Xu Chang came to see Xu Ping several times in the morning. Seeing that he didn't say anything, he couldn't help but say, "I'm going to the town later, won't Dalang go?"

Xu Ping then realized that he had invited some people to eat wine and meat yesterday, and the village had planned it, so he could not leave any further information, so he said to Xu Chang: "Okay, let's go together."

There were no horses in the village. Each of them rode a donkey and followed the dirt road behind the village to Baisha Town.

It was mid-April, and it was just summer. It was probably the season when grass and trees were lush and cattle and sheep were everywhere. But there were wasteland on both sides of the road, with reeds and weeds growing, and the occasionally exposed ground was covered with white saline.

This is not the Central Plains in my memory, it is like I have arrived at the deserted land in the north. Xu Ping sighed secretly in his heart. When talking about the Northern Song Dynasty in his previous life, it was all the prosperity of Bianliang City, but he didn't expect that the surroundings of the capital were so desolate.

At this time, Zhongmu County had more than 4,000 households, with a maximum population of 20,000, which was not as large as a smaller township in his previous life. It was really unimaginable. In the Song Dynasty, taxes were paid by households and others. In order to reduce the burden, the population of each household was generally small. If you set up more households, do you pay less taxes? The actual population may be less than 20,000.

As he walked along the way, Xu Ping secretly calculated the journey. If he didn't drive horses, donkeys and mules, the normal speed was about four or five kilometers per hour, because it would be slower to carry people, and it should be three or four kilometers per hour. This is common sense that they should know in this industry, and it is also the legacy of China's promotion of semi-mechanization back then.

After walking straight for more than an hour, I finally entered Baisha Town.

Baisha Town is close to Jinshui River. Because of its navigation, shops are all open by the river. The Xu family’s restaurant is the most luxurious building and is very eye-catching. Around the restaurant, there are several sparse rice shops, grocery shops and inns. There are three or two hundred families behind each store.

Xu Ping suddenly burst into laughter.

Xu Chang turned his head and looked at him strangely: "What are Dalang laughing at?"

Xu Ping shook his head: "Nothing, nothing."

He suddenly remembered that in this era, someone must have described Baisha Town in this way, with dense population, numerous shops and prosperous markets. After all, it is a town, and there are prison towns to collect taxes, and the business must have reached a certain level. Otherwise, the salary of the Ruilian prison town will not be enough, and the court will lose money.

People in later generations will definitely be deceived after seeing it. How could they think that this is not even a slightly larger village in Xu Ping’s previous life. There are dozens of shops in all sizes, and even a tax collector will not be assigned to you. The tax collection is not enough to be bothered by these shops.

The two rode a donkey to the entrance of the Xu family restaurant. Outside the door, they picked a wine cover and wrote four big words: "The breeze is coming", which is very poetic.

Liu Xiaoyi and a servant were wearing new clothes, black shoes and white socks, and were very energetic to greet the guests outside the door. Seeing Xu Ping and the others, they hurried up to lead the donkey and shouted loudly: "Young official is here!"

Xu Ping got off the donkey and entered the restaurant with Xu Chang.

It was noon at this time, and the downstairs were full, with people hustling, and business was actually good.

Most of these are boats on the Jinshui River, and they are all small businesses. This place is not far from Bianliang, and you can get to the capital in one go after eating. The closer you are to the capital, the higher the price, and save a little.

A waiter came up to meet the two of them and led them all the way to the backyard.

Xu Chang asked the waiter: "Why didn't you see Manager Tan?"

The waiter sighed: "Don't mention it all. Zhoujian Town here asked for a concubine last month, and he was free in our restaurant. Every time he came, he had to serve him. The supervisor was so annoyed."

Xu Pingqi said: "Who is this Zhoujian Town? If you have a huge backstage, you dare to take a wife and concubine under your own control? Are you afraid that someone will sue you?"

The waiter shook his head: "The people do not fight with the officials. Who will be naughty with these officials?"

According to the Song Dynasty regulations, officials could not find women under their own control, they could only buy and hire maids and female envoys. This naturally prevented officials from committing fraud in private, but in fact, as long as no one sued them, no one took them seriously.

Manager Tan is Tan this year. He was originally an old man when the Xu family opened a restaurant in Tokyo. He moved to Baisha Town with the Xu family and was in charge of all the chores in the restaurant now. According to Xu Ping's previous life, this is a professional manager, who receives money monthly and pays dividends. Strictly speaking, his identity is similar to Xu Chang, and he has a master-servant status like the Xu family, but unlike Xu Chang who is a family-owned person, he generally does not participate in the housework of the Xu family.

Not long after, I arrived at the backyard and the waiter returned to the front and went busy.

Xu Ping and the other two arrived at their parents' room. When the maid Ying'er saw it, she hurried in and communicated.

As Ying'er entered the room, Xu Zheng and his wife were holding a table, Zhang Sanniang had a dark face and looked not very good-looking.

Xu Ping just passed the ceremony, and Zhang Sanniang said, "You two came a little late. Grandma Hong just left. The day before yesterday I said that the matter in the village was advocated by Grandma Hong. You two made a lot of tricks for me yesterday. Dalang is young, so don't talk about him. Xu Chang, you are an old adult, why did you make trouble!"

Xu Chang looked at Xu Ping, sighed secretly in his heart, lowered his head and did not reply.

Xu Ping had to bite the bullet and said, "It's all about Xu Chang's business. I'm all my own opinion. Grandma Hong didn't have any knowledge, so I gave it to him. Isn't it for nothing?"

Zhang Sanniang said with a cold face: "How much knowledge do you have? I haven't seen you for a few days and I have learned to talk back!"

Xu Zheng touched the sparse beard on his chin and said slowly: "I tasted some of the wine you brewed yesterday. It's so good, it's considered a top-notch wine. I heard it was steamed in wine lees? Why don't you tell us? This is also a way to make money."

Xu Ping hurriedly said, "Xu Chang also told me, but I think that yesterday, our family only sells wine, and can't sell it anywhere else. Even the wine is good, it's just a business of its own, which is meaningless."

Xu Zheng sighed: "My child, you only know one thing, not the other. We wine farmers have stews to make wine. Who can guarantee that there will be no accident? It will be sour or defeated. Steam the wine with stews to make up for it, and save a lot of glutinous rice for brewing wine. This year, you don't know where the grain price has risen!"

Zhang Sanniang said to her husband unhappily: "Old man, why are you talking about these things? I'm teaching the child a lesson! Don't distort it!"

Xu Zheng said: "If you don't teach me, the child is much more well-behaved than before. I don't think that Grandma Hong is a businessman, so I'm sending her home as soon as possible! You don't know that we took over this restaurant, but I didn't expect that the wine I saved would be broken! My hair was much whiter."

Zhang Sanniang said: "What's the use of saying these? The word "money" is the word "money" in three sentences. I think you are just a person who came out of the eyes of copper coins!"

Xu Zheng said: "Money is like honey, and that is sweet even if it is not for the lack of money, how could we come to this countryside? How many benefits would we be able to come to Tokyo's bustling city!"

Zhang Sanniang sneered: "That's right, there are many sisters in Tokyo brothels, but not like here, there are only a few private prostitutes. Even if you have the will, you can't go!"

Xu Zheng turned his face: "What are you talking nonsense in front of the child? I have no sense of responsibility!"

He said to Xu Ping again: "You have lived here in the past two days, passed down the method of steaming wine, and subsidy. Now the restaurant is full of trash every few days, so how can you bear it?"

Xu Ping said: "How much wine is there in the lees of wine? What can it help? Why, is there a lot of rancid wine in the restaurant now? I have a way to turn them into good wine."

Xu Zheng's eyes lit up: "Is there really a way? My son, you are a natural restaurant. It's not in vain that I sold wine for decades before giving birth to you!"

Zhang Sanniang said impatiently: "I gave birth to the child. I want him to study and become an official. How could he sell wine like you for the rest of his life!"

Xu Zheng waved his hand: "Don't listen to your mother's random talk. What's wrong with selling wine? The tall buildings and tiles I live in, aren't the silk and satin worn by you all earned from wine? Tell me, how to cure bad wine?"

Xu Ping said: "I have to see if this is a good thing. Is it a bad thing?"

Xu Zheng hurriedly ordered Ying'er to go to the winery and bring two bottles of wine over, and then opened it in the room.

Xu Ping smelled it and said, "This bottle is not great. Just add clean lime water and then fry it, and mix it with good wine. It's okay. The other bottle is a bit heavy and the sour taste is not clean. You have to rinse it with water and put it in a pot and steam it in a steamer."

Xu Zhengdao: "As it really necessary to steam it? What is the reason for adding lime water?"

Xu Ping blurted out: "If you have too much acid, of course you have added alkaline!"

Seeing that everyone's expressions were even more confused, he hurriedly changed his words: "Clear lime water can remove the sour smell. This is the usual truth. Dad, just try it."

Seeing that Xu Zheng was half-believing and half-doubted, Xu Ping breathed a sigh of relief. Although the wine was made of organic acid, it was still weak in acid and the water was clean lime water. The acid and alkali were neutralized to form calcium salts that were insoluble in water, and it was fine to filter it out. Although this knowledge was simple, it was too advanced for this era.

With a solution, Xu Zheng couldn't sit still for a moment and called Xu Chang. The two went to the winery to test, and only Zhang Sanniang and Xu Ping were left in the room.

Zhang Sanniang's face calmed down, she pulled Xu Ping to sit in front of her, stroked his head and said, "Since I came to the countryside, my son has become much more well-behaved. Dalang, you have an idea in your heart, and the only one who is a mother is happy, how can you really scold you? But think about it for your mother, Grandma Hong has watched me grow up since she was a child, and now she has no support. How can I bear to treat her slowly? You should also take more responsibility for her."

Xu Ping is a little unnatural when he is so close to Zhang Sanniang, but he still has some residual consciousness of the previous playboy, and his mother-son nature is not rejected. Speaking of which, Xu Ping's parents really love him, but in the words of Xu Ping's previous life, Zhang Sanniang and Xu Zheng are both career-oriented and do not want to tie him to their side.

After thinking for a while, Xu Ping said, "I understand that my mother is nostalgic, but as long as you arrange Grandma Hong's job and give it a sum of money, why bother her to take care of the entire village?"

Zhang Sanniang said: "What should I do as you say?"

Xu Ping said: "I only let her take care of the affairs in the yard, and I have my own opinions in the fields."

Zhang Sanniang lowered her head and refused to speak.

Xu Ping was anxious and took out the sketch he drew yesterday and handed it to Zhang Sanniang.

Zhang Sanniang held the paper in her hand, looked horizontally and vertically, and was confused.

Xu Ping pointed out to her where is a river, a ditches, a canal, a place to plant rice, a place to plant trees, a place to plant orchard, a place to plant vegetable garden, a place to raise sheep, and a place to raise cattle.
Chapter completed!