Cultivation Begins with Caring for Sister-in-law

Yuan Youchun was delighted, truly overjoyed.

Because just now, someone below came to tell him that Chen Mo's people came to him to ask for grain.

Upon hearing the news, he was thrilled all over, thinking, now you know you need me? Letting you act tough with me before.

Want grain? That's possible.

"Let that brat Chen Mo come to Qingtian County to kowtow and apologize to this General, and say three times that he was wrong, then this General will consider giving him the grain." Yuan Youchun thus spoke to Han Wu.

Han Wu's face slightly sank, then he took a light breath, saying, "General Yuan, the Commander has ordered our County Magistrate to assemble the troops to cooperate with General Yuan, but with the imminent battle, if there's no food supplies, who can bear the consequences of the delayed opportunity?"

"Hmph." Yuan Youchun snorted coldly, saying, "Stop trying to scare me with such words. You in Pingting County just harvested grain, do you think this General doesn't know? If the opportunity is missed, it's because you disobeyed orders, and this General will definitely report you to the Commander."

Hearing this, Han Wu suppressed his anger, speaking neither humbly nor arrogantly: "General Yuan, that is the people's grain, not the army's grain. Besides, the urgent report to our County Magistrate from the Commander clearly stated that General Yuan should provide the grain."

This was something Chen Mo coached him to say, just to provoke Yuan Youchun a little, to see if his guess was correct.

Yuan Youchun's face slightly changed, he believed it, because a portion of the grain allocated from Xia Lin's side was indeed meant for Qingtian County, he said:

"Stop pretending to be righteous there, calling it the people's grain? Isn't it all ending up in Chen Mo, that brat's, pocket eventually.

As I said, if you want the grain, it's simple, have him come and kowtow three times to me, otherwise, there's no way."

"General Yuan, this is a personal vendetta on a public matter..."

Han Wu wanted to say more, but Yuan Youchun had already issued the order to eject him.

After Han Wu left, Bai Shu stepped forward, saying, "General, the battle is approaching, if we don't give them the grain and they really do complain to the Commander, what should we do?"

After all, the Commander's letter clearly requested them to allocate grain to Chen Mo's side.

"No worries, I have my plans." Yuan Youchun waved his hand, stood up, and while walking, he said, "Although the Commander asked them to allocate grain, he didn't specify the amount; ten thousand pounds is grain, and a thousand pounds is also grain.

Moreover, I'm not really refusing to give the grain, isn't there still some time before August 1st? No rush, let's leave them hanging for a while, maybe that brat Chen Mo will really come and kowtow to apologize to me."

Having a chance to give the other side a hard time, if Yuan Youchun didn't make use of it, wouldn't that be wasting the opportunity?

"The General is wise." Seeing that Yuan Youchun already had a strategy, Bai Shu also smiled and added, "If that brat really comes, I will certainly call the entire army to witness, making that brat ashamed."

Yuan Youchun was already fantasizing about such a scene.

"General, it seems that the Commander still leans towards us; since the Commander wants us to allocate grain to Chen Mo and have him cooperate with us, it indicates that the Commander doesn't trust Chen Mo either." Bai Shu said.

"I've said it before, he's ultimately an outsider, how long have I been with the Commander compared to him?" Yuan Youchun said with some satisfaction, the dissatisfaction due to the He Jinwu incident with Yang Minggui had vanished at this moment.

...

"Having me kowtow and apologize to him, he really dares to think."

Han Wu returned the same day, and after hearing his report, Chen Mo couldn't help but sneer and then said, "Send someone to Xia Lin to file a complaint with Yang Minggui."

This procedure still needed to be followed.

"Understood." Han Wu bowed and left.

After Han Wu left, Chen Mo called Wang Ping and asked, "What about the armory's weapons?"

Wang Ping responded without hesitation, "Reporting to the County Magistrate, all infantry squads are currently well-equipped; five hundred long spears have been forged, three hundred sixty-one crossbows, six hundred longbows, more than a hundred thousand arrows, and two hundred seven fire bombs."

The fire bomb was a creation of Chen Mo's, using pottery jars to contain gunpowder, thus he named it 'fire bomb.'

However, with the current shortage of saltpeter, the gunpowder factory has stopped production.

Relying solely on extracting nitrate from urine was somewhat of a stopgap measure.

However, Chen Mo currently did not plan to use this weapon on a large scale, as exposing it now would not bring many benefits but rather trouble for him.

Small-scale use was possible because other excuses could be used to cover it, so these two hundred plus fire bombs were currently sufficient.

...

On July 17th.

At the Yi Family Courtyard, Xiaolu sent Xiaoling to inform Chen Mo that the Tail-eyed Spirit Fish he had sent over had laid eggs, so Chen Mo came over.

In the pool, there were artificially constructed rockeries, water scene caverns, and colorful fish swimming back and forth. As one swam through a cave, a gaping mouth suddenly lunged out, swallowing a two-finger-wide goldfish whole.

The Tail-eyed Spirit Fish also had teeth and was a mammal.

Although the recently spawning female fish was somewhat weak, currently in this pool, there was no fish that could threaten it, so it was at the top of the food chain; and compared to Dadong Lake, the pool was too small, making hunting not difficult at all.

"Xiaolu, should these fish eggs be separated from the female fish?" Chen Mo had heard that some mother fish would eat their eggs to replenish nutrients.

Yi Shiyin shook her head, "The Tail-eyed Spirit Fish cherishes its offspring and does not allow other fish to approach once the eggs are laid in this cavern."

"That's good." Chen Mo gently embraced Yi Shiyin, kissed her on the forehead, and said, "Then, Xiaolu, please take care of the Tail-eyed Spirit Fish and the fish eggs."

Yi Shiyin nodded, showing a sweet smile.

Xiaoling on the side also withdrew.

Yi Shiyin hugged Chen Mo's waist, resting her head on his chest, and whispered, "Husband, are you done with your work?"

"What's the matter?"

"I missed you."

Chen Mo: "..."

He had just taken two days of rest,

but fortunately, Xiaoling came over at this moment and told Chen Mo that there was something at the government office.

Chen Mo rubbed Yi Shiyin's head and said, "Xiaolu, I have another task for you."

"Please tell me, husband."

"Do your best to become a Martial Artist." Chen Mo encouraged her.

He found that Xiaolu's energy was even more exuberant than his own, so he sought a way for her to release it first.

Yi Shiyin nodded.

For her, becoming a Martial Artist was not particularly difficult; she simply hadn't wanted to do it before.

...

Returning to the government office.

Chen Mo found a group standing in front of the office, most notably with each holding a horse.

Geng Songfu was conversing with the citizens from Wutai County who had come from Gaozhou.

When the citizens from Wutai County entered Pingting County, they looked tense at first, but upon seeing Geng Songfu, they completely relaxed and smiled, evidence of the trust they had in Geng Songfu.

"Rest assured, everyone, I, the old man, assure you that County Magistrate Chen is a good official and will definitely arrange suitable accommodation for you all," Geng Songfu said.

Hearing Geng Songfu's assurance, their smiles grew even brighter.

Although people are generally simple, they do see what is before them. The bustling and prosperous scenes they witnessed upon entering the city reflect stability, not possible without a stable life.

"The county magistrate is here."

Someone called out, drawing everyone's gaze in one direction.

"County Magistrate Chen is here," Geng Songfu also called out, then pointed to Chen Mo riding over on a horse, saying, "Folks, this is our county magistrate of Pingting County, Chen Mo, who will also be your county magistrate in the future."

The citizens of Wutai County were taken aback, especially Li Yunzhang's confidants, whose eyes nearly popped out.

So young.

Even though Hu Qiang had told them in advance,

hearing about it and seeing it are different experiences.

Chen Mo glanced around at everyone, then lightly reprimanded Hu Qiang, "How is this being handled? It's the middle of the summer, and they have come from afar; how can you have them just standing here? Quickly call the kitchen to bring food out."

After speaking, he turned his gaze to Zhao Daoxian, "Are their accommodations arranged?"

"The clerks are registering them, and once registration is complete, they can move in," Zhao Daoxian respectfully replied.

"Some situations can be handled with special arrangements—provide them with accommodations first and register afterwards," Chen Mo said. "And these horses should be sent to the stables immediately. There are too many people coming and going here; if anyone gets hurt, who will be responsible?"

"Understood."

This scene was naturally observed by the citizens from Wutai County, and this sense of being valued warmed their hearts.

In short, with just a few words, Chen Mo positively impressed the citizens from Wutai County.

After making the arrangements, Chen Mo looked at Su Wen, "Didn't I ask you to purchase Wutai foals? Why are all of these horses large?"

Su Wen remained silent, while Geng Songfu pointed to a group of Wutai foals yet to be taken to the stables and smiled, "County Magistrate, these are the foals."

Chen Mo learned something new from Geng Songfu: foals of about two years already look like large horses but possess the demeanor, temperament, and work capacity of younger horses; it takes an additional two or three years to become capable horses.

It was apparent that Geng Songfu was not deceiving him.

Even the foals displayed strong limbs, short necks, rounded rumps, wide chests, and broad backs.

However, not all horses can become warhorses; they need to be selected.

This task was entrusted to Geng Songfu, who had previously submitted a proposal to the court to vigorously develop Wutai County, proving his experience in this area.

Meanwhile, while Chen Mo and Geng Songfu were discussing settling these newcomers,

in the resettlement camp on the other side,

the citizens from Wutai County gazed at the bowls of white rice, swallowing hard.

It was actual rice; they had expected a meal of porridge to be quite satisfactory, but the reality exceeded their expectations.

The dishes were merely simple vegetables, yet they were adequately salted.

Chen Mo didn't serve them meat.

Because the best cannot be given at the beginning; it must progress gradually.

Lin Shengcai, as well as being Li Yunzhang's confidant, was also his cousin, brought on a mission to verify the truth of Hu Qiang's words.

He wasn't swayed by a single meal, as it could well have been deliberately arranged.

He was prepared for long-term observation.