Traveling to another world and becoming a local owner

Plough in spring, weed in summer, harvest in autumn, store in winter.

On the way to the brick kiln, the endless rice fields began to turn golden.

Zhang Ling walked briskly and leisurely to the brick kiln.

Mr. Yang is old and has some difficulty walking, so he did not come today.

The lame man was instructing the villagers to make bricks in the open space in front of the brick kiln.

"Xiao Ling is here." Feeling someone behind him, the lame man turned around suddenly. After seeing who it was, he immediately greeted him with a smile.

"Thank you for your hard work, Uncle Lame." Zhang Ling's face was gentle and he felt a little touched.

"What are you talking about, kid! If it weren't for you, where would people in our village find such a good job? Besides, I have nothing to do at home every day. Coming to this kiln can not only kill time, but also earn some money to supplement the family income." The lame man smiled naively and scratched his head embarrassedly.

"Anyway, you are in charge of all the affairs of this brick kiln. As long as my brick kiln keeps operating, you will be in charge of all matters. The salary is five taels per month. What do you think?" Zhang Ling said, stretching out five fingers.

"Eh? That's not possible. I didn't do any work, how can I ask for so much money? No, no, no." The lame man was shocked when he heard this and quickly waved his hand to refuse.

"If you don't want to, forget it. I'll ask Grandpa Yang to find someone else for me tomorrow." Zhang Ling frowned and pretended to be angry.

"Well, forget it. Don't trouble my old uncle. I'll take this job." The lame man had no choice but to agree.

"Well, it's settled then!" Zhang Ling seemed a little happy to see him agree. He seemed to suddenly remember something and immediately asked, "By the way, Uncle Cripple, when do we estimate that these bricks can be fired?"

"We can now make 10,000 bricks a day. Once we have 50,000 bricks saved, we can start firing a kiln. The remaining 25,000 bricks will be dried in the shade for a few days before being fired. It is estimated that the first batch of bricks will be ready in about ten days at most."

"Okay, Uncle Cripple, I'm not an expert, so you decide on these matters. When the bricks are ready, I'll give you a big red envelope..."

After the two exchanged greetings for a while, Zhang Ling asked to take his leave. The lame man insisted on accompanying him for a long distance before returning to the brick kiln.

In the afternoon, Manager Zhao brought a large group of people and rushed to Wangshan Village. They were accompanied by a strange man, a woman and three children.

"Mr. Zhang, I have found the person you want!" Shopkeeper Zhao said happily when he saw Zhang Ling.

"Oh? Who are you referring to, Manager Zhao?" Zhang Ling was delighted to hear that, and asked uncertainly.

"That's right. I bought a blacksmith for you, and his craftsmanship is excellent." Shopkeeper Zhao was overjoyed and pointed at the family behind him.

"My humble name is Fusheng, nice to meet you, young master!" A burly and strong man hurried forward and saluted.

"Okay, okay! Brother Fusheng, please don't be so polite. Manager Zhao, I really don't know how to thank you!" Zhang Ling was very excited. He stepped forward to help the strong man up, turned around and bowed to thank him.

"Mr. Zhang, don't be polite. It's just a small favor and you don't deserve such a favor." Shopkeeper Zhao looked humble and waved his hands repeatedly.

It turned out that Manager Zhao heard that a blacksmith in Huaiyin County was sold by the government, and remembering what Zhang Ling had entrusted him with, he hurried over and bought the blacksmith's family.

The blacksmith's name is Fusheng, he is nearly 30 years old, and he is from Huaiyin County. He lost his parents when he was young and was an orphan. When he was seven years old, he was taken in by the old blacksmith in the village and became an apprentice. The old blacksmith had no children, and after his death, the shop was naturally handed over to Fusheng. Fusheng was honest and hardworking. With his skills, he earned money, married a wife, had a child, and lived a stable life.

Unexpectedly, a few days ago, a ruffian from the county came to him to ask him to make ironware. Fusheng worked hard to make the things customized by the other party, but the ruffian not only refused to pay him, but also blackmailed him by not giving him change after taking the silver.

Fusheng was honest by nature, and could not stand such grievance, so he immediately had an argument with him. The scoundrel knew he was no match for him, so he went back and called a group of people to smash his shop.

Fusheng was honest, but he was not a coward. In a rage, he picked up a hammer and broke the man's arm. He thought the matter would just pass, but who knew that the man's sister was actually the concubine of the Huaiyin County Magistrate.

The scoundrel ran to complain with injuries and exaggerated stories. How could her sister watch her brother being bullied? She immediately ordered the county magistrate to put Fusheng in jail, confiscate all his property and blacksmith shop, and reduce his entire family to slavery and sell them off by the government.

After listening to Manager Zhao's story, Zhang Ling suddenly understood. He was in need of a blacksmith, and with Fusheng's arrival, many things could be done slowly.

Zhang Ling took the several chapters of the indentures handed over by Manager Zhao, and then invited several people to the living room for a chat, but was rejected. He had no choice but to order people to move all the Huangliang Xianjiu in the firewood room out. There was a full 1,000 kilograms of wine, which really shocked the other party.

"Mr. Zhang, I only brought six thousand taels with me this time, but I didn't expect it was not enough." Shopkeeper Zhao looked embarrassed and a little ashamed.

"It's okay, you can ship the wine back first, and you can give me the rest next time you come. By the way, you can also deduct the money we spent on buying Fusheng's family." Zhang Ling waved his hand and said with great pride.

"Thank you very much, sir! It only cost me eighty taels to buy them, but the county magistrate seemed reluctant and wanted to make things difficult for me. I took out another twenty taels as a tribute, and he reluctantly let them go." Shopkeeper Zhao replied a little embarrassedly.

"Well, then you can just give me five thousand nine hundred taels. I asked someone to bring out twenty more kilograms of wine as a small token of my appreciation for you. I hope you won't refuse it." Zhang Ling nodded. He understood the logic behind it, so he was polite.

"That's impossible! I haven't finished the five kilograms of wine you gave me last time! I dare not accept it at all!" Upon hearing this, Shopkeeper Zhao quickly waved his hands, looking flattered.

"Eh? You've done me such a big favor. How would I feel if I don't accept it? Next time if I have any problems, I won't be able to ask you again." Zhang Ling said immediately when he saw that he didn't want it.

"In that case, then okay!" Shopkeeper Zhao had no choice but to nod happily in agreement.

After seeing off Manager Zhao and others, Zhang Ling immediately began to arrange accommodation for Fusheng's family.

There was almost no place to live in the courtyard. The only empty room in the west wing was occupied by Cao Shuan's family, and the east wing was occupied by Wang Ma, Xiao Cui and a group of women. Zhang Ling thought about it and had to ask someone to vacate the utility room next to the firewood room first. The space there was large enough to accommodate several people.

"Brother Fusheng, I'm sorry to inconvenience you. You have to stay in this utility room for a while. After a while, when the blue bricks from the brick kiln come out, I will build a big house for you." Zhang Ling stepped forward and said in a slightly friendly tone.

"Master, you are too polite. Just call me Fusheng. I don't deserve your name. We are just servants. We are satisfied to have a place to settle down and shelter from the wind and rain." Fusheng had a humble attitude, and there were some scars on his strong body.

"Well, that's good. We're in a good mood today. I'll ask the kitchen to kill a few chickens to welcome you." Zhang Ling smiled and looked very happy.

"Thank you, Master!"