranking officials in the court were dismissed, their homes were confiscated, some were beheaded, and the floor tiles in Caishikou were stained red for more than half a month.

The six ministries in the cabinet were in a panic, fearing that the knife would fall on their heads.

But according to Qin Ziwen's words, the people hidden behind the scenes did not suffer any real harm except for the loss of some manpower.

The emperor is old and weak, and the position of the East Palace has not been decided. The princes below have been operating for many years, and the undercurrents are beyond imagination.

And today's letter said that the emperor suddenly fell into a coma ten days ago. Although he woke up quickly, a corner of the undercurrent hidden underneath was revealed.

Qin Ziwen played a role in it. He was testing Gu Lin and wanted Gu Lin to hide some manpower for him in Lizhou, which is sparsely populated and often overlooked.

Manpower?

Gu Lin looked at the shredded paper in the pen washer. The so-called manpower was just a nicer way of saying private soldiers.

Lizhou was poor, but not far from Kyoto. It only took four or five days to get there by boat. Hiding people here was definitely a good move. Even if it turned the tide, it was very likely. The

specially treated handwriting on the shredded paper slowly dissipated. Gu Lin looked at the messenger and said, "Report to your master. The caravan must follow the rules of Lizhou if they want to do business in Lizhou."

"Yes." The person waiting heard his words, confirmed that he had no letter to hand over to him, and turned and left.

Gu Lin sat on the armchair, pondered for a moment, slowly ground the ink, and wrote a word on the flat paper with a pen:

The handwriting was wild and unrestrained, as if it was about to break through the constraints of the paper and pounce out.

Chapter 276

The villages around the prefecture welcomed an unprecedented bumper harvest. Families who had opened up seven or eight acres of wasteland brought in bags of grain, and the children jumped around and the adults laughed from ear to ear.

Then, news came from the prefecture that Boss Lin was recruiting people to work. Although he didn't provide meals, he could get seven cents a day.

However, it was physical work, and girls were not recruited. Strong men could try it with men.

In addition, the prefecture government was also recruiting people to work, saying that they were going to dig a kind of black stone in a certain place. Because there were some risks, the wages were higher.

After the autumn harvest, the farmers put their energy into compost for next year's farming. If the compost was good, there would be no work to do. When they heard that Boss Lin and the prefecture government were recruiting people, they all had ideas.

It's good to have work to do. If you have work to do, you can get money. You can be more comfortable during the New Year, add two more dishes to the table, and buy clothes for the children.

All of a sudden, many men and boys rushed to the prefecture.

Some of them had been to the prefecture before, but they felt that the prefecture was not much different from before. At the city gate, they saw many well-dressed gentlemen sitting in carriages, with many new things behind them.

There were also carriages with unknown loads coming out of the city, and the drivers had smiles on their faces.

After entering the prefecture, they found that the inside had changed even more. There were many more shops selling various things, and the small stalls on both sides were crowded with vendors. There was nothing they could not think of, including food, drinks, and entertainment.

The men who came to find work were illiterate, and were shocked by the bustle in front of them, and some did not dare to take a step.

The men who had been to the prefecture were also a little confused. They bravely stopped a passerby

and said, "Uncle, where is Mr. Lin from the prefecture recruiting workers? We just came from the village and are not familiar with the road." The uncle who was stopped looked at them and said with a smile, "Our prefecture has changed a lot in the past few months. It's normal that you don't know the way. Mr. Lin recruits workers in Guangshun Lane. Go straight ahead along this street, enter the second lane, and then go forward to Guangshun Lane."

"We don't call it Guangshun Lane anymore, we call it Lin Lane!"

"Thank you, uncle."

"You're welcome. My son also went to Mr. Lin to register for a job two days ago. Today he is working in Sanwazi."

These men knew Sanwazi, which was not far from their village. If they worked there, they could go home at night. The

men said goodbye to the uncle and walked towards Guangshun Lane. On the way, they met people who were looking for work like them. There were more people after walking one or two hundred meters.

The person who was confirmed to do the job had to register his name, home address, and family population, and then he would go to Sanwazi to work on the same day with the carriages.

Lin Zhen was in Sanwazi. A few days ago, he accidentally found something that looked like lime on the pig's trotters he had collected. After a personal visit, he found that the limestone storage here was very large, and it could be developed into a cement production area.

Lizhou has short summers and long winters. In another month, there will be heavy snow everywhere, and the soil will also freeze. It is best to take advantage of this time to get the shells out and try to lay the cement road in the summer of next year.

Moreover, cement can not only be used to pave roads, but also to build houses and city walls. There is absolutely no worry about sales!

Wrapped in autumn clothes, he said loudly to the workers holding various excavation tools: "We can still do a month of work before October, everyone work harder."

"Okay, Boss Lin!"

Just after October, the state capital was covered with a person-deep snow overnight. Lin Zhen, who had been living almost in the cement factory these days and was afraid of making mistakes, was wearing the winter clothes that Lulu had prepared for him in advance. He was shocked by the overwhelming snow outside. With

such heavy snow, it is no wonder that the soil in Lizhou is harder than stone.

"Where is the lord, have you woken up?"

After sleeping for two days in a row, Lin Zhen woke up very early today, and because of the snow outside, he couldn't tell the time.

Lulu opened the lid of the clay stove, looked at the coal fire that was still burning inside, poured the warm water that was smoked on the clay stove into the basin, and put a handkerchief inside.

Lin Zhen fetched the water for washing his face. Looking at the first batch of clay stoves, he asked Lu Lu, "Is this thing much better than the previous stoves?"

"Of course not!" The first batch of clay stoves were still in the trial stage, so they were only used in the government offices of the prefectures, the homes of a few officials, and some citizens in the prefectures who were selected.

Before using them, Lin Zhen repeatedly warned that the doors and windows should not be closed tightly, and the pipes on top must be checked at any time to ensure that the pipes are extended out of the window.

Lu Lu didn't know how other people used it, but she really thought it was good. It was convenient and clean, and she didn't have to pay attention to it like firewood, and she didn't have to re-ignite it when she used it.

There was no annoying smoke, and it was warm and comfortable.

Lulu used an iron skewer to make the hole of the fire bigger, and said to Lin Zhen: "Such a useful thing, there must be a lot of people buying it when it is sold."

"Burning coal is indeed convenient, but remember not to close the doors and windows. If people inhale the gas emitted by burning coal, they will faint at the least and die at the worst."

"I remember it and check it every day."

"By the way, boss, when I opened the window just now, I saw the servants entering the master's room. The master should have woken up."

Lin Zhen nodded. From the fact that Gu Lin woke up, he knew what time it was.

He looked at the yard that was cleared by the servants, and soon saw Gu Lin, who was dressed in black, walking out of the room with a sword, practicing one move after another.

Lin Zhen just looked at it, watching the tall and long-legged Gu Lin wrapped in the power of wind and thunder, and the snowflakes that were about to fall were blown away by his sword wind.

Lulu suddenly walked to his side, "Boss, when are you and the master getting married?"

"..." Lin Zhen looked at her.

Lulu said frankly, "I think the master likes the boss very much. He never smiles in front of outsiders and is scary, but he is different with the boss. He will pick up food for the boss and talk to the boss. And when he talks to the boss, the master is like this."

Lulu imitated Gu Lin's expression, but she had a small round face, so she was inexplicably stupid when she imitated it.

Lin Zhen couldn't help laughing: "When it's time to get married, you will get married naturally."

Lulu said: "Then in the future, I will have to take care of the children for the boss and the master, and play with the young master for a while."

"..." Good guy, this is too far-fetched. Just talking about getting married, he jumped to taking care of children.

With his pregnancy mole, the child is almost impossible.

And at such a short distance, Gu Lin's hearing must have heard it. Lin Zhen looked at Gu Lin, only to see that Gu Lin had put away his sword at some point and walked towards him.

"Not cold?" He looked at Gu Lin's clothes, which were obviously only quilted with a layer of cotton and not very thick.

Gu Lin nodded, who was not cold.

Lin Zhen said, "Then go in and change your clothes."

Gu Lin held the window with one hand, and stood in front of Lin Zhen before Lin Zhen could see how he got in.

Lin Zhen could only say to Lu Lu, "Go to the adults' room and get their clothes."

"Yes." Lu Lu had always been a little afraid of Gu Lin, and if Lin Zhen wasn't around, she wouldn't easily get close to Gu Lin.

Lin Zhen wrung out the handkerchief he had just used to wash his face and handed it to him, "Are you using the coal stove in your room?"

"Yes."

"How do you feel?"

"Very good." Gu Lin took the handkerchief and wiped his face, then poured the water for washing his face into the small canal specially reserved in the yard outside the house.

Lin Zhen said: "The batch of coal stoves we use is made of solid materials and uses more coal. The batch sold to the people can be made into several models for them to choose from."

The house is big, and the small coal stove is not powerful enough to keep the temperature.

But for those people whose houses are not big, a smaller one is better, not only convenient, but also saves coal.

The coal reserves discovered are not small, but because it is far from the state boundary, after mining the surface coal, a tunnel must be dug into it. Coal will not be very cheap. At first, it may only be a commodity for people with a little money in the state. It will

really fall on the heads of every citizen. We have to wait until more coal is mined and the supply and demand are balanced.

Lu Lu, who went to get clothes, came back soon. It was only October, and the government office had things to do as usual, so he took a scarlet official robe and a black gauze hat.

Gu Lin took the clothes and walked behind the screen, and came out after putting them on.

Suddenly, just when Lin Zhen was about to ask Lu Lu to get some food and have breakfast with Gu Lin, a yamen runner seemed to know that Gu Lin was here, and almost ran over: "My lord!"

"The county magistrate of Luo Ran sent someone to report that the small villages around Luo Ran River were attacked by Che Luoguo and suffered heavy losses."

Lin Zhen and Gu Lin looked at the yamen runner at the same time. Lin Zhen frowned, and Gu Lin asked the yamen runner: "How much do you know about the specific situation?"

The yamen runner said: "The person who came to report the news has fainted from exhaustion. He only said that the Che Luoguo people who robbed Luo Ran County this time are a little different from those in previous years. Luo Ran County Magistrate is unsure, so he sent him to ask you to send troops to support."

Lin Zhen has been in Lizhou for so long, and he has a general understanding of Lizhou. Luo Ran is a small place in the north of Lizhou, some distance from the border. It is named Luo Ran because it produces a blue dye.

According to previous experience, Che Luoguo generally does not rob Luo Ran.

Could it be that Che Luoguo wants to occupy more than a dozen villages in Lizhou like last year?

Gu Lin said to the yamen runner, "Immediately notify the deputy commander and ask him to count out a thousand people and follow me to Luo Ran. Also, immediately send people to the counties and prefectures around Luo Ran to alert the people."

The situation was urgent. It would take four days to get from the prefecture to Luo Ran by express horse. After Gu Lin finished talking to the yamen runner, he turned around and said to Lin Zhen, "Uncle Lin, I'm leaving." "

We must bring enough food and grass for more than a thousand people. Outside the prefecture, Luo Ran and other counties have not implemented this year's new farming policies and methods, and the harvest is not good. The original plan to allocate some relief food has not been allocated in time, and I'm afraid we can't provide you with temporary food supplies."

The situation was urgent and there was no time to delay. Gu Lin and his men could only travel light and could not bring much. The food they needed would not be delivered until two days later.

The servants who served Gu Lin had already come over with cloaks and hats. The group walked quickly into the yard where heavy snow was still falling, and disappeared in a blink of an eye.

Lin Zhen retracted his gaze and said to Lu Lu: "Just ask the kitchen to cook a bowl of noodles, and then we'll go to the slaughterhouse."

"Go to the slaughterhouse?" Lu Lu didn't understand why they were going there on a snowy day.

Lin Zhen said: "We have sold a lot of pigs in our pig farm. We sold a lot of lean meat after removing the fat, but there are also some left. I asked them to make jerky and asked them to try to make some canned food. I don't know if it will work."

Gu Lin went to Luo Ran, and there was a high probability that he would have to confront the people of Che Luo Kingdom. When Lin Zhen talked about food and grass, he thought of the two things he made.

He thought that if the things were okay, he could ask the grain transport officer to bring some to Gu Lin and others, and treat himself as a businessman to add some food to the soldiers. It seemed that it would be okay. Thinking of

this, Lin Zhen didn't even have time to eat noodles, and stopped Lu Lu who was going to the kitchen: "I'll just eat two cakes, hitch a carriage, and we'll go to the slaughterhouse now."

The snow was still the same, a piece as big as a thumb. The weather was too cold, and it wouldn't melt immediately when it fell on people.

The roads in the prefecture and the areas 20 to 30 miles outside the city have all been paved with cement. They will no longer be wet when it rains or snows like before.

When the hard and smooth cement road was first built, people would come to see it curiously every day, touching and stepping on it. They wanted to move their houses to this road and study it all the time.

Until now, this trend in the prefecture has only passed, but the convenience it brings still makes people marvel.

Lin Zhen and Lu Lu took a carriage to the slaughterhouse not far from the pig farm. From a distance, the thick snow on the roof looked like cotton candy, almost submerging the slaughterhouse.

Lin Zhen found the manager of the slaughterhouse, "How are the dried meat and canned food that I asked you to make with lean meat?"

The manager said, "Boss, the dried meat is made according to your instructions, with two flavors: five-spice and spicy. I and everyone have tried it, and it tastes very good."

"Two batches of canned food were also made. The cans were steamed and sealed with wax after packaging."

"Have you opened the cans and looked at them?"

"Yes, they haven't changed the taste."

It's mainly because of the weather in Lizhou, which doesn't allow it to change the taste. It's frozen tightly.

The meat used to make canned food is mostly the meat cut from the pig's head. Although Lizhou is poor and the chance of eating this thing is higher than in Anyuan Town, there is good meat that is not expensive, and not many people choose pig's head.

Lin Zhen said to the manager, "Take me to have a look."

"Yes." The manager didn't dare to delay and took Lin Zhen to the warehouse.

These canned food and dried meat were packed in wooden boxes and piled up in a large pile.

The steward bent down and took out a can. It took a lot of effort to open the lid of the can and show Lin Zhen the canned food inside.

The weather was too cold and there was no warming measures. The canned food was frozen hard. Lin Zhen used the tip of a knife to get some crushed ice from the canned soup and tasted it. He soon tasted the slightly salty but fragrant juice.

"Not bad, bring me 30 boxes of canned food and 30 boxes of dried meat. I'll take it away right away."

"Okay, boss."

Lin Zhen took the canned food and dried meat and asked someone as soon as he arrived at the government office. The person in charge of transporting the grain this time was a clerk under Guan Peng. He used to specialize in this job and was considered an expert.

He went to find this person in person. When he got closer, he found that he knew this person. He was the clerk who had eaten at the same table with Gu Lin and others when he was farming.

The clerk who was asking people to count the grain saw Lin Zhen and was about to stand up to greet him. Lin Zhen walked over quickly, not daring to delay his work, and just said: "Sir, I wonder if you can add some extra things when escorting the grain and grass. The shop under my name produces some dried meat and canned meat, and I want to give them to the soldiers to try."

The clerk didn't expect Lin Zhen to come for this matter, and said: "The same distance, the same carriage, it doesn't matter if you send more things. It's a blessing for the soldiers that Boss Lin can take out these things."

Lin Zhen waved his hand: "It won't delay your business. I'll ask someone to send it here and load it on the carriage."

"No problem." Now if anyone in Lizhou Prefecture said that he didn't know Boss Lin, he would probably be pulled to sit down and talk for three days and three nights.

The gouache shop, the soap shop, the soap shop, and the vanishing cream shop, plus the pig farm and slaughterhouse behind, and the magical cement road that made the clerk squat and touch it again and again, which one of them is not worth talking about.

And Lin Zhen is also recognized as a wealthy man in Lizhou Prefecture.

The clerk had been in charge of this matter before. He knew how much grain was in the granary of the provincial government office this year and how the situation compared with the past. He said, "To be honest, Boss Lin, this is the easiest time for me to dispatch grain and grass. In the past, when it came to asking for grain, I was worried when I saw the granary where not even mice came to patronize it."

"Life is getting better and better. This year is just the first year. There are many, many years to come."

Lin Zhen said. Suddenly, he asked the clerk, "Since it's okay to bring some extra food, is it feasible for me to bring some other food?"

"It's feasible."

The clerk nodded, "But Boss Lin, these grain and grass are enough for the one thousand people led by Lord Gu."

"I'm thinking about the people in Luo Ran. This year, there was no new policy for farming, and they were robbed by the Che Luo Kingdom. I'm afraid their life will be difficult." "

If you can bring it, please bring me some grain and grass so that they can have a better life. At least they can get relief grain from the government."

"If possible, I will immediately go to several grain shops on Changping Street and ask them to deliver grain."

The clerk knew that he was making a fortune and had no shortage of money, but there were more people who did not lack money than Lin Zhen. He was the only one who could stand here and say this. The clerk

clasped his fists and said, "Let me first thank Mr. Lin for his kindness on behalf of the people of Luo Ran. By the way, Mr. Lin, if you are interested, you can also go to Luo Ran with us."

"The cavalry's looting is not like when the two armies are confronting each other. They usually only attack the small villages on the side, make a fortune and leave, so as to avoid being surrounded by our assembled troops and horses. They will not go deep into the back, and we are still very safe."

"Will it not cause trouble for you?" Lin Zhen was afraid of delaying their business.

The clerk said, "No, it's because the amount of grain and grass to be transported is small, so there is no need to recruit corvée labor. Otherwise, some civilians will be recruited to follow."

Lin Zhen, who had not thought about going to Luo Ran and only wanted to send some things there, thought about it and decided to go.

Anyway, the weather has been cold recently, so business matters are all handled according to procedures, so there is no need to worry about it myself. It would be good to go and take a look.

Lin Zhen said to the clerk: "Then I will go to the grain shop now and ask them to deliver grain."

Chapter 277

Lin Zhen thought the carriage was too slow, so he rode the red horse directly to the shop of the storekeeper Ma who provided rice to the powder shop, and asked how much buckwheat, sorghum and wheat they had in their shop. He needed

it urgently. The storekeepers of these grain shops had been doing business with him for several months. No matter what needs there were in other places, they would always approach him. Soon, Lin Zhen brought a grain cart to the gate of the government office. Seeing that the clerk had not come out yet, he went back to the backyard of the government office to change into a thicker robe with thick and soft fur inside, and then added a heavy cloak outside. He also wore knee-high boots, which were necessary in Lizhou in winter. He looked rounder.

When he came out, the clerk in charge of transporting grain and grass was ready, wrapped in cotton and wearing a hat that covered his shoulders.

With the order of the clerk, the horse, which was also wrapped tightly, pulled the cart full of grain to the city gate.

The snow outside the city was deep and thick. The cement road was better, with a little less snow. The snow on the grass next to it had already frozen into thick ice. One could imagine how difficult the next road would be.

Lin Zhen rode on his horse, listening to the creaking sound of the wheels rolling on the cement road. After more than 20 miles, the last section of the cement road was finished.

The clerk rode his horse to Lin Zhen and said, "Boss Lin, the next road will be difficult to walk. If you can't stand it, tell me and take a break."

"It's okay."

Lin Zhen was not riding fast, so he was still okay. He asked the clerk, "At our current speed, how long will it take to get to Luo Ran?"

"About seven or eight days," the clerk ran around and was very familiar with these places. He said, "It's still good here in the prefecture. It's not that cold. When the snow gets heavy in Luo Ran, it can bury all the houses. If people stand outside for a while, their blood will freeze."

Similarly, the further north you go in Che Luo, the colder it is. This is why Che Luo would rob in winter.

When people can't even save their lives, it's easy to pick up the butcher knife.

Lin Zhen looked at the vast snow, and the lower half of his face covered with several layers of cotton cloth exhaled hot air.

On the other side, more than a hundred cavalrymen led by Gu Lin rushed to Luo Ran on horseback and looked at the Luo Ran County Office with corpses all over the ground, and their faces darkened.

The soldier who went down to explore the way ran back and said to Gu Lin: "Sir, these people have been dead for two or three days. The thieves of Che Luo State who fled here are probably far away from here."

Gu Lin glanced at the Luo Ran County Magistrate, who was wearing an official robe and lying on his back on the ground, with his intestines frozen solid: "No need to stay here any longer, the people of Che Luo State will not come back here."

"Two people in a group, search two miles around, and report back immediately if you find any traces."

"Yes." Several people searched around in pairs according to Gu Lin's instructions.

The rest of the people followed Gu Lin, dismounted to rest first, and made a few fires and got something to eat.

The military situation was urgent, and they didn't have much food with them. Apart from what they would consume on the road, it was enough for about five or six days.

But no one was in a hurry. The state government didn't need this little food, and the grain transport officer must have been on the way.

The soldiers moved the corpses all over the ground to one side, and then found the kitchen of the county government and used the dry firewood piled inside to make a fire.

The men didn't know how to cook, so they boiled a large pot of water, put the grains they brought in to cook, and served them out when they thought they were almost done .

"Sir." The soldiers below served Gu Lin the driest bowl first.

Gu Lin took it, and ate a bowl of thick porridge in a few bites, as if he didn't see the mushy shells and the mushy smell coming from his nose.

These soldiers were seeing Gu Lin for the first time. When they first set out, they were a little grumbling, wondering if such a young governor would be useful, and whether they would have to take care of him on the road.

But soon they saw Gu Lin's excellent riding skills. There were no problems on the road. He even told the deputy captain to continue the journey with the remaining infantry, and he led the cavalry to gallop towards Luo Ran.

Although the soldiers didn't say anything, they took Gu Lin seriously and no longer looked down on him as they did when they first set out.

After eating, Gu Lin unfolded the map of Lizhou, looked at Luo Ran, and then looked at the surrounding counties.

"Sir, where do you think the group of Che Luo thieves who looted the county government will go?"

"Here." Gu Lin's finger landed on a place.

The little leader, who was just asking casually and trying to get close to the prefect, looked at the place Gu Lin pointed to.

Gu Lin said, "We can attack several more villages if we advance, or we can retreat to Cheluo Country, where it will be difficult to pursue us."

Suddenly, several groups of people who went to investigate came back, "Sir, there is nothing wrong with the direction we investigated."

"Sir, there is nothing wrong with the place we investigated."

"We too..."

"Sir, this is a broken branch I picked up on the ground. Look at the gap." The two people who came back the latest handed a branch to Gu Lin.

Gu Lin took it in his hand and saw that this branch was not a dead branch, but a living branch, and it was as thick as a thumb. It was a kind of cold-resistant tree that can be seen everywhere in Lizhou.

The only difference is the gap.

It was a very neat gap cut by a knife, which required both strength and weapons.

The sergeant said, "The location of this branch is exactly where it will block the direction of travel when riding on a horse, so I judge that the gang of thieves must be going in that direction."

The sergeant who had just spoken to Gu Lin said, "It is also possible that the thieves from Che Luo State cut it down when they came to the county government office, and it may not be the direction they left."

The sergeant who brought the branch was also speechless by this question. Indeed, this situation is also half possible.

Gu Lin asked the sergeant who brought back the branch, "Which direction is the broken end of the tree facing?"

The sergeant's eyes lit up, "Towards the county government office!"

"Immediately rectify and catch up."

"Yes!"

According to the inertia of people using knives, if the cut faces the county government office, it can prove that it was caused after leaving the county government office. After all, people don't need to change direction specifically because of a branch.

The other people who touched knives every day also understood what it meant. After the soldiers who went out to search finished drinking a few mouthfuls of porridge, they immediately rode on their horses and galloped in the direction where the broken branch was left.

The sergeant who talked to Gu Lin looked at him. This direction was clearly the direction he pointed out before.

This prefect...

The cavalry led by Gu Lin had only been chasing for three days when they suddenly saw thick smoke rising from the direction about a mile away.

Today they have been able to capture traces that have not been completely covered by the heavy snow, and they urged their horses to hurry over, and they really caught up!

"Sir?" The sergeant behind him looked at Gu Lin.

Gu Lin held the reins, lowered his body and shouted "gi", and said: "Divide into two groups, one on the left and one on the right, and don't panic when there are too many enemies." "

Yes!" The soldiers rode on their horses and drew their knives.

Gu Lin was equipped with both a knife and a sword, and he also carried a heavy bow on his back.

He was still wearing the scarlet official robe that he had not had time to change. Occasionally, the wind blew up the thick cloak outside, revealing a corner.

"Gee--" He was in the front, as swift as a thread.

The place where the smoke was rising was getting closer and closer.

"Hahahahaha!!!"

"Help--"

The rampant laughter, the desperate cries of the villagers, and the heart-wrenching but abruptly stopped cries of the child were intertwined.

Gu Lin, who was at the front, saw this small village with only more than 20 households, but it was looted by a group of more than 300 Che Luo bandits. There were even several naked bodies with frozen white skin stuck on the tree stumps at the entrance of the village.

Gu Lin looked at the Che Luo people who were about to throw a child into the burning thatched house, pulled out an arrow with an astonishing amount of iron, one-third longer than ordinary arrows, and shot it out.

"Swish--" This arrow, which was longer than ordinary arrows, made a sharp whistling sound, and with a bang, it pierced through the Che Luo people who were holding the child and nailed him to the ground.

The child he was holding rolled to the edge of the fire due to inertia, and his messy hair was ignited by the fire.

The child was burned and screamed, rolling on the ground trying to put out the fire on his head.

The Che Luo people who were watching the excitement reacted very quickly and looked at Gu Lin who was galloping here: "Someone is coming."

Gu Lin saw clearly how these people were dressed. They were wearing armor that covered their whole bodies and pointed hats that were unique to the Che Luo people. The weapons in their hands were also very different. They were weapons that were longer and much heavier than ordinary swords.

Gu Lin could almost instantly imagine how destructive such weapons would be under the power of human power and horse charge. It could pierce armor and be invincible.

Looking at the village that had been burned down and it was almost impossible for anyone to survive, Gu Lin raised his hand and made a gesture. The soldiers who were slightly behind him slowed down. The soldiers who were originally divided into two groups also divided into four groups and took out the trip ropes with hooks on one end that each of them was equipped with.

Gu Lin reined in his horse, pulled out another arrow with his fingers and put it on the bow, and shot the arrow at a high speed straight towards the group of Che Luo people.

The people of Che Luo did not expect that Gu Lin, who had only brought so few people with him, would not run away immediately, but dared to shoot arrows at them

right away, and chopped the arrows with a knife. As soon as the man shot the arrow, the other two arrows flew straight at his face like a meteor chasing the moon. Before he and the others could make any move, one of the arrows had already entered his eye socket and passed out from the back of his head.

"Kill him!" The Che Luo people, who had been successful since coming to the border, felt that this was tantamount to a slap in the face, and immediately jumped on their horses to chop this ignorant Dayu man into eight pieces.

Others did not take Gu Lin and the other 100 people seriously, and were determined to take them all down like killing birds.

"Woo--" The Che Luo people roared like a wild beast and rushed over on horseback.

Gu Lin immediately slapped his horse and galloped, raising his hand to make a gesture different from the previous one. When he shot and killed the two Che Luo people, the soldiers who had been prepared made the action of throwing a tripwire, regardless of whether this trick could be used, and immediately urged their horses to run forward without hesitation.

Gu Lin immediately found the right opportunity, and the heavy bow in his hand made a series of teeth-grinding sounds. One arrow after another took advantage of his weakness to kill him, and shot to death seven or eight Che Luo people who were accidentally caught in the trap and had become a little distracted.

Chapter 278

"Woo--" The Che Luo people who had been shot dead were completely enraged by Gu Lin, and rushed over on horseback, waving the long and heavy unknown sharp weapon in their hands.

A sergeant's horse on the Lizhou side may have stepped on a hole made by a mouse. After hesitating for a moment, he was caught up by two or three people holding such strange sharp weapons. Under the powerful horse charge, he was instantly pierced and split by two or three such strange sharp weapons.

The other sergeants were frightened by this horrible scene, and their hands holding the knives were shaking a little.

Gu Lin frowned and took the trip rope that was also equipped in his hand.

The sound of metal colliding, the neighing of the horse...

"Whew..." Gu Lin looked at the horse whose belly was torn open by the sharp weapon of the Che Luo people and fell on the snow with only the last breath left, and neatly cut its neck so that it would no longer have to tremble in pain.

The big horse's eyes slowly closed, and the ears that often turned around completely stopped moving, quietly sticking together.

A soldier with one arm hanging down and blood dripping came over, "Sir, our people were injured in total 50 people, and 9 died on the spot."

"How about the bandits from Che Luo country?"

The soldier showed a touch of satisfaction under the heavy weight: "We killed 172 people on the spot, and another 35 were injured and could not escape."

The soldier said, looking at Gu Lin with a different look than before. Those who witnessed and participated in it understood who really contributed to such a great victory. The constantly changing formations and the unbelievable force. If they hadn't seen it with their own eyes, they would not believe that there would be such a person as Gu Lin.

"But sir, we don't understand what they say, and we can't get any useful information."

"Kill them."

Gu Lin said: "The seriously injured people return to Luo Ran County Office, and the rest of the people who can move will continue to chase these remaining people with me."

The soldier was now very convinced of Gu Lin. Gu Lin asked them to continue chasing, and there was naturally his reason. He gave this order without asking anything.

Gu Lin looked at the bodies of the Lizhou soldiers and the bodies of the Che Luo people on the snow, and picked up the strange sharp blade that made them suffer.

The handle of the sharp blade is longer than the sword, with blades on all sides. It is long and heavy, which is a bit inconvenient on the ground, but it is a rare weapon on horseback. It is

an excellent weapon for charging into battle.

Suddenly, Gu Lin looked up in the direction of the burned village, and saw the boy who was almost thrown into the fire by the Che Luo people, with his hair burned and his scalp burned, running towards this side.

"I want to follow you and kill them."

"You can't do it now." Gu Lin said.

"I want to kill them, I want to avenge my parents!" The child who just reached Gu Lin's waist said while crying. Gu Lin called the sergeant over and said, "Before you go back to Luo Ran County Office, check if there are any survivors in the village and bring them back to Luo Ran County Office."

"The deputy captain and his men should have arrived in Luo Ran County, and the people transporting food and grass will arrive in two days. Send someone to meet them."

"Yes." The sergeant was injured in his leg and walked with a limp. He was not responsible for the task of chasing the Che Luo people. He was responsible for taking the remaining people back to Luo Ran County.

Gu Lin rode on another horse, "We don't have much food and grass left, at most four days. Even if we can't get rid of the remaining Che Luo country bandits, we will return to Luo Ran County after exploring the surrounding situation. You will meet up with the deputy captain in Luo Ran County and search the surrounding villages."

"I understand."

The soldier with a wounded leg pulled the child standing next to Gu Lin and asked him not to stand in front of the horse. Until Gu Lin and his men disappeared completely, he lowered his head and said to the skinny child with a burned scalp: "You have seen how powerful our master is. He killed all these beasts from Che Luo."

"You... why didn't you come earlier..." The child cried heartbreakingly and squatted on the ground covering his face.

The soldier was indifferent. He did not argue that Master Gu brought them here as soon as he heard the news, nor did he say how many people they injured.

The border of Lizhou has been harassed by Che Luo for many years. It is not a one-day effort or one-man effort that can be saved. Many ordinary soldiers and civilians die at the hands of Che Luo every winter.

According to the tacit agreement of previous years, the Che Luo people would leave after looting, and the survivors would eat and drink.

The sergeant opened the bottle of powder he carried with him, sprinkled a layer on the little boy's head, and took those who could move a little and had treated their wounds to the looted village.

As soon as they entered the village, they saw the naked frozen bodies. They were indifferent and carried them directly into the fire, letting the bodies burn with the houses.

Going further in, there were broken and damaged things everywhere, burning thatched houses, and corpses in various postures. The sergeant with a wounded leg said, "There are no living people. Let's go back to Luoran County."

Such a scene made people dare not look directly at it. These farmers might have been discussing with their families what to eat for today's meal, whether the children were well-behaved, and whether next year would be better before being looted. Suddenly

, everything turned upside down. Not only did they suffer humiliation, but they also lost their lives.

The soldiers who stayed behind were silent, bearing the wounds on their bodies to help their immobile comrades onto horses, and walked towards Luo Ran.

When they chased out, their horses were very fast, but when they returned, they were not fast. They returned to Luo Ran County Office on the afternoon of the third day.

The deputy commander who had arrived here the day before, and the soldiers led by the deputy commander, really gathered in Luo Ran County. When they found them,

they hurriedly ran forward and asked, "Where is Lord Gu?" There were more than a hundred cavalrymen who came first, and now there are only forty or fifty left?

The person who asked the question felt cold in his heart, and had a bad premonition.

Feng Dong, who was riding on a horse with a child sitting in front of him, said, "We encountered the bandits of Che Luo State two days away from Luo Ran County. We killed more than 170 people and seriously injured more than 30 people. Lord Gu took the brothers who were not injured to continue chasing the fleeing bandits of Che Luo State." Together

with the deputy captain, the sergeant who arrived a few days later felt that he seemed to not understand Feng Dong's words. How many people did they have? They actually killed more than 170 bandits of Luo Ran State and seriously injured dozens of them. Seeing that the weak Lord Gu was still chasing the enemy?

This man did not dare to delay and hurriedly reported this to the deputy captain. The deputy captain called Feng Dong and Deng Cheng up to question them soon, and they got the same words.

The deputy captain did not believe it, but Feng Dong described the details of their encounter with the Che Luo people clearly, and even repeated every word that Gu Lin said, so he had to believe it.

He touched his head and looked at Feng Dong: "Master Gu... is he really that powerful?"

"I dare not criticize you, but if it weren't for you, let alone killing so many beasts from the Che Luo Kingdom, I'm afraid we wouldn't be able to withstand the first encounter."

Feng Dong and his men were responsible for cleaning up the battlefield. Except for the weapons taken away by Gu Lin and his men, they brought back all the rest, as well as the horses from the Che Luo Kingdom. The deputy captain couldn't help but believe it.

So the deputy captain organized people to patrol the surrounding villages according to Gu Lin's instructions brought back by Feng Dong.

Feng Dong and his men were injured, so they naturally didn't need to participate in the task of searching the village. They found a street, looked at the yard where no living people lived, and temporarily settled down here.

Feng Dong, a soldier with a wounded leg, helped himself off his horse and said, "Let's clean up these corpses first, and rest here for a few days until the adults come back."

"Oh, Deng Cheng, I forgot to tell the deputy captain just now. Ask him to find two people to look for the grain transport officer in the direction of the state capital. Your injury is relatively minor, and they should be here soon, so don't make any mistakes."

"Okay, be careful here."

"Don't worry, the adults have thought of it. This place was once looted by people from Che Luo State. They won't come back."

Deng Cheng clasped his fists to Feng Dong and went to find the deputy captain.

In the past two days, the snow has been getting heavier. It's like goose feathers, and it won't melt even if it falls on people. Every time he walks for a while, Lin Zhen has to take off his hat to shake off the snow, and then put it on again.

Because of this increasingly heavy snow, they should have arrived at Luo Ran yesterday, but now they are still on the road. Moreover, such heavy snow made the clerks who came many times to transport grain almost lose their way and had to stop to rest when the snow was heavier.

"Boss Lin, don't worry. Lord Gu is wise and brave. He will definitely not be trapped."

"I know, there is no other way to rush. Where are we now?" Lin Zhen saw that the clerk had tried his best. It was useless to urge him. He got off the horse and stepped into the snow as deep as his thighs.

The clerk held up his bamboo hat and took a look: "We are still more than ten miles away from Luo Ran. Let's take a break and see if the snow will be lighter. We can reach there in less than a morning."

As he spoke, the clerk ordered people: "You, bring shovels and clear this piece of land. Everyone, have something to eat and don't let your body get cold."

The people in Lizhou were used to such snowy weather. They walked over with shovels, shoveling the snow where Lin Zhen and the clerk stood to the side and then slowly cleared a piece of open space along this place. The piled up

snow became a ready-made windbreak, and Lin Zhen, who had been blown by the cold wind, was finally not so cold.

He patted the snow on the horse's mane, went to the carriage pulling canned meat, took out a box and put it on the ground, and pried open the lid of the wooden box.

"Seven or eight boxes are enough for us, bring the pot." He took out eight boxes of canned meat and placed them on the ground covered with crushed ice.

The clerk came over and said, "Boss Lin, what is this?"

"This is canned food. It contains cooked meat. When you open it and cook it, it will become meat soup. I brought a total of 30 boxes. I originally wanted to give it to Lord Gu and his soldiers, but I didn't expect that we would eat it first."

"Canned meat?" In the freezing snow, they either ate dry food or drank pickled vegetables and soup all day, and their mouths were almost bland.

When they heard the word meat, the clerk's eyes lit up.

The people below had already brought the pot. Lin Zhen used a knife to pierce the thin iron sheet lid of the meat can, and took out the frozen meat can inside with a knife.

The meat cans were made of solid ingredients. Although they were pig heads, they were handled very cleanly and cut into fist-sized pieces. They were cooked just right, and even though they were frozen, they tasted good.

The clerk and the people below swallowed their saliva. To be honest, if it wasn't for the heavy snow today and they had to stop to rest and have extra rest time, they wouldn't have had the chance to taste this stuff.

After opening eight cans of meat, Lin Zhen wiped his knife on the snow and said, "It's done. Let's share some of the food so that everyone can have a taste."

"Thank you, Boss Lin!" The food and fodder they brought didn't have this stuff. It was purely paid for by Boss Lin himself. The people below were very happy. They lit two or three fires under the snow wall and put the pots on them.

In such cold weather, the water boiled slowly. After a while, a strong aroma of meat reached everyone's noses, and the rumbling sound of their stomachs was very loud.

Lin Zhen was not that greedy, but he wanted to drink something hot. After the canned meat was completely melted in the pot and cooked into a pot of porridge with sorghum rice, he took a bowl in his hand and ate it carefully.

"Hiss--" The clerk sitting next to him was so scalded that he made noises while eating and sighed, "This canned meat is so delicious, fat but not greasy, it's really good."

"Boss Lin, is this also what your Lin's shop sells?"

Lin Zhen drank the porridge: "This is made of pig's head."

The clerk paused holding the bowl: "Pig's head tastes like this?"

"Not bad?"

"Very good, it was such a waste before, we didn't even eat the pigs we killed at home."

The clerk was an official, and he was open-minded from what he said. Lin Zhen said, "There are pigs to be slaughtered every day in my slaughterhouse. If you want to eat it, just go there and buy one."

"Hahahaha, that's right," the clerk took a sip of the canned sorghum rice and meat porridge and sighed, "My family has said that since your pig farm and slaughterhouse opened, Boss Lin, the meat in our state has become cheaper, especially red meat, which is half cheaper than before. Many families in the city like to buy some to satisfy their hunger."

"I opened the pig farm and slaughterhouse because of the soap and perfume shops. The pork sold is pretty good, with more fat than before, and the red meat is also delicious. I might as well sell some outside."

The clerk listened to Lin Zhen's words, drank the last mouthful of porridge, wiped his mouth and said, "Let's not talk about anything else. When it comes to doing business, Boss Lin, if you talk about this," the clerk stretched out his index finger, then stretched out his thumb, "others dare not say this."

"Lizhou is blessed to have you and Lord Gu."

The other subordinates also ate with oil on their lips. They didn't care whether it was pig head meat or not. Anyway, it was edible meat, no matter what!

After eating the porridge, the people below added two pieces of firewood to the fire. With the cover of the snow wall, everyone was not as cold as before, and their numb legs and feet gradually regained consciousness.

The horses that had worked hard all the way also became a little more lively, flapping their ears and snorting.

He took off his hat and shook off the snow. Lin Zhen looked up at the sky and said, "The snow is still not going to stop. I have to rest here today."

The clerk sighed and said, "There is no other way. Boss Lin, you should rest first."

Chapter 279

The snow was so bright that it was impossible to tell what time it was. Lin Zhen woke up when he heard people packing up.

He glanced at everyone who had almost finished packing: "Why didn't you call me?"

The clerk said: "If Boss Lin doesn't wake up, I will wake you up."

"The snow is finally a little lighter, and we can get on the road."

Lin Zhen took a look, and it was true. The snowflakes were no longer as big as when he was sleeping, nor as dense, and were much gentler than yesterday.

He untied the cotton cloth around the lower half of his face, grabbed two handfuls of snow and rubbed his face in the biting cold wind, and wrapped the cotton cloth again: "Let's go, try to get to Luo Ran's vicinity today."

"Okay, everyone, take all the things, check whether the bundles of food and grass are tied up, and get ready to go." The clerk put his hands around his mouth and shouted to the people behind him, and soon, responses came back one after another.

"No problem."

"It's all tied up tightly."

"You can go."

"Well, let's go." The clerk stepped on the stirrup and rode on the horse. Seeing that Lin Zhen had also ridden the horse, he squeezed the horse's belly and drove the horse forward.

These horses were specially selected military horses. They were tall, but they were also buried in the thick snow, making every step difficult.

Suddenly, when Lin Zhen was riding on the horse and his waist and legs were sore, he saw two people coming towards this side in the silver sky.

He squinted his eyes and found that the two men were wearing the clothes of Lizhou soldiers. He turned his head and said to the clerk, "It seems that they are the soldiers who came with Lord Gu and the deputy captain."

The clerk, whose eyes could only see white, looked hard and patted the horse's neck, "Indeed, it seems that we are not far from Lord Gu and his men."

Lin Zhen and the clerk's group was not small, so the two naturally saw them and ran towards them at a slightly faster speed, "We are the soldiers under the deputy captain, and we are specially ordered to come to meet you." The clerk clasped

his fists and said, "All the food and grass are here. This place should not be far from Luoran County, right?"

"Not far, five or six miles, we will be there soon." It is said that food and grass must be sent before troops move. This time they were in a hurry and could only carry a few days of rations with them, and then the grain transport officer would transport the food. It would be a lie if they were not panicking.

Lizhou is sparsely populated, and it is really difficult to replenish food and grass on the spot. Once the food is cut off, it will be bad.

Fortunately, although the food and grass were a little late, they were still received by them.

Two soldiers walked in front to lead the way. About two hours later, Lin Zhen followed the team transporting food and grass into Luoran County. The

less than 1,000 soldiers led by the deputy commander did not say much about Luoran County. The streets that were not paved with stones became muddy, slippery and dirty because of the snow and people's trampling.

Lin Zhen's face was a little relieved when he thought that he would see Gu Lin soon.

The soldiers patrolling in the county saw them and said after checking: "Luoran County has been looted by Che Luoguo. The houses are empty. You can unload the food and grass there."

He pointed casually, and Lin Zhen looked in the direction he pointed, and twisted his head because he said that Luoran County was looted by Che Luoguo.

He knew from the people of Lizhou that the people of Che Luoguo were very cruel. Once they arrived at a place, they would not only take away all the local food, cattle, horses, pigs and dogs, but also kill all the people there, even the newborn babies.

Is there anyone who survived in this not-so-big Luoran County?

Lin Zhenxin looked down and asked the sergeant, "Where is Lord Gu? Where is he now?"

The sergeant thought he was a clerk transporting grain and grass, and said, "Lord Gu led a hundred cavalrymen to Luoran first, and confronted a pair of Che Luo thieves. He not only killed more than half of the Che Luo thieves, but also led the remaining people to chase the remaining Che Luo thieves." "

Now in Luoran County, there is only the deputy captain."

Hearing that Gu Lin led people to Luoran first and confronted the Che Luo people, Lin Zhen tightened his hand holding the reins, and the clerk transporting grain was also a little surprised.

These grains are military rations, and they should be reported to Gu Lin. Now that Gu Lin is not here, he can only go to the deputy captain first.

The clerk said to Lin Zhen, "Boss Lin, please go with them to rest for a while. Lord Gu is not an impulsive person and should be back soon."

"Well, sir, go and get busy."

The sergeant who answered Lin Zhen's question realized that Lin Zhen was not an official in charge of transporting grain, but almost everyone in the state government knew the three words "Boss Lin". After thinking for a while, he did not ask.

Lin Zhen and the people who transported the grain and grass followed the sergeant's instructions and pulled the grain and grass to the mud-walled house that no longer had an owner. There

are many houses in the county town. The sergeants only came here to take a look and did not live in it, so the house still maintains the appearance when the owner of the house died.

A pottery jar was placed crookedly on the extinguished small stove, the table and stools fell on the ground in a mess, and there were even traces of blood splatter on the gray window. It's just that

the blood had been splashed there for a long time and had turned a bit black.

Lin Zhen did not bother the grain transporters. He picked a room by himself, walked in, lifted up the table and stool inside, and used the firewood of the original owner to light it in the fire pit. He took off the cotton cloth wrapped around his face only after his body was warm.

Suddenly, just when Lin Zhen wanted to take the jar outside to collect some snow, wash the jar after heating it, and boil water to drink, a voice came from outside.

Lin Zhen walked out with the jar, and saw more than 20 men, women, old and young, who were thinly dressed and looked sad, being led by soldiers from the other end of the narrow street. The sergeant in front said, "You will stay here temporarily. When the higher-ups send a message, we will see how to settle you."

"This is your rations, eat sparingly." The area where Lin Zhen lived was occupied by the grain transporters, so these more than 20 men, women, old and young could only live farther away. Their eyes fluctuated a little after seeing the grain. Among

the grain transported, there was Lin Zhen's grain, as well as the canned meat and 30 boxes of dried meat that had been opened and 29 boxes left.

He took two cans of meat and walked towards them: "Father, are you from the villages around Luo Ran?"

The old man in his fifties, with white hair and beard, looked at the handsome Lin Zhen and thought he was just the family of these officials. He said in a dull tone: "Yes, I am from Luo Ran Da Chong Village, and they are all from the village."

"The snow this year is much heavier than in previous years. It crushed the houses. There are more than a hundred people in our village, and only these are left."

"..." More than a hundred people, that is, only seven or eight households, a dozen households, encountered a sudden disaster, and there were not many left.

"In fact, even if there was no snow, we would not survive this winter. The harvest this year is not good. If the food cannot be eaten before the snow melts, we will die."

Lin Zhen was silent.

Chapter 280

This is the lowest level of existence in Lizhou. They have foreseen their own death. It doesn't matter to them whether they die early or late.

The arrival of the Lizhou soldiers made them deviate a little from the road that they could see the end of. They didn't know what their future fate would be, and they didn't have so much energy to think about it.

Lin Zhen asked him: "Old man, do you know what other villages are around?"

"Yes, there is a smaller village behind our village, called Pingshang Village. There are several villages on the left and many on the right. I have been to them all when I was young." "

Except for Pingshang Village, other villages are bigger than our village. With such a heavy snow this year, I'm afraid it will be difficult."

"Thank you, old man," Lin Zhen felt that what they needed more than canned meat should be food. He said to the old man who answered him, "Old man, I came here with the government's grain transport team. I have some food. You call two young people and I will give you some food. Consider it our fate today."

The government's grain and grass seem to be a lot, but more than a thousand people need a lot of food a day, but it's just enough to eat.

There was less food to be distributed to the people.

The father-in-law and the villagers looked at the man who seemed to have come from heaven and was different from them: "Give us food?"

"We, we don't have money."

"We don't want your money. The government has already decided to distribute relief food to you. It should be arranged in a few days. I just took the opportunity to do something within my ability."

"It's cold. Let's not stand here. Adults can bear it, and children can't. Hurry up and get the food and cook it hot."

The more than 20 people looked at each other and felt that they had nothing to be deceived by the man in front of them. Immediately, two young men came out and followed Lin Zhen to get food.

Lin Zhen took a look. The two young men were in their early twenties, with tall frames, but not much flesh on their bodies. They were wrapped in tattered clothes that they didn't know how long they had worn. Their faces were blue with cold.

Lin Zhen took them to where he lived, found the food he brought, and asked them to take two bags down: "These two bags are for you. Before waiting for the relief food from the government, everyone should save some. Not only you, but if people from other villages come, ask them to come here to get some food."

"Thank you, husband, thank you, husband." The two bags were full of food. If they were to save some, it would be enough for the people in their village to live longer.

Maybe, as this husband said, they can wait for the relief food from the government.

I don't know if this news is true, there has never been any relief food in previous years.

The two young men carried the food back to the place where they lived. The deputy captain on horseback saw them and asked the clerk who had just reported to him: "Did someone privately give our food to the local villagers?" The

clerk's heart was pounding. Food is food, which belongs to the army. If they use it for other purposes privately, they will be punished.

Suddenly, the clerk thought of Lin Zhen who came with him, and realized that it should be Lin Zhen who gave it to these local people.

But he couldn't say such ambiguous words in front of the deputy captain, so he just said: "I will go and call those two people over now and ask them clearly about what happened."

As he said that, the clerk walked quickly towards the two young men carrying grain.

The young men were so frightened when they saw the clerk in official robes that they almost couldn't carry the grain on their shoulders.

The clerk raised his hand to tell them not to be afraid, and whispered to them: "Are these two bags of grain given to you by the same man?"

"Yes..."

"This...this grain..." There won't be any problem.

"It's okay, just come with me and explain it to the adults." The clerk reassured them and took the two frightened people over.

"Master Qianhu," the clerk clasped his fists, "I have already inquired clearly. The grain these two people took was given to them by Boss Lin, who came to Luoran County with the grain transport team and brought a lot of grain with him to do some good deeds."

"It's also my fault that I was confused and didn't mention this matter in front of you."

"Boss Lin?"

"Yes, Boss Lin of Lin's Water Powder Shop, Soap Shop, and Soap Shop in the state capital." The clerk didn't say that Lin Zhen was Master Gu's uncle. Everyone knew about this, so there was no need to say it at all.

The deputy Qianhu pulled the reins: "I know, in this case, let them go back."

"Yes." The clerk waved his hand to let the two young men go.

The two young men hurriedly carried the grain and walked away quickly.

Just when the clerk thought that the matter was over, he suddenly heard the deputy Qianhu next to him seem to ask him: "I heard that Master Gu's uncle, this Boss Lin, looks like a witch, is it true?"

"..." The clerk's shoulders trembled, and he didn't dare to take up the conversation.

The deputy captain bent down and said to him, "My previous wife has passed away for several years, and I have not found someone who suits my heart. Mr. Lin can follow you from the state capital to Luoran County. I think he is a brave man. He is qualified to be my husband."

The clerk looked like he was struck by lightning. He just wanted to grab the deputy captain and shake him. You illiterate rough men, can you understand some etiquette? If you want someone to be your husband, he must be your husband!

That's Boss Lin!

Lord Gu's uncle!

The richest man in Lizhou now!

Who will marry a rough man like you!

And Boss Lin has never shown the intention of getting married. He is either doing business or doing business every day. Occasionally, when he has some free time, he stays in the government office with Lord Gu, his nephew. The clerk

touched his forehead and felt that he would talk to Boss Lin later and ask him to stay away from this stubborn deputy captain.

Lin Zhen didn't expect that he was being noticed and labeled as qualified to be the wife of a thousand households. He was filling a jar with snow and carrying the jar back to the house. As

soon as the fire started, the snow melted quickly and soon it started to boil.

There is a saying in Lin Zhen's hometown that snow brings dust with it when it falls, and eating snow will cause stomachache. When he was a child, he was naughty and went to catch snow to play and secretly licked snow to eat. His grandparents told him so.

Fortunately, when he came here, the two old people didn't suffer much and died of old age, otherwise he wouldn't be so carefree now.

Lin Zhen pulled his flying thoughts back, washed two bowls and two pairs of chopsticks with the jar, then washed the jar, filled it with snow again and boiled it.

He took a bowl and poured out a bowl of boiling water, put it aside, put two handfuls of sorghum rice in the jar, and then pierced the tin lid of a can of meat and placed it on the stove.

Lin Zhen thought a lot when making this batch of canned food. He encountered many difficulties when choosing the outer packaging. Wood is cheap and resistant to falling, but it will have odor, and it is water-permeable and not airtight enough.

Porcelain is easy to break during transportation and difficult to preserve.

Glass has not been made yet. The main material quartz sand requires a lot of money. I am afraid that I will have to look for it when the weather is hot next year. Besides, he plans to sell glass as a luxury product, so he will not consider it. After choosing and choosing

, only iron, which is the most expensive but also the best, is left. In order to save costs, he asked the blacksmith shop to make the iron sheet of the can box very thin. The cost has been reduced, but there is an unavoidable problem with canned meat, which is easy to deform.

That is, the weather in Lizhou is cold now, which has frozen the meat and juice inside a little, so you have to be careful in hot weather.

Sorghum rice is easy to cook, and the pork head in the tin box is also bubbling after being heated. Lin Zhen took a bowl and chopsticks, and drank the sorghum rice porridge with the pork head.

To be honest, Lin Zhen never thought that sorghum rice was delicious. It was sour and tasteless, and it was rough after being cooked.

"Boss Lin."

A voice suddenly sounded outside.

Lin Zhen recognized that it was the clerk who transported the grain. He put down the bowl and walked out. Unexpectedly, there was a soldier in his thirties with a beard and a body as strong as an iron tower standing in front of the clerk.

The clerk looked a little unnatural and said, "Boss Lin, the deputy captain just saw you giving food to those villagers and wanted to meet you."

The clerk really didn't expect that the deputy captain had a brain. He had hinted so many times, but he still came to find Boss Lin.

Boss Lin is a husband after all. How can he come alone? It would be strange if there were no gossip.

So the clerk followed behind the horse's butt.

Lin Zhen looked at the deputy captain of Lizhou who was riding on a horse and saluted with his fists, "Captain."

"My goodness, you are really good-looking. Hey, I have never seen such a good-looking person."

"Boss Lin, are you afraid to come here from the provincial capital? It's freezing and snowy, there is no warm bed and no big fish and meat, and you might even meet the thieves from Che Luo Kingdom. Are you afraid?"

Lin Zhen felt that this deputy captain was a little silly...

He said, "Lord Gu, the captain, and the soldiers are not afraid. I am content to stay in the rear, it's not my turn to be afraid."

"You are really a courageous man," the deputy captain who was in his thirties turned over and dismounted, grinning and walked up to Lin Zhen, "Mr. Lin, what do you think of me?"

"I'm in good health, in good health, can eat five or six bowls of rice for a meal, and I have official duties to do. It would be nice for the two of us to live together."

"..." The clerk opened his mouth, looked at Lin Zhen, then at the deputy captain, and turned away.

Good fellow, good fellow, how can you say such words so easily! ?

Lin Zhen looked at the captain in front of him, and inexplicably felt a chill on the back of his neck. He thought of Gu Lin who would eat vinegar even for a dish, and said bluntly: "Sorry, captain, I already have someone I like."

"Ah?"

"Didn't he say that you are busy with business every day and have never been close to anyone?"

Lin Zhen glanced at the clerk: "He was already in love with him before coming to Lizhou."

"Then why didn't he follow you to Lizhou?"

"I came." He

also followed Luo Ran.

The deputy captain, who looked big but inexplicably a little silly, arched his eyebrows like dancing, "Why am I a step late!"

He stretched out his arms and patted his strong arms: "Is he as strong as me?"

Lin Zhen: "..."

He can probably punch two of you.