Chapter 313: Sports Meet Events (Part 4) [Requesting Monthly Tickets]
"This is outrageous!"
"This is absolutely outrageous!"
As Zhao Feng's subordinate approached the tent, he heard his general muttering something inside. Although it was said in anger, there was no real fury in his tone. Reassured, he calmed himself and was about to report when Zhao Feng's disgruntled voice came from inside the tent.
"Come in! What are you doing standing outside all day?"
His trusted subordinates chuckled as they lifted the curtain.
He joked, "I just heard the general say something about 'going too far,' but has that Lord Shen given you another problem?"
The cold wind howled outside.
Inside the tent, however, it was warm and cozy.
Zhao Feng, shirtless and carefree—that's how unrestrained a martial artist is, with top-notch resistance to the cold—sat on a spacious makeshift bed, a wooden basin for soaking his feet steaming, a half-closed scroll of bamboo slips beside him.
When Zhao Feng saw him arrive, he pointed to the mat on the side.
He said, "There was no difficulty, but..."
Zhao Feng's expression was indescribable.
He was, after all, one of the six valiant generals under his lord Wu Xian, a brave and skilled warrior who had made a name for himself in his youth. To repay Shen Tang for saving his life on the battlefield, he brought a thousand of his personal retainers to follow Shen Tang to Heyin County.
"It might have been a mistake for me to come here to repay a debt of gratitude!" He wrung out a hot towel from his hands, wiping his feet as he complained, "All I did at the beginning was kill a few bandits. These days I've been either demolishing houses or driving tanks to move wreckage, and now they're making people plow the fields! This is outrageous! Absolutely outrageous! I'm a dignified twelfth-rank left-hand man..."
I've never been treated like this before!
trusted subordinate: "..."
He lowered his eyelids and glanced at his general's basin of foot-washing water—the bottom of the water was murky, full of mud and sand washed down.
The corners of his mouth seemed to twitch uncontrollably.
His General Zhao verbally expressed his resistance, but his actions showed complete cooperation. Zhao Feng noticed the gaze of his trusted subordinate, his old face slightly flushed, and said, "What are you looking at? Could your general refuse? How hateful! That Uncle Gong didn't refuse even a step! He has absolutely no courage or pride a warrior should have..."
Plowing the land, isn't that the job of oxen?
They've really made the bravest martial artists work like slaves...
Zhao Feng muttered to himself.
The trusted subordinate shook his head helplessly. Gong Shuwu was loyal to Lord Shen, and he naturally could not disobey Lord Shen's orders. His general had come to repay a debt of gratitude and was considered a "distinguished guest." If the general firmly refused, Lord Shen could not force him to plow the fields.
Ultimately, it's because the general is too easy to talk to.
A trusted subordinate asked curiously, "How many acres did the general plow?"
Zhao Feng answered instinctively, "Not much, about fifty mu."
His tone carried a hint of pride.
Absolutely!
He was competing with Gong Shuwu.
In the end, he still managed to beat Gong Shuwu and win the first prize.
Upon hearing this, the trusted subordinate gasped.
Zhao Feng, who blurted out without thinking: "..."
His trusted subordinates, however, did not notice the stiffness on his face—after all, there was nothing to be proud of in a competition between a tenth-rank Zuo Shuzhang and a twelfth-rank Zuo Geng to plow the field.
What's there to be proud of?
Why be proud that you can do more work than an ox?
Where does this leave the dignity and faith of martial artists?!
The trusted subordinate exclaimed in surprise, "Fifty acres?"
Zhao Fengdao: "That's right."
This is only half a day's work.
Plowing a piece of land requires quite a few things.
The plowing depth must not be less than ten inches, with the standard being "thorough, fine, and level." Straw crushing is also included, and fertilization and clearing weeds and debris from the fields are handled by specialists. To ensure the quality of plowing, he and Gong Shuwu pay close attention to the direction and force of their strokes, ensuring good tillage, straight plowing, and a level surface, striving to leave no inch of land uncultivated…
The field edges are neat, and the soil at the base is well cultivated.
To achieve this, they used every skill imaginable on the field, exhausting both their bodies and minds.
Zhao Feng has almost summarized a set of experience in cultivating land.
He twisted the cloth fiercely.
I was so angry I wanted to bite my teeth.
The trusted subordinate said, "This...this is truly astonishing."
In his memory, it was usually oxen pulling heavy, straight-shafted wooden plows, slowly swishing their tails, unhurriedly helping farmers plow the fields. Given the cumbersome nature of the straight-shafted plow and its difficulty in turning, one can imagine how inefficient the plowing was.
Not every household owned an ox for plowing.
It is usually shared by several households.
After plowing for a while, you need to rest for a few days.
During peak farming season, even if commoners used their own hands to carry plows, they couldn't let their oxen work overtime, because the oxen's lives were more precious than their own. Farming efficiency was extremely low, and after a whole year of labor, the entire family would still go hungry.
Our general only went out for half a day, and when he came back, he actually told me that he had plowed about fifty acres.
It really is about fifty acres, not about fifty fen (a unit of land area).
He repeatedly confirmed with Zhao Feng.
Zhao Feng, ever good-natured, repeatedly gave his affirmative answer.
Seeing the expression on his trusted subordinate's face, he guessed what was going on and muttered, "Even if he has the ability, so what? To do this much, one must at least be a tenth-rank Left Vice Minister. If one's strength is slightly lower, they can't handle so much work..."
Don't be fooled by the short working hours; tilling the land requires a lot. In just a short time, his martial energy in his dantian was depleted twice. If it weren't for Chu Yao's help in recovering, he wouldn't have ridden back on horseback today; he would have been carried back instead.
Who would be willing to hire a tenth-rank Left Vice Minister and a second-rank Upper-level Wenxin Scholar to cultivate fifty acres of land properly?
In other words, he came to repay a debt of gratitude (walking into a trap). Gong Shuwu could not refuse his lord, and Chu Wuhui let Shen Jun do whatever he wanted—which led to the scene of the two brave warriors tilling the land.
How much profit can be generated from fifty acres of land?
His trusted subordinate, however, thought differently. He said, "Other warriors might not be able to cultivate so much land in such a short time as the general, but they could spread it out over several days, or send out more warriors, such as lower-ranking officials or second-class elites..."
Zhao Feng scoffed upon hearing this.
He tossed the wrung-out cloth aside and got up.
"Things aren't that simple. How many martial artists cultivate their skills not to become superior, to find a respectable and honest job, so they don't have to toil in the fields? Who would willingly dedicate their entire family's resources, spend years in arduous training, only to end up rolling around in the mud?"
Zhao Feng understood this very clearly.
He felt obligated to repay a debt of gratitude and couldn't refuse.
Furthermore, Shen Tang was asking for my help, not deliberately humiliating me, and he didn't intend for me to work in the fields all the time.
Zhao Feng was willing to do it out of a "game" mentality, simply to compete with Gong Shuwu and pass the time.
What about the other brave and courageous martial artists?
Very few were willing.
Food shortage?
Just attack those who have food.
Looting is much more efficient than honest farming.
It's not uncommon for monarchs to have their martial arts masters do the same in the past, but the results were always the same: either the high-level martial arts masters became disloyal and rebelled, or they focused on farming and neglected their training, ultimately leading to their destruction by neighboring countries. In this world, strength is the foundation of everything!
Furthermore—
Due to the frequent natural and man-made disasters, it is extremely rare to have a bumper harvest in three out of ten years, with the rest being mostly years of famine... The output of an acre of land is simply too little, and its value is not worthy of a martial artist's "condescension".
Upon hearing this, the trusted subordinates said no more.
Zhao Feng then asked, "What brings you here today?"
Let's skip the previous topic.
Only then did his trusted subordinates remember what they were doing.
"I'm here to deliver wine to the general."
Zhao Fengdao: "Wine?"
All wines are brewed from grains.
That's a "luxury item," and in this poor place like Fugu City, there's nowhere to buy it. Only Shen Jun has a lot of fine wine.
Zhao Feng wanted a drink, so he went to ask for some.
However, considering Shen Jun's financial constraints, he tried his best to restrain his drinking. He realized he hadn't had a proper drink for several days. And these jars brought by his trusted subordinate were actually filled with wine? Well, then he wouldn't hold back.
"This wine tastes like Shen Jun's."
Zhao Feng tasted it and immediately noticed the problem.
Wine is a rare commodity, and fine wine is even rarer.
Since leaving his lord Wu Xian, he had only tasted such excellent quality wine from Shen Jun. These wines were either treasured in the cellars of the local strongmen in Fugu or belonged to Shen Jun.
The latter is more likely.
To everyone's surprise, his trusted subordinate gave a different answer: "No, it was bought at the 'Fugu Department Store' using a 'wine slip'."
Zhao Feng was surprised: "Fugu Department Store?"
Zhao Feng knew what it was just from the literal meaning, but as far as he knew, there didn't seem to be such a place in Fugu City.
The trusted subordinate laughed and said, "These past two days after work, Lord Shen gave us a lot of strange receipts. After I found out what happened, I and a group of brothers collected enough 'wine receipts' and went to Fugu Department Store to exchange them for a few jars of fine wine for you."
Fugu Department Store was under the jurisdiction of the local government.
The shop was simple, but it sold quite a lot of things.
Except for a few items, most items are available in limited quantities each day and can only be purchased with the "slips" used for daily settlement. Every day, a sign is displayed in front of the shop announcing the discounted items available at very affordable prices.
Shen Tang was responsible for feeding the thousand men Zhao Feng brought, and also provided them with wages for their daily work.
The soldiers had nowhere to spend their money, so they had a lot of notes in their hands.
A trusted subordinate stumbled upon the makeshift "Floating Maid General Store" and found quite a few good things, especially the wines, whose prices were incredibly tempting. He bought them all over the next couple of days and shared them with his buddies – wonderful!
There are two jars left to share with General Zhao Feng.
Zhao Feng muttered, "That's quite novel."
It is indeed very novel.
Fugu Department Store was initially ignored.
Even when people came to exchange items, they only got flatbreads to take home for their families. Later, some people mustered up the courage to go inside and discovered that there were quite a lot of other things there. The key point is that the prices were about 10% cheaper than elsewhere, and you couldn't buy more even if you wanted to.
It was said that the interests of other merchants should not be affected.
Limited supply daily.
Moreover, you have to bring the corresponding "slip" to exchange for it.
Moreover, there are "special offers" every day.
Someone counted on their fingers—
After doing the math, I was completely smitten.
Not buying means losing money!
Especially items like cloth and salt were essential purchases, and buying them during the promotion was a good deal. With local officials going door-to-door, promoting the goods with gongs and drums, other commodities gradually caught the attention of the common people, and the number of customers in the shops visibly increased. Every day after work, commoners would come in clutching various slips of paper to exchange for the items they needed…
There were even ordinary people who exchanged their own belongings for equivalent notes with other workers, each getting what they needed.
The hardest to buy, or rather the most expensive, item at Fuku Department Store is the "house" on the top shelf!
There are too many "property ownership certificates" required!
But when you actually calculate the cost, this is the most economical option.
Located from the southwest to the northeast corner of Fuku Town, and ranging in size from a family of three to three or five courtyards, these items are displayed in the most prominent position in Fuku Department Store. Almost every customer entering the store can see them…
"Three pancakes, please..."
"A piece of coarse cloth..."
"Is there any salt left?"
"Pour three ounces of oil."
"Where are the shoes? Are they all sold out?"
Besides Fugu Department Store and General Store.
After finishing their work, ordinary people had already formed long queues.
One exit, one entrance.
On either side of the shop stood burly young guards who looked menacing, while behind the counter sat a burly middle-aged man. His hair was quite gray, but he appeared to be in good spirits. Despite his simple attire, he exuded an even more menacing aura than the two young men at the entrance. Zhao Feng paused, taken aback, when he saw this man.
Startled, he exclaimed, "What are you doing here, Master Yang?"
Yes, the middle-aged man behind the counter is Commander Yang.
Although his injuries had fully healed, he had still suffered a great loss of vitality, and now that he no longer had the protection of martial energy, coupled with the cold weather, he would fall ill every now and then. Zhao Feng had not seen him for several days, and he never expected to see him again here.
Commander Yang raised his eyes, his expression indifferent.
He asked, "What do you want to buy?"
The next sentence is the answer to Zhao Feng's question.
"Find something to do; you can't just be an idle person."
When he gets sick, the medicine costs a lot of money.
He couldn't rely entirely on Shen Jun's help, nor could he cause trouble for his former subordinates and comrades. Commander Yang felt he was getting restless. Hearing that Shen Tang had started a general store called Fugu, he volunteered to help, which made him feel a little better.
Commandant Yang didn't feel ashamed at all.
Having reached this point in his life in middle age, what airs could he possibly have left? And with such a leisurely job, it suits him perfectly.
Once the weather gets a little warmer, I'll help Shen Tang train his troops again—he can't fight anymore, but his training experience is still in his head, so he's not completely useless—for now, I'll do some work here to avoid getting distracted and thinking about other things when I'm idle.
Looking at Commandant Yang, whose expression was calm and who seemed to have returned to simplicity, Zhao Feng felt uneasy.
Although Commandant Yang's martial prowess was ruined, his martial spirit had actually increased considerably. If his foundation hadn't been destroyed, his strength should have improved significantly... Alas, what a pity. Zhao Feng concealed the emotions in his eyes and said calmly, "I'm here to exchange for wine. I'm not late, am I?"
It is said that each one is in limited supply, and if you arrive late, it will be replaced by your own gang of brothers.
Commandant Yang glanced at the inventory booklet.
He said, "There are still two jars of Dukang wine left."
He paused for a moment: "It's said to be eighteen years."
That's a really good thing.
It is aged for a long time and has a rich, mellow flavor.
Zhao Feng naturally wouldn't miss it.
They immediately pulled out enough "wine sticks".
Commandant Yang asked sarcastically, "Where did you plunder it from?"
Zhao Feng, his face contorted with rage, retorted, "Nonsense! It was all brought up by our brothers, how can you call it extortion?"
Besides, half of it was earned through his own hard work cultivating the land; Commandant Yang's words were clearly a slander!
Commandant Yang smiled without saying a word, fetched it for him, and casually asked, "There's an event in about ten days, would you like to go?"
∑(っ°Д°;)っ
I was so scared! The home Wi-Fi suddenly stopped working for a while, and I thought I was going to miss it.
It was a false alarm.
(End of this chapter)
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