The northwest is in trouble. The disaster can only be completely resolved if the army and civilians there survive this year and until food arrives next year. At least we have to wait until the snow melts in the northwest next year and wild vegetables emerge to alleviate the problem slightly. The food gap is huge.

"Mu Qing, you and your men should load all the grain that you brought back last year onto the truck. We will set off early tomorrow morning. Go and prepare first. Tonight will be a sleepless night." After Chen Qiu gave his instructions, Mu Qing took his men there.

"Xing'er, go with Nanny Sun and lock up all the unused courtyards in the mansion." Then Xing'er and Nanny Sun went out. There was nothing big happening in the inner courtyard, but it was complicated and difficult to take care of. Chen Qiu could only give a general idea of the direction.

"You are all the housekeepers in the mansion. While the Duke and I are away, you must keep a close eye on your subordinates. If anyone tries to do something dirty while we're away, don't blame me for turning my back on them." Chen Qiu glanced at the group of people standing in front of him.

"That's all for now. You guys go ahead. Mingyue Jin'er, come in and help me pack some things. Everyone else can go first." Chen Qiu stood up and walked into the house, Mingyue Jin'er followed closely behind him.

"Madam, what happened in the northwest?" Mingyue asked as soon as she entered the room. She knew something must have happened, otherwise she wouldn't be so anxious.

"The Northwest has suffered a locust plague, and all the crops that grew have been eaten up. The Northwest's own grain reserves can hold out for a while, but with so many people, it will take at least until next year for the grain to come out to sustain them for a whole year. The grain Mingyue harvested last year was not enough." Chen Qiu sat down and talked to Mingyue Xing'er.

"Madam, you forgot that when Prince Zhennan left last year, the Duke asked him to help collect grain. Prince Zhennan's territory has two harvests a year, and the grain output is very high. We should be able to collect a lot of grain." Mingyue remembered that Ye Chen asked Lu Chenyuan to collect grain.

"Let's discuss this after my husband comes back. Jin'er, help me pack my clothes. Just take the tight clothes I wore before I got married. Tight clothes are more convenient when you go out. Don't take any hairpins or rings. Just take two hairbands. And the same goes for my husband's. Just take two sets of clothes for me. My husband can take two more sets so that I can have my own clothes to wear before I get married when I return to the northwest." Chen Qiu asked Xing'er to help her pack her valuables. She would leave tomorrow. She had to talk to the old Duke and Madam Xiao.

As soon as I went out, I saw Ye Chen coming back in a hurry. "Qiu'er," Ye Chen called Chen Qiu, and Chen Qiu went to greet him, "Husband, let's go see An An together." The two walked to the next door together.

When they arrived next to Qiuchen Courtyard, they heard An An crying, "What's wrong? Oh, An An, what's wrong? Come here, let your mother hug you." Chen Qiu took An An from Aunt Hua's arms, and An An really stopped crying in Chen Qiu's arms.

Lan Yu was also here, feeling the old Duke's pulse. He also heard what Nanny Hua said when she came back, "Are you leaving tomorrow?"

Chen Qiu and Ye Chen looked at each other and nodded, "Grandfather and grandmother, my husband is going to suppress the disaster and I must stay with him. I am familiar with the northwest, where bandits gather. The Tatars still come to disturb us from time to time. I must follow him and protect him. The house and An An will be left to you and grandmother."

"Well, my old bones are strong enough now, and I dare to lead troops to fight, so you can go without worry. You can leave Mu Qing here, and leave the defense of the mansion to Mu Qing and me. You did the right thing to lock up the unused yard in the mansion. Everything should be kept simple during special times." The old Duke adjusted his clothes, as if everything was under control.

"Well, you did the right thing. Don't worry about the mansion. Although we are old, we can still look after the house. In my opinion, we should reduce the number of people in the mansion. Too many idle people can easily cause trouble. Except for the people in the kitchen, orchard, laundry yard and Qiuchen Courtyard, send the others away." Madam Xiao took An An from Chen Qiu's arms and patted An An to coax him to sleep.

"Yes, there are a lot of idle people in the mansion now, plus there are the fifty Black Cloud Guards that my husband asked the emperor for. They cannot be reduced. They are more important when we are not here. There are not enough servants in the mansion who do the rough work and are indentured to work, so we have to keep ten more. Grandmother, this is what I think. Each person who wants to leave can get an extra three months' salary, plus ten kilograms of rice. This will fulfill the relationship between master and servant. What do you think?" Ye Chen pulled Chen Qiu to sit down.

"Well, that's fine. While you're away, we'll close the door and refuse visitors. You can hand over the management of the mansion to Nanny Sun, which means to me. Don't worry, nothing will go wrong when you come back." Madam Xiao asked the wet nurse to carry An An into the inner room to sleep. Children need to take a nap after more than an hour.

"I will discuss the matters of the outer courtyard with the housekeeper. Grandfather will have to bear the responsibilities when we are not around. I will also make arrangements for the servants in the mansion. Grandfather is right. It is better to keep things simple during special times." Ye Chen took over Chen Qiu's words. Chen Qiu thought for a while and said to Lan Yu on the side.

"Lan Yu, I want to ask you not to go back to Ye Nan for the time being. I have old and young people in my family, and Mingyue is pregnant, so I want to ask you to help me take care of them. I will take Xiao Hang away. People are likely to die in disaster-stricken areas, and I am afraid of plague, so I have to take him with me." Chen Qiu looked at Lan Yu. This was a bit too much to ask, but she was too busy to do anything else, so she had to make arrangements for the family before she could feel at ease.

Lan Yu lowered his head and thought for a moment, "Well, I understand. I will wait for you to come back before returning to Ye Nan."

Chen Qiu and Ye Chen cannot repay Lan Yu's help with just a simple thank you now. It is still the same if they don't express their gratitude for the great favor and keep it in their hearts for the future.

After arranging the trivial matters in the mansion and having the last meal of the day together as a family, Ye Chen and Shen Qiu went back to work. Shen Qiu, Xing'er, Mingyue, and Jin'er took out the indentures of the servants to be sent away in the house, and said, "Xing'er, you should leave a day later. After you have arranged for these people to leave, ride on horseback to catch up with us. If there is any unfinished handover, please hand it over to Nanny Sun."

Ye Chen went to the study. "Black Hawk and Pang Hu, you two go to Binzhou together. Lu Chenyuan wrote to me saying that he had collected 20,000 dan of grain. You two go together. This is the letter I wrote to Lu Chenyuan. You go on horseback. Lu Chenyuan will take care of the guards, horses, and carts for transporting the grain."

"You can reach Binzhou in about seven to eight days by horseback, so I want you to start counting from tomorrow and leave Binzhou for the northwest in half a month. 20,000 dan of grain will be shipped to the northwest in batches."

"It's just summer now, and the crops haven't grown yet. The people still have surplus grain from last year. But it will be different once autumn comes. That's when the food shortage will peak. I will take the title of second-rank governor and bring grain over first to calm the people. When the people see that there is food, they won't riot, and the northwest will be stable." Ye Chen settled Pang Hu and Black Hawk, and the two went back to pack their bags. Ye Chen then returned to Qiuchen Courtyard.