The Soldier of the Red Mansion

Chapter 49 The Sun is in the Sky
early morning.

The bright sunshine slanted across the bluestone embankment.

People passing by, people on the boat.

Most of them wore cotton-padded jackets with many patches on them.

Wang Xin was also wearing a cotton coat, but it was cleaner and tidier. Among the dozen or so people following behind Wang Xin, some were wearing gray military uniforms, and some were wearing tattered cotton jackets.

The busy civilians by the river were used to it and continued to do their work, carrying bags that were taller than themselves. They started working hard early in the morning and had no extra energy to care about what was happening around them.

"It's so early in the morning, what's the matter with Dusi?"

Someone looked depressed.

"do not know."

Li Wu yawned, and the people he was traveling with also looked weak and listless, like eggplants hit by frost.

Qi Shannian, who was following behind, rubbed his eyes. He hadn't washed his face in the morning and his stomach was growling with hunger.

In the past, I was still sleeping at this time. I was not hungry when I was asleep, but I would be hungry when I woke up. Sometimes I was so hungry that I couldn’t sleep, so I would drink a few more sips of water to fill my stomach.

I don't do much all day long, except when the weather is bad, I go to the kitchen to eat.

Only the new commander.

He had eaten his fill and called everyone over early in the morning.

Everyone dares to be angry but not to speak out.

Tiny golden specks danced on the black sails of the canal boats on the nearby canal.

More than thirty flat-bottomed canal boats were crowded in the river channel, which was twenty or thirty feet wide.

The waterline was extremely low, and the cabin was filled with rice from the south of the Yangtze River wrapped in reed mats. The masts were as densely packed as autumn reeds, and the coarse hemp ropes swayed and creaked in the evening breeze, startling the gray storks pecking at food on the mudflats.

Wang Xin led everyone, full of energy, and took them to a corner of the camp.

"right here."

Pointing to the front, where the area was overgrown with weeds and the roof tiles were covered with green moss, there were about fifty or sixty houses surrounded by fences to prevent people from breaking in. In fact, even if there were no fences, no one would come.

"Clean up this place. I'll give you two days."

Wang Xin made a request.

Li Wu's teeth moved again and again, and he cursed out dirty words.

Qi Shannian felt that Dusi was very unfamiliar today.

Everyone suspected that they had heard it wrong.

Finally, someone couldn't tolerate it anymore and said sarcastically, "Since the commander-in-chief asked us to work, he should at least provide us with food. Don't you even provide us with a meal?"

I thought it was a good one.

Turns out he's just a fool.

I don't know any rules.

They are soldiers of low status and can be ordered around at will, but even if they are animals, there must be a bottom line.

"I asked you to clean up this place so that I can find you food."

Wang Xin was not angry, and his tone was calm: "Originally, I should have taken you with me, but I have to go back to the city."

Everyone was stunned.

Li Wu asked tentatively, "Is the commander planning to make some connections back in the city?"

"Let's not even mention whether I have connections or not. Even if I do, I wouldn't dare use them recklessly."

Wang Xin has met quite a few people these days. He not only knows their names through the roster but has also chatted with them more or less. He is mainly looking for those who can get along well with the people below him.

This morning they were called up one by one and taken out of the camp.

Wang Xin said with a frank smile, "There are more than a dozen of you. I can pay for your meals, it's not that I can't afford it. However, a day or two is fine, but if it goes on for a long time, I dare not accept it. After all, we are under the emperor's feet, and there are many taboos. Normally, it's nothing, but if someone really investigates, beheading is the least of my punishment."

Li Wu couldn't help but nodded.

As a sentry officer, he actually made a good living, but he had to support his brothers from time to time, so money was a bit tight. Although the new captain seemed good, if he did something wrong, even if he didn't report him, he wouldn't follow him in doing anything wrong.

Qi Shannian and others were somewhat disappointed.

I thought this commander came to the city to build connections and arrange some work for them.

Someone whispered, "We're not afraid of hardship. We generate strength every day. It would be a waste if we didn't use up all our strength that day."

“Even if one can endure hardship, what poor person in the world cannot endure hardship?
"If you don't suffer, you will starve to death."

"Perhaps a job that pays for food isn't something you can get just by enduring hardship. There are so many poor people, and most of them just work for a living. They don't lack the money in the Beijing camp."

Qi Shannian cursed at first, then looked at the commander and said with a flattering smile: "If the commander can find us a job, we will be grateful to him."

Wang Xin reached out to pat Qi Shannian on the shoulder. This guy knew everything and seemed to have seen through the world, so he chose to lie down. He had the courage of those Sanhe gods.

However, remembering that Qi Shannian didn't want to take a shower, I stopped the action halfway and didn't feel embarrassed.

Qi Shannian didn't think it was inappropriate. The new Dusi was very particular about cleanliness, and since he was covered in lice, Dusi certainly didn't want to touch him.

"Your requirements are too low."

Wang Xin complained.

What to do with people lying flat?
Wang Xin believes that it can actually be easily grasped.

Everyone was really stunned this time, even Li Wu was confused.

"Join the army just to eat a meal?"

Wang Xin waved his hand and said, "Being a soldier not only requires you to support yourself, but also your family. Since I am your commander, I am different from others. My soldiers must first live well and behave like human beings."

"You, Qi Shannian, you're in your thirties, and still single." "And you."

Wang Xin pointed at them one by one.

"How can I not marry a woman?"

"Not only do you have to marry a wife, you also have to have children. You serve in the camp every day, do your duty well, and when you go home at night, you still have to have a wife and children to sleep with. You squeeze into a big bunk bed every day, saying that you share the joys and sorrows with your brothers, but what does it mean in the long run?"

"You don't know me, and I don't blame you. If you have any connections in the southeast, you can ask around and find out. Every soldier under my surname, Wang, has built a family and a career, and every one of them is a famous hero."

The sun has climbed up to the middle of the sky with great effort.

Round.

Like a pancake.

Not to mention Qi Shannian, even several sentry officers were drooling after hearing it.

Wife and children are on the hot bed.

In a word.

How hurtful.

I wouldn't even dream of it.

"My current request to you is very simple. You must do everything I tell you to do meticulously. As for me, if I don't do what I promised you, you can point your finger at my nose and scold me."

"You can curse as much as you want. If I, Wang Xin, dare to retaliate, I will be a bastard."

Wang Xin put forward conditions to the people below him, and also made his own promises. Then, he also punished himself for something he could not do.

"Dusi, can I really get a wife?"

One man couldn't help it and looked at Wang Xin expectantly.

"As long as you have hands and feet and are not a bad person, just follow me and work hard. If you can't find a wife, you can also scold me."

The atmosphere is wrong.

The sun is high in the sky and is even rounder.

People couldn't see.

"But I have to tell you in advance, you are not my soldiers yet. You are observing me, and I am still observing you. You have heard more or less what I expect of soldiers these days."

More than a dozen people.

There were no more complaints, and even if there were, they didn't dare show it. Anyway, before Wang Xin left, everyone was working diligently.

Qi Shannian pushed open the half-rotten wooden door, and the smell of mold mixed with the smell of grass hit him in the face. Qi Shannian didn't care and cleaned diligently. Even though Dusi had left, no one was lazy.

It’s just that.

Can I really get married?

To be honest, Qi Shannian was half-believing and half-doubting, but as long as he thought about what Dusi said, he couldn't help feeling happy. He didn't feel hungry anymore, and it felt like he had endless energy today.

It turns out that Dusi speaks so nicely.

I am willing to listen to what Dusi says.

Dusi spoke with a firm tone.

It shouldn't be a lie.

Wang Xin chose to take a boat back to the capital. He looked at the situation on the canal and saw the capital getting closer and closer. He wondered in his heart whether Jia Zheng was at home.

In fact, it is not necessarily the four major ones.

It’s just that I have connections with the four major families, which makes it more convenient and easier to gain trust.

Mainly beneficial.

should be no problem.

Although I am under a lot of pressure.

However, there is motivation only when there is pressure. Without pressure, who would be willing to work hard? I am willing to bear this pressure. After all, the soldiers in the Beijing camp have a very hard life.

Anyway, I can't bear to watch it.

Come on, guys.

Brothers, follow me.

Two ways.

Of course Wang Xin chose the second option.

It’s not just because this is the path of the winner, but mainly because Wang Xin also pursues this spirit and yearns for this spirit. This is the spirit that a person should have.

Tonghui River is an important waterway.

The cargo of most cargo ships is unloaded at Tongzhou wharf because the regulations at Tongzhou wharf are strict.

The stone steps at the Shishahai pier in Beijing were soaked in dark brown water stains.

The porter's bronze back was bent into a full arch as he carried a bag of salt half a man's height and stepped on the blue bricks that had been worn down for thousands of years.

On the second floor, where wine flags were fluttering, merchants were knocking on the sandalwood counter with copper coins, causing the copper bells on the eaves and the camel bells downstairs to ring in unison.

The canal workers squatted on the shore, eating cold pancakes, watching the last two official ships pass through the lock gate - the red-painted bows plowed through the inky river water, scaring away a few koi fish that swam towards the lights.

Wang Xin got off the boat.

A clean cotton coat.

Cotton-padded clothes are cheap and you don’t feel bad about wearing them.

(End of this chapter)