55 Chapter 55
◎Second update◎
It was only when Mrs. Xue mentioned Huiyin that she learned about this. Mrs. Xue probably thought that Li Cheng and Xie Jiuyi had a good relationship, and she also thought that she had a good relationship with Yin Liyi, so she said this in front of Huiyin.
"Master Xie has married Cao, you know, I have never met other merchants, but I have met Cao, she is really proficient in music, chess, calligraphy and painting, she is talented, gentle and beautiful."
Even Madam Xue, who is from Yin Liyi's camp, praised her. It seems that Cao is really good. Huiyin listened for a long time. After sending Madam Xue away, Nan Mama sighed: "Last time, I said that Governor Xie was so good to Madam Xie. Madam Xie is really a fool with good fortune. I didn't expect that Lord Xie would actually start taking concubines."
Huiyin laughed and said, "It's so easy to get food and fodder. I wonder why you are complaining about him ignoring others. This is just killing the donkey after it has done its work. Forget it, let's not discuss other people's affairs. I think the food and fodder issue is more and more important. Although Xuzhou has fertile land, if the war continues, the prince will not be able to bear it."
In fact, after this incident, Huiyin was really thinking about the issue of food and fodder. She asked Li Cheng during dinner: "Although I shouldn't spy on the food and fodder situation in the army, food and fodder are indeed very important. I remember that we have more farmland than ordinary people and nobles. In the future, we should be more frugal with our food at home. I will set aside a place to store food for emergencies."
"Is this what you thought of?" Li Cheng almost laughed out loud.
He thought his wife would ridicule Yin Liyi. After all, they had an argument before. He also knew Yin Liyi's personality well. To put it bluntly, it was just Xie Jiuyi's habit to say something unpleasant. He was very upset.
Unexpectedly, Huiyin’s first thing was to stockpile food at home. It is true that the strong never complain about the environment.
Huiyin explained, "When you see someone else's misfortune, you shouldn't gloat over it, otherwise it will be your own retribution. I am lucky, and you are determined, but it is understandable that other men do this for their careers. As the saying goes, even a penny can kill a hero. Although I have a grudge against Yin Liyi, to be honest, I live so happily in Xuzhou that I have forgotten all the unhappy things. It's not that I am so magnanimous, but we have more important things to do."
After saying that, she begged Li Cheng to tell her what the food and grass were made of.
It turns out that food and grass do not only refer to food and fodder, but also to all the baggage and supplies such as food, fodder, cooking utensils, tents, clothes, armor, weapons, medicines, etc. Among the food, millet and wheat are generally the main food in the Central Plains, while rice is mostly the main food in the South, with millet and wheat as supplements.
Li Cheng was very clear about these things. He had also started from the bottom when he first entered the battlefield: "The food carried by our baggage camp is enough for 10,000 soldiers for three days. Each soldier consumes about two to three kilograms of rice per day. Let me put it this way. An army of 12,500 people needs 90,000 dan of rice per year."
"Hearing what you said, everyone in your barracks must be well-fed." Huiyin calculated.
Ninety thousand shi of rice, one shi is about one hundred jin, ninety thousand shi is nine million jin, which is really a bit too much.
Li Cheng smiled and said, "How can the soldiers fight without enough food? Now that Qingzhou is under my control, the taxes are low and business is convenient. I feel relieved."
"Last time they all said that the fruits and vegetables in Qingzhou were good, so they gave me a lot of them." Huiyin had a goal in her mind. She had to save at least this much food for Li Cheng. If the food was not enough, she could make up for it with fruits and vegetables. In short, she had to try with the 90,000 shi no matter what.
Like the fruits she keeps in the ice cellar, which will be served only when guests arrive.
Huiyin even went to look through agricultural books, which said that among the five grains, only millet could be aged for a long time. As she heard that millet was cheap, she bought a lot of it. She bought some of it directly from the tenants, which she had seen herself.
Millet, on the other hand, is not easy to store. Millet is drought-resistant and can grow in extremely cold places, but Xuzhou is still relatively humid.
Anyway, during the time when Huiyin was storing food, Li Cheng was almost scared of being asked and ran away whenever he saw her.
However, he did not stop his wife. It was better for her to have something to do than to be bored.
During this period, Huiyin also got to know grain merchants of all sizes in Xuzhou. Of course, she would not be stupid enough to contact this group of people herself, and this is when Manager Qiao’s role came into play.
In fact, according to Li Cheng's position, he was supplied with 2 million dan of grain every year. Originally, he gave half of it to the King of Wei, but now he kept almost all of it for himself. In addition to using it at home, he also used it in the army. In addition, he was not willing to hand over the taxes from Xuzhou this year.
The couple each had their own plans, and Deyin of the East Palace was also planning. She had longed for the position of Crown Princess for a long time, and now that Lu Xiao had passed away, it was her turn no matter what.
But her father had just been defeated in Xizhou and had retreated to the capital, so she couldn't just go and look for everyone in her family.
In the previous life, dad and the prince were obviously in the same boat, and the prince trusted dad so much. It can be said that the reason why my sister was so favored in her previous life was probably because of the Zheng family.
But now Empress He seems to have a problem with her, not to mention the princess, who used to chat and laugh with her, but now she is looking down on her, as if she was the one who killed Lu Xiao. Not to mention that she didn't disrespect Lu Xiao when she was the most favored, let alone now?
Thinking of this, her lower abdomen began to hurt again. She wished she could have a child.
But she was not pregnant. Instead, she saw the prince bringing back a woman with a big belly. Deyin was panicked: "Who is this?"
Lianzhi asked around for a long time before replying, "It is said that this woman is from the residence of Princess Xinning."
"You little bitch, I was wondering why you were so angry with me. It turns out you were hiding someone." Deyin knew that Princess Xinning and Lu Xiao had a good relationship, and she was also on good terms with Princess Xinning. She didn't expect this person to stab her in the back.
Princess Xinning is the adopted daughter of Queen He. She usually looks righteous and aloof, but now it seems that she is also a pimp. It is said that Li Heng was heartbroken because of Lu Xiao's death a few months ago. Later, he was taken away by his sister Xinning to relax. As a result, he favored a dancer, who became pregnant. He did not despise her identity. He was still childless at this age, which made the court officials suspicious of him.
Similarly, Yin Liyi also welcomed Cao. Although Cao was not pregnant and was neglected, she put on a smile and called her "sister" all the time.
Yin Liyi was originally a lively and straightforward person. She thought she was different from people like Zheng, and even felt that Xie Jiuyi had his own difficulties and that marrying Cao was a stopgap measure. She even wanted to wait and marry Cao off as an adopted sister later, but seeing how familiar Cao was, she felt that she could not give her away.