Chapter 305 Three Years Later
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Winter goes and spring comes again, year after year.
Liujiatun was renamed Lijiatun two years ago.
It's spring plowing season again, and there's a watchtower about ten zhang high at the entrance of Lijiatun Village.
Today, Li Xiatian was on duty at the watchtower. She was sitting leisurely in her chair when she suddenly stood up because she saw people coming up the official road ahead.
After standing still and taking a careful look to confirm that someone had indeed come, Li Xiatian turned around, drew an arrow, nocked it, and shot it at the target set up at the village entrance.
With a "thud," the rope that had been shot was connected to the mechanism, which struck the large bronze gong placed there.
Among the several elderly men sitting under a tree near the village entrance was Li Youfu.
"Someone's coming!"
Li Youfu looked at the broken rope in the mechanism and confirmed that it was just a warning and not an enemy attack, which relieved him of some of his worries.
Meanwhile, someone had already run out of the first house at the village entrance.
The lamb glanced at the mechanism, then went back into the house and called the dog, tying a green ribbon to the leather collar that the dog already had around its neck.
Then, the lamb squatted down, patted the dog's head a couple of times, turned around, pointed to a spot in the village behind him, and said, "Big White, go!"
The dog named Dabai received the lamb's command and immediately darted off towards the house in the direction the lamb was pointing.
A dog that crawls on all fours can run much faster than a person, and in no time, Da Bai arrived at Li Wangshui's door.
Upon arrival, Da Bai barked loudly at the yard.
Da Bai's bark made Li Wangshui's dog feel that its territory had been invaded, so it also started barking back in the yard.
Finally, when Li Wangshui climbed out of the cellar, he had to deal with not only the barking of his own dog and the barking of the big white dog outside, but also the barking of the dogs of two or three other households living nearby.
A chorus of barking dogs filled my ears, making me feel irritated.
Upon opening the courtyard gate, Li Wangshui saw the green ribbon on the white collar.
"Someone's coming!"
So, after a short while, Li Shiyue, along with Li Wangshui, Li Shiliang, Yangzai, Li Xiatian, and several old men from the village entrance, stood at the village entrance, waiting for the group that had come down from the official road and was heading towards their Liujiatun.
Li Xiatian stood beside Li Shiyue, carrying a longbow and a quiver of arrows on her back. "Shiyue, I think they are people from the Prince's Mansion."
Li Shiyue nodded. With her sharp eyesight, she could tell that the person leading the group was someone she knew.
Sitting on his horse, Zhou Yiran squinted. He could now vaguely see some people standing at the entrance of Lijiatun Village ahead.
Although he couldn't see the face of the person standing there, Zhou Yiran thought that Li Shiyue must be one of the people standing at the front.
Thinking of Li Shiyue, Zhou Yiran couldn't help but recall what the Prince of Zhenbei had said in his study after reading the memorial Li Shiyue had entrusted to General Liu Tan.
"...If this method truly works, Lieutenant Li's achievement in devising this plan will be comparable to that of Zhang Liang!"
In recent years, the road leading from the entrance of Lijiatun Village to the official road has been repaired by Li Shiyue and is now quite smooth, even better than the official road.
Therefore, Zhou Yiran and his men arrived in front of Li Shiyue in no time.
"Military Advisor Zhou!"
"Lieutenant Li!"
This wasn't the first time the two had met. After exchanging greetings, Li Shiyue led the group towards the newly built council hall next to the ancestral hall.
Zhou Yiran, however, was a step too slow. He stood at the foot of the watchtower at the village entrance, craning his neck to look up, lost in thought.
Upon arriving at the council hall, Li Wangshui and Li Shiliang greeted the officials from the Prince's residence and the soldiers who had escorted Zhou Yiran.
Li Shiyue then invited Zhou Yiran to sit down in a side hall inside the council hall.
Li Shiyue personally poured tea for Zhou Yiran before asking, "Zhou, did you come here because of my losses?"
"Exactly!"
Zhou Yiran revealed the purpose of his visit: a letter personally written by the Prince of Zhenbei to Li Shiyue!
Li Shiyue wanted to ask more questions, but Zhou Yiran suggested that she read the letter first.
Uncovering the envelope stamped with the Prince's seal, one finds only a thin sheet of paper inside.
Looking down, Li Shiyue saw that the letter wasn't long; it only took about ten breaths to read it.
What was written in this letter?
This all started more than ten days ago when she, along with her mother, organized the villagers to use the wool she had bought from the Turkic prince She'er, as well as the wool she had plucked from the sheep in the village's sheep farm. Little by little, they learned how to wash, pick, and spin wool, and then used two long, rounded wooden sticks to knit sweaters and trousers, which they then took to the general's mansion.
At the same time, she also brought with her a manuscript that she had spent several days pondering and revising over many times before finally writing it.
For the past three years, Li Shiyue has been dedicated to helping the people of Lijiatun to live and thrive on this land.
Over the past three years, she has been putting into practice the "three-year plan" that she had previously told everyone.
Watchtowers were built at the beginning and end of the village, and the cellars of every household were dug out again.
Li Shiyue was so "insane" that she even organized people to dig out two large cellars on the hillside of Daheishan Mountain, which they had designated as a cemetery!
Furthermore, she led the construction of a council hall next to the ancestral hall, capable of accommodating a hundred people at the same time.
That's not all. In recent years, with the use of curved plows, seed drills, and composting methods, the drying yard in Lijiatun has been expanded by more than half.
Of course, the village population has also increased over the past three years.
Aside from the newborn children, the main group consists of women from other villages who married into Lijiatun.
At the same time, it is located near the Black Mountain, and behind the Black Mountain is the barbarian grassland;
Although relying on this road, the people of Lijiatun did indeed make a fortune in the first three years.
But since last year, the Turks have become more assertive in their attitudes during the winter trade markets.
Not to mention cattle, sheep and horses, even the wool that Li Shiyue has been buying from She'er has increased in price by 30%.
This shows that the Turks have had enough time to recuperate and are now looking to make a comeback!
Therefore, Li Shiyue took his written notes and a complete method for making wool sweaters and trousers, which he had finally figured out little by little over the years, to the General's Mansion and sought out General Liu Tan.
She hoped that Liu Tan could introduce this method to the Prince of Zhenbei, so that there would still be a chance to delay the war between Andong and the Turks, giving Andong, her and Lijiatun more time to strengthen themselves!
As for what was written in Li Shiyue's folded book?
It's very simple; the money comes from the sheep's back. She wants to fleece the Turkic barbarians!
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