Mu Chentao turned and gestured for Mu Guang to leave. He and Ying Shi stood on Su Qi's left and right, while Bai Zhi and Xiang He also stood in the room.
There was silence for a moment.
Meng Lizheng felt even more uneasy. Did he offend Su Qi?
It only takes a moment.
Chief Meng came over, and this old man could tell at a glance that the atmosphere in the room was not right.
Looking at Meng Li again, he was sweating on his forehead in this cold weather.
Patriarch Meng came in and forced a smile: "Madam Gu is young and promising. The disaster in Mingfeng Town was brought under control entirely thanks to Madam Gu and her husband.
It is truly a blessing from our ancestors that we have two of you in charge of Mengjiazhuang." Clan leader Meng had already donned several compliments before even entering.
Su Qi's expression relaxed and she pointed at the stool next to her.
"Please take a seat, Patriarch Meng." Su Qi turned and looked at Xiang He. "Xiang He, bring the tea."
Xianghe bowed and walked out to open the curtain. Chunhe had already brought the tea over.
Patriarch Meng sat on a stool, took the teacup, took a sip, and put it down. A smile remained on his face.
"I wonder if Madam Gu has any good suggestions? She cares about our Meng Family Manor, and I would like to express my gratitude here."
After saying this, Chief Meng stood up and bowed.
Su Qi quickly turned aside slightly, "Patriarch Meng is in a serious condition."
Seeing this, Meng Lizheng felt his old face flush. It was he who didn't know how to appreciate kindness.
Patriarch Meng started speaking softly as soon as he came in, which made Su Qi feel embarrassed to keep putting on a sour face.
Not long.
The village chief of Baijia Village and the clan leader of Tangjiazhuang all came over.
Baijia Village is a mixed-surname village, with dozens of surnames. All matters, big or small, are decided by the village chief.
Village chief Chen of Baijia Village and clan leader Tang of Tangjiazhuang came in and greeted Su Qi first, then sat down and greeted Lizheng Meng and clan leader Meng.
Su Qi saw that everyone was there.
Tell them everything that is on your mind.
Patriarch Tang was the first to agree. "I will follow Madam Gu's proposal. All the young and strong laborers in Tangjiazhuang will obey the arrangements of the Gu Mansion, including me."
The head of Baijia Village, Chen, was not to be outdone. "Everyone in Baijia Village will obey the Gu Mansion's arrangements. We don't have anything else but plenty of laborers. People in our village are not afraid of hardship or fatigue. Madam Gu, if you have any laborious work to do, please let her know."
Meng Lizheng: ...two cunning old guys.
Chief Meng: ...These people are vying to show their loyalty?
Chief Meng smiled and said, "Madam Gu, there's no need to explain our relationship. All the villagers will obey your instructions. From now on, you can make the arrangements."
Su Qi raised the corner of her mouth slightly, revealing a thoughtful smile. Her sharp eyes, like a knife, fell on Meng Lizheng, cold and piercing.
Meng Lizheng felt a chill down his spine and rubbed his hands nervously.
"On behalf of the people of Mengjiazhuang, I declare that we will all follow the arrangements of the Gu Mansion."
"If you have any ideas, please tell me." Su Qi picked up the teacup next to her and gently slid the lid over it.
He raised his head again and glanced at the people present, and finally took another look at Chief Meng.
"I don't have to be tied to you, but I feel like we're all from the same village, and I can't bear to leave the people from my Gu Mansion alone.
Right now I feel that if there are difficulties, we have to face them together.
We just put in some extra effort. If no refugees or bandits come, that's a good thing. If someone does enter the village, wouldn't that also protect our property?"
Su Qi said this coldly and placed the teacup on the table next to her.
Patriarch Tang was an old fox and knew at a glance that something was bound to happen.
Looking at Su Qi's eyes sweeping over Meng Lizheng, he still had something in his mind that he didn't understand. He was probably worried about his sister's family outside and wanted to take the opportunity to bring them to live in the village.
Patriarch Tang sneered inwardly, but didn't show it on his face. "Madam Gu is right. We're doing this for self-preservation. We can't be completely blind when the time comes."
"Ying Shi. You will lead the troops to arrange border defense for several villages." Su Qi stopped talking after that. "The patrol personnel will be divided into several groups, and a group will be rotated every four hours."
What Su Qi said surprised Ying Shi. Logically speaking, Su Qi was just the wife of a wealthy family.
How do you know all this?
If Su Qi knew what Ying Shi was thinking, she would definitely laugh. After watching so many online novels and TV shows in modern times, she naturally learned a lot of knowledge.
"We must ensure the food supply for these people. Safety is everyone's safety, and I hope the villagers will be together." Su Qi stopped talking and did not say anything else.
It's impossible that she proposed to build a village protection circle and all the food has to be provided by the Gu family.
She can offer it, but she can't offer it for free.
Su Qi didn't want the villagers to develop a habit of going to the Gu Mansion when they had problems.
Patriarch Meng stroked the few hairs on his chin and nodded, "Mrs. Gu's words make sense. Since it's about the safety of the village, the food supply must be shared by our three villages."
However, there was not much surplus food in the village.
Fortunately, I listened to Su Qi this year.
Everyone chopped up all the sweet potato vines and dried wild vegetables, added bean powder, cooked them, and dried them.
Otherwise, we won’t be able to survive this winter.
Patriarch Tang and Village Chief Chen exchanged a glance and nodded. "Madam Gu, what you said is quite true. However, I have a shameless request." Patriarch Tang stood up and bowed.
"Please take a seat, Patriarch Tang. If you have anything to say, just tell us and we can discuss it." Su Qi raised her hand and asked him to sit down.
Patriarch Tang sighed, but still spoke out. "Before coming here, I asked the villagers to ask if the mansion needed to buy land."
Su Qi seemed a little puzzled and looked at him in surprise.
"To be honest, Madam Gu, many families in our village are truly struggling to survive." An embarrassed smile appeared on the face of the Tang clan leader. "I know this is difficult for Madam Gu to buy land at this time, but the villagers said they only need 30% of the previous price."
Patriarch Tang’s family is about to sell their land.
The price of 30% is very low, but in this year of famine, 30% is already good.
Village chief Chen of Baijia Village moved his lips and said, "Mrs. Gu, if possible, we have a lot of land in Baijia Village." These days food is more important than land.
Su Qi did not agree to them immediately.
She lowered her head and held the teacup in thought for a while.
Finally, he seemed to have made up his mind, "Okay. I promise you. I'll give you grain in exchange. No need to follow the 30% land transaction."
Su Qi sighed, "Let's just follow the price this autumn."
Su Qi's words fell like thunder in the ears of several people.
Patriarch Meng moved his hands and stood up excitedly. "Madam Gu, this is unacceptable."
"It's not easy for our fellow villagers. I still have some grains on hand. Why don't we get through this difficult time together?" Su Qi chuckled and signaled everyone to listen to her decision.
"Mrs. Gu is such a kind person."
The four old men now knew that their villagers were saved.
With these grains, we will definitely be able to survive the lean period next year.
"I can rent these lands to you for farming in the future. Or you can work as a long-term laborer here. Let's talk about protection first."
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