Yang Haiyan was entertaining Mrs. Lu and Mrs. Yang.
Although Captain Lu and Captain Yang are now seventh-rank captains, the imperial court provides residences for seventh-rank captains, so they don't have a house in Yunxiang County. Logically, they have to buy or rent one themselves.
In fact, Lieutenant Lu and Lieutenant Yang were centurions before, with a monthly salary of only one tael of silver. They also had children to raise at home, so it was impossible for them to save money to buy a house in the county town. Therefore, Yang Haiyan separated two courtyards from the general's mansion for them to live in.
The general's mansion was very large. From Yang Haiyan's point of view, it was even larger than the village at the border manor. So even if two courtyards were separated for Captain Lu and Captain Yang's family, it would not affect them at all.
Because the courtyard was separated and surrounded by a wall, it was also an independent place. If Lieutenant Lu and Lieutenant Yang wanted to come to the General's Mansion, they had to go around the outer wall of the General's Mansion, which took a quarter of an hour.
Moreover, on the other side of the wall between Captain Lu's house and Captain Yang's house were the orchard and vegetable garden of the general's mansion, so the courtyards of the masters of the general's mansion were far away.
Because the men in the family have returned, the two families have finally settled down, so they came today and brought some gifts to the general's mansion to thank Yang Haiyan for letting them live in the yard next to her. Of course, whether they buy or rent a house, it will be a small expense.
They were happy when they thought that their husbands were now officials with a monthly salary of eight taels of silver.
Mrs. Lu brought her homemade bacon, which Yang Haiyan had taught her when they were in the Centurion Family Quarters. Mrs. Lu said, "I just made this bacon and brought it to you to enjoy. I'm afraid you won't like it. Actually, you taught me this method."
Yang Haiyan asked Aunt Lian to take away the bacon: "How could I dislike it? I was planning to make it, but I was busy these days and forgot about it. To be honest, I don't like eating bacon." Nowadays, very few people like to eat bacon.
Mrs. Yang said, "So it was you who taught me how to make it. Sister Lu's craftsmanship is really good. When my family tasted it, my son kept praising the bacon for being delicious." Mrs. Yang knew how to make these. She sent a set of clothes she made herself, from clothes to shoes. The material of the clothes was really good. It can be said that Mrs. Yang herself would wear such good material. "This is the clothes I made myself. The weather is hot, and it is just right for this season. Please don't dislike it."
When Mrs. Lu and Mrs. Yang came to deliver gifts, they both knew about it. Their men all worked under Qin Fang, and the relationship between the two families was not good, so they would discuss before delivering gifts. If the difference was too big, it would save face for both parties, so it was better not to discuss.
The dress made by Mrs. Yang was a long dress in glazed red, the color was beautiful. What surprised Yang Haiyan the most was Mrs. Yang's embroidery skills, which were even better than hers. Her embroidery skills were left by the original owner, who was taught by the master in Yang Taifu's mansion. An embroiderer who could work in Yang Taifu's mansion could be said to be a famous master, so the original owner's embroidery skills were excellent.
It was only after seeing Mrs. Yang's embroidery that she realized what a master level was. "Your embroidery is at the level of a master." When she was at the border before, she felt that Mrs. Yang was just like the average centurion's wife, and she knew more about etiquette than the average centurion's wife. After seeing her embroidery, Yang Haiyan was now convinced that Mrs. Yang's family must have some background.
Mrs. Lu took a few glances and couldn't help but admire: "Mrs. Yang's embroidery is really good. For a rough person like me, let alone making clothes, even if I touch such soft material a few times, I'm afraid I'll damage it."
The hands of an embroiderer are very particular. They must be soft and smooth. Otherwise, as Mrs. Lu said, what if she damages someone else's fabric? If her hands are rough, once she touches the fine fabric, it will leave marks on the surface of the fabric, such as thread pulling or something.
Following Mrs. Lu's words, Yang Haiyan looked at Mrs. Yang's hands. They were well maintained and obviously the hands of someone who works hard.
This made Yang Haiyan even more surprised.
Mrs. Yang may seem cheerful and quick-witted, but she must have a meticulous heart. With such embroidery skills, the Yang family must have a good life. You know, in ancient times, if the embroidery was good, it was very valuable. It seems that she overestimated herself and underestimated others.
Mrs. Yang smiled and explained, "My mother used to be an embroiderer for a noble family, specializing in making clothes for her master. Later, when she was almost a certain age and had some problems with her age, she returned home and was betrothed to someone else. After I was born, my mother taught me embroidery since I was a child, so I have learned some skills in embroidery."
When Yang Haiyan heard this, she thought that the level of embroidery for a noble family was not very high. And even if she left the noble family, she would be an ordinary person. Moreover, Mrs. Yang's mother must have been rich, and looking at Mrs. Yang's hands, she must have been well-fed since she was a child.
"In fact, it was fate that I could marry my husband. Once, when I was out, I met a scoundrel, and my husband saved me, so we got engaged." He saved her, and she fell in love with him. Even though their status was very different at that time, she did not despise him. Mrs. Yang was good at embroidery, and she often sold her embroidery to subsidize the family, so the conditions of the Yang family were actually not bad. Now that Captain Yang's conditions are better, she has finally made it.
After listening to Mrs. Yang's story about Captain Yang, Yang Haiyan felt like she was listening to a story. She felt that Captain Yang was the hero in the current male-oriented novels, a poor boy who was favored by a rich girl and then had a smooth life.
Mrs. Lu said, "That's a really good thing."
Yang Haiyan said: "That's it."
The three chatted for a while, and then Aunt Lian's voice came from outside: "Madam, Niu Da is back."
When Yang Haiyan heard that Niu Da was back, she was happy: "He's finally back."
Seeing this, Mrs. Yang and Mrs. Lu said, "Since you are busy, we will not bother you any more. We will visit you another day."
Yang Haiyan didn't keep them, but asked Aunt Lian to prepare some homemade kimchi and pickled radish for them.
The kimchi and pickled radish made by Yang Haiyan were flavorful and went well with rice. Mrs. Yang and Mrs. Lu had eaten very little on the way from the border to Yunxiang County, so they happily accepted some.
After they left, Yang Haiyan went to the orchard. Niu Da had already called people to transport the fruit trees into the orchard. Seeing Yang Haiyan coming, Niu Da went to greet her and said, "Meet your wife."
Yang Haiyan said: "Thank you for your kindness. You have worked hard on this journey. You still have to work hard for a few more days to plant these fruit trees before you can rest."
Niu laughed and said, "You've worked hard. I'm happy to see them grow well." As a lifelong farmer, he loves to see the crops grow well.
Yang Haiyan knew that he was most worried about his two sons, so she didn't talk much about his affairs and shifted the topic to his sons: "I talked to the general about your two sons. The general said that as long as they are healthy, they can go. If their bodies adapt to the training in the barracks, they can go to the vegetable garden of the barracks and serve as logistics soldiers."
At this point, Niu Da became excited: "Madam, I talked to Niu Yi and Niu Er about this matter. Niu Yi was willing to go to the general's barracks, but Niu Er wanted to follow me to farm." His son really wanted to join the army, and he had no choice.
Yang Haiyan said: "Then the manor of the general's mansion and the military camp will be handed over to you and your son. When you need to work in the fields, the guards in the mansion and the soldiers in the military camp can be used. You just need to arrange their affairs."
Niu Da certainly had no objection to this: "I'll follow my wife's arrangements."
Yang Haiyan thought for a while and said: "Why not give Niu Er a position as the manager of the military camp vegetable garden, so that he can get a monthly salary. After he gets the hang of it, he can also work on his own. It's a respectable job." It's better than following Niu Da all the time.
Niu Da was touched and said, "Madam is really thoughtful. Niu Er, come and thank Madam."
Niu Er was a simple and honest man. Except when he was a soldier and chose to farm, he followed his father's arrangements. At this moment, he heard Yang Haiyan's arrangement to be the manager of the military camp vegetable garden. This identity made him feel proud and thought that farming was really good. "Thank you, madam."
Yang Haiyan smiled and said, "You don't need to thank me. From now on, you can grow crops for the barracks and feed the soldiers."
Niu Er: "I will work hard."
In the evening, during dinner, Yang Haiyan mentioned the matter of Niu Dajia to Qin Fang.
Qin Fang had no objection: "Then let Niu Yi go to the military camp, and Niu Er go to manage the crops in the military camp. Let Doctor Li check Niu Yi's health first."
After Doctor Li arrived in Yunxiang County, he lived in the General's Mansion. Yang Haiyan gave him a courtyard, and Doctor Li became the general's doctor. Originally, Yang Haiyan wanted to give him a servant, but he refused. Now there are only him and Miss Li in his courtyard. Miss Li has learned some medical skills from her family. Now she helps Doctor Li and is equivalent to his medicine boy.
Doctor Li was only the doctor of the general's mansion, and he was responsible for the physical examination of the soldiers in the barracks. Although Qin Fang didn't know much about physical examinations and medical examinations, it was because Yang Haiyan was more concerned about his health that he applied this set of knowledge to the soldiers in the barracks. He gave the soldiers a medicinal bath every day, but he checked their bodies every day.
It is said that the military camp's arrangement has attracted more men to apply for the military service, because ordinary people don't have the opportunity to see a doctor every day, and the military camp can provide soldiers with a free physical examination every day, which is a benefit that ordinary people want. Therefore, they are willing to come just for this benefit.
Yang Haiyan said: "Well, I will talk to Niu Da. If Niu Yi is healthy, let him report to the military camp tomorrow."
Qin Fang: "Okay. The military camp will be fully built in half a month. When will the military camp manor start?"
Yang Haiyan: "I don't know about this. You have to ask Niu Da and see what his arrangements are. Currently, the food that the soldiers eat is purchased from the countryside. What's more, the people in Yunxiang County have stored a lot of food. They store it up one by one, and dry it if it's all eaten." Food that is dried in the sun can be preserved for a longer time, such as dried sweet potatoes and dried potatoes.
Qin Shoucheng listened to their conversation and interrupted: "So when the military camp purchases food this time, can it buy back all the food that the people have accumulated?"
Yang Haiyan said: "Yes. It will only take a day. In the second half of the year, the crops in the military camps and manors will be harvested, but by then, no one will buy the food for the common people."
Qin Shoucheng was curious: "Then can we buy the people's food and use the manor for other purposes?"
Yang Haiyan smiled and shook her head: "Your idea is good, after all, it is cheaper for us to grow our own food than to buy it. And this is only for one or two days, and the result is one or two days. In the long run, it is more cost-effective to buy. Besides, they have to find a way to sell the food themselves. As for their own profitable things, they can't wait for others to find a way for them. After all, they live their own lives, the food is theirs, and the money they receive is theirs." Therefore, they can't expect others to find a way for them.
Qin Siya understood: "Brother, why do you think so much? This is our family's business." Qin Siya didn't want to think so much. She was a person who was easily satisfied. As long as she had food to eat, that was enough.
Qin Shoucheng didn't say anything. He was a man, so of course he didn't agree with Qin Siya.
Qin Fang glanced at Qin Shoucheng and said, "If you want to change this situation, there is no way."
Qin Shoucheng asked hurriedly: "What method?"
Not to mention Qin Shoucheng, even Yang Haiyan looked at Qin Fang with curiosity. This was really rare, and he would not think about these things.
Qin Fang said: "When you have the ability, you can change this situation. You don't have the ability now, you can only rely on others to change, but why should others help them change? So you can work hard on your own. When you have the ability, you don't need to rely on others, you can change yourself. You study hard, take the exams for scholars, juren, and jinshi, and then become a local official. When you become a local official, you will have the responsibility and ability to change for everyone."
Yang Haiyan understood that this was Qin Fang's method of education.
Qin Shoucheng nodded heavily: "Well, I will try my best."
After dinner, Qin Fang called Niu Da and the two discussed the matter of the military camp manor. It was already the end of April, and the military camp manor could not be delayed any longer, so after the discussion, the 800 soldiers in the military camp were divided into pairs to work in the manor.
In the blink of an eye, a month passed and it was the end of May.
Not only the military camp in Yunxiang County was built, but the entire 1,000-mu military camp estate was planted with crops. Because for the soldiers, food was more important, and vegetables and the like were secondary, so of the 1,000-mu land, in addition to the 200-mu top-quality land, the remaining 800-mu were planted with sweet potatoes and potatoes. Potatoes in May can be harvested in August. Sweet potatoes in May can be harvested in October. And because of the location, the 200-mu top-quality land was converted into paddy fields by Niu Da, which was just right for growing rice in May. Rice in May can be harvested in October.
Counting about one thousand acres of paddy fields, hundreds of soldiers in the barracks were responsible for it, and it was all completed in just three or four days. I have to say that the speed was quite fast.
There were thousands of acres of farmland. Except for Niu Er's family who lived in the military camp manor, the soldiers took turns to guard it. Each group of people guarded it for ten days, and a group of people consisted of a hundred people.
Although no one dared to act recklessly in the military camp manor, there were people who needed to work there, so the soldiers took turns to work there while guarding it.
Niu Er is in charge of the military camp manor, and Niu Da is in charge of the general's manor. When the apple and pear trees were transported to the general's manor, there were more than 160 trees. But after a month, only more than 120 trees survived, and more than 40 died. In addition to apple and pear trees, watermelons were planted in the general's mansion fruit garden. This time, the watermelon seeds were divided into two batches. One batch was provided by Yang Haiyan. The remaining seeds were platform seeds, which were falsely claimed to be peddler seeds. Another batch was collected and purchased by Niu Da himself. Whether it was watermelon, cauliflower, broccoli, or tomato, Niu Da collected seeds. Who knows whether these seeds can be planted successfully, but seeds do need to be collected and then slowly figured out.
Of course, Yang Haiyan couldn't always use traveling merchants as an excuse. They didn't go to the Yongzhou market today, so they couldn't come up with other kinds of seeds.
Eastern Suburbs Military Camp
"General, one hundred men have been arranged and will set off immediately." Captain Yang gathered a hundred soldiers. Today, Qin Fang was going to go up the mountain to investigate the situation. Every winter, wild beasts would go down the mountain. If this situation could not be resolved, the county wall would be repaired in vain.
Qin Fang nodded: "Everyone, get ready and follow me." Then he jumped on the horse and said, "Let's go... Go..."
He had horses, but the soldiers didn't have horses. Qin Fang set out from Yongzhou military camp in March, and was only given 50 ordinary horses, so horses were very important in the military camp. An ordinary horse cost 60 taels of silver, and if 1,000 people were equipped with them, it would cost 6,000 taels of silver.
“Hello…” Tao Shan followed behind Qin Fang.
Captain Yang led his men and ran after him: "Everyone, get ready to go."
"Set off."
The remaining nine hundred people stayed in the military camp, watching the figures of Qin Fang and others getting farther and farther away.
Captain Lu said, "Everyone, stand guard. Even if there are no enemies here, we can't relax. The general said that if they come back with a big harvest, everyone will drink meat soup."
“Drink broth…Drink broth…”
The soldiers were excited.
Beast Mountain
I don't know why, the closer he got to the Beast Mountain, the more panic Qin Fang felt. This was intuition, and it came out. He felt like he was being watched at the foot of the Beast Mountain.
There is actually a large field at the foot of the Beast Mountain, which originally belonged to the owner, but is now abandoned because the owner does not have the courage to plant here, for fear that wild animals will run down the mountain and eat people.
Just as Qin Fang was about to dismount, Wu Shuai called him anxiously. Qin Fang patted his head and said, "Don't worry, I'm going up the mountain and will check the area nearby. Go a little further and come back when I call you."
Wu Shuai shouted a few more times before he calmed down.
Qin put down the horse: "Go, go a little further, and come back later."
Wu Shuai called out a few times, rubbed his head against Qin Fang, and was unwilling to leave.
Tao Shan: "Wu Shuai is really smart."
Qin Fang hummed, took out a handful of soybeans from his bag, put them on a plate, and then put them on the ground: "Eat it, and stay aside after you finish eating. I'll give you corn in the second half of the day." Wu Shuai was usually well-fed, because horses have a good digestive system, so their food is very particular. Not only Wu Shuai, but in fact, all the horses in the military camp are raised more meticulously than humans. It is better to let people starve than to let horses starve.
Wu Shuai smelled the soybeans, then opened his mouth and ate them.
Qin Fang began to search the area nearby, and he found some clues. At the foot of the mountain, you can see some animal excrement, which shows that these animals often go down the mountain. Then, Qin Fang approached the mountain again. The grass on the mountain was very dense. Such dense grass could easily hide dangerous wild animals, so Qin Fang was not in a hurry to go up. He pulled out his knife and cut the grass in a few strokes.
Seeing this, Tao Shan took out his sword and started to cut the grass: "General, the grass is so lush. It must be a long time since anyone has come to this Beast Mountain."
Qin Fang said: "Yes, if people came here often, the grass and trees at the foot of the mountain would have been picked up by the people as firewood. But this is not important. The important thing is, since no one has set foot on this mountain for more than 20 years, and there are so many prey here, why do wild beasts attack the county town in winter, and eat these weak animals? Is this how it should be for these wild beasts?"
Tao Shan smiled innocently: "General, why didn't I think of this at first? Then General, they must have done this for a reason."
Qin Fang stopped talking and cut down all the lush grass in the nearby area.
“General…” Captain Yang arrived with a hundred soldiers.
Qin Fang said: "Take them to the foot of the mountain to check. I found some wild animal feces nearby. Judging from the dryness and wetness, they should have been left here in the past few days. So, wild animals may come down the mountain at any time. Be careful that they may attack you."
Captain Yang: “Yes.”
Captain Yang divided the hundred men into ten teams, with ten men in each team. If anything happened, they would send out signal flares. The well-trained soldiers then went out on patrol separately.
On the first day, apart from cutting grass, everyone didn't notice anything else, because the weeds that were taller than people blocked their vision. They heard some noises, but when they looked back, they didn't find anything.
The quick soldiers managed to shoot pheasants and rabbits with their bows, and some even found a lot of pheasant eggs, but there was nothing else to say.
At the end of the day, they had cut down a large area of the nearby grass, and the foot of the mountain looked cleaner.
Captain Yang: "General, it's getting dark soon. Can we stay here tonight?"
Qin Fang said: "Bring some wild rabbits."
Captain Yang understood that they had brought over a few bleeding hares.
Qin Fang added: "Make a few more traps near the hole, deeper ones."
Captain Yang immediately called the soldiers to dig a trap nearby. After the trap was made, Qin Fang threw the hares into the trap. He threw several hares in total, and some of them were sprinkled with medicine powder.
Captain Yang couldn't help asking, "General, what is this?"