Chapter 514 The Riddle Between the Father and the Son

The first battle was a victory.

Lu Qiniang was naturally happy.

"Madam, let's choose a location first." Jiang Mingyue added, "They have also started to prepare."

"It's already been chosen."

Lu Qiniang and Xiao Yan had discussed that they wanted to live at the border between Li and Han.

Others may have some concerns, but their attitude is clear.

They want to associate with all friendly people, regardless of ethnicity.

"But we'll have to ask someone experienced from your Li tribe to help us take a look."

Lu Qiniang said that she was not stubborn and would listen to advice.

The Li people have lived here for hundreds of years, don’t they know this place better than them?

"As long as Madam doesn't mind."

Jiang Mingyue was happy with Lu Qinniang's open attitude.

She had already learned Xiao Yan's identity from others.

She felt that Xiao Yan's arrival would bring different changes to Qiongzhou.

But many of her tribesmen don't think so.

They felt that Xiao Yan could fight the Hu people, and he could also fight them.

Jiang Mingyue tried her best to persuade them, going door to door almost every household, and finally managed to gather sixteen young men after wearing out her lips.

And except for a few people who used their connections, everyone else was so poor that they couldn't even afford to eat.

They agreed to it with an attitude of being ready to die and taking advantage of the situation.

Lu Qiniang and Xiao Yan chose a slightly higher slope on the edge of the settlement, backed by a small windbreak forest. This allowed them to avoid the low-lying and humid land while enjoying some sea breeze.

This piece of land also received the approval of the Li ethnic group leader, a senior craftsman named Amu.

Amu brought a few tribesmen, holding sharpened wooden sticks and thin ropes, and carefully measured and located the area, and marked key locations with wooden stakes.

Instead of digging a deep pit immediately, they followed the Li tradition and cleared the surface vegetation to expose the solid red soil.

Then, under Amu's command, a dozen Li men used mattocks to dig a shallow and wide foundation trench along the marked line.

The foundation pit is only about one foot deep, but three feet wide.

Amu explained to Lu Qiniang and Xiao Yan the reason for doing this.

Lu Qiniang didn't understand, but Xiao Yan obviously agreed.

"Okay, I'll leave the building of the house to you. If you need anything, just ask me to pay for it."

Lu Qiniang gave them full trust.

"Xiao Yan, you keep an eye on things here. I'm going to cook with Sister Lin, A'tai, and Shitou. San Ya, San Ya—"

Lu Qiniang planned to call San Ya to help as well.

Xiao Yan said, "She's gone riding. Don't call her. I'll come and help her later."

"Just spoil her." Lu Qinniang scolded, and while speaking she went to dig the soil nearby to bury the stove, preparing to cook.

These sixteen strong laborers have big appetites.

Amu gave orders in a measured manner, assigning people to collect stones, cut wood, find vines, etc.

The Li people seemed to be quite talented in building homes. Whenever Lu Qiniang took a look, she felt that they worked efficiently and in an orderly manner, like a group of ants moving, working together as one.

Not bad.

While Jiang Mingyue was taking care of Wenxuan, she also came over to help.

At noon on the first day, Lu Qiniang prepared dinner and invited everyone to eat.

No one dared to move.

Lu Qiniang picked up the bowl and gestured, but still no one moved. They just looked at her with hesitant expressions.

Lu Qiniang was so looked at that she began to doubt herself.

Is she so abstract?

Didn't she express herself clearly?

"Xiao Yan, how about you take the lead and eat it in front of them?"

Xiao Yan: "..."

Fortunately, Jiang Mingyue arrived in time.

Only then did we understand that these Li people thought that if they ate the meal, Lu Qiniang would not pay them "wages", so they did not dare to eat.

Lu Qiniang laughed heartily. "Here, here, here. Who doesn't provide food when building a house? Eat as much as you want. The 'wages' have been prepared long ago."

In order to reassure everyone, Lu Qinniang opened the box she brought while they were eating.

Inside were bags of sugar, salt, and pieces of cloth.

"When you finish your work today and leave, choose what you need." Lu Qiniang asked Jiang Mingyue to help translate.

It can be seen that the Li people's eyes lit up when they saw these things.

After the meal, everyone worked even harder.

They worked until night, and it was pitch dark. Lu Qin's mother felt embarrassed and kept shouting for them to stop.

Jiang Mingyue helped distribute the things to everyone.

The Li people were obviously tired after a hard day's work, but they carefully held the things that were precious to them, and everyone's eyes were shining.

After returning to her residence, Lu Qiniang sighed, "There aren't so many bad people. We are all ordinary people at the bottom of society, working hard to make ends meet."

Han and Li people, we are all human beings.

The best thing is to have good days, spend them together, and live in peace.

If a war breaks out, won’t these ordinary people be the ones who suffer the most?

Lu Qiniang criticized Sanya again, "The house is so busy, you have to help with some chores instead of just walking the horse all day."

Although you should love your own children, you also need to have good judgment.

Lu Qinniang seemed to be born with a clear understanding of the boundary between spoiling a child and controlling a child.

"Jiaojiao is out doing something important." Xiao Yan smiled and came to Sanya's rescue, "She's helping me with something."

The third girl ate her rice without even looking up. "That's right. Mom, I'm busy! Dad, will you come with me tomorrow?"

"Well, I don't think I can help much with building the house. I'll take you with me tomorrow."

"Don't bring Hu Rui with you. He's timid and a burden."

Lu Qiniang was so angry that she scolded her, "How can you talk like that?"

Hu Rui waved his hands repeatedly, "I'm not going, I'm not going."

He almost vomited on horseback today, and now his thighs are sore from being rubbed.

"I'm being honest. He still needs practice." San Ya said carelessly, "I have something important to do right now. I'll teach him a lesson when I have some free time."

As she spoke, she shook her head and said, "Hu Rui, you can't do this. I don't have any weak soldiers under my command."

Hu Rui immediately said in a flattering manner: "Sister, I can do it. Give me some more time, I will definitely be able to do it!"

"Well, you should work harder. You can't think that just because you've known me for a long time, you have a higher status. I'm ranked according to my ability."

Hu Rui nodded repeatedly.

Lu Qiniang: “…”

These two people, one dares to pretend and the other dares to flatter.

Everyone was laughing so hard.

The next day, Xiao Yan took San Ya out as expected.

Day three, day four...

Both.

Lu Qi's mother couldn't help but ask Xiao Yan, "Why are you two hiding this from me?"

Xiao Yan smiled and said, "You'll know soon."

Lu Qiniang rolled her eyes at him and said, "You're just spoiling her. Mainly because I'm worried. This Qiongzhou isn't the capital. Are you two still going to hide in the woods?"

"It's okay, we found a Li person to lead the way."

"No, it's such a big place, how can you two escape? Did you go to the forest to look for gold ingots?"