Upon hearing Li Lanzhen's words, Bai Houpu and Xuan Shen turned over and rushed to the bedroom on the east side.
After opening the door in the back wall, the three of them once again entered the underground cave.
A thorough search of the study yielded no results, no secret passage or hidden door leading outside.
"It seems that the secret passage set up by my brother-in-law and his men is very well hidden."
Having found nothing, and with night falling, they had to head back.
"Madam Li, I would like to ask Village Chief Han and the others to help us build a heated kang (a traditional Chinese bed-stove) in this stone house."
If we start processing medicinal herbs, people will be needed here for a whole day and night, and some of them will have to live here.
"I think the heated kang (traditional brick bed) in your house is really nice."
As they walked, Bai Houpu spoke to Li Lanzhen.
Li Lanzhen nodded and said, "Mr. Bai, that's no problem. Just tell them when we go to dinner that they can send someone to set up the kang (heated brick bed) in one day tomorrow."
"It'll be safe to live in after two days of fumigation."
Three or four days passed, and heated brick beds were erected in the stone houses in Hulu Valley.
A long wooden shed was erected outside, with neat wooden shelves inside, on which were placed winnowing baskets filled with herbs.
Bai Houpu and Xuan Shen never stopped searching for the secret passage leading outside.
But every day I went and found nothing.
In the past few days, Li Lanzhen and Xuan Shen have been searching for a training ground to be built north of Peach Blossom Spring.
That evening after dinner, Xue Laohu saw Li Lanzhen and Xuan Shen talking outside and came over.
"Lanzhen, there's something I want to tell you."
He continued speaking without waiting for her to ask a question.
"When I was patrolling the mountains, I discovered a small valley north of Peach Blossom Spring."
The climate there is quite similar to here. There's a small river at the foot of the Western Hills, probably a tributary of the larger river.
After saying that, he looked at the two of them and asked, "Would you like to come with me to take a look?"
Li Lanzhen glanced at Xue Laohu shrewdly, thinking to herself, "Luckily he's one of us, otherwise..."
"Okay. Take us there tomorrow."
Xuan Shen also looked at Xue Laohu: This person is intelligent and wise, able to guess their general purpose from their movements over the past few days.
They were also able to subtly provide them with a message.
Xuan Shen did not doubt Xue Laohu's intentions; he trusted Li Lanzhen and, in turn, trusted the people she trusted.
As dawn broke, a valley of over 300 acres appeared before Li Lanzhen and her two companions.
"This is a wonderful place!"
"This place is perfect!" When Xue Laohu heard Li Lanzhen and Xuan Shen say this in unison, he knew that he had made the right decision to bring them here.
Because he spent many years in the mountains interacting with animals, he developed keen observation skills and meticulous insight.
Li Lanzhen and Xuan Shen went to Peach Blossom Spring for several days in a row.
He knew that Xuan Shen was looking for something because they all looked a little disappointed when they came back.
This leads to speculation about the identity of the boy who had been in a coma and had not yet woken up, as brought by Xuan Shen.
Xue Laohu then realized that Xuan Shen was probably looking for a place to train secret guards or palace soldiers.
So he gave it to this place.
Xuan Shen glanced at Li Lanzhen, and she gave him a look.
"Thank you, Uncle Xue." Xuan Shen walked up and bowed.
He straightened up and said again.
"Uncle Xue, I want to build a training ground here."
After saying that, he looked at Xue Laohu.
"Haha. Great! It's my pleasure to have helped you find a suitable place."
However, I have a request.
"Uncle Xue, please speak freely."
"Count me in. I want to participate in training."
Seeing Xue Laohu's serious expression, Xuan Shen held his hands tightly.
"Okay. Welcome, Uncle Xue!"
Li Lanzhen watched as the two finished speaking their minds and observed the valley.
"This is indeed a great place!"
She pointed north, "That's where you can build houses and yards."
The main dining hall.
The area to the east can be developed into a training ground.
Vegetables can be grown along one side of the river.
There is enough space if you want to build a vegetable greenhouse.
As the two men listened to her instructions, they looked at each one and nodded in agreement.
Li Lanzhen frowned at this moment.
“Xuan Shen, you’ve found them. They must be the children, right?”
"Yes, Aunt Lanzhen, the more than one hundred orphans that my uncle took in have all been handed over to Uncle Hua and taken to the manor outside Youzhou City."
Uncle Hua also took in dozens of orphans and people he bought from human traffickers.
There are probably around three hundred.
"Then, do we need to bring people over from Peach Blossom Spring?"
We still need people here to cook and grow vegetables.
"Auntie, no need. Uncle Hua bought five families' worth."
You can cook and grow vegetables there.
Even in Peach Blossom Spring, there aren't enough people to go around.
Xue Laohu asked him, "Xuanshen, can the children from Peach Blossom Spring also come for training?"
Xuan Shen didn't speak, but looked at Li Lanzhen.
"Uncle Xue, Aunt Lanzhen, participating in the training here is very dangerous and needs to be kept secret."
We selected orphans.
Xue Laohu and Li Lanzhen both nodded in understanding.
Li Lanzhen thought of the children, Shi Tou and San Wang, and said, "Xuan Shen, you should make some choices."
If the child is willing, we can take them in for training.
"I'd like to ask," Xue Laohu asked Xuan Shen after a moment's hesitation.
Seeing his encouraging look, Xue Laohu continued, "Are all the people training here bodyguards?"
Xuan Shen smiled and said, "Not necessarily. We need to train secret guards, but we also need to train generals who can lead troops into battle."
Xue Laohu nodded and said nothing more.
“Aunt Lanzhen, if we build houses and courtyards here, we won’t need to bring a lot of people over from Peach Blossom Spring.”
Send someone over to give us some guidance; we'll build it ourselves here.
"Alright, let's go back and talk to Village Chief Han. We can't let more people know about what's happening here. Otherwise, it will bring danger to Peach Blossom Spring."
"Yes, Auntie, I know that."
When will your people arrive? Where will they come from? By water or by mountain path?
Li Lanzhen asked him, and Xuan Shen smiled, "Xiao Wu is going to Youzhou City tomorrow to discuss it with Uncle Hua. We'll know tonight."
Two weeks later.
Peach Blossom Spring welcomed its first snow!
More than 400 people at the training camp moved into dormitories with heated brick beds.
There are no individual courtyards with rows of dormitories.
Each dormitory room consists of an inner and outer room. The inner room has a large kang (heated brick bed) for five people, with each person having their own kang cabinet.
The outer room serves as both a living room and a study, with a long desk, five chairs, and a bookshelf.
Here, not only do students need to train, but they also need to read, recognize, and write characters.
There was a large public bathhouse, with separate sections for men and women.
Because there are girls in the training camp.
The secret passage in Calabash Valley has still not been found. All the herbs in Calabash Valley have been harvested and made into medicinal powder and pills.
After discussing it, Xuan Shen and Bai Houpu decided to send a batch of medicinal herbs along with the grain sent to the border garrison.
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