It was more than a month since this era came. Luo Yong wanted to go out for a walk and experience the customs and customs here. So when Niu Dalang mentioned asking him to go to the city to help him take a kang, Luo Yong agreed without thinking.

The weather was beautiful, and there was no wind and snow on the day when Luo Yong entered the city. The sky was high and the clouds were clear. The distance was white. The snow water on the road frozen last night, and the temperature was low during the day and did not melt at this time.

Luo Yong was wearing a dark blue collar robe and sat on the ox cart. He was wrapped in a rabbit fur coat outside. However, when he was sitting in the car, he was still cold when the wind blew, and his ears were as if they were about to fall off.

Behind the ox cart, Lin Xingle, Tian Yong and Tian Chonghu were followed. Tian Yong was Tian Chonghu's cousin and had a good relationship with Lin Xingle. This time, Lin Xingle called Tian Yong to go to the city to put on a fire kang. Tian Chonghu got the letter and was clamoring to come together.

Niu Dalang's ox cart was loaded with a lot of tofu, dried tofu and fermented bean curd. Niu Dalang sat in front to catch the car, and could barely put another person behind him. These people all said that Luo Yongshou was called.

Luo Yong also knew that his current physique was not as good as theirs, so he took the luggage of several people to the car, found a place to put it in, and joked with them: "I'm tired of sitting in the car after a while, so you guys will go up and sit for a while."

Along the way, everyone was talking and laughing. Niu Dalang was in his thirties and had seen many markets. He was kind and talkative.

The Niu family is a merchant in Lishi County. There is a shop in the city, which mainly deals in grain trading. Every autumn, in addition to collecting grain in the county, they will also go to the villages below to collect grain. Part of the collected grain will be sold to grain merchants from other places, and some of them will be stored in their own granaries.

In the current season, the business of his grain shop is going to be worse. It is almost the end of the year, and it is snowing everywhere in the north, and there is no grain commerce coming to collect grain at this time. Locals don’t buy grain at this time. Not long after autumn has passed, and every household still has a lot of food.

The business will gradually recover after the spring next year, and the grain prices will also increase. For example, in this autumn, in Lishi County, the lowest corn in one stone was only 30 yuan, and the highest was only 40 yuan. Now, in the county town, a stone of corn costs about 50 yuan, and it will increase a little more after the New Year.

At this time, there are few people buying grain and the grain business is not easy to do. Niu Dalang and his friends started selling tofu and dried tofu in their own shops, which can increase their income. When the fermented bean curd was made by Luo, they took the whole tank as soon as they could get the goods. They were not afraid of not being able to sell them, and they could still eat them themselves.

People who do business are different, they have money.

I heard that businessmen have a relatively low status these days, and the businessman’s son cannot take the imperial examination, so Luo Yong doesn’t care much. Anyway, he doesn’t plan to marry and have children in his life, and he has no descendants to harm him.

However, if it is not necessary, he doesn't have to make himself a businessman. It's a good farmer's background, and it's also good to do agricultural and sideline products to increase income a little.

As for the imperial examination, Luo Yong did not plan to take the exam. At this time, the imperial examination system had not developed much. Most officials rely on recommendations. Moreover, those who were in the officialdom were basically children of the gentry, and it was difficult for people from poor families to squeeze in.

Besides, the official life is too complicated and too restrictive, and Luo Yong doesn’t like it either.

"I heard that if there is a disaster, there will be some grain merchants from other places who will transport grain to sell it." Luo Yong is still interested in making money in business.

"Not everyone can do such a business. It is either a nearby merchant or a large grain merchant. The transportation of grain with high mountains and distant mountains and rivers consumes a lot of manpower and material resources, but you have to be careful of the bandits. If you go late, there will be no oil or water. If you go too much food from other places all at once, you will have to pay for it if you don't do it well."

"This summer, Shandong and Henan have flooded heavily, so we didn't go." Niu Dalang sat on the shaft of the car and talked about business with Luo Yong.

"Are there any grain merchants who are familiar with you going there? How did it happen in the end?" Luo Yong said curiously.

"At least I can earn some hard money back." Niu Dalang said.

"That's better than nothing." Luo Yong grinned.

"That's it." Niu Dalang also laughed.

Looking at his smile, Luo Yong thought, would the merchant who went to Shandong or Hunan to sell grain this summer be the mortal enemy of their Niu family?

When the car drove into Lishi County, it was already afternoon. It was almost two or three o'clock, and there were no pedestrians in the city.

Once you enter the city gate, there is a spacious dirt road. There are many adobe houses on both sides of the dirt road. You can rarely see wooden houses. Most of them have only one floor. Occasionally, you can see a two-story building, as if you stand out from a crowd.

Seeing such a county town, Luo Yong once again deeply felt how big the gap between the seventh and twenty-first centuries was. This county town in Lishi County is also the location of Shizhou Prefecture, and it is just like this in front of him.

Although in the memory of the original owner Luo Sanlang, Lishi County is basically like this, but after experiencing it personally, the feeling became more profound.

There seems to be no other production in this place except for grain, but the price of grain is very low these days.

I heard that there are papermaking, silkworm breeding, and places where there are also places that produce various tributes and high-end consumer goods in the south. If the people here do not learn from others to do side jobs and make a few special products, relying solely on farming, they will have to plant them in which year and month to get rich.

The north side of the city is mainly an office area, the Yamen Duke Mansion is there, and the governor and the county magistrate live there. Ordinary people rarely go there without any trouble.

The commercial area is mainly concentrated in the south of the city, with the Niu Family House there. A large house on the street was used to make shops. There are several warehouses and places to entertain guests, and behind them are their own residences.

Niu Dalang parked the ox cart in front of the shop and called the shop's staff out to unload the goods. He led Luo Yong and others to the guest room in the backyard to rest.

That afternoon, Niu Dalang asked the shop's work to go out of the city and dug a truck of mud back, and then made a room for Luo and let them take off the adobe there. There was no way, the outdoors were too cold, and as soon as the adobe was taken out, it was frozen before it even dried. He had to take it off in the house and burn a brazier to bake it slowly.

The adobe doesn't have to be dried until it's very dry. It's almost enough to be fixed. After building a kang, it's burned on a low heat and roasted it on the kang, which is much faster than drying naturally. Luo Yong used to do this when he was riding a kang at his own house. There were three rooms and one straw shed, and a total of four kangs were plated. He is now quite experienced.

The first kang in the Niu family was in a big house for guests. This place looked like it was used for business. The place was quite large and the kang was large enough. A group of big men sat in groups, sitting around seven or eight or ten, which was no problem at all. There were two small tables in the middle.

The kang was ready, so the old man from the Niu family invited a large group of relatives and friends to show off his face to the group of old friends.

"Look at this object my son asked me to fix, how is it? I will live here in the future and I will not do anything." Old man Niu sat cross-legged on the kang, smiling haha.

"You don't have to go down, you're eating and sleeping here." His old guys expressed their special envy.

"Did you see the stove over there? You can cook some tea or something. If you are hungry, you can cook porridge there." Old Man Niu continued to show off.

"Tsk, it's so warm. It's cold. I wrap my bed clothes and lie on the kang, and the gods don't change it." An old man touched the warm kang with his rough palm and sighed.

"Lying down if you want, don't be polite. You can lie down as long as you like." Old Man Niu said generously.

Not long after, Niu Dalang walked into the room and saw this scene. A group of old men were lying on the big kang with new properties in their house. In the warmest position of the kang, the old man lying there was his father.

"Oh, it's warm."

"This old bone can finally stretch."

"Ouch...Ouch...comfortable..."

It’s not a big deal that these old men are too exaggerated. The cold protection conditions in this era are really simple.

Let’s not talk about those rich families who can sleep with fur. In general, the stuff that is covered with quilts is just torn clothes and old cloth. How much warmer can those things be? If you are poorer, there are also those that use reeds, so let alone warmth.

With the advertisements made by Old Man Niu, Luo Yong and others were not worried about not being able to receive the order. After the Niu family, they went to the Zhang family, Chen family, Wang family, Li family...

This time, I didn’t just pack the house as before and then go to the second house. I took off the adobe and dried it when I went to, and then went to the next house. When the adobe in front was dried, I turned back to the kang.

On this day, Luo Yong and they were in the middle of a house to ride a kang, and there were a few people outside. When Luo Yong saw it, he waved his hand to signal them to come over. Anyway, there were only Lin Xingle and a few of them on the kang, and it would be fine if he occasionally let him go and let him go.

"Why, do you want to learn technology?" Luo Yong asked them.

"Just... look." Those people scratched their ears and foreheads, looking very restrained.

"All you are from the city?" Luo Yong asked again.

"Yes, my house is right in front. Just turn a corner here."

"We are all locals."

"I used to meet you when I was working in the store when I was working with a few county school students."

"Sanlang, how did you get this kang? Can you teach us?"

"It's okay to learn with me. I'll be in the city these few days, so I can take you there." Luo Yong said with a very good attitude.

"Really?" It's true that such a good thing can be done.

"That's natural, there are no other requirements, as long as you can stick to one rule," Luo Yong said.

"What a rule?" several people asked hurriedly.

"When you enter other people's houses and help others build a kang, don't look at any of them that shouldn't be taken, and don't take more grass that shouldn't be taken." Luo Yong said.

"..." The people were stunned at first, and then someone immediately said angrily: "Why did Sanlang say this? Are we Meng Lang? How could we do the thief?"

"Don't be angry at first." Luo Yong said: "Although the rules I set are low, it is not easy to keep them."

"After learning the craftsmanship of this kang, you will help people in Lishi County to help people dress up the kang next year, and you may have to go to Taiyuan Prefecture or even further away. At that time, our craftsmen in Lishi County will be known to people from other counties. If one or two bad reputations have emerged, who would dare to let our Lishi County people walk into their own courtyard in the future?"

After hearing the words of Luo Sanlang, the people immediately became excited and went to Taiyuan Mansion or even further to buy kangs for others. It was a large blank market. According to Luo Sanlang’s current wages, one earthen kang and two buckets of rice, so how much food should they earn in one winter?

Then Luo Sanlang's words later also made them clear about the importance of reputation, for fear of being a piece of rat shit.

"Sanlang's words are reasonable, and we must remember them." Someone immediately shouted.

"We must remember it."

"Don't look at what shouldn't be seen, and don't take what shouldn't be taken."

"This is the rule. If anyone breaks the rules, he will be unable to get along with all of us."

...

Seeing that these people seemed to have made up their minds, Luo nodded and said, "Then you guys will follow me to the next house to take off the adobe."

On the second day, Luo used their fire kang construction team to divide them into two teams, Lin Xingle, Tian, ​​Yuda Chonghu and arranged two apprentices for them, and Luo used himself to lead a few new apprentices to form his own team.

Lin Xingle and the others have worked very hard these days. They have put their arms around and put on the kang, thinking about earning more rice to go home for the New Year. This kang is two buckets of rice, and the ten kangs can produce acre of land. Where can I find such a good thing on weekdays?

Luo Yong was not as good as them in his work, but he was very good at taking his apprentices. He led a few novices alone, and his work might not be slower than Lin Xingle and the others. When these apprentices became mature, the speed would go up.

From one group to two groups, from two groups to four groups and eight groups, Luo Yong simply didn't have to work anymore. He just walked around the city with his hands behind his back to see the fruits of his apprentices' labor. He could give some advice at the beginning, but later he praised him.

These days, Lishi County is really lively. Every household is wearing a fire kang. Rich families buy a few loads of mud from the porter and ask their fire kang team to come to the door for construction.

Those who had no money would dig some mud outside the city and do it according to Luo's appearance of the fire kang they had plated. If they really couldn't make it, they would ask Luo Yong to serve as a teacher and smash the adobe for him for a few days, and then make him a few days to plate a few earth stoves. The skills would come out immediately.

·

On the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month, Taiyuan Prefecture, Chen House.

The servant who had just gotten to report that the young man who went out to study last year was back and was about to arrive outside the city. When everyone at home heard the news, they hurried out to go out to greet him.

This is their only seedling, two generations of single-handedness, and now he is pointing at him to grow branches and leaves, but he is accustomed to studying abroad. Now he heard that people are finally back, so he can't sit still, so he quickly went out of the city to pick up people.

We were successfully received outside the city. The family and the family had been together for a long time. Everyone was very happy. The boy who had just returned from a distance said to his grandparents: "Grandma Ah, I have found a good object for you this time. I think you will be very happy when you see it."

"What kind of thing?" the old lady wiped the tears from her face and asked, "But the specialty I've found from elsewhere?"

"It's a coincidence that I happened to meet in Lishi County. Come here." The boy said, and waved to the people who were with him behind him. Two dark men immediately came out of the crowd. The one who gave the money was the old man. The man said he would let him go, so they naturally went there.
Chapter completed!