Chapter 72: Continue Ton Ton Ton
Shang Wan brushed Lu Chengjing's messy hair behind his ears, gently pinched his earlobe, and asked with a smile, "What do you want to eat later?"
Lu Chengjing came back to his senses, and the corners of his lips curled up, "It's all fine, you guys discuss it."
Shang Wan felt that the smile was fake no matter how she looked at it. She smoothed the corners of the man's lips that were deliberately raised and looked at him with a frown, "Are you tired or feeling unwell?"
Lu Chengjing shook his head and answered Shang Wanwan's question, "I want to eat Yangchun noodles."
Shang Wan looked at him a few more times, then turned to ask Xiaohuan and Shitou what they wanted to eat. They both said they wanted noodles, so Shang Wan followed the crowd and found a noodle shop with a lot of customers. He ordered four bowls of noodles and three side dishes.
Yuanyuan drinks goat milk.
When Xiaohuan and Shitou were asking for information, they saw a drink shop selling goat milk. Xiaohuan immediately ran in and bought a large pot, and also bought a new milk pot for Yuanyuan.
The little guy is holding the new milk jug, Ton Ton Ton, with a smile on his face and a look of satisfaction.
The noodle shop is not big, but it has quite a few customers. If one table of customers had not left, Shang Wan and his friends would not have had a seat.
Many guests were looking at Lu Chengjing. It was rare to see people going out in wheelchairs these days, so they were inevitably curious.
Shang Wan could hear discussions like "cripple" and "broken leg". Lu Chengjing was in this state now, so he would definitely be talked about if he went out. As long as it was not excessive and did not come to the attention of the main person, Shang Wan could pretend not to hear it.
The noodles arrived quickly, the portion was generous, the noodles were chewy, and the soup was delicious. The side dishes were also refreshing and went perfectly with the noodles. No wonder the restaurant was packed with customers.
Shang Wan drank the noodle soup with satisfaction, and while eating the noodles he listened to the discussion of the customers in the store.
The guests had already changed their topics of discussion. Some were talking about the neighbors' daily lives, some were talking about the earthquake disaster, and some mentioned the theft at the Lu family, lamenting that the thief was so skilled that he had not been caught by the authorities until now.
Some people were also discussing the earthquake, saying that the current emperor was so incompetent that he angered God. The emperor was protected by dragon energy, so God took his anger out on these poor people.
Shang Wan glanced out of the corner of his eye and saw that the man who said this was a bearded man with wheat-colored skin, deep eye sockets, and a high nose bridge. If he shaved his beard, he would probably look quite good.
The man hadn't said a word when his tablemate stuffed a boiled egg into his mouth, warning him not to talk nonsense or else he might get into fatal trouble.
Shang Wan glanced at the two burly figures, and seeing that they were just eating and no longer talking, he withdrew his attention from them.
She looked across and found that Lu Chengjing was daydreaming again.
This guy really has something wrong.
Shang Wan thought about it, raised his hand to call the waiter, and added a poached egg to Lu Chengjing's bowl of noodles.
"Sir, please enjoy your meal."
Lu Chengjing:?
"You should at least respect the food." Shang Wan picked up a pickled radish with chopsticks and wrapped it in the noodles. "Just eat well. It's not too late to think about anything after you finish eating."
Lu Chengjing stared at the fried egg for a moment, his long eyelashes drooping slightly, and he began to eat the fried egg seriously.
Xiaohuan vaguely knew why Lu Chengjing was absent-minded. She had just seen the people in the carriage.
She looked over here worriedly, wanting to say something to Shang Wan, but after thinking about it, she swallowed her words back.
My brother-in-law would probably rather tell me those things himself, right? If she said it rashly, it would backfire.
Shitou is a careless person. He was really hungry after running around all morning, so his attention was all on the noodles.
He followed Yuanyuan's rhythm, slurping the noodles and eating with great relish. In the end, he felt still not full, so he ordered two more bowls.
Yuanyuan glanced at Uncle Shitou, picked up the milk jug again, and continued to drink.
The big one and the small one were competing with each other, both of them had their stomachs filled up, looked at each other and laughed.
Xiaohuan said she couldn't bear to watch it, and gently rubbed Yuanyuan's belly to prevent her from vomiting while sitting due to the bumpy ride of the ox cart.
After paying the bill, Shitou drove the ox cart to the bricklayer's residence.
The bricklayer's surname was He. Because his left little finger was broken in half while he was working for someone, the neighbors called him He Sizhi. As time went by, he forgot his real name.
He Sizhi is in his thirties and has no parents at home. His brother has been in the army for five years and has not returned. His wife died of illness two years ago, leaving behind a son, nicknamed Liangliang, who just turned ten this year. The father and son depend on each other for survival.
He Sizhi accepted two apprentices last year, one named Gao Yan and the other named Ma Jieyong. Both of them are hardworking and honest, and they respect their master He Sizhi very much.
Upon hearing the purpose of Shang Wan and his group's visit, He Sizhi thought for a moment and said that there was a lot of work to do in building the house, so he had to bring his two apprentices along.
As for wages, the master gets 40 cents a day and the apprentice gets 25 cents a day, and the payment is made every three days.
The materials for building the house had to be purchased by Shang Wan and his apprentices by themselves. After all the materials were purchased, he and his apprentices went there. The wages would be calculated on the day they arrived.
Generally, work starts at the hour of Chen, with a one-hour break for lunch and ends when it gets dark.
If the owner is willing to pay extra money and provide lighting, the three of them can also work at night, but they can add two more hours at most to avoid being too tired and affecting the work of the next day.
If you don't work on rainy days, you won't be paid.
In order to facilitate work, accommodation should be arranged for the three people, meals should be shared with the host family, and the wear and tear of tools should be borne by one party in half.
Shitou asked around and found out that He Sizhi was the best bricklayer in the city because he worked fast and well. Although his wages were ten cents more expensive than those of other bricklayers, his apprentice was cheaper.
Gao Yan and Ma Jieyong became He Sizhi's apprentice at the beginning of last year. They followed He Sizhi to work for many masters and accumulated a lot of experience, so they can be used as skilled workers.
All in all, it is more cost-effective to find He Sizhi.
Shang Wan and Lu Chengjing were told about these stones on the way, and the four of them had discussed it before heading straight to He Sizhi's house.
What He Sizhi said was similar to what Shitou and Xiaohuan had inquired about. After Shang Wan observed it, he simply placed the order.
Seeing that the host was so straightforward, He Sizhi hesitated for a moment and made a request.
He wanted to take Liangliang with him, to provide him with food and shelter whenever he wanted. If the owner agreed, his wages could be reduced to thirty-six coins.
Liangliang was too young, so when he and his apprentice went out to work, they would take things and ask the neighbors to help look after them.
As time went by, Liangliang became more and more taciturn and gradually lost the vitality of a child of his age.
He Sizhi only has this one child, so he is naturally worried and wants to spend more time with him.
However, with his skills, if he worked in the city, it would be fine, as he could barely make it home every day. But if he went out of the city, it would be impossible. Not only would it delay his work, but his employer would also be unhappy.
In order to make a living, he cannot just take jobs in the city.
Seeing that Shang Wan and the others looked friendly and spoke frankly, he tried to bring it up.
Shang Wan glanced sideways at the little boy standing by the door. He was thin and shorter than his peers.
Since they entered the room, except for looking up at them at the beginning, he stood there quietly, without the liveliness and activity of other children of the same age.
Of course, the child of the same age that Shang Wan was referring to was Li Xiaoshan. That kid was as lively as a monkey. Although he was a little noisy, that was the nature of children.
Liangliang is too silent and seems to be developing autism.
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
