Song Wan did what he said and asked Song Qi and others to gather at the foot of the mountain the next day.
Let them run around the bamboo forest fifty times first.
Fifty laps was within the tolerable range for the secret guards, so after running for a few days, Song Qi and others came over and asked politely if they wanted to change their training method. They could learn from each other, as running was a waste of time.
Song Wan didn't say anything. She had been busy these past two days and had made several sandbags, each weighing ten pounds.
"Do you think running is too easy?" Song Wan raised her eyebrows.
Song Qi scratched his head and hesitated, "Not really, I just think there can be a more efficient way." They were willing to get guidance from the eldest lady, but running alone didn't seem to have any effect.
Song Wan didn't explain. She just took out the sandbags and asked several people to tie them around their legs one by one, and continue running fifty laps around the bamboo forest every day.
Song Qi and his companions had never seen this thing before, and were curious about it, so they ran patiently for a few more days.
The feeling this time seemed different. With sandbags tied to both legs, my steps became much heavier. Guizhou is windy and sandy, and the wind is strong in winter. For a moment, gusts of sand and wind blew outside the bamboo forest.
Ever since Song Wan told the woman that bamboo shoots were edible, people from many households in the village would come to the bamboo forest every day to dig bamboo shoots.
When the wind and sand blow, people with poor health will feel itchy in their throats and start coughing.
Song Wan heard the coughing coming from the woods and frowned slightly. Then, when several people led by Song Wu ran over, she made a request, "Take your steps lightly, and don't let the sand exceed the height of the sandbags."
When Song Wan first came to the bamboo forest with a few secret guards, he almost scared the villagers who came to dig bamboo shoots.
They thought the other party was here to assert their sovereignty, after all, it was the other party who discovered that bamboo shoots were edible.
But after a few days of getting along without interfering with each other, the villagers discovered that this new girl from the Song family was not at all arrogant, and was even a little... cute?
Yes, it's cute, like a child.
Love to eat and be active.
While Song Qi and the others were running, Song Wan was busy except for paying some attention to supervising them.
Not far away there was a river pond with frozen water. Song Wan moved a stone and drilled a hole in it, saying that he wanted to catch fish to eat.
At first, no one believed that they could catch fish by digging a hole like this, but who would have thought that while everyone was bending down to dig bamboo shoots, Song Wan scooped up a basin of small fish.
There were a lot of small fish, so Song Wan roasted them on the spot and ate them as snacks, and also gave a lot of them to the children in the village.
The small fish sprinkled with seasoning powder removes the fishy smell and tastes much better than those sprinkled with only coarse salt.
After Song Wan and the children had eaten their fill, and Song Qi and the others had finished their fifty laps, all that was left for them was an extinguished fire and a pile of small fish bones on the ground.
Song Wan wiped her mouth and asked them, "How do you feel?"
Several people looked at each other, and Song Wu stepped forward first. He was a martial arts fanatic and the first to feel the difference. After running in circles for half a month, he found that every time he went to the sandbag, his body was much lighter than before, he walked more silently, and it became easier for him to perform light skills.
Song Wan nodded, reluctantly satisfied. "Then starting tomorrow, tie twice as many sandbags and double the number of circles."
This time, no one objected.
The eldest lady is trying to help them break through their limits little by little.
Watching people running every day is also boring.
So over the past half month, Song Wan has captured many children with Xiaoyuzai.
Among them, the two kids named Goudan and Gou Wa were her favorites because they were always the two who ate the most. Song Wan thought this was very similar to her, which was good.
I don’t know if it’s because she goes out every day that makes the little ones at home jealous.
The first person who came over and grabbed her and stopped her from leaving the house was A Yu from next door. He didn't say anything, just stared at her with his eyes wide open, looking so pitiful.
Then came Anan, Ayue and the others, and even the rebellious boy Qi Fu, who was hiding behind the door, looked at her with hesitation.
Song Wan felt guilty for a moment, but she didn't mean to ignore the young team members at home.
So under the expectant gazes of the kids, Song Wan waved his hand and asked them to follow.
The team going out suddenly expanded, and there were two more free bodyguards, Gu Wen and Gu Wu.
It was not until she saw the two of them that Song Wan realized that something seemed to be missing from her in the past half month, and Gu Yanji seemed to have disappeared.
So she asked curiously, "What's the hurry for Gu Yan?"
The corner of Gu Wen's mouth twitched. He remembered what his master had told him when he left in a hurry: if Miss Song asked about his whereabouts, he must tell her the truth.
That's good. Miss Song asked as her master expected, but she didn't remember it until half a month later.
Gu Wen bowed and replied, "Miss Song, my master and Commander Jiang have gone to the military camp."
This military camp is not the one in Qiandi, but the tens of thousands of soldiers hiding outside. Now that the master has arrived in Qiandi and the young master of the Qi family has been found, these tens of thousands of soldiers also need to be reorganized.
"No wonder. I was wondering why I felt so lonely these past two days. I thought I lost weight because I was worried about Song Qi and the others." Song Wan muttered softly.
Gu Wu, who was closer, heard every word successfully. He didn't know what to say. He just felt sorry for his master.
With a large group of children following her, Song Wan's range of movement became much smaller, so she decided to have a picnic today.
In her previous life in an orphanage, she heard that the students in the school would have spring and autumn outings every year. They could choose to have a barbecue or bring their own lunch boxes, and then everyone would exchange food and play games together.
She doesn’t have the chance to go on spring or autumn outings, but she can go on winter outings.
Still at the foot of the mountain.
The more Song Wan thought about it, the more feasible it seemed. She used a stone to chisel open the water surface that had just frozen last night.
Goudan and Gouwa followed their mothers here every day to dig bamboo shoots. After digging only a few shovels, they slipped to the foot of the mountain and followed Song Wan, chattering.
"Sister Awan, are you going to grill the small fish again today?" Goudan couldn't stop drooling when talking about the small fish. He had never eaten such delicious small fish before. It was even better than the egg custard his mother made during the Chinese New Year.
"We're not grilling the little fish today." Song Wan picked up the wooden basin and went to the river. "Today we're grilling the little fish's parents."
Xiao Yuzai's...father and mother, Gu Wen and Gu Wu were listening silently at the side, and they always felt that something was strange.
"If they roasted Little Fish's parents, wouldn't Little Fish become an orphan?" Anan squatted on the ground, her chubby hand supporting her chin, her brows furrowed. "Little Fish, without parents, is so pitiful."
Song Wan wiped the water off her hands, turned around and touched little Anan's head, smiling, "It's okay, we'll catch the little fish tomorrow and grill them to eat, then there won't be any lonely fish left."
Anan was confused but her eyes lit up, "Auntie is so awesome! This way the little fish won't have to be separated from their parents."
Gu Wen and Gu Wu admired Song Wan's ability to deceive people. Any words could become something different when they came out of her mouth.
After a few days of fun with the kids, I successfully made some new friends for them, including Goudan and Gouwa.
The two of them are three or four years older than Achang and Ayu, but their height advantage is not obvious at all. They don't even look as strong as five or six-year-old babies.
They are all thin and dark, but their eyes are bright and lively.
The lively Song Yao also found a like-minded playmate, Goudan’s sister, Daya.
After having fun for a few days, Song Yuan and Song Yue stayed at home and started to learn embroidery honestly.
Song Yao is impatient and can't sit still. If you ask her to embroider a chrysanthemum, she can embroider a spider with legs of different lengths.
After being suppressed for a few days, Yang realized that her daughter was not cut out for this and simply let her go.
So, the Song and Gu families quietly integrated into the village. When the two families discovered this, they praised Song Wan from head to toe.
From then on, Yang no longer neglected her youngest daughter. No matter what the future held, they had to live in the village and could not not communicate with the villagers at all.
In contrast, Song Wan said she really just thought picnics were fun.
After playing at the foot of the mountain for more than a month, until Song Wan had almost caught all the fish in the river, the first phase of training for Song Qi and his team finally ended.
At the same time, there is a person who returns from a journey.
As soon as Song Wan went out, she met Gu Yanji who was returning on horseback. She hurriedly protected the fried meatballs wrapped in oil paper in her hand and almost let the dust fall into them.
"Awan, I'm back." Gu Yan quickly dismounted and ran towards the girl.
"Gu Yan is anxious, please go slower." Song Wan tightened the mouth of the oil paper bag.
Gu Yan listened anxiously, and the corners of his mouth rose slightly. After several days of separation, A Wan was indeed still thinking about him.
Before I could even feel happy, she continued, "It's windy today. Don't get sand into the oil-paper bag I'm using to fry the meatballs."
Gu Yan is anxious...
A passionate heart fell to the ground with a bang, and it cooled down a bit.
He shouldn't have expected too much from her.
Gu Yan hurriedly put her broken heart back together, walked over slowly and asked, "What have you done while I've been away?"
"A lot." Song Wan counted them one by one, "Grilled Fish, Grilled Fish's parents, training Song Qi and the others, and finally, having a good meal every day."
Gu Yan laughed anxiously. Every time she spoke, she made people feel relaxed and comfortable.
"When I came back, I heard that someone from Xinzhou would come here after the New Year." Gu Yan said anxiously.
"Xinzhou?" Song Wan's eyes lit up. "Is that Yao Xu? He raised the money so quickly?"
"It's him. I heard that this time, in addition to the few secret guards he secretly trained, his eldest son also came here secretly. I guess he wants to come to Guizhou to 'achieve merit'."
The one who originally came with him was the second illegitimate son. The eldest illegitimate son had died at the hands of Yao Xu and was removed from the family name after his death. So this second illegitimate son moved up one position and became the eldest illegitimate son.
Song Wan didn't care whether he was a concubine or not, or a son or not. What she cared about was how much silver this eldest son was worth.
The New Year is just a few days away, which makes Song Wan look forward to the days after the New Year.
The first potato planting period is in February and March. In order to avoid accidents, Jiang Zhen decided to announce it in advance.
He brought a few trusted soldiers to Dadong Village and told the villagers that he would try to plant an acre of potatoes in the village.
The villagers were in an uproar. No one could believe that grain could yield 1,000 kilograms per mu. In response to Jiang Zhen's words, they chose to retreat.
Most of the people living in Dadong Village were exiled here by their ancestors. Even though they have been banned from taking the imperial examinations for three generations, they have lived here for dozens or hundreds of years and have become authentic farmers, working from sunrise to sunset.
Jiang Zhen suddenly suggested changing the planting of potatoes, but they were content with the old ways and were not willing to do so.
One of them asked, "Sir, you said that this potato can produce 1,000 kilograms per mu, but we haven't seen it yet. How can you expect us to believe it?"
The other villagers all agreed that it would be better to grow wheat.
Jiang Zhen naturally wouldn't let them waste a year of farming. He was rich now, and he could afford to give them compensation of just one acre of land.
He raised his hand to reassure the villagers, "Of course this won't be a waste of your time. I made this decision because I wanted everyone to see for themselves what it's like to produce 1,000 kilograms of potatoes per mu."
Jiang Zhen thought about it privately for a long time and discussed it with the Song and Gu families. These potatoes must be planted in the village. Now they have more than a thousand kilograms of potato seeds, which are planted in four villages so that the villagers can see and touch them every day.
"As long as there is one household in the village willing to provide one acre of land to plant the potatoes I mentioned, I will pay for the grain that would have been grown from that acre of land. At the same time, after the potatoes are grown, they will also receive an equal amount of potato seeds."
There were so many benefits that a few families hesitated, but no one really stood up.
As the saying goes, the people cannot fight the officials. If the potatoes are not grown and the officials refuse to compensate them, they will really have no one to turn to.
Jiang Zhen gave everyone three days to consider. If no one was willing by then, the decision would have to be made by drawing lots.
At first, Song Wan thought that Jiang Zhen’s method would be useless, but unexpectedly, Gou Wa came with his mother the next day.
"Sister Awan, are you home?" Gou Wa pulled his mother to the door of the Song family and shouted into the yard.
Only then did she realize that Gou Wa's mother was the woman who asked her that day whether bamboo shoots were edible.
Gou Wa is her youngest son.
"Gou Wa, why are you here? We are not going to the river to grill fish today." Song Wan thought she had not informed him.
"It's not me, it's my mother. She said she has something to ask Sister Awan." Gou Wa brought his mother here for the first time, and suddenly he felt a little shy.
The woman's surname is Wang, and everyone usually calls her Wang.
There were not many good things at home, so Wang packed five eggs and a handful of dried mushrooms and vegetables in a basket.
"This is a small gift from me, Miss Song, please accept it." Gou Wa's mother, Wang, pushed the basket in her arms over to her. "It's just a few eggs and a handful of dried mushrooms and vegetables that I stockpiled this summer."
Song Wan didn't answer. She knew that she couldn't accept a reward without merit. "Tell me first, what exactly do you want to talk to me about?"
Wang hesitated, tightening her grip on the basket. Finally, she asked, "I just wanted to ask if Master Jiang has decided which family will grow the potatoes."
Song Wan understood. She first glanced at the clever yet shy Gou Wa, then turned to the woman and asked, "You want to plant potatoes?"
Wang hummed and nodded, "I've discussed it with Gou Wa's father. If Lord Jiang hasn't decided on a candidate yet, why don't we provide one acre of land for farming?"
Their family was poor and had only five acres of land. Last year, in order to find a wife for Gou Wa's eldest brother Tiezhu, they had to use the money from selling three acres of land as a betrothal gift.
Now there are only two acres of land left in the family. My daughter-in-law recently gave birth to a granddaughter. The two acres of land are not enough to feed us no matter how much we plant, and there are few jobs available in the city.
The eldest son Tiezhu went to the city in May and worked for half a year, but earned less than 500 coins.
She heard Lord Jiang say that day that if the potatoes were grown, she would not only be compensated with one acre of grain but also be rewarded with the same amount of potatoes.
Wang went back and discussed with Gou Wa's father for a whole night and decided to give it a try. As long as Lord Jiang did not go back on his word, they would not suffer any loss no matter how they calculated it.
After hearing her purpose, Song Wan said it was no problem. "Don't worry, Da--no, your Lord Jiang is rich and won't go back on his word."
The bearded man now has a whole cart of gold and two carts of silver, so he can afford a mere 300 kilograms of grain.
When Gou Wa heard this, he was delighted and ran around his mother happily, "Mom, I always say Sister A Wan is very nice. Sister A Wan always gives a lot of small fish to Gou Dan and me."
Wang felt relieved after receiving a positive answer. She couldn't help but scold her naughty son, "You naughty monkey, you just play around all day. I'm afraid all the little fish your sister Awan worked so hard to catch have gone into your greedy stomach."
Even though Gou Wa was scolded by his mother, he was not afraid. He just giggled and snuggled into Wang's arms, then secretly looked at Song Wan with his bright dark eyes.
Song Wan likes Gou Wa very much, and she doesn’t feel tired at all when catching the little fish.
After scolding the boy, Wang turned around and handed the basket over, "Miss Song, this is a little gift from me, please accept it."
"No, I have eggs at home." Song Wan refused, "Give them to Gou Wa."
"Gou Wa has some. I heard that he's been eating and drinking a lot of free food at your place these past few days." Wang pushed the basket in and out, trying to sell it. "This dried mushroom and vegetable is delicious when stewed with chicken. Or you can soak it in warm water for an hour and stir-fry it with chicken for a unique taste. Miss Song, you can try it."
Gou Wa was drooling as he listened.
Stir-fry with chicken?
She had eaten chicken stewed with mushrooms before, but she had never tried stir-frying it.
Wang's words made Song Wan hesitate. After thinking for a moment, she said, "I don't want the eggs, but I'll keep the dried mushrooms."
But she couldn't take it for free. She still had a lot of jujube paste candies she had bought in Xinzhou, so Song Wan packed a bag for Gou Wa.
Finally, seeing that Song Wan really didn't want eggs, Wang didn't insist anymore. To be honest, since her daughter-in-law became pregnant and gave birth during the confinement period, all the eggs in the house were eaten by her, and Gou Wa hadn't tasted eggs for half a year.
After seeing off Gou Wa and his mother, Song Wan went into the kitchen with a cloth bag of dried mushrooms and vegetables. Today was New Year's Eve, and also their first year since coming to Guizhou, so naturally the two families had to celebrate together.
Qi saw her daughter, who had just gone out with a plate of fried peanuts, come in again holding a cloth bag with something in it.
So she said, "If Ah Wan is hungry, go to your second sister-in-law's room. She still has some uneaten dried apricots."
Song Wan shook her head, "Mom, I'm not hungry yet."
She put the cloth bag on the table and repeated to Qi and the others what Gou Wa's mother had just said.
"So, Gou Wa's mother has a pretty good personality." Qi touched the bag of dried mushrooms and vegetables and sighed, "I think these dried mushrooms and vegetables should have been the only dish on Gou Wa's family's New Year's table."
After hearing this, Song Wan was stunned. Didn’t she bring other people’s New Year’s Eve dinner?
Now that Yang is in good health, she often comes to the kitchen to help her sister-in-law Qi, but her cooking skills are average, so she usually just washes vegetables.
She put down the vegetables she had been washing and came over, also sighing, "Back in Yunzhou, my husband told me that life there was difficult for the people there. It wasn't until I came here that I realized there were even poorer places in the world."
The more Song Wan listened, the more guilty she felt. "Then I'll go return this to Gou Wa's mother!"
Qi stopped her and gently advised, "Since they have already brought it, it would be rude to return it unopened."
Song Wan was puzzled, "Then Gou Wa's family will have nothing to eat during the New Year."
After spending more than a month together, she had already regarded Gou Wa as an extra member of the team.
"Ah Wan, are you stupid? We can return the favor." Qi laughed. "Didn't your mother, your second aunt, and Aunt Liu fry a lot of meatballs a few days ago? Ah Wan can fill a bowl as a return gift."
Song Wan thought about it and felt that this method was feasible.
So she put down the dried mushrooms and vegetables in her hand, quickly filled a bowl with fried meatballs, and asked Song Qi to send it to Gou Wa's house.
But as soon as Song Qi left, Song Wan looked at the meatball that was half gone and felt heartbroken again.
It was a whole bowl, she lost money.
However, when the New Year's Eve dinner was served in the evening, after tasting the dried mushrooms and vegetables sent by Gou Wa's mother, Song Wan said that it was not a loss at all.
Qi is a good cook. She divided the dried mushrooms and vegetables into three portions, two of which were stewed and stir-fried with chicken respectively.
The former is tender and delicious, with rich chicken soup, which is very comforting to drink in winter. The latter is fragrant with a hint of spiciness, which is appetizing and goes well with rice.
Qi used the last portion to make a dish of braised pork.
Song Wan tasted it and felt that it was very similar to the preserved vegetable and pork stew of later generations. It was one dish with three flavors, so she made a profit in the end.
What should you do after eating and drinking? Of course, make money!
Except for the silver earned from Xinzhou that was stored in the cellar of Song Wan's house, Gu Yan hurriedly hid the rest of the silver that could not be stored.
On New Year's Eve, Song Wan asked Gu Yanji to take her to familiarize herself with the route. The walls inlaid with silver dazzled her.
However, the house that Gu Yan bought in a hurry was very large, and there were still several empty walls. Song Wan felt that she had an obligation to fill them up.
Come to think of it, Yao Xu's eldest son should be here soon. Song Wan smacked her lips, thinking that this was a good opportunity to see the training results of Song Qi and the others.
She called over the people who were in the second phase of training and said, "Okay, now it's time for your first inspection of the results."
When Song Qi and others heard this, they were shocked and stood up holding their breath.
During this period of time, they have experienced the so-called training that breaks the limit. It turns out that running laps is only the easiest.
There must be too many perverted methods in their eldest lady's mind.
Song Wan coughed and said, "I heard Gu Yan anxiously say that Yao Xu sent people to assassinate us. They are just the right targets for this actual combat."
Song Qi: "...Miss, how about we take care of them first and then move on to other targets?"
Assassination is not a joke and must be taken seriously.
"Listen to me," Song Wan interrupted him. "This time, you'll form a team of five, and I'll form a team of one. We'll have one day to see which team can finally rob the most valuable item."
Song Wan became more and more excited as she spoke. She had already had the actual experience of snatching supplies from other teams for a long time. This time she finally had the chance. If she didn't practice, she was really afraid that she would not be able to use her skills when she met a real enemy in the future.
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The eldest son and several secret guards packed up themselves! jpg.
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