Chapter 23 Cuiping Mountain Fireworks
Seeing that he had spoken, Zhao Yulin stopped persuading him, went out and said to Wu Yuqi, asking everyone to serve carefully.
Looking back, he continued to do his own thing.
Prefect Xu in the city was very depressed. Just now the county magistrate came to him again and proposed to find a way to suppress the bandits.
But the officers and soldiers were incompetent. After several consecutive battles, not only did they waste their weapons , but they also suffered heavy casualties. They even threw their faces into the Minjiang River and were buried in the mud.
Things often lead to chain reactions. Due to the ineffectiveness of the government troops, the bandit forces in several hilltops of Xuzhou have shown great vitality and their momentum is growing. The prefect of Jiazhou has already sent a document of reprimand.
In the past, Magistrate Xu secretly colluded with Zhang Bapi and took a lot of money. Now that Zhang Bapi was gone, he lost an income source. Although the Wang family still paid tribute, it was far less than before. He was unhappy. The resentment in his heart was like an invisible arrow that passed through the dock, flew across the river and shot towards Cuiping Mountain.
The magistrate Xu Chaolin said, why not call on the Shenwei Army to suppress the bandits in Denggao Mountain, let them fight to the point of mutual destruction, and then Lord Xu can deal with the abandoned child of the Zhao family.
Prefect Xu asked what the reason was. If we just leave the officers and soldiers alone and send out the militia, the people will laugh at us for having no one in Xuzhou.
Xu Chaolin said helplessly that he would make further preparations and would definitely wipe out the bandits before the new year.
Prefect Xu waved his hand irritably, and the magistrate walked away tactfully.
In Cuiping New City, Zhao Yulin was gathering everyone to discuss matters. He said that everyone had been working together for almost half a year and it was time for them to have some thoughts, so he was going to pay everyone half a year's salary.
Zhao Yulin took out the manuscript and said that he would receive the salary of the deputy commander, Lei Man would receive the salary of the chief captain, Lu Youpeng and Ma Jin would receive the salaries of the chief managers, and he asked Lu Youpeng to read out the names of the other leaders, big and small, and everyone would have a share.
He told everyone to spend the money where it’s needed and have a happy New Year.
The hall suddenly became lively.
When Zhao Yulin came out after finishing his work, Chen Xiaomin grabbed him and said that he was being unfair, because Wu Yuqi got a salary, so why didn't she?
Zhao Yulin smiled and said that she was a lady, why should she receive a salary, the new city belonged to her. The girl refused to do it, saying that he was deceiving people, and dragged him to her father to seek justice.
Zhao Yulin hadn't eaten with Chen Zhongshun for some time, so he followed him to the winery. Chen Zhongshun pestered Chen Xian to quickly make three sets of Zhao Yulin's newly designed wine-making pots. He happily watched over the winemaking. The taste of the newly brewed Wugufeng wine was much purer.
Chen Xiaomin also pulled Qu Zhengxiang over to eat so that she could get a haircut.
Chen Zhongshun said with a smile that our family still has insufficient money, so why not go to his brother to settle the matter?
Chen Xiaomin said that was different, she had also done a lot for the labor union. Zhao Yulin said that Wu Yuqi and her daughter were alone here, helpless, your perfume business was so good, why did you care about money?
Although Qu Zhengxiang said this after taking three sips of wine, it is not a bad idea for Xiao Min to do something legitimately.
Chen Xiaomin immediately gave her master a large piece of bacon and said, "My master is the only one who understands me."
Zhao Yulin suggested that they should train the women in the new city to do some work, such as weaving cloth and making clothes. They could also organize young women to go to military camps and learn first aid.
He was worried that it would be unsafe for Xiao Min to go too far away, so he didn't want her to get involved in other affairs.
Chen Zhongshun praised him for caring about Xiaomin and said that it was great that Brother Yulin was so thoughtful.
Chen Xiaomin was very excited to see that she could work with Zhao Yulin. She asked him who lived in the backyard. He was crying all day long. She wanted to get that person out and set up her meeting hall there.
Qu Zhengxiang was immediately stunned.
Her father immediately told her to shut up.
Zhao Yulin knew that they had gotten some information, because he had strictly ordered no one to discuss the affairs of the extraordinary person Zhu Congwen, so this person was definitely not ordinary.
Zhao Yulin patted the girl's stunned face and said that the backyard could not be moved for the time being. The person in the backyard must be fine, and we must all be fine.
After he finished speaking, he raised his index finger to his mouth, made a sealing gesture, picked up the wine glass and invited everyone to drink together, and asked Xiaomin to prepare this year's New Year's Eve dinner first.
He went straight to the military camp when he got out of the house and asked Miao Gui to gather the troops and set out across the river. Miao Gui asked what they were doing, were they going to fight and climb a mountain?
He rolled his eyes at Miao Gui, and the guy immediately stopped talking.
Zhao Yulin required the officers to follow his orders in all actions and not to question his orders. Lei Man also summoned the officers above the rank of squad leader from other teams. Zhao Yulin said that when he was training in person, the other teams would send people to observe the training.
Zhao Yulin wants them to cross the river tonight by following the iron chains blocking the river.
When he arrived at the riverside, Miao Gui had already gathered the team. Zhao Yulin waved his hand and a small team immediately went into the water. After the third team went down, he followed. Miao Gui asked two young men to follow Zhao Yulin closely, fearing that Zhao Yulin might make a mistake.
This was also Zhao Yulin's first time crossing the Yangtze River, and he felt very excited. After landing, Ma Jin said that everything was normal. Zhao Yulin said that he could not be careless, because the enemy also had smart people. He asked Miao Gui to change positions with Ma Jin, and after a night of duty, they exchanged opinions and plugged the loopholes.
Ma Jin led him and Lei Man into the office. When Deacon Yang saw Lei Man and Zhao Yulin coming, he immediately got up, put on his clothes, and boiled water to make tea for everyone.
Zhao Yulin said that the bandits in Denggao Mountain were becoming more powerful and he was worried, so he brought people over to take a look.
Deacon Yang said, "That's right. He always puts the kitchen knife next to his pillow when he goes to bed at night." He couldn't help laughing when he heard it. When he was a child, he was also timid. When the adults were not around, he would put scissors next to his pillow to prevent thieves.
When he grew up, he realized that it was of no use. If a thief really came while you were asleep, he would just kill you with a knife.
Lei Man only knew how to hack and kill with a knife, but he didn't know how to fight. Zhao Yulin asked Ma Jin to search outside again, arrange for alerts, strengthen the watchtower, and prepare for enemy attack warnings. Because he was really worried that if You Mazi came out in full force and attacked the dock, the loss would definitely be huge.
Zhao Yulin asked Ma Jin to arrange for Ma Ling'er to withdraw to Jiangnan, but Ma Jin asked him to go and talk to him himself.
Ma Linger always felt that she was not as capable as Chen Xiaomin and Wu Yuqi. She said that the business here was good, so she stayed there to guard the Beggar Chicken.
He had no choice but to remind Ma Jin to be careful of the White Pagoda, where Happy House and his sister were.
The next day, he and Lei Man took the team back by boat.
He had only rested in the room for a while when Chen Xiaomin ran in to find him.
Zhao Yulin said that he was naked without any underwear. The girl's face immediately turned the color of a ripe apple. She pretended to be angry and called him a pervert, then went out and closed the door.
Zhao Yulin came out dressed neatly and asked him what happened?
She said Li Chuan wrote to say that our mother would be back today.
Zhao Yulin then remembered that Li Chuan had gone down the river to look for his mother. He immediately took Chen Xiaomin out to decorate the dock and give his mother a surprise.
Zhao Yulin felt that his mother had suffered so much and that he should respect her. He personally arranged to have the passenger terminal cleaned and hung big red lanterns along the way.
At noon, her mother's boat docked, and Li Chuan shouted at the bow: "Third Young Master, Third Mother is here." Zhao Yulin knew that Li Chuan was reminding him, so he pulled Chen Xiaomin forward two steps, and Li Chuan helped Tian, who was in tears, get off the boat.
Chen Xiaomin and Zhao Yulin immediately caught Tian, and the two of them supported his mother as she walked. His mother was crying, but he didn't say anything and held his mother's hand tightly.
Chen Xiaomin was very well behaved, saying all the way: "It's good that my mother is here. My daughter-in-law and brother Yulin must respect her well until we grow old."
When the three of them arrived at the gate of the new city, someone had already brought out two cushions. Chen Xiaomin took them and placed them in front of his mother, and told Zhao Yulin to kneel down. The two of them were to kowtow to his mother together.
Zhao Yulin kowtowed three times respectfully to his mother, then pulled Chen Xiaomin up and pointed to Cuiping New Town and said, "Mother, you can walk around freely here. One day, I will let you walk around the world without any worries."
His mother was so excited that she couldn't speak and just nodded vigorously.
The three of them got on a carriage and went to the county government office.
At the front door, he had asked Liu Yuru to install the two big words "Zhao Mansion" on the door. That was his own home.
The New Year's Eve dinner was in two days. Chen Xiaomin was busy taking care of it, and of course it was inseparable from Zhao Yulin's planning. After the New Year's Eve dinner, everyone went to the pier to watch the fireworks one after another.
Zhao Yulin accompanied his mother to sit in the middle. Chen Zhongshun, Lei Man, Lu Youpeng, Ma Jin and others came over and sat down in order. The people around them greeted them warmly.
After Chen Xiaomin's New Year's speech, the sound of firecrackers signaling the start of the fireworks show rang out on the dock. In the night sky, clusters of fireworks exploded on the river, forming three scenes. People around them kept screaming and cheering, and the entrance to the new city instantly became a sea of joy.
After returning home, Zhao Yulin asked Chen Xiaomin to take his savings and give them to his mother, saying that his mother would be the housekeeper from now on and would be in charge of all matters big and small in the family. Chen Xiaomin turned around and went to her room, took out a box and handed it to his mother, saying that it was the money she earned from her business and was given to his mother for safekeeping.
Zhao Yulin looked at Chen Xiaomin and smiled. His mother took Chen Xiaomin's hand and said, "From now on, we will take care of the family together, so brother Yulin can work outside without worry."
Chen Xiaomin was happy and smiled like a flower.
At this time, Qu Zhengyang came to invite Zhao Yulin over, saying that Chen Zhongshun asked him to stay up all night together.
Zhao Yulin actually didn't like this dark world. It was boring to wait until midnight without doing anything.
He came to the small living room, where Chen Zhongshun was having a drink, with a white jade cup filled with wine in front of him. Chen Zhongshun saw him coming and asked him to taste the newly brewed Wu Gu Feng, which had been aged for almost a month.
Zhao Yulin doesn't like to drink freshly brewed liquor, it's too dry, so the liquor sold by the Chen family has to be aged for some time.
Chen Zhongshun already felt like he was his father-in-law and no longer treated Zhao Yulin as his young master as he did in the past.
He said that he would ship out a batch of goods after the Chinese New Year. On the one hand, a large number of customers had placed orders with him, and on the other hand, he also needed money for construction.
Let Zhao Yulin do what he wants. He has the final say on the drinking matter and can do whatever he wants.
However, he still thinks that it is better to age this kind of strong-flavor liquor for a year or so. After aging for three to five years, the flavor of the liquor will be mellow, long-lasting, purer and more genuine.
Old Chen nodded and said that he would keep some of it for later use. After the New Year, Xiao Min would be fifteen years old, and he wanted to save some money for Xiao Min's dowry.
Zhao Yulin was stunned when he heard this, and the wine glass he was holding hung to his chest.
