The next day, Zhang Juntou came up the mountain in person.
Upon seeing Jiang Zhi, he said, "Sister-in-law Jiang, I heard you have any earthen beds that can be used for wounded soldiers?"
Jiang Zhi showed him the kang (heated brick bed) covered with a thin layer of rice: "Squad Leader Zhang, this is the kang. You only need to burn some firewood underneath, and the top will stay warm."
Zhang Jun touched the warm kang surface and the dried rice grains, a look of satisfaction in his eyes: "Good, this earthen bed looks good. Let your family come and help build the kang! You can ask for wages or grain."
He has rendered meritorious service in suppressing the "bandits" this time, and the news has already been reported to General Chu. His promotion is a sure thing.
Good things come in pairs, it's true; promotions and wealth always seem to go hand in hand.
With the weather getting colder, funds have been allocated to various medical tents to purchase cotton quilts for the winter.
With these earthen beds, the money spent on bedding for the wounded soldiers can be saved.
That's a huge sum of money.
With this money, my parents, wife, and children back home can live a better life.
Zhang Juntou was in a good mood and his subordinates were generous. Jiang Zhi negotiated with him and agreed that Xiaoman and Errui would be paid eighty coins a day.
In Bavaria, where the average wage was thirty cents, this was a very high wage, and only skilled craftsmen could earn it.
Jiang Zhi did not ask for grain this time, not only because there was some rice on the mountain, but also because another staple food needed to be collected, so there was no need to store too much grain for the time being.
There are too few opportunities to earn money, and Xiaoman's family and I will need money to buy other things in the future.
Chunfeng had said before that there was no unrest in the counties that had surrendered and changed allegiance early on, and the refugees simply gathered outside the county and prefectural cities.
This time, Xiang Dejin and the others also said that Lihua Town near Xujia Village was lured away and looted by the mutinous soldiers.
Although most shops are now closed, some grain, oil and cloth shops have reopened under the protection of soldiers and officers, and everything is slowly recovering.
Of course, this is only the surface-level situation.
As long as the war between the new army and the imperial court continues, as long as the refugees have not truly settled down, and as long as no one in the villages is farming, the looting by "bandits" that happened some time ago will be inevitable.
People are afraid to go home when someone robs them, and this vicious cycle continues for a year or two.
But for the Jiang and Zhi families, what they need now is to get through this winter safely, and next year will be a new year.
When Xiaoman heard that Jiangzhi had found Xiaoman a job that paid 80 coins a day, Xiaoman was overjoyed and couldn't stop smiling: "Errui's mother, this skill is yours. Xiaoman is just helping Errui out, so she can take 40 coins. The extra money can be given to Errui!"
When his family was building a kang (a heated brick bed), Xiaoman said that under normal circumstances, this skill could earn him a few taels of silver, which should be used to pay for apprenticeship.
Jiang Zhi didn't stand on ceremony with him and directly expressed her concerns: "Uncle Chang Geng, please don't be so formal. Let's just calculate the money like this, and everyone will earn the same amount."
But I have to say something unpleasant upfront.
This is Xiaoman's first time going out to work, and he's not surrounded by family, so there will inevitably be some bumps and bruises. You and Dazhu should remind him not to get angry with people, and especially not to reveal his family's wealth to everyone he meets.
Jiang Zhi was grateful to have the original owner's "bad" temper, so she didn't have to worry about making others angry or ruining her persona, and could say whatever she wanted.
Xiaoman is naturally impatient, and now that she's taking on the role of head chef on her first trip out, she's bound to become arrogant and haughty. If she starts ordering around the handymen at such a young age, she'll definitely get herself into trouble.
Furthermore, there's a concern that he might make decisions on his own again and agree to things he can't handle.
The smile faded from Xiaoman's face, and his expression became serious: "Errui's mother is right. Xiaoman is a bit reckless and needs to be tempered. Dazhu and I will keep a close eye on him."
Seeing that Master Xiaoman took this matter seriously, Jiang Zhi felt somewhat relieved.
It's a good thing to let Xiaoman and Errui earn money, but these two are both inexperienced and easily swayed by praise.
Xu Errui was a little better off. The person she married was older, and she had been suppressed from growing up by the original owner of the body. She was honest and wouldn't dare to do anything too reckless without her mother's permission.
Xiaoman is different. He grew up without parents, and his grandparents and older brother were very tolerant of him.
He has an impatient nature, partly due to his reckless and impulsive age, and he is always eager to let loose.
On the one hand, the pressure from his family made him eager to grow up.
Meeting Xiang Dejin and others at the medical shed was just luck. Although there are many good people in the world, without vigilance, the more people you meet, the greater the temptations you face, and it's hard to say whether you'll have such good luck again.
Even if telling Xiaomanye this is a cold shower, it can still trigger a major crisis in advance.
When Xiaoman's grandfather came home and told Xiaoman about going to the village to build a kang (a traditional heated brick bed), Xiaoman was indeed excited: "Great! Grandpa, Grandma, I can make a lot of money!"
From now on, I'll buy fine grains for my eldest brother, candy for Nini, and fabric for everyone to make clothes. Grandma won't have to spin thread every day and bend her back from sitting so much.
He was very happy, and everyone else in the room laughed too, but Grandpa Xiaoman coughed and said, "Xiaoman, kneel down first!"
The room fell silent. Chunfeng looked at her bewildered brother-in-law, then at her stern grandfather: "Grandpa, what did Xiaoman do wrong?"
Xiaoman was also confused: "Master, why do you want me to kneel?"
Xiaoman's face darkened: "Xiaoman, you're sixteen now, and there are some things I need to make clear. Kneel down!"
With a shout, Xiaoman knelt down!
"When you saw your sister-in-law in the village before, why didn't you tell your family? Why did you take Errui to look for her yourself and bring her back to the mountain?"
"What if it's not your sister-in-law, but just someone from the village? Would you still bring her back?"
Several months have passed since then, and everyone was happy that Chunfeng was back. Although Xiaoman felt that something was amiss, he didn't ask any further questions.
Now that he knows Chunfeng has returned and even killed someone, Master Xiaoman can't help but have more doubts.
If it were someone else, would Xiaoman still bring them back, and would she still fight to the death with them?
When her grandfather suddenly brought up something that happened a few months ago, Xiaoman felt very aggrieved: "Grandpa, I only brought my sister-in-law back because I saw her. I wouldn't have brought anyone else from the village."
Seeing that Xiaoman was being implicated because of her own actions, Chunfeng quickly knelt down as well: "Master, if you want to blame someone, blame me. Don't worry yourself. Xiaoman made a mistake because she was keeping it a secret for me."
Seeing his most sensible and beloved granddaughter-in-law kneel down, how could Grandpa Xiaoman bear to scold her again: "Chunfeng, get up, this has nothing to do with you."
Xiaoman had noticed that some acquaintances had moved into the village, but he went to find them on his own without telling anyone.
"If it weren't you, but someone else, they might have been forced to bring you back even if they begged them."
Grandma Xiaoman helped Chunfeng up: "Feng, this has nothing to do with you. Don't get involved in their business. Xiaoman should be more sensible! Go with Grandma to the kitchen to cook. Those soldiers are coming over for dinner."
Chunfeng then realized that her grandfather was intentionally trying to teach Xiaoman a lesson, so she stepped aside.
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