48 Chapter 48
◎Mu Yun escorts the grain out◎
After County Magistrate Huang came, Cheng Mi received visits from two wealthy families nearby.
A man named Song Heng owned a hundred acres of land. He lived in Songzhuang Township, on the way from Zhaojia Village to Tianma Town. He was short and fat, had a mustache, wore a turban, and wore clothes that were not bright in color but had a sheen.
He came in a mule cart driven by a farmhand.
After confirming that it was this house, he stopped the car and called out, "Is anyone home?"
Cheng Mu was reading with Xiaoliu and Xiaoqi in the main room.
Song Heng got off the mule cart and saw a graceful woman coming out of the main hall. She was a beautiful lady from a wealthy family. He bowed and asked, "Is the surname here Cheng?"
Cheng Mu: "That's it."
"I am Song Heng from Songzhuang Township. I have heard that Madam Cheng's noble name has spread far and wide, and everyone respects her. I am so lucky to have the opportunity to meet your face today!"
Exaggeration. Cheng Mu said, "Mr. Song has also long been famous. Please come to the hall to talk."
Mr. Song had a frown on his face. County Magistrate Huang had also come to him. He was unsure about the appropriate donation amount, so he came mainly to get a feel for the situation.
Cheng Mi donated one thousand stones.
This year we have the most fields and the best harvest. More than 500 out of 1,000 shi are from this year.
Mr. Song was shocked and regretted coming to look for her for a moment.
With a long sigh, Mr. Song said, "There are twenty-one people in my family, and a hundred acres of land is barely enough for food. There's no way I can donate grain. Madam Cheng, would you be willing to take some with you?"
There was another person named Zheng Ce, who came from Xiaxi Village and had 80 acres of fertile land. He also came to Cheng Mu to donate grain.
County Magistrate Huang also persuaded several wealthy families with large fields in Puyang countryside, but due to the poor harvest conditions, none of them donated as much as Cheng Mi.
Together with the grain and fodder collected by the grain chiefs in various places, the total amount was 10,000 shi.
Ten thousand dan of grain and fodder are enough to feed ten thousand soldiers and twenty to thirty thousand horses for a month.
This is the achievement made by County Magistrate Huang in various townships of Puyang County. Such an achievement is also very impressive in the Yanbei region.
The next step was how to deliver the 10,000 dan of grain to the Dingyi warehouse built behind the war.
From Yanyun City to the capital, wherever the army passed was already the territory of King Yanyun, so it should be relatively safe to transport food and grass.
But County Magistrate Huang still encountered trouble. He couldn't deploy so many people.
He asked Cheng Mu to lend Mu Yun for a while, "Mu Yun is skilled and clever. Why not let Mu Yun take a thousand dan of grain to Dingcang in person?"
"No, I don't agree. Donating food is fine, but borrowing people is not."
As soon as Cheng Mu heard his suggestion, she rejected it. Mu Yun was young and not particularly good at martial arts. Most importantly, he was a girl.
Mu Yun was teaching Xiao Liu how to write in the hall. County Magistrate Huang looked at him and advised Cheng Mu, "Mu Yun can go out and gain some experience. He is a boy, you can't restrain him like a girl."
Mu Yun pretended not to hear and held Xiaoliu's hand to write the words "Heaven", "Earth" and "Man".
Cheng Mu can share her secret from the future with County Magistrate Huang, but she cannot tell him Mu Yun's secret.
He is just a girl.
Cheng Mu said, "Why not ask someone from the escort agency to escort him?" She had dealt with the escort agency in Puyang City several times. If County Magistrate Huang really needed someone, she would pay for it.
Cheng Mu's words reminded County Magistrate Huang that he could look for an escort agency.
"In that case, I'll find the escort agency." County Magistrate Huang glanced at Mu Yun, who had remained silent, and shook his head. "There's no point in calling you a bad banknote."
Although Mu Yun didn't say anything when County Magistrate Huang was around, when it was just him and Cheng Mu, he said, "Sister-in-law, I want to try my hand at escorting the grain."
Cheng Mu closed the account book and said, "It's unsafe and painful, why try it?"
Because you would rather find someone from the escort agency.
I am no worse than the people in the escort agency.
Mu Yun said, "It's a good thing that my sister-in-law donated the grain. We can't make any mistakes on the way. It's most appropriate for me to escort the grain myself."
Cheng Mu looked at him seriously, "Do you really want to go?"
Mu Yun nodded.
"Then go ahead. I'll hire a few people from the escort agency, and you take them with you."
After the deal was settled, Mu Yun began to pack his luggage.
Soon everyone knew that Mu Yun was going to escort the grain, and Qi Song met Cheng Mu alone.
"Madam Cheng, let me accompany Master Yun."
"Qi Bo..."
Qi Song is old and has poor legs and feet. How could Cheng Mu bear to let him travel so hard?
Qi Song must go to escort the grain to the Dingxian warehouse. The round trip will be charged monthly, which is not a one-day trip to the town. He doesn't know what will happen, so he has to stay by Mu Yun's side no matter what.
Cheng Mu told him that he would ask the escort agency to accompany him, and Qi Songbian said that he used to be an escort.
Since Qi Song insisted, Cheng Mu agreed.
Qi Song said he would contact them about the escort agency.
Qi Song contacted the Wuwei Escort Agency in Yanyun City. Two days later, four people from the agency arrived.
These people looked unfamiliar, and Mu Yun initially thought they were from the escort agency in Puyang City that had escorted grain for them. Unexpectedly, he heard them introduce themselves as being from the Wuwei Escort Agency.
The first person he looked at was Qi Song.
Cheng Mu said that it was Qi Bo who contacted the escort agency himself.
Mu Yun: "Uncle Qi, can you please excuse me for a moment?"
Qi Song sighed and followed Mu Yun into the distance.
After making sure that no one else could hear them, Mu Yun angrily asked, "Uncle Qi, did you contact her?"
Qi Song only said the key point, "Young Master, this trip is no different from escorting an convoy. You must be cautious."
Mu Yun asked, "Have you been in contact with her?"
Qi Song avoided answering, "Young Master, you can fight back when you come back this time. Young Master, you are already grown up and can withstand any hardship."
Mu Yun looked at him coldly. Qi Bo had been following him in Zhaojia Village for the past few years, doing a lot of heavy work. He looked much older than in previous years, and his hair was much whiter. He thought Qi Bo had completely sided with him.
"Kill them back? The boss knows I'm going to kill them. Who are you going to kill? Let me go on stage and sing the opera you wrote? Why? The boss sent you to my side, and you pretended to listen to me, but in fact you were still listening to the boss. There was no danger originally, but these people came and made it dangerous. Is my guess right?"
"No. I'm wrong." Qi Song flatly denied it.
"No? Then where did these people come from? They came from Wuwei!"
"Young Master, you still can't understand the head of the family? She arranged for me to come to your place. If you want to stay outside, she will let you stay outside. She will teach you everything you need to learn in the escort agency. Even if you abandon her, she will still not abandon you."
"She feels guilty."
"The Patriarch has no regrets."
"One day I will find out the truth about my parents' death."
Cheng Wei discovered that Mu Yun and Qi Song had a disagreement.
This was the first time she saw them like this.
Because they were leaving tomorrow, they asked Qi Song to stay for dinner. They arranged wine, food, fruits and vegetables for the four people from the escort agency, and brought a table from Zhao Datian's house. Cheng Mu raised the glass personally, asked everyone's name one by one, and asked everyone to look after their own uncle. Everyone agreed.
Mu Yun did not go to the banquet, but was packing his luggage.
Cheng Mu had already packed the luggage. Mu Yun took out the winter clothes she had put in. Cheng Mu saw them and stuffed them back into his pocket, saying, "Take them with you just in case."
"I'll be back in a month or so."
"Unexpected events happen, and a sudden drop in temperature is not impossible. Bring it with you." Cheng Mu stuffed another large silver ingot into the bag. "Money can communicate with the gods. When you go out, you must be prepared."
She was calculating that she still had to pay the four escorts ten taels of silver, when Mu Yun suddenly said, "I'm with the Shangguan Horse Farm, so I don't need these escorts. Sister-in-law, please withdraw."
"Of course not. If you encounter bandits or soldiers, these are the people who will protect your life. This is your first time traveling far away, so don't take it lightly."
Cheng Mu thought of the awkwardness between Mu Yun and Qi Song and asked, "Is it because of Uncle Qi? I asked Uncle Qi to find someone, why are you dissatisfied?"
Mu Yun's mind was in a tangle of emotions, and now wasn't the time to tell Cheng Mu, so he simply said, "I want to use the one I'm used to in Puyang City."
Cheng Mu was familiar with the Wuwei Escort Agency. In terms of strength, how could the one in Puyang City compare to Wuwei? "Why are you doing this? If you want to blame it, blame me. It was me who asked Uncle Qi to make the decision. The Wuwei Escort Agency has branches in many states in Yanbei. If anything goes wrong, we have somewhere to hide. Uncle Qi did a great job. You can't be angry with him."
"Apologize to Uncle Qi later. He's older and more experienced, and you'll need to rely on him along the way."
"Okay, our Mu Yun has grown up, take care of yourself out there."
Cheng Mu patted his shoulder and hugged him with one arm.
Mu Yun's ears felt hot and the erect hairs on his body smoothed down.
Autumn ends, and the grass withers. Frost falls, and butterflies flutter. On September 18th, Mu Yun leaves with his grain.
That day, the west wind was blowing, the leaves were falling, and everyone felt a little sad.
After walking two or three miles, Mu Yun said goodbye, "Sister-in-law, it's too far. Please go back."
Cheng Mu wanted to cry. She had been with Mu Yun since she came here. He was like a clone of her, helping her keep fit and walk for her. She relied on him too much, and now that he was gone, she felt empty and lost.
"I'll take it a few more steps."
The escort jokingly said, "A few more steps, and another thirty or twenty miles. Madam Cheng, as the saying goes, even after sending you a thousand miles, you must still say goodbye. Don't worry, we will take good care of the young master and bring him back to you safe and sound."
Yu said on the side: "Fortunately, he came back in about twenty days."
The group said goodbye and Cheng Mu burst into tears.
During the Beginning of Heat, sorghum grows in the valley, and during the White Dew, radishes are picked.
After harvesting all the vegetables in the greenhouse, there is still time to plant the next round.
Xiaoliu and Xiaoqi are already able to help with the work. They are pulling radishes very enthusiastically. Xiaoqi has finally learned to say "ouch" and "ouch" in addition to "ah" while exerting force.
It made everyone laugh.
Four baskets were carried to the hill behind the mountain and hidden in the cellar.
After Qi Song left, Sao Hu took charge of the back mountain. They had stored away a lot of winter vegetables. The potatoes they had harvested earlier were already half full, and Cheng Mu had also sent some radishes and cabbages, filling the cellar to the brim.
Yu used radish tops to make them a jar of pickled cabbage.
The tastier the pickled cabbage, the more restless the group became. Saohu led the others in beating up Li Yu, saying, "You're such a loser! You still can't beat Gui'er!"
Otherwise, Yu would have been their mother-in-law long ago.
Xiaoliu and Xiaoqi helped to harvest the winter vegetables, and each of them sat on the doorstep holding a red persimmon.
Cheng Mu asked, "Where did the persimmons come from?"
Xiaoliu said, "Badou gave it to me."
Badou was the adopted son of Widow Xu. He was the same age as them and they often played together.
"I touch it and see if I can eat it or not."
Cheng Mei pinched it and found it was soft. "You can eat it now. Be careful not to get it on your clothes."
Xiaoliu tore the skin with his hands and ate it by biting it, while Xiaoqi just cut open the skin and sucked it.
Cheng Xi rubbed their heads.
Suddenly I remembered that Mu Yun really loves persimmons, why did I forget to give him a few? When I feel tired on the road, I can take out one and savor it carefully, wouldn’t it be wonderful?
Cheng Mu felt that she was not suitable for a long journey because she had to carry too many things.
But as long as there is space, she doesn't have to worry about how to carry or store the food.
"When it snows, I'll make you two candied hawthorns."
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