Chen Dachun smiled, waved his hand, and watched Qiu Mei enter the courtyard before reluctantly turning to leave.
At this very moment, a thousand miles away, in Wanniang City.
Liu Rumei sat after dinner, a little restless.
Seeing her state, the maid Xiao Qing stepped forward and asked softly, "Miss, what's wrong? Why are you suddenly so preoccupied?"
Liu Rumei sighed heavily, "If I remember correctly, Chen Xiaobei has been gone for about ten days now."
Hearing her words, Xiao Qing immediately understood.
"Miss, you mean, it's almost time, isn't it?"
Liu Rumei frowned, "Yes, the mourning period for a secondary consort is one month. If it drags on too long, and the Emperor finds fault again, we might..."
This sentence made Xiao Qing sigh as well, "Indeed, Miss. Even if we don't make any mistakes, the Emperor still wants to pick a fight."
Liu Rumei nodded, "If we wait a few more days and Xiaobei brother doesn't come, we'll have to find a way."
Miss, how can this be something we find a way for? How could Chen Xiaobei forget something like this?
Liu Rumei looked at Xiao Qing, "You can't say that. Don't forget, these were Xiaobei brother's ideas to save my father. In other words, we begged him."
Her words left Xiao Qing speechless. Finally, she let out a long sigh, "This is a tiger fallen to the plains, bullied by dogs. He..."
She stopped halfway through her sentence, noticing Liu Rumei's changing expression.
Xiao Qing quickly found an excuse and left.
Seeing Xiao Qing leave, Liu Rumei couldn't help but sigh, "Xiaobei brother, please don't make me wait too long. I'm truly scared."
Meanwhile, a thousand miles away, Chen Xiaobei had not yet put this matter on his agenda.
The next morning, Chen Xiaobei called for Captain Chen Dayong.
He had to fulfill his promise to Chen Xiaowen.
"Brother Dayong, I specifically want to discuss something with you today."
Hearing his tone, Chen Dayong was startled.
"Brother Xiaobei, what's so serious?"
"Oh, it's not that important, but this matter might cause some controversy among everyone."
Hearing this, Chen Dayong was relieved, "What is there to fear from controversy? Whoever dares to speak nonsense, I'll break his legs."
"No need, Brother Dayong, don't be so violent. I just want to tell you that I plan to specifically find a few people to form a transport team, and I want Xiaowen to be the captain."
"Xiaowen?" Chen Dayong's eyes widened.
"Brother Xiaobei, perhaps you should reconsider. Although Xiaowen is suitable for this job, but..."
Chen Xiaobei nodded, "Yes, I also think he's a bit young, but there's a situation now that you probably don't know..."
"Xiaowen went to Cui Family Village to propose to Mudan, but was rejected."
Hearing this, Chen Dayong couldn't help but chuckle. "Everyone knows Cui Dahe is greedy. He probably looks down on Xiaowen's family background. If Cui Dahe were a little less discerning, Mudan would have married long ago."
"Yes, to put it bluntly, Cui Dahe is looking down on people. But we have to help Little Hun. This child is honest and capable. He finally has someone he likes, and he's set his heart on Mudan, we can't just stand by."
So that's how it is. Chen Dayong chuckled and nodded, "Yes, Cui Dahe cares too much about these superficial reputations. Then why don't I just give the village guard captain position to Xiaowen?"
"Not advisable, not advisable. Changing the village guard captain requires reporting to the county yamen. It's simpler to just give him the transport team captain position."
Chen Dayong smiled happily, "Then let's do as you say."
"Later, transfer five or six village guard members over to follow Xiaowen. Give them the carts. They will be responsible for going to the city to sell cabbage, charcoal, and other goods that require carts. What do you think?" Chen Xiaobei asked with a smile.
"Great, great! Handing over the carts to them will prevent people from using them today and others tomorrow. If a cart is damaged, we won't know who broke it." Chen Dayong clearly agreed wholeheartedly.
After the two discussed the list, they began to issue notices for the village guards to gather under the big locust tree for a meeting.
Soon, the village guards arrived in twos and threes. Seeing Chen Xiaobei and Chen Dayong standing there, everyone gathered around to ask for news.
Chen Xiaobei and Chen Dayong did not hide anything. They explained the matter they wanted to discuss to everyone beforehand, so that everyone would be mentally prepared and also to gauge everyone's attitude.
As expected, upon hearing that Xiaowen was to be the captain of the transport team, everyone was quite surprised and started discussing.
"I think Xiaowen can handle this. This coming and going is much busier than him!"
"Busy with what? It's just driving a cart. I can do that too."
"Alas, you can't say that. Is driving a cart that easy after all?"
"You still have to help unload the goods at the county yamen. This is a physically demanding job."
Chen Xiaobei listened closely. Honestly, most people expressed approval for this arrangement, which made things easier. Chen Xiaobei mentally noted down the people who supported Chen Xiaowen; they would all be recruited into the transport team. Sudanshu.com
As long as they accepted Chen Xiaowen, his future work would be easier to carry out.
Just then, there was another commotion in the crowd. Chen Dachun arrived.
His arrival was somewhat unexpected. Chen Xiaobei greeted him with a smile and then took a headcount. Seeing that most people had arrived, he gestured to Chen Dayong.
Chen Dayong jumped onto a stone, waved to the crowd, and the scene immediately quieted down.
"Everyone, please be quiet. As we just told you, our village now has seven or eight carts. Brother Xiaobei and I plan to establish a dedicated transport team, and from now on, the carts will have dedicated personnel to maintain them."
The crowd generally approved of this arrangement.
After all, for most people, whether or not there were dedicated personnel seemed to have no impact on them.
Chen Dachun arrived a bit late and didn't understand what was going on, so he was a bit clueless. Since it was something everyone agreed to, he naturally wouldn't oppose it.
Then, Chen Dayong continued, "With so many people involved in the transport team, there must be a leader. Brother Xiaobei and I have discussed it, and the captain of the transport team will be Chen Xiaowen!"
"Good."
Suddenly, someone took the lead and shouted.
With someone leading, the rest naturally followed suit. The villagers all cheered, which put Chen Xiaobei at ease.
He did not see a hint of awkwardness flash across Chen Dachun's face.
After a few perfunctory remarks, Chen Dachun turned and left. At this moment, no one saw the clear displeasure on Chen Dachun's face.