Chapter 88 Doing good deeds accumulates merit
Under the big locust tree.
The ten captains appointed by the village head stood beside him.
Team members were selected one by one according to age and seniority. Most people chose their own blood relatives, such as uncles, cousins, etc. To be honest, there are only so many people in the village. If you go around in circles, you can basically find that everyone is related by blood. It's just a matter of how close the blood relationship is.
Finally, it was Zhao Sanniu's turn, and he remembered Cheng Wanwan's instructions.
He was only fourteen years old, and all the people he picked were under twenty, and none of them had the surname Zhao.
Zhao Dawang was furious. He was fifteen years old, a year older than San Niu. He thought San Niu would definitely choose him as a team member, but when he read out the names one by one, he was not called.
"Cough cough cough!"
Zhao Dawang tried desperately to hint at it.
Grandma Zhao grabbed his ear: "What are you doing, child? San Niu can choose whomever he wants, why are you worrying about it?"
Sun twitched her lips and said, "San Niu is really something. There are so many people in our Zhao family, including his second and third uncles, as well as Da Wang and Er Wang. Aren't they all capable of patrolling? Why did he choose so many people with different surnames?"
"Why are you always stirring up trouble!" Old Mrs. Zhao glared at her, annoyed. "Breakfast hasn't been made yet. Hurry back and start a fire to steam some cornbread."
Sun gritted her teeth.
Isn't what she said right? Why does the mother-in-law always favor the eldest son's wife? Let's see if she'll still be biased after she gives birth to a son.
She left indignantly.
After Zhao Sanniu selected ten people, he was stuck. He was the last one to choose his team members, and his options were very limited.
Hearing Zhao Dawang cough violently, he had no choice but to speak: "The eleventh one, Zhao Dawang."
Da Wang Ge isn't an elder, so he shouldn't be considered to have disobeyed his mother.
He continued searching through the crowd, but all he saw were elders of the Zhao family. They would tease and joke with him whenever they saw him. It was impossible to get these people to obediently become his team members and follow his orders.
But we really couldn't find anyone else. We couldn't very well let Zhao Erwang, who was only eleven years old, patrol the area.
Just then, Zhang Dagang stepped out from the crowd and said, "San Niu, choose me. I'm pretty good at fighting."
Zhang Dagang was just over twelve years old, which was quite young. He took the initiative to step forward, and Zhao Sanniu was about to refuse without even thinking about it.
Then he remembered what Zhang Dagang had said a couple of days ago: he had personally seen Widow Zhang and Zhao Fugui sneaking into the woods... and thus cleared his mother of suspicion.
Zhao Sanniu nodded: "Alright, the twelfth one, Zhang Dagang."
At this point, all team members have been selected.
Fearing that some people might feel resentful and make sarcastic remarks, the village head instructed, "The patrol team will continue to expand. Well-performing members will be promoted to captains, and others will also have the opportunity to join the patrol team. Alright, meeting adjourned!"
The villagers dispersed.
Zhao Sanniu raised his chin and looked at Cheng Wanwan: "Mom, I'm the team leader now, hehehe."
Zhao Sidan said enviously, "Third Brother, you're really amazing."
Cheng Wanwan patted his shoulder: "The village head trusts you, that's why he's willing to promote you. You have to do a good job and not embarrass your father, understand?"
Zhao Sanniu immediately straightened his back: "I will!"
Cheng Wanwan then looked at Zhao Ergou and said gently, "You seem to have lost some weight. It's okay, Mom will cook you something delicious."
Zhao Ergou felt very uncomfortable wearing his new clothes.
His original patched and tattered clothes were torn by tree branches and rocks during his many trips up the mountain to find water. With a wave of his hand, the magistrate gave each of them a new set of clothes. These clothes were not made of coarse cloth, but felt very soft to the touch.
He said, "Have your sister-in-law alter these clothes for Mother."
Cheng Wanwan glared at him: "Nonsense, does your mother lack this set of clothes? You should wear it properly, it's a reward from the county magistrate. Tell me, what has happened in the past five days?"
Zhao Ergou began to recount his experiences over the past five days.
It was simply a matter of finding water sources and determining the routes of irrigation ditches. Some villages refused to cooperate and were violently suppressed by the county magistrate.
“On the fourth day, both Phoenix Town and Hekou Town sent feng shui masters over,” Zhao Ergou said. “They wanted to learn how to find water sources. I didn’t hold anything back; it was my fault. Please punish me, Mother.”
Cheng Wanwan looked at him seriously: "Then tell me, why didn't you keep anything to yourself?"
Zhao Ergou lowered his head: "We've only been running around Ping'an Town for four or five days, which has more than thirty villages. Hekou Town is even bigger, with nearly fifty villages. If we were to handle it all, we could indeed make some more money from the county magistrate of Hekou Town. But at the same time, it would take even longer. The rice will be ready for harvest in half a month. If we delay any longer, I'm afraid the rice fields in other towns will yield nothing..."
"Then why do you think your mother will punish you?" Cheng Wanwan's voice was very gentle. "You have done a good deed. Doing good deeds will accumulate merit and bring you good fortune in the future."
A light shone in Zhao Ergou's eyes: "Mother, you really don't blame me?"
Cheng Wanwan couldn't resist ruffling his hair.
"Of course it's not your fault. You earned five hundred coins this time, that's really impressive. Come on, let's go home."
As he reached his doorstep, he heard Aunt Wang from next door cursing in the street. Aunt Wang grabbed Wang Yongcheng's ear and yelled, "You spendthrift! Is this how you spend money? Pork has gone up to over forty coins a pound! Couldn't you have bought some millet or wheat flour instead of meat? Just this little bit cost forty coins! You damned spendthrift! How did I marry such a dog like you?!"
Wang Yongcheng hurriedly said, "Didn't you say the children haven't eaten meat for a year? I happened to see a butcher selling meat, so I bought some. I won't lose out. I asked the butcher to give me a small pork bone to make soup for the children later."
Everyone who went out with him earned five hundred coins. They all bought meat to take home, so how could he not buy some for his wife and children? He had no regrets.
The loach licked its lips: "Mother, I want to eat meat."
Xiaomai swallowed hard: "Mom, I don't want to eat meat, I just want a sip of soup."
Aunt Wang shook her head: "Alright, alright, come in, but this piece of meat can't be eaten all at once. No family eats like that. Each person gets a piece of meat to stir-fry with wild vegetables, and the rest can be pickled and eaten slowly later."
"Mother, I've also bought some meat." Zhao Ergou walked into the yard and took out two bundles of meat from his wide sleeves. "It weighed two jin in total and cost ninety coins. I have four hundred and ten coins left."
He gave all his money to Cheng Wanwan.
Cheng Wanwan put away the copper coins, took out a knife, and cut off a piece of pork about half a finger long: "Ergou, take this to your grandpa and grandma. You've made quite a bit of money this time, so you should show some respect to the elders."
Zhao Ergou nodded and took the two ounces of meat to the Zhao family's old house.
Right now, the old family is preparing their main meal for the morning, and everyone is busy in the yard.
"Oh my, Er Gou, you look really good in this outfit." Madam Wen couldn't help but praise. "Let me feel the fabric. It's fine linen and satin. A foot of this fabric costs about ten coins. The magistrate is indeed very generous."
Zhao Ergou felt a little embarrassed. He would definitely change out of this shirt when he got back, wash it, and put it away to wear when he got married.
He picked up the pork in his hand and said, "Grandma, this is what my mother asked me to bring to you as a token of her respect."
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