Chapter 161
The rain gradually stopped. A few rays of sunlight shone through the dark clouds. There were still some wet marks from the rain on the road. Many shops on the street opened and there were more pedestrians on the road.
"Brother, why are there so many people in that shop?" Xie Chen gently shook off the raindrops on his umbrella, folded the umbrella, and looked at the shop not far away which was surrounded by a group of people.
"Boss Chen has just opened a garment shop in the county. She runs both a textile factory and a garment shop, and her business is really good," Lin Shuge explained.
The county harvested a lot of cotton this year. Apart from keeping some for their own use, most farmers sold the cotton to Chen Jin. The workers in Chen Jin's textile factory were busy every day, weaving batches of cotton cloth. The garment shop under Chen Jin's name made various kinds of clothing and sold them to the people in the county and merchants from other places. Naturally, she made a lot of money.
"Winter is coming soon, and the wealthy families in the county need to prepare winter clothes for their families. Compared with fur coats and cashmere, cotton is of course inexpensive and of good quality. Boss Chen is fair in her business, and the quality of the clothes in her store is high, which naturally attracts customers. Just like the custom-made clothes she does in Pingxiang, she has made a name for herself, so she is not afraid of not having customers." Lin Shuge added.
The northwest is cold in winter. After the autumn harvest, in addition to repairing farm tools and reinforcing houses, people also have to make clothes to prepare for the cold. Farmers all grow cotton to a greater or lesser extent, and the women in the family will make winter clothes for their families, but for those who do not farm, the clothing shops in the county are their best choice.
"Every autumn rain brings a chill. Zhongxuan, have the army prepared clothes for this year?" Lin Shuge glanced at the busy crowd from a distance, and continued to move forward with Xie Chen.
"It's ready. Boss Chen personally delivered the winter clothes a few days ago." Xie Chen replied.
Chen Jin has always felt deeply indebted to the two men and has always wanted to repay them in kind. Therefore, he did not dare to slack off on the winter clothing list for the Pingxiang military camp. Not only did he use the best materials, he also offered a lot of discounts on the price.
"I didn't want to take advantage of her, so I sent some cattle and sheep over."
Lin Shuge looked up at him and said with a smile, "In the past two years, we have opened a trade with the Qiang people. The commercial taxes paid are very considerable. The people of the two places can also barter and make a lot of money. It seems that cattle and sheep are the biggest source of income."
"Since Hua Wei surrendered, he has been leading his people in herding and farming every day. He no longer lives on the edge of a knife. My brother's method is very good. The two sides of the Moshui Valley face each other. The Qiang people naturally yearn for the lives of the people of Dayan on the other side. There are also Qiang children who keep telling their families about life in the county during their holidays. I think after a few years, when the people on both sides assimilate more, there will be no difference between Han and Qiang." Xie Chen stopped and said to Lin Shuge.
Lin Shuge was delighted. If it was really as Xie Chen said, his efforts would not be in vain. "But I am worried that if the Xiongnu make a move, some of the Qiang people will inevitably be ready to make a move."
"Brother, do you still remember Mu Yuanzhou?"
"Mu Yuanzhou? Great, Zhongxuan, so this is why you arranged him in Moshui Valley." Lin Shuge was surprised, and looked around, and whispered: "No wonder you met him that day. I thought you and him were old acquaintances, and you had to help him after he got into trouble, so you asked me to place him there, but it turned out to be a thorn in the side of the Qiang people."
Every time Lin Shuge went to the Moshui Valley, he would always see Mu Yuanzhou mingling with the Qiang people. He not only taught them how to farm, but sometimes also taught them simple ways to deal with diseases. He would also help answer the Qiang children's homework questions during their rest time, so the Qiang people respected him very much.
"He has a request from me, and I can use him, so I recommended him to my brother. Although he is in trouble, he is still a Yan person and knows what he wants to do." Xie Chen glanced at Lin Shuge secretly, and after seeing that he was not angry, he said, "Brother, you can also use him. If the Qiang people really have evil intentions, Mu Yuanzhou will definitely not sit idly by. Just tell him everything."
The two walked along the street until they reached the school, where they suddenly heard a shrill cry. Then they saw a child about eight or nine years old running towards them, followed by a ferocious-looking man.
Lin Shuge was just feeling strange when the child rushed towards him. Xie Chen stepped forward and grabbed him, pushing him behind Lin Shuge. He looked at the man following behind him and shouted, "Who are you? What is your relationship with this child?"
The man ran out of breath and was frightened by Xie Chen. He stole a glance at Lin Shuge behind Xie Chen and cried, "Oh, it's Master Lin. I'm Master Liu from the academy. Do you remember me?"
Seeing that Lin Shuge still had some doubt on his face, he quickly said, "It's Master Liu who is in charge of discipline. The last time you came to the school, you asked me to discipline the students strictly."
Lin Shuge was somewhat impressed by what he said. He gave Xie Chen a look and said to Master Liu, "Master, you are not in the school, why are you chasing this kid all over the street?"
Upon hearing his question, Master Liu complained, "This stinky... student is extremely naughty. When the winter semester started a few days ago, he instigated several students to skip school. Today, he even climbed over the school wall. I chased him here with all my might. This student is really stubborn and I must get him..."
He was so angry that he clenched his teeth and opened his mouth to curse, but suddenly he saw Lin Shuge and Xie Chen looking at him, so he said, "I will definitely catch him and take him back to discipline him."
Lin Shuge smiled and said, "Master, you have worked hard." He pulled the child who was clinging to his clothes to him, "Then tell me, why did you skip school?"
The child said timidly, "I... I still have a lot of work to do at home. I am worried about leaving my mother and sister at home, so I want to go back and see them."
"You... why didn't you tell me earlier?" Master Liu was so angry that he blew his beard and glared. This kid was naughty on weekdays and he skipped school again. He naturally thought that it was because the student didn't like studying. Today, Master Lin also ran into this matter. It was really...
Master Liu looked at Lin Shuge with a sad face and opened his mouth, "Sir, I...this, I really don't know." After all, such a young child, who would have known that he would skip school and go home to help with housework.
Life was not easy for ordinary people in ancient times, especially for poor farmers. Half-grown children were considered laborers.
Lin Shuge knew that Master Liu was a decent person. Although he was strict with his students, he was a responsible and good teacher. Seeing him like this, he hurriedly said, "Master, take him back. The school should punish truants as they wish. This trend should not be allowed to continue."
Master Liu was delighted, and the child's face was about to wrinkle. If it weren't for the fact that Xie Chen next to him was not someone to be trifled with, he would have wanted to break free from Lin Shuge and escape back home.
"I will send someone to check on your family affairs. Since your mother sent you here to study, does she want you to skip school? However, considering that you have your reasons, I will give you a concession. I can let the school let you go home to visit your mother and sister every ten days, but you have to promise me that you will never skip school again, otherwise..."
Lin Shuge pointed at Xie Chen and said, "Do you know him? This is the captain of the guards in Pingxiang. This lord is a man that the vicious Qiang people are afraid of. All the Qiang classmates in your academy should know him. If you do it again, I will let this lord arrest you and take you to the military camp..."
"I...I will be obedient and never skip school again," the child pursed his lips and took a few steps towards Master Liu, obviously having heard of Xie Chen's name.
Master Liu smiled complacently and said to Lin Shuge, "My lords, I will take him back now."
"So I have this function as well." Xie Chen teased as he saw the two of them leave.
"Of course, you can stop children from crying at night in Qiang. But from what the child said, he must be an orphan with a widowed mother, so it's natural that they must be sad. It seems that just free admission is not enough. In a few days, I will gather all the merchants in the county to see if anyone wants this credit?" Lin Shuge stroked his chin and thought.
"Brother, do you have an idea?" Xie Chen saw a smile on his face and continued walking side by side with him.
"That's right. I plan to set up scholarships and grants in the school. Scholarships are rewards for students with good academic performance, and grants are for those children from poor families. If the merchants are willing, I can give them the naming rights for the scholarships. If they are not willing, it's okay. At most, the county will pay for it."
Lin Shuge clenched his fists, wondering why he hadn't thought of the preferential policies for poor students in future schools. If there was such money, the burden on these children's families would be reduced.
Xie Chen listened to Lin Shuge uttering many words he had never heard of before, and he didn't know what to feel. He wanted to ask but held back.
"Why aren't you talking?" Lin Shuge was excited about the scholarship plan at the moment and was completely immersed in his own thoughts. He didn't hear Xie Chen's voice for a long time.
"Nothing, I just thought of Ayuan and Axuan." Xie Chen answered casually.
Lin Shuge's expression changed. Thinking of the twins who were far away in Wei County, he felt a little heavy.
The twins' lessons were originally taught by Lu Yuechuan, but as they were getting older and had good grades, and Lu Yuechuan was busy with official duties, he could only find time to teach them. So he proposed to Lin Shuge that he wanted to recommend Lin Qingyuan and Lin Xuan to study with their father Lu Henian.
Studying with the great scholar Lu Henian is the dream of countless scholars. The twins are naturally willing to do so, but it is not easy to successfully convince Lin Shuge to agree.
Lin Shuge was naturally very conflicted. Seeing his younger brother and sister growing up, for their future, he naturally wanted to let them go to Wei County to study. But when he thought that the twins had never left him, he would be reluctant to let them go.
Lin Qingyuan acted coquettishly and cutely, and Lin Xuan persuaded him with both reason and emotion, and with the help of Xie Chen, they finally got Lin Shuge to agree to let the two of them go to Weijun.
It just so happened that Lu Yuechuan asked Lin Shuge for leave to go home to visit his family. Lin Shuge thought that he had not been home for almost two years, and he would feel at ease with him taking care of the twins, so he approved his leave without hesitation.
"Brother, are you still worried about them?" Xie Chen walked towards him slowly. "You brought them up by yourself. Axuan is steady and Ayuan is smart. We don't need to worry about them."
Lin Shuge shook his head, looked at him and laughed, "We have been walking for such a long time. Today's visit to the people is over. Let's go back. Ah Chuan has been free for a while. Things after the autumn harvest have piled up on my side. I have to go and see the filial and brotherly people reported by each village."
The two walked back side by side. The sun had dispersed the dark clouds, and the sky was clear blue, like a painting.
Outside Qingquan County, a soldier came towards this side, exhausted. The soldiers on the city wall wanted to stop him, but when they saw that he was holding a token for an urgent document high in his hand, they quickly opened the city gate and let him pass.
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