Liuliu and Guaizai muttered something to each other. Then Liuliu suddenly turned his head back and shouted, "Uncle Fang, I’m a little hungry. I want to eat instant noodles. Can I?"
Yesterday, when he came with Zhou Ger to escort goods, Guaizai had clung to Fang Zichen’s leg at night and said his little friend had come, and that children should learn to share. He wanted to use his favorite food to treat Liuliu. Was that okay?
Fang Zichen thought he was going to kill a chicken, so he let him do as he liked. In the end, Guaizai took out ten packs of instant noodles, then went to the chicken coop in the back and caught a chicken. Zhao Ger said he would go take a look, and then the three of them squatted in the kitchen for most of the night and didn’t come out. Liuliu liked eating it too, and now he kept thinking about instant noodles.
But where would they get hot water on the road?
Fang Zichen’s tone was cool. "I think you want to eat a wooden stick."
"Uncle Fang is so mean." Liuliu wasn’t angry either. After muttering that, he went off to race horses with Guaizai again.
Zhou Ger smiled helplessly. Fang Zichen wasn’t just liked by girls and gers; even children liked him.
His own little boy called out "Uncle Fang" constantly.
If Fang Zichen had been polite and distant with Liuliu, then Liuliu might not have clung to him. But his attitude clearly didn’t treat Liuliu as an outsider. Children might seem like they don’t understand anything, but in truth they’re very sensitive. That was exactly why Liuliu liked Fang Zichen so much.
Gungun and Dandan kept shouting happily, and Guaizai and Liuliu also rode back.
"Bwother, look, Dandan is riding the cart, so fast!"
Guaizai turned his horse around and walked beside him. "Is it fun?"
"Fun."
At this moment Guaizai acted very much like an older brother. "Hold the steering wheel tight, or if you fall, your teeth will break. Got it?"
"Mm! Dandan knows."
The four children chattered nonstop the whole way. It didn’t feel like they were going to sell goods, but rather going on an outing.
Zhang Fan had originally been somewhat uneasy and nervous. Since the paper mill started operation, not a single sheet of paper had been sold. Never mind the north for now. The noodle factory and the chemical fertilizer factory had been built later than the paper mill, but those two factories were already making money. Only the paper mill had not earned even half a copper coin and had been losing money the whole time.
At first, the paper mill and the cement factory had been fellow sufferers. With the cement factory keeping it company, Zhang Fan hadn’t felt much urgency. But now the roads in the south had all been paved. The common people knew how good cement was and began asking whether they could buy some too to pave their courtyards, so that on rainy days the courtyards wouldn’t be muddy.
Li Yisheng wrote a letter to ask. Fang Zichen said yes. This cement could not only pave roads, but also be used to build houses.
At first the villagers were poor, whole families squeezed together. After selling grain and getting silver, they wanted to first build one or two rooms to help the men in the family find wives. When they heard cement could also be used to build houses, they immediately went to buy it.
When the houses were later built, they were bright and clean, solid and sturdy, with cement even on the floor. No matter how one looked at it, it was good. Unlike mud houses, which left dust on one's hand when touched just after being built, and after living in them for a long time, they would crack and shed dust.
These cement houses were good.
After the first one was built in the village and everyone came to look, the very next day they rushed to the cement factory to buy cement.
Over the past two months, quite a few cement houses had been built in the villages around the cement factory.
Now the cement factory had abandoned the paper mill and gone off to make money on its own.
Zhang Fan couldn’t help feeling anxious. He didn’t have any grand ambitions. He didn’t seek great wealth or high status, only a stable life for his family, with enough food and warm clothes. His dad and wife had built a house in the village and had already moved in. When that earlier matter was exposed—that she had once worked in a brothel—his wife felt she had let him down and was consumed with guilt. She became depressed and unhappy, and after being harshly talked about, she didn’t even dare leave the house. She looked lifeless. Back in Shunan, she had even tried to take her own life behind his back.
But over the past half year, he had noticed his wife had become much more cheerful. Sometimes after going out, she would come back smiling, and the two children had changed along with her, becoming lively and bright.
He was very satisfied with his current life. But he also knew the prefect was someone who had fallen into a money pit. If the paper mill kept spending without earning, or if sales stayed poor, what would happen if he stopped running the factory? Then his golden rice bowl would be gone, and the hundred or so people in the whole factory would probably have to go home and farm.
He had worked in this trade before and had a lot of experience with it. The paper he and the prefect had developed, if he said so himself, was of a quality that could casually beat all competitors if taken outside.
Unfortunately, the prefect had kept saying it wasn’t for sale and had stockpiled it in the warehouse. Now that they had finally shipped goods, he handed all his current work to his dad, wanting to personally follow along and see for himself so he could feel at ease.
Now they were bringing several cartloads of paper. Afraid outsiders wouldn’t recognize its worth, Zhang Fan had been tense all the way since morning. He didn’t know how to describe his current mood. Goods were finally shipping, so he should have been happy, but he didn’t dare let himself be, because he felt vaguely uneasy. Now, listening to the carefree laughter of the children, his heart inexplicably calmed down. He lifted the carriage curtain and watched the children play.
The road was flat, so they traveled quickly. By afternoon they reached Anxing County.
Seeing the large convoy of horses and carriages approaching, someone shouted.
"The prefect is here, the prefect is here."
Guaizai and Liuliu had rushed to the very front the whole way. Now they saw some common folk by the roadside with carrying poles placed in the middle of the road, so they quickly stopped their horses.
"Grandpa." Guaizai leaned down and said, "Don’t walk in the middle of the road. A carriage will come soon. It’s very dangerous…"
"Not going, not going." Rumors said the prefect's eldest son had a big head and looked very handsome. Liuliu was certainly not bad either, but Guaizai’s head was bigger after all. The old man looked at him. "You are Young Master Guaizai?"
"Mmhm! Grandpa knows Guaizai?"
"Aiyo, then young masters, come down." The old man waved to him and said, "I brought fruit for you to eat."
Several people nearby carrying poles also gathered around.
The baskets were full of pears and some persimmons. At first they thought these were being carried to town to sell, but that wasn’t the case. They had heard the prefect was going to Shangyang to sell goods, so the villagers had found out and come specially.
These people were from several surrounding villages who had previously been poor and had bought chemical fertilizer on credit.
Today they had come to thank the prefect.
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