Chapter 139: Escorting Tax Silver? [Seeking Monthly Tickets]
Zhai Le didn't leave empty-handed.
With two jars in his left hand and two jars in his right, he returned home laden with his spoils.
With a nimble leap, he easily vaulted over the low wall and landed inside. Before he could even regain his footing, a very familiar face appeared in his vision. He nearly lost his balance, the relaxed smile on his face froze slightly, and he instinctively straightened up.
She called out softly to the man, "Brother..."
Zhai Huan was still dressed as a refined scholar. When he saw his cousin, who was quite tall, climbing over the wall, he remained calm and unsurprised by Zhai Le's entrance.
"Xiaofang, did you have a good time these past few days?"
Zhai Le smiled broadly and boldly stepped forward: "It's great. Brother, let me tell you, Brother Shen is such a fun guy. I've never met anyone like him. He's so interesting, really interesting."
When talking about his experiences over the past few days, Zhai Le couldn't stop smiling, and his naturally smiling peach blossom eyes became even more radiant.
He plopped down opposite his cousin.
I happily shared my experience of castrating pigs with Zhai Huan.
Zhai Huan: "...???"
When his cousin mentioned that the young man named Shen knew how to castrate pigs, his expression only froze for a moment. But when his cousin then said that he had also learned the skill of castrating pigs and had castrated seven sows and nine sires, a total of sixteen piglets, in one morning... Zhai Huan's years of composure almost crumbled.
He rubbed his temples, his head aching: "Is that fun?"
Zhai Le thought about it seriously: "To be honest, it's not really that fun. The pig's screams are too shrill and piercing. But seeing how seriously Brother Shen is casting the pig makes it seem like this job is quite interesting."
Even the most boring things become interesting when you have someone to accompany you.
Zhai Huan's lips moved, but she didn't say anything.
But Zhai Le understood him, even though his cousin didn't say anything.
Castrating pigs is indeed not a glamorous job; in fact, it's very dirty and tiring, after all, it involves dealing with that kind of thing. But if, as Brother Shen said, it can allow ordinary people to eat delicious meat, what does this dirt and hardship matter?
only--
There was only one thing that puzzled him: who was the first to discover that castrated pork tasted delicious? And what were their thoughts and motives in casting up their own pig?
Seeing that his cousin remained silent, Zhai Le smiled and pondered his plans: "If the castrated pork really tastes good, we can raise more in the future. Brother Chen also said that they can be ready for market after six or seven months, so wouldn't that mean we can raise two rounds a year? This is much better than other meat livestock."
He was getting thirsty from talking, and only then did he notice the unfinished chess game on the board, a cup of lukewarm tea beside him, and even the mat he was sitting on still warm. He looked up and around: "A guest?"
Zhai Huan said, "Mm."
"They're gone?"
Zhai Le felt awkward and hesitated whether to get up.
Zhai Huan waved her hand, indicating that he didn't need to get up: "I just left."
"Oh, thank goodness."
If I come back any earlier, and my cousins and friends see that I don't use the main entrance and prefer to climb over the wall, it might leave a bad impression.
Zhai Huan asked, "Isn't Xiaofang curious about who that person is?"
“I trust my brother to make friends.”
He always trusted his cousin and didn't pay much attention to his cousin's interpersonal relationships. As long as he knew his cousin wouldn't suffer any losses, that was fine, just as his cousin wouldn't interfere with his choice of friends.
Although Zhai Le didn't ask, Zhai Huan wouldn't hide it from his closest cousin, so he casually said, "He's the prefect."
Zhai Le was stunned: "Prefect? Prefect of Sibao Prefecture?"
Zhai Huan nodded in acknowledgment: "Yes, it's him."
"He wants to recruit my brother?"
It wasn't that Zhai Le looked down on people, but rather that he didn't think highly of the Prefect of Sibao County. His elder brother wasn't some poor scholar without connections; their family had a strong foundation in the southeastern homeland. If they were to extend an olive branch, it would be truly laughable.
Zhai Huan lowered her eyes and said, "There's no recruitment involved."
She had hinted at it several times, but he politely declined each time.
Zhai Le muttered, "It's good that he's not. I always felt this person wasn't very upright, he was scheming and had the demeanor of a petty person. Although I believe my brother won't suffer any losses, it's hard to guard against someone who really wants to cause trouble. Was this visit a simple visit to a friend, or did he have another purpose?"
Seeing his cousin's guarded posture, Zhai Huan found it amusing and said, "He has another purpose."
Zhai Le frowned slightly.
I'm not sure if I should ask what their purpose is.
Zhai Huan confessed first: "He said that Sibao County is short of manpower, the Gong family traitors who have fled have not yet been captured, and more manpower needs to be sent to search. In addition, there are unrest and hidden dangers in the county, so he really can't spare too many troops at the moment... so he wanted to ask you two to help him."
Ask those two brothers for help?
What situation would require such a force?
What's even stranger is that such a big matter actually requires the help of two young scholars and martial artists who have traveled here...
It's really quite baffling.
"What help can you offer? No matter how tense the military situation is in Sibao County, it shouldn't be difficult to mobilize a thousand or so men, right? What about the troops stationed within the county?"
Most martial arts masters choose to join the army, rarely seen by outsiders, but garrison duty is quite common. For example, even a seventh-rank official could be selected to serve in the garrison of Sibao County. If seventh-rank officials are difficult to transfer, what about fifth-rank or sixth-rank officials?
Why bother hiring outside help?
“Help us escort a batch of supplies…” Zhai Huan paused, then continued, “This batch of supplies is very important. The prefect attaches great importance to it and has already mobilized all available troops. However, he is worried about unexpected events, so he asked us to help… It is mostly tax silver.”
The prefect didn't explicitly say what they were escorting, but Zhai Huan could roughly guess based on the information revealed by the prefect's evasive words.
Zhai Le gasped when he heard the last part.
"Tax silver, this, this—"
His intuition told him he shouldn't get involved in this mess.
Then, with a grave expression, he said, "Even the prefect himself said that the forces within the territory are unstable. If it really is about escorting tax silver... isn't this like a louse on a bald man's head, an obvious target???"
Why not send your own troops to escort them?
If you're really worried about being robbed, then you should have a large security escort!
Zhai Huan's expression remained calm at first, but she almost choked when she heard what he said next. She couldn't help but laugh and asked, "On a bald head... Pfft, Xiao Fang, where did you learn such a witty remark?"
“I learned it from Brother Shen.” Zhai Le betrayed Shen Tang without hesitation. “Brother, that’s not important. If it really is tax silver, there are countless eyes and ears in Sibao County watching us… If we take on this hot potato, wouldn’t we be asking for trouble?”
Zhai Huan: "..."
It's that Shen Youli Ren brother again.
It seems these two really get along well.
“I originally wanted to refuse... but I just couldn’t refuse such kindness. And the escort is just a fake team to cover up the truth, so there shouldn’t be any major problems. Besides—if something really happens, wouldn’t it be better?” After saying that, a glint of light seemed to flash across the young man’s dark eyes. “This prefect is cunning and values his life. To ensure that the tax revenue is safe, he will naturally not be without any means of preparation.”
"A fake team?" Zhai Le breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing that it was a fake team. It wasn't that he was a conspiracy theorist; he was genuinely afraid that he and his brothers would become "scapegoats." However, his cousin's words puzzled him.
From what I'm hearing, it seems like your brother is hoping something bad will happen?
|ω｀)
I've noticed that Zhai Le and Zhai Huan are too easy to misspell; please allow me to pick them out and correct them again.
(End of this chapter)
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