Grandpa Meng had not expected that the imperial officials would issue such a secret order. "Won't the residents near the garrison suffer?"
Qi Yuanshan nodded with a heavy heart, "Yes."
Qi Yuanshan felt bitter. He didn't want the peaceful lives of the Mengjia Town residents to be disrupted by the imperial secret order and his own subordinates.
However, he couldn't come up with a proper solution for the moment and rushed to Uncle Meng, hoping Uncle Meng could help him find a compromise.
His own idea was simple: he just wanted his soldiers not to go hungry and to have enough to eat. He also didn't want the residents of Mengjia Town to be impoverished or displaced because of them.
Fu Xinci also hadn't expected that an official would dare to issue such a secret order. "Are the people in power crazy? Or did they eat the wrong medicine and are preparing for mutual destruction?"
The girl's words startled everyone present, and they quickly told her to be quiet.
"Ci'er."
"Xin Ci."
"Grandfather, Uncle Qi, I'm telling the truth."
"Ci'er, we know you're telling the truth, but the truth can't be spoken like this."
"Grandfather."
"Ci'er, you have to promise your grandfather that you won't speak such words carelessly in the future." Grandpa Meng was very afraid that his granddaughter would speak without restraint in front of outsiders and offend the people in power.
Fu Xinci could only repeatedly assure her grandfather, "Grandfather, don't worry, Ci'er won't say it again."
Grandpa Meng did this to make sure his granddaughter remembered not to discuss official matters lightly.
Fu Xinci also figured it out and decided never to mention anything about the imperial court in front of her grandfather again, lest she scare him sick.
Seeing that his granddaughter obediently agreed, the old man finally felt relieved.
Qi Yuanshan was still waiting for Uncle Meng to make a decision. Seeing that his son and Xin Ci had also returned, he asked them to help him think of a solution.
Especially Xin Ci, he greatly admired the girl's mind and courage.
Qi He was also anxious for his father, but he couldn't think of a useful idea for the moment. He secretly looked at Sister Fu, hoping she could help his father come up with a perfect plan.
Fu Xinci looked at her grandfather, then glanced at Qi He, and then said to Qi Yuanshan, "Uncle Qi, I have thought of a method, but I don't know if there is any empty land nearby."
"Empty land? Xin Ci wants to grow grain?"
"Uncle Qi, growing other things might not be very feasible, but growing sweet potatoes and potatoes should be possible. Sweet potatoes and potatoes have high yields and are not picky about land; they can grow on slopes and roadsides."
"Oh, you've really enlightened me. If Xin Ci hadn't said it, I would have been so anxious that I would have been pacing the ground without thinking of these two things."
Qi He also kept nodding, "I didn't think of it either. Sister Fu's mind is much better."
Qi Yuanshan looked at his son and strongly agreed with his words.
With a plan in hand, Qi Yuanshan was about to return to the thousand-household office. Grandpa Meng saw that it was getting late and invited him to stay for dinner.
"Yuanshan, look, the sun is already setting. It won't make much difference if you work one more night. Why don't you have dinner at home before you go back?"
Qi Yuanshan thought Uncle Meng made sense and agreed.
At the dinner table, the old man was reminded by his granddaughter and started talking to Qi Yuanshan. "Yuanshan, Uncle has the seeds here. Have you thought about where to plant them all?"
Hearing Uncle Meng offer seeds, Qi Yuanshan felt a little embarrassed.
"Uncle, you've already helped us so much over the years."
"It's not a big deal to help one more time."
"Uncle."
"Yuanshan, don't refuse. We can discuss things openly now, and it will be fine. If there's anything unexpected and the soldiers go hungry in the middle of winter due to some oversight, that won't do."
"Uncle, thank you."
"No thanks needed, no thanks needed. We are like family, there's no need for thanks; it would be too formal."
Actually, Grandpa Meng really wanted to say that he should thank someone else, but he couldn't. As his grandfather, he could only claim the credit himself.
On the summer evening, everyone sat in the courtyard for dinner.
Fu Xinci quietly ate her dinner while listening to her grandfather and Uncle Qi talk. Her mind was still considering whether she should go to the valley tomorrow to leave more potatoes and sweet potatoes for the captain and the others.
Thinking about it, it was a good idea. She would do just that tomorrow.
Long Town was being constructed in an orderly manner. Xiang Tong divided all the personnel into several large teams.
The first team was responsible for firing bricks and building houses, the second team for reclaiming farmland, the third team for patrolling and standing guard to ensure the safety of the town, and the fourth team for logistics.
It could be said that men, women, old, and young were all working together; no one was idle.
The companions patrolling on the hilltop, seeing that the small and medium-sized agricultural machinery brought by Xiang Tong were all being put to use, couldn't help but exclaim loudly: "The town mayor is a real old fox."
"If Lan Tianyao saw this scene, would he chase after our town mayor to borrow these machines?"
"Definitely."
"But we can't lend them; we haven't finished yet."
"Then we have to keep a close eye on them. Lan Tianyao is sharper than a monkey."
"It's better to tell the town mayor. After work in the evening, let the town mayor put away all these agricultural machines. That way, it will be safer."
"Hey, that's a good idea. I'll tell the town mayor tonight."
Just as the captain finished speaking, he saw Xin Ci emerge from the woods. He quickly greeted her, "Xin Ci, didn't you say you wouldn't come over today?"
"I overheard some internal news yesterday, so I came over today wanting to bring you more potatoes and sweet potatoes as seeds. That way, you can plant some on the hillsides and in the ditches."
"What exactly happened?" The captain didn't think it was a small matter, otherwise Xin Ci wouldn't have made this trip.
"Alas, don't mention it, it's the evil old society."
Fu Xinci told her companions what Uncle Qi had said yesterday.
Pang Dun was the first to exclaim, "What the f***, whoever came up with this idea is a beast. This is too malicious. According to his thinking, the common people near the garrison would all have to tie a noose around their necks, or they would have to starve."
"Yesterday, Uncle Qi, Qi He's father, came to my house to find my grandfather for help. Uncle Qi doesn't want his soldiers to go hungry, nor does he want to affect the lives of the Mengjia Town residents."
"It seems Qi He's father is a good official."
"Yes, Uncle Qi is a righteous person. The first year we came here, he was still running around to make sure the soldiers in the garrison could fill their stomachs."
"So you came up with the idea for them to grow sweet potatoes and potatoes?"
"Yes. For now, the only crops I can think of that can mature and have a high yield before freezing are these two. And the yield from my space can set a new record."