Jiang Huaifu was clearly not worried about the troublemakers here. He had several bodyguards by his side, and any one of them could kill dozens of them.
But now is not the time for a major conflict. The government troops are stationed at the border. If there is a large-scale killing here, they will definitely report it to the state government, and then the imperial court will know.
Thinking of this, Song He'er suddenly asked, "Aren't there any soldiers on the border of Nanzhao? How come you come and go as you please?"
“Unlike the Central Plains, Nanzhao is very lenient towards merchants. Those merchants travel all over the country every day. If every checkpoint were strictly guarded, it would probably cause a lot of delays. However, there are heavy troops stationed at the border between the Central Plains and Nanzhao. This area of Suhe is unguarded. Moreover, the ruler of Nanzhao knows that Xinzhou is not a wealthy place, so naturally no one sets foot there…”
Song He'er was still a little worried, "But your boat is too conspicuous. If you come during the day and those convicts see it, they will definitely tell the soldiers!"
“I have some connections, so you don’t need to worry about that,” Jiang Huaifu replied confidently.
Although Song He'er didn't know what his connections were, she still trusted him. After all, if a prince from Xizhou didn't even have this much ability, he wouldn't have come to her so rashly.
"The wind is too strong, I have to go back. My stepmother will definitely come looking for me if I don't return soon. You should go too..." Song He'er repeatedly instructed.
Jiang Huaifu nodded, looking at her with a slight smile: "I'll leave after I see you go into the tent. Go on..."
Not wanting to waste any more time, Song He'er nodded and returned the way she came.
When she reached the vicinity of the tent, she looked back and saw that Jiang Huaifu had indeed disappeared, but the light from the boat was still there.
"Is that He'er? Why don't you come in?" A gentle voice came from inside the tent.
"Oh, they're coming in!" Song He'er lifted the curtain and went inside.
"Why did you take so long? Aren't you cold outside? Come in and rest."
Song He'er coughed lightly and replied calmly, "It was cold! The wind was too strong, so it was difficult to walk and it took me a long time to get back."
Qin Xiaoniang frowned. "How far have you gone?"
"Oh dear! As a girl, I naturally have to pay attention to my image, so I found a secluded place..." After saying that, Song He'er lazily yawned.
Qin Xiaoniang saw that she was sleepy, so she didn't press her further, covered her with a blanket, and told her to go to sleep quickly.
The next day, the weather was fine.
Song Xiaoyu and Li Qiang indeed brought some soil from a distant place in sacks.
“Building a house is not something you can do carelessly; it has to be done meticulously. If there’s no wind or rain, it will collapse in two or three days!” Song Xiaoyu said while mixing mud.
Zhang Xiu'e was combing Nian'er's hair when she heard him rambling on and on. She replied, "You make it sound so easy. If you want it to be sturdy, you'll have to find some clay. How sturdy can a house made of mortar be?"
Song Xiaoyu sighed, utterly speechless. "Then tell me, where are we going to get clay?"
"Okay, okay! I said the wrong thing again, alright? From now on, I won't say anything..." Zhang Xiue rarely gave in.
There is definitely no such thing as clay in Xinzhou, and Song He'er doesn't have any in her space either. When they raided the General's Mansion, they did plunder a lot of things, but there was definitely no clay.
The only solution now is to ask someone to buy some from Nanzhao and paste them on the outside of the house when it is built.
"Third Uncle, I have an idea, but I don't know if I should say it."
Song He'er wanted to take this opportunity to quickly discuss yesterday's events with them, so that they would be mentally prepared when Jiang Huaifu came again.
"What is it? Tell me."
"I've thought about it. Instead of sitting here and wasting our money, we should find something to do and earn some cash. That way, it'll be easier for us to buy things..."
Song Xiaoyu stopped what she was doing, her expression as surprised as Song He'er had expected. "Earn some money? That's not an easy thing. You mean do hard labor for those damned soldiers?"
Zhang Xiu'e overheard their conversation and quickly interjected, "Those soldiers are no good at all. They're greedy for money. If we work for them, the money will probably end up in their pockets. We'll be working ourselves to the bone and won't earn much. It's better to contact merchants from the Nanzhao Kingdom in secret!"
Song He'er secretly breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that Zhang Xiu'e had already come up with this idea before she even had a chance to speak.
This was a natural outcome, saving her from having to waste her breath.
Upon hearing this, Song Xiaoyu blushed and scolded, "What did you say? Keep your voice down!"
Song He'er laughed, "Third Uncle, you're too cautious. Nobody can hear us! I think Third Aunt's idea is really good. Doing business with the Nanzhao people, even if it's manual labor, even if it's hard work, we can still see legitimate income, right? That way, we don't have to go through other people's hands, so there's less commission..."
"That's true, but how can we contact the Nanzhao people? We have no boats, no connections, and it's impossible for us to cross the river. This method is as difficult as climbing to heaven."
After saying that, Song Xiaoyu became dejected again.
Zhang Xiu'e stared longingly at Song He'er, as if placing all her hopes on her...
Okay, they begged her for this...it wasn't something she insisted on saying herself...
"Third Aunt, didn't we see boats coming and going on the Su River yesterday?"
"Yeah, so what?"
"I suspect they are merchants from Nanzhao. If we can get in touch with them and have a frank discussion, I think we should succeed..."
Although Zhang Xiue thought the idea was feasible, she actually felt it was too difficult. After all, why would a Nanzhao merchant have to do business with them?
“We don’t have the capital, so they might not be willing…” Zhang Xiu’e replied.
Song He'er couldn't think of any other way to convince them, so in desperation, she could only reply, "Let's try anything, even if it's a dead end!"
........
My darlings, the previous chapter mentioned the differences in temperature and climate. Let me explain here: although it's an alternate history, based on the tectonic plates and a reasonable distribution pattern, the ancient places of exile were located in the Northeast and Sichuan.
In warm climates, along the China-Myanmar border, one could say that Nanzhao was part of the Yunnan Plain, while Xinzhou was part of the extremely cold Aba region of Sichuan.
That's the general idea, but you can't apply it to history—it's fictional! Fictional! Fictional!
One more thing, have you given me your positive reviews yet? I really need them! Positive reviews are my motivation to update more often!
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