Return to the Qing Dynasty(8)

The group of people left the capital and immediately changed cars.

"Sit in this?" Hongshi felt uncomfortable at first. There was no carriage, only a wide carriage board. It was not a carriage, but a mule carriage. It was so big, where had anyone ever ridden in such a carriage?

Hong Zhou was very happy, "This is good!" How good it is. You can sit on it and watch the excitement on the roadside.

He didn't care about anyone else, so he jumped on the carriage first and took a seat in the carriage.

The Fourth Master reached out and took the whip from the guard waiting to drive the car, and sat on the shaft of the car. Lin Yutong knew at a glance that he was going to drive the car himself. Lin Yutong was quite trustworthy in the Fourth Master's ability to drive the car. She didn't say anything.

Not to mention, sit next to Fourth Master.

Su Peisheng was so frightened that he said, "Long live..." After the words came out of his mouth, he felt that it was not appropriate to call him this outside, so he quickly said: "Master! Master, this is not a joke."

The fourth master disliked his verbosity and said, "Get in the car at the back. I'm taking my wife and kids out for a walk. You stay here and you're an eyesore."

Su Peisheng said heartily, do you really think you are a farmer driving a cart with your wife and children to visit your relatives? Even though you are going to Huangzhuang, the road may not be easy. It happened again a few days ago.

It rained for several days, the road was muddy, the mule was frightened, or the master was jolted out of the way. Whose fault is it?

With this thought in mind, he looked at Lin Yutong with a pleading look on his face.

But Lin Yutong waved to Hongshi and the others, "Come up quickly. You, Ama, will drive the car yourself. Not everyone has the chance to sit in this car. Hurry up."

Hongshi squeaked up and sat next to Hongzhou. He was afraid that the boy would fall if he was dishonest on the road. As soon as he sat firmly, he grabbed Hongzhou's belt.

Hong Zhou: "..." Look at this potential! He is afraid of being so virtuous. If he really falls, it would be useless to hold on to his belt. There seems to be no good except pulling himself down.

Ah! What's the benefit of dragging me down?

Hongli sat on it without changing his expression, but thought to himself, it seems that he still has a lot to learn. For example, when it comes to driving, he definitely doesn't know how.

Hongwang is stupid and bold, and he also has his own ideas. No one in this car is more valuable than himself. They are not afraid, so why should he be afraid?

So in the frightened eyes of Su Peisheng and the guards, the fourth master cracked the whip so loudly that two whiplashes came out, and the mule cart trotted away with the sound of the whip.

Several boys looked at the fourth master with awe in their eyes. Lin Yutong couldn't help but think of the scene when he went from Paoshantun to the county seat. The fourth master seemed to feel something, and couldn't help turning his head to look at Lin Yutong, and the two couldn't help but smile at each other.

,it is more than words.

The few boys sitting in the back, except Hong Shi who has not yet awakened, the other three are quite young. They understand everything they need to know. Hong Shi has a wife and concubines, so this man knows everything about women.

.So looking at the way Huang Ama treats the Queen, it doesn’t look like a show. This is definitely not the result of a show.

There were also girls with red sleeves and fragrant clothes around Hongli, and he was very familiar with the way those girls looked at him. He was surprised by how E Niang and Geng E Niang treated A Ma. They looked at A Ma with respect and fear, and he was afraid of more.

It was completely different from the way the Queen looked at Huang Ama. He couldn't tell what was hidden in that look, but he just felt that compared with the way those girls looked at him, there seemed to be something missing that could not be explained.

. Then he suppressed this thought. After all, wives and concubines are different. Maybe Fujin will look at him like this in the future. He couldn't help but look forward to it.

Hongwang lowered his eyelids, and then quickly looked at Hongshi and the others, a trace of sympathy flashed in his eyes. If the couple doesn't get along, the life of the concubine will be easier, but once the couple gets along, the life of the concubine will be easier... Haha, don't mention it.

.Looking at these three elder brothers now, they are still silly and happy. I am afraid that I will have to see this queen more often in the future.

Unlike several young boys, Su Peisheng's focus was not on this at all. He was on the mule cart behind, urging him, "Keep an eye on me! I'm following you..." As he was talking, he saw the front

The carriage went north along the fork in the road.

"Wrong! Wrong!" Su Peisheng opened his mouth and shouted, that is not the way to Huangzhuang.

Tukesh, the commander of the guards, grabbed Su Peisheng and said, "Eunuch Su, please be careful."

He spoke slowly, and there was no meaning in his eyes. Su Peisheng's heart skipped a beat. He was also confused today. He followed Long Live Master out, and Long Live Master followed him wherever he went. Why did he shout "wrong"? How could Long Live Master do that?

Wrong? Even if it is wrong, you can't say it. Besides, has Long Live Lord really gone wrong? Who knows if he had some plans in advance. He reached out and patted Tukesh on the shoulder, indicating that he had accepted his favor today.

Both of them stopped talking and only urged the guards driving the carriage to follow closely.

The mule cart was turned from the fork in the road, and the road immediately changed. The previous lane could still accommodate two carriages running in parallel, but now the road can barely pass one car, and the road surface is no better than before.

.It can be seen that the road is often repaired. Although it is muddy, it can be seen that Su Peisheng's servant did not talk too much outside, otherwise the road must have been paved overnight. But the road here is almost untouched.

It has been renovated. With more people walking, it naturally becomes a road, and then that's it. If there is a big hole, whose big car can't pass it will be filled. Or maybe a good person or a capable person from ten miles and eight villages will provide money.

Renovating the roads will benefit the village. Of course, if you meet a more responsible local official, they will also take care of these things. Paving roads and building bridges can also be regarded as one of the political achievements. But there is no standard at all. You can only leave it to fate and watch the court.

The officials sent here have personal qualities, vision and abilities.

Lin Yutong was worried. As the saying goes, if you want to get rich, you must first build a road. No matter what, this road needs to be built, and there should be a specialized agency to manage it. It doesn’t matter when the railway will be built in the future, but

This highway must be put on the agenda. At the very least, the main road must be renovated.

The Fourth Master no longer cracked his whip and just let the mule walk slowly.

He looked at both sides of the road, and then shook his head. Things are not that simple. Nowadays, as long as it is a cart pulled by livestock, or a horse, a donkey, a mule, or walking on two legs, this principle is the same as this

Transportation is a match. There is nothing in this world that must be matched. Let alone building a highway, what can we do if we build a highway at this time? Is it convenient for driving livestock?

Isn't this nonsense?

"Create a department from the Ministry of Industry and call it the Highway Department." Fourth Master whispered to Lin Yutong, "The road is expanding, but the road surface that needs to be hardened does not need to be wide for the time being." Not to mention that the materials needed to harden the road surface are not available at the moment.

Even if there is, you still have to consider whether it is appropriate for livestock to walk on hardened roads. "What I am considering now is that as long as things like artillery can be transported..."

Lin Yutong listened attentively. These are all very real problems. Not to mention cement asphalt, but stone debris to pave the road. It is very difficult to rely on manpower alone. The key is that the national treasury is still very empty.

On the road, she and Fourth Master were not alone, so Lin Yutong basically didn't talk much and only listened to what Fourth Master said.

This also shocked the four people who were following them. The emperor and the queen were talking about political matters.

Hongli couldn't help but look at Lin Yutong twice. It seemed that his previous thoughts were really biased. Nian and the Queen could not be placed on the same level at all. But Hongshi suddenly felt better.

E Niang's favor has the biggest impact on E Niang. Looking at Emperor Ama's behavior now, I'm afraid that the way he did to Nian in the past was really because of Nian Gengyao. If Emperor Ama chose to ignore E Niang and accommodate Nian because of important matters, in this case

From Hongshi's point of view, it is still acceptable.

After walking along this bumpy path for about a quarter of an hour, the wasteland turned into countryside.

The wheat is shining brightly one after another. The farmers in the fields are wearing double-breasted coarse cloth sweatshirts, with their chests open, waving their sickles to cut the wheat tightly. There are also farmhouse wives with thick hands and feet, bundling the wheat into bundles.

Get up. The young children carrying the buckets should be delivering water to the adults. People walking along the path are people carrying burdens and people pushing wheelbarrows. The wheat is bundled or carried back with burdens or used to carry it back.

We have to push the trolley back, and we have to hurry up while the weather is nice.

The fourth master yelled and the mule cart stopped. He jumped off first and then waved his hands vaguely to Su Peisheng and others who were following closely behind him, telling them not to follow so closely. When Tukesh was sure, he took them to the ditch aside.

After it looked like a mule was drinking, he turned around and tied the animal under the big willow tree on the roadside. "It's right here..." After saying that, he helped Lin Yutong get out of the car and signaled with his eyes to the four boys in the car to hurry up.

Come down by yourself.

It's lunch time now, and there's a bit of coolness under the shade of the trees. The farmers who don't have time to go home for dinner are squatting under the trees in small groups, gnawing on dry food and taking a sip of cold water. Suddenly they saw this group of people,

He was dressed very decently, and everyone couldn't help but stop and look at him, but no one dared to come forward and talk to him.

In this place on the outskirts of Beijing, people are living a pretty good life. But looking at their clothes, they are all covered with patches. A pair of straw sandals will do the job. People who cut wheat stubble have bloody wounds on their feet.

Of course, maybe they can wear nice clothes when they go out. Now, no one wants to ruin their good clothes. But even if they take out their good clothes, they can't compare with those of the people following them, even the landlord in the village.

The master of my house doesn't dress as well as others.

The fourth master walked over, touched the dry tobacco on his body and handed a pot to an older man, "Brother, please give me a place to rest."

The farm man sniffed, the cigarette was indeed good. He wanted to refuse, but he really couldn't bear it. He wiped his hands on his trouser legs, and then took it with both hands, "What are you borrowing, brother! This is everyone's place.

Rest." As he spoke, he moved to the side and exposed the shiny bluestone under his buttocks that had been sat on by countless people for Fourth Master to sit on. He sat on the side next to him.

Cut it on the tree stump.

The fourth master was not polite, but turned his face and looked at Hongshi, "What are you looking at? You haven't even lighted the uncle's cigarette yet."

Uncle?

My uncle, Prince Zhi, is staying well in the mansion.

Besides, how can I light a cigarette myself? If I want to light a cigarette myself, what do I need a slave like Sun Defu to do?

The man quickly waved his hand, "I don't dare bother the scholar." When he saw that the boy was a scholar, he didn't dare to take advantage of his natural respect for scholars. The boy who had eaten cicadas while burning them was burned in the fire.

The wooden stick came over and lit it for the old man.

The Fourth Master called the boy forward, took the throat lozenges he had on him and stuffed them into him, "This kid is really discerning."

The old man smiled so hard that his yellow teeth were exposed, "This is my old son. Children from farmers' families are not allowed to be on the stage."

The boy smiled, put the candy in his arms and said, "Give me the milk and take it back."

It seems that the old man's mother is still alive.

The fourth master also praised other people's children for their filial piety, but also belittled his own children, "These four in my family are more pampered than the last..."

Four pampered elder brothers: "..." Is it my fault that I was born into a royal family?

No matter what these four people thought, the fourth master praised him and started talking to him. This old man is called Yu Cai, and he is forty-eight years old. He may not be very old, but nowadays, he can really be called an old man.

.

"...I also have four sons?" Yu Cai laughed, "I also have four boys. Three of them are married, and this is the only one left. If I give this old son a wife, I will become an old man.

."

Many people who gathered around laughed and said that Old Yutou was a lucky man.

The fourth master slowly talked to these people and asked them how much land they farmed in a year, how much of it was their own, how much of it was tenanted by others, how much the rent was for a year, and how much surplus they could have. How much of their lives were spent?
To be continued...