The rest of the villagers also responded.
"Yes, my corn is free too! It's free!"
"The crops can be planted again, but we can't let the brothers guarding the border go hungry! My house will be given away for free!"
He Xiong quickly saluted everyone and thanked them repeatedly with an excited look. At the end, he said, "Thank you for your support of the border defense army, but our general said that everyone has worked hard all year to grow the crops. It's too much hard work. No matter what, we can't let everyone's hard work be in vain. Silver and money must be given! Please don't refuse!"
The villagers naturally refused and kept shaking their heads.
"Brother He, please don't be polite. We can't go to the border to kill the enemy, but we can still send some food so that our brothers don't go to the battlefield hungry!"
"That's right. If the enemy breaks through our border, we will be the first to suffer! We support you, and we are also supporting ourselves!"
In this way, he insisted on sending it while trying his best to refuse. Finally, Mr. Tai San and Mr. Tai Lao had a few words together and then spoke.
"Okay, I've discussed this with your sixth uncle. Each family's corn will still be sold to the border troops at the original price. But if any family feels wealthy and wants to give an extra 10 or 20 kilograms, we won't stop them.
"It's a good thing that everyone is willing to express their feelings. Brother He, don't refuse. Let's visit each other often. In the future, when everyone has something to do, Brother He will definitely not be a bystander, right?"
"Of course!" He Xiong patted his chest and responded happily, "Taijia Village is our second home. How could we not care if something happened at home!"
After saying this, he loudly asked the soldiers, "Is that so, brothers?"
"Yes! We've been eating and sleeping well these past few days, and we've been getting along well with the villagers. We really don't want to leave."
"When I retire from the army, I will come and settle down in the village!"
"And me!"
The soldiers responded one after another, and each of them was sincere.
Most of them came from poor backgrounds and had seen too many fights and quarrels for survival. There were indeed very few places like Taijia Village that were so united and so prosperous and striving for a good life.
If I could leave the border army and settle down here, get married and have children, and live a life where we can work together and eat meat together, I would feel happy just thinking about it!
The villagers were also happy to hear this, and they unconsciously puffed out their chests, feeling extremely proud and complacent.
Today’s good life is definitely due to their hard work and efforts!
At this point, the small storm was over.
On the second day, Master Tai San took a carriage to visit Liujia Village, Zhangjia Village and Sancha River, and told them about the reprimand of the general.
Of course, the three village chiefs also felt sorry for the border troops and the general, and readily agreed to deliver the corn seeds to the border troops first.
After all, what the people of the north are more familiar with and trust are always the border guards and the generals, not the court, not the drunken and dreaming emperor sitting on the throne!
They are willing to support the border defense troops, which means they support their own peaceful and prosperous life, rather than defending those arrogant and powerful people in Kyoto!
That night, Uncle Tai San and Old Man Tai decided to start harvesting corn the next day, and the villagers would harvest corn together.
All men, women, young and old, including He Xiong and his companions, went to the fields together to harvest the crops. As for the remaining food, they would slowly bring it home after the corn was harvested.
Perhaps they knew that the delicious food at the foot of the mountain was about to be cut off, so in the middle of the night, the wild boars and bears on the mountain actually came down the mountain.
More than a dozen wild boars, big and small, and three blind bears were dispatched at once!
Because the harvest was about to start tomorrow, everyone relaxed their patrols a little and were almost caught off guard by these forest overlords.
Fortunately, there were He Xiong and others. They were worried about four meals a day. The Tai family always bought chicken, fish, meat and eggs, which cost too much. As a result, Rourou was delivered to their door!
After a round of pursuit and interception, the area within a radius of ten miles was in commotion, and both the wild boar and the blind bear were left behind.
In the dim morning light, the wild boar was carried to the straw shed, and several old men and women with poor legs and feet took the initiative to take on this task.
Bleeding, scalding and scraping the hair, cutting the meat and bones, boiling water and putting the meat in the pot, the actions are done in one go, and everyone just waits to eat the meat.
There were three blind bears. Two of them resisted fiercely and their furs were not good-looking, so they were directly put on a carriage and sent to the city to be sold for silver. The silver was then exchanged for rice, flour, oil, salt, sauce and vinegar.
The most cowardly blind bear was skinned and waited for tanning to be taken back as a gift to the general. The bear meat was dried and given to the border army brothers to eat fresh!
The allocation is clear and explicit!
When the sun rose over the eastern hill, Master Tai San waved his pipe, and everyone rushed into the cornfield, smelling the rich aroma of meat!
The corn stalks, more than one meter tall, were quickly knocked down by the strong laborers, and the women bent down to pull the golden corn cobs out of the stalks and throw them into piles.
The old men drove the carriages slowly along the ridges, and the little kids threw corn cobs into the carriages with a crackling sound. Occasionally, they would wipe their noses or pull up their pants because they were tired.
Even the old man who was half paralyzed at home year-round would carry a finely woven small basket and crawl across the field, picking up the fallen corn kernels one by one, fearing that they would be lost if they were overrun by the ruts...
Food is the most important thing for people!
At this moment, it is vividly reflected in the boundless fields, in the sweat of every farmer, and in the rustling autumn wind!
When the sun was directly overhead, people in the fields began to return to the village entrance in groups to eat.
The wild boar meat was stewed for a whole morning, and even the coarse shreds of meat became rotten.
Served with green vegetables from the garden, it is oily and fragrant.
There are also enough steamed buns made from two pieces of flour to eat!
Everyone relaxed their cheeks and enjoyed the best comfort after hard work!
Master Tai San's voice became hoarse from shouting, his white beard fluttering in the wind as he gave instructions one after another.
"Eat until you're about 80% full. Don't strain your throat, and be careful not to vomit when you bend over! We'll have a better reward for everyone after we finish harvesting! Don't delay your work now, and be aware of the situation!"
The villagers and soldiers responded one after another!
After eating one batch, another batch went to work in the fields, and then another batch came back...
Although every family planted corn, they only had two or three acres of land, so they just piled the harvested corn cobs in the yard.
But there were too many people in the Tai family, so they were finally sent to the door of the row house. With He Shan and He Xiong watching over them, their safety was guaranteed.
The Tai family, young and old, were also very busy. Even Erya and Chunhong had to help with cooking and serving water.
Zhuzhu wanted to go to the fields, but no one agreed, fearing that they would not be able to take care of her and that the sharp straw would prick her.
Yang Lihua called out to Zhimaqiu and kept her fat daughter by her side, taking her with her whether she went to the warehouse or to the big kitchen.
Liu Dongniang always loved her niece and felt sorry for the fat girl's little white teeth, so she specially shredded the wild boar meat and made a bowl of shredded pork noodles.
The fat girl sat on the kang in the straw hut and ate most of the food happily, leaving the rest to be eaten as sesame balls.
By the time Liu Dongniang remembered to collect the bowls, the fat girl had already fallen asleep with her sesame balls as a pillow...
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