Chapter 167
As the year draws to a close, the City Lord's Mansion is busy with various financial calculations. However, since there is no war in Yichun, it is also quite free. One thing is certain: the members of the City Lord's Mansion can finally report for duty on time.
Yaoxi's most intuitive feeling is that she sees her mother more often every day. She is very satisfied with this and is very happy.
It is normal for children to sleep a lot, nine to ten hours at night and two or three naps during the day. They grow up while sleeping.
Look, little Yao Xi just woke up, was held and washed, and then went to find her mother happily.
She went to the bedroom first, but didn't find her. She only saw her uncle sleeping soundly. Then she went to the study and found her mother reading there. She ran in happily, "Mom——"
The little girl's mouth seemed to be filled with honey, and her calls to people were sweet and sweet. In her mother's words, being called and approached by such a beautiful three-headed little cutie would make anyone's heart melt.
"Well, are you awake?" Yao Chunnuan was applying the facial mask that she had asked Ba Yuan to develop, so she didn't get up but answered casually.
"Yeah, Xiaoxi is awake." As he spoke, the little guy used his hands and feet to climb onto the kang.
Yao Chunnuan didn't help her. She covered the study with blankets and edged the corners to protect the little girl from getting hurt. The little girl was a precocious child. Because this year was a leap year, she was almost a year old and could express herself, although her pronunciation was sometimes unclear.
The little guy climbed onto the kang with great effort using the small stool, then naturally pulled away one of her hands and lay down beside her intimately, "Mom, oh, I'll tell you a secret."
"What secret?"
Little Yao Xi leaned in closer and said, "Uncle's mouth is long—it's caused by long hair! It's made him ugly..."
Yao Chunnuan lowered her head and said, "Baby, that's not hair, that's beard."
"Oh, what do you mean by a beard duck?" Aren't they hair? They're all black and individual, just like hair. Little Yao Xi tilted her head, her big eyes filled with confusion.
How could she explain this so she could understand? "The hair grows on the head, and the beard grows around the mouth and chin. The hair is very long, and the beard is very short."
"A short beard?" Little Yao Xi asked for confirmation.
"Yes." Her daughter was very good at grasping the key points, so what she said was correct.
"That uncle has a lot of beards on his legs!" The little man gestured and told her such a big secret.
Yao Chunnuan: ...
Baby, that's not a beard, that's leg hair!
It took some time for Yao Chunnuan to patiently explain to the little guy the differences between hair, beard, and leg hair.
The little guy is very good at drawing inferences from one example, "Then I have a chicken, and it grows on my hands. Is it a four-handed duck?"
"right!"
After receiving the affirmation, the little guy smiled happily and clapped his hands.
"Master, she went to the bedroom to look for you just now. She probably saw that the son-in-law was still asleep." Luo Suyi explained softly.
Yao Chunnuan nodded. Qi Yingshan had been very busy recently and he finally had a good rest today. He slept so soundly that he didn't even notice the little guy running in.
With the Lunar New Year approaching, there were many happy events. Weddings were especially numerous, and Yao Chunnuan had to attend three of them, all of which she couldn't refuse. At most of the weddings she was invited to, she showed up with her gifts but didn't attend. Instead, someone from the Yao family would attend, either her grandfather, or her father or mother. It all depended on the circumstances; whoever was suitable could attend. The people hosting the weddings knew she was busy, and since the guests were all her closest relatives, they didn't complain.
Before the end of the Yichun New Year, the biggest happy event was the city lord's marriage. His marriage was full of twists and turns, but it finally had a happy ending. It can be said that good things come to those who wait.
When the city lord got married, he held a three-day banquet, which gave the Huo family enough face and was also a way to share the joy with the people.
This year, when calculating the income of each workshop, after discussion, the top management unanimously agreed to take 20% of it to distribute benefits to members of the City Lord's Mansion and generals at all levels in the army. The benefits will decrease from high to low.
The City Lord naturally belongs to the first echelon, Yao Chunnuan, Yu Chen, Wu Zongguan, Zhu Dashu and others belong to the second echelon, Meng Yi, Zhou Yushu, Ji Ze, Xu Chong and others belong to the third echelon...
Yao Chunnuan, who belonged to the second echelon, received generous benefits, and the benefits received by the city lord were enough for him to hold a grand wedding.
Marshal Zhu received his first benefit since joining the group. When he saw the long list of names on the gift list, he couldn't stop smiling.
Xing Changfeng, Yao Chunnuan, and the others were truly good businesspeople. He had previously worried that the City Lord's Mansion would target him when finances were tight. But after joining the team and observing them for a while, he felt reassured and calmed down. It's no exaggeration to say that their workshop was raking in a fortune daily; they were truly skilled at making money.
Essential oil workshops, salt processing workshops, pharmaceutical factories, arsenals, garment factories, wineries, jewelry stores...
Take the Yichun Winery for example. No one knows how their wine is brewed, but every jar is incredibly clear, without a trace of turbidity or sourness, and comes in a variety of alcohol levels...
There are all kinds of liquors in all different strengths, and they're incredibly expensive. But the Chinese love Yichun liquor so much that demand outstrips supply, and no matter how much is shipped out, it's consumed. Of course, he also loves the fine wines produced by the Yichun Distillery, but his favorite is the 38-proof purple rice wine, which is incredibly sweet and aromatic.
These people were incredibly clever. Every day, countless products were produced from these workshops, then regularly loaded onto trucks and ships and shipped to various locations. From there, the gold and silver brought back from various locations filled ship after ship.
Not to mention their own pig farms, cattle farms, and sheep farms... After these animals reach maturity, they are never sold to other places and are all produced and sold by themselves.
The animal husbandry industry is also flourishing in Yichun. As long as the people are willing to engage in animal husbandry, the land will be approved quickly and all procedures will be very smooth and quick.
Marshal Zhu was extremely glad that he had joined the group. If things continued to develop like this, one day, Xing Changfeng, Yao Chunnuan and others would be able to buy the entire Daliang.
Just after receiving the benefits from the City Lord's Mansion, Marshal Zhu waved his hand and invited the opera troupe. He must invite the opera troupe! The Havoc in Heaven and the Donghai Birthday Celebration must be performed for him!
Zhu Dashuai hummed "Brother" while drinking a little wine, feeling that this was the real life now. In the past, he was always nervous when hiring a troupe. Now, even if he invited ten or eight people at once, he was as calm as a rock. After all, when he watched the show, even if the sky fell, there were Xing Changfeng, Yao Chunnuan and others to support him. What was he afraid of?
The city lord's wedding was grand. Not only the man's side, but the woman's side also sent an army of 3,000 soldiers to send off the bride.
The 3,000 soldiers who were sent to the wedding were arranged to stay in the barracks of the Yichun military settlement. The barracks there were the closest to the main urban area and the area was large. If they were all arranged to stay in the city, it would be quite difficult.
After these 3,000 Huo family soldiers were temporarily settled in the Yichun military settlement, they set out on the move.
The two sides were already allies, and the people of the Yichun Corps didn't say anything when they saw the other side moving around. Some active soldiers even tried to get close to them in a familiar way.
Huo Bing took his men for a walk and found that the military settlement was still very lively. Before they knew it, they had arrived at the military dependents area.
"This military area is quite good. How come so much space has suddenly become available for these new refugees to live in?" The accompanying soldiers expressed their confusion.
In the Yichun military settlement, as the administrative residence was transferred from the General's Mansion in the Yichun military settlement to the City Lord's Mansion in the main city of Yichun, many able-bodied families moved from the military settlement to the city.
Their original houses in the military settlements were built uniformly, then exchanged for them using work points or merit points. These military settlement houses were the equivalent of later generations' public housing. After their relocation, they were repossessed by the City Lord's Mansion, with appropriate material compensation, either converted into gold, silver, grain, or building materials like bricks, tiles, and timber. After all, they needed new housing after moving out of the military settlements, either by buying or building, and the converted items could be put to good use. Everyone readily accepted this approach.
These vacant military housing units are currently being used to house newly arrived refugees. The refugees, young and old, who have been allocated housing, are practically laughing their heads off. If you were to ask them now if they want to return to their hometowns, they'd probably just roll up their sleeves and start beating you up. What's the point of returning?!
At this moment, Huo Bing and his men saw a group of young soldiers pulling several carts of supplies back. As soon as they came back, they shouted loudly, "Is anyone there? Come and help!"
"Yes, please come and help me. This car is too full and I can't push it anymore!"
"Gather together, gather together, come on, get ready to distribute New Year's benefits!"
After the truckloads of supplies were brought back, the logistics managers of the Yichun Corps began distributing the supplies on the spot.
"One sweater per person, don't wear it next to your skin! It will prick your skin. Put on an inner layer first, then the sweater!"
In order to save yarn, the sweaters are made into a sweetheart neck vest style and are only available in three sizes: large, medium and small. The medium size is the most common, while the large and small sizes are less common.
"This sweater is so nice." The soldiers who received the sweaters were all smiling happily, as if it was New Year's Day.
Seeing that the sweaters had been distributed, Brother Yao hurriedly said, "The sweaters have been distributed, but don't leave yet! There's still charcoal in the back! Everyone, hurry up and help distribute it!"
The soldiers laughed, "Alright, Manager Yao, don't worry, we won't leave!"
Because of the ample charcoal supply, they never felt cold while standing guard in the snow, no matter how strong the wind and snow. A metal kettle perched on the charcoal basin provided a daily supply of hot water. Some soldiers who had been transferred from the Yichun camp reflected with satisfaction that, in all their years of service there, this was the first winter they had ever experienced so comfortably.
Huo Bing and others watched from the side. Ordinary soldiers were given sweaters, while officers above the rank of small leaders were given down-blended jackets or fur coats.
"Hiss, Major General, our son-in-law is truly generous." Xing Changfeng currently commands two armies, with perhaps 120,000 to 130,000 soldiers under his command. Now that everyone has a winter coat to keep warm, it's quite a generous gesture.
"Yes, is our son-in-law raising soldiers? Is he raising his son?" Keeping all the soldiers well fed and clothed is no easy task. Think about the soldiers under his command. Many of them don't even have warm winter clothes to wear. What are they sewing inside? Straw buns, kapok balls, etc., which are not warm enough to wear.
Huo Bing and his men were right. Ensuring that all his soldiers were well fed and clothed was no easy task. Yao Chunnuan and the others had worked incredibly hard to distribute this benefit. The main issue was the scarcity of raw materials; even with money, they couldn't buy more or better materials. Even her caravans plundering across the land had caused prices to rise.
"It's so happy to be a soldier in Yichun."
On Huo Bing's side, a soldier muttered, "Good boy, I finally know how Huining and Songhua Prefecture surrendered."
Who doesn't want a good life? Without comparison, there's no harm. From the soldiers of the Yichun Corps to the common people, their living standards are significantly higher than their peers. As long as their subordinates and the areas under their jurisdiction can continue to live like this, future sieges will be easy.
Just imagine, whichever capital city their brother-in-law led his troops to, wouldn't the people there secretly look forward to it? This wasn't to attack and humiliate them, it was clearly to liberate them.
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