Chapter 94

The military settlement provided lodging for both the northern guests and the Gaoshan soldiers, and the exhausted soldiers took a rest. However, after seeing the differences in the Yichun military settlement, the leaders of both sides were reluctant to rest. They wanted to wander around and learn from others, which would be the best.

The two groups met at the door, and after talking, they found that both sides wanted to go shopping, so they hit it off and decided to go together.

The soldiers on guard paid little attention to these curious people wandering around, because their superiors had already instructed that except for some prohibited areas, they could look as much as they wanted in other places.

They first visited the new military dependents' quarters and discovered that the residents of the Yichun military settlement lived a truly comfortable life. Their homes were clean, and their meals were excellent. Families with better means enjoyed dry rice with oily dishes, while those with less means could still enjoy semi-dry, not watery, dishes accompanied by pickles and vegetables. In their view, for ordinary people to live like this was already quite good.

When they came out of the farmhouse, they couldn't help but catch an old man who was working under the scorching sun and ask him questions.

Of all these people, General Qin was the most down-to-earth. "Old man, you're working really hard in this sunny place."

"Hey, working for your own family, how can you not work hard?" The old man was not afraid of strangers. Perhaps he was tired from working and wanted to rest. He put down his hoe and went to rest under the shade of a tree. "Are you the guests invited back by the general today?"

"Yes. By the way, you said you were working for your family. Are they working for your family too?" General Qin asked, pointing at the young man working hard in the distance.

"No, they are working on the public land, not their own."

"You work so hard for the public?"

"Look at what you're saying. Doing public work means you can slack off? The military settlements don't make us work for free. We're all paid work points. We soldiers work really hard to get a full day's work points. And the military settlements don't force us to work every day. We work the public fields twenty days a month, and the other ten days are up to us. But usually, if there's work for us in the military settlements, we still do it. And the work points we get at that time are a little more than usual."

The guests from the northern border and the Gaoshan people were a little confused. Giving work points? What were work points? Were they more valuable than copper coins or silver?

"What are your work points?"

“Work points are work points.”

"What's the use?"

"You can exchange things in the exchange building, which is very useful."

The currency here is actually work points? They found it very strange. "What do we want? Can't we buy it with silver?"

The old man shook his head. "Silver isn't much use in the military settlement. It's all paid for with work points and merit points. However, silver can be spent outside the settlement. But things outside are more expensive than in the settlement, so it's not cost-effective. In the settlement, we have everything. If we need anything, we can go to the exchange office and get everything we need for daily life."

Another merit point? "Are you saying that the things in your exchange building are cheaper than those outside the military settlement?"

"Yes, for example, a small can of salt is four or five cents cheaper than outside." A can of salt weighs about two taels.

Pan Xiaodi scratched his head. "Don't you military settlements only use work points and no money? How is it calculated?"

The old man glared at him, "We can convert it without money. We are not stupid."

"Don't blame me, uncle. We are just curious."

"It's very simple. For example, a strong laborer like us can earn about thirty yuan a day working in the fields for the landlord, and that doesn't include food." He can buy a small jar of salt in two days.

"But working in the military settlements, we can earn 20 work points in two days. 18 work points can be exchanged for a small jar of salt. We still have two work points left."

This algorithm is okay.

General Qin asked, "If you were allowed to leave the Yichun military settlement and work elsewhere, and still get paid, would you be willing?"

The old man repeatedly stopped and said, "No, no, no, not to mention that during the most difficult time last year, the military settlement gave us food and shelter, which allowed us to survive. Take our lives now for example. Although we need to work every day, work is work. In the military settlement, we can eat and dress warmly, go to the military doctor when we are sick, and watch a big opera every two weeks. This is already the best life. We all say privately that if we go somewhere else, we can't live like this even if we work every day. Just the daily necessities are enough for the whole family to worry about." What the old man didn't say was that he heard rumors that the military settlement also wanted to open a private school, and heard that they were already selecting a site and recruiting talents. Life like this is more promising.

General Qin and the others fell silent. This sounded like a good life indeed. No wonder these people worked so hard.

At this moment, the old man picked up the kettle and walked over to them, "Girl, are you back from work? Are you thirsty? Have a drink of water."

The girl was wearing a headscarf, her face flushed from the sun. When she took the water handed to her by her father, she looked at General Qin and others curiously. When the old man explained to her that they were the general's distinguished guests, the girl smiled shyly at them.

"What time do you start work this afternoon?"

"We have to go to work at the end of the day. The manager said we should pick more flowers while they are in season." A new flower workshop has opened in Juntun, and the girl is an employee of the workshop.

"Okay, then you listen to the manager and go home quickly, have a meal and take a rest."

General Qin and the others did not bother the father and daughter any further. "Let's go and take a look at their exchange building."

This visit to the Yichun military settlement had a profound impact on the two groups of people.

After returning, the Gaoshan people couldn't help but sigh, "Their exchange building has everything. It's a pity that I don't have their work points and merit points. Otherwise, I really want to..."

Don't think about it, it's useless.

"I don't know how they manage to run the military settlement, it's so vibrant and prosperous."

"We've inquired about this before. Last year, they were also living a tight life in the military settlements." The changes in just one year are really huge.

"They have capable people in their military settlements," He Lun said affirmatively.

"It would be great if there were such capable people among our Gaoshan people. Our lives would be much better."

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone fell silent. Who could say it wasn't true?

He Lun actually had a vague idea of ​​who this capable person was. You see, Xing Changfeng was transferred from the northern border to Yichun last year because of the Third Prince. Yichun had been using his previous team from the northern border. It wasn't that his previous team was good, but they weren't as outstanding as they are now. Of the current team, there was only one exception among the top brass: Yao Chunnuan, Chief Secretary of the Yao clan. This capable person would most likely be this woman. Just wait and see; after two more years of operation, this military settlement would surely amaze countless people.

"Brother Allen, you said that the work points in the Yichun military settlement also have merit points. Can our clan use them?"

He Lun shook his head. He had already understood. The usefulness of the Yichun military settlement's work points and merit points was entirely due to the support of the exchange building. It was the various items in the exchange building that made them valuable. Furthermore, the exchange building was supported not only by real money but also by the military settlement's powerful ability to procure supplies. They did not possess such capabilities.

The Gaoshan generals were deeply moved, and so were those in the northern border. After visiting the Yichun military settlement, most of them were already willing to marry Xing Changfeng.

That evening, the Yichun Military Village hosted a banquet for two groups of guests. Of course, only high-ranking officials were allowed to attend. Senior officials from the military village were also in attendance, striving to provide excellent care for both groups and ensure a pleasant stay.

"Why isn't Chief Secretary Yao here?" He Lun noticed that Yao Chunnuan was not present.

"Master Yao is busy preparing gifts for you." Meng Yi replied meaningfully.

Gift?

Chief Steward Wu said, "Yes, so General Pan and Military Advisor He, you must come back to our military settlement before you leave. We will pack some local specialties for you to take away."

Pan Buyi: "How can I feel comfortable doing this?" Someone treated them to a meal once, and they haven't even repaid the favor yet. How can they take something from someone else again?

"It's okay. They're just some local specialties like seeds. They're not worth much. Remember, if you're brothers, don't leave without saying goodbye."

It's seeds! They had seen before that the crops grown in the military settlements were particularly good, and they knew then that they had good seeds. Hearing this, General Pan couldn't say no.

"We originally wanted to support you with some grain, but unfortunately..." Wu Zongguan sighed and explained the agreement with the Yichun camp. "So, even though our military camps have a good harvest, with this agreement, we've suddenly lost hundreds of thousands of dan of grain, and we don't know what the situation will be like in the second half of the year."

Upon hearing this, the Gaoshan people were united in their hatred and kept scolding the Yichun camp for being so shameless.

Wu Zongguan smiled and said, "Brothers from the Gaoshan tribe, having good seeds is not enough. We also plan to give you a farming book. You have seen that the crops in our military settlements are growing exceptionally well, right?"

Isn’t it great if everyone nods their heads like crazy?

"We can grow such good crops thanks to this complete book of 'Crop Planting Techniques'!" Manager Wu took out a booklet and said mysteriously.

The Gaoshan brothers exclaimed, "It's all thanks to this?" Their eyes lit up.

"Yes, Old Wu doesn't lie."

If Yao Chunnuan were here, she would definitely cover her face. Why does it feel like she is watching a TV shopping show?

"You may not know that Lord Wang from the Yichun camp, the new son-in-law of Governor Lei whom you met today at Shili Pavilion, spent a full four thousand eight hundred taels to buy it. He begged us for a long time before we reluctantly sold it to him. Now, our general said that he, General Pan and you Gaoshan brothers hit it off at first sight, so our military settlement is giving it to you out of the friendship between us. Go back and make good use of it, and strive to ensure that all your people have enough food to eat." In order to highlight the value of "Essentials of Crop Planting Techniques", Chief Steward Wu mercilessly exposed Wang Lang's shortcomings.

"Thank you very much."

Wu Zongguan's words deeply moved the Gaoshan people present. It's better to teach a man to fish than to give him fish. The people in the Yichun military settlement were truly kind; they were helping them step by step.

Having listened to their entire conversation, the guests from the northern border were also very excited. They wanted the local specialties, and they also wanted the booklet. But General Qin and General Huo sat calmly. Since Xing Changfeng could give Pan Buyi such good things, as his future in-laws, they would definitely give him good things when he left, so they were not in a hurry.

This wave of operations before the Yichun Military Village Banquet directly ignited the atmosphere of the banquet. Everyone at the banquet called each other brothers and drank and chatted happily.

After the dinner, Pan Buyi, He Lun and others were just about to go to bed when people from the Yichun camp knocked on their door late at night.

When they followed the other party to the conference room, they found that the people who met them late at night were Yao Chunnuan, the chief clerk who did not attend the dinner, and other senior officials of the military settlement.

The first thing the other party said when they saw them was, "I asked you to come here late at night because I have a small job. I wanted to ask you if you are willing to do it?"

Pan's eyes lit up, and he reacted the fastest, "Let's do it!" Earlier at the dinner, they hadn't mentioned working together at all, and they thought it was a no-go.

Pan Buyi and He Lun looked at each other and said, "Go ahead! We must do it."

They had brought out 3,000 soldiers and horses, and had attacked several strongholds, but none of them were very wealthy. Apart from the food and clothing for the soldiers who had gone out, they had gained very little so far, which was very sad. They had hoped to make a big move like the Yichun military settlement had done last year.