Chapter 3019 Cui Wei
Bai Shan finally followed Zhou Man and saw Cui Wei, a handsome middle-aged man with fair skin. It was a pity that his face was pale and haggard, and he didn't look well.
Not to mention Zhou Man, who likes to judge people by their appearance, even Bai Shan couldn't help but take two steps forward and asked with concern: "Master Cui, are you okay?"
Cui Wei's official rank was the same as General Nie's, below Zhou Man and above Bai Shan, but he treated the three of them the same way. He simply glanced at them and said coldly, "Nothing."
Zhou Man looked at his expression and sat on the chair beside the bed. Xibing immediately took out the pulse pillow and gave it to her.
Zhou Man felt Cui Wei's pulse, asked a few more questions, and then looked at his expression with a troubled look and said, "Master Cui, it seems like you're having trouble acclimatizing to the local climate."
Cui Wei didn't believe it. "If the carriage goes faster and gets bumpy, I'll vomit."
Zhou Man asked him, "Do you vomit when you are near the capital?"
He said coldly, "I ride a horse whenever I go in and out of the capital."
Knowing that he gets carsick, why does he still take the car?
Zhou Man was curious: "What if it rains?"
Cui Wei: "...there is a straw raincoat."
He stared at Zhou Man, asking her to hold back the rest of her words.
Zhou Man said, "This isn't just motion sickness; it's also due to acclimatization. Of course, you may not have been acclimatized before, but this time it must be a factor."
Zhou Man prescribed medicine for him, "Do you want me to give you two injections first? It will make you feel better."
Cui Wei hesitated for a moment, but finally accepted her kindness.
Bai Shan was very generous to the talents coming to Beihai County, especially to Cui Wei and General Nie. He spent money to rent two courtyards in the county town for the two to live in.
Of course, there may not be many opportunities for the two of them to live here, but they can rent it first. The rent is not expensive anyway.
However, the house had not been cleaned up yet, so they stayed at the post station temporarily. Zhou Man asked someone to go back to the medical office to get some medicine and gave Cui Wei a set of acupuncture.
Although Cui Wei still didn't feel well, he felt better than before. At least he didn't vomit anymore.
He breathed a sigh of relief and said to Zhou Manbaishan, "Excuse me."
The two of them naturally said that everything was fine.
Cui Wei fell ill as soon as he arrived in Beihai County, but he had gotten used to it and basically he would be fine in two or three days.
So he didn't move out, but stayed in the inn to recuperate. Zhou Man went to see him every day.
General Nie took his 500 soldiers and Bai Shan to Dadawa. He was stunned when he saw the salt fields for the first time, especially since salt fields were being opened on both sides of Dadawa.
Salt fields, shimmering with water, stretched out one after another. Farmhands walked around with wooden shovels, shoveling salt to the edge of the fields. Once a pile of salt had formed, they shoveled it into baskets and carried it out...
General Nie: ...
He grabbed a handful of salt and couldn't help but taste it. After confirming that it was real salt, he made two "pooh" sounds and stared at the endless salt fields. "Such a large salt field, can only 500 of us defend it?"
Bai Shan said: "I still have a hundred troops stationed here."
He said, "As you saw when we came in, there's only one road to Dajiawa. On one side is the sea, and on the other side are insurmountable mountains. So, we just have to guard the intersection..."
General Nie reluctantly gained some confidence.
Bai Shan reached out and patted his shoulder and said, "So in addition to protecting the salt fields, you also have to cultivate the land."
General Nie looked around and asked, "I see there is very little farmland here. Where can we cultivate it?"
Bai Shan pointed to the salt field and said, "We will cultivate this field."
General Nie: ...
Bai Shan comforted him and said, "Don't worry, this won't last long. I'm already looking for people. Once I find enough people, you can free up your hands to focus on training the troops."
General Nie looked at him suspiciously, "Don't lie to me."
"I'm not lying," Bai Shan said seriously, "Qingzhou also has a garrison, and quite a few of them. But His Majesty and the Crown Prince still specially transferred you from the capital. Why? You should have guessed it by now, right?"
General Nie was no fool, so he naturally guessed it. He asked seriously, "Will someone attack the salt fields?"
Bai Shan nodded, "So I will definitely let you train. Don't worry, it won't take up your men for long."
However, at this time, the Dajiawa Salt Field was still unknown to the real enemy, and the top priority was to open up more salt fields and produce more salt.
But before they could open up the salt fields to dry the salt, they had to build barracks.
Even General Nie, who was honest, couldn't help but say, "Master Bai, you are trying to get something for nothing."
"How can it be a case of getting something for nothing?" Bai Shan pointed to a warehouse full of food and said, "See? I've already prepared military rations. I also send fresh vegetables, meat, and eggs here every day."
Being responsible for the food and drink of 500 more soldiers was a considerable expense. Not only the villages near Dajiawa, but also the villages farther away became richer.
More than 20 days before the arrival, Bai Shan directly called the village heads from a few miles nearby and asked them to spread the word, encouraging the villagers to grow more vegetables and raise more livestock such as chickens, ducks, pigs and sheep, and the county government would then come forward to purchase them.
The number of chickens, ducks, pigs, and sheep may not increase immediately, but there are a lot more vegetables.
It would be enough if we could send two sheep or two pigs to Dajiawa every day.
But to be honest, the expenses are indeed much higher, so Bai Shan needs more people.
He still had a large amount of government land, plus the land confiscated from Dajing Village and Xiaojing Village, as well as the land redeemed from the Song family. He now had no shortage of land for growing crops, vegetables, and raising livestock. He was not even short of money, but of people.
So when he returned to the county office, he called Cui Yuan again and asked, "How is the matter going?"
Cui Yuan: "...Why are you so anxious now? Didn't you say you would quietly bring them here after the autumn harvest?"
Bai Shan said, "It's harvest time now. Are you sure you can attract many young men here?"
He paused and said, "It doesn't matter if it's a young man or a young woman. This county can accept anyone with a family."
It would be even better if it was a widow and a young and strong man alone.
Cui Yuan hesitated for a moment, but finally nodded, "Don't worry, my lord. I will do my best."
He decided to go out and take a look tomorrow.
Bai Shan was very generous. "Bring some copper coins with you. If you don't have enough, ask me for it."
What Bai Shan was talking about were two baskets full of copper coins, which were loaded onto the cart for Cui Yuan.
It was not a good idea to let people from the county government take part in such a matter as kidnapping, so Bai Shan gave money and Cui Yuan used the money to hire a few people.
After tying the bamboo basket filled with copper coins and placing it on the ox cart, Cui Yuan and Bai Shan bowed and said, "Don't worry, my lord. I will definitely live up to your trust."
Bai Shan nodded in return. Actually, it didn't matter if he couldn't complete it. At most, he could go sit down with Governor Guo and ask him for help. But Cui Yuan was so serious, so he could only return the gift. He also had to encourage others instead of discouraging them.
See you tomorrow
(End of this chapter)
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