Early the next morning, Chen Kai went to the weapons workshop to work. It was back to the days of nine to five, or five to five, which made him feel some strange illusions. But this illusion was just

This lasted until I got up from bed, and once I started washing and changing clothes, the illusion suddenly disappeared, leaving nothing but a wry smile.

Last night, Mouse Xuzi worked overtime to drive out You Ertanmo's food and grocery shopping bank data. When Chen Kai returned to the town hall, he sent it to Zheng Chenggong.

Chen Kai didn't know what happened next. Even when he had to work overtime to meet the deadline, Zheng Chenggong didn't even ask about his strange behavior of giving the craftsmen a day off. He was just concerned.

Innocuous questions such as whether the food tastes good or whether the office space is a little cramped.

Just like that, there was no talking all night. When he arrived at the weapons workshop, a middle-aged man dressed as a merchant was waiting for him outside the gate with a few people. But when he saw him coming, he asked a little and confirmed his identity.

He knelt down on the ground and was sentenced to death.

"So these six handymen are all here with you."

Zheng Chenggong had previously recruited soldiers in South Australia, and the military salary of one or two and a half yuan per month plus one stone of food was a great temptation for the local labor force in this era. However, more than 2,000 strong laborers became sergeants at one go

, directly leading to the shortage of local labor force in South Australia.

The arms workshop was assigned to handymen, and You Er sent six of them out to work for this middle-aged businessman. The arms workshop would not be interrupted by such handymen doing hard work. In this way, You Er received wages, and the arms workshop

The laborers compensated for the corvées, and the merchants had temporary workers, a win-win-win situation. The only one who suffered was the weapons workshop, and at most, other handymen had to do more work.

"My lord who joined the army, it was actually You Er who forced me to use these handymen, I mean..."

"Let your matter be discussed in court. I am not responsible for the prison sentence." Interrupting the merchant's excuse, Chen Kai made a move to leave, but as soon as he raised his feet, he turned around and asked: "You said you are

Grain merchant, right?"

"Yes, I am willing to support military supplies, but I only ask..."

"Come here, I suspect that the grain that You Er was greedy for was resold to this person to send to the general's camp to recruit him."

After saying that, the guards came up to lock up the merchant, and Chen Kai entered the weapons workshop without looking back. He had no interest in You Er's nasty things in the first place, and he came here to do something, not

Tangled up in these minutiae. The incident just now was just an interlude, and Chen Kai's original work plan has not changed. Today, the craftsman has a rest, but the handymen are still in his hands, and they will do the manual work.

.

"Take this shelf to my official office."

Chen Kaiyi angrily ordered the handymen, who then entered Shu Xuzi's room and moved the shelves containing written documents, records, rosters and other written records.

"Join the army, move these things away, then, that villain..."

Mouse Beard was trembling with fear, but Chen Kai smiled, patted him on the shoulder and said to him: "Mr. Cai will continue to do what Mr. Cai did. I just want to change the layout of this small courtyard, so there is no need to worry about it.

"

The small courtyard is not big. The main room is Chen Kai's official room, and the left and right wings are respectively Shu Xuzi's office and warehouse. What is directly opposite the main room is a wall and a courtyard door, which are only so big in total.

The space is proportional to the size of the workshop.

Originally, the office room was just a temporary office space reserved for Hong Xu during his inspection. Now it has become Chen Kai's permanent office. He simply moved all the documents that Mouse Xuzi was responsible for keeping here. Mouse Xuzi's room was now vacant.

The rest of the room is used to store finished products. In this way, Mousezizi not only has to register the daily weapons and materials in and out, but also has some duties of care. The remaining wing is naturally only used to store raw materials.

.

Originally, according to regulations, finished products were delivered to the arsenal every five days, and raw materials were collected from the town hall's warehouse every five days. The weapons workshop was only responsible for manufacturing and temporary storage.

However, this time Chen Kai's plan was even grander. It would have been too cramped to store both raw materials and finished products in one room, especially since the wood cut down by carpenters and handymen was always being stored.

This is even more true here. Therefore, Chen Kai decided to readjust the layout to prepare for the next increase in production.

The handymen are working hard, carrying and sorting, which is actually easier than usual. At least there is no work in the factory today. In comparison, the craftsmen are naturally more relaxed. After all, the workload is reduced and they have to rest.

There is still a fundamental difference.

In order to prevent the craftsmen from escaping, these craftsmen were arranged to live together between the weapons workshop and the military camp. On weekdays, there were two patrols of guards and countless pairs of eyes staring at them. They could only suffer in the weapons workshop every day.

. However, April 29th, the third year of Longwu, was destined to be a completely different day from the previous nearly half a year.

Early in the morning, carpenter Lin Zhengzhong woke up at the usual time. The rooster had obviously crowd outside, and it was the last two crows that made him vaguely wake up from his sleep. However,

When he woke up, it was unknown how long the rooster had stopped crowing. Realizing this, he stood up even more fiercely.

"Mother, why have you slept today? It's probably too late at this time. We'll be on duty at the workshop later. My son and I will have to be whipped."

Putting aside a complaint that the sleepy Mrs. Lin didn't respond to, Lin Zhengzhong quickly got out of bed and ran straight out the door. Looking at his posture, it seemed that he wanted to smash the door open.

Lin Zhengzhong rushed out of the house. Seeing that the sun was good, it should not be too late, but there seemed to be something missing in the yard. He frowned and suddenly realized that usually his apprentice would come early to join him on duty.

——Not only did he respect his teacher, but Lin Zhengzhong also knew that his apprentice was very interested in his little daughter. Every morning when he came over, his eyes would always look around until he saw his little daughter.

Only with the beauty of my daughter can I feel content and settle down.

After scanning for a week, Lin Zhengzhong confirmed that his apprentice was indeed not there. He shook his head and walked towards the small house where his son lived, slamming the door.

"You brat, get up quickly. You're late for duty. Be careful with the whip of the guy named You."

Lin Zhengzhong banged the door loudly, fearing that if it wasn't for his own door, he would have kicked it with his foot. However, after knocking several times, there was barely any movement in the room, but the movement immediately made him stunned.

"Dad, stop knocking. That bastard named You was driven away by joining the army. I won't take a bath today, so let the child sleep in."

That overseer was driven away by joining the army!

Take a bath today!

yes!

Hearing this answer, Lin Zhengzhong suddenly realized that he stopped knocking on the door and turned around to go back to the main room where he lived. But at this moment, the disciple's figure flashed past the chaimen of the small courtyard, tiptoeing and appearing to be

It seems a bit shameful.

"Go, go, go, go home and sleep. It's not worth taking a rest today."

He rudely shouted his apprentice back. Lin Zhengzhong also knew that his apprentice was not like him when he came here. He looked like he came here to take a look at his girl. How could this allow him to succeed so easily?

Afraid of the master's huge "deterrence", the apprentice gradually wanted to retreat. However, Lin Zhengzhong shouted a few words and went straight back to the main room, seemingly planning to catch up on some more sleep. Unexpectedly, he just opened the door,

But he saw his daughter was about to push the door out. Seeing this, he quickly pushed his daughter in and closed the door with his backhand.

"You have a rest today. You don't have to make breakfast. If you sleep a little longer, you can save money on a meal and your brother's betrothal gift and your dowry will be a lot thicker."

As he said this, Lin Zhengzhong was about to rush his daughter back to his daughter's boudoir at the other end of the main room. However, his daughter was still a little unhappy about this and glanced towards the door.

"Smelly girl, listen to dad and you won't do anything wrong."

"Huh, daddy used the trick that grandpa used to hold you back on your third brother."

The daughter pouted, flicked her braids, turned around and returned to the boudoir. Looking at this scene, Lin Zhengzhong couldn't help but laugh. In fact, Lin Zhengzhong was quite satisfied with this apprentice. But when his daughter mentioned it today, he recalled

, every time he sees the way his apprentice looks at his daughter, he can indeed always recall himself back then, because his wife is also the daughter of his master, and he was just like that when he was still a young boy.

Smiling and shaking his head, he let out a sigh of "Young women can't stay", and then returned to the room. Lying down again, the Lin family's wife looked at him without saying a word. She just watched him lie down before closing her eyes again.

His eyes seemed to be waiting for him to come back. Lin Zhengzhong, on the other hand, originally planned to catch up on his sleep, but there was always a trace of uneasiness lingering in his heart.

Chen Kai's series of actions yesterday, and his exchange with a craftsman he was friends with on weekdays on the way back, interpreted it as the new official's taking office to burn those three fires. But this fire has also burned out, and things will be better.

Whether the day will really come and whether it will return to the way it was before in the future really troubles him.

Tossing and turning, it was like this last night, and it is like this again today. After thinking about it, Lin Zhengzhong shook his head, shook off these unpredictable thoughts, and returned to sleep.

I don't know how long it took, but the second loudest voice in the workshop on weekdays echoed in my ears. Lin Zhengzhong woke up from his sleep and couldn't help but cursed: "This soup is so pock-marked that I can't even take a bath to make it peaceful."

of."

The lady of the Lin family was no longer in bed. She had obviously gotten up to sell vegetables, cook, and clean up the house. Lin Zhengzhong got up, put on his clothes, and opened the door again. He felt that he had made up for such a short sleep, but he was a hundred times more energetic.

There is.

"You brat, go to your Uncle Tang's house and bring those two stools. If you don't fix them, your Uncle Tang will blame you and me."

He was a carpenter, and he had agreed to help his neighbor Tang Quanyou repair the broken furniture at home. However, he worked hard every day and wanted to eat and sleep when he got home, but he couldn't muster up the energy to do anything. He happened to take a bath today, so he

Of course, free time should not be ignored. You must always make use of what you have promised to others, as well as your own.

However, before his sleepy-eyed son could go out, Tang Quanyou's voice came over first: "Brother Lin, you are arranging me behind the scenes again. Is my surname Tang as unbearable as you said?"

With a smile in his words, Tang Quanyou pushed the door open and walked in, casually handing a kitchen knife into Lin Zhengzhong's hand.

"I didn't forget what I promised you. I got up early today to polish it for you."

Tang Quan put down his things and didn't leave. He simply sat on the edge, chatting with Lin Zhengzhong who was working, and got busy at the same time. The two families were well-connected, and the weapons workshop was already full of people.

Fellow craftsmen who worked in the main town government simply set up a table in the small courtyard at noon and gathered together to have lunch.

"Second brother Lin, what do you think about the new guy joining the army?"

According to the rules, when there are guests, the female relatives of both families will eat in the kitchen. After the meal, the boys of both families have gone out to play together, and they are the only two left on the table. There are four sips of soup here.

After looking at no one, he lowered his voice and asked the older Lin Zhengzhong.

However, when Lin Zhengzhong heard Tang Quanyou's question, he shook his head and just asked in a low voice about his future treatment under Chen Kai's rule. After receiving an affirmative answer, he explained his random thoughts last night.

Said it out.

"Hey, second brother Lin thinks so, and my younger brother also thought so last night. Thinking carefully about what happened yesterday, Chen Canjun is very vicious, and he has a temper that does whatever he says. He came over at noon yesterday, and in an hour's time

So I drove away You Er and that guy, and spent the next afternoon just watching us work and writing and drawing. I'm afraid that when we go on duty tomorrow, the fire will burn on us."

Tang Quanyou sighed, but Lin Zhengzhong seemed much more open-minded: "Don't think too much. Anyway, I have to take a rest today. It's not a good idea to have a day off. As the saying goes, if you have wine today, you will get drunk today."

"Yes! I got drunk today because I had wine today."

As soon as these words came out of his mouth, Tang Quanyou's eyes lit up and he whispered to Lin Zhengzhong: "I haven't finished the wine my son-in-law sent me during the Mid-Autumn Festival last year. Today is just the day. You wait for me to get it."

Tang Quan said he would go, and when Lin Zhengzhong heard that there was wine, he couldn't help but swallowed his saliva, and then said to him: "You go, I will ask my mother-in-law to cook two more side dishes, and we brothers can relax today.

"

The craftsmen were enjoying a rare moment of rest, which was the best thing they had ever experienced since they were recruited into this weapons workshop.

While Tang Quanyou and Lin Zhengzhong were having a drink, Zhongyong Hou Chen Bao and Zhongzhen Bo Hongxu were also gathered together in the study room of Zhongzhenbo Mansion. Naturally, the subject of their conversation could not be separated from Chen Kai.

This newcomer creates ripples on the calm sea.

"Jiu Feng, I asked about Guo's surname today. I'm afraid I can't keep your distant relative."

"This is what it should be."

Putting down the tea cup, Hong Xu sighed: "It's really my fault for neglecting supervision. In fact, I knew something about that guy bullying others in the weapons workshop. I thought about the speed at which the weapons workshop can produce weapons.

It was not bad, and the guy really put in all his energy to supervise the work of the craftsmen, so he turned a blind eye. But I didn't expect that this guy would be so bold, embezzling groceries, deducting, and reselling military rations and craftsmen's money.

He even used the corvées for his own wages. No one can save him from his own misfortune."

Last night, Chen Kai sent the approximate amount of money that You Er had embezzled and resold, which was not really conclusive evidence. However, with the testimony and reply of the boy who delivered food to the Zheng family, he had received the money from You Er's house last night.

The nearly 300 taels of silver found, plus the confession of the grain merchant sent by Chen Kai early this morning, it was clear that Zheng Chenggong had murderous intentions. Based on their understanding of Zheng Chenggong's temperament, You Er's death was basically

It's already a foregone conclusion.

In fact, a corruption case that didn't even amount to three hundred taels of silver was really nothing. But Zheng Chenggong intended to kill him as a warning to others, and Hong Xu didn't plan to do anything else. At most, he waited until the dust settled to save the mother and son a little.

The benevolence and righteousness are gone.

"Doesn't this scholar know that beating a dog depends on its owner?"

Chen Bao was very dissatisfied with Chen Kai's actions, and Hong Xu also knew why. It was just the resentment caused by the newly attached person not to save face for the old brothers of the Zheng Group. As the person involved, he was in

In the game, if he rushes to rescue, he will be hurt even more, so he will be even more unhappy. But compared to people like Chen Bao who are just known for their loyalty and bravery, Hong Xu's mind is naturally more flexible, so he thought

It's also a bit clearer.

"It's not that he doesn't know, he knows his own identity very well."

Chen Bao frowned and reacted to what Hong Xu pointed out. Chen Kai is Zheng Chenggong's staff. His position on Nan'ao Island and this military group is only this, and nothing else. Chen Kai does not agree with Hong Xu.

Contacting him privately, even at the expense of offending powerful people like Hong Xu and Zheng Chenggong's cronies, is obviously a way of clarifying his position.

"Then the scholar can't hand over You Er to Guoxing?"

Hearing this, Hong Xu shook his head, and then explained: "Arrest and hand him over first, and then find evidence of guilt. If he does this, everyone will think that Guo Xing gave him the instructions, and let Guo Xing do it for him."

Taking the blame. Just like when Governor Yuan killed General Mao without intending to do so, he backhandedly threw the blame on the late emperor. Chen Kai is not Governor Yuan, and Guo Xing is not the late emperor who was too trusting in employing people. Now he has put You

If you let it go, it will offend me at most, but a person who makes his own decisions and has a national surname can put aside the direct relationship with this matter. Old brothers like my brother will at most be dissatisfied with him, but not because of it.

Feelings of resentment towards the country.”

"But aren't the Ke brothers sent by the government to support him?"

"He was alone and went directly to the weapons workshop, which has been in operation for half a year, to do work. He also made it clear that he wanted to make a big move. How could the country not send someone? The Ke family brothers were just used by him. In fact, it can't be said that they were.

Utilization means that he uses the resources given to him by the country in a more intense and clean way."

"The twists and turns in this scholar's belly are too much."

Of course Chen Bao couldn't understand it, but in hindsight, Hong Xu didn't have much sympathy. Instead, he shook his head and said: "Actually, he was too rough in this matter. But, the time left for him, or rather

It was because he didn't have much time left for himself, so he had to act recklessly."

"Humph, you don't have time to give those craftsmen a holiday?"

The problem has returned to the original point when he heard about it yesterday, but Chen Bao still hasn't figured it out. After thinking about it, it's just Chen Kai showing kindness to the craftsmen. In fact, it has nothing to do with the sudden increase in output.

It still doesn't matter much - at least no one will believe that taking a day off can give those craftsmen twelve consecutive hours of work, and it's still one and a half months.

"Brother Chen, this problem is not just for you. I can't think clearly either. I guess the same goes for Guo Xing. Now we still have to see what he does next."

"That's not easy." Chen Bao smiled coldly, and then explained: "A certain housekeeper has calculated it. If he wants to fulfill his promise to the country, he has to make at least 16 gun heads a day. Just rely on work.

It's impossible for the blacksmiths in the workshop to accomplish this, and it won't be as good as theirs."

"Yes, if he can succeed this time, he will definitely be a good help to Guo Xing in the future. No matter how much you and I say, Guo Xing will only feel bored, and there is no need to embarrass him over such things. But if he doesn't succeed, he will be nothing more than an idiot.
Chapter completed!