Zhai Huan is a cold and introverted person by nature. He is usually serious in front of outsiders, but he never hesitates to smile to his relatives, especially his cousin Zhai Le, who he watched grow up and he knows him best.
To put it bluntly, just by looking at the way Zhai Xiaofang sticks out his butt, he can tell what's going on in this guy's mind and what he's thinking.
Then he asked, "What is Xiaofang thinking about?"
Zhai Huan's smile was somewhat dangerous.
Zhai Le subconsciously straightened his back and said timidly, "I was just thinking... Brother seems to... not want to see this go smoothly?"
"Of course, the messier the better."
The tax-silver issue may be a fuse.
Zhai Le suddenly looked up at his cousin, opening his mouth to say something but not knowing where to start. He wiped the sweat from his palms on the hem of his shirt above his knees and muttered, "It's not that good... It's not like you didn't see the lives of the people..."
A stable situation is conducive to the people's recuperation.
Even small-scale armed conflicts between villages will affect people's lives, not to mention large and medium-sized wars involving thousands or tens of thousands of people.
Thinking about the scenes along the way, Zhai Le still hoped that there would be no war, so that the people could live a peaceful life for a few days.
How could you not understand this, brother
"Haha, Xiaofang is still thinking too simply. The northwest is not a big place, but there are many people who are plotting against it. Only by muddying the waters can we know who is causing trouble."
Zhai Huan knew very well that chaos in the northwest of the mainland was a matter of time, and the current situation was just the calm before the storm.
With or without that fuse, the outcome would be pretty much the same.
The situation in the northwest of the mainland can basically be described by one sentence: A small temple attracts powerful evil spirits; a shallow pond attracts many turtles.
It seems that the situation is one of mutual restraint and balance among countries, but in fact it is a volcano that has accumulated enough energy and is ready to erupt.
Zhai Le had no choice but to sigh.
Compared with the overall situation, the individual is too weak.
He couldn't help but complain in his mind - instead of wasting time dealing with these things, it would be better to go find Brother Shen to drink and have fun, how wonderful it would be!
Zhai Huan knew at a glance that his cousin couldn't sit still again, and said with a smile: "You can go out and play, but don't cause trouble in the near future. If a stranger wants to make friends with you, you need to be more vigilant."
If the money being transported was indeed tax silver—
Even if the county magistrate hinted that it was a fake team to confuse the outside world, Zhai Huan did not dare to take it lightly. After all, people like the county magistrate who are used to scheming for personal gain have very low credibility. Who knows whether what he said is true or false or just a test
Even though he knew that his cousin was not a reckless man without any scheming, he was still worried that Zhai Le would be used by others inadvertently.
Zhai Le clasped his hands together and pretended to obey the order.
He replied in a deep voice: "Brother, I dare not disobey your orders."
Zhai Huan smiled and shook his head.
While the two brothers were talking, the chessboard had been cleared. He said, "Xiaofang, play two games with me."
"Okay, but after that, you have to have a drink with me." He shook the jar of wine he brought back from Shen Tang.
Zhai Huan smiled and said, "Okay, as you say."
There was a good atmosphere of brotherly love and respect here, but Shen Tang was not doing well. This was because she went down the mountain to the city with Chu Yao today. Chu Yao had something to do, so he informed another cheap student to prevent the butcher's family from thinking that he had run away.
It was not convenient for Shen Tang to follow the action.
She agreed with Chu Yao on a meeting time and place, and then out of boredom she found a street corner and started doing her old business - selling wine and paintings.
Yes, you read that right, there are also paintings for sale.
The price of painting a portrait on the spot is not low, equivalent to a jar of wine. Passers-by are attracted by the aroma of wine and occasionally come to ask the price, but no one is interested in the on-site painting package. Shen Tang is not in a hurry either, wearing a rough reed hat, leisurely basking in the sun.
until-
A familiar scent of incense wafted into my nose.
Shen Tang raised the brim of his hat and asked the visitor.
"Mr. Gu, why is it you again?"
The young man found it quite amusing: "I should be the one asking this question. I haven't seen Shen Lang for a while. How is Shen Lang doing?"
Shen Tang changed his lazy sitting posture and sat up straight subconsciously, smiling: "As for me, I'm fine."
I secretly thought it was bad luck.
The person who came was Shen Tang's natural nemesis—
Gu Chi!
This man's literary ways are a chatterbox's nightmare.
Xiaocheng is not big, but it is not small either. I can just find a place to set up a stall. Why do I always run into people like Gu Chi
When Gu Chi heard Shen Tang's inner mumbling, the corners of his mouth twitched slightly.
People who don't know the situation might think that Gu Chi was waiting for Shen Tang like a pervert, but they didn't know that he just happened to pass by the next street. Under normal circumstances, the thoughts of ordinary people are chaotic, noisy and illogical, but this young man is different. When he is bored, he can make up a story in his mind, which is vivid and colorful. He can't ignore it even if he wants to.
"Where is Mr. Qi Yuan? He didn't follow us?"
"You mean Yuanliang? He stayed at home to take care of the piglets. The piglets had just been slaughtered and needed someone to take good care of them."
Shen Tang's words were shocking.
Gu Chi: “…???”
take care of…
Piglets
"Qi Yuanliang went to raise pigs?" He was stunned for a moment, almost suspecting that there was something wrong with his ears, and his expression almost broke - Qi Yuanliang, who was famous in the northwest, had enemies everywhere, and many forces gnashed their teeth when talking about him, and he changed his career to become a pig farmer
Seeing his reaction, Shen Tang burst out laughing: "Strictly speaking, those are the pigs I raise, but I have to go out, so I asked Yuan Liang to help take care of them. Why do you look like that?"
Gu Chi: “…really?”
Shen Tang: “It’s absolutely true.”
There were more bandits near Xiaocheng than the one Shen Tang and his team had wiped out. They always had to leave a few capable fighters to guard the old nest, so one of them, Gong Shuwu or Shen Tang, had to stay. Chu Yao had lost his literary mind, so he had to have someone around him, so Shen Tang volunteered to follow him.
Before leaving, she repeatedly told Qishan to treat her pigs well, because they had been "castrated" and had been seriously injured, so they needed careful care. It was not just a litter of piglets, but also her braised spareribs, braised pig's trotters, sweet and sour pork tenderloin, and preserved vegetable braised pork in the second half of the year...
Qi Shan looked unhappy, but he still agreed.
To round it off, there is nothing wrong with Qishan raising pigs in the mountains.
Gu Chi smiled meaningfully: "I would like to see it with my own eyes."
If he could eat a piece of pork raised by Qishan, even if the pork was so smelly and fishy that it was hard to swallow, he would still eat two bowls!
Shen Tang asked: "What's so good about that?"
Gu Chi shook his head secretly.
He had seen a lot of strange things in the world, but he had never seen Qishan raising pigs, and he couldn't imagine that scene.
I have never seen it before, so it is rare and beautiful.
Gu Chi seemed to be chatting but also seemed to be testing something: "Qi Yuanliang, apart from raising pigs, has he done anything else serious recently?"
Shen Tang retorted dissatisfiedly: "Why is raising pigs not proper?"
Food is the most important thing for people.
Anything related to eating is serious!
Gu Chi knew that Shen Tang was on guard against him, and he didn't want to dwell on useless topics: "It's going to be uneasy these days."
I don’t believe Qishan doesn’t know this.
Even if you pray for a good temper, it is impossible for him to stay at home and raise pigs.