Xiaoman laughed softly: "That's right, your sister Chen is an all-rounder. I can do everything. I can coax children, fool men, and teach women. Isn't it amazing!"
Bai Zhen blinked her eyes, this time she was really convinced. The head of the village came soon, and was a little confused when he saw Xiaoman and Gu Xiangning brought so many people here this time.
"Mr. Gu, Madam Gu, you are here."
Gu Xiangning smiled and nodded: "Yes, Lizhang, by the way, please continue to lead us for a day today. This is our new friend. I heard that this location is good, so we came together to take a look."
When he heard that it was an outsider, the head of the village suddenly had a bitter smile on his face, but he still nodded: "Okay, then you wait a moment, I will go and get ready."
Xiaoman and Gu Xiangning looked at each other, what were they preparing for? However, the village head said to wait a moment, and they waited for about half an hour until the village head changed into a nice set of clothes.
This time, he led the way to the fields. Seeing that the villagers were all well-dressed, Li Zichun nodded and said, "This location you found is not bad, but I think it's a bit strange."
"Why do you all look unhappy even though you are wearing nice clothes?"
When the village head heard this, he thought someone was here to get information, so he coughed twice and said, "This may be because we have to work in the fields all year round, so this is the case."
Bai Zhen was even more puzzled: "That's not right. Working in the fields all year round is exercise. People who eat and drink enough and exercise should be healthier. Why do these people look like they don't have enough to eat all year round?"
"Li Zheng, is there something wrong with you? I can call a doctor to check you out. If you are sick, it is best to see a doctor."
The head of the village suddenly looked even more miserable. Looking at these people, he didn't know what to say for a moment. He was just an honest head of the village.
What does the struggle between those big shots have to do with him? Now he wants everyone to cooperate, and he doesn't even know which ones will cooperate. The village head can't help but feel uncomfortable.
With a constipated face, seeing that everyone was speechless, Bai Zhen blinked her eyes and said innocently: "Li Zheng, are you feeling unwell? Oh, I understand. It's inconvenient for you to talk about it, right?"
"Don't worry. Are the officials in the court treating you badly? Are the taxes too heavy? That won't work. Don't worry. I can enforce justice on behalf of heaven and kill corrupt officials!"
The village head was so frightened that he broke out in a sweat. You know, the imperial envoy sent by the higher-ups was for this purpose, wasn't it? But the imperial envoy couldn't be a woman, the village head was at a loss.
Bai Jia, who was traveling with him, hit Bai Zhen on the head and said, "Don't talk nonsense. Look how scared you made the head of the village. You are a girl, and you are always fighting and killing people."
"What a shame! Besides, we are here to have fun. What does it have to do with you if there are corrupt officials? Mr. Li hasn't even said anything!"
Li Zichun was stunned for a moment and looked at the head of the village: "Head, could it really be that the officials of the imperial court are bullying you? I am from the Li family of Bingcheng, you can just tell me and I will help you make the decision."
Xiaoman also coughed at this time: "Li Zheng, there is no doubt that this is the second son of the Li family, Mr. Li Zichun."
The head of the village was stunned for a moment. To be honest, this order was not issued by the imperial court, but was jointly issued by the three major families in Bingcheng. The yamen runners also listened to these three families.
Since it was Master Li, how could Master Li not know? He looked at Master Li and the others with some doubts. At this time, a guard beside Li Zichun coughed twice.
Everyone naturally turned their attention to him. Li Zichun was a little confused: "Does your throat feel itchy?"
The guard was suddenly stuck and embarrassed: "Master, you just came back from Kyoto, so there are some things you don't know. These things! Actually, there is nothing serious. These people are living well."
Xiaoman and Gu Xiangning looked at each other. Sure enough, there was something going on. Li Zichun also heard it: "Why, is there something I don't know? Tell me?"
The guard looked depressed. The young master's friends were still there: "Young master, there are many people now."
When Bai Zhen heard this, she immediately curled her lips and said, "I know. You are looking down on us because we are so many. Forget it, forget it. I won't listen to you. We are outsiders. You can talk to the side."
He snorted and turned away from looking at Li Zichun. Li Zichun was immediately depressed: "What do you mean there are so many people? Just say what I tell you to say. We are all family anyway!"
The guard looked helpless, but since the master had spoken, he just said it, since it was the master's intention anyway: "Yes, master, didn't the emperor send imperial envoys to inspect various places?"
"We will definitely have an imperial envoy coming here. The emperor definitely wants to see a peaceful and prosperous world. The adults here all want to make their own achievements and let the imperial envoy see the good side."
"Then we sent out the yamen runners to inform the local villagers in advance and ask them to be well prepared. When they see strangers, they should dress well, smile at them and appear to be living a good life."
The guard spoke without hiding anything and told everyone everything. Everyone looked at each other in confusion. Didn't they know that this would only add to the burden on the villagers' lives
Bai Ziyan's eyes flickered a few times. It seemed that these people were really working hard to deal with them. It was a pity that if one step went wrong, everything would be lost.
It's just that it's not the right time yet. After hearing what the guard said, Bai Zhen suddenly felt depressed: "Won't this increase the burden on the villagers? Aren't they living a bad life to begin with?"
"Why do you treat the Imperial Envoy like this?"
The guard was stunned for a moment, then shook his head: "This villain really doesn't know, maybe the head of the village knows what's going on?"
As he said this, he glanced at the head of the village. He was originally a guard of the Li family. He had good food and accommodation. He followed his master and met rich people. Of course, he had no idea how the lower-class villagers lived.
When the head of the village heard these words, he was also moved and sighed: "The original life can't be said to be bad, but it can't be said to be good either. Anyway, if God is willing, we can still make a living in a year."
After hearing this, Xiaoman and others realized that these people's lives were originally just a struggle. It was impossible for them to have enough food and warm clothes, and this was the life of people living on the outskirts of the city.
Then those places far away from Ice City, I don’t know what kind of hard life they are living! The atmosphere had become a little solemn, and Bai Jia suddenly spoke.
"By the way, are there any mountains or something near Ice City? I suddenly want to go hunting. Let's find some time to go hunting in the mountains!"
Bai Jia was just saying this, but in fact he had known the terrain here for a long time. He knew that there was a big mountain not far from Ice City, but few people went there.
Moreover, there are few people along the way, but of course there are many villages. I can take advantage of the hunting trip to observe the lives of the people and watch her talk.
Everyone looked at her. Bai Jia smiled in confusion: "Why are you all looking at me like that? Is there something wrong?"
Xiaoman rolled his eyes: "We were all talking about the villagers, why did you suddenly think of hunting?"
Bai Jia blinked his eyes and said, "I just thought that I haven't gone hunting for a long time. Besides, if we go hunting, we might meet some people along the way. If we see anyone in trouble, we can help them."
"Just think of it as doing a good deed. It allows you to have fun and do good things at the same time. What's wrong with that?"
Xiaoman thought about it and nodded: "Okay, let's go, but are there any mountains nearby? Speaking of which, there are very few mountains here all the way here, which is really strange."
Li Zichun was joking when he suddenly became energetic. He looked at everyone and said, "I know where the mountain is. We often go hunting there. I will definitely not let you down."
"How about this, we go back and prepare our things today and set off tomorrow. You all can ride horses, right?"
Everyone nodded, saying that they all knew how to ride horses. Xiaoman looked at everyone and said, "I wanted to keep you here for dinner, but I see there's nothing to offer in the village."
"I'll invite you next time when my house is finished. You guys can go back first. I still need to stay here to see how the construction is going. There's still a lot to do."
Bai Zhen smiled and nodded: "I see. I didn't know the specific situation of the village before, but now I know it, so I have to make new arrangements, right? I will still go to the inn to pick you up tomorrow morning."
Xiaoman and Gu Xiangning nodded and watched the group of people get on the carriage and leave. Xiaoman then turned to look at the village head. He could see that the village head felt a little guilty at this moment.
These people are all children of wealthy families, and they are not the kind of bad people at heart: "I'm sorry, I didn't tell you the truth, mainly because you are strangers."
Xiaoman shook her head: "It's okay, this is all the government's fault, it has nothing to do with you. Speaking of it, as long as the land is good and there is no problem, it is not considered cheating."
When the village head heard this, he immediately said, "The land must be good. I will never lie to you. I just want to keep you here so that our village can have an extra source of income."
The more he talked, the more guilty the village head felt. However, Xiaoman didn't care at all: "You don't need to say anything, village head. This is how business is. Besides, I haven't lost anything. Everything we talked about yesterday remains unchanged."
"I stayed here today because I want to give you an extra 200 taels of silver. Give it to those people to buy some food. They don't have the strength to work, and it's easy for something to happen."
Now is the spring ploughing season, and everyone is doing manual labor. Everyone has a lot of work to do every day: "By the way, we are also setting up a food store and hiring people to cook."
"Everyone who works here is responsible for their own meals. They cannot take food home and can only eat in the cafeteria."