lcionline Chapter 312 Still sleeping? I told you to practice martial arts!
Chapter 312 Still sleeping? I told you to practice martial arts!
Thinking about this, Gao Mengli felt an itch in her hands and heart.
"Xixi, go to the cellar and get some wheat. Let's grow the seedlings together!"
Lin Xi was completely confused: "Mengli, that's winter wheat, we don't plant it now!"
Besides, the wheat seedlings in the field are already heading; it's not appropriate to cultivate sprouts now.
Upon hearing this, Gao Mengli's lips twitched: "..."
"Oh, you're making maltose, aren't you!"
Seeing that Gao Mengli remained silent and only kept slapping him, Lin Xi instantly thought of a possibility: Mengli was going to make maltose.
Gao Mengli reached out and lightly flicked Lin Xi's forehead: "You know, so hurry up and go."
"Oh dear! I'm coming right away!"
Lin Xi cried out in pain and quickly got up and ran to the cellar.
A short while later, Lin Xi came over with difficulty, dragging a bag of wheat.
At that speed, it wouldn't move even a meter in half a day.
Seeing this, Ah Li quickly got up and came over to take the bag from Lin Xi's hand.
He carried it as if it were nothing, as easily as picking up a feather.
Lin Xi rubbed her reddened wrist, staring at Ah Li's departing figure in disbelief: "Ah Li, you look so frail, could it be that you ate several mountain temples?!"
He bent down and rubbed his legs, but suddenly caught a glimpse of Gao Mengli's shoulders shaking as she tried to suppress her laughter.
Lin Xi pursed her lips.
Hmph, so what if he, a dignified little princess, is weak? So what!
Normally, Mengli does all the heavy work, and he doesn't get to do any of it.
He strongly suspected that Mengli had deliberately set up his house.
That's what they thought in their hearts, and that's what they accused in their eyes.
Gao Mengli rolled her eyes; her little princess was indeed rather frail.
So he suggested, "Xixi, you should get some exercise. How about you learn some boxing from Hei Yi and the others tomorrow to improve your health?"
Lin Xi turned her head away: "Not good!"
However, Gao Mengli is a woman of action who does what she says.
So, the next day, as dawn broke, Lin Xi, still asleep, was awakened by a loud knocking on the door outside the courtyard.
He was so angry that he quickly covered himself with the blanket and pretended not to hear it.
But who are Hei Yi and his crew? They're the Rain Night Butchers, the best at carrying out orders!
He relentlessly knocked on the door, determined to carry out Gao Mengli's instructions to the end.
Unfortunately, no matter how much I knocked, I couldn't wake the person who was pretending to be asleep.
Hei Yi lightly touched the roof with his toes, then jumped down and opened the courtyard gate from the inside.
The world suddenly went silent, leaving Lin Xi, who was covered by the blanket, completely bewildered.
He threw off the covers and ran to the window, ready to open it and see what was going on.
It wouldn't have been a problem if he hadn't tried, but his attempt almost scared him to death.
"Damn, are you guys crazy? You scared me to death!"
"Hehe, boss, still sleeping? I've got you here to practice your martial arts!"
Blackie One, Blackie Two, and Blackie Three stood neatly at the window, grinning and smirking at Lin Xi.
The gray sky, combined with their bright white teeth, made Lin Xi feel uneasy no matter how she looked at them.
Lin Xi quickly ran to the window, ready to shake Gao Mengli and ask her to do something about it.
Even if the sky falls, you can't wake someone who's pretending to be asleep.
Moreover, Gao Mengli was determined to give Lin Xi some training.
Wake up? That's impossible, absolutely impossible!
Left with no other choice, Lin Xi got dressed and went out, looking miserable.
At first, Gao Mengli could hear sounds like "Hey, ha, yo" that sounded like martial arts practice.
But before long, it became completely quiet outside.
"Something's wrong, something very wrong."
Gao Mengli frowned and sat up in bed, quickly got dressed and came out.
When the door was opened, there was no sign of the four people outside.
However, the air was filled with the faint aroma of food.
"Damn, we're eating already?"
Gao Mengli kicked open the kitchen door and saw the four people who had just been "practicing martial arts" each holding a large bowl and burying their heads in eating braised pork knuckle noodles.
Gao Mengli suddenly appeared.
Lin Xi stood there stunned, a noodle still in her mouth.
He tentatively slurped the noodles back into his mouth and swallowed them forcefully: "Mengli, come on, have a bowl..."
Gao Mengli looked at Lin Xi's innocent expression, walked over step by step and stood in front of him, gritting her teeth: "Lin—Xi!"
Seeing this, Black One, Black Two, and Black Three silently retreated while holding their bowls.
They moved tentatively towards the door, step by step, close to the wall.
Seeing that Gao Mengli didn't even glance at them, they quickly grabbed their bowls and ran away.
After running out, he immediately flew to the roof of the courtyard without the slightest hesitation.
The three sat in a row, slurping noodles while eagerly watching the commotion below.
Even if you chase after it at dusk, you can't escape even with wings.
Finally, it ended with Lin Xi's screams.
Gao Mengli held the bamboo stick, exasperated, and gasped for breath, her fingertips trembling slightly.
Lin Xi clutched his arm, as if the bamboo stick had struck him, and slumped onto the stone steps, grimacing in pain.
"I don't expect you to become a martial arts master, I just hope you can improve your health."
"You're something else, always trying to bribe Blackie and his gang with food."
Don't you have any idea about the difference between A and C? Who can stand the food you make?
As soon as she finished speaking, Gao Mengli slammed the bamboo stick in her hand onto the stone table with a "snap," causing the grass clippings in the cracks between the blue bricks beneath the table to jump up.
The three men, Hei Yi and his companion, lay on the roof of the courtyard, their movements as they slurped noodles suddenly froze.
Hei San quietly buried his head in his bowl and ate heartily, muttering indistinctly, "Damn it, we're going to get scolded again."
"And you guys! I told you to take Lin Xi to exercise, but instead you exercised your own stomachs."
Black Three cried out in despair, saying, "What did I just say? It's come true so quickly!"
Sure enough, retribution came swiftly, like a tornado.
Hei Er quickly jumped down from the roof of the courtyard and ran forward a few steps: "Master, it's all our fault, no matter what. We'll take Master Lin out for some exercise right away."
As soon as he finished speaking, Black One and Black Three jumped down from the roof.
They ran to Lin Xi's side, each grabbing one of her arms, and dragged her away.
Lin Xi was startled and struggled desperately in their hands: "Black One, Black Three, you're beholden to those who feed you, and you're obligated to take their money."
You can't just abandon us after we've served our purpose!
Let me go, I don't want to exercise—"
Hei Er was speechless, wishing he could shut Lin Xi up.
Mr. Lin, shut your mouth!
You're henpecked; the whole village knows that your word doesn't count in your family.
You're afraid of Master Gao, but you make it sound like we aren't.
The three ignored Lin Xi's accusations and dragged her out to train.
Hei Er grabbed Lin Xi by the back of the neck with one hand and covered his mouth with the other, dragging him toward the riverbank:
"My goodness! If you don't stop talking, we won't even have porridge tomorrow! What if Boss Gao deducts our wages? Will you make up for it?"
Lin Xi was so stuck that her eyes rolled back, and she groaned incoherently, kicking her arms and legs like a fish being pulled ashore.
Faced with the choice between abusing Lin Xi and receiving payment, they both instinctively chose the former.
Gao Mengli nodded with satisfaction as she watched the group leave.
"That's right, that's how it should be."
She sat at the stone table in the courtyard and poured herself a cup of tea.
He had just taken a sip when he saw his own courtyard gate being kicked open.
Dou Weiyi rushed in from outside: "Sister-in-law, sister-in-law, the boats at the dock are finished, and five boats are now moored at the dock in Wangyue Village!"
Everything is ready except for the east wind!
Dou Weiyi was extremely excited. Seeing the boat was like seeing piles of silver!
Gao Mengli asked with a face full of curiosity, "Five?"
Dou Weiyi was quite proud: "That's right, river transport ships can't be too big, but each one can carry 8,000 catties of cargo!"
Gao Mengli nodded. In ancient times, productivity was limited, the waterways were not wide, and the water level was shallow. Eight thousand catties was the limit for boats.
Gao Mengli looked Dou Weiyi up and down; eight thousand jin was definitely not Dou Weiyi's limit.
If possible, he estimates he would like to build a large cargo ship that can carry tens of thousands of kilograms.
Gao Mengli nodded and picked up where Dou Weiyi left off, saying, "Okay, go ahead and tell me, what do you want?"
Dou Weiyi rubbed her hands together excitedly, chuckling to herself. She hesitated for a long time before finally managing to say what was on her mind.
Gao Mengli raised an eyebrow at Dou Weiyi's flushed face and tapped the stone table lightly with a bamboo stick: "Stop dawdling. If you don't speak now, you'll miss your chance."
Dou Weiyi stomped his foot suddenly, as if he had made a huge decision, and his Adam's apple bobbed twice.
He wasn't bothered by the itch from having so many lice; he wouldn't mind having a couple more.
"Sister-in-law, hehe, could I buy on credit first? I'd like to take 40,000 catties of cured meat to sell in the prosperous Jiangnan region. I'll settle the bill once I've converted it into silver, how about that?"
"Forty thousand catties?"
A pig weighs only about 300 jin (150 kg), so 40,000 jin (20,000 kg) would require about 133 pigs.
To smoke and cure pork, you need at least two hundred pigs.
Even if a pig costs three taels of silver, the cost would still be six hundred taels. Adding Mengze's wages, it would be at least a thousand taels.
Seeing Gao Mengli's silence, Dou Weiyi assumed she disagreed and quickly swore an oath: "Sister-in-law, don't worry, I'll give you an IOU and I'll definitely pay it back, just like Qian Yun helped me build the ship."
"Once I've earned enough money, I'll definitely settle all your accounts without missing a single penny!"
"Qian Yun?"
Gao Mengli was taken aback and said that the cost of building ships was not low, so where would Dou Weiyi get the money?
It turns out it was borrowed from Qian Yun.
This behavior is very Dou Weiyi-like.
“I had some cured meat in stock, 40,000 catties. I can transport this batch of goods to Jiangnan to make money without any problem. I’ll sell it to you for 60 wen per catty.”
After all, Dou Weiyi was the biggest contributor to the salt distribution channels.
Without salt, she can't make cured meat.
Dou Weiyi took on the risks of salt production for her, and she was happy to share the profits, earning less herself.
"Of course, of course, sister-in-law, I'll write you an IOU right now, it's twenty-four thousand taels in total!"
This is nowhere near 24,000 taels! Once this cargo arrives in Jiangnan, it will probably be worth 48,000 taels!
It takes about a month and a half to make a round trip!
Dou Weiyi is about to strike it rich!
Dou Weiyi was so excited that his hands were trembling slightly. He took out the old actor's calligraphy brush from his pocket, put it in his mouth, and then immediately took out the IOU he had prepared beforehand, wrote down the amount, and signed his name.
Then he quickly took out his official seal from his sleeve and stamped it, as if afraid that Gao Mengli would change her mind.
After doing everything, he blew on the IOU, then quickly handed it to Gao Mengli: "Sister-in-law, take a look!"
Gao Mengli looked at the drool-covered signature and felt extremely disgusted: "Alright, you wait."
After saying that, Gao Mengli turned around and went back into the house, where she took out a black box and placed it on the stone table in the courtyard: "Put it in there."
When Dou Wei saw the familiar black box reappear, he quickly put the IOU he had just signed into the stack of IOUs.
See? There's more than one "lice".
With so much, what is he afraid of?
Indeed, he has a lot of debt but no worries about it, so he doesn't have any to carry.
But Gao Mengli was scared, afraid that he wouldn't be able to pay her back, so she quickly took Dou Weiyi and walked outside.
"Come on, I'll take you to the smokehouse workshop and check the goods for you. You can load them up and take them away first thing tomorrow morning so you can start earning your money sooner."
"Great minds think alike! We're on the same page!"
I was just about to say that I had already arranged for someone to go to the smokehouse before I came, and they're just waiting for us to arrive so they can start loading the smoke onto the ship today!
Gao Mengli was anxious, but he was even more anxious.
The two of them rushed together to the cured meat workshop by the river.
From afar, you can see the smoke rising from the cured meat workshop.
Dou Weiyi looked up and saw a wisp of smoke rising. He assumed Gao Mengli was researching some other food he didn't know about, and his face was full of curiosity.
"Hey, sister-in-law, did you set up any other small fumigation rooms next to the workshop?"
"A small incense room? There isn't one."
Gao Mengli was completely bewildered.
She's been so busy lately that she doesn't have time to spare, let alone have any other plans.
Following Dou Weiyi's gaze, they indeed saw the wisp of smoke.
"No other arrangements? Then why are you starting a fire over there?"
Dou Weiyi was taken aback, her face full of suspicion.
Could it be that his younger siblings have learned to keep secrets from him?
The more you say you don't have it, the more likely you are to have it.
His strong suspicion of his siblings was more of an explanation than a cover-up.
So he turned the corner and prepared to go take a look.
Gao Mengli frowned, also a little curious, so she followed Dou Weiyi's steps toward the place where the fire was lit.
It's alright if you don't go, but if you do go, Gao Mengli will be furious.
"Lin Xi!"
Lin Xi was happily flipping the grilled fish over the fire when she was suddenly caught off guard and shivered.
He glanced at Hei Yi and the others, muttering uncertainly, "That's strange, why do I feel like my Meng Li is calling me?"
Blackie stared intently at the grilled fish, tears of excitement streaming from the corner of his mouth. He quickly waved his hand, "Boss, you're hallucinating. Who's calling you? Turn it over, it's going to burn!"
"Yeah, I think I'm hallucinating too!"
Lin Xi grinned and nodded in agreement.
He's just scaring himself. His Mengli should be at home right now, not here!
At this moment, Black Two, who was next to Black One, raised his head and then his whole body started shaking uncontrollably as if he were having an epileptic seizure.
He reached out and tugged at Hei Yi's sleeve.
Hei Yi slapped him: "What are you so excited about? Let me tell you, the biggest one belongs to Lin Dong's family, and the second biggest one is mine. Don't try to take it from me."
"No... not..."
Hei Er was so shaky he could barely speak.
Hei San looked up and saw Hei Er trembling incessantly, looking at him strangely. Following his gaze, Hei San felt a chill run down his spine.
His body involuntarily began to tremble in rhythm with Hei Er!
"You two sheep... you're having epilepsy... ah..."
Hei Yi looked up, about to curse, when he saw Gao Mengli behind Lin Xi glaring angrily at the three of them!
It's over...