Eating big melon is so refreshing

On the 27th day of the twelfth lunar month, the carriage carrying Zhao Erlang and Zhao Sanlang arrived at Guangning Town. The two-meter-high red brick wall looked quite majestic, and the two extremely heavy iron gates added a bit of domineering.

Two villagers wearing wild boar leather armor and holding a red-tasseled spear stood steadily at the doorways on both sides. They looked serious, as if they were carrying out an important mission. They looked more formal than the two yamen runners at the county gate.

The city gate was originally a small hill between Zhaojia Village and Xiaohe Village, but now it has been flattened and turned into a bustling commercial street. There are many shops here, including fragrant teahouses, exquisite and delicious cake shops, steaming rice shops, clanging blacksmith shops, and meticulously crafted carpentry shops.

The streets are wide and clean, and most of the shops on the street are closed. It’s almost the New Year, who would come here to hang out?

The carriage slowly stopped at the door of Zhao Bei's house, and Xiao Chunya got off the carriage lightly. She raised her head and her eyes fell on the bright flag inserted diagonally at the door. The flag fluttered in the wind, and the four large characters "Guangning Inn" on it were particularly eye-catching.

Looking at the flag fluttering in the wind, Xiao Chunya couldn't help but feel a little dazed, and an indescribable feeling surged in her heart. She remembered that this was clearly her grandfather's home, but now it has become an inn. She couldn't help but sigh that her grandfather is really good at doing business!

Looking at the layout of the courtyard, it is really warm and elegant without losing the flavor of a farmhouse. The green trees are shady, the flowers and plants are flourishing, like a beautiful painting. However, the more Xiao Chunya looked at it, the more confused she became. This really didn't look like her grandfather's style. Although her grandfather in her memory was hardworking and kind, he didn't pay much attention to home decoration.

"Grandpa! Grandma! We are back!" Xiao Chunya roared in a loud voice, and everyone in the whole village heard it. It was worth her practicing the lion's roar for several months. At the beginning, she practiced this martial art to scold people. As a scold, the louder and more powerful her voice is, the more she can suppress the other party.

At this moment, Zhao Dong and Zhao Xi were drinking and enjoying the pleasure brought by the wine. However, a sudden loud noise was like a bolt from the blue, catching them off guard. The two were choked by the sudden sound, and they started coughing violently, their faces flushed red, like ripe apples.

At the same time, Zhao Nan had just taken a bite of a steamed bun, but before he could chew it, he was frightened by the sound and his throat tightened, and the bun instantly got stuck in his throat. He stared with his eyes wide open, his face pale, and he almost rolled his eyes and fainted.

Zhao Bei, who was in the room, was busy stringing copper coins together with a rope. When he heard the roar, his hands shook, all the copper coins fell to the ground, and he fell from the pit.

"Old man, hurry up!" Zhao Yang muttered anxiously, helping Zhao Bei up. "I told you a long time ago that they would be back in the next two days, and asked you to pack and dress up quickly. Now it's too late!" There was a hint of complaint in her tone, but more of it was concern for Zhao Bei.

"The children have seen what I look like, so why should I dress up?" Having money gives him confidence. Since he cleaned up his house and turned it into a B&B, he has an income of one and a half taels of silver every month, which means he has 400 coins in his hands.

Zhao Bei picked up the copper coins on the ground and put them in the box. He didn't have time to count how much they were. It was roughly that amount anyway.

He put on his shoes and went out. When he returned home last March, his fat granddaughter had already gone to study in Qinghe County, and he missed her very much.

Zhao Bei wiped his eyes and the corners of his mouth twitched slightly. Xiao Qiuer had already developed in the direction of the little fat boy, but his strength was still not as good as that of the fat sister. He only said one sentence that the fat sister didn't want to hear, and was pressed to the ground and rubbed by her.

"You two stop fighting! Do you hear me? Xiaochun'er, this is your own brother, not a ferocious tiger. How can you beat him every day? You can't go on like this!" Jiang looked at her younger son with a look of heartache, and then glared at Zhao Erlang who was standing next to her happily.

This Zhao Erlang is really outrageous. His daughter is becoming more and more strong and fierce like a little tiger, but he is not worried at all. Instead, he is grinning foolishly. He is so biased.

The three Zhao Dong brothers came over and discussed the matter of opening the ancestral hall on the way. Originally, they thought they would be able to come back at the beginning of the twelfth lunar month, but who knew that they would not come back until today. At this time, every household is busy, so how could they have time to open the ancestral hall?

"Didn't Silang come back with you?" Zhao Dong didn't see Zhao Silang's family, so he asked the reason.

"The four children are too young to bear the tossing and turning in such cold weather." Zhao Erlang said, "The business at the dock cannot be lost, so someone must be on duty."

When Zhao Ming came back, he mentioned that Zhao Erlang was in charge of the dock. He hired more than seventy workers alone. Now, he invited people from the Flying Tigers to take charge, and also invited people from Jiang's Shipping to maintain order at sea. All together, there are more than a hundred people.

Wan Zi was not afraid of taboos when speaking, and asked directly, "Can dock management make money?"

"After deducting various expenses and paying wages, I can earn thirty taels of silver every month. However, 30% of this silver must be used to honor the county magistrate. This is customary."

Zhao Erlang said with some emotion, "I can manage the dock in Qinghe County, which is inseparable from the relationship between Wu Biao and Jiang Tao, and the face given by the county magistrate. People don't care about this little money, and there are many people who want to give them gifts."

This is true. Many people in Qinghe County saw the booming business at the dock and wanted to take it over. There were many factors that contributed to Zhao Erlang's success there.

Wan Zi asked pointedly, "How many years did you sign the dock contract for?"

"Five years."

"So short a time?"

"I wanted to sign a ten-year contract, but the county government didn't want to." Zhao Erlang said, "At the beginning of the twelfth lunar month, someone threatened me to change the contract to three years. This guy is the county magistrate's brother-in-law, and the county magistrate refused to accept my gifts."

"What happened next?" everyone asked with concern.

"Sister Fat slapped that brother-in-law away, and Master Mingyue collected evidence of this man's illegal activities and sent him to work in the coal mines."

Xiao Qiulin said, "But this has also offended the county magistrate. By the time the contract expires, the county magistrate will probably have been transferred, and it is very likely that the county magistrate will become the next county magistrate. By then, Dad will have a hard time."

The truth is, the county magistrate is trembling at home. Xiao Chunya forced Marquis Changning to commit suicide, shot Princess Linglong into a hedgehog, and imprisoned two generals under General Nian to be buried alive. Who can afford to offend this killer?