Nanming Engineer

Chapter 88 Orphans
In the morning thirteen days later, the travel-stained Ma Chongming came back, brought back dozens of boats of grain, landed in Xituo Town, pulled by a cart, bumped all the way to Longevity Valley.

The fat man heard his tribe talk about the grand occasion of silver mining at the pier, and his heart was itchy, so he left a few accountants and walked slowly with the cart. Impatiently, he ran into the warehouse where the silver ingots were stored.As soon as the iron door was opened, Ma Chongming's eyes closed involuntarily. The bright silver light emitted from the warehouse almost blinded his eyes. And when he entered, he pressed his chubby body onto the pile of silver, rolled and had fun in the warehouse full of silver ingots, crying and howling like a fat dog, yelling constantly: "My, mine, everything is mine!" mine!"

Zu Bian frowned while holding the Ghost Head Sword, and stood outside the iron gate, letting him go crazy inside for a quarter of an hour. Then he pushed the door open and walked in, carrying Ma Chongming by his collar and carrying him out while he was still dancing. , slapped his ears several times, poured a bowl of cold tea, and asked the confused Ma Chongming in a rough voice: "Are you awake?"

Ma Chongming's cheeks were red and swollen, and he nodded with distracted eyes. He was so surprised that he couldn't reflect on himself just now, but he fell into a state of madness and was fascinated by the money in the room. would be really crazy.

"Just wake up, Mr. Wang is still waiting for you in Longevity Valley." Zu Bian looked at him with contempt and said.

Ma Chongming walked away step by step, the bank was heavy, and he was not allowed to enter it, even if it was him. After today, I don't know when he will see such money again. When he thinks of this, he can't help but look back from the horse. , full of reluctance.

But when he reached the entrance of Longevity Valley, Ma Chongming closed his eyes again, but this time he closed them himself. He rubbed his eyes and opened them again. He couldn't believe his eyes. When I left, I saw people in the valley in an endless stream, carrying loads and baskets, a scene of busy construction, in the middle of the valley bottom, the original dense jungle and wasteland have changed their appearance, a majestic city has laid a foundation for the wall , square and upright, about five miles wide and narrow, the streets, government offices, and houses in the city can be seen at a glance, and the planning is well-organized, just waiting to be built bit by bit.In the wilderness outside the city, fields have been leveled out. There are countless ditches criss-crossing and watering from the pools on the far side of the mountain. Countless human heads and ants are mixed among them. They are plowing the land and planting some Vegetables, melons and fruits, wait for the second half of the year to rush to plant a season of grain.Even the valley entrance where I am is building a pass. The pass city extends from the mountains on both sides, the walls are close to the rocks, and a tall city gate in the middle is waiting to be closed. With this pass city blocking the valley entrance, it is enough to resist The army outside the valley.

Ma Chongming's complexion turned pale, and he muttered to himself, "It's a miracle that such a big thing can be done in such a short period of time. It's unprecedented and unheard of. Talent, talent."

After a while, he came back to his senses, gritted his teeth and said, "How much does it cost, that boy Wang Huan, doesn't he really treat silver as money? He spent my money!"

Gritting his teeth, Ma Chongming angrily dismounted his horse, and rushed into the city. He looked around and asked all the way, and soon at a construction site in the city, he saw a group of people surrounded by stars and moons. Among them is Wang Huan.

Ma Chongming slammed off his horse, and was about to trot forward to Xingshi to question him.

Wang Huan didn't see him coming. At this time, he was sitting on a stone used as a building material, drinking water from his leather bag, and talking to a child with a smile on his face.

"How old are you?" he asked.

"My lord, I am nine years old." The child standing in front of him replied. The child was dirty and dressed in tattered linen clothes. The big holes and small holes almost tore the clothes into a piece of rags. The child was tightly wrapped around his body, as if he cherished it very much. He was barefoot underneath, and his long unkempt hair covered half of his face, making it impossible to distinguish his gender from his face. Only when he spoke, he was full of stubbornness. The childish voice, trying to give people the impression of a little man.

"Nine years old?" Wang Huan frowned, looking at Xu Goudan who was standing beside the child.

Xu Goudan hurriedly said: "There are more than [-] such children in total. They are all orphans who fled from the outside with the refugees. found."

Wang Huan sighed inwardly, and when he looked at the black and thin child, his eyes were full of tenderness. His true self in this life was originally an orphan. If Wang Huan hadn't possessed him, he would have died in Yangzhou Therefore, he has a natural empathy for the homeless orphans.

"Child, don't be afraid. In Longevity City, no one will bully you. We will give you food and clothes."

"I don't want it!" The child raised his head and said proudly.

Wang Huan was stunned for a moment, and was stunned, how could he get such a response for his kindness.

Xu Goudan quickly snapped his fingers on the child's head, glared at him, and explained to Wang Huan: "When I gave him food just now, he said the same thing. Don’t eat the food given by the handouts, and have to work hard to get food in exchange for hard work.”

"Oh!" Wang Huan suddenly became interested, and felt that the child was very interesting, so he couldn't help smiling. Chen Ergou on the side saw him like this, his face was bright, and he said with a smile: "How is it? Brother Huan, I said this kid is not bad, he is exactly the same as I used to be, as stubborn as a cow, you said you want to find some good kids to train, I immediately thought of him."

"What's your name?" Wang Huan praised Chen Ergou, and then asked the child.

The child replied without showing any timidity: "My name is Li Jie."

After a pause, the child said again: "My lord, you don't have to pity me. My father is a military officer. He taught me that no one in this world is worthy of pity. Only cowards need pity. I am not a coward. I can live on my own." .”

Li Jie had a childish voice and a thin body. When he said these words word by word, his childish face was very serious, as if he was talking about a big truth. Wang Huan felt a sore nose when he heard it, and there was a surge in his heart. Sadly, he squeezed his lips fiercely, so as not to shed tears.

Among the people around him, some people had already turned their backs and cried loudly. Even Ma Chongming, who had just arrived and was standing outside the crowd, felt that the scene was too tragic. few.

Wang Huan stood up, squatted in front of Li Jie, made his eyes level with Li Jie, and asked softly, "Where are your father and mother?"

"Dead." Li Jie said bluntly: "Father died in the war, mother died of illness, they all died last year."

Wang Huan lowered his head and paused for a long time. When he looked up again, his eyes were clear. He patted Li Jie's head lightly, turned to Xu Goudan and said, "Place these orphans alone, and do what you can do every morning. In the afternoon, arrange a patient scribe to teach them how to read and write. They will eat whatever I eat for three meals a day."

Xu Goudan, who was full of tears, nodded heavily. What happened to Li Jie reminded him of himself, his parents and family far away in the south of the Yangtze River, are they still alive, can they meet again in this life?Thinking of his kind mother, Xu Goudan's tears couldn't stop falling. Chen Ergou came over, patted him on the shoulder, pulled Li Jie up, turned and left.

Wang Huan stood up, feeling extremely heavy in his heart, raised his head sullenly, and saw Ma Chongming at a glance. He was overjoyed, and a smile immediately spread all over his face, blurting out: "Matou man? You're back!"

PS: there is another chapter before 12:[-]

(End of this chapter)