Chapter 54
As for those who fled the city, they can only hope for the best. After all, they would not go to the nearby mountains to look for people at this time.
Wen Yi also went to the valley where he used to live and took away some of the stored food. He also sent cold-proof items to the soldiers stationed there.
Nowadays, apart from the house she built, the surrounding area on the hillside has been cleared and several rows of houses of the same style have been built. The soldiers stationed here usually live here, and daily necessities are stored in the caves, and the food is placed in natural caves.
The guards at the entrances and exits saw the familiar sign and, after confirming their identities, made way for the aisle, which had been widened considerably, to allow Wen Yi and others to pass through.
"They built it really well." Wen Yi sighed as he looked at the newly built road.
The soldiers around him smiled and agreed. These guys who retired due to injuries were doing very well here. Although it was not as lively as living in Pingyi, they could still find some game in the mountains and forests every day, and Wen Yi and others would come to deliver some supplies regularly.
The snow in Pingyi has gradually melted, leaving only some dirty snow water, but here, except for the places that have been deliberately cleared, there is still snow piled up in the shaded areas.
Wen Yi was still holding the small copper stove in his hand, covered with a layer of cotton and linen to prevent burns, so it was not too cold when walking in the mountains and forests.
Not many people here caught a cold. In fact, even if they were caught a cold, given the soldiers' physical fitness, they would only have mild symptoms. Some people didn't even realize they had been sick until they had recovered from the cold.
"You register these things first, I'll just walk around here."
The soldier beside him nodded, but did not leave. Instead, he told the people around him to go about their business and continued to stay with Wen Yi.
Although there were no rumors of wild beasts here, Yao Wenjun, Song Jin and others also warned them not to leave anyone alone, otherwise they would be held accountable. Naturally, they would not leave at this time.
Wen Yi saw that someone was busy, but did not raise any objections.
She walked around the area.
The place where the simple water mill was originally installed has been demolished and moved to an area with more stones on the other side of the river bank. The flat land on the north side of the river bank has been reclaimed for farming.
In winter, the water in the river is much shallower, and occasionally you can see floating ice hitting the surrounding gravel, but it can still be pumped into the canal or trough through water-drawing equipment, and a new batch of crops has been planted at this time.
Several small kilns were built next to the water mill, where simple pottery pots were occasionally fired. Vegetables were also grown in the house to fill the gaps in winter.
In fact, not only here but also in Pingyi, many families also grow things in their homes. Besides fermentation, the residual heat from the kang is also sufficient to grow some cold-resistant crops. Wen Yi originally thought that most people would adhere to the principle of not eating in season, but it seems that more people are accepting it well.
"Who wouldn't want to have more food?" Song Jin said.
Although people in Pingyi don't have to rely on tea and other foods to maintain health like the nomadic people in winter, it is still a good idea to have dried vegetables, pickles, or vegetables buried in the soil in advance as a supplement if you eat too much.
Some time ago, the people on duty here caught some refugees who were trying to steal. Those people couldn't clearly explain where they came from.
Wen Yi originally wanted to go and take a look herself, but was persuaded by the soldiers following behind her. The refugees were now settled outside the valley, and many of them were still sick. She had just recovered from a cold, so it would be better to wait until the people were better before asking them.
"We send some porridge and water over here every day," the soldier on duty explained. "There's not much food out there, so these people won't leave even if we don't keep an eye on them."
That's true.
After everything was registered and checked twice, Wen Yi did not stay any longer and left with some old rice and grain.
On the way, we met a messenger. Judging from the style of his clothes, he must be a military officer. I guess he was sending news back from Nanxun.
It was already dark when they returned to Pingyi, so Yao Wenjun did not ask any more questions. If there was any important matter that the Office needed to deal with overtime, it seemed that they could just wait until tomorrow.
During the first month of the year, various rituals were held in Pingyi, most of which were led by Wen Yi, with a few others led by Shan and others. Most of these rituals prayed for a good harvest, while others also concerned health. The streets were dotted with small stalls selling various wood carvings, and many people would buy one as they passed by, hoping for good luck.
Wen Yi was wearing a lot of things that people around her had bought for her, and she had bought some herself, putting them in letters to her bosses and friends in various places. Of course, she also had some Amu and a few red envelopes.
Currently, the beginning of each year is still October, but we will change some things around January. After all, October is the busy farming season. Now we finally have some free time, and we can chat with each other and exchange stories about the latest picture albums.
Wen Yi also became interested and took advantage of the break to write some stories and mix them in.
It should be said that people's imagination is extremely rich at all times. Even Wen Yi read some books with great interest.
Song Jin looked at Wen Yi lying on the chair, but didn't say anything. After all, it was time to rest. There was nothing important in the past two days, and it was probably done in the morning. He poured himself a cup of tea and sat aside, taking a book from the stack on Wen Yi's desk to pass the time.
What he held in his hand was a book of strange stories, mixed with some legendary characters, some of which were obviously untrue. Song Jin shook his head, closed the book and put it away.
Wen Yi stood up and rummaged through the table for a while, pulling out a few books with interesting plots and handing them over. Song Jin didn't refuse and began to read patiently.
It turns out that being recommended does make sense. At least Song Jin thinks this decision is indeed interesting.
"Did you collect these for the library?" Song Jin took a sip of tea and watched Wen Yi sort out the scattered books on the table and put them into a box, then moved them under the shelf behind him.
The bookshelves are naturally filled with revised and proofread incomplete books from various schools of thought. Song Jin sometimes looks for some that interest him. Currently, legal theory is the most popular, but other schools of thought also have their merits.
"Yes, these are much harder to find than the serious books above." Wen Yi nodded as he brought out another box. "But fortunately, these are appealing to both the elite and the masses. As long as you're diligent enough, you can always collect them all."
Many people do not buy new books after finishing a book, but instead exchange them with like-minded people. This way, they can read many stories for the price of one copy. Some people even start a recycling business, selling some to vendors and renting others at a lower price or placing them on tea stalls for people to read.
Song Jin didn't know much about this, but became interested when he heard Yi's story.
"Not only that, there are also some new booklets in other cities. If you want to collect them, you have to ask merchants to search for them. It took a long time to collect them all."
Wen Yi opened the box he had just moved out. Some of the booklets inside were not brand new, but it could be seen that they had been carefully cleaned, and they looked okay.
Wen Yi, privy to the idea that one can glimpse hidden thoughts in a person's writing, became interested in the authors of several of these books. The meticulousness of their writing suggests at least a good logic. Wen Yi even discerned a multitude of theories hidden within them, suggesting someone was attempting to disseminate some content through this method. However, the positives seemed to outweigh the negatives, so she didn't stop them for now.
*
Yao Wenjun and others received gifts from people in Pingyi. Not only Amu and the others, but even the deputy general whose name they knew received a gift.
The soldier who led the team congratulated everyone with a smile, and at the same time opened the box that was carried in and distributed it according to the list. In addition to the words of blessing, there were also two auspicious pendants with matching lanyards. Many people put them on their bodies directly.
Of course, the most pleasing thing was the money that was directly put into it. Everyone thanked him repeatedly and dispersed happily after Yao Wenjun waved his hand.
Although the capture plan was not achieved, the damage caused by the snowstorm to Ji State made the subsequent actions of Yao Wenjun and others much easier. After consideration, she temporarily slowed down her pace, rested in the current city for a while, and consolidated the newly occupied territory.
After the generals left, the soldiers carefully took out a box that was much larger than the others. It was sealed with a familiar seal on it. It was obviously written by Wen Yi. There was also another seal next to it with Song Jin's handwriting:
Letter from Wenjun herself.
I don't know where he learned it from, but it does look quite similar.
"I have a share, too?"
Yao Wenjun chuckled softly and opened the small box that was specially sealed.
In addition to a string of various wood carvings, there were also several newly made metal talismans and several rolls of special paper with gold fragments on them. No one knew how they were made, but it was probably to make it easier for her to wrap things for others.
When the paper scroll was removed, underneath were small accessories such as bamboo joints made of gold and silver, as well as various jade and wooden beads. According to Wen Yi's annotation next to it, they were probably deliberately strung together into bracelets according to one's own preferences.
In addition to these, there are of course also the supplies transported by the team, and the documents are also piled up underneath.
"How was Pingyi recently?"
The content of the letter was not much, and most of it was positive. Yao Wenjun summoned the soldiers who accompanied him and asked about what had happened recently.
There were so many miscellaneous matters in the army that she had no time to pay attention to general affairs or news from other cities. Now that someone from Pingyi was coming, she just asked about it.
"Cold?" Yao Wenjun was shocked at first, but when he thought that the man had the leisure to do something, he felt relieved.
"Yes, but the doctors in the city said it wasn't an epidemic, it was due to the weather." Seeing Yao Wenjun's serious expression, the soldier quickly added, "Everyone has gotten much better after drinking the black medicine."
There was a guy in his neighbor's house who had a high fever and was already unconscious. After drinking a few bowls of medicine and wiping himself, he woke up after a few hours and started crying for food.
At this time, no matter what disease it is, as long as you can still eat, people around you will breathe a sigh of relief. Being able to eat proves that the most dangerous time is most likely over.
Yao Wenjun nodded, "How's it going over in Nanxun?"
She had confidence in Nanxun, but the previous snowstorm had brought a number of uncertainties. Song Jin briefly described that there was nothing happening elsewhere, so Yao Wenjun didn't check the details for the time being.
"Everything went smoothly with General Nanxun. Many cities chose to surrender afterward because of his benevolence." The soldier spoke of this with a certain pride. "Some of my lost uncles happened to be there. I didn't expect to see them again. They all said we were living a good life."
"Of course, otherwise what's the point of being so busy during this period?" Yao Wenjun's voice was not loud, but the soldier nodded seriously.
"Go ahead and do your work. If you have any questions, go find the person in charge or the deputy general here." She waved her hand.
The soldier took his orders and left. Yao Wenjun thought for a moment and reopened the sealed documents. Previously, he had mostly reviewed documents after they had been sorted, and the process hadn't been discussed, but now that he had some free time, he decided to review them to prevent any communication barriers caused by information asymmetry.
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