Today seems to be the agreed-upon day.
Wei Gongzhan glanced at the sky, got up early, and went to his assigned plot of land.
The fields in Great Azure Mountain were more numerous than expected. Each able-bodied man was allocated nearly thirty mu of land. This amount of labor initially startled Wei Gongzhan, who thought to himself: So, the people of Liuzhou City are fed and clothed by these people Liuzhou City as slaves?
It turned out that after I took on the farmland assignment, I found it to be easier than I had imagined.
Wei Gongzhan carried a bag of coarse chaff to his terraced field. He grabbed a handful of chaff and slowly scattered it onto the ground. After a short while, he saw the field begin to move on its own.
If you look closely, you'll see huge, fat worms in the field, lured by the chaff, feeding everywhere. As they eat, they leave behind a green liquid, which flows into the soil and makes the black soil even darker and shinier.
"That's truly amazing."
Wei Gongzhan sighed once again, originally thinking that coming here would be the most boring job, but he never expected it to be such an unimaginable experience.
These fat worms must be the endless source of meat for Liuzhou, right?
I really don't know where the prefect of Liuzhou got this thing. Not only is the meat delicious and chewy, but it also grows fast. The key is that it can also help plow the fields. Its efficiency is even better than that of a proper ox. Even I, a layman, find it unusually easy to do.
Like themselves, the local farmers here also lead quite leisurely lives.
Most of them get up at dawn and, like me, guide the fat worms to nourish the soil in the fields. For fields where seedlings have already been planted, they use Number One worms to loosen the soil. They usually call on a blue bird to help drive away the insects. The most tiring job is to carry two buckets of water from the nearby waterway to irrigate the fields.
Before noon, you can go back to your room to light a fire and cook. In the hot afternoon, you have more time to do things. You can sleep all day in your room, go to the mountain to pick some wild fruits and mushrooms, invite three or five neighbors to go fishing in the river at the foot of the mountain, or find a shady spot in a group of three or five and play a couple of rounds of cards with small wooden carvings. It's so leisurely that it's unbelievable.
In recent days, Wei Gongzhan has been actively integrating into the neighborhood in order to quickly obtain intelligence, and has unknowingly been drawn into this leisurely pace of life.
These past few days have been somewhat unsettling, but my mind and body are completely relaxed.
No need to worry about family scheming, no need to worry about the young master's troublesome paperwork and chores, no need to worry about military training, nothing at all. Just finish your chores in the morning, then you can fill a pot with sweet spring water, stroll through the mountains, tease the birds kept by the neighbors, watch the Old Master Lu next door playing cards and chess, or simply invite those neighbors who almost love fishing to hang out with them all day.
If the harvest is good, we'll prepare a feast of river delicacies upon our return. The neighbors will then secretly retrieve fruit wine brewed with mountain spring water from the cellar, and we'll drink until midnight. We'll chat aimlessly about nothing along the way, and even if we sleep in and miss watering the fields the next morning, it won't matter; we can make up for it in the afternoon.
It's no wonder that these farmers from Great Azure Mountain, after staying here for a while, are too lazy to go back to their houses in Liuzhou City. Going back and forth is such a waste of time! Wouldn't it be better to play a couple of rounds of cards with that time?
But it's not to say that life here wears down one's will. Everyone here can learn something new, something called Spirit Arts, which is said to be something that can only be used after worshipping the Mountain God Mountain God and receiving his blessing.
The first time you arrive each day, you can go to the Mountain God to receive a blessing. After receiving the Power of Blessing, what you want to do with it is up to you.
You can try planting some rather magical species, try raising some strange birds and beasts, and even use it to raise fish. In short, anything cultivated with this Spirit Arts is different from ordinary mortal objects.
Wei Gongzhan led a species called Red Treasure Fruit, which is said to produce a ruby-like fruit when finished. It is said to make excellent wine and has a nourishing effect on the body. It is specially supplied to fighters of level three and above in the Tiger Guard Army for body training.
Wei Gongzhan secretly tried it once, thanks to the warm hospitality of his neighbors. The taste was truly superb, and he spent the whole night reminiscing about it.
After that, he tried to get some spirit seeds and then set aside an acre of land specifically for planting them.
It's been ten days now, and only yesterday did we see tiny sprouts breaking through the soil. Wei Gongzhan was incredibly excited, spending the entire afternoon watching them with a beaming smile, as if they were his own children.
" Gongzhan, wanna go fishing this afternoon?"
A loud voice interrupted his reverie. Turning back to look at those familiar faces, Wei Gongzhan smiled gently. He quite enjoyed interacting with these neighbors. He didn't have many ulterior motives; as long as you were willing to go fishing or play cards with them, they would enthusiastically bring out their treasured wines to entertain you.
"I have some business to attend to in the city today, so I can't go," Wei Gongzhan regretfully, shaking his head.
This regret wasn't feigned. To be honest, he'd recently taken a liking to fishing. Sitting there, he could quietly think about many things, and every now and then the fishing rod would give him a pleasant surprise. It was much more interesting than being a busy, dizzying assistant.
"Going into town?" The other person paused for a moment upon hearing this, then quickly strode into the house and brought out a wine jar.
"This is?"
"This is newly brewed fruit wine. If Brother Wei is going into the city today, please take some with me to my two younger brothers who serve in the Tiger Guard Army. They've been urging me to take it several times."
"Oh, good!" Wei Gongzhan took it, smelled it, and immediately laughed, " Brother Li, you're letting wolves herd sheep, this is a big test!"
"Hahaha!" Several burly men laughed heartily, then the one Brother Li took out a bottle the size of a kettle. "This is for you. You have relatives in the city, right? Bring some for them to try. Don't let them always think that our relatives in Great Azure Mountain are useless. Without us, how could their Tiger Guard Army eat and drink so well? Haha!"
"Alright!" Wei Gongzhan took the wine jug without hesitation, a happy smile on his face. Dealing with people here was much easier than in the northern military camp. Everyone said that soldiers were straightforward, but in reality, there was a lot of backstabbing and intrigue. Unlike here, where you could drink whenever you wanted, or go fishing whenever you wanted. How simple was that?
And so, carrying the wine, Wei Gongzhan hurried down the mountain, finally arriving in Liuzhou City around noon.
After all, he couldn't drive at breakneck speed, but the main reason was that he wanted to linger in the mountains and take in more sights.
The scenery of Great Azure Mountain is truly beautiful, just like the magnificent mountains and clouds described in many scholars' poems. It feels like every few steps reveals a new and beautiful painting, and you can never get tired of looking at it. The air is also fresh, much better than in Liuzhou. It wasn't until Wei Gongzhan arrived in Liuzhou City that he realized how good the air in Great Azure Mountain really was.
Inhaling it feels like cleansing your lungs, and it has a sweet taste.
Why are you so late?
The pleasant memory was interrupted by an annoying voice. Wei Gongzhan looked helplessly at the person urging him, who was the last person he wanted to see. He rolled his eyes, walked over, and put down the two wine jugs, which immediately caught Wei Gongyan's attention.
"This is... wine?" Wei Gongyan immediately. "You brat, I told you to gather intelligence, and you've been doing this nonsense all day. Let me see."
Snap!
Wei Gongzhan slapped the other person's hand away, placed the larger pot under the table, and said coldly, "This was brought to someone else by someone from Great Azure Mountain. It's not good for drinking."
"You"
Where is the young master?
Wei Gongyan, annoyed by the other party's impatient gaze, was about to unleash a torrent of abuse when a hurried voice came from afar. "I'm late, I'm late, I'm so sorry."
The two Wei Household brothers were both taken aback. It was Yuchi Feihu who had arrived, but the tone of his words was nothing like Yuchi Feihu's. Having followed this young master for so long, this was the first time they had ever heard him utter the word "apology."
"Young Master, what's wrong?" Wei Gongzhan asked curiously, looking at Yuchi Feihu was covered in sweat.
"Oh, I just finished training, and I'm still a bit feverish." Yuchi Feihu wiped the sweat from his forehead and laughed, "Judging from the time, I must have been delayed, so I didn't shower. I look a bit disheveled."
Wei Gongzhan was stunned. He felt that the young master's temperament had changed a lot in the ten days since they last met.
"Training?" Wei Gongzhan looked at Wei Gongyan: "Why is the young master training, but you aren't?"
"Oh," before Wei Gongyan speak, Yuchi Feihu waved his hand and said, "Their reserve instructors on the city wall haven't arrived yet, so there's no training for the time being. We're leaving for Yunzhou tomorrow, so naturally we need to train them properly."
" Yunzhou?" Wei Gongzhan stood up in shock. "Young Master is going to Yunzhou? Why?"
"The army has arranged for us to go to Yunzhou for rescue; they've reportedly already sent their fourth wave." Yuchi Feihu chuckled, looking eager for action. "I'm really looking forward to it too, to see what the situation is like over there."
"Uh..." Wei Gongzhan glared at Wei Gongyan.
"Why are you glaring at me?" Wei Gongyan quickly said, "I've told the young master several times to withdraw from that rescue team and come to the city wall soldiers, but he refuses. I can't persuade him, and there's nothing I can do."
"If you can't persuade the young master, why don't you go with him?" Wei Gongzhan, frowning.
"Uh..." Wei Gongyan's face immediately turned red, and he said angrily, "Shouldn't I leave someone behind to investigate the situation of the troops on the city wall?"
He naturally wouldn't tell his half-brother about being eliminated, mainly because it was too embarrassing.
But with the witness right there, Wei Gongyan up an excuse. He secretly glanced at the young master and, seeing that Yuchi Feihu hadn't figured out his intentions, he breathed a sigh of relief.
After a while, a thin figure arrived late; it was Shen Yuan, who had just come from the academy.
"I'm so sorry I'm a little late." The scholar apologized lightly and sat down to the side, which made Wei Gongzhan, who was good at observing, quickly notice the difference in the other person.
Shen Yuan's demeanor has changed too!
In the past, when he met them, this scholar had always been somewhat humble, but today, although he didn't look very well, his eyes were bright and full of confidence that he had never had before!
"I apologize, everyone, but I have matters to attend to at the academy this afternoon, so I won't have much time to spare. Let's keep it brief." Shen Yuan took a sip of tea from the table and hurriedly said, "By now, you all must have gained some understanding of Liuzhou, Young General. What do you think of Liuzhou?"
Upon hearing this, Wei Gongzhan was somewhat reluctant to reveal the information about Great Azure Mountain and first looked at his young master.
"I think," Yuchi Feihu also took a big gulp of tea, then said, "That there's a big problem in Liuzhou!"