Song Liyun hadn't slept all night and was leaving again in the afternoon, but Song Zhenping absolutely refused to agree.
Xiaoyun had been married for six months without having a child. Although Song Liyun had said she didn't want to get pregnant too early, he still didn't believe her. As her older brother, he couldn't say too much, nor could he watch Song Liyun ruin her body.
Song Zhenping told Song Liyun to stay home and catch up on her sleep while he went to town to pick up the migrant worker application forms.
Song Liyun also thought this was a good idea. Wudan was still a thirteen-year-old child and needed to take a nap. It wouldn't be too late to find lodging in Songfeng County before dark.
To everyone's surprise, when Song Liyun woke up, two hours had already passed. Not only did Song Zhenping bring the list, but even the town official Song Dequan had arrived.
Upon meeting Song Liyun, Song Dequan handed her the list and explained the whole story.
As Song Liyun knew beforehand, Song Erlang was originally going to take fifty people with him, but the Xia family was urging him to leave, so only twenty people could leave ahead of schedule.
Song Liyun frowned slightly: "Uncle Dequan, how many people from the Xia family came, and who are they?"
Song Dequan thought for a moment, then looked troubled: "The Xia family has fifty people, all of whom are tenant farmers on his estate. They are all capable laborers. They said that farming will take another month or so, so they will earn money first and then come back."
Upon hearing that it would be a one-month job, Song Liyun's eyebrows twitched. Could she really do a good job with this kind of intensive, temporary work?
The same problems that Song Liyun could think of were also the same problems that Song Dequan and Song Zhenping could think of, and both of them looked unwell.
But Xia's family is Song Dekui's father-in-law's family, and she's a newlywed bride, so no one can say for sure.
Especially Uncle Kui and the village head's family, they were very kind to the three siblings.
Seeing that the atmosphere was a bit awkward, Song Liyun suddenly laughed: "Uncle Dequan, brother, don't overthink it. It's good to have someone work for a month. There's a shortage of manpower outside the pass!"
Seeing that Song Liyun was not displeased, Song Dequan's expression softened: "I will carefully select the people who go next time. Since you are building walls and houses, you need to know how to do masonry work."
Song Liyun thanked him.
The three then discussed what to plant on the land that Master Xue had helped them rent, how to manage it, and the sales channels for the rapeseed and acorn vermicelli workshop, among other things.
Make sure you handle all the things you need to arrange for the new year properly.
As the sun gradually set in the west, Song Liyun and Wu Dan rode their horses out of Xiaoshi Village.
On Wudan's horse was an extra large bag, filled with his favorite roasted sweet potatoes and chestnuts.
The two men conserved their energy and traveled slowly, arriving in Songfeng County before nightfall.
Song Feng County was a place Song Liyun had never been to before, yet it was not unfamiliar to her.
Back then, Young Master Lin bribed Cao Jing, the magistrate of Songfeng County, and sent Constable Jiang and two constables to Qili County to arrest the Song siblings. However, they were defeated at Baolin Residence.
Jiang, the head constable, did not fare well. Upon his return, he was dismissed from his position by Cao Jing, the county magistrate, and only managed to escape after spending a great deal of money to bribe his way out.
His actions, though seemingly a misfortune, actually brought him good fortune, allowing him to evade the imperial envoy's pursuit and watch helplessly as Cao Jing was arrested.
Now that Constable Jiang has returned to his post, he is much more careful and cautious in his actions.
Song Liyun came to Songfeng County, partly because it was the only way to Hecheng.
Secondly, it was already dark, so entering the city at night and leaving early the next morning would not alert anyone.
The two entered the city gate smoothly and found an inn to stay in. Everything went as Song Liyun had expected, and the night passed peacefully for most of the night.
At dawn, Song Liyun was awakened from her sleep by a series of urgent knocks on the door: "Wake up, sir! Something's happened!"
Being away from home, Song Liyun didn't sleep soundly and opened her eyes the moment the innkeeper opened the door.
Upon hearing that something had happened, she sat up abruptly, a flash of blue light appearing beside her, and pulled out a stun gun.
She reached out to open the door, and the waiter was waiting anxiously. As soon as he saw Song Liyun, he shouted, "Sir, your horse is lost!"
In the stable, the spot where the two horses used to be tethered was now empty, with the broken reins still dangling in mid-air.
With a stern face, Song Liyun asked the old groom on night duty, "When were you fed the fodder?"
The old groom scratched his head, yawned, and said, "I fed them around midnight. The horses were still there then, and that Chrysanthemum Green almost bit someone! Your horses are too wild; they bit off the reins and ran away. You can't blame anyone else for that."
Wu Dan was so anxious that the veins on his neck bulged: "It's almost dawn and you're only telling me now? Why don't you blame others? Where are you going to find them? Can you afford to compensate me?"
This is the city, unlike the grasslands where you can find footprints. There's also a lot of noise outside, probably from the street cleaners sweeping the streets.
When the old groom heard that he would have to pay for it, he immediately became furious, put his hands on his hips and shouted, "I only care about feeding the horses, I don't care if your horse is still here or not. If you're afraid of losing it, don't tie it here, just take it back to your room!"
Enraged, Wu Dan drew his whip, ready to strike. The old groom, however, sat down on the ground and began to act unruly: "Come on! Young man, go ahead and hit me! Kill this old man and that'll be your punishment!"
If this were on the grasslands, Wudan wouldn't mind whipping any Wu Dynasty person who made a mistake; even a Wu Dynasty slave wouldn't be worth half a horse.
But this is the Wu Dynasty, and Wudan cannot take action.
Seeing that Wu Dan wasn't hitting him, the old groom got even more excited, grabbing Wu Dan's leg and shouting.
Song Liyun frowned and glanced at the waiter beside her. Although he was anxious, he only urged her to report the case, but did not mention going outside to find Ma.
Song Liyun stepped forward, looked at the clean feeding trough, touched the broken reins covered with teeth marks, and remained silent.
Seeing that the woman was not flustered, but instead touched the reins and looked at the trough, the stableman's eyes unconsciously glanced towards the back of the stable.
At this moment, the old groom was still pestering Wudan, as if deliberately trying to provoke him.
Song Liyun strode forward and kicked the old groom. She said to Wu Dan, "Go to the gate and call for the horse. The city gate is not open now, and there is no one on the street. If any horses are running outside, the street patrol will find them. It's not too late to go to the county office to inquire at dawn!"
The old groom was caught off guard and kicked away by her, and Wudan also got away.
This was his first time staying at an inn in the city, and also his first time losing his horse like this. He only realized what had happened when Song Liyun reminded him to call for his horse.
He didn't need to go to the door; he just stood by the stable, snapped his fingers to his lips, and whistled three times. The whistling, with its distinctive tone, immediately echoed in the air above the inn.
As soon as the whistle blew, a long neighing of horses responded from a courtyard behind the wall.
The waiter and the old groom's expressions changed drastically. Wu Dan scrambled over the wall and rushed over, only to find the courtyard gate locked and the sound of horses pawing anxiously behind it.
Song Liyun grabbed the waiter by the back of the neck as he tried to escape, gritting her teeth and saying, "Open the door right now!"
The waiter tried to play dumb: "Sir, what are you talking about? That yard isn't mine, I don't have a key!"
He was met with a resounding slap. Before the waiter could even recover from the blow, Song Liyun had already pressed two fingers against his eyelids and said coldly, "Your eyes are useless; you might as well gouge them out and feed them to the dogs!"
In the morning breeze, the waiter felt the two fingers were as cold as ice, and he was so frightened that he cried out, "Please calm down, ma'am! I'll open the door right away!"
The key opened the courtyard gate, revealing two horses firmly tied to a post.
With half his face swollen, the waiter begged in a low voice, "Please, madam, spare me! The horses really did run away on their own. I was just out of my mind and led them this way."
The old coachman also changed his previous rogue behavior, shrinking back and remaining silent.
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