Chapter 36: Big Pie
Originally, when everyone smelled the aroma of meat in the afternoon, they knew that they would have meat to eat in the evening, but they all thought that it would be nice to have some meat, so eating some minced meat and drinking some meat broth would be nice.
But when I actually lined up for food, I was a little dumbfounded.
On the wooden table at the dining entrance, there were two large wooden basins and a large wooden barrel. The basins contained braised pork with green beans and braised bones, and the barrel contained cabbage soup.
If it were just these dishes, it would be fine. What shocked everyone was that in the stewed beans and braised meat, the meat was bigger than the beans, and everyone could get two pieces of the braised bones.
We had rice for dinner, white rice, a big bowl for each person. Some people liked to put the dishes on top of the rice, while others liked to put them separately. After the meal was ready, everyone went to the table in the yard to eat. Everyone had two or three bowls in front of them, one bowl with soup, and the other one or two bowls with rice and dishes.
Everyone couldn't help laughing. Those who ate it first nodded, and the expressions on their faces were as if a long drought had finally come to an end. The enjoyment between their lips and teeth brought great satisfaction to their bodies and minds.
The people queuing at the back looked at those who had already eaten the food and swallowed their saliva secretly. No one was crowding or scrambling for the food. Everyone was patiently queuing and waiting. When it was their turn, they felt so happy that they felt like they were flying.
After the food and soup were served, Madam Liu asked them if it was enough. They nodded repeatedly and said that it was already more than enough, so how could it not be enough.
After everyone's meals were prepared, Madam Liu and the others also served themselves some food. There was nothing left in the basins and buckets, so they shared the extra food with those who had bigger appetites.
When the older people ate the meat, they were so excited that tears came to their eyes, and they kept expressing their gratitude to Miss Gu.
Someone noticed that Miss Gu and the others did not come to dinner today, and someone stood up and asked Miss Liu.
"Isn't Miss Gu coming to dinner today?"
Madam Liu smiled and nodded, "Don't worry, everyone. After the dishes were cooked, we served them separately to Madam Gu. We asked Madam Shen to bring them over."
Everyone was relieved. If Miss Gu didn't eat herself and only cared about letting them eat, they would feel very uncomfortable.
Who would have thought that they could eat rice and so much meat in one meal? They originally thought they would just eat some minced meat and drink some broth, but now that the meat was in their mouths, they were satisfied all at once. After they finished the meal and the soup, everyone felt a little full.
I was so satisfied that I couldn't believe it was real.
Seeing that some adults were reluctant to eat the meat and wanted to save it for the children, Madam Liu quickly said loudly, "Everyone, finish your meat today. Madam Gu has said that you are not allowed to save it for others. The children have just eaten and are very full. The pregnant ones and the elderly have also eaten. Madam Gu said that you have worked hard for so many days and it is time to nourish yourselves. Finish the food in your bowls."
"If anyone saves it for others, I will tell Madam Gu!"
When everyone heard what Madam Liu said, they realized that Madam Gu had gone out specifically to buy meat for them today to nourish their bodies. She also said that they had been working hard for so many days and deserved some nourishment.
Such a Madam Gu is so touching.
As long as they have food to eat and money to earn, it doesn’t matter if they are a little tired. Madam Gu takes them too seriously.
This made them feel that their previous suspicions about Miss Gu were totally inappropriate.
The three generals had just finished their meal, and their ideas were different from those of the villagers.
In the past, they were ordered to guard here, and they often felt numb in their hearts. Although they sympathized with the villagers, they could do nothing. Later, when Miss Gu came, they didn't take it seriously at first. Later, they saw her growing mosquito repellent grass, encouraging everyone, organizing everyone to collect and dry salt, and buying so much food for everyone to eat.
Later, the higher-ups didn't care about their lives and almost burned them to death at night. Miss Gu and Xiao Heng helped them with advice, and they began to submit to them sincerely.
Until now, I feel warm in my heart as I will be reunited with my family in a few days. The current Southern Wilderness is completely different from the Southern Wilderness a month ago.
Jun Ye Xu suddenly thought of something. He came up to the other two Jun Ye and whispered a few words to them. After Jun Ye Wang and Jun Ye Li listened, they nodded in agreement.
Xu Junye stood up and waited for Madam Liu to finish speaking. Then he laughed and said loudly, "Fellow villagers! What do you think of Madam Gu and Mr. Xiao?"
Although General Xu was ordered to guard them, these three generals were usually nice. Whenever they had problems, the generals would come forward to solve them. They were considered to be half of their backbone.
Now when they heard the military officer ask this, the villagers all stood up and applauded.
"Fellow villagers, as you all know, we are now abandoned by the higher-ups. In their eyes, we don't exist. Have you ever thought about what we will do in the future? Who will we listen to?"
Someone jumped up and shouted, "Is there any need to say it? It must be Madam Gu!"
"Yes, we all care about our wife. She is a very capable person. It's right to listen to her. Oh, and Mr. Xiao, too. It's right to listen to them both!"
“…”
Mr. Xu Jun looked at everyone and said with a smile, "Yes, from now on, our backbone will be Miss Gu. No one should have any objections to this, right?"
When this was said, some people laughed and said, "Who dares to object, unless they don't want to live a good life!"
Yes, who would dare to oppose? Who could be like Miss Gu, running around for them, risking life and death, and leading them to a life with food to eat and money to earn?
There is no such person!
"Since we all agree that Miss Gu will be our backbone and our leader, then we must express our attitude."
When the villagers heard that they had to take a stand, they immediately expressed their stance and raised their hands. "We all agree with this. Is this enough?"
"Enough! Of course it's enough!"
Mr. Xu Jun nodded repeatedly.
Men, women, young and old from the Southern Wilderness gathered in the dining hall yard and outside the dining hall to listen to what Mr. Xu said and to see how they could support Miss Gu as the backbone.
"Since so many of us in the Southern Wilds all agree that Miss Gu is our backbone, then we can't just keep calling her Miss Gu! Isn't that a bit unreasonable? Let's talk about it, everyone. Does this make sense?"
The people in the Southern Wilderness were used to calling Gu Xiyue Madam Gu or Little Madam Gu. Now, after hearing what Mr. Xu Jun said, they instantly felt that he was right. For their backbone, it was a bit embarrassing to always call her Madam Gu or Little Madam Gu.
"Then what should we call them?"
A woman shouted from behind.
Everyone started discussing it, and Wang Hu said with a smile, "How about we call Miss Gu the Queen? She will be our Queen from now on."
As soon as he said this, everyone burst into laughter, and Zhao Yancheng immediately rejected his name.
"You can't call me king. It makes us look like a bunch of bandits! We're not kings of the mountains, so why should we call you king?"
"How about calling him Captain Gu?" someone suggested another name.
"Captain Gu!" Xu Junye called out and tried it. "It has that flavor, but it's also a little weird."
"Calling us Chief Gu sounds a bit like calling us the leader of a rebel army. If people outside knew about this, they would think we were a rebellious army."
Xue Jun pondered for a moment and also refuted the proposal.
"Why don't we let her be our Lijun?" Li Junye had been listening silently at the side, hearing everyone calling Miss Gu all kinds of names. After thinking about it, he proposed this title, "The people in charge of the villages outside are called Lizheng or Lijun. Let's call Miss Gu Lijun. Jun is the Jun of Junzhu. This implies that Miss Gu is our manager, and it also fits her identity as a woman. What do you think?"
"Lijun?"
After hearing this, everyone shouted to give it a try, and then thought about the meaning of this title and nodded.
"That's a good name!"
"Master Li is really amazing. He came up with the idea right away."
"Li Jun, Li Jun, from now on Miss Gu is our Li Jun!"
After everyone communicated with each other for a while, they all agreed with this name.
"What? I've only been away for a while, so you guys should think of a title for me!"
Everyone was discussing when Gu Xiyue and Xiao Heng suddenly arrived. From a distance, they could hear them discussing the title. The scene was very joyful. When they approached, they had just decided on the title "Li Jun".
When everyone saw Gu Xiyue coming, they quickly made way for him to enter.
Wang Hu took the lead and called out, "Meet Li Jun!"
When he shouted "I'm here to see Li Jun", it was as if a subordinate was paying homage to his king. Some people were stunned, and others followed him and shouted.
Gu Xiyue waved her hand, walked inside, turned around to face everyone, and said with a smile: "You can call me Li Jun, but on weekdays, I still like you to call me Madam Gu. From now on, you can tell others that I am Li Jun from our Nanhuang, but in our Nanhuang, everyone still calls me Madam Gu, okay?"
When the villagers heard what Gu Xiyue said, they nodded and said, "Okay, Madam Gu, from now on you will be our Lijun, and we will all listen to you!"
Xiao Heng is tall and stands behind Gu Xiyue like a flower guardian.
Many people think that Xiao Heng is Gu Xiyue’s husband. They treat Gu Xiyue as their backbone, and they wonder if Xiao Heng will have any objections.
Master Xu was poked by Master Li. Master Xu laughed and said, "Madam Gu, there's something we're all a little embarrassed about. We don't know how to say it."
Gu Xiyue thought they had something important to say, so she nodded and said, "Master Xu, please go ahead and tell me. There's nothing you can't say."
Mr. Xu Jun looked at Xiao Heng behind Gu Xiyue. Gu Xiyue followed his gaze, and her heart moved, and she instantly understood his thoughts.
Gu Xiyue turned to look at Xiao Heng and saw that he was looking at her with a smile.
"My husband, the villagers asked me to be the county magistrate. Do you have any objection? Will you..." feel that it hurts your dignity.
After all, in the eyes of outsiders, the two of them are a family. The woman is the head of the family, but the man is nothing, which can easily lead to problems.
Gu Xiyue also thought of this question. When she looked at Xiao Heng, there was a questioning look in her eyes.
It's not that she wants to be the Lijun, but that's just her personality. Whenever there's something going on, she likes to rush to the front to solve it. She's unwilling to be the one behind the scenes. She likes the feeling of being in power.
But Xiao Heng smiled and blinked, then took her hand and took two steps forward. "Fellow villagers, you chose my wife to be the governor. As her husband, I feel very honored. She runs around and leads everyone forward. Then I will be the man behind her and take good care of her body so that she will have more strength to lead you. Okay?"
After listening to this, the women were envious and the men admired him!
I would like to ask how many men are willing to stand behind a woman.
From ancient times to the present, they have never heard of any such men.
In fact, Xiao Heng is very powerful. He is resourceful and has martial arts skills. He does a lot for them on a daily basis and is also the security guard of the Southern Wilderness. However, the feeling he gives people is completely different from that of Gu Xiyue.
Gu Xiyue is friendly and cheerful, and is willing to talk to them. They usually prefer to have close contact with Gu Xiyue.
As for Xiao Heng, he sometimes gives people a sense of oppression. Everyone is very cautious when talking to him and dares not speak carelessly.
Unlike Gu Xiyue, she felt like the girl next door. They admired her and were willing to get close to her.
After listening to Xiao Heng, everyone looked at him with admiration.
Gu Xiyue didn't expect Xiao Heng to say this. She knew he wouldn't care. After hearing these words, everyone would think that they had a deep relationship and that Xiao Heng loved her so much that he was even willing to be the man behind her.
This made Gu Xiyue feel a little worried. If the two of them officially separated in the future, everyone might say that she was a heartless woman.
Perhaps Xiao Heng sensed what she was thinking, so he gently applied force to the big hand holding hers and rubbed the back of her hand twice with his thumb.
Gu Xiyue paused for a moment, then tried to pull her hand out from his palm with a slight, unnoticeable force. However, Xiao Heng did not let go, but held it even tighter.
Forget it, just accompany him to finish the performance.
Seeing that Xiao Heng had no objections, Gu Xiyue continued, "That's it, then. I won't refuse your kindness. I'm confident that I can lead everyone to a good life. From now on, days like today where we eat meat will become part of our daily lives. By then, you'll feel that seeing meat is as common as seeing vegetables."
Just thinking about such a life seems like a luxury. As everyone savored the delicious food they had just eaten, they all felt that such a life was not very realistic.
But Madam Gu, no, if their Lijun says it’s okay, then it must be okay.
It would definitely be a good idea to follow their Lijun.
"When we have enough money, we'll rebuild all the houses. If there's anyone in the Southern Wilds who can make bricks and tiles, we'll make them ourselves and build brick houses. We'll also pave all the roads and have all kinds of shops where we can buy whatever we want, including all kinds of gourmet food. We'll also have lampposts along the roadsides so we can walk at night without worrying about the dark. Have you ever imagined a life like this?"
Gu Xiyue drew the pancake big and round, tempting the villagers to scream.
"Yes, yes!"
"Madam Gu, is there really such a life? I can't believe it!"
"We might not even have such a day in the capital. Now that Madam Gu said this, I feel like the scene is just like a dream."
Everyone was talking about it, with longing expressions on their faces. They felt that there was hope, but also that it seemed a little impossible.
"That kind of day won't be hard to achieve. As long as we unite as one, no matter what difficulties we encounter on the road ahead, we will overcome them together, avoid internal strife, and treat everyone in the Southern Wilderness as our own brothers and sisters. Then, that kind of day won't be a problem."
Gu Xiyue’s words made everyone excited.
It was really difficult to get everyone to treat the people of Nanhuang as their own family and as brothers and sisters in the past. However, after working for nearly a month, everyone found that no matter whether it was mining salt, digging salt flats, or putting sea salt into pockets, as long as everyone was selfless and helped each other, things could be done quickly and easily. When everyone was working, no matter how tired they were, they were happy in their hearts.
It turns out that letting go of selfishness really does bring unexpected rewards.
If they can live that kind of life by doing this, then they think it's okay.
The villagers looked at each other with joy in their eyes. At this moment, everyone was really like a big family, and the people around them were all their brothers and sisters.
People who had conflicts with each other before have completely reconciled during this period. After letting go of the conflicts, they found that they became more relaxed. Many people regretted not figuring this out earlier.
After thinking about it, I still have to thank Madam Gu.
"Fellow villagers, starting today, for the sake of our bright future, everyone must eat well, sleep well, take good care of their bodies, and rest when they need to. Starting tomorrow, I will have each team leader schedule rest time for everyone. When it is your turn to rest, you must rest. Only when you take care of your body will your body take you seriously. Only then can we accomplish more."
It turns out that what they really wanted in Lijun was to make sure they had enough food and sleep.
After eating well, shouldn’t we work harder?
This also includes rest days.
They had never heard of such a statement.
But listen
Later on, I said that only by getting enough rest and keeping your body healthy can you do more things.
Many people shed tears at this moment.
Madam Gu really thinks about them in every way.
In order not to make her worry, everyone nodded and promised to have a good rest.
"There's one more thing I want to tell you all. Last time I went out, I discussed cooperation with the governor of Ganzhou. From now on, I will be a salt merchant recognized by the government, and we can do business openly. However, for now, no one can enter and leave the Southern Wilderness at will. Next, I will have the three military masters open shops first so that we can buy daily necessities. When the time is right, I will negotiate with the government to allow all of us to enter and leave the Southern Wilderness freely!"
This matter is the real purpose of Gu Xiyue coming here.
All the preparations above are for this matter.
When the people in the Southern Wilderness heard that Gu Xiyue cared so much about them, they didn’t care at all whether they left the Southern Wilderness or not.
"Madam Gu, as long as we can live a good life here, we don't want to leave the Southern Wilderness. The Southern Wilderness is our home now. Life outside might not be as good as it is here. And Madam Gu, you also said that you want to open a shop in the village. We can buy anything we need in the shop here. Even if we can't find it, we can tell Madam Gu and she can bring it back to us when she goes out to buy it. It doesn't matter to us whether we go out or not."
"More importantly, if we go out and get discovered by others, it will affect all of us!"
"Madam Gu is cooperating with the prefect now, so it's okay for you to go out and walk around. It's safer for you to go out. We should not cause any more trouble for the time being."
After the villagers finished speaking, Gu Xiyue felt warm in her heart. She thought they were so thoughtful. Perhaps everyone understood her thoughts, and her original intention of doing this was for the good of everyone.
After all, the higher-ups have just relaxed their vigilance here. If too many villagers from the Southern Wilderness go out and attract the attention of the nearby towns, and if there are spies from above among them, wouldn't that be even worse?
Gu Xiyue felt relieved and chatted with everyone for a while, looking forward to the future, and then asked them to go back and rest early. She and Xiao Heng waited until everyone left before going back.
On the way back, Xiao Heng pondered for a moment and asked in a low voice, "The kind of life you just described, is it something you came up with yourself?"
Gu Xiyue was stunned for a moment, then nodded, "Yes, that kind of life is what we should pursue. I believe we can do it."
"Then how long do you estimate it will take to achieve that kind of life?"
Xiao Heng looked far away, thinking about her other world in his heart.
Is she living that kind of life in another world?
"At least three to five years, at most ten years, that kind of life is definitely possible!"
Xiao Heng thought that it would take at least several decades to achieve such a day, but after hearing her say that it could be achieved in three to five years at the shortest.
He smiled, shook his head, and nodded.
Since she said so, it must be possible.
Think about the Southern Wilderness. It has only been a month since they arrived here. Not only has the Southern Wilderness undergone earth-shaking changes, but the people in the Southern Wilderness have also undergone tremendous changes.
She seems to have a strange power that can change the people around her through her actions and words.
Xiao Heng turned to look at her, his eyes sparkling. When she looked over, he smiled and said, "The pig intestines should be cooked. We can have dinner when we get home!"
Gu Xiyue was about to say something, but when he heard him say that they could eat pig intestines after returning home, he immediately forgot what he wanted to say and quickened his pace.
After taking two steps, she saw that Xiao Heng hadn't caught up with her. She stopped and looked back at him, then chased after him and reached out to grab his sleeve, "Hurry up, hurry up, I'm hungry!"
“Why don’t you eat the meal that Madam Shen brought us just now?”
Xiao Heng was dragged forward by her and teased her deliberately.
"I want to save my stomach for the pig intestines, and then eat the other dishes." Gu Xiyue spoke the truth, wanting Xiao Heng to know how much she liked the food he cooked.
After hearing this, it would be easier for him to cook well and make more delicious food for her.
Xiao Heng: “…”
He smiled.
Being the man behind her seems... pretty good.
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