Chapter 015: Becoming a Bandit
Lei Man said little. The Wang family reported to the police that Liu San set up the burning shop in revenge, and his servants also testified. There was news that Liu San escaped and sneaked into the city on the night of the smuggling investigation, and had been hiding in the Wang family's burning shop. If so, it was equivalent to the Wang family hiding the prisoner Liu San, so Liu San would not repay kindness with enmity.
County Lieutenant Zhang hunted for Liu San everywhere and chased him all the way to Denggao Mountain, where he said that Liu San had become a bandit.
Zhao Yulin felt that Lei Man was still not good at military affairs and his intelligence team's ability to gather intelligence was not good enough.
But now Liu San led his men to Denggao Mountain, which was only more than ten miles away from the pier, but it complicated the situation. Originally, he only needed to guard against the forces coming out of the county town, but now he had to consider the direction of Denggao Mountain.
At this time, Ma Linger came over happily and said that the beggar's chicken was ready, and Li Chuan also brought up the prepared meal. Zhao Yulin asked everyone to come and eat, and said with a smile that they should try the new wine he brewed. He went in personally and brought out a three-jin jar of wine.
Ma Jin skillfully opened the seal and poured wine for everyone. Ding Er stood up immediately when he smelled the aroma of wine.
Zhao Yulin said, "Are you that greedy? Everyone has it." Then he took the lead and picked up the wine bowl.
This was the first time they drank this crystal clear distilled liquor that looked like jade dew . It felt like the air was suffocating, and then there was a burst of praise. What? Pure, sweet, strong, and powerful...
Several people brought out all the words they could think of, and Ma Linger said resentfully, "It turns out that Brother Yulin and Miss Chen have gone to make fine wine."
Zhao Yulin didn't know what she meant, and said yes, it must be kept secret. If he hadn't promised to let everyone taste the wine after it was brewed, he wouldn't be in such a hurry to show it off.
Ma Linger said sourly that Brother Yulin liked Miss Chen, so what was there to keep secret? Ma Jin patted his sister and asked her what she was thinking. Brother Yulin said that the new wine should be kept secret, so why did he bring it up with Miss Chen?
Lei Man said with a smile that the beggar's chicken made by Miss Ling'er was delicious and she really learned the cooking skills from her brother.
Zhao Yulin was confused and had no idea what they were trying to say. He kept urging everyone to get busy and start training.
After everyone dispersed, Zhao Yulin tested Li Chuan's kung fu and felt that he had made great progress. It seemed that Li Chuan had not been lazy during the days when he was away. After washing up, the two were about to rest when Master Jueming arrived.
Zhao Yulin went out to welcome Jueming in. Jueming said that the changes here were really rapid. It had only been a short time, but a brand new courtyard had been built.
Zhao Yulin said that they were all straw huts, so of course they were fast, nothing special. He wanted to tell Jueming that he had seen modern high-rise buildings that only took a few days to build a floor.
Jueming shook his head approvingly and said that it was remarkable. It was not easy to organize hundreds of people to solve the problem of food and drink.
He asked Jueming why he came.
Zhao Yulin doesn't like chatting with others. He talks about things when he has something to say and does his own thing when he doesn't.
Jueming hesitated for a moment before saying that he wanted him to take in two refugees, a mother and daughter.
He asked why they didn't arrange it at the Zhao family in the city?
Jueming said that he didn't want to cause more trouble for the Zhao family, and if he also felt it was inconvenient, then let it go.
Zhao Yulin simply said that it was not a big deal. Since the master had given instructions, he would definitely make arrangements. How about opening up the fourth and fifth floors of the White Pagoda and letting the mother and daughter stay there?
Jueming was delighted after hearing this and said, "Then please."
Jueming was taken in by Zhao Yulin's father, so although he taught him, he did not consider himself his master. But once a teacher, always a father, Zhao Yulin could not break the rules. Moreover, if Jueming had not given him the thunder bomb during the fight with Shen Tuozi, it was hard to say whether he could have killed Shen Tuozi. He must have been seriously injured in the fight.
Zhao Yulin said that if his master had anything to tell him, he could just give it to him and he would never refuse as long as he could do it.
Jueming nodded with satisfaction and said that he had gone to investigate the explosion site of Wang's family in the north of the city and smelled gunpowder. The guy used to be a winemaker, but ended up making gunpowder. One needs to be careful, because anyone who touches this stuff is definitely not a good person.
Zhao Yulin nodded solemnly.
Jueming added: Hundreds of people were shouting and screaming at the dock every night, and the masters in the city were afraid of the Zhao family. His family was happy. The fourth young lady came to see him several times. His father told everyone in the family to keep a low profile and not bully others.
After Jueming finished speaking, Zhao Yulin was shocked. He militarized the labor cooperative at the dock, and people could see it at a glance.
The prefect and the county magistrate in the city also noticed it, but they had two thousand soldiers in Xuzhou and were not worried at all about how much trouble his few hundred beggars with dog-beating sticks could cause.
But the big households had different views. The wharf was now controlled by the third son of the Zhao family. Three hundred strong laborers standing together in a row, even without any weapons, would form a human wall. Who wouldn't think twice?
It is not difficult to understand why the Wang family wanted to manufacture gunpowder to do something if they were worried about his becoming too powerful.
Zhao Yulin thought of his sentry arrangement on the official road and said to Jueming, "Master, when you go out at night in the future, it is better to walk on the official road openly."
Jueming smiled and said that he was an honest man and would not do shady things, so he would naturally take the official path openly. He also told Zhao Yulin to be careful and not to set up a simple trap, otherwise it would hurt his own people.
Zhao Yulin felt relieved after hearing what he said. He was afraid that his master might accidentally fall into the trap set by his people, which led to the previous words.
He sent Master Jueming away and went back to have a good sleep. When he woke up, he felt much more energetic. After having dinner, he went to the dock immediately.
Lei Man told him that since the termites in the water fort were eliminated, the entire dock has been institutionalized. All the sheds built randomly along the three-mile-long river were cleared away, and three labor teams and one craftsman team were stationed in two settlements, one at the head and the other at the tail. The logistics was next to the labor club's house, and the roads around the several settlements were getting better and better.
Haha, Zhao Yulin looks much more pleasing to the eye than before.
Lei Man said that there was more to it than that. The dock managers of each household were now well-behaved and no longer as arrogant as before. The collection of taxes and silver was also carried out in accordance with regulations. The workers were careful and cautious in carrying goods, and the volume of goods entering and leaving the docks had increased compared to the past.
The two were discussing when they looked up and saw the county magistrate Chen Yun and the chief clerk Yang Zhishan coming, so they hurried out to greet them.
The county magistrate came in and sat down. After taking a sip of tea, he said, "It's a rare occasion. Usually the young man is not in this office, but he ran into him as soon as he came today."
Zhao Yulin also thought it was a coincidence. He had just arrived at the dock for a while when the county magistrate arrived. He smiled and said that it was a blessing for the student to have met a good teacher.
The county magistrate said cheerfully that he was only good at flattering and talking nonsense, and all the good things were given to his father-in-law.
Zhao Yulin looked at the county magistrate in confusion, then at the anchor Yang Zhishan , not knowing why the county magistrate was jealous.
They had secretly consumed the new wine last night. Could it be that the county magistrate knew about it so soon?
Zhao Yulin turned to look at Lei Man, who shook his head with an ignorant look on his face.
He immediately asked the county magistrate for clarification with a look of grievance.
Yang Zhubo said that his wife Chen Xiaomin was selling Nine Fragrance Jade Dew at a high price in the academy, ten taels of silver for a small bottle, and she also said that it was made specially for the young lady by Brother Yulin. Isn't that giving good things to the father-in-law?
Chen Chen ran to see Mr. Chen before school was over. Why don’t you hurry up and help the adults share their worries?
Seeing Zhao Yulin's confused look, Lei Man quickly said that Chen Chen was Mr. Chen's daughter and their classmate.
Zhao Yulin then realized that Xiaomin was showing off in the academy. He smiled and said that he was just helping Chen Xiaomin make a perfume.
Yang Zhubo asked in surprise, "Did he really make it?"
Selling a small bottle for ten taels of silver is simply robbing people. But there are still people who are willing to be robbed. Those young masters and young ladies are even trying their best to beg your wife to sell it.
Zhao Yulin was also stunned. He didn't expect that a simple piece of floral water would be so popular. After waking up, he quickly asked Yang Zhishan to stop and said that he had no engagement with Chen Xiaomin. Don't call her wife anymore.
Yang Zhubo said what was there to be afraid of, the girl had already admitted it, and he, a grown man, didn't dare to admit it.
Zhao Yulin was at a loss, so he asked Lei Man for help and went to Chen's house to get two bottles of Jiuxiang Yulu.
The county magistrate then happily drank his tea.
Yang Zhubo whispered that Wang's distillery exploded, brother should know about it, right?
Zhao Yulin said that he went to Chiyanzi to help the Chen family brew wine and had just returned, and he did not know the details.
Yang Zhishan said that the burning of the burning workshop shook the whole county, the fire went straight up into the sky, and his mouth was full of the smell of gunpowder. This Yibin is not peaceful anymore, so you have to be careful when doing things.
This was the main point of their trip. Zhao Yulin stood up and saluted the county magistrate and the chief clerk, thanking them for their kindness and concern. He said that he would keep their teachings in mind and be careful in everything.
The county magistrate stood up and walked out, saying with a smile that in just a few days, the dock had been managed in an orderly manner and the tax revenue had increased surprisingly. He had made no mistake about the person and should do a good job.
Zhao Yulin naturally responded politely, as if he was a younger man.
Lei Man ran back and handed over two bottles of Nine Fragrance Jade Dew. Yang Zhishan happily handed over the silver and said that he was able to get the elixir easily through the back door of Zhao family's brother, but the silver could not be less.
Zhao Yulin had no choice but to say that obedience was better than respect, and simply accepted it.
Looking back, he discussed with Lei Man that the training of the labor team should be moved to the White Tower so that the people in the city would not feel threatened.
Chen Xian's blacksmith shop was also moved to Baita, and the advanced technology had to be kept secret.
Zhao Yulin told Lei Man to speed up the training, otherwise if there was any disturbance, how would these hundreds of people on the dock protect themselves?
He asked Lei Man to think about it and find a place to stay. As the saying goes, a cunning rabbit has three burrows. Under the current reality, it is impossible to confront the government head-on, and we must take precautions.
After Lei Man heard what Yang Zhishan said, he took it seriously and said he would think about it carefully.
The two of them finished lunch and continued to have tea in the office. Outside, a girl was crying and yelling, "Third brother, third brother, you don't want your little sister anymore, wuwu, wuwu."
