He Xinzhuang was a relatively large village in Laoting. It was bordered by the Luan River in the east and the Bohai Sea in the south. In the dead of night, the sound of the flute of the ships on the sea and the waves of the Luan River could be heard. As the south wind blew, the smell of the sea drifted over. Because it was close to the sea, every year after the 15th day of the first lunar month, when the fishing boats went out to sea, there would be people pushing carts and picking things to and fro between the village and the coast. On the dining table, there were live fish and crabs. They could eat whatever they wanted. Compared to Xia Zhuang, it could be said to be cheap and fresh.
He Xin Village also had two big families. One was the Wu Family Garden, the home of Wu Baixiang, a famous businessman in Jingdong. One was the Six Harmonies Hall, which was the name of the business outside the customs. The business was called the Six Harmonies Hall. His hometown was the root, which was also called the Six Harmonies Hall. It was just that the Six Harmonies Hall in his hometown did not do business. There were more than 200 acres of land and dozens of houses. The young master was just guarding them at home. The architecture of the Six Harmonies Hall was not as unique as the Wu Family Garden, but the entire layout was simple and practical. It was a typical farmhouse. The courtyard was divided into two parts, the south was the farming area, and the north was the living area. Entering from the south gate, they entered the doorway of the gatehouse. There were two houses in the east and west where people were working. To the west was the grinding shed. To the north of the grinding shed was the pigsty, to the north of the pigsty was the cattle and horse shed, and to the north of the horse shed was six rooms facing each other from east to west. Long-term workers lived in the west room, while the east room was used as a warehouse. To the north were two gates. Further in, there were three wing rooms on the east and west sides. To the north of the wing rooms were three main rooms, behind them were six wing rooms, and to the north were three main rooms. There were three gatehouses at the north gate facing the street. There were murals on the wall of the main entrance. The tall tree in the painting towered into the sky, and the green swallows returned to their nests. Now, in such a large courtyard, no one was at home. From the south to the north, only Zhang Qingfeng and his men lived. Zhang Fenglong and Zhang Fengkui lived in the north door room, while the procuress and Zhang Qing lived in the south door room. They worked and were guards. Zhang Qingfeng and his family lived in the living area inside the second gate, and Cao Rongfu lived in the west wing outside the second gate. The environment here was different from Xia Manor. Although it was not his home, he came here for his family. With a good condition and a kind of hope, they were happy and happy. Especially since Zhao Shi married into the family, her husband had been working outside. Ah Wu was already six years old. She was the only one in the family. This time, even though he fed the pigs and cooked for everyone every day. It was a little tiring, but the family could be together for three meals a day. She felt a sense of satisfaction in her heart. His mood was also very good. Awu ran around the courtyard every day. There was a little girl called Zhen Zi who was his little friend. Ah Hui always chased after her mother when she wasn't sleeping. His mother was working and couldn't carry him, so he cried and crawled after her. The threshold of Six Directions Hall was high. It was difficult for him to climb and he often fell. At this time, Zhang Qingtong would often run over and carry him over.
Society was in chaos. Li Yunchang and Gao Zhiyuan's rioting team was ordered to go to Pingxi for training. The Japanese and puppet troops deployed heavy troops to block the front and chase after them, causing heavy losses. Except for Commander Gao Zhiyuan, who led a small number of people to break through the blockade and reach Pingxi, and Li Yunchang, who led an even smaller number of people to retreat to Jidong, most of the people died or fled. Some of the leaders of the rebellion, Wu Ziyang, and the deputy commander, Chen Yuhuan, had died in the battle. The Japanese and puppet forces swept through the countryside to track down and capture the fleeing personnel. Those rioting officers and soldiers who fled home to hide were in danger of being caught and killed at any time. White terror enveloped the eastern Hebei countryside.
However, the common people still had to eat. Zhang Qingfeng and the others were filled with hope amidst their fear, and their spirits were even higher than when they were at peace. Every day before dawn, he would get up early, open the second gate, and sweep the yard with a broom. Swoosh! Swoosh! The broom made an ear-piercing sound when it touched the ground. Hearing this voice, Cao Rongfu was always the first to get up. As he put on his clothes, he said," You're up, you're up." Then, people left their warm beds one after another and went to do their assigned tasks. The little one was very sleepy. Zhang Qingtong, who was thirteen or fourteen years old, could not wake up. He couldn't hear the sound of the broom, so Cao Rongfu had to spank him. " You're up, everyone's up." He slowly got up. It was like this every day. As time passed, it was inevitable that they would form opinions. He was too embarrassed to tell Zhang Qingfeng directly, so he followed behind the leader and said,"You have to tell him that he woke up too early. He can't wake up from his sleep. How can he have the energy to work?”Zhang Fenglong sometimes echoed," Yeah, wake up later and sleep a little more. Just make sure you work faster."”
Cao Rongfu was an experienced person. He thought about things more comprehensively and understood Zhang Qingfeng's thoughts. He explained to everyone,"There's a war going on these days, and there's a time limit to certain jobs. We have to fight to get them done. Otherwise, if the Japanese came, you wouldn't be able to finish what you wanted. If the farming season was delayed, the losses would be huge. Generally speaking, the Japanese wouldn't come to our place early in the morning. It's relatively peaceful. At this time, we should fight to do some work. When the sun is high and the devils come, we don't have to work.”After that, the people behind the scenes did not say anything. It was just that Zhang Qingtong always said that he was too tired, but in fact, he was tired. The main thing was that it was her first time leaving home to work, so she was a little homesick. He was Zhang Chaoyi's son. Zhang Chaoyi had passed away at a young age, leaving him with three daughters. His mother raised the children by begging. Although his family was very poor, he was the only boy in the family. His sister gave way, his mother spoiled him, and he also spoiled himself. Although Zhang Qingfeng only arranged light child work for him, he was not used to it and insisted on going home. Zhang Qingfeng called him into the house and criticized him."My second aunt asked me to bring you out and let you train with her. You won't be able to do it in less than two months. How could this do? Eldest Brother and I started working when we were eleven or twelve years old. You're almost fifteen. It's time for you to earn your own food. Don't tell me my second aunt wants you to eat?”Zhang Qingfeng said, a little angry. She thought to herself,"Back then, Second Shen was young and embarrassed to go out to beg for food. It was her mother who brought her out." When the family gave less, it was actually her mother who did not want to give it to Second Shen 'er. They had been begging together for many years and had become good friends who had gone through thick and thin together. Now that Second Shen asked me to bring him out to work, he wants to go back. Isn't this because I didn't bring him well? How could he let Second Aunt down? He didn't want him to go back. But thinking back, he was still a child after all, and it was his first time leaving home. If he wanted to go back, then so be it. So she said,"I won't force you to stay if you want to leave. Tomorrow, I'll ask your second sister-in-law to get some money and go home to take a look. If you're willing to come back in the future, come back again."”The next day, Zhang Qingtong really left. When she got home, she asked him why he was back. He said he missed home. Zhang Chaosheng reprimanded him and said,""Working with your second brother is such a good thing. If you feel tired, ask Zhang Qingguo to go.”A few days later, Zhang Qingguo came. Zhang Qingfeng and the rest were very happy. Actually, Zhang Qingguo was a year younger than Zhang Qingtong, but he was tall and handsome, like a young man. Everyone liked him very much. The only difference was that when Mister Ji was teaching in the village, he had studied with Mister Ji for a few months. He could memorize a few passages of the Analects of Confucius and Mencius, and he could even do a few calculations in mathematics. He could be considered a " little intellectual " in Six Harmonies Hall. His parents were honest, kind, and upright. Under their influence, although Zhang Qingguo was young, he had a sense of family and knew how close he was. He treated Zhang Qingfeng and Mrs Zhao like his own brother and sister-in-law, and he especially liked Ah Wu and Ah Hui. When he had nothing to do, he would hug Ah Hui. When he was working, Ah Wu also liked to play with him.
With the joint efforts of Zhang Qingfeng and his friends, the economic situation of Six Directions Hall was very good. The seedlings on the ground were all complete and growing better than in previous years. The reason might be that there were more pigs this year and more manure. Then, Cao Rongfu had bought a lot of " seeds " from the beach, which had worked. Everyone was very optimistic.
One morning, more than ten young men carrying guns barged into the courtyard. Madam Zhao was afraid and hid in the house with Ah Hui and Ah Wu, not daring to come out. When Zhang Qingfeng saw them, he knew that they might be a riot team and went out to welcome them. "Who's the shopkeeper?" asked the big man in the lead. Where did he go in such a big courtyard?”That kind of rough and loud appearance was terrifying and ridiculous.
"Boss, aren't I here? What is it?" Zhang Qingfeng was timid, so he pretended to be calm and said with a smile.
"We are from the 13th Anti-Japanese Brigade. Where is the shopkeeper? Why aren't you coming out?"
"The shopkeeper's owners, old and young, have all left.”
"Who is in charge?"
"I'm in charge. But I don't have the final say in the boss's matters.”
"Our brothers haven't eaten yet. Let's make some food!”
Zhang Qingfeng thought to himself that it was understandable that these people didn't beat people up or snatch things. Maybe he was alive a few days ago. The others did what they were supposed to do and only arranged for Zhao Shi and Zhang Qingguo to cook. Glutinous rice, cabbage soup, and cooked shrimps from the sea. After eating, the big guy said that he was going to settle the accounts and asked the others to go back. Only he and the black and thin young man stayed. However, not only did he not pay, he even said,"We will fight with our lives to resist the Japanese invasion.”"We don't have money," said Zhang Qingfeng. The big guy said,"What do you mean by no money? Do you all have no money?"”As she spoke, she rummaged through the room. In the end, he took out twenty silver coins from a wicker bag and left. He heard that Cao Zhifu had brought them here. Zhang Qingfeng knew Cao Zhifu when he was still alive in Yinudian, so he went to find him. He was very angry when he told Cao Zhifu about it. He immediately called the two big men over and reprimanded them harshly, saying,"We are an anti-Japanese team. The anti-Japanese army is to free the people. How can we rob the people! Hurry up and return the money to her. Don't do this again.”The two of them admitted their mistake and obediently returned the money.
Cao Zhifu apologized to Zhang Qingfeng, saying,""The two of them have just been taken in from the bandits. It's hard to change their bandit nature! It's also because I didn't discipline him well."
He slept until midnight when Zhang Qingfeng suddenly got up from the brick bed and woke Mrs. Zhao up.
"What are you doing? You're not sleeping. It's late at night."
"Keep your voice down!" Zhang Qingfeng covered Mrs. Zhao's mouth with his hand. Then she said softly,"I can't sleep. What happened today gave me a wake-up call." Boss's jar couldn't be left like this anymore. He had to find a safer place.”
"That's a broken cabinet. Who puts good things in that broken cabinet? Bad people won't go there."
"You can't think that way. If the bad guy knows that we think that way, he will take the opposite action and look through the old cabinets and chests.”
Zhang Qingfeng couldn't forget the scene when his old boss handed him the jar before he left. The old man was both worried and convinced as he begged helplessly,""I've spent most of my life here. It didn't matter if other things were lost or damaged, but this thing had to be protected.”The old man opened the lid of the jar. In order to show his trust, he wanted to show Zhang Qingfeng one by one. "I don't need to know what to pretend," Zhang Qingfeng quickly said. Seal the jar properly, and I'll take care of this jar. In the future, I will give you an unopened jar.”The family left. What was left for him was a heavy burden. The more the boss trusted him, the heavier the burden. He really regretted taking care of these things. However, he also felt that his old boss trusted him. If his boss was in trouble, who would bear it if not him? However, what if he really lost it in the chaos? Thinking about it, his old boss treated him well, trusted him, and had high expectations. He still had to think of a way to protect it. He couldn't sleep. He finally thought of a way, and he had to do it immediately. In the middle of the night, no one knew.
There was a leek field near the east wall of the north gate courtyard. The leeks grew black and dense. Zhang Qingfeng took a shovel and quietly came to the leek field. He chose a piece of land in the middle that was as big as a jar. He first dug the leek out, dug a hole slightly deep, put the jar in, and buried it. Then, he covered the leeks that had been picked up with the same color. The next morning, the water was filled to the brim. The condition of the leeks was exactly the same as before. No one could tell that there had been any construction here.
It was as if he was testing whether Zhang Qingfeng's method of hiding gold in the middle of the night was correct. After eight or nine days, a group of bandits really broke into Six Harmonies Hall. The team that claimed to be the little tyrant was straightforward and wanted money. Zhang Qingfeng said,"The boss has run away. We didn't even get paid." Therefore, they rummaged through the boxes and cabinets but could not find the money. He worked hard underground and pushed down the water tanks and pig feed tanks in the courtyard to see if there was anything buried under the tanks. Some were specifically looking for signs of digging in the courtyard. Even though no one went to the leek field to dig, and some even cut and ate the leeks, they did not expect there to be "something" underground.
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。