Chapter 159 Material Assistance
After seeing off Madam Hou and her daughter, Xie Wanniang returned to her bedroom accompanied by Haitang.
She instructed Haitang, "Go and tell Uncle Hao and the others, as well as everyone in our shop who knows the truth. Tell even those who only have a vague idea to keep quiet."
Haitang nodded and jogged off to get to work.
Xiao Mei looked at Xie Wan Niang with a hesitant expression, as if she wanted to say something but couldn't.
Xie Wanniang glanced at her appearance and immediately felt uncomfortable. "Just say what you have to say, don't beat around the bush."
Xiaomei was a little embarrassed. "I just felt that if the Lady Hou only wanted to tell you this, there was no need for her to dress up like that, was there?"
And that Miss Chang Qi, her face was painted as black as charcoal.
Xie Wanniang shrugged. "Perhaps they're going to other places? Or maybe they've already been to other places where they need to change their clothes? Who knows?"
She never had much curiosity about things that didn't concern her.
The only impact of Lady Hou's visit on her was that she could no longer tell Jiang Yuan the real reason why she needed more guards; everything else was irrelevant.
After that, Xie Wanniang continued to run her restaurant and clothing shop in an orderly manner. From time to time, she would take a group of people to inspect, guide, and work in the medicinal fields outside the city.
In addition, she would teach Xiaoyang, Xiaomei and others, and spend one or two hours every day practicing martial arts with Hao Yu.
The days passed by in her regular and fulfilling life, and soon, the autumn harvest season arrived again.
Late autumn, winter, and early spring in the border town were never peaceful, because the foreign tribes from beyond the Great Wall would choose to raid southwards in large numbers when the crops inside the Great Wall were plentiful or when they themselves were struggling to make ends meet.
Jiang Yuan, who had previously participated in many border patrol operations with his teammates and had clashed with small-scale alien groups more than ten times, experienced his first large-scale war at this time.
It was only then that he truly realized why war is always labeled as "cruel".
Whether enemy or comrade, everyone's life is worthless at this moment. Even Chang Yao, the garrison commander of Zijing Pass, lives in constant danger.
Arrows, falling rocks, and even large-scale assassinations specifically targeting Chang Yao—in short, the enemy was extremely keen on taking Chang Yao's head.
Conversely, as garrison soldiers, they also worked together to throw logs and stones and launch arrows of various sizes towards the enemy general's location.
At times like these, no one has the time or inclination to think about anything else, and naturally, no one would think of sending a message to their family.
Even so, the news of the war spread like wildfire, reaching surrounding counties, towns, and villages that very night.
Xie Wanniang learned about the war while customers who came to buy things were loudly discussing the matter. She immediately ordered one of her guards to go and find the disabled old soldier that Chang Yao had left behind to guard the house early the next morning.
There were two warehouses of medicinal herbs that she had been harvesting and processing, as well as tens of thousands of catties of old grain that the retired soldiers had helped her collect from several large landowners in the vicinity. These grains had been dried and stored in warehouses last autumn and were still in excellent condition. In addition, there were five hundred cotton-padded coats that the tailors in her clothing shop had helped to sew. These were the most suitable supplies to support the soldiers of Zijing Pass at this time.
It would be difficult for her to personally deliver these things to Zijing Pass at such a special time, but she could ask for outside help through the disabled veterans left behind by Chang Yao.
She could temporarily hire retired soldiers who were no longer fit for the battlefield but could still escort supplies.
Unexpectedly, someone donated supplies to the disabled veterans of the soldiers. After hearing the purpose of the visit from the guards sent by Xie Wanniang, he immediately called a group of his old comrades-in-arms and quickly gathered enough people.
Fearing that Xie Wanniang would complain about the large number of people, he explained to her somewhat nervously, "At this time of year, there are always small groups of bandits and foreign tribes who bypass the passes and sneak over to burn, kill, and plunder. Just in case, I specially called over more people."
Xie Wanniang nodded, "Then I'll have to trouble you all."
She paused for a moment and then said, "The things are important, but your safety is even more important. If you encounter an enemy you can't defeat, don't hesitate, drop the things and run."
Although the soldiers led by the Chang family had guarded the northern border for many years and had considerable experience in fighting against foreign tribes, this did not mean that no foreign tribes could bypass the passes or sneak in.
Xie Wanniang didn't want to do something wrong with her good intentions. More than the things, she didn't want to lose these unsung heroes who had contributed to the country and its people.
Noticing the disapproving looks on many faces, Xie Wanniang called over two of her guards and emphasized the principles of conduct for escorting supplies to them again.
These two were the only two "own people" she sent. Unlike the other retired soldiers who were just there for a short-term job and whose initial motivation was not profit but righteousness, these two were her subordinates and had to follow her wishes.
With them around, Xie Wanniang's opinions at least won't be ignored by that group of people.
As for Xie Wanniang herself, who was in Yi County, although she had other guards with her, she still did not plan to rush out of the county town at this time.
After being ambushed and intercepted twice by spies and bandits, Xie Wanniang is now starting to wonder if she has a tendency to get into trouble.
At this moment, almost everyone in the border town was on high alert. They were busy with the autumn harvest while preparing to defend against foreign enemies. Xie Wanniang did not want to add extra workload to the yamen at this time.
Of course, she wasn't idle either. Even though she couldn't leave the city, she could still cause as much trouble as she wanted within it.
Yi County was busy with the autumn harvest, and their hometown was no exception. She, Jiang Yuan, Hao Yu, and even the siblings Atai and Xiao Mei all owned land in their hometown.
Once the fighting has temporarily subsided and the situation on the border is no longer as tense as it is now, they will personally return to their hometowns to deal with the various new grains produced in the fields this autumn.
Incidentally, Xie Wanniang also wanted to buy some leftover grain that the landlords hadn't finished eating last year.
Wealthy gentry and merchants might pursue the aroma and taste of rice and flour, but the primary goal of ordinary people remains simply the unadorned word "eat their fill".
The small eatery run by Xie Wanniang had a customer base that consisted of 90% ordinary people who simply wanted to "eat their fill".
Xie Wanniang is not a shrewd merchant and would not use inferior goods to pass off as superior ones. Only the cheapest staple food sold in her shop uses old grains, and she will tell customers this directly.
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