Chapter 915: The Peasant Girl’s Splendid Manor
Chapter 915: Revenge and the Arrival of a Stranger (5)
Tang Xin was panting heavily as she said, "Yan Yan, someone’s here looking for you. They claim to be a subordinate of Lord Xiao and came specially to find you. You should head back quickly!"
Upon hearing this, Mo Yan handed the wooden bucket to Tang Xin. "I’ll head back first. You take the fish home, clean them, and cut them up for pickling."
"Got it, leave it to me. You hurry back, Yan Yan!" Tang Xin took the bucket and urged her on.
Mo Yan quickly made her way home and saw a burly man standing in the hall. The man’s back was turned toward her, so she couldn’t see his face, but his imposing posture exuded an immense sense of pressure.
Hearing the noise behind him, the man turned around. His facial features were sharp and deep, and his face held a stern, unyielding expression. After briefly sizing Mo Yan up with a piercing gaze, he suddenly walked toward her, cupped his hands, and greeted her with a bow. "Greetings, Madam!"
Madam…?
Mo Yan almost fainted at this unfamiliar form of address. She stared at the man in front of her, wanting to ask him not to call her that, but his serious face left her speechless.
After a long pause, Mo Yan managed to digest the new title and with a slightly stiff smile, said, "May I ask, Sir, what is your name and the purpose of your visit?"
"Subordinate’s name is Qi Nan, Madam may call me by my name," Qi Nan bowed again and spoke.
Qi Nan… Could he be that Qi Nan?
A flash of surprise crossed Mo Yan’s eyes. Not only had Xiao Ruiyuan mentioned this person in his previous letter, but he was also the rumored general who delayed his marriage and later married the official’s daughter, who had tragically drowned after getting drunk.
Suppressing her curiosity, Mo Yan smiled and said, "So you are General Qi. Lord Xiao has spoken of you, and indeed, hearing about you is not as good as meeting you in person."
"Madam is too kind," Qi Nan didn’t catch the playful tone in Mo Yan’s voice and directly stated his purpose, "The Great General has sent me to assist Madam with settling the soldiers who are stranded at the border. I would like to know if Madam has a plan for this?"
Mo Yan was growing increasingly uncomfortable with the constant use of "Madam." She couldn’t help but say, "General Qi, I’m not yet married to your Great General. Calling me 'Madam' is not appropriate. You can simply call me 'Miss Mo.'"
A faint smile flickered in Qi Nan’s eyes, but his voice and demeanor remained as serious as ever. "Since Madam and the Great General are already betrothed, calling you 'Madam' is not improper."
Mo Yan helplessly rubbed her forehead. She knew she couldn’t change his mind, so she just gave up. "Alright then, you may call me that. It’s not like it’ll cost me anything."
The two of them sat down and began discussing how to settle the disabled soldiers at the border.
There were 20,000 such soldiers at the border. Due to the limited relief from the government and many sending their compensation money back home, only about 2,000 who had skills could barely support themselves. The rest struggled to survive by farming, but sometimes even that wasn’t enough. Some had even starved to death.
Currently, Mo Yan’s fruit orchard and herb fields could accommodate at most 300 people, and that was under the assumption that two people would count as one laborer. Compared to 20,000 soldiers, 300 was hardly significant.
Mo Yan wanted to help more people and accumulate more merit. The space could produce an abundance of food, and feeding 20,000 people wouldn’t be an issue. However, if the soldiers were willing to accept help from others, she wouldn’t be the one doing this.
After thinking for a moment, Mo Yan said, "How about this, General Qi? You can send the most needy soldiers first. If more are needed in the future, I will inform you. How does that sound?"
Qi Nan had already considered this matter before coming and largely agreed with Mo Yan’s idea. He said, "I will bring these 300 soldiers to you as soon as I return to the border. When would it be convenient for Madam?"
Mo Yan had already thought about this and replied, "The weather is too hot for travel right now, and the housing for the soldiers isn’t ready. If possible, General Qi, you can bring them after the chongyang Festival. If anything changes, I will inform you in advance, and you can make the arrangements accordingly."
Qi Nan thought it was a good plan and nodded in agreement.
The two of them settled some other details, and once they were in agreement on everything, Qi Nan declined Mo Yan’s offer to stay for a meal and stood up to leave. Before he left, Mo Yan went to the Qing River and caught a full bucket of fish for him to take back. She wanted him to try the fish herself, and also asked him to deliver the remaining fish to Xiao Ruiyuan and Yan Junyu.
Although Qi Nan didn’t care much for fish and neither did his family, once he returned to the city, he had most of it sent to the Wei Yuan Marquis’ residence, with the rest going to the Wu’an Marquis’s residence.
At that moment, no one knew that these few fish would nearly lead to a major incident…
[End of Chapter]
No comments: