Chapter 116: Sharing
Editor: Atlas Studios
The six of them did not speak because they knew that the possibility was zero.
Putting aside the fact that Qi Haoran was the general’s younger brother, just as Fan Zijin had said, the existence of the 5th Division was to farm for the other four divisions.
Other than Qi Xiuyuan, who wanted to train his younger brother, the generals of the other four divisions did not think that the 5th Division could go to the battlefield. This was because the 5th Division consisted of those leftover soldiers, including these training commissioners and regiment commanders who had also been eliminated by the various divisions. As such, they just had to farm well.
And what Qi Haoran was doing now was to try to farm better.
Training Commissioner Han and these few regiment commanders wanted to be in charge. However, not to mention that Qi Haoran didn’t trust them, even the other four assistant commanders knew their character. If the resources were to be handed over to them, how much would end up being used on the soldiers in the end?
Training Commissioner Han also knew this, and his expression turned even uglier.
Seeing that they were all silent, Fan Zijin’s expression changed slightly. He said, “The soldiers of the 5th Division are all leftovers picked by the various battalions. If we want to train them to a decent standard, we’ll have to rely on you. However, next year will be different from the previous years. The frequency of the Hu people attacking south might increase. Didn’t the 1st Division fight with the Jin soldiers outside the pass two days ago? The other four divisions have limited energy for farming and can only rely on our 5th Division. Therefore, Haoran and I definitely won’t allow anyone to cause trouble at this time. After the sowing season, Haoran will have a brand new method of training soldiers. At that time, please help him.” As he spoke, he sighed sadly. “I can only help him with some farming matters.”
The few of them perked up when they heard that, thinking that Fan Zijin would let go of the 5th Division’s resources and focus on agriculture. They looked at each other and felt that it might not be a bad idea to wait a few more months before taking over the authority of the 5th Division. There was no need to go against Qi Haoran at this time and piss him off.
One had to know that Qi Haoran was famous for being a little tyrant in the army. Although he usually ate and lived with the soldiers, if someone provoked him, he dared to hit even the generals in the camp, let alone the few of them.
Fan Zijin sent them out. Seeing that their backs had disappeared, his expression darkened.
Yanmo said, “Master, you should tell Fourth Young Master.”
“Tell him for what? Don’t you think he has enough to be frustrated about? Let them be smug for a few days. When we free up some time, we’ll deal with them.” Fan Zijin snorted.
He had been really busy these few days. Qi Haoran did not know how to manage the accounts. He went to force the Sun and Zhao families to lend him so much grain, but he did not plan out how much to cook per day. At this rate, they would be finished by these soldiers in less than two months. Hence, Fan Zijin could only take over this responsibility. Hence, not only was Qi Haoran busy, but he was also not free.
This group consisting of Training Commissioner Han were all leeches that had an insatiable greed. Previously, they had taken for themselves a lot of the things that Qi Xiuyuan had given to this division. Previously, it happened due to his and Haoran’s negligence, but now, they could not let them do whatever they wanted. Therefore, the resources of the 5th Division were tightly held by him and Haoran.
Haoran was already in a terrible fix over the matters outside. Of course, Fan Zijin did not want to bother him with these scheming matters. Anyway, having done a lot of cleaning up after Haoran back in Lin’an Prefecture, he was already familiar with it.
Just as Qi Haoran turned so tanned and thin that Mu Yangling almost couldn’t recognize him, the construction of the house was finally completed, and the water conservancy project was also half completed.
Qi Haoran was very satisfied with this result, whilst Song Zhi was almost in tears. “I’ve long wanted to build the water conservancy facilities in Mingshui County, but Magistrate Qian had always felt that it was a waste of money and effort, so he put it aside. I didn’t expect that now that Mingshui County has become a military district, the water conservancy facilities ironically end up successfully built.”
The registrar said, “Sir, this is just a simple water conservancy project. If we want to benefit our descendants, the manpower and resources required far exceeds this scale. I think…”
“Alright, alright.” Qi Haoran interrupted him. “I know that it’s just three reservoirs and two ditches. It’s not much of a water conservancy project, but my ability is limited now. I had to borrow grains to build this much. If your county office is willing to provide some support, I’ll build a big one. How about that?”
The registrar immediately did not dare to speak. Song Zhi also looked up at the sky and said, “The weather is really good today.”
Qi Haoran looked up at the sky and pursed his lips. “It’s so gloomy and it’s about to snow. How is it good?”
Only then did Song Zhi notice that the sky was dark and the wind blowing against his body was a little cold. He frowned. “Is it going to snow? Can we continue with the project tomorrow?”
Qi Haoran glanced at him. “What do you think? My men are also humans. Hmph.” As he spoke, he turned around and ordered, “If it snows tomorrow, order the entire camp to go home and rest. Everyone can receive three days of rations.”
The soldiers and able-bodied men working on this project were overjoyed when they heard this, and they worked even harder.
Song Zhi rubbed his nose and followed Qi Haoran with a smile. Placing his hand on Qi Haoran’s shoulder, he said, “Alright, alright. It’s even better if it snows. Come over with your cousin to my place to drink. Look, you’ve all grown so thin recently.”
“No, I’m going to look for my Big Brother. What’s the point of drinking with you?”
Mu Yangling, Madam Ma-Liu, and the others had already plowed 23 acres of high-grade land and 60 acres of medium-grade land. However, they were helpless about the remaining 100 acres of low-grade land.
It was a pity to leave the land there, but it was already not bad that they could plant 83 acres of land.
Madam Ma-Liu was planning to bring them to break up the mud and flatten the ground. This way, the soil would be looser and easier to plant. There would also be less grass in the coming year.
When Mu Shi returned with a small bag of grains, Mu Yangling and the others were in the fields.
Shu Wanniang was sitting in the room, embroidering. When she saw Mu Shi walk in, she was in a daze for a moment before reacting. Then, she quickly got up and took the things from his hand. “You’re back. Hurry up and go in. I’ll get you something to eat.”
Mu Shi shook his head with a smile. “Maybe you can boil water for me to bathe first.” Mu Shi stuck his head out to look at the twins and clicked his tongue. “It’s only been 23 days since I last saw them, but they’ve already grown so big?”
“It’s not like you don’t know that children grow up quickly.”
Shu Wanniang went to boil hot water for him. Mu Shi was shocked to see the embroidery that Shu Wanniang had placed in the basket. He picked it up and, seeing that there were embroidery patterns on both sides, his face instantly darkened and he could not help but clench his fists.
Hearing his wife’s footsteps, Mu Shi quickly put down the embroidery and turned around with a smile. “What’s wrong?”
“What do you want to eat? Ah Ling went into the mountains again a few days ago. There’s still some meat in the kitchen.” Seeing Mu Shi frown, Shu Wanniang spoke up for her daughter. “She didn’t go too deep. Just near the place where they gather firewood.”
Mu Shi relaxed his brows and smiled. “I like to eat everything you cook. Make whatever you want.”
“Okay.” Shu Wanniang saw the basket beside Mu Shi and smiled as she went forward to pack it up and bring it back to her room. “Then take care of the kids. I’ll go to the kitchen.”
Mu Shi glanced at the basket and nodded in agreement.