If someone had told Miao Wan in the past that working too hard was not good, she would definitely have slapped them in the face, punched, kicked, pulled their hair and scratched them to death.
If everyone is not diligent, how can Miao Shiren develop so many people who work for nothing... ahem, so many elders!
If Miao Shiren had not been diligent, how could she have saved up hundreds of thousands of taels of silver?
Although it has shrunk a lot, at least I still made some money.
There was no new house built on the place where the Yu family originally lived. There were only several tents set up in a mess. Now it was where all the carpenters worked.
The old man of the Lin family was reluctant to leave his original house and still lived in the southern area, but the Yu family and the Yang family also lived far away. Now they have agreed with the Zhang family to build houses closer to each other to symbolize mutual help and support.
When Miao Wan and Yu Daqiang came closer, the men who had done something wrong saw Miao Wan and knelt down awkwardly, opening and closing their mouths but unable to utter a word.
What to say?
Please apologize. We are all hard-working people who haven't even earned our own work points. No one can afford to compensate.
Don't apologize, they really messed up a lot.
Maybe it was because he was tired from working all night, or because he felt guilty and scared, but his eyes were red and he looked desperate, as if he was at the end of his rope. It made Miao Wan's heart ache.
She quickly moved away and looked at Yu Daqiang, "Brother Yu, help them up quickly. We shouldn't keep kneeling around. I'm still young, it will shorten my lifespan."
Yu Daqiang: “…”
He and Yu Ada, who also had a bitter face, pulled up more than a dozen men.
Miao Wan was the first to speak and comfort him, "It's okay, it's okay. It's made according to the size of the loom. At worst, we can make more looms and sell them later. Let me take a look first."
Yu Ada was so anxious that blisters appeared on the corners of his lips. Although Xining Town had a large population, there were probably only a few hundred households that could afford a loom. The other families either had insufficient population and could not earn enough work points, or had other ways to make a living.
Even in the countryside, there were people who wanted them, but everyone was diligent at the beginning, and basically all those who could use the looms were sent out. Otherwise, the Yu family father and son would not have failed to arrange specific work for these men.
The father and son were both very tired. They thought the other had given the other instructions, so they were so tired that they fell asleep in the tent. When they woke up, the food was ruined.
Miao Wan went over to take a look. Wow, the men from Northwest China are generally not very tall, but they are all strong and have a lot of strength, so they work efficiently.
The area behind the tent was filled with strips of planks, except for some logs that had fallen together.
Most of them had even had their rough edges smoothed out, and only a small portion had not yet been ground before Yu Daqiang and his son stopped them.
The loom that Da Li improved was somewhat similar to the Jenny loom of later generations. The boards required were mostly of two sizes, one was about the length of an adult man's arm and the width of a palm, and the other was about two meters long and two palms wide.
It is generally rectangular, and there is a half-finished loom next to it.
Miao Wan had seen the finished looms in Qianjinlou, but had never seen a half-finished one like this.
The parts needed for the longitude and latitude lines have not been put in place yet, so one side has no edge banding, so the shape looks a little familiar.
Miao Wan touched her chin for a long time without saying anything. Seeing those men secretly wiping away tears, Yu Ada felt sorry for them and stepped forward to beg them.
"lady……"
Miao Wan quickly waved her hands, "Yu Ada, what are you doing? Just call me Awan. It's embarrassing for me to call me Madam."
Sorry to squeeze you.
Father Yu heaved a sigh of relief, a smile flashing across his eyes. "Awan, how about we make some looms and send them to the county town to sell?"
There is definitely a market in Xiping County and even Anyong County. The worst that can happen is that there will be travel expenses and the profit will be lower.
Miao Wan wondered, since the Wuliangha clan had stolen the roast duck and braised pork, would they let the loom go? They might have already started selling it.
At that time, whether the price is maliciously lowered or no one is interested, it will not be a good thing. Miao Shiren will not let himself fall into such a dilemma.
But it can be sold, and a bright smile appeared on the corner of her lips.
She remembered what the half-finished loom looked like. It was like the wooden sofas in the countryside in the early years, which were made by putting together boards of similar style and then placing various types of cushions on them.
It is not too soft, nor too hard, and has a bit of Chinese style. It was very popular in the 1980s and 1990s.
Miao Wan remembered it so clearly because the village chief’s father also had one at home.
When she and Lu Baoding were playing, she jumped around so hard... cough cough, she even collapsed the sofa, and got beaten up badly by Lu Chenxi. Since then, the two of them have disliked each other even more.
Later, the village chief's father lifted the cushion on the sofa and cut the wood to repair the sofa. Miao Wan covered her greasy and swollen butt and watched carefully, thinking that if such a thing happened again in the future, she would have to learn how to repair it for the sake of her butt.
As a result, before she had a chance to break it again, the village chief's father replaced the sofa at home with a new-generation one.
Nowadays, there are only beauty shoulders, round chairs, round stools and square stools. At most, they can be used as butt pads. You can’t lean on them or lie down on them. How can they be as comfortable as sofas!
Not only can it be sold, but it can also be used to create a feature of the commercial street. After all, the merchants pay for it, so it can be considered as sold.
Hahaha... She hadn't really thought about the sofa at first, she said that being diligent will never go wrong!
Miao Wan said happily to Yu's father, "Your idea is good, but we won't sell the loom. Let's sell something newer and more useful. It will definitely be worth more than the loom in the future."
Only weavers know how to use a loom, but a sofa is a good thing that everyone likes, regardless of the gap between rich and poor.
Father Yu breathed a sigh of relief. "Then what about the work points for these apprentices..."
"This is because everyone wants to move into the new house as soon as possible. Being diligent is not a bad thing. It still counts as full marks. We will also select a few team leaders from the apprentices and assign them fixed tasks in advance every day. We just need to pay attention to the balance between work and rest."
The dozen or so men were stunned for a moment, then overjoyed and wanted to kowtow to Miao Wan. The garrison commander's wife was really kind-hearted. She didn't pursue the matter even though they had destroyed hundreds of beams. She was simply a living Bodhisattva.
Miao Wan spoke first, "You haven't slept all night, have you? Hurry up and get breakfast. There are new flavors of buns today. If you go too late, they will be gone."
A dozen men stood up again after kneeling, thanked Miao Wan profusely, and then quickly headed towards the stove shed.
I was really hungry after working all night. I was too nervous to notice it before, but now I feel it. I am so hungry that I can sing a big opera.
Yu Daqiang was still a little worried. "Even if we can sell these, we won't be able to get that many beams in a short time. What will we do with these hundreds of houses?"
Miao Wan was puzzled. "Laomiao Mountain is so big, can't we find a few hundred more suitable logs?"
Yu's father explained, "The main reason is that we have too many houses to build in Xining Town this time. In the southern district alone, there are 25 households in a row, two rows in a lane, and ten lanes in total. The main house will need 500 beams, but the larger courtyards have seven houses, and the smaller courtyards will need beams for at least three houses. This does not include the other houses that are being built sporadically."
Yu Daqiang followed suit, saying, "There's only so much wood you can chop down at once on the outskirts of Lao Miao Mountain. If you chop too much, you won't be able to keep up. It's one thing not to be able to protect yourself from the wind, but wild animals will easily come out and hurt you."
The father and son explained it to Miao Wan in detail, and she finally understood that they could not go deeper into Lao Miao Mountain, as the Gubei Army had set a limit for it.
The further you go in, the more wild animals there are. Xining Town has its current special status because it is close to Northern Mongolia and Western Tibet, and Lao Miao Mountain is a natural barrier.
If too much logging is done, not only will wild animals injure people, but if too many wild animals are killed, it will be much easier for the Western Tibetans or even the Northern Mongols to sneak in to spy on the Northern Army.
Miao Wan was also a little worried. What should she do?
She also had to rebuild the commercial street, which also required a lot of beams.
Yu's father thought about it carefully and suggested uncertainly, "Actually, Xiping County and even Anyong County are close to the mountains. They have much more abundant timber there than we do here. That's why I suggested selling looms there so we can exchange them for logs later."
Miao Wan knew what Yu's father was worried about. The road to Xiping County was relatively peaceful, but from Xiping County to Anyong County, one had to go around the Goddess Peak. Although it was not close, bandits appeared more frequently, and one would need a very powerful escort agency and guard team to dare to pass through there.
"Then I'll go back and talk to my husband and see if we can arrange for the soldiers of the Gubei Army to go with us." Miao Wan couldn't think of a solution, so of course she had to arrange it for Qiao Bailao.
The Yu family father and son had no choice. They had never even been to Xiping County. The other carpenters had just given them suggestions one after another, which were not solutions at all.
Since Miao Wan thought of the sofa, her thoughts began to expand.
In fact, she had been dissatisfied with the kang cabinet for a long time. All the clothes and other things had to be folded in it, which made it difficult to find things and there were creases when she took them out.
Since I'm going out, I might as well bring back more wood. Things like wardrobes and clothes hangers can also be brought back, which will make life much more convenient.
And since we already have wardrobes, what else can we do without display cabinets? And Master Gu can also make frosted glass... so this thing is indispensable for the commercial street.
Miao Wan couldn't wait to go back when she thought of this, and she didn't forget to ask Yu Daqiang to follow her. "Come back to the garrison with me. These woods are not going to be useful if they are left there. The other woods that need to be put up should be put up. Don't make looms with the cut wood. I will give you new patterns. Once they are all finished, send them to the garrison warehouse for me."
Yu Daqiang nodded happily, "Awan, leave it to me!"
Miao Wanke hasn't come up with new blueprints for a long time, and every time she comes up with new blueprints, the Yu family can make a lot of money.
The Yu family's house was also burned down this time, causing considerable losses. They were also thinking of earning more money or work points to buy a bigger house.
After returning, Miao Wan caught Qiao Rui from the game of Eagle Catches Chicken.
When Qiao Rui was taken away, the children were stunned for a moment and then terrified.
"The eagle has been captured!"
"Huh? What about the chicken?"
"Auntie! Auntie! Leave the eagle here! The chicks haven't been caught yet!"
"Auntie, please spare the eagle! Mother Hen is meaningless without the eagle!"
Miao Wan: “…” Why are you guys so dramatic every day?
Lian Taotao twisted his body and ran towards Miao Wan with unsteady steps, trying to hug Miao Wan's legs, but unfortunately he didn't judge the distance correctly and fell directly to the ground.
Even so, Taotao still held up his chubby face with his hands and said, "Awan! Ugly! I want an eagle!"
Miao Wan took a deep breath and turned to look at Yu Daqiang, "Brother Yu, you're not in a hurry, are you?"
Yu Daqiang felt a chill on the back of his neck, and along with Qiao Rui, who also sensed the murderous intent, his head was shaking like a rattle.
Miao Wan smiled, very good.
So, when Miao Wan put her hands together like a lady... her left hand on her chest, level with her tied right arm, and walked slowly towards the inner courtyard with the posture of a lady from a wealthy family, the naughty children in the courtyard who were shouting and yelling all calmed down with tears in their eyes.
Everyone got slapped once, and Qiao Aqian was the most successful, getting slapped twice.
Taotao hugged Aunt Geng who came to rescue her, and cried while covering her butt. She didn't dare to cry loudly because the louder the slap was, the louder it was. Her butt hurt so much!
Qiao Rui, who was standing behind Miao Wan, was quieter than ever before, showing a bit of the virtuousness of a young lady from a wealthy family in the capital. After entering the study, she quickly sat down at the desk, looked up at her sister-in-law obediently, and listened to her instructions.
He who knows the times is a hero. It seems that this dish of fried pork has been simmered on low heat for too long. Now it is cooked to the right temperature. She must not give her sister-in-law the chance to stew another pot today.
After sending Yu Daqiang away and letting Qiao Rui "sneak" away, when Qiao Ruichen came back, he saw Miao Wan leaning against the kang table with a satisfied look on her face, as if... she had just eaten something very tonic.
Qiao Ruichen was a little curious, "What makes Awan so happy?"
Miao Wan looked up and saw him, smiling and sighing, "Oh, no wonder so many young ladies like rainy days. Beating naughty kids is really so relaxing."
Children need to be taught well. They should not do manual labor if possible. It is better to teach students in accordance with their aptitude.
But there are always some children who are bear-like. For the sake of her own mammary glands, Miao Wan tried it for the first time, and she finally experienced the joy of being a mother.
Qiao Ruichen: “…”
He glanced outside. It was nearing dusk and the sky looked like it was on fire. Patches of red clouds covered the town of Xining, casting a crimson hue on it. There was no sign of rain at all.
He held back his laughter. No wonder he didn't see his sister and daughter. It seemed that he was beaten. He was also beaten by his grandfather when he was a child.
He is not always so sensible. At this time, the children will not complain to their parents, but will just sigh to each other. The theme is probably that today was too bad/not as good as today, and they will do better next time.
Therefore, although he felt sorry for his daughter being beaten, Qiao Ruichen nodded in agreement with his wife, "It's just that Xiaorui and Taotao are getting older, and they need to save face. Next time, wait until they get on the kang and take off their clothes before spanking them."
That would feel better, my grandpa said.
Miao Wan's eyes were complicated. "...I didn't hit Xiao Rui. Your daughter is very delicate. I only slapped her twice. I didn't even use much strength, and she came over to Aunt Geng crying."
It was the first time he beat the child, and she was wondering if she had been too harsh. She hadn't expected her husband to be a tough guy, so—
"From now on, I'll be the one to beat the kids. My husband, you play the good cop. Let's stick to the strict mother and kind father style in our family."
Qiao Ruichen didn't know whether to laugh or cry, "Okay, I heard from A Dun that you were looking for me?"
Oh, right.
Miao Wan thought of something important and sat up straight from the embrace she had fallen into. "I'd like to ask if we can arrange for one team... no, two teams of soldiers to go to Anyong County to buy some timber. We're running low on beams in our town, and we need to make some other things. I heard Anyong County is close to the interior, so there's plenty of timber there."
Qiao Ruichen shook his head slightly. "The Gubei Army needs to guard the northwest and cannot enter the pass without an imperial edict. Anyong County is too close to the pass, which is guarded by the vassal soldiers. If the soldiers of the Gubei Army go there and are discovered and reported, they will probably be impeached."
Miao Wan frowned, "What should we do? We can't cut down any more timber on Lao Miao Mountain. The wind and sand are strong here, and there's too much timber available outside Lao Miao Mountain."
Qiao Ruichen pondered for a moment, "Then tomorrow morning I'll go ask the soldiers on duty in the town. The Gubei Army rotates battalions every three years, and the West Battalion just changed last year. They should be more familiar with the county town and know which escort agency has more connections. It would be safer to let the escort agency handle this matter."
That's all we can do.
However, when Miao Wan saw the dark circles under Qiao Ruichen's eyes, she felt a little sorry for him as he had been running back and forth between places these days and couldn't even sleep well. She went to the door and asked Adun to bring in a basin of hot water.
"Husband, are you cold after all this rush? Soak your feet first and have a good sleep. I'll go to the stove shed and ask tomorrow morning. You go about your business. If you're not busy, just sleep a little longer."
A faint smile flashed in Qiao Ruichen's eyes. He reached out and hugged his wife in his arms, buried his head in her neck and took a deep breath.
Recently, Miao Wan made a floral dew from a small purple flower grown in the garrison's garden to repel mosquitoes. The scent was tranquil and elegant, and it made people relax instantly.
"Awan, you are getting better and better to me." Qiao Ruichen kissed her neck gently, and felt the beating of the meridians under his lips suddenly become disordered. The sweetness and expectation in his heart were like slowly rising bubbles, almost bursting.
"Can I understand that Awan is a little fond of me now?"
Miao Wan felt a little itchy and her body felt a little soft after being kissed by him. She vaguely thought that some websites seemed to say that the neck was also sensitive. Qiao Bailao was really getting better and better at it.
She pushed his head with her left hand and laughed because of the itch.
But don't even think about making her shy. She rarely feels shy and is used to being honest. Now her life is comfortable and she likes to speak her mind directly.
"It's not just a little bit, I've been missing you forever." Miao Wan imitated the crispness of people from the Northeast. After saying this, she remembered a joke she had seen and laughed out loud, "Just like a mouse loves lard, tiger oil!"
Qiao Ruichen didn't know why his wife's confession could make him laugh so hard. He shook his head, feeling both amused and helpless, and supported Miao Wan to prevent her from touching his injured arm.
He thought, everyone knows the story of the mouse stealing oil, so it must be a deep love, right?
That's great. He kissed Miao Wan with a warm feeling on his cheeks, a little warmth rising from the soles of his feet. "Me too. I love Awan like a mouse loves oil."
Miao Wan: “…”
Her mother-in-law was not around, and she was trembling in her heart for her. The flirting between the couple was really weird.
However, after expressing their feelings to each other, the sweetness between the couple reached a new level. Qiao Ruichen slept a little longer on the kang because of his wife's care.
He has indeed been very tired recently. He is tired from running around physically and dealing with those old foxes in the county town.
Miao Wanze got up early in the morning. Qiao Rui and Taotao were quite grumpy last night and slept with Aunt Geng. She went to ask Aunt Geng, "Did Taotao cry last night?"
Ever since the accident happened in the town, Taotao has become more and more attached to her at night. No one can coax him. It’s okay if he doesn’t wake up in the middle of the night, but when he wakes up and doesn’t see Miao Wan, he starts crying non-stop.
Miao Wan knew that Taotao was frightened, so she always took Taotao to sleep. This is also one of the reasons why Qiao Ruichen rarely eats meat.
Aunt Geng laughed so hard, "I didn't cry, but I did get a lot of tears, you see..."
Miao Wan glanced into the kitchen and saw a washed mattress on the pile of firewood. It must have been peed on.
"I'm glad you didn't cry. I didn't expect that a few slaps would make your fear go away." Miao Wan chuckled. In this way, beating up a naughty child is not completely without benefits.
Aunt Geng glared at her. She now treated Miao Wan like her own daughter and dared to speak more. "Taotao is very smart. You have to give in to her. You are busy anyway. Be careful that she doesn't feel wronged."
Miao Wan pouted, "That won't work. This is her first time being someone's daughter, and it's my first time being someone's mother, so she should give in to me."
Miao Wan didn't enjoy much maternal love. Both of her biological mothers died early. In her heart, Lu Chenxi was like a mother to her.
But Lu Chenxi was also busy, so the two of them loved to quarrel and fight. Whenever this happened, Miao Wan would feel particularly at ease and feel particularly close to Lu Chenxi. She truly treated her as a family member and would have no taboos.
Miao Wan didn't know how to be a good mother. She thought it would be fine to take care of Taotao in the same way Lu Chenxi took care of her. They were the closest family in the world, and it would be nice to quarrel with each other all their lives.
Aunt Geng was choked by Miao Wan, thinking that Miao Wan was still a child, although many women were already mothers of several children at Miao Wan's age.
But Aunt Geng heard from Mrs. Geng that Miao Wan had never been taught by her elders since she was a child and was especially like a child. There was no other way except to take better care of her.
So Aunt Geng didn't say much. She coaxed Miao Wan to eat an extra egg, and then asked Uncle Geng to harness the mule cart and take her to the stove shed.
There were already quite a few people queuing up, and even the soldiers had already been served hot soup, eating the buns with satisfied looks on their faces.
Miao Wan didn't know anyone else, and when she saw Jing Zhuzi, she walked towards him.
After explaining his purpose, Jing Zhuzi paused and said, "As for reliable escort agencies, there are some in the county town. However, if there are a lot of things to transport at this time, it will probably take a lot of people. I have to ask in advance."
If there were only a few people needed, Jing Zhuzi would definitely arrange them immediately, but if there were too many things to transport, he wouldn't dare to take on too much.
Jingwen rolled his eyes at him, slowly swallowed the bun, and then stepped forward to greet Miao Wan respectfully.
"Madam, I have a fellow villager who works at the Tiger General Escort Agency in the county town. He has a group of skilled men under him, and sometimes merchants hire them to transport goods in and out of the customs.
If you need it, I can invite him over for you. Even if there aren't enough people, he knows a lot of fellow escorts from his hometown who can work with him."
Jing Zhuzi's eyes widened. "Fellow countryman? What fellow countryman do you have? How come I don't know them?"
This is unreasonable!
He and Jingwen have been fighting since they were young. One is brave and loyal, and the other is smart. They are both surrounded by many fellow villagers.
These younger brothers will help them do a series of things that the older brothers would not be ashamed to do, including but not limited to shouting, pushing, cheering, facilitating accidents, and reporting to parents.
When I joined the army, there were quite a few of my fellow townsmen. Some died at the border, and some were injured and returned home long ago.
How come Jing Zhuzi didn’t know that Jing Wen had other brothers in the county town?
Jing Wen snorted at him, "You think everyone is like you, only remembering the trivial things when you wore open-crotch pants. Your body has grown up, but your mind is still the same as when you were a child."
Miao Wan: “…” Good man, this guy is sarcastically calling someone an idiot, and his sarcasm is quite advanced, to the point where it would be a shame if they didn’t fight.
She quickly stepped forward to break up the fight (which hadn't started yet), "What a good relationship these two centurions have!"
They both: “…”
Miao Wan suggested, "Can we invite them over today? I'd like them to go to Anyong County. We need to transport a large amount of timber. The price isn't a problem; as long as it's reasonable, I'll accept it. The weather is getting colder, and I want the people to move into their new houses as soon as possible."
After she finished speaking, she thought for a moment and added, "When people arrive, if you two want to reminisce about your childhood, you can slowly find an open place and reminisce about it."
The soldiers: "..." They understood that the garrison's wife was worried that the two centurions would not be able to fight.
Under Miao Wan's antics, the two of them quickly stopped fighting. Jingwen immediately took the two of them and set off to the county town to ask for help, while the others went back to their posts and started working.
Before getting on the mule cart, Miao Wan reminded them, "When you two are reminiscing about your childhood, don't forget to send someone to let me know. I have many children, and I want them to learn how to have a normal childhood."
Then she could go and watch the fun and let these little brats see what it feels like to be beaten. What she experienced yesterday was just a drizzle.
Others: “…”
After Miao Wan left, Liang An and Xu Dayao and Zhou Ding, who were secretly watching the joke, held their stomachs and laughed until they almost got a stitch in the side. This garrison commander's wife was too funny and she loved to watch the fun.
"If there's a wrestling match in the army in the future, we can invite the garrison commander and his wife to watch." Zhou Ding laughed until his cheeks hurt. "Who knows, maybe his wife will enjoy it and say a few good words for us."
Liang An said something very truthful, "The most important thing is, I heard that the donation of military pay depends entirely on this lady, otherwise..."
They all looked at Jing Zhuzi.
Jing Zhuzi suddenly shuddered. Someone was plotting against him. It must be that bastard Jing Wen!
Miao Wan didn't know that these soldiers were going to rub the wood for her to see. Even though the wood problem was solved, there were still many things waiting for her.
The first thing to do is that it’s almost a month, and we need to count the goods everyone has made and select the ones to be sent to the county town for sale.
Also, the built houses must be quickly distributed to the people who have accumulated enough work points. Sooner or later, water will freeze into ice, and they cannot live in tents anymore, otherwise they will get sick from the cold.
Those who have not accumulated enough work points can borrow work points and repay them later. The soldiers in the two military camps should also receive their salaries and welfare supplies, the most important of which are warm clothes, as most of them have to take turns on duty near the snow-capped mountains.
Miao Wan took a look at the winter clothes that Qin Mao had originally prepared to distribute to the soldiers. What the hell were they? After unpacking them, the cotton inside was not only hard but also mostly black.
Miao Wan was so angry that she almost burst into curses, saying that this black-hearted bastard should go to hell and never be reborn.
The soldiers put their heads on their waistbands and used their flesh and blood to maintain peace for the people. Dying at the hands of the enemy can be considered a worthwhile sacrifice, but freezing to death and having a short life can be considered a human heart that has been eaten by beasts.
If the child hadn't been there, she would have definitely done something like drawing a circle and lighting a candle to curse Qin Mao to die a miserable death.
Fortunately, all the ducks from the county town had been transported to the Zhang family's newly built duck house, which was next to the unnamed river. Yang hired several strong women to raise the ducks together, and the ducks were well-fed and had plenty of duck down.
The grain and cotton from Xiyong County were also transported here, and the three warehouses received by the garrison were filled to the brim. After Miao Wan had hurriedly thrown away the black cotton and the easily torn cloth, she felt much more at ease.
The clerk from the Cangcao Division secretly told her that the warehouse was not so full before, but every time something was delivered from Xiyong County, the items in the warehouse would be taken away after a short while.
Miao Wan guessed that Qin Mao probably sold it, gave part of it to Chen Sixu, and embezzled part of it for himself. The more she thought about it, the more she wanted to do something.
Holding back her anger, Miao Wan quickly arranged to make the cotton-padded clothes first.
The common people wanted to earn enough work points as quickly as possible so that they could move into a new house. They could also continue to earn work points to exchange for winter supplies, so they were not too worried about not being able to survive the winter.
Life in winter in previous years was not as good as it is now. Even if every household worked hard, there was no place to exchange food.
Sun and Ruan Jialin's wife Li were responsible for preparing duck down and cotton, respectively, while the other was responsible for teaching everyone how to use the loom to improve efficiency and weave thick cotton cloth quickly and well.
After such a long period of time, the garrison's private treasury has become full. Miao Wan roughly estimated that she could easily make 3,000 down jackets and 3,000 sets of cotton coats.
Because of the severance of ties with the Wulingha clan, other merchants in northern Mongolia either used the excuse that they did not have enough sheep, or simply refused to sell wool to Xining Town, and some even asked for exorbitant prices.
Miao Wan didn't tolerate these people's bad habits. If she didn't sell it now, there would be a time when they would beg her to buy it.
It is good enough to make a few hundred sets of sweaters and trousers at most, but if you don’t have sweaters and trousers, you can make autumn clothes and autumn trousers. Hats and gloves can be made of cotton.
But these were far from enough. There were 6,100 soldiers in the military camp, and the number of adults, children and the elderly in Xining Town who could not afford thick clothes and had to exchange them for work points totaled nearly 3,000.
Adults can still endure it, but children and the elderly cannot.
Soldiers who don’t go out to patrol the border can still hold on, but soldiers who go out to patrol the border must dress warmly.
One third is missing. The remaining cloth should be available within half a month. There is not enough cotton and duck down.
Besides, the weather is already quite cold, so it’s a problem who will send it first and who won’t.
"How about not distributing winter clothes first, and let people exchange them according to their work points, leaving some clothes for public use, and giving them to whoever goes out to patrol the border?" Miao Wan racked her brains to think of a solution. It was fine for her to make things, but this question of priority was really too difficult for her.
"But if we do that, we won't be able to distribute the public clothing, and the soldiers will definitely not feel at ease if we don't distribute winter clothing."
Qiao Ruichen pulled his wife over, feeling a little sorry for her being so busy. "Have a cup of tea first, I'll think of a solution."
In fact, he is now General Yunhui. Although this position will be replaced next year, it is okay for him to be tougher and ask the county city to purchase some military supplies.
That is, someone will definitely report this to Cheng Shao, and no one knows what the general's attitude will be at that time. Now the saint and the regent are still playing a game of chess. Although the Qiao family has been rehabilitated, he cannot leave any handle for others.
Just when the couple was worried about the lack of winter clothes, the spy who had been secretly spying in Xining Town for a long time returned to the county town and broke into the Wuliangha mansion under the cover of night.
"They are making green bricks and tiles, and looms have been distributed to almost every household. They can be exchanged for work points." The more the spy reported, the gloomier Agula's face became.
Bayin was thankful, "Fortunately, we didn't sell the looms in the county town, otherwise if people knew that the Qiao family gave them away for free, there would definitely be a commotion."
Although he followed his brother's advice and cut off ties with the Qiao family, and took advantage of what he should have taken, he had been in Xining Town for so long that he had some understanding of Miao Wan. He knew that she was not a good person, so he was still very careful in doing things.
Otherwise, he would not have asked the Wu Rouge Shop to remove the Qiao family's goods from the shelves for his own use, and only put the substitutes developed by their Wuliangha family on the shelves for sale.
Agula asked solemnly, "You didn't do anything else? How are Tiao Street and Wa City?"
The spy scratched his forehead. "The carpenter is making looms. It seems that they will soon make hundreds of looms. Xining Town can't consume them all, so they will probably take them to the county town and Anyong County to sell."
He paused, then continued, "The blacksmith is making some strange things. They look like iron cauldrons, but they don't look like iron cauldrons. I can't tell what they are, so I can only draw their appearance."
As he handed the item over, he added, "As for the tile market and the street, there was no movement initially. The soldiers have been loosening the soil these days, as if they were going to lay bricks. But it seems a large area hasn't followed the original layout of the street and the tile market, so I've drawn it up."
Agula and Bayin took the blueprint and looked at it. Because many things nowadays are made by craftsmen with apprentices or registered civilians, it is impossible to keep it completely secret. Miao Wan didn't ask anyone to keep it secret at all.
Ordinary household items are everywhere and are not afraid of being seen.
Each person is only responsible for a portion of the parts needed in the factory, and the assembled items cannot be seen from the outside.
Once the items are sent to the alkali factory, the people who assemble them are all our own people, so there is no need to worry about the possibility of secrets being leaked for at least a few years.
In addition to those common household items, there are two things that the blacksmith is currently making.
It was also an iron cauldron that looked like a pillar, with a shorter cylinder stacked on the surface, and a tube inserted on top. The tube was quite thick, and the end was in a herringbone shape with two outlets.
The second one was even stranger. It looked like two iron cauldrons put together, with a chimney growing out of the upside-down one.
As for the place where the tile market and the street were originally located, more land has been reclaimed and turned into square open spaces, and no one knows what they are used for.
Agula was feeling a little irritated. "Go back and keep an eye on it. If you discover any use for these things, whether they are useful or not, send a message back immediately."
The spy quickly agreed, "I understand."
When he went out, Su Rina came in with a cold face, "Do you two know what you are doing?"
Seeing that the atmosphere was not right, Bayin quickly stood up to smooth things over, "Auntie, don't misunderstand me, but what did you hear?"
Su Rina sneered, "Do you need to hear more? Xining Town was burned down, the Wuliangha clan broke their promise, and even stole the Qiao family's recipes to make money. Do you want to hear how harsh the rumors are? Where do you think the dignity of Northern Mongolia is?"
Agula looked at his wife expressionlessly. "Oh? I thought the Qiyan clan took half of the Wuliangha clan's property, didn't fulfill any of their promises, and didn't give Wuliangha any explanation, so they don't need dignity."
Su Rina frowned. "Abu said he would give you an explanation. Chen Zhisheng knows the military secrets of the Gubei Army and will never hand them over to the Northern Mongols. However, all the Chen clan members will be executed, and even the Queen Mother will be imprisoned. This is the explanation that Emperor Dayue promised to the Wuliangha clan."
A gula's face showed a hint of sarcasm. "Is this an explanation to the Qiyan clan? Even if it's an explanation to the Wuliangha clan, I paid half of my family wealth in exchange for it. The Qiao family didn't do what they promised us, so they owe us these things."
Su Rina was stunned, she didn't understand.
She will directly take what belongs to her, and will snatch it away if she is not given it. She will ask for it back openly if someone owes her something, and will treat it the same way if someone does not give it to her.
But Agula clearly unilaterally decided to ask the Qiao family to pay compensation and cut off their retreat. How is this different from betrayal?
For the first time, she felt that the man's face looked so strange to her.
She didn't say anything else and just turned and walked out the door.
Bayin stood up anxiously, turned around twice, and stamped his feet, "Brother, why don't you tell my sister-in-law the truth? We are doing this for the good of the Qiao family!"
Agula sighed, "What do you mean? The Qiyan clan wants to break the alliance? After all, we have Beimeng blood in our veins. If we tell Beimeng, we'll be sorry. If we don't, we'll be even more sorry for the Qiao clan. This is already the best possible situation."
The author has something to say:
Su Rina's righteous words are not for the Qiao family. She is not that good, nor that bad, but she is very useful.
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