CHAPTER 110: CHAPTER 108: AGREED

"Old Mrs. Chen, you don’t need to see us off." Chang An stepped forward to stop Old Mrs. Chen and Chen Zigeng.

Xie Liangchen quickly took a few steps forward, as if accidentally walking to Song Xian’s side.

Song Xian’s voice came: "The medicinal dish you made last time was very much liked by my grandmother. She’s not been feeling well recently and doesn’t have an appetite for regular food. If you have time, tell Chang Yue to come and make some medicinal dishes at home."

It’s rare for Song Xian to say such a thing as "if you have time".

Xie Liangchen said: "I’ll come first thing in the morning."

Song Xian nodded.

The group walked to the village entrance, and Chang An’s men brought the horses.

Song Xian mounted his horse.

Xie Liangchen promptly handed the simple food box in her hand to Chang An.

Song Xian’s eyes slightly lifted; hadn’t Chang An already taken the Sanqi tea she made? What was that? Could it be that she even prepared food for the night?

"This is for Lord Cheng."

Xie Liangchen’s voice came, and Song Xian’s eyes immediately lowered.

Xie Liangchen said: "That wild boar was sent over by Lord Cheng. At the time, I was busy with the Familiar Medicine Institute, and didn’t have time to host Lord Cheng, so I made some steamed meat for him today."

Chang An took the food box, his eyes couldn’t help but glance at his master. His master should have heard it clearly, right? Because the wild boar was sent by Mr. Cheng Er, so...

Chang An didn’t catch sight of anyone because Song Xian prompted his horse to move forward first.

Chang An’s palm was sweaty, but he had to pretend nonchalantly to thank Xie Liangchen: "Then I thank you on behalf of Mr. Cheng Er, Miss, for your trouble."

Chang An turned around to leave, busy with chasing the forward-moving Song Xian. If Mr. Cheng Er managed to eat this steamed meat today, he must thank him properly; he took the risk of getting kicked to deliver it.

Watching the group leave, Xie Liangchen turned to pull Chen Zigeng: "Earlier, when we went archery shooting together, did General Song say anything?"

Chen Zigeng replied: "General Song said I’ve made some progress."

Xie Liangchen reached out to brush Chen Zigeng’s nose bridge: "While it’s still light out, let’s take our bows and arrows and practice some more."

Because they helped unveil those traitors, Song Xian was particularly agreeable today, making things easier for her. Now she’s eagerly looking forward to practicing archery with her brother.

Chen Zigeng’s eyes lit up: "I’ll go help sister get the hunting bow."

Xie Liangchen watched Chen Zigeng’s departing figure, smiling broadly as her brother seemed to have grown taller again.

Tomorrow, after visiting the Song Family, she also planned to discuss the village’s winter preparations with her uncle. Though they were able to sell some familiar medicines, careful planning was needed for how to spend this silver coin.

Having obtained the silver, the first task was to build a few more stoves at the Familiar Medicine Institute and purchase some charcoal; the Chen Family Village also needed to prepare New Year’s goods.

"Miss Chen," Chen Yongsheng came over after observing the rice grain and wool presented by Song Xian to discuss with Xie Liangchen, "come and see how we should handle these items."

"Uncle, distribute the wool," Xie Liangchen said, "Divide some to each household, whether for making quilts or woven goods, they need something to keep warm. Keep some rice grain in the village for emergencies."

"These are things Mr. Song brought for the village people; make sure to distribute them fairly. As for what each family can manage beyond this, it’ll depend on their individual circumstances."

The remaining supplies in the village were meant for villagers who needed extra care, like the Ding Family’s sister-in-law, who was seriously ill and bedridden, with a son and daughter at home, the younger only three years old and the eldest eleven, capable of doing some chores but spending most of her time looking after her mother. The village couldn’t neglect them.

After discussing these matters with Chen Yongsheng, Xie Liangchen added: "Uncle also needs to consider the spring planting next year."

Mentioning this, Chen Yongsheng recalled: "Have you thought about the mountain lands your father left? Don’t worry, though we have a lot of land, the villagers are sufficient with preparation, and I’ll take people to plow and plant when the time comes."

"I don’t want to plant too much grain," Xie Liangchen said.

Chen Yongsheng was taken aback; if not grain, what then?

Her father didn’t leave her with merely two pieces of mountain land but with medicinal herbs in the mountains, including those ten-year-old Huang Jing and Chaihu, along with Fangfeng.

Xie Liangchen said: "I want to plant medicinal herbs in the mountains."

Chen Yongsheng regained his composure; planting medicine in the mountains was indeed a good idea, especially since Zhenzhou now had an Official Medicine Bureau, good medicinal herbs would surely find buyers.

Xie Liangchen said: "This year, during medicine gathering, I saved some seeds. Next year, I’ll test plant some."

Chen Yongsheng was getting excited from her talk.

Xie Liangchen nodded: "Just as uncle said, there’s too much mountain land for our family to farm alone, so we’ll need help from the villagers, but I’ll give them some silver so they won’t be working in vain."

Chen Yongsheng’s face suddenly sank: "With you leading in making money, the villagers already find it quite embarrassing; exerting some effort isn’t worth calculating down to the penny. In the future, who would feel comfortable accepting money earned from selling medicinal herbs? Not to mention the rewards from the court and Mr. Song.

The matter is settled."

Xie Liangchen didn’t argue with Chen Yongsheng any longer; as they spoke, Chen Zigeng and Hei Dan, along with several others, came running over, even Chen Yuyu carrying a hunting bow, all surrounding Xie Liangchen and moving forward together.

Chen Yongsheng watched the chattering children, his gaze growing softer, not knowing how long he stood there until Old Mrs. Chen walked up beside him.

Old Mrs. Chen said: "You’ve been busy all day, go rest!"

Chen Yongsheng nodded, but after taking a couple of steps, he stopped again, looking into Old Mrs. Chen’s eyes with a hint of expectation not usually seen: "Aunt, do you think our Chen Family Village can go far in the future? Yongjing said our Chen Family Village isn’t an ordinary village; if we prosper in the future, then..."

Chen Yongsheng didn’t finish his sentence, as Old Mrs. Chen frowned: "The ramblings of someone near death, confused talk; don’t be stupid with them! Chen Family Village is just an ordinary village; we fled to this place. Now that the North is peaceful, we should just live our lives well.

Just as Miss Chen said, being well-fed and warmly clothed, having younger generations able to study, is all that’s needed for peace; that’s what you, as the village chief, should be thinking of."

Old Mrs. Chen was rarely so stern; her entire demeanor seemed different from usual, but a moment later, she hunched back down.

"Enough," Old Mrs. Chen said, "Let’s go back. Tomorrow we have to tally accounts, Miss Chen will certainly be buying things again, let’s hope there can be a few silver coins left."

Chen Yongsheng regained his composure, coughed once, and said: "Don’t worry aunt, this time the familiar medicines sold quite a lot."

Even if she sold a gold mountain, her granddaughter could still spend it all, not to mention the fact that before even obtaining the silver coin, she was already uninterested in the stove and fire room.

Ah, Old Mrs. Chen saw things clearly; she might as well not worry about earning money now. She just wanted to fill the small pouch in her waistband before the New Year, unsure if she could achieve it, she intended to go back and chat with the Kitchen God a bit more.

...

Zhenzhou City.

As Song Xian dismounted and entered the government office, Cheng Yanzhao rushed out to meet him.

Cheng Yanzhao wore an expression of indignation: "You went to Chen Family Village again?" Speaking, he glanced at Song Xian’s stomach, and though he didn’t see a protruding belly, it was as if he could sense the scent of fish from afar like a cat, utterly convinced that Song Xian had eaten well.

Before Mr. Cheng Er could rush out, Chang An instructed people to hold Cheng Yanzhao’s arms on either side, bringing him back.

"Brought it for you." Chang An raised the food box in his hand, though he didn’t mention whether it was sent by the master or proactively delivered by Miss Xie.

If Mr. Cheng Er misunderstood it to be the master’s intention, it would be him taking the blame.

Cheng Yanzhao barely managed a smile before a clerk stepped forward: "General Song, Song Yu requests to see you outside the government office."

Cheng Yanzhao couldn’t help but chuckle: "Second Young Master Song has come to ask for you."