Wei Xiyin returned to the old house and went straight to Uncle Wu, asking for the key to the room in the armory.
Uncle Wu was a servant of the eldest son's family. He had followed Wei Ji since he was a child and had helped manage the affairs of Shangjing and the clan for decades.
Hearing this, he didn't ask any more questions. He bowed and said, "Wu Niang, please wait a moment. I will go get the key right away."
Afterwards, the two of them went to the armory next door.
As the key turned, the inner door opened.
Wei Xiyin was instantly shocked by the scene before her.
The innermost warehouse is very large, five times the size of the armory outside. Everywhere you look, it is filled with copper, iron and other ores, all of which are materials for making weapons.
Uncle Wu stood aside with his head down, without any reaction.
The world outside had begun to fall into chaos several years ago. Famine led to refugees everywhere, and uprisings of varying sizes broke out in various places. Many aristocratic families were attacked and defeated by refugees in the turmoil, and ended up with no remains left.
Although the head of the family was in Kyoto at that time, he was always paying attention to the situation of the clan. He was prepared for a rainy day and had already made all the necessary preparations for the fortress.
Wei Xiyin's mind raced for a moment before she calmed down and said, "The blacksmith shop is currently trying to make protective gear, and they might need these materials from the armory."
Uncle Wu lowered his head and replied, "Wu Niang is doing this for the family, so feel free to use it."
As he said that, Uncle Wu handed her the key.
Wei Xiyin took the key and asked about other things, "I also want to make some gloves and knee pads. Does Uncle Wu know if the tribe has animal skins?"
"Gloves? We do have animal leather." Uncle Wu bowed and asked, "I wonder how many pairs Wu Niang will need?"
Previously, the livestock raised in the fort were cleared out due to infection with epidemic diseases, and all the animal skins were kept. The butchers responsible for cleaning and skinning found that the mutated animal skins were tougher.
Wei Xiyin counted the number of people, "Probably more than two hundred pairs." As they were all members of the Wei family, she couldn't favor one over the other and only care about her own people. Naturally, she had to include Qin Shan and others.
"Then I will arrange it right away." Uncle Wu said and left.
Uncle Wu went to the tribe's warehouse and took out the materials and animal skins she needed.
There is enough material. The gloves are small in size, and several pairs can be made from the whole animal skin.
Wu Bo sent his servants to deliver materials such as iron and copper directly to the blacksmith shop, and the animal skins were sent to an empty house in the clan to be cleaned and dried. After the leather was processed, craftsmen were sent to polish and sew it.
After finishing everything, Uncle Wu returned to the main courtyard to report.
Although Wenkang was only three years old, he had to keep vigil for his relatives according to the rules. The mourning hall in the second brother's family had been built with the help of the clan members. Wei Ji asked the servants to stay there with the child and come back here to rest at night.
When Uncle Wu came back, only Wei Ji was in the main courtyard.
He walked over and bowed, reporting, "Master, I have handed the key to Wu Niang. She has been busy with the blacksmith shop all day."
"As for Erlang, he was left in the camp by Wuniang and is training with the guards."
Wei Ji was fiddling with the chessboard and hummed lightly when he heard this.
Uncle Wu took a look at his expression and said carefully, "After all, she is a young lady from a prominent family. Wu Niang is always seen out and about in the clothes of a servant. I am afraid that gossip will spread among the family."
Wei Ji was displeased when he heard this. He threw the chess piece in his hand and snorted coldly, "It was fine before, but now the world has changed. There are monsters everywhere. Wu Niang wants to do something for the clan, so do they dare to gossip about her?"
"Take, for example, when we were in the capital, my Fifth Lady was so well-mannered and polite. Which lady wouldn't praise her when she saw her?"
“If Wu Niang hadn’t brought people back this time and lured out all the monsters in the fort, we don’t know when the clan would be able to settle down…” In Wei Ji’s opinion, his Wu Niang is good in every way.
If anyone in the clan dared to gossip about this, he would be the first to disagree.
Uncle Wu lowered his head and responded, "The master is right."
Wei Ji stared at him for a long time before sighing, "I'm old, and Ming Lun is in the capital. If the children can stand on their own, I'll feel more at ease."
*
The other side.
Wei Mingze has posted a notice calling for his tribesmen to go out and clean up the zombies.
The news spread throughout the fort in a short time.
Wei Mingze conveyed Wei Ji's words very clearly, that the Wei family needed to become stronger in order to protect the fort and their members.
Households with only one person or no able-bodied men do not need to go.
For others who are really afraid and don't want to go, they can go to the ancestral hall by themselves, kneel down and explain the reason to their ancestors.
They start kneeling from the moment the zombie killer leaves the house and continue kneeling until they return in the evening. They continue kneeling the next day. Only when all the zombies outside are cleared out will they stop kneeling in the ancestral hall.
This time no one questioned the patriarch's decision. The patriarch was also considering the long-term interests of the entire family. Moreover, when people heard that Wei Erlang was also going out, they were already training in the camp.
Soon, several tribesmen stood up and ran to Mingjing Hall to find Wei Mingze to sign up.
When Wei Ting came in, Wei Mingze glared at him with disapproval, "You're the only one left in Uncle Wu's house now. Why are you causing trouble? Go back quickly!"
Wei Ting smiled and said, "Seventh Uncle, I also want to contribute to the clan."
Wei Mingze said impatiently, "You are contributing by being alive. If anything happens to you, how will the clan leader explain to your deceased fifth uncle? Besides, you can't carry anything on your shoulders or hands, and you need others to protect you when you go out. Go away, don't cause trouble for me."
When facing Wei Ting, Wei Mingze had no patience at all like he had with Wei Xiyin, and directly kicked him out.
Wei Ting had no choice but to leave.
The sixteen civilians who had followed to kill the zombies ran to the blacksmith shop to find Wei Xiyin after hearing the news.
"Girl, does the previous reward still count? We are also willing to go out and kill zombies."
These people actually live very well in the fortress. It is very safe here now. Those who have no food help the Wei family work every day and receive public grain.
But since there was no surplus food at home, the people were inevitably worried, fearing that one day they would have no work to do and no food to eat.
So they discussed it and decided to seek wealth and honor at the risk of danger, so they came to Wei Xiyin and asked to go out and kill zombies.
Wei Xiyin thought about it and felt that she had to explain it clearly to them. She patiently explained, "This time is different from last time. Last time there was a trap, and the zombies were standing there for you to kill. This time there are a lot of zombies outside, and they can move and attack people. If you are not careful, you will lose your life. You have to think carefully."
"Girl, we know. I and everyone else have thought it through." One of them replied.
Wei Xiyin nodded and said, "Since you have thought it through, go ahead and sign up. The reward will still be valid. I will explain it to the clan."
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