Zhao Xian hadn't expected that Magistrate Cao would give him a carriage. The carriages from the government were much better than those from the carriage shops, which would make it much more convenient for him to go out and run errands in the future.
"Thank you, officers. Please convey my thanks to the magistrate on my behalf."
The two nodded, mounted their horses, and drove away, leaving behind the carriage given to them by Magistrate Cao.
By this time, there were already quite a few villagers around. Some of them had come to see the well, while others had come to sell millet. They were all stunned by the scene before them.
The county government not only sent ten guards to the scholar's family, but also a carriage, which was beyond their comprehension. The scholar and the county magistrate had an exceptionally good relationship.
With ten more people suddenly joining the family, the issues of food and accommodation needed to be addressed as soon as possible. In fact, we had already started working on these issues several days ago.
During the days of digging the well, Zhao Xian arranged for two stoves to be built in the kitchen, which solved the problem of cooking for a large number of people.
As for the accommodation of the ten soldiers, that's even easier to solve. There are plenty of empty rooms in the workshop; we can clean out two or three rooms, buy a few more beds, and they'll be able to live there.
A straw mat was laid on the bed, but there was no blanket. However, it was summer now, so there was no need for a blanket. We would consider that when the weather got cooler.
Zhao Xian glanced at Zhao Cheng, and Zhao Cheng immediately came over.
"Master, what are your orders?"
"These ten men are household guards that the county magistrate found for us. Get to know each other. From now on, you will be in charge of them, managing them and being responsible for the security and defense of our home."
Zhao Cheng was stunned. In terms of status, he was a servant, while these ten men were hired guards with higher status and position than him. Yet the head of the family had asked him to manage these people.
The head of the family valued him highly. In his eyes, he was no longer a servant, but a brother.
Zhao Cheng did not hesitate. He bowed deeply to Zhao Xian and said firmly:
"Yes, ma'am."
Then Zhao Cheng walked up to the soldiers, cupped his hands in greeting, and began to give them a speech.
Zhao Xian didn't understand some of the management practices in the military camp, but these retired soldiers knew that he was a very capable manager, at least at the level of a general. Now they felt at home again.
At this moment, Zhao Cheng walked over, looking somewhat excited.
“Master, two of these ten people used to be military cooks. From now on, they can do the cooking at home, so Auntie won’t have to work so hard.”
"Really? That's great. Let them show off their skills at noon today."
This was truly an unexpected delight. Zhao Xian had been considering this for the past few days. With the arrival of the family soldiers, the number of people in his household would be close to twenty. He was thinking about how to hire a cook to take charge of cooking, but unexpectedly, the problem was solved all at once.
Around noon, Zhao Xiaosheng and Li Guang returned home after finishing their farm work and were surprised to find that there were suddenly many more people in their house. They didn't know what was going on.
Li Guang was not only surprised, he seemed to be a little scared and didn't dare to look at his soldiers.
Seeing this, Zhao Xian walked over and patted him on the shoulder.
"Li Guang, after the last night raid by bandits, I felt that my home was becoming increasingly unsafe, so I hired ten guards to be responsible for the safety of my home."
At the same time, they also need to take care of other household affairs. The family's land has been redeemed, and there will be a lot of farm work to be done in the future, which can be arranged for them to do.
These past few days you and Xiaosheng have been clearing the dry land, and we're short-handed. I'm planning to arrange for a few people to help you.”
Upon hearing this, Li Guang felt a great weight lifted from his shoulders, and he smiled as he spoke:
"Thank you, Brother Zhao. This season is not suitable for planting grain crops. I plan to clear the dry land and plant some vegetables first. After the vegetables are harvested, we can plant winter wheat."
The rice will be ready for harvest in about two weeks. Then the redeemed paddy fields will be put to good use. I plan to seize the time and plant a batch of late-season rice. I've already contacted several farmers, and they will provide the seedlings.
Zhao Xian nodded. Li Guang was so young, yet he was so knowledgeable about farming and already had plans and arrangements. Zhao Xian was increasingly unable to understand this young man.
Once the topic of farming came up, Li Guang became very talkative, and he continued speaking.
“There are large areas of wasteland outside Shuixian Village. These wastelands belong to Shuixian Village and have not been cultivated for many years, which is indeed a waste of resources.”
Zhao Xian quickly understood Li Guang's meaning and said with a smile:
"You want to cultivate those wastelands and plant crops on them."
Li Guang nodded, his eyes filled with anticipation.
“Okay, I’ll ask the village head later to buy those wastelands and then cultivate them,” Zhao Xian replied with a smile.
"That's great! If we hurry, we can plant a winter wheat crop," Li Guang said excitedly.
The lunch was prepared by two soldiers. They had never seen or used some of the seasonings before, so Li Chun'e provided guidance.
The meal was finally ready and set out on two tables. Ten soldiers sat at one table, and the rest of the people sat at the other.
When the two military cooks were cooking in the barracks, because there were many people, all the food was cooked in one pot, and apart from adding a little salt, there were no other seasonings.
But today is different. Each vegetable is cooked in its own way, and modern seasonings are added. With Li Chun'e's guidance, the dishes are a feast for the eyes, nose, and palate.
These soldiers had never eaten such delicious food before. Even meat, which was a rare treat, was common in this family. Most of the vegetables contained shredded or sliced meat, which made them exclaim with delight.
With this food, we all have to work hard and do our best to satisfy our employer.
Because he had to buy barnyard grass during the day, Zhao Xian used his evenings to make white sugar.
The recent harvest of barnyard grass has been extremely arduous, but Zhao Xian had no other choice. This was the only way to help the villagers who were starving survive the famine. Compared to this hardship, what did it matter?
In the afternoon, the village head came, and Zhao Xian expressed his desire to buy the village's wasteland.
The village head's eyes lit up. Over the years, the villagers' conditions had not been good, and no household had extra money to buy wasteland, so the village had no economic income. If Zhao Xian were to buy this wasteland, that would be great.
"Currently, there are more than 1,000 mu of wasteland in the village available for sale. Among them, more than 300 mu of wasteland in the east are in use, and the price is two taels of silver per mu. There are more than 1,000 mu of wasteland in the west, and the price is one tael and five mace of silver per mu. I don't know what kind of wasteland you need."
“I bought all 300-plus acres of wasteland in the east. The village head helped me with this.”
Li Zheng quickly did the math: of the village's land sale proceeds, 60% had to be given to the county government, 40% was kept by the village, and the town received no share.
The sale of over 300 mu of wasteland brought in more than 200 taels of silver for the village, a huge sum of money. With this money, they could do more for the villagers.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
