It turns out that Mr. and Mrs. Wen have moved in.

Upon seeing the Marquis and his entourage from afar, Mr. Wen leaned against the carriage window and waved, "Marquis, Earl, what are you doing here?"

Li Lao Er replied with a smile, "I just got back too. If I had known you were coming, I would have turned around and come with you."

In the short time that followed, Mr. Wen jumped off the carriage and then carefully helped Mrs. Wen down.

Madam Wen bowed to the Marquis and Li Lao Er. When she saw them smiling mischievously at Mr. Wen, she blushed and said to her husband, "You two talk. I'll go find my aunt and Hongying."

“Okay,” Mr. Wen quickly instructed, “You want to eat egg dumplings, right? Just tell your aunt. Don’t worry about troubling her. I’ll go to town tomorrow to buy her some good stuff to thank her.”

"At this time, you should eat whatever you want. You can't go hungry, otherwise you'll regret it for the rest of your life..."

After saying that, he asked Granny Tian, ​​who had followed him off the carriage, "Is that so, Granny?"

"Yes, yes!" Granny Tian said with a smile, "Sir remembers it very clearly. That's how women are when they're pregnant; they're especially eager to eat."

"With you thinking of your wife so much, she will surely give birth to a healthy baby boy smoothly."

"Good, good, as long as the birth goes smoothly, it doesn't matter if it's a girl or a boy. Look how smart and cute our Fu Niu'er is. If I could have a girl like that, I would wake up laughing in my dreams!"

Mr. Wen kindly saw his wife and nanny inside, then turned to look at the Marquis and Earl. Suddenly feeling a little embarrassed, he coughed twice and asked, "I heard the Hundred Garden was quite lively today?"

Li Lao Er laughed heartily, not having the heart to tease him, and said, "Let's go, let's go to the Marquis's courtyard first. Right now, it's the women's domain in our house!"

The Marquis nodded with a smile and then led them into his courtyard.

There were originally several seriously wounded soldiers living here, but their injuries have improved a lot in the past few days, so they have moved out to live with their comrades.

Dongmei and Yeshan came out to prepare tea and snacks when they heard the commotion.

As soon as the Marquis and the others sat down, Jiayin came running over with a rabbit and a little fox, saying, "Godfather, let's roast a rabbit for Fu Niu'er! My aunt wanted to throw up when she saw the rabbit, and my second sister-in-law covered her nose, so Grandma chased me out!"

Jiayin was very upset. Having a second sister-in-law was bad enough, but now there was another nun. She could clearly feel the danger of losing favor...

When the Marquis and his companions saw the chubby girl pouting, carrying a rabbit in her hand, looking like a pitiful abandoned child, they felt both sorry for her and amused.

So, as soon as Hayama put down the teapot, he went to find firewood to cook the rabbit.

Soon, he set up a campfire stand at the bottom of the steps.

The Marquis took off his outer robe, rolled up his sleeves, and personally roasted the rabbit.

He doesn't actually cook, but after years of wandering around and often hunting wild animals to fill his stomach, he has developed a superb barbecue skill.

Rabbits at this time of year have plenty of grass to eat, and they grow plump and fat. When placed on the fire, they start to crackle and drip oil in no time, and the aroma gradually spreads.

The chubby girl and the little fox sat on either side of the Marquis, their eyes gleaming and swallowing hard.

The little fox's tail swayed, sweeping the steps clean of every speck of dust.

Jiayin's eyes darted around, and she came up with an excuse to trick the little fox, "San Tiao, I think we smell chicken soup in our house. Go check it out, and if it's true, come back and tell them right away. I'll take you back to get some chicken legs!"

The little fox blinked its tiny, black bean-like eyes twice, caught in a difficult dilemma.

The roasted rabbit smells so good, but the chicken legs smell so good too!

In the end, the chicken leg defeated the roasted rabbit, which quickly jumped over the wall and disappeared.

"Godfather, quick! Give me all the rabbit legs!" Jiayin grabbed the Marquis's arm, wanting to eat them all by herself!

The Marquis found it amusing and quickly tore off the rabbit's leg.

Before Jiayin could even take a bite, the little fox suddenly ran back and witnessed the whole scene...

Chirp chirp chirp chirp!

The little fox stood up angrily, waving its little paws frantically and squealing incessantly.

If it could speak human language, it would probably be spewing out a whole bunch of profanities!

Feeling guilty, Jiayin quickly threw the rabbit leg she was holding over.

The little fox caught it immediately, its mouth was plugged, and it instantly returned to being an adorable baby!

Jiayin rolled her eyes, took the other rabbit leg handed to her by her godfather, took a big bite, and complained, "Those heartless San Tiao, they usually eat so many good things from me, but now they won't even give me a rabbit leg."

Upon hearing this, the little fox simply turned around, facing away from Jiayin with its rear end, looking quite cheeky.

Everyone in the courtyard was laughing non-stop at the chubby girl and the little fox.

Li Lao Er ruffled his niece's hair and said with a smile, "If you like eating rabbit, catch a few more tomorrow."

Jiayin quickly waved her hand. The rabbits in the space were like leeks; she had to harden her heart and let a batch of them commit suicide every now and then. It was easy to eat them.

But this rabbit was different; it was hunted down by her and her adoptive father together, even though she had only handed it a pebble...

The chubby girl and the fox were both silenced, and no one made a fuss. The group then began to talk about serious matters.

Li Lao Er then told them about how those court officials and powerful figures wanted to donate money and grain in exchange for their children and grandchildren.

Mr. Wen smiled and said, "This is a great opportunity. The new grain harvest is coming soon, and everyone's old grain will be sold at a lower price. At this time, it will be easier to get more grain."

“We’re on the same page. I was saying the same thing just now.” Li Lao Er clapped his hands and said, “I’ve inquired about these families. Two of them have dye houses in the neighboring prefecture. We can get more coarse cloth from them.”

"There's another family whose ancestral land is in the west, where cotton is said to be abundant! They'd be happy to give us more cotton this time, for the sake of their children and grandchildren."

"Well done, Lord, you know all about the court officials and nobles now?!" Mr. Wen joked. "From now on, I won't have to worry about you being clueless and easily schemed against."

Li Lao Er didn't hide anything from him, saying, "My elder brother had some people in the city before, and I took them over. In a few days, the relief agency can also replenish some more."

"While it might not be easy to find out someone's secrets, it shouldn't be difficult to find out their general whereabouts, basic background, and origins..."

Just then, Li Laosi returned from the Second Village and, having heard the news, came over to join in the fun.

When the Marquis saw him, he said, "It is acceptable for these people to exchange money, grain and supplies for the lives of their children and grandchildren, but we cannot let them have their way completely."

"The army must include sons of nobles. Firstly, they all have a responsibility to protect Tianwu. Secondly, it is to ensure that things like withholding pensions will not happen again."

Mr. Wen and Mr. Li both nodded.

Li Laosi realized his plan had failed, so he asked Dongmei for some sweet potatoes. Using the residual heat of the campfire, he roasted them and ate them with his daughter.

Li Lao Er continued, "Does Your Excellency have a plan? Tell me in detail, and I'll give those people a heads-up tomorrow."

After thinking for a moment, the Marquis said, "Each family must have at least one son join the army, regardless of whether he is a legitimate or illegitimate son. Moreover, once in the army, they can choose to stay at the dock or go on the expedition."

"Of course, the number of people going to the expedition and those staying behind will each account for half. Who wants to stay depends on their sincerity."

Li Lao Er and Mr. Wen immediately understood and couldn't help but laugh.

Mr. Wen said, "Your Excellency's idea is excellent. These people will probably fight tooth and nail to keep those half of the spots!"