NFBE Chapter 395 Escorting Grain Back to the Hometown
Chapter 395 Escorting Grain Back to the Hometown
All the wagons transporting the grain were two-horse-drawn, each capable of carrying 2,000 catties of grain. Even so, more than 200 wagons were needed to transport the over 400,000 catties of grain. The lead wagon had already traveled ten miles out of the city, while the last wagon had not yet set off. Two hundred elite soldiers were divided into four teams of fifty men each, positioned at the front, middle, and rear of the grain convoy.
Looking at the rows of grain trucks, Xia Yu realized that this was no longer just about owing Murong Zhe a favor. The scene before her seemed far too ostentatious. She should have stored the grain in her spatial storage; just making it appear as if they were transporting a hundred thousand or two hundred thousand jin would have sufficed.
This large convoy of several hundred people was quite conspicuous. Moreover, the caravan didn't just consist of horse-drawn carriages; the hundred or so at the back were actually mule carts and oxcarts.
General Murong and his men escorted Zhang Youtie and his men to the Shili Pavilion outside the city. Magistrate Zheng also accompanied them on their way.
"Brother Murong, Lord Zheng, I am deeply grateful for your help this time. I am extremely grateful."
"Your Excellency is too kind; I am truly ashamed!" Magistrate Zheng felt that his role in this matter was really minimal. Even without his introduction, Zhang Youtie and Xia Yu, given their status, could easily have met Lord Murong.
"You two have been thanking me so formally, Brother Zhang. I'm just like any other gentleman. Lord Zheng is also straightforward. When we meet again, we must have a drink together."
"General, all the grain transport wagons have left the city." Just then, Deputy General Zhao came over to report.
"Alright, Deputy General Zhao, I'm entrusting the safety of Lord Jue and the Township Lord to you. Make sure you escort them home safely."
"Yes, the general will take your orders."
Murong Zhe glanced at the last mule cart leaving the city and said to Zhang Youtiedao
"Brother Zhang, there's no need for such formalities between us. The grain carts have already left the city, so you should catch up with the grain convoy and set off as soon as possible." He then solemnly clasped his hands in a fist salute to Zhang Youtie.
"Bon Voyage!"
"My lord, have a safe journey."
"Brother Murong, Lord Zheng, take care. We'll meet again someday. Farewell!" Zhang Youtie mounted his horse and bid farewell to everyone once more. Then, he led Gao Shuanzhu and rode off towards the grain convoy.
Deputy General Zhao arranged Xia Yu's family's carriage in the very middle of the procession so that he could protect them in case of danger.
The large contingent, escorted by soldiers, proceeded at a leisurely pace. They rested for only half an hour at noon, allowing the horses and oxen to rest and be fed some hay. The others ate the dry rations they carried with them and used the rest time to boil some hot water to drink.
They traveled for another afternoon, encountering many passersby on the official road. Seeing so many soldiers escorting goods, they all stopped to watch and discussed the scene.
As darkness fell, the grain convoy arrived at a place called Peach Blossom Town.
Deputy General Zhao sent someone in to investigate, and the man returned and reported back to Deputy General Zhao and Zhang Youtie.
"General, Your Excellency, there is only one inn in this town, with twelve guest rooms."
"Alright, go and arrange for the brothers to rest here. We'll rest here for today," Deputy General Zhao said to the soldier after listening.
“Deputy General Zhao, this…” Zhang Youtie wanted to say that sleeping in the wild was not an option, but he couldn’t think of a better solution at the moment.
“My lord, there’s no need to worry. In the past, when we were fighting, we could sleep anywhere, not just in the open field, but even in the desert and snow. Besides, we need to keep these rations with us. It’s only a couple of days, nothing serious!” Although Deputy General Zhao was rugged in appearance, he was quite perceptive. He understood Zhang Youtie’s concerns from the first half of his sentence and quickly offered his explanation.
"Sigh, my brothers have had a tough time." Zhang Youtie sighed.
“My lord, I will send twenty brothers to accompany you to the inn to protect your safety,” Deputy General Zhao said again.
"No... okay, thank you very much, Vice General Zhao." Zhang Youtie wanted to refuse, but then he thought about it and agreed.
Deputy General Zhao personally selected twenty soldiers to accompany Zhang Youtie into the town to ensure their safety.
Because there were few rooms, Xia Yu shared a room with Da Niu and Shi Jiu, while Chun Yu, Qiu Yu, and Dong Yu shared another room. The other old women and maids also shared rooms, and the twenty soldiers who had come with them slept in a large communal room.
That evening, everyone ate a simple meal of steamed buns, pickled vegetables, and porridge. While not particularly delicious, it was much better than the dry rations they had at noon. Just as everyone was eating, several servants from the kitchen carried several large buckets onto a carriage and headed out of town.
"Third brother, what did you have the servant deliver?" Old Master Zhang asked Zhang Youtie after seeing the servant's actions.
"It's just a few buckets of rice porridge. Everyone had a simple lunch, so cooking some porridge and sending it over is just a small token of our appreciation." Zhang Youtie thought to himself as he watched the seven or eight buckets being taken away, realizing it still wasn't enough. Not to mention, the drivers still had several hundred left.
After dinner, everyone who was supposed to go to sleep went to bed, but the inn's kitchen was bustling with activity.
More than twenty women filled the not-so-small kitchen to the brim.
"Don't push! Listen to me assign tasks!" the innkeeper shouted to the women who were jostling and carrying things around in the room.
"Auntie Pang, Aunt Gao, Aunt Li, Aunt Xu... the eight of you are in charge of kneading the dough. But remember, some of our dough is for making pancakes, and some is for steaming buns. Each of you is responsible for one of these tasks. You are to make all of these tonight."
As they were talking, several of the inn's staff brought out more than a dozen bags of flour and placed them in front of them; they were all white flour.
"My goodness, so much flour! If we make it all tonight, are we going to be exhausted?" A plump woman grumbled, looking at the huge stack of flour on the table.
"Auntie, just tell me if you're willing to do it or not? The noblemen said that if you finish all the work they assigned tonight, you'll get two taels of silver as a reward tomorrow. If you're not willing to do it, I'll find someone else. Two taels of silver, if you won't do it, there are plenty of others who are willing to do it," the innkeeper said bluntly.
"Yes, of course I'll do it! I misspoke earlier, shopkeeper, please don't be angry." Upon hearing that she would receive two taels of silver as a reward for working all night, Aunt Pang quickly put on a smile and spoke to the shopkeeper.
"Hmph, Liu Neng's family, Seventh Granny, Second Sister-in-law Zhang... the eight of you are in charge of kneading dough and steaming buns."
"Da Mao's wife, Xiao Ling, Pang Ya... the eight of you are in charge of making pancakes."
After assigning the tasks, the shopkeeper looked at everyone in the room and asked...
"Does anyone have any objections? If not, let's get to work."
"No objections..." came a few scattered voices, and then everyone went to find their own tools and get to work.
Then the shopkeeper looked at the shop assistants and gave them instructions.
"Go find eggs now. I charge three coins per egg. I'll take as many as you find. Bring them back before midnight tonight."
"Three copper coins for an egg, Manager Liu, are you sure that's the price?"
"I'm sure, let's go find them right away." Manager Liu was thrilled when he thought of the man's words, "Five copper coins for a hard-boiled egg, we'll buy as many as you have." If nothing unexpected happened, he would meet such a big customer today, enough to feed him for a year.