Chapter Forty-One Arrangements

  It wasn't until nightfall that Wang Ling brought his brothers back, it turned out that after Wang Ling returned to the inn in the afternoon, his brothers told him that a fallen comrade's family was just outside the city gate, now only an old mother and young brother were dependent on each other for survival, the thatched roof had collapsed a few days ago, so he hastily brought his brothers to help with the repairs, busy until now before returning.

  Actually, Wang Kuang had heard such things many times when he was strolling on the street. Now that the war has just subsided, there are more and more people who can't live a good life at home. Wang Kuang wanted to help but couldn't even if he wanted to. Besides, giving someone fish is not as good as teaching them how to fish. Helping out in normal times wouldn't last for a few days anyway. Moreover, due to the need to keep a low profile recently, when encountering such situations, Wang Kuang was also unable to help. However, since this mother and son were related to Wang Ling, he couldn't just sit back and do nothing.

  Just saw Niuwa coming from the guest department, Niuwa is now in charge of the guest department. It's almost New Year's Eve, and there are fewer merchants coming and going, so the guest room is also idle. Therefore, Niuwa has been running to the food department whenever he has time recently, and usually goes straight to the kitchen. He's also a glutton. Wang Kuang saw him trying to sneak into the kitchen again, and pulled him back: "Don't run away, go do something."

  As soon as Wang Kuang called him to do something, Niu Wazi immediately stood up like a robot that had received instructions, and happily asked: "What does Xiao Dongjia want me, Niu Wazi, to do?" He was secretly delighted in his heart, thinking that he would get credit for it. He knew that whenever Xiao Dongjia gave orders to do something, it was usually very important, and if he succeeded, he would get the credit. That's why Sun Er always stuck to Xiao Dongjia's side, trying to be the first to grab the opportunity to do things. Today was a great day, Sun Er wasn't around, and this great opportunity fell into Niu Wazi's hands, or rather, onto his own head.

  Wang Kuang had him return to the guest department and called over an idle fellow, went to the kitchen to fetch some oil and rice, also took two catties of braised meat, and withdrew a string of cash from the cabinet, letting that little soldier named Chen Da lead the way to deliver it to the mother and son duo.

  "After the Niwa children left, Wang Kuang said to Wang Ling: 'Brother, it's not a good idea to always do this. I think it would be better if we let them come and help with household chores like washing dishes after the New Year, which can also help supplement our family expenses.'"

  Wang Ling and the others were worried about how to help the mother and son, but when they heard this, they were overjoyed. Several soldiers surrounded Wang Kuang, no longer pinching his face or speaking, all solemnly saluting him. Wang Kuang hastily avoided them: "Brothers, don't be like that."

  "It's deserved, it's deserved. Erlang has done us a great service. We several people will thank Erlang on behalf of our deceased brother."

  "Alright, you guys stop being so polite. We're all brothers, no need for formalities." Wang Ling didn't expect Wang Kuang to do so much, but the thanks from his brothers made him a bit embarrassed, and he stopped them.

  After dinner, Wang Kuang was pulled into his room by Wang Ling. Wang Ling twisted and rubbed his hands, and after a long time, he managed to squeeze out a sentence: "Second brother, do you think I should go to the prefecture yamen to take care of things?" As an adult himself, seeking the opinion of a young child made Wang Ling feel somewhat uncomfortable. However, Wang Kuang's mature and experienced handling of affairs was well-known; now that only three brothers were left in the Wang village, who else would he ask besides Wang Kuang?

  "What's your own idea, big brother?"

  "These two days I have also seen that, Second Brother, you are a man who can do great things. Big Brother's skills are not as good, and he is only good at fighting and killing. I think going to the provincial government might be able to help Second Brother. From now on, our Wang family will rely on Second Brother." King Ling also spoke bluntly.

  "Big brother, don't say that. Brothers unite, and their benefits can cut through metal. Things are still to be done by our brothers working together." Since they were face-to-face, Wang Kuang didn't hold back either, directly expressing his thoughts. In short, he wanted to open up the land in Wang Village and from now on use it specifically for growing chili peppers. Wang Ling's group of brothers was undoubtedly the best choice to take care of it. The bond between them, forged in the trenches, was at times even closer than that of biological brothers. With them around, Wang Kuang could also feel at ease. It's just that he didn't know what they thought about it.

  The two brothers chatted until dawn before Wang finally returned to his own room to sleep.

  The next morning, Wang Ling gathered all his brothers and told them roughly what Wang Kuang had said the night before, but didn't say what kind of thing it was, only that it was a new crop, and also mentioned that he himself had to go to the prefecture government office to do something.

  There were twelve soldiers in total, three of whom wanted to return home to take care of their elderly parents or to farm the land because they were the eldest son or an only child. Wang Ling did not force them and let them go. Among the remaining nine, Chen Da naturally didn't need to be asked; as he himself said, his life was saved by Wang Ling, so even if Wang Ling told him to climb a knife mountain, he would do it, let alone farm something. The others either had no one left at home or had brothers at home, so they didn't have much to worry about and all patted their chests in agreement to follow along.

  Wang Kuang was overjoyed to learn that nine people were willing to stay, which exceeded his expectations. In his opinion, in an era where filial piety is prioritized, it would be good enough if five or six people were willing to stay behind. He did not expect as many as nine people to do so. It seems that Wang Ling still has some influence after all.

  Things were arranged, and Wang Kuang was no longer in a hurry. Leaving Chun still had three or four months to go. Besides, the first batch of peppers would have to be planted on Sun Ming's front farm, and it wouldn't be until next year that they would use the land in Wang Village. He planned to let these people also go to Sun Ming's front farm next year to take care of the sweet potatoes and peppers together, and then next year, he would withdraw manpower from Sun Ming's front farm to Wang Village, with two villages dividing their labor, one planting sweet potatoes and the other planting peppers.

  Wang Kuang specially went to find Sun Mingqian and roughly told him the meaning. Although he had hinted at Sun Mingqian to bring these people to help when they were drinking wine the night before, this was a big deal after all, and he still needed to tell him about it.

  Sun Ming had previously heard that Wang Kuang was planning to separate the sweet potatoes and chili peppers for cultivation, and he repeatedly praised Wang Kuang's thoughtful consideration. The distance between Wang Village and Sun Family Village is about 50 miles, separating the two crops is also a kind of insurance, it's estimated that not many people would think that Fulaiguan Inn would separate such important things so far apart for cultivation, after all, cultivating them together is more conducive to centralized protection. Therefore, if the worst happens, at least one can preserve one of them as much as possible.

  Knowing that Wang Village is now in ruins, Sun Ming simply called the housekeeper over and instructed him to arrange for the rebuilding of Wang Village after the New Year. Anyway, there's a whole year to do it, no rush, take your time. As for the abandoned land, during the slack season, he'll get people from Sun Family Village to go and open it up.

  Wang Ling has already gone to the provincial government office to report, and as for his brothers, Wang Kuang also distributed some money to them in the inn, gave them some rice and meat, saying it was advance wages, and sent them back home. Let them come again after the New Year. The three who didn't agree to stay and help were also given a share, which made the three men feel ashamed. In fact, Wang Kuang could understand them, who wouldn't worry about their parents at home? They probably had difficulties too, so they didn't stay behind. After Wang Village was rebuilt, he would find another opportunity to help them solve their difficulties. Maybe by then, he could even let them move their whole family there. Wang Kuang would rather have one brother who followed Wang Ling down from the battlefield than a hundred hired men. Can the feelings of these two groups be compared?

  At noon, when it was time to eat, Wang Ling returned, having changed into a new set of clothes. He wore a black hat on his head, a gray robe on his body, and a pair of soft leather boots on his feet. Around his waist, he no longer wore a cloth belt, but instead had switched to a leather strap with a copper buckle. He also carried a scabbard knife made of dark leather.

  It turned out that during the Tang Dynasty, there were strict rules governing what ordinary people could wear. Only low-ranking officials and government runners were allowed to use leather straps, while high-ranking officials and nobles were permitted to wear jade-encrusted silver belts with silver buckles. The emperor and his sons alone were entitled to wear gold belts and gold buckles.

  However, even though these rules existed, they were not always strictly enforced. Even Emperor Taizong of Tang preferred to wear soft leather straps for comfort's sake. Nevertheless, if someone broke these rules, it could leave a bad impression on their superiors, so most people chose to follow them voluntarily.

  When they first saw Wang Ling, the inn's staff hadn't recognized him yet, but Sun Er rushed forward to greet him. As he got closer, he realized it was indeed Wang Ling and was overjoyed, not knowing what to say. He pinched his own face in excitement, which hurt a bit. Then, he touched Wang Ling's copper buckle and compared it with the soft leather boots on his own feet: "Tsk, tsk, this is just different. Official goods are indeed different. This outfit suits the young master perfectly, making him look like a completely different person, just like a general." In his excitement, Sun Er started calling Wang Ling "young master" again.

  Everyone who heard the news also came to see the novelty, you touch the "official uniform", he touched the scabbard of the black sword, these are usually can't be touched even if they want to, at this time don't take advantage of it and indulge, when else should they wait?

  Sun Mingqian had known that Wang Ling was going to the prefectural government office to do things, and in his opinion, this was a good thing. Although it was still Jian'an County that directly managed the inn, the prefectural government generally did not interfere with the affairs of Jian'an County, only intervening when something big happened. But after all, having someone in the imperial court made things easier, and with Wang Ling at the prefectural government office, Rich Come Inn would be even less likely to be bothered by people coming to extort money. Seeing Wang Ling return, Sun Mingqian smiled and congratulated him: "Congratulations, sir, now you can also be considered an official." He clapped his hands and said to the surrounding diners who were watching together: "Today Rich Come Inn is treating everyone, all of you are exempt from paying!"

  The guests all cheered and immediately returned to their seats, raising their wine cups: "Good, good. Rich Guest House will do business, and in the future, it will definitely make a fortune." They also said to Wang Ling: "Wang Ban will surely rise step by step in the future." It was just a flattering remark that didn't cost them anything, and they got a free meal out of it. They wouldn't be stingy with these two sentences, besides, it's said that this is the younger master's older brother, who came down from the battlefield, having killed countless people. This kind of person who has killed before, they can't afford to offend, so they took advantage of the opportunity to fawn on him.

  Division

  The gray sparrow carefully considered the previous chapters for two days and found that it was really difficult to change. Sometimes, a slight modification of a few words might lead to a complete overhaul in the end. After careful consideration, I decided not to make major changes for the time being. However, over the past two days, some contradictions between the front and back have been discovered, which must be revised. But if everyone doesn't mind these contradictions, there's no need to look back because this time gray sparrow's modification principle is that the front follows the back.

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