When the two separated, they actually had a discussion.
"Brother Zhang, even though the border guards are doing this for the sake of the Tai family's reputation, we've benefited from it after all, so we can't just take advantage of them for nothing." Village Chief Liu's eyes swiveled as he tentatively said, "I'll have the villagers kill ten chickens tomorrow and pick some vegetables for us."
"Yes, yes, I have that plan as well." Village Chief Zhang responded generously, "Also, our village patrol team will be merged and dispatched by the border defense army to facilitate the guarding of the cornfield."
"After the corn is harvested, we still have a pig. I will kill it and send it to thank the border soldiers." "Then I will send my goat to make goat soup for the border soldiers!"
The two of them promised a lot of things one after another as if they were competing, and finally went home in a hurry!
Early the next morning, before the women from Taijia Village could start picking vegetables, the women from Liujia Village sent chickens, ducks and vegetables over first. The women from Zhangjia Village also informed them that it would be their turn the next day.
The Tai family was of course happy to see this happen and thanked them one after another, creating a very harmonious atmosphere.
Tai Yonglu, Tai Yongyue, Chen Ruiyang and others were busy working, sweating profusely.
The old man brought Zhuzhu to serve boiled water, and the boys drank a lot of it.
Tai Yonglu asked, "Grandpa, what did Third Grandpa say to Village Chief Zhang and Village Chief Liu last night? They actually gave their chickens and ducks to Uncle He and the others to eat!"
"Yes, that village chief Liu was so bad originally, and now he wants to stick to our family. It's scary to see." Tai Yongyue also chimed in.
Mr. Tai did not answer, but instead asked Chen Ruiyang, "Ruiyang, do you know why?"
Chen Ruiyang was holding Zhuzhu in his arms. Zhuzhu was gnawing on a crispy snail, with crumbs scattered everywhere. He carefully helped her pat them clean and then pulled a handkerchief to wipe Zhuzhu's hands.
Hearing the old man's question, he smiled and replied, "Grandpa, I don't know what Third Grandpa said to Village Chief Zhang and Village Chief Liu, but my uncle once taught me. He said that if you want to do something smoothly, you should turn your own affairs into a collective matter, and naturally everyone will be more convenient.
"For example, if I'm driving a carriage and causing trouble, if I yell for help and make way for me, I'm afraid no one will pay attention. But if I yell, 'I'm frightening the horses, be careful not to hit them,' I guarantee everyone will get out of the way!"
Zhuzhu held a snack in her mouth and asked vaguely, "Brother Ruiyang, why did you scare the horses? Are they being naughty? Let Dahei take care of them!"
Chen Ruiyang laughed heartily, picked up the fat girl, weighed her, and replied, "Okay, our Dahei is the best, the king of horses! If there are bad horses, let him teach them a lesson."
The old man and the others also laughed, and the old man praised, "Rui Yang is right, that's the truth. People are all for themselves. It's difficult for them to help others, but they are very willing to protect themselves from getting hurt or suffering losses.
"That's what happened this time. As long as they knew someone was planning to steal their corn seeds, and they had to work hard for a whole year without earning a penny, they would get anxious and take the initiative to band together to resist the foreign enemy."
Tai Yonglu and Tai Yongyue nodded vigorously, feeling that they had learned a few new skills.
People’s hearts are complicated. It’s like living a lifetime and learning for a lifetime!
Not to mention how busy Taijia Village was in protecting the fruits of victory, let's just say that the noise was also heard in the county town. After all, the 200 soldiers were not invisible. If someone saw them and the news got out, it would naturally attract attention.
Someone who was well-informed inquired about the purpose of these soldiers' visit, and finally the exact answer came from the county government office.
It turned out that a spy from Luosha had passed through the border and ran to the vicinity of Tai'an. These soldiers came to capture the spy.
Therefore, when this matter was mentioned in restaurants, everyone was filled with indignation.
"When will these damned yellow-haired guys stop?"
"That's right. He's been eyeing our Great Wei's territory for so many years, and he still has evil intentions!"
"It's so cold there that they can barely grow any crops. They're just looking to take advantage of our prosperity."
"It should be easy to identify, and he was able to pass the border inspection. Could it be that the yellow-haired man had a bastard with a traitor from our Great Wei?"
"That's hard to say. I heard the spies are hiding in the mountains to the south, and the border troops are stationed at the foot of the mountain. We'd better not go into the mountains for the time being. If we encounter them, it will be troublesome."
"Yeah, I was just planning on going to the mountains to hunt for some furs, but I'm afraid that's all gone."
Everyone was chattering excitedly, thinking they had obtained first-hand information, and they were all very proud of themselves.
As a result, in the backyard of the county government office, the county magistrate who really knew the truth was like an ant on hot pan, and was extremely upset!
In front of him was a basket of corn cobs, their golden color making anyone who saw them happy, but it caught the county magistrate's eye!
This was sent by the people below. He understood the real purpose of the border defense troops coming to Tai'an almost at the first glance!
They are not here to catch any spies, they are clearly here for the corn!
The imperial court withheld rations from the border troops, a practice not entirely secretive. The common people were unaware of it, but he, the county magistrate, knew it all.
Of course, he felt sorry for the border guards. After all, his peaceful life was earned by the border guards who defended the border. If the border was lost, he would be the first to suffer!
But he was just a small county magistrate, so humble that when he returned to Beijing to report on his work, no one knew where Tai'an was, and no one could help him even if he wanted to.
Now, he is planning to offer the corn to Kyoto. Perhaps after the credit is squeezed out of him, there will not be much left, but he can still be transferred back to Kyoto or promoted to a first-rank official position.
As a result, the border defense troops also discovered corn, and even seemed to be planning to plant it on a large scale next year.
He didn't know what the general was planning, but as long as he reported it to the court, the court would definitely try every possible means to stop it, not wanting to lose an important means of controlling the border troops...
The housekeeper who was guarding the door was very surprised to see his master pick up the corn and put it down again, but he didn't dare to ask.
After a long while, the county magistrate finally spoke and instructed, "Put this basket of corn in the warehouse, and remember not to tell anyone about it."
"Yes, sir," the butler agreed immediately. Just as he was about to leave with the basket, he heard the county magistrate say, "Where's the madam?"
"I'm watering the orchids because you like them, my lord. Madam has to take care of them every day, and no one else can trust her." The housekeeper took the opportunity to praise the mistress, and sure enough, the county magistrate's complexion looked much better.
He waved his hand, signaling the housekeeper to get busy, and then went to look for his wife...
Without mentioning what the county magistrate was thinking, or how busy Taijia Village was, it was only said that the general sent someone back to the general's mansion in Kyoto, not to worry about his family, but to raise money.
Tens of thousands of kilograms of corn seeds definitely cannot be exchanged for sorghum, because food shortage is a permanent problem for border defense troops. They themselves cannot even eat enough, so how can they have surplus food to exchange?
But the army also doesn’t have any silver to buy it with!
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