NOVEL NEXT Chapter 466: Secretly Relieved
These are all good things, indeed — even money can't buy them.
Especially the liquor among them; nowadays, people can barely fill their stomachs—not to mention having spare grain to brew liquor.
But liquor is certainly a good thing; having a cup when one's in a bad mood can ease their feelings, and drinking it in the dead of winter can warm the body and soul.
Liu Yongping couldn't bring himself to put down anything on the table.
"Thank you, Brother Hua," he said, already on brotherly terms with Hua Chengtian. But calling him elder brother was sincere; Liu Yongping wasn't forcing it.
"The lord is too polite, but for now, this is all there is. If the lord needs more, it might take some time. I'll see if the common folks can gather more eggs and try hatching them."
"That's excellent, thank you, Brother Hua," Liu Yongping's eyes lit up, looking pleased at Hua Chengtian.
Although he intended to do this, he'd never dealt with breeding before, so someone else needed to be engaged for the task or it had to be delegated. Hua Chengtian taking on the duty simply couldn't be better.
"No trouble at all, but it might take some time," Hua Chengtian bowed.
Is it really no trouble? Actually, it's a bit troublesome, but knowing the thick-skinned lord, Hua Village would not have peace otherwise. Since it's known that there are poultry in Hua Village, Hua Chengtian simply took on the task directly to avoid issues; once it's done, he can just deliver them.
As the county assistant bid farewell, the old man Hua, Hua Chengtian, and Hua Yunao sent the carriage out of the village. They sighed a breath of relief seeing it go into the distance.
When selling grain, they knew it would attract the government's attention, but they didn't expect the county assistant to personally lower himself to visit Hua Village.
Although it was unexpected, it wasn't far from what was anticipated; it turned out to be a good start.
Unless they forever remained secluded in Hua Village and never ventured out, they couldn't remain unaffected.
Only if everyone's days take a turn for the better, then no one would pay attention to Hua Village.
The father and sons entered the village and were surrounded by everyone asking who came. Upon learning it was the county assistant, many exclaimed "Oh my!" and quickly covered their mouths, cautiously looking towards the village entrance.
Eventually, a sense of pride emerged; the county assistant came to Hua Village, how could they not feel proud as members of Hua Village!
The topic among the chatter was all about the county assistant.
Some praised the assistant's handsome looks, while others said he was a gentleman, warm and jade-like, without any airs.
Finally, the old man Hua couldn't take it anymore and shouted "Stop," quieting everyone down.
"Alright, now you know. The lord is not someone we can discuss freely. If the lord finds out..."
Though the old man Hua didn't finish his sentence, everyone understood and quickly kept quiet.
"Do what you're supposed to do, behave as if the lord never came. Also, keep your mouths shut; say nothing that shouldn't be said. These times are challenging; only by working together can we get farther, so our families and children won't be bullied. Hence, we can't slacken just because we've left the mountains—who knows what challenges lie ahead," the old man Hua said while looking at the sun about to set behind the mountain, his expression complex.
Following the village chief's gaze, everyone present couldn't help but ponder; like recalling something, a shock went through their hearts.
Coming down the mountain, returning to the familiar environment, life seemingly returning to times before disaster, these days they truly had become somewhat careless.
The chief's words woke them up again.
Indeed, who knows what lies ahead?
The season ought to be the dead of winter, yet it felt like midsummer heat; although beneficial to crops, it's still abnormal.
In the carriage, the county assistant was squeezed to the front seat due to the goods inside, with three people packed tightly together, barely fitting.
"Lord, Hua Village is extraordinary!" After a long while, Hu Hu said this.
"Indeed. If it were simple, how could the entire village have survived unscathed? It's a pity Hua Village's chief is quite old; otherwise, I really would want to recruit him into the government."
Walking through the village, even a blind man could see Hua's village chief was the soul of the village and the villagers respected him greatly.
"The lord is right, but I also noticed something," Hu Hu continued under the assistant's gaze. "The young people in the village walk with vigor; they might have martial skills."
Recalling the man beside Hua Chengtian at the grain sale with a cloth wrapped on his back, the assistant nodded.
"They have a good village chief!" he couldn't help but exclaim.
It seemed they had just come down from the mountain, but Hua Village must have never slacked off during their days on the mountain, and the villagers must have continually worked to protect the village!
Returning to the mansion, apart from keeping half of the wild chicken meat and a piece of wild boar meat, the rest was distributed among the subordinates. As for the poultry, they were kept at the mansion, and the various eggs, after leaving behind the breeding ones, were also distributed; the county assistant received ten chicken eggs, four duck eggs, and one goose egg, which delighted the household in the backyard for days.
Since the county assistant left, another month quickly passed; the crops in the fields had grown tall, and in about another month they should be ready for harvest. The chicks and ducklings promised to the assistant also successfully broke out of their shells, their fluffy appearance adorably cherished by Hua Jin in the days following their hatching.
Accumulated over those days, more than a hundred chicks, ducklings, and goslings were hatched, and once stable, Hua Chengtian delivered them to the residence, of course not without silver. Although he courteously said he was gifting them to the lord, he didn't hesitate to accept the silver.
In turn, the county assistant smiled heartily, exclaiming that it was genuine.
Meanwhile, hundreds of miles away, Beicang Country's ten thousand soldiers finally welcomed five thousand reinforcements; looking at the weakened, seemingly ready to topple figures of those once considered strong soldiers shocked the reinforcements speechless.
The ten thousand strong army had less than a few hundred warhorses among them, which extinguished any dissatisfaction the leading commander had.
Coming over, he had scoffed at this contingent as a bunch of good-for-nothings, waiting for their rescue. Beicang's warriors feared nothing, ready to fight.
Unexpectedly, things were this dire, and further unforeseen was the extreme heat that turned people into dried corpses, along with no food found during the march northward. Preparing to ridicule them, the words were swallowed instead.
Almost forgotten was that their survival was credited to migrating to Beicang Country's sacred mountain.
There, the glaciers persisted year-round; despite a heatwave causing some melting, it was infinitely better than the conditions at the foot of the mountain. Although not easy living even on the ice mountain, the losses were minimal.
Upon seeing the former proud Teng Da and Leite Er, the latter warmly patted the former's arm but refrained from speaking any harsh words.
Secret relief marked the day's fortune in not fighting over Teng Da, else the suffering would have swapped.