CHAPTER 207: CHAPTER 205 CONCERN

Xie Liangchen led the mule cart in front, carrying farming tools intended for other villages.

Tomorrow they would head to another mountain area and wouldn’t need these tools for the time being, so they decided to lend them to other villages.

Grandpa Song sat in the carriage, occasionally looking outside, and asked Song Qizheng, "Is A Xian at the Zhenzhou Prefecture government office?"

Song Qizheng replied, "I’ve just sent someone to ask, but haven’t heard back yet."

Grandpa Song was a bit surprised, "You didn’t inform A Xian beforehand about our visit to Zhenzhou?"

Now the Song Family clansmen have settled in Dingzhou, Song Qizheng and Song Xian have been away fighting wars for years, rarely returning to the clan. The last time Grandpa Song saw Song Xian was last spring, and during last year’s New Year’s Eve, Song Qizheng escorted Song Min to the Capital City, while Song Xian did not return to Dingzhou for ancestral rituals. Rumor within the Song Family has it that due to Song Min’s matter, the estrangement between Song Qizheng and Song Xian had worsened.

Grandpa Song sighed quietly and glanced at the mule cart not far away: "If there’s no rush, let’s take it slow, so we can also see the sights along the way."

Song Qizheng agreed.

After walking for a while, the carriage hit the official road.

Behind them, voices from people of Chen Family Village could be heard. Song Qizheng listened carefully, sensing that the people from this village seemed different from others.

In Chen Family Village, all seniors called Miss Xie: Miss Chen, and peers called Miss Xie: Sister.

Although most villagers in Chen Family Village have the surname Chen, it was not a typical clan setup, not to mention a number of non-Chen surnames, but still, the entire village appeared like one big family.

The carriage arrived directly at the gate of the government office.

Song Qizheng noticed that the gate of the Zhenzhou Government Office was crowded with people, but these were not here to file grievances or submit petitions. They were either moving farm tools or leading cattle, clearly all Zhenzhou commoners.

If he hadn’t seen it himself, Song Qizheng would not have imagined a government office looking like this.

"National Guardian General." Qu Chengmei hastily tidied up his official robes and hurried up to greet him.

Song Qizheng glanced at Qu Chengmei’s boots, noticing they were covered in mud. The sleeves of his official robes had just rolled down. This county magistrate wasn’t aware of what he’d been doing earlier, but one could guess it had something to do with farming.

The people in front of the government office all saluted Song Qizheng and then continued with their busy activities.

Xie Liangchen’s mule cart also arrived, and the people from Chen Family Village began unloading the farm tools.

"Sister, we’re here to help too." People from Sun Family Village and Xiahe Village at the government office gate saw this and gathered around, helping unload the tools.

"Sister," said people from Sun Family Village, "Are you heading to even farther mountains tomorrow? Our mule cart happens to be free, you can take it later."

Xie Liangchen nodded, "How are the crops in your village doing?"

"Almost ready," Sun Changxing, having finished unloading, moved forward with a smile, "Yesterday, we fitted a few plow heads and cultivated half of the allocated land. In a couple of days, we’ll also be able to head into the mountains."

Xie Liangchen nodded, "Good. I’ll come by then."

Sun Changxing quickly expressed gratitude, "Thanks to Sister for all the hard work these days."

Song Qizheng listened to these conversations and turned his head towards Miss Xie, realizing that other villages also called her Sister?

"General, let’s discuss in the secondary hall," Qu Chengmei guided Song Qizheng to the secondary hall.

Song Qizheng instructed the steward, "Send Grandpa to the residence first." So Grandpa went to the Song Family residence in Zhenzhou, just in time to speak with the old lady.

Song Qizheng and Qu Chengmei sat in the secondary hall.

Listening to the noise outside, Song Qizheng asked, "Is the government office always like this during these days?"

Qu Chengmei replied, "It’s been like this since before the spring planting started. There are few plowing oxen in Zhenzhou, and not enough farm tools, so this method was devised."

Few oxen and insufficient tools in Zhenzhou? That would be even more so in Dingzhou. Several states under the Henghai Jiedu Envoy have long been without wars, yet the farm tools in the hands of the people were equally lacking.

Everyone was like this, but only the Zhenzhou government office did it this way.

Song Qizheng said, "Your planning is thorough."

Qu Chengmei quickly said, "It was instructed by Commander Song."

Song Xian had been appointed Commander by the court, defending Zhenzhou and Zhaozhou. The court’s official documents had only arrived two days ago, along with another decree. The Emperor also entrusted the Baimaling military camp to Song Xian, showing increasing trust from the court.

Were it not for the rigorous defense needed at the border and northern busy spring farming, Song Xian should have gone to the Capital City to express gratitude.

Qu Chengmei speculated that the National Guardian General’s visit to Zhenzhou might have been related to this matter, especially since there were a thousand Song Family Army soldiers at Baimaling. Song Xian certainly needed to discuss their arrangements with Song Qizheng.

They didn’t sit for long before a subordinate reported, "The Commander has arrived."

Upon hearing Song Xian had come to the government office, Qu Chengmei stood up, saying, "I will go and meet him."

...

Song Xian dismounted before the Zhenzhou Government Office, immediately spotting Xie Liangchen amidst the crowd.

Xie Liangchen was about to load a bamboo basket onto the mule cart.

The basket contained medicinal herbs found during land clearing on the mountain. Though not the season for digging herbs, they encountered plenty during cultivation, and today indeed harvested a lot.

Such situations occurred in various villages, so they took the herbs to the government office daily. After Xie Liangchen checked them, they were directly weighed and purchased, then taken to the Familiar Medicine Institute.

Just steps away from the mule cart, Xie Liangchen noticed a sudden flash of movement before her eyes, and next thing her hand felt lighter; someone had taken her basket.

She looked up to see an official robe in begonia color.

The figure in the Commander’s robe swiftly placed the basket on the mule cart.

His actions, paired with the official robe, seemed a bit mismatched at the moment.

"General," Xie Liangchen slightly bowed with respect as Song Xian turned around.

Without giving orders, Chang An and the others immediately stepped up to help load the herbs.

Xie Liangchen expressed successive thanks, noting that ever since Hei Dan and a few others went to the family school, everyone had been busy lately, leaving her short-handed. Yet she couldn’t command Song Xian in this manner.

Song Xian’s gaze remained fixed on Xie Liangchen. Although he’d visited Chen Family Village for "Bright Moon Tea" just last night, he felt as if he hadn’t seen her in ages.

Song Xian hesitated to enter the secondary hall, leaving the household generals brought by Song Qizheng waiting by the government office entrance.

Song Xian paid them no mind, calmly asking Xie Liangchen, "Is everything going smoothly on that mountain?"

Xie Liangchen responded, "We’ve planted quite a lot today."

Song Xian advised, "Since it’s the mountains, be careful with the back and forth."

Standing next to him, Chang An looked away, pretending not to hear.

Before Xie Liangchen could reply, Song Xian said, "I shall visit the secondary hall to see Song Qizheng first."

After speaking, Song Xian proceeded inside the government office.

Perhaps due to frequently visiting Chen Family Village for "tea" lately, Xie Liangchen did not find Song Xian’s actions inappropriate.

Instead, she felt concerned for Song Xian, sensing that Song Qizheng’s visit to Zhenzhou would certainly mention the troops stationed at Baimaling. She understood why Song Xian requested Baimaling from the court.

Across Baimaling was the territory of Prince Guangyang.

Song Xian was preparing for future events.

Xie Liangchen turned to Chen Yuyu, "You take the others to deliver the herbs back, I’ll stay here at the government office. There are some things I need to discuss with General Song."