Ch.24 231-240 - After becoming a wid...

Chapter 231

Several kinds of rice for making jade powder were moved to Guangshun Lane, and more than 300 kilograms of ghost grass were also brought in. When the brothers and women who knew what their group was going to do saw the things coming, they spontaneously took the large buckets and wooden basins prepared by Lin Zhen, and washed the rice in different categories. The ghost grass was also gently washed with water and spread into the dustpan to drip water.

Lin Zhen now only had Niu Da and Lu Lu. If Gu Lin hadn't gone to the river mouth of Dongyang County, Niu Da wouldn't have to follow Gu Lin to do some chores for the time being, and he wouldn't be able to get to him.

He thought that he still had to go to the human traffickers to buy a few more people. After these goods were ready, he had to send them to Dongyang County, and he couldn't do it without someone he could trust.

On the first day of work, Lin Zhen was watching. Niu Da's wife and mother followed his instructions and went to the street to buy vegetables. When Lin Zhen stipulated that it was time to stop work at noon, they moved several large pots of vegetables to the spacious main room: "It's time to eat!"

The women, men, and men who heard the voice looked at each other, but did not move. Although Lin Zhen said yesterday that they could eat and rest at noon, no one dared to take the lead at this moment. It was such a good job, even if they could not rest.

Looking at their enthusiastic appearance, Lin Zhen stood on the steps and said loudly: "Stop what you are doing and eat first. After eating, rest for half an hour and then continue to work."

After hearing the words from the boss, the women, men, and men got up from their work places, washed their hands, and lined up in two teams.

Maizi, who had been washing rice all morning

, did not feel tired. He stood in the queue obediently. Soon it was his turn. Aunt Niu, who was serving the dishes, asked him, "What dishes do you want, brother?" Maizi looked at the dishes fried in oil in several large pots and the hot soup, and stammered, "I want fried cabbage, stewed tofu..."

"No meat?" Aunt Niu said this many times today. In fact, when she first received meat from Lin Zhen in Kyoto, she did the same thing when she knew that it was for the slaves they bought. If she

told others that she was feeding the slaves meat, people would think she was dreaming.

Then Lin Zhen bought it again and again, and she cooked it again and again, and slowly got used to it.

Their master was an open-minded and kind person. As long as they did good things for him, he would never treat them unfairly.

Maizi looked at the greasy meat slices, gulped them down, and tremblingly said, "I want it."

Aunt Niu scooped a spoonful for him and put it on the big bowl of stir-fried cabbage and stewed tofu, and handed him the bowl: "If you are not full, you can come and have more, but you must not waste food. The boss does not like people who waste food."

Then she pointed to the soup in the wooden barrel next to her and the small bowl in the basket: "If you want to drink soup, make it yourself."

"Okay," Maizi took the bowl full of food and brought it to the side room where a table and benches were already set up. The dark-skinned boy in his group waved to him, "Here, there is room for people to sit here!"

The boy's mouth was covered with oil and his cheeks were bulging, but no one would laugh at him for this, everyone was the same.

Maizi took the bowl over and sat next to the dark-skinned boy. He licked his lips and put a piece of meat into his mouth.

The meat that he had not even eaten during the Chinese New Year exuded the unique fragrance of oil in his mouth. Maizi pinched himself hard to make sure he was not dreaming.

The brother who had already eaten half a bowl of rice next to him said to him: "I hope Boss Lin will do business here for a long time. I will work hard. When I am old, I will ask my son to do it!"

Maizi felt that he was right. There would be no such good boss anymore!

After staying here until noon and eating a bowl of rice, Lin Zhen took Lu Lu away. As for Niu Da, Niu Da Niu and Niu Da's wife, they would live in the yard in the future, not only to guard the yard, but also to make lunch for the workers.

Then Lin Zhen went to find the local traffickers and bought a few guards who were said to have come from the yard of a high-ranking official who had committed a crime. He asked Niu Da to take care of them first and observe for a period of time. In the future, he would be responsible for watching the three yards.

After handing the eight servants over to Niu Da, Lin Zhen and Lu Lu returned to the government office. As soon as they reached the door, they saw the yamen runners leading the horse with sweat all over its neck and body to the back. Lin Zhen's heart moved: "Is the master back?" When

the yamen runners saw it was him, they bowed and saluted: "Reply to Boss Lin, the master just came back."

Including today, Lin Zhen hadn't seen Gu Lin for two days. He said to Lu Lu behind him, "Go to the kitchen and ask Jiang Fulang to cook a bowl of noodles, blanch some small green vegetables, and fry an egg."

"Yes." Seeing that the two of them didn't get along like a normal uncle and nephew, Lu Lu understood what was going on and went there after receiving the order.

Lin Zhen walked to the backyard. As soon as he reached the window of the house where Gu Lin lived, he heard the sound of water coming from inside. He slapped his head and knew that the clean Gu Lin must be taking a bath again. He paused and was about to go back to the main hall to wait when Gu Lin's voice came into his ears: "Uncle Lin."

It was a bit... weird for someone to take a bath in the house while he was standing outside.

Especially since Gu Lin called him, Lin Zhen touched his nose and said, "When I came back, I saw the yamen runners leading the horses, so I guessed that you were back. You should take a shower first, and I'll wait for you in the main hall."

"I'm ready, I'll go with you." Gu Lin said in the room. Soon, the door opened from the inside, and he walked out wearing a beige robe and a jade-colored silk belt around his waist.

His hair was tied with a headband, and the moist water vapor made the ends of his hair moist.

Gu Lin in his long robe looked like a handsome scholar who only read poetry and books, and he didn't know how to fight. Lin Zhen turned around and walked in front, saying, "Is it going well? What did you discuss with those merchants?"

Gu Lin was behind him, looking at his high ponytail and his body that was much thinner than his own, and replied, "It's going well. They have agreed to use Lizhou bonds to exchange for grain. They boarded a ship to Kyoto early this morning. The grain will be transported to Dongyang County by May 13 at the latest. We need to prepare a team of carriages to go there by then."

"It's hard for you to go there in person," Lin Zhen stepped into the main hall and sat on the chair, "Then the next step is to mobilize carpenters and blacksmiths to build curved plows. Eight days should be enough." There are

so many villages, and the number of plows needed is not a small number. Whether it is a carpenter or a blacksmith, it will definitely make a lot of money if they take this business.

Just like those merchants, they can't get cash for the time being, and they have to pay with bonds, so they have to grind it out.

But Lin Zhen knew that this was not difficult for Gu Lin.

The two of them were separated by a table, but the subtle atmosphere made Lin Zhen feel like he had swallowed an orange candy.

Suddenly, Gu Lin said, "Before I went to Dongyang County, I told you that I would bring you some new and interesting things. Uncle Lin, take a look."

He took off the purse from his waist and handed it to Lin Zhen.

Lin Zhen glanced at him, took the purse, and saw that it was a polished, smooth and beautiful clam shell.

After opening the clam shell, it turned out to be a microscopic pavilion with a material similar to that of a clam shell. A white pearl was stuck on the top of the microscopic pavilion.

Lin Zhen moved the pearl stuck on the microscopic pavilion and remembered the time when he gave him many pearl-related things after getting drunk.

Holding the beautifully polished clam shell in one hand, Lin Zhen reached out with his other hand and held Gu Lin's fingers.

Gu Lin looked at him with dark eyes.

Lin Zhen said in a voice that only the two of them could hear: "You asked me to eat your mouth a few times ago, why don't you do that now?"

Then Lin Zhen saw with his own eyes that Gu Lin's cold eyebrows were stained with a little red, spreading to his ears and neck.

Even the hand he was holding became warmer.

Gu Lin looked at him, "I can do it now."

Lin Zhen curled his slightly plump lips: "What can I do?"

"I can eat Zhenzhen's mouth."

Oh my god, Lin Zhen, who originally wanted to tease him, found that he couldn't stand him saying such words directly. He said in his heart, no one knows better than me how good you are, you can even eat flowers.

He quickly pulled his hand back and slipped away.

However, Gu Lin took the initiative to hold his hand in his own, circled his wrist, bent down and kissed the tip of his index finger, his ears and neck were red, but his eyes were fixed on him: "In Dongyang County, I miss Zhenzhen."

Chapter 232

When Lin Zhen walked out of the main hall, his feet felt light. He lowered his head and touched his mouth, and hurried to his room.

As soon as he entered the room, he heard the voice of Gu Lin, who was not far from his room, asking the servants to prepare water for bathing.

Lin Zhen: "..."

The more he knows, the harder it is to fool him. When he is older...

He patted his head, put aside what he had just done, sat down at the table and took out a booklet.

The business of Yurong powder and Hualu lipstick is on the right track. When the first batch of products comes out, they will be transported to the mouth of Dongyang County and then shipped to Kyoto.

It has been more than 20 days since he left Kyoto. There should be some Yurong powder in the hands of Kyoto customers, but there is definitely no Hualu with a shelf life of less than ten days. It will take six or seven days to send Hualu and Yurong powder from Lizhou, even if it is the fastest means of transportation at this time - ship, and the shelf life of Hualu will almost expire when it is sent to Kyoto.

Leaning back in the chair, Lin Zhen pondered this difficult problem.

In order to extend the shelf life of the flower dew, the first thing he thought of was to add preservatives to the flower dew, but this idea was quickly dispelled. The lack of materials made it difficult for him to find a safe alternative to preservatives. Flower dew is something that is directly applied to the face, and the slightest accident may cause other more serious consequences.

Then he can only work hard on the packaging.

Lin Zhen finally handed over the porcelain box and porcelain bottle business to the younger brother of Ma Zhanggui's wife that day. He personally looked around. Although the craftsmanship was not as good as the one ordered by Kyoto, it was already the best in the state. The boss was also very humble. After looking at the drawings given by Lin Zhen, he said that he would burn some first and send them to him to see. If there is no problem, he will place an order.

Although the things have not been delivered yet, Lin Zhen has already planned to hand over this business to him based on his attitude and the things he has seen in his store.

The porcelain box and porcelain bottle are both unscrewed designs, which are convenient for transportation, but there is not much sealing.

Lin Zhen took the charcoal pencil and drew the porcelain bottle on the paper while thinking. Suddenly, the pen in his hand stopped, and he had an idea. The charcoal pencil drew a stroke on the bottle cap.

Without preservatives, we can only work on sterilizing bacteria and bottle caps.

Before bottling the floral dew, put the porcelain bottle in a steamer and steam it at high temperature. After putting the floral dew in, melt the wax and seal the bottle cap to extend the shelf life to the maximum.

However, this will require more manpower, and we will have to recruit workers again.

Lin Zhen was not as busy as Gu Lin. When he got up, it was already bright. Several birds of unknown species were chirping and combing their feathers on the windowsill, and their small shadows were printed through the window paper.

The moment Lulu opened the window, the birds flapped their wings and flew away.

Lin Zhen got dressed, washed up, and went to Guangshun Lane after breakfast.

The women and men who worked for him had been busy for a while. When they saw him come in, they greeted him: "Boss Lin."

"Boss Lin."

"..."

Lin Zhen nodded, walked to the group that was moving the most delicate rice slurry sediment filtered out yesterday to dry outside, picked up a small piece and crushed it with his fingertips.

This is made of the most expensive yellow oriole rice. If you don't pay attention, it looks similar to ordinary white rice noodles, but it is different when put together. It has a very tender yellow color.

Lin Zhen didn't put back the little rice noodles he had ground. He clapped his hands and said to Lu Lu, "The first batch of noodles will be almost ready after two days of drying. By the way, Lu Lu, you will write a recruitment notice later. This time, we will recruit ten girls and boys, and two people who can read and write."

"The wages of the ten girls and boys are the same as theirs. The wages of the two who can read and write are one tael and five cents of silver per month, and four sets of clothes per year."

The ten girls and boys specialize in packaging, steaming porcelain boxes and bottles, and pouring wax to seal them after packaging.

Lin Zhen plans to keep the two who can read and write with him for a while to let them understand the basic process of the business and keep accounts.

When the people working nearby heard that Lin Zhen was going to recruit people again, they were very excited. The relatives and friends who knew about their coming here to work a step later were envious. They ran to their homes several times a day just to get the recruitment information from them.

They also wanted their relatives and friends to have this job, and now they finally had the chance. When they returned, they would quickly tell their relatives and friends about this matter. As for whether they could get in, it was not something they could know.

After Lulu finished the recruitment notice, Lin Zhen took her to the trafficker again.

When the trafficker saw Lin Zhen, he was like seeing the God of Wealth, and greeted him with a smile on his face, "Boss Lin, the people I picked for you yesterday were not bad, they are all good seedlings with complete limbs and strong bodies. As long as they are fed two full meals, they can do any work." Lin Zhen

just bought eight guards from him yesterday who were said to be from the mansions of high-ranking officials who had committed crimes. Because they were young and strong men with complete limbs and some martial arts, they were more expensive than ordinary slaves, four taels and three cents each, and a total of more than thirty taels.

Regarding his own business, Lin Zhen would rather use slaves. In this era, slaves were the private property of the master, and the indentures were in the hands of the master. As long as they were not really unable to make ends meet, they would not have the idea of âârebelling against the master.

They share the same fate with their masters, and if they defect, they will face severe punishment from the government.

Although Lin Zhen thought that his sense of morality was higher than some people and he would not be too bad to the workers, he could never be sure about the things in the world, and he would feel more at ease with the insurance of slaves. Lin Zhen

stopped the human traffickers who were too exaggerated in body language and said, "My requirements for buying people today are the same as yesterday. They must be young and strong, and it would be better if they know some martial arts for self-defense."

The human traffickers were in a dilemma when they heard this. Lizhou was not as prosperous as Kyoto, Luozhou, Pingzhou and other places. It was much worse in every way. Even the human traffickers who sold slaves did not like to come here.

If he hadn't received some instructions, this human trafficker wouldn't have come here with goods that would sell better elsewhere. He choked and said, "Boss Lin, to be honest, I do have slaves similar to those yesterday, but... "

Lin Zhen said, "What can't be said? You sell, I buy. Is there any secret in it?"

The human trafficker shook his head quickly, "Not really, but someone told me to sell the slaves that meet your requirements farther away before they were sold."

"Isn't Lizhou far enough?"

The human trafficker smiled. At that time, the people above told him that it would be best to sell them to the border between Lizhou and Che Luo Kingdom, and it would be best if they all died there.

But the human trafficker really didn't want to go deeper into Lizhou. He couldn't adapt to the horrible weather in Lizhou at all. Since he came here, the blisters in his mouth have never disappeared, and his nose is so dry that he gets a pillow of blood every day when he gets up. Anyway, the sky

is high and the road is long. If he gets rid of the slaves here, he can go back and say that they were sold to the border of Lizhou. It's impossible for the people above to go there in person to confirm.

Having made up his mind, the trafficker said, "Boss Lin, I'll take you to have a look. If you nod, I'll take them back immediately."

Lin Zhen nodded and was led by the trafficker to the side room in the yard.

As soon as he entered, there was a smell of too many people gathered together and not washing up in time. Lin Zhen, who had been here yesterday, had already made some preparations. He looked at the ragged slaves crowded in this side room and found that these slaves... were different... They

only had one meal every two days, and the slaves' faces were not good, and they had no strength. Even when the trafficker whipped Yuxi, they didn't move much.

But this group of people had big bones, and there was a faint smell between their eyebrows that Lin Zhen had seen in Zhang Tie, Nie Yong and others, which was the unique aura of trained soldiers.

These slaves had served in the army.

There were about 20 slaves in the wing room, 7 of them were young and strong, and the rest should be the family members who were sold with the young and strong. There were men, women, old and young. Lin Zhen looked at the youngest, and saw that he was still suckling in the arms of a female slave.

The traffickers probably knew that they were good at fighting. Several young and strong men had iron chains on their feet and hands, and they had made a lot of money.

The traffickers pointed at the young and strong men and said to Lin Zhen: "Boss Lin, look, these seven slaves meet your requirements, they are strong and healthy, and it's worth buying them back."

When the families brought here by the traffickers heard that Lin Zhen was here to buy them, their faces changed. The seven young and strong men looked at Lin Zhen with anger or deepness, and hid the men, women, old and young who could not fight behind them.

The skinny baby suckling in the woman's arms seemed to sense something and burst into tears.

The human trafficker held a whip and scolded: "Cover his mouth quickly, what's the use of a little kid, he eats and sleeps every day, he's not worth half a tael of silver!"

It was obvious that he often scolded these slaves. When the baby heard his voice, he cried even harder, his face flushed red, as if he was about to suffocate.

The woman who was feeding the baby was anxious to coax the child, but the child was not an adult, he had no control, and it was not easy to calm down after being frightened. No matter how the woman coaxed him, it was useless.

Several young men with their hands and feet tied tightly pursed their lips and clenched their fists.

The human trafficker took two steps back and instructed his men behind him: "They are all unkempt, each of them will be whipped ten times! Catch seven of them, and the rest don't need to be fed today!" Originally, they only

had one meal every two days. If they didn't eat today, they would have to wait until two days later, a full four days before they could eat.

Lin Zhen frowned: "Okay, I'm here to buy people to do things, not to watch you guys fight."

Lin Zhen was still not used to such scenes. He looked at the seven young men and the men, women, old and young behind them: "I want all these people, except for these seven, you name a price for the others."

The trafficker's face was happy. It would be good to sell all these hot potatoes. If he sold them all, he could go back earlier.

He estimated in his mind and said: "Boss Lin will give 30 taels of silver for the remaining ones, which is 2 taels of silver per person. What do you think?"

There were 15 people, adults and children, and 30 taels of silver were all bought.

Lin Zhen asked Lu Lu to give the silver to the trafficker, and took the indentures of these people from him. He took a look and saw that it said that these people were confiscated by the government and enslaved, which was different from the general voluntary sale of slavery.

Chapter 233

The trafficker smiled and said, "I'll ask someone to help Boss Lin send these slaves to your house. They are not honest, be careful not to hurt you."

Lin Zhen looked at the chains on the hands and feet of the seven young men, as well as the men, women, and children who had not eaten for two days. He was even more afraid that these people would faint from hunger on the street, so he nodded and said, "Okay, you ask a few people to follow and send them to Guangshun Lane,

to the yard with the sign of Lin's Watercolor Shop." "Okay, you guys, take Boss Lin's slaves to Guangshun Lane Lin's Watercolor Shop!"

Lin Zhen bought young men who knew martial arts in order to form a carriage team to escort the goods, traveling back and forth between the state capital and the river mouth of Dongyang County. He did not tell Niu Da about this.

In order to prevent Niu Da from confusing this group of people with the ones he bought yesterday and treating them as guards, Lin Zhen simply went with them.

One of the young men who had just been released from the human traffickers and became a slave, looked around with the corner of his eyes as he walked out of the yard, holding the iron chain tied to his hands.

The man standing next to him, who was older than him, covered the back of his hand and said, "Don't move for now. The people at home can't stand it anymore. We can run, but they can't." The

young man, who had never wanted to be a slave, gritted his teeth in hatred, looking at his family members who were pale and thin and shivering in the cold wind of Lizhou, and could only loosen his hands that were tightly holding the iron chain. The

person who advised him said, "Don't worry."

The place where the human traffickers lived was not far from Guangshun Lane, and it only took more than ten minutes to get there. The men who were carrying rice out of the yard saw Lin Zhen coming and hurriedly greeted him, "Boss Lin!"

It happened that a man carrying a bag of rice walked to Lin Zhen's side, twisted his foot, and the bag of rice on his shoulder slipped and fell towards Lin Zhen.

The man carrying the rice, Niu Da who was in charge, and other workers cried out in surprise and rushed to Lin Zhen.

The oldest of the seven young men bought by Lin Zhen grabbed Lin Zhen and kicked the rice bag, saving Lin Zhen.

"Boss!"

"Boss, are you okay?"

"How do you do things? Can you afford the responsibility of smashing the boss?!" Niu Da was so scared that his face turned pale. After seeing that Lin Zhen was fine, his legs went limp and he scolded the man who smashed the rice bag.

The man was also frightened. A strong man and a child who had committed a crime were at a loss, hesitating: "Boss... I didn't mean it... Please don't fire me..."

Lin Zhen glanced at the young man who rescued him, and looked at Niu Da and the man who almost hit him: "It's a blessing that he didn't hit anyone, but this kind of thing will not happen again."

From what he meant, he didn't intend to pursue the matter further, because the man who almost hit him by his carelessness bowed to Lin Zhen again and again: "I know, I will be careful in the future and will never do it again."

Niu Da, who witnessed the scene just now, still frowned tightly. He was the first batch of slaves bought by Lin Zhen. In his eyes, everything he had now was brought by Lin Zhen, and he was the most loyal to Lin Zhen. He really couldn't imagine what the consequences would be if the bag of rice weighing more than 100 kilograms hit Lin Zhen just now.

But since Lin Zhen said so, he naturally couldn't say anything else.

The man who pulled Lin Zhen looked at the interaction between Niu Da and Lin Zhen, and something flashed in his eyes.

"They are my new people. You can arrange them later and let them stay." After the incident, Lin Zhen thought about nothing except sighing about his tattered body without any fighting power.

He took Lu Lu and the newly bought slaves in while talking to Niu Da. As for the subordinates who were sent by the traffickers, they left after sending the people.

Niu Da, who had received them yesterday and arranged eight people, nodded: "Yes, boss, are these people also the guards of the Flour Mill?"

"No, I have something else to give them."

This courtyard is about a hundred steps away from the other two courtyards, but the layout is similar, with a main house in the middle and side rooms on both sides. Because it is the courtyard where they live, the family who rented it to Lin Zhen also built two smaller houses around the side rooms, which is convenient for him to settle people now.

Leading the people into the yard, Lin Zhen turned around and looked at the twenty-two people whose chains on their hands and feet had just been taken away by the traffickers: "I have a lot of things to do here, and it's urgent, so I'll explain everything to you now."

"I'm the boss of Lin's Watercolor Shop, my name is Lin Zhen. I bought you here to let you escort my goods. If you work hard for me, I won't treat you

unfairly." "Of course, if you think the work of escorting goods is too tiring and don't want to do it, I will replace you with people I bought before and let you be the guards." Lin Zhen saw the previous identities of these people, and he still wanted to let them escort the goods. After all, they have been systematically trained and are familiar with each other. Their families are in the state capital. They will definitely do their best to do things for him, and it will be safe for him to run around occasionally.

Zhou Zhengchu, the oldest among the young and middle-aged people, who was about 28 or 29 years old, said: "Okay, we will escort the goods for Boss Lin."

Their group was led by Zhou Zhengchu. After he spoke, the others had no other ideas.

They were all sold as slaves. What else can they do except work hard for Lin Zhen?

Lin Zhen said, "Okay, you guys stay here for the next few days, we'll need you guys soon."

"Niu Da, give them some space, go buy some cloth and some needles and thread later, and let the husbands and wives make clothes for their families. The food should be the same as the ones bought yesterday. Prepare three meals of rice porridge for lunch, dinner, and tomorrow morning. Don't hurt your stomach or cause trouble."

"Okay, boss."

"Also," Lin Zhen looked at the baby who was crying all the way in the young woman's arms and had a hoarse voice, "Tell the kitchen to see if they can scrape a bowl of rice oil for the baby first." After

finishing his work, Lin Zhen went back. The jade powder was being made in full swing, and the porcelain boxes and bottles containing the jade powder and flower dew were still being fired. He wanted to go and see the progress in person. If it was almost done, he would start distilling the flower dew and try to get the first batch of goods from Lizhou out as soon as possible.

Lin Zhen walked hurriedly, the corners of his robe fluttering under his feet, and it was a step that only people who couldn't stop could take.

As soon as he left, Niu Da said to Zhou Zhengchu and the other 22 people: "You have just seen that our boss is a generous man. As long as you work under him, you will get a lot of benefits."

"I think you should be one family at a time. You can live in the two side rooms on the right and the small house. As for how to distribute them, you can decide for yourselves."

"Wait until the cloth is bought and make a set of clothes and you will be done."

Lin Zhen just said that these people are to escort the goods. Niu Da did not tell them to familiarize themselves with the other two houses and this place like he did with the people who were bought yesterday. He just told them to make their own arrangements.

Allowed to have a place to rest, Zhou Zhengchu turned to the woman who had been coaxing the child behind him and said: "Chun'er, you take the child in and rest first. I will go ask... the boss just mentioned about giving a bowl of rice and oil."

"Yeah." The child cried so hard that his voice was hoarse. The young woman's heart was about to break, but they could only eat once every two days. Not to mention milk, even saliva was almost gone. They could only watch the child cry and could do nothing.

If they were still at the human traffickers' place, they would have to wait two days before they could eat. The young woman didn't know how she would survive.

Zhou Zhengchu asked the others to take their families to sit in the house first, and hurriedly walked to catch up with Niu Da who seemed to have forgotten about this matter: "Manager, the boss just said to bring a bowl of rice oil for the child, but I don't know where to get it."

Zhou Zhengchu, who had a big frame, was good at martial arts, but he had only eaten once every two or three months. He had a big appetite and had become weak from hunger. His seemingly strong steps were just for show.

Niu Da stopped and said, "I have a bad memory. If you hadn't reminded me, I would have forgotten."

"Achen, take him to Shuifenfang No. 1 to find a bowl for the child to eat." Niu Da and his subordinates followed Lin Zhen's instructions and called the courtyard with two courtyards together Shuifenfang No. 1. They called it Shuifenfang No. 2, which was easier to remember.

The person called Achen agreed and said to Zhou Zhengchu, "Come with me."

Zhou Zhengchu and Niu Da bowed slightly and walked behind Achen out of the courtyard door of Shuifenfang No. 2. They had only walked a few dozen steps when they heard the lively sounds coming from not far away.

The sound of pouring water, the sound of rubbing things, and the sound of grinding things with a stone mill merged into one.

Achen, who brought him here, said, "This is also my fourth time to come to No. 1 Square, but Manager Niu said that from now on, I and the other four people will be responsible for the defense of this place, so we have to live here."

"It's more leisurely than running around outside." When Lin Zhen was talking to Zhou Zhengchu and other newly bought slaves, Achen and the others who were bought yesterday also heard it.

Regarding Zhou Zhengchu and his friends' going outside to escort goods, some people think it's better than being a guard here, and some people think it's not much different.

Achen is the one who thinks it's not much different. He worked as a guard for officials for more than 20 years before, and he also had a good life. After being sold as a slave, he felt that being a guard was also good and he could live a peaceful life.

Zhou Zhengchu was very observant. After just a few encounters, he figured out that he was the person Lin Zhen mentioned who was bought yesterday. He couldn't get much useful information from him, so he didn't say anything else, just said, "We just came here, and we don't know what business the boss is in? What kind of goods are we going to escort?"

Shuifenfang, it's really hard to tell from the name.

Achen said, "The boss is in the business of rouge and powder, and he has many people working under him."

The distance of several dozen steps was reached quickly for the two of them. The person guarding the gate of the yard saw the person Achen was leading and asked, "Who is he?"

Achen said, "The boss's newly bought servant, come to the kitchen to find a bowl of rice oil for the child."

"Oh, then go in." The person who was assigned to guard the yard this morning said.

Achen and Zhou Zhengchu walked in.

Chapter 234

Zhou Zhengchu looked inside with his eyes restrained. He saw a busy scene in the spacious yard. Dozens of girls and boys were busy with their own things. Except for necessary communication, they didn't say anything. The strong smell of rice reached Zhou Zhengchu's nose, making his empty stomach twitch and stir.

Ah Chen took him straight to the kitchen on the right. Aunt Niu and Niu Da's wife, who were cutting vegetables, saw him coming. Because they had never seen him before, they raised their voices a little: "Who are you? What's the matter?"

There were so many people in the yard, and Aunt Niu was not afraid.

Ah Chen knew that she was Niu Da's mother, and said very respectfully: "Auntie Niu, it was Manager Niu who asked me to bring him here to scrape a bowl of rice oil for his child. The child was very hungry and his voice was hoarse from crying." Auntie

Niu lowered her voice a little and looked at Zhou Zhengchu, who looked handsome but a little weak. "It turned out to be a small matter like asking for a bowl of rice oil. Wait, there is a pot of rice, and it is almost cooked." As she spoke

, she went to the cabinet next to her and took out a large bowl that the workers used for eating, and opened the lid.

In an instant, hot steam rushed out, and the aroma of rice, which was more fragrant than raw rice, filled the entire kitchen.

Lin Zhen's meals for the workers were not bad. Each meal had three dishes and a soup. The rice was a mixture of white rice and wheat lumps in a ratio of 1:1, and it was guaranteed to be full. Just for this meal, many people wanted to come in and work.

The white rice was cooked just enough to bloom a little bit. Because there were so many people and so much rice, there was already a layer of fine rice soup and a slight condensation of fat on the edge of the iron pot.

Aunt Niu took a spoon and scraped it again and again until the big bowl was full, then handed it to Zhou Zhengchu: "Give it to the children to eat first, and you can come back at noon when the rice is ready."

Aunt Niu cooked a meal for Achen and the others yesterday. She knew that these newly bought slaves should eat a few porridges first to avoid hurting their stomachs. Today's lunch will be porridge and dry rice.

"Thank you." Zhou Zhengchu held the boiling hot rice oil, and he, who always had his own ideas, didn't know what to say.

Aunt Niu smiled and said, "My family was also bought by the boss. The drought two years ago caused great harm to my family. We finally escaped with our lives, but we can't go back. In order to treat me and my child, my son and daughter-in-law had to take me and my grandson to sell ourselves as slaves.

I didn't expect to be so lucky to meet the boss." "I have been blessed for several lifetimes to meet the boss so coincidentally."

"To say something shameless, my family's life now is not even as good as before."

"Hurry up and take it to the child, don't let the child starve."

Zhou Zhengchu nodded, carrying a large bowl of rice oil and walking back with Achen. A gust of cold wind blew, blowing his body, which was only wearing autumn clothes, to the bone, but he had a faint hope in his body.

The rest of the people who had already allocated beds saw Zhou Zhengchu carrying a large bowl of rice oil in, and their empty stomachs made clear sounds, and they were all eager.

But no one spoke, instead they all looked at the child who was still crying.

When the young woman saw him coming, tears flowed from her dry eyes: "Zhengchu..."

Zhou Zhengchu put the already cold rice oil on the table and said: "Feed him some, Xiaohong, Tiantian, Shunzi, you guys come and have a drink."

The military settlement system is now in place, and these military households are old neighbors who have known each other for decades. It is not an exaggeration to say that they are brothers. This time they are in trouble together, and they try their best to take care of each other along the way. Otherwise, those extremely cruel human traffickers alone can take the lives of weak children and girls.

Correspondingly, adult men like Zhou Zhengchu have to suffer more. There is not an inch of good meat on their bodies, and they rely on their previous foundation.

Zhou Zhengchu's wife looked at the bowl of rice oil and quickly called the children aged five, six, seven or eight from other families to come over.

"You eat a bite first, and I'll feed my brother, he eats slower."

The adults could resist the smell of rice, but they kept swallowing their saliva and their stomachs growled. When the children heard Zhou Zhengchu's wife calling them, they gathered around and couldn't wait to hold the bowl and drink a mouthful each.

The oldest child, who was about eight or nine years old, took a small bite and pushed the bowl away: "Auntie Chun, give it to my brother quickly, he's hungry."

"Okay." The young woman held the bowl and put it close to the mouth of the baby who could only drink milk. The baby who was only fed milk seemed to smell the fragrance, and his mouth hurriedly leaned over the edge of the bowl to drink the rice oil.

Zhou Zhengchu said: "At noon, we can also go to the place where I just brought the rice oil to eat, everyone, please be patient."

"Really!" said the young man who wanted to escape on the way to the water powder shop.

The others also looked at Zhou Zhengchu.

Zhou Zhengchu nodded: "The mother of Niu, the manager of the kitchen, said so. I also asked the guards on the way back, and it is true."

Suddenly, one of the people said: "If the boss here is really as generous as he appears, we can stay here for a while, and then find someone to complain about our grievances after the storm has died down."

"There are only three of us here, and we don't know where the others are..."

Zhou Zhengchu clenched his fists at his side slowly: "Yeah."

At this moment, they couldn't help but think of Lord Wei. If Lord Wei was still in Beijing, they would never do this!

Lin Zhen, who didn't know that he had saved Wei San's men in a roundabout way, came back from the kiln. When he arrived, the kiln that fired porcelain bottles and boxes for him had just been fired and opened. Ma, the storekeeper's brother-in-law, immediately took one to show him. It was exactly the same as the one on his drawing, and it looked more beautiful than he expected.

So Lin Zhen immediately signed a contract with the shopkeeper Ma's brother-in-law, asking him to deliver 3,000 porcelain boxes and 2,000 porcelain bottles to Lin's Water-Powder Shop in Guangshun Lane. As for the silver, he had to pay a 30% deposit first, and then pay the full amount after all the goods arrived.

Lou Feng, who had already known from his brother-in-law that he was the uncle of the prefect, was not afraid that he would run away, and he also wrote his name and pressed his handprint.

The production of Yurong Powder, the packaging, and the team escorting the goods were all in place. When Lin Zhen returned to the prefectural government office, he took out the distillation equipment that had been covered with dust for more than half a month, found an empty room to assemble it, and asked Lu Lu to go to the No. 1 yard of Lin's Water-Powder Shop and ask them to deliver the dried herb to start the intense production of herb flower dew.

So for the next two days, the prefectural government office was shrouded in a clear fragrance that made people want to smell it more and more, and it also spread to the yard of the rich family next to the prefectural government office.

Lin Zhen took down the big porcelain bucket that had been boiled dry, and looked at the yellowish grass inside, which was no longer green due to boiling. He really didn't expect that the grass would give him such a big surprise.

It looked ordinary, and the grass that could be found everywhere in Lizhou had a very strange smell after distillation. The more you smell it, the more you want to smell it, and the more you smell it, the more you get addicted. Moreover, this fragrance is not greasy, but refreshing. It can be used by women, men, and men.

Lin Zhen first filled a porcelain bottle with the first portion of distillation and asked Lu Lu to send it to Gu Lin, and then continued to tinker with his own.

These first-time flower dews distilled from the grass are the ones in high-end packaging. The mid-range and low-end ones are distilled twice with water from the grass that has been distilled once, and the grass with roots larger than leaves that Lin Zhen asked the workers to sort out when washing is not so good. Because

the fragrance of the grass is concentrated on the grass leaves, the taste of the flower dew distilled in this way is not as strong as the high-end ones, and it is even a little light, and it is a little different from the taste of pure grass flower dew.

But it smells good, just not as intoxicating.

"Boss, someone is here." Lulu said outside the distillation room.

Lin Zhen was sweating all over. He turned around and said, "Okay, let them all come in, carry the things to the No. 1 courtyard of the Watercolor Factory, and ask the workers who have practiced for two days to put the flower dew in."

These two days, Lin Zhen was distilling flower dew here. He also took some time out to go to the No. 1 courtyard to explain to the newly recruited workers the necessity of steaming porcelain bottles, and to melt wax and pour it on the bottle caps to seal after filling the flower dew.

And asked them to try their hands with porcelain bottles to fill water first, so as not to waste flower dew.

The work is not difficult. In order to make a good living for Lin's Watercolor Factory, some of the recruited girls and brothers even practiced at night.

"Yes." Lu Lu responded outside the door and asked Zhou Zhengchu and others to come in.

Zhou Zhengchu and others had eaten and drank well these two days, and their strength returned. Hearing that Lin Zhen finally had something for them to do, they all perked up.

They thought Lin Zhen would ask them to do some heavy work, but when they entered, they saw a few large wooden barrels made of good wood in front of a wall, and the fire behind the wall had been burning for who knows how long, making the corners hot.

Lin Zhen walked out from behind the wall and pointed at the large wooden barrels: "You take these wooden barrels filled with floral dew to Courtyard No. 1 and hand them over to the packaging team. They will take care of it."

"Yes, boss." In fact, before coming here, Zhou Zhengchu and his friends always thought that Lin Zhen was just an ordinary businessman. They didn't expect that he had a relationship with the Lizhou government office. For a moment, they thought of their own affairs.

But Lizhou was too far away from their original place. Several people understood that it would be useless even if they said it, so they all kept it in their hearts.

Zhou Zhengchu saluted Lin Zhen with his fists, and together with several brothers, he carried the heavy wooden barrels out, put them on the cart, and pulled them to Courtyard No. 1 of Lin's Watercolor Workshop.

The girls and guys in the packaging group who had received the news had been looking forward to it. Today was the day they would officially pack the flower dew. All the skills they had practiced in the past two days would be put to use now!

As soon as they saw Zhou Zhengchu and his team coming and learned that the wooden barrel contained the flower dew, the girls and guys in the packaging group immediately went in to steam the porcelain bottles and melt the wax...

"Huh." Lin Zhen from the prefecture government stood in the distillation room and felt that he had never been so busy before. He fanned himself with his hands.

After this wave of work was finished, he would definitely lie down for a day!

Chapter 235

Guangshun Lane is bustling with visible sight. Whether it is the women and men who come there to work every morning, or the voices coming out of it, people around can't help but want to know more.

Soon most people knew that the business in Guangshun Lane was run by the uncle of the prefect, specializing in rouge and powder. There were more than 70 workers alone, and they were not only paid 150 coins a month, but also provided with a meal at noon. Some people also

said that Boss Lin also collected Youcao, one coin per pound, and many people in the city went to dig it.

When Lin Zhen was busy, Gu Lin was almost the same as him. After returning from the mouth of Dongyang County, he vigorously promoted the Lizhou bonds in the prefecture. With the decree he issued before about farming this year, those wealthy families who were very distrustful at first and thought he wanted to take money out of their pockets changed their minds a little bit.

Today, the wealthy families in the city and those with a little wealth gathered in the government office at the invitation of Gu Lin, the prefect.

Lin Zhen stopped what he was doing and changed his clothes. When he arrived, he saw only a few dozen people sitting in the main hall, and the top seat was still empty.

He looked around and sat next to Shopkeeper Ma, whom he had met several times.

Shopkeeper Ma saw him and smiled: "Boss Lin is here."

"Boss Lin has become very famous in the prefecture recently. Business in Guangshun Lane is booming. Many people want to see Boss Lin's goods." "

It will be ready in three or four days. By then, some of the goods will be sold in the prefecture, and most of them will be transported to the mouth of the Dongyang County River and shipped to Kyoto." The mouth of the Dongyang County River was abandoned before. Occasionally, merchants and small merchants sold some scarce goods needed by the people there, such as salt, sugar, and seafood.

But they were all done in private, which was a loophole left by Xu Zhizhou's turning a blind eye.

Shopkeeper Ma asked, "Is the river mouth of Dongyang County going to be used again?"

Lin Zhen nodded, "The grain seeds that the people planted this time are also transported from there. In the future, our Lizhou will get better and better, and the river mouth of Dongyang County will probably be more lively than before."

Shopkeeper Ma listened and took it to heart.

Most of the other people in the main hall had never seen Lin Zhen. When they heard Shopkeeper Ma call him Boss Lin, they thought of the newly opened watercolor shop in Guangshun Lane that had been widely rumored in recent days, and they couldn't help but look at Lin Zhen.

When they saw his unusually beautiful appearance and the gender of the boy, they couldn't help but look down on him.

Suddenly, Gu Lin, surrounded by the Tongzhi, Limu, and the judge, walked in. The people in the main hall stood up and saluted: "Greetings, Lord Zhizhou."

"No need to be polite." Gu Lin asked these people to stand up, his eyes wandered around Lin Zhen in the crowd, and he sat on the first chair.

The Tongzhi who was busy following Gu Lin spoke up: "My lord invited you all here today because he has something beneficial to Lizhou and to you all."

"Is everyone aware of Lizhou bonds?"

How could they not know? A few days ago, someone from the yamen came to their house and handed them a piece of paper and told them a lot. But at that time they all thought that the new magistrate was trying to find ways to squeeze money from them, and said a lot of things behind their backs.

A man in his fifties with a big belly and a round face, who looked quite wealthy, stood up and saluted first to Gu Lin, then to Guan Peng, and said, "My Lord Prefect, My Lord Co-Prefect, I really don't understand what Lizhou bonds are. How about you two tell me how much silver we have to pay, so that I can be prepared."

When Guan Peng, the Co-Prefect, heard what this man said, he knew that he didn't listen carefully to the explanation of the people in the yamen about Lizhou bonds, or he simply thought that the people in their yamen were making money. He said in a dull voice, "It seems that everyone here still has many misunderstandings about Lizhou bonds. Then let me tell you what Lizhou bonds are today."

"This is a method that Prefect Gu came up with to raise grain seeds so that the people can have grain seeds to grow this year. The people in our yamen calculated the output of Lizhou for three years, and then based on this, we came up with a number that the prefecture government can afford, converted it into the amount of silver, and raised silver from everyone to use as the cost of purchasing grain seeds, curved plows and other items this time."

"But this does not mean that you will come and go without return. You have purchased the corresponding number of Lizhou bonds, and you can get back the principal and the interest promised by the government as early as October this year."

To be honest, when Gu Lin called them, these wealthy families and small officials in the city were ready to cut flesh and bleed. Gu Lin was an official in charge of the politics of a state, and they were just ordinary people with a little property at home. They had to swallow their broken teeth.

At this time, they remembered the good things of Xu Zhizhou. Xu Zhizhou never did these things. But now everyone is sitting here, listening to the official friend sitting next to Gu Lin clearly telling them that they can get back the principal as early as October this year, and they can also get interest. Someone immediately said, "Isn't this a loan?" Everyone

present is a family with money at home, and more or less they have come into contact with this thing. There are deep waters in this thing. If you encounter a black heart and a black hand, they will first lend you money, and then try every means to make you unable to pay it back, and forcibly occupy your property when you pay back the money.

But now the government is raising money from them, and they have become the creditors of the government.

Guan Peng, who had received Gu Lin's instructions, said, "When you lend money to others, you still have to worry about whether those people will run away or not pay it back, but our yamen is here, you can watch it at any time, there is no way they won't pay it back."

"So the interest rate is naturally lower. From the date you buy the Lizhou bonds to the same day after May, you can get 1.8 cents for 100 wen, and by October next year, you can get 4.2 cents for 100 wen."

The first wealthy man who stood up calculated in his mind that the interest rate was naturally not as good as lending money to others, but as Guan Peng said, lending money to others outside was risky, and they couldn't help but give face to Gu Lin, the prefect. If the yamen can pay them back the principal and interest by October as it said now, they can accept it.

As Guan Peng finished speaking, the people in the yamen brought up the bonds. On the paper that was thicker than ordinary paper, the words "Lizhou Bonds" were written in the middle, and there were blank lines below to fill in the purchase amount and the signature of the purchaser. The

wealthy households who were persuaded looked at each other.

"I bought a Lizhou bond worth 10,000 taels of silver. The principal and interest will be repaid in October next year." Lin Zhen stood up from the shopkeeper Ma and walked to the yamen staff who were handling the bonds.

The two staff looked at Lin Zhen and then looked back at Gu Lin. He was the master's uncle, what should he do?

Lin Zhen stood in front of the table: "This is the silver note of Changlong Bank, the largest bank in Dayu. There are a total of 10,000 taels. You can identify the authenticity."

There were 10 silver notes worth 1,000 taels of silver each.

Gu Lin stood up from the armchair and walked over here. After the two people who were handling the bonds stood up to make room for him, he wrote 10,000 taels of silver on the newly issued bond of the yamen, and then signed his name at the bottom: "Here, fill in your name."

His slender fingers pointed to the place where his name was parallel. Lin Zhen smiled and wrote his name neatly.

Even though he had been here for so many years, he still used charcoal pencils more often. The words written with a brush could only be said to be barely readable, and were made uglier by comparison with Gu Lin's words.

The yamen official stood up and immediately opened the ink box. "Boss Lin, please put your handprint on it."

Lin Zhen dipped his thumb in the ink and pressed it on the name on which the ink had dried.

The yamen official said, "Please put a clear handprint next to your name so that you can compare it when you come to exchange it later."

Gu Lin handled it himself, very quickly. In two or three minutes, Lin Zhen received the Lizhou bonds purchased with 10,000 taels of silver. There were two copies of the bonds in total. One was a slip with a missing seal that Lin Zhen kept for himself and used to exchange the principal and interest in the future. The other was a receipt kept by the Lizhou government office.

In addition, the two people from the government office who didn't know how to handle it for him at the beginning also registered his basic information in a booklet, including his appearance and body description.

10,000 taels of silver is not a small amount no matter where it is placed. Some of the rich families who come here don't have that much in their total assets.

When they saw that Lin Zhen actually exchanged the silver bills for Lizhou bonds, no one spoke for a while.

And the second one was the shopkeeper Ma, who had been to the government office several times in the past two days and knew about Lizhou bonds. He didn't buy much, only 300 taels.

His old neighbor was the third one, and he bought the same as him.

...

No matter whether you are 100% willing in your heart, the market has become hot. Some people buy 1,000 or 2,000 taels, and some buy 100 or 200 taels.

Lin Zhen still had to go to distill flower dew. He nodded to Gu Lin, who had personally handled the Lizhou bonds for him, and walked out.

This ten thousand taels of silver was all he could take out, excluding the money he had spent these days and the expenses for the next two months.

The first batch of Yurong Powder and Flower Dew Lipstick was about to be shipped out. They would make a lot of money if they were shipped to Kyoto. This ten thousand taels would be used to support the kid's career.

And if there were no accidents, Lizhou's autumn harvest this year would definitely be a bumper harvest, so he would not lose money.

He asked Zhou Zhengchu and the others to bring a few more barrels of flower dew over. Lin Zhen pounded his arm and yawned as he walked into the house.

With the two distilling equipment, there were more than a dozen barrels of flower dew pulled out of the government office. After packaging, they could almost fill the two thousand porcelain bottles he had ordered.

He could finally take a break.

Just as he walked to the corridor, Lulu, who served him, came over from the yard and said, "Boss, the meal in the kitchen has just been prepared. Please go wash up and have your meal, and then take a rest."

"Yeah." Lin Zhen was really sleepy. If he wasn't hungry, he would have fallen asleep on the bed.

He yawned again, and some physiological tears came out of the corners of his eyes. He patted his face to wake himself up and went into the house to wash his face and brush his teeth.

Suddenly, just as he covered his face with a handkerchief to vent his anger, a hand took the handkerchief down, and the upward posture made him see Gu Lin standing in front of him.

Chapter 236

"Hmm..." Lin Zhen was so sleepy that his brain was a little slow. He looked up at him and said after a while, "I've finished the work ahead. How much silver did you get?"

Gu Lin soaked the towel he used in hot water and wiped his face.

When he was with Lin Zhen, his morbid cleanliness completely disappeared.

He said, "We're still counting. All the documents will be brought to me for my review tomorrow morning."

"Uncle Lin came back early today. Has the flower dew been distilled?"

Lin Zhen nodded, "Almost. I've asked someone to notify the watercolor shop to sort out the finished goods. They will be loaded onto horse-drawn carriages and shipped to the mouth of the Dongyang County river tomorrow morning."

The Yurong powder was fine, but the flower dew had to be sold as soon as it was made. Lin Zhen asked Gu Lin, "You've been to the mouth of the Dongyang County river before. The merchants there all came by boat."

"Yes, they are all merchants from the south. After arriving in Kyoto, they stop by Lizhou to deal with the remaining goods."

Lin Zhen frowned, "If there were no remaining goods, they wouldn't have come to Lizhou."

Gu Lin nodded.

Gu Lin knew why he was asking, and said, "Although the river mouth of Dongyang County has been abandoned for many years, because the salt production in Lizhou is scarce, many people come here to sell private salt. According to what I learned at the river mouth of Dongyang County, there are small ships arriving at the river mouth every three to five days."

Private salt is banned repeatedly, and the huge profits have attracted many people to take risks. Lizhou has a very small salt production, so this problem is even more prominent. The previous governor turned a blind eye to the river mouth because he understood the problem. Lizhou's own salt production and official salt alone cannot solve it.

Gu Lin did not intend to let it go, but now was not the best time.

Gu Lin said: "In addition to them, the traveling merchants who went to Kyoto to purchase grain seeds will also return to the river mouth tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, and the state government will also send people to transport the grain seeds back. At that time, your people, Uncle Lin, can go with the people from the state government."

Lin Zhen perked up a little: "Calculating the time, the grain seeds are indeed arriving soon. Then I will go with the delivery team tomorrow. It's my first time selling goods, so I have to follow and see."

"This time, I will not only do business with your ladies and officials, but also seize the mid-range and low-end rouge and powder market in Kyoto. The people who originally monopolized the rouge and powder business in Kyoto will definitely react strongly."

"So, for the sake of my life, I will only be a supplier, and let those people in the city who have ideas and courage to get on the ship to get the goods. It's okay to sell three or five boxes individually, or large orders of one or two hundred."

"Uncle Lin is going to Kyoto?" Gu Lin looked at him.

Lin Zhen waved his hand: "On the canal outside Kyoto, I won't reveal my real name, I just said I bought a batch of Jade Face Powder and Flower Dew lipstick outside and brought them to Kyoto to sell."

In fact, Lin Zhen had this idea when he was so busy that his feet were hitting his head. He always wanted to go around and see, and he didn't like to confine himself to one place.

These days, when he opened his eyes, he was either Jade Face Powder or Flower Dew lipstick, which made him feel a little depressed. He wanted to go out and have some fresh air.

Just like he said, he didn't reveal that he was Lin Zhen, and he didn't go to Kyoto. He thought of a way to sell all the goods and come back.

He could handle business matters and relax at the same time, which was very good.

Gu Lin didn't say anything, just said, "It will take a few days."

Lin Zhen calculated, "The journey from both sides, plus the time to sell goods in Kyoto, will take at least twelve or thirteen days to go home."

"If the weather is bad, it will take another three or five days."

Gu Lin's eyes, which were originally gloomy, looked at him, "Go home?"

"You are still here, where else can I go if not home?" Lin Zhen turned his head and met his eyes unexpectedly, and his heart skipped a beat.

He knew some things in Gu Lin's character, knew that Gu Lin was very smart, and could sink all distracting thoughts into it, and also knew that he was indifferent to many things, so indifferent that it made people feel cold.

It seemed that except in front of him, he rarely showed any other emotions. He was no longer the little brat who thought he was going to run away with the peddler with the silver, and chased people with an axe, nor was he the little bully who went wherever he went with a bunch of little followers in the memory of his original body that could not be more indifferent.

Everything was different since he escaped from the Ma couple.

Lin Zhen sat on the stool, leaned over with the help of the table, kissed his lower lip, then held his thin lips, licked them carefully, and licked them into Shire's mouth...

Gu Lin's eyes were slightly closed by his kiss, and only a little unclear eyes were revealed as he looked at him. He put his hands around Lin Zhen's waist, hugged him and put him on his legs, and instantly became the host, entangled with Lin Zhen's lips and tongue.

"Well... Gu... Lin..." After so long, Lin Zhen still couldn't get used to his kiss. It was too strong, and the feeling of being invaded was too clear. It seemed that he wanted to lick every inch of his body from his lips and tongue, making him feel comfortable to the point of almost uncomfortable every time.

Lin Zhen couldn't help but grab Gu Lin's arm and pinch his flesh.

...

Lin Zhen's ears were buzzing, his back was against the edge of the table, he was panting violently, and his upper body was lying on the table.

His face and neck were all covered with Gu Lin's saliva, which seemed to be a mark. He could even feel that even his eyelashes were marked by him.

"Zhenzhen is so beautiful." Gu Lin is sixteen years old this year. His voice has completely lost the shrillness of a child and is now a clear and deep boy's voice.

Lin Zhen heard several "Zhenzhen" just now. Every time he heard it, it was a new round of breathless kisses. So when he called out this time, Lin Zhen felt that the two legs under his pig were terribly hot, and the two legs placed on his side could not help but use some force.

And from Gu Lin's point of view, his Uncle Lin, his Zhenzhen, was half lying on the table with red cheeks, and his slightly curly hair was scattered beside his white face. There were still some water marks on the face and neck that he had just kissed, as if sprinkling pearls on him, exuding a familiar and irresistible breath.

"Get out." Lin Zhen looked at him with squinting eyes. If he hadn't only kissed him in various ways so far without doing any other actions, he would have doubted who was the older one.

Lin Zhen held the edge of the table to support himself, got off his legs, and wiped his face again with the face wash water that had not been poured out.

When Lulu brought people in to serve the dishes, she noticed the strange atmosphere between her master and Lord Gu, and she kept her mouth tightly shut, not daring to look around or ask questions.

After dinner, Lin Zhen went back to his room to sleep. His brain, which was briefly excited by Gu Lin's stimulation, could not resist the overwhelming sleepiness, and he fell asleep as soon as his face touched the pillow.

The next day, he woke up at dawn and went to Lin's Water Powder Shop as planned.

It was the time for the girls, boys and men who came here to work, and people were walking in the alleys of Guangshun Lane in twos and threes.

As soon as Lin Zhen entered the alley, he received waves of greetings, straightforward, enthusiastic, grateful, gentle, shy...

No matter who greeted him, Lin Zhen would return the greetings with a smile.

Yard No. 2 is in front of Yard No. 1. Lin Zhen walked in with Lu Lu. The three guards guarding the yard and Zhou Zhengchu's group had already gotten up. When they saw Lin Zhen coming, they hurriedly came up to him from the wing rooms and the yard: "Boss."

Lin Zhen looked at the baby in the arms of the woman behind Zhou Zhengchu and the others. The baby seemed to have woken up when his parents went to bed. He looked around with his big black eyes open, and looked much more energetic than that day.

Smiling at the child, Lin Zhen said to Zhou Zhengchu and the others, "You guys harness the carriage, and after the goods are loaded, we will set off for Dongyang County."

On the fifth day of coming here, it was finally time to work. Zhou Zhengchu and the other six people answered yes.

Lin Zhen said to Niu Da, "Go and ask the workers to pack the packaged goods into boxes, lift them onto the carriage and tie them up. Remember to tie them tightly, because our goods cannot withstand being dropped."

"Okay, boss." After Gu Lin came back, Lin Zhen originally wanted to ask Niu Da to come back to serve him, but Gu Lin refused. He was still not used to having people around him except himself. He usually took care of his daily life by himself, and he didn't need servants at all.

When he wanted to give orders, the yamen runners in the government office would compete to show their faces in front of him.

So Lin Zhen continued to keep Niu Da here to work. He used familiar people, so it was easier to use them.

Niu Da quickly notified the news of loading today, and the people in the various groups working were all very excited.

This was the first batch of goods they had made, and they could finally be turned into silver.

They eat here every day and get paid, but they don't see Boss Lin selling goods for money. They are afraid that Boss Lin can't support himself and can't continue to work.

Zhou Zhengchu and others have already driven the harnessed carriage over. The carriage is specially widened and raised, and the bottom and sides are padded with cotton cloth to prevent vibration. Under the gaze of the women and men, the men took out the jade powder, flower dew, and lipstick in the boxes and loaded them onto the carriage one by one.

Lin Zhen took the booklet from Niu Da's hand and saw that it was clearly recorded on it that there were a total of 5,800 boxes of four different colors of jade powder, 3,500 bottles of flower dew, and 500 lipsticks of each of the six colors. The

porcelain boxes and bottles sent at the beginning were not enough, so Lin Zhen asked the shopkeeper Ma's brother-in-law to rush to do some work, and then he could just finish loading the goods this time.

Adding up to tens of thousands of pieces of goods, Zhou Zhengchu and his team's seven or eight carriages were full.

Lin Zhen counted the goods as they were moving them, and when the number of goods matched, he handed the booklet to Niu Da: "I will go with you for this trip, you find a shop in the prefecture, and open it after I return from Kyoto."

"It's impossible that the things produced in the prefecture can't be sold in the prefecture."

And this time when he went, he could also publicize that the prefectures in the state can purchase Yurong Powder Flower Dew and lipstick, and attract some merchants who are interested in this business to come here to get the goods.

In addition, he hired people to transport the goods to Kyoto, and with two prongs, maybe in a year or two, he can hear the reputation of Yurong Powder Flower Dew and lipstick in other places.