After rebirth, the Queen and I are on the run.

Chapter 1124 Every Family Prepares for War
"Old hag Cao, don't take this opportunity to slander me! I, Cao Laizi, am the most law-abiding rogue in the surrounding area!" Cao Laizi was indignant and wanted to seek justice for himself.

Compared to the Wu family of Shuijing, he is excessively kind; he hasn't even managed to steal a widow yet.

It's a pity that no one paid attention to him.

Lin Xiaoqi, who was in charge of the burning team, said, "Take down Cao Laizi, lock him in the straw shed, and release him if he doesn't fall ill in seven days!"

Half a mile behind the spot where the rats were burned, rows of thatched huts were built to imprison disobedient people who ate rat meat.

"Yes!" A soldier led two students from the local martial arts academy forward. The soldier spoke and the students acted, using military methods to quickly subdue Cao Laizi and take him to the thatched shed to be locked up.

"Ugh ugh ugh!" Cao Laizi cried out, but it was no use.

But after the first day, he actually started to enjoy it... because during his imprisonment, the Silifang (a local government office) would send him two meals a day.

Good heavens, he doesn't have to do anything, he can just lie down and eat two meals a day. He is often poor, sometimes only eating one meal every two days.

He's actually enjoying this good life of eating two meals a day, he's so happy, he'll be locked up until he dies!
In the following days, several people from various villages came to steal rat meat, and the thatched huts were almost full.

Fortunately, the rat extermination efforts in Taifeng Town have been very successful.

but……

"The rabbits also need to be exterminated. The pens for cattle, sheep, chickens, etc., should be fumigated with medicinal herbs once a day for at least five days to prevent fleas and lice from infesting them."

"The rat plague spreads through fleas and lice jumping onto small animals, spreading infectious gases and helping the rat plague to spread and harm people."

The clerk Guan talked about these key points every day; such announcements could be heard three times a day in the old and new streets and villages.

In short, the nationwide effort to eradicate rats, fleas, and lice cannot be relaxed.

Many villagers find it troublesome and don't want to do it.

"Killing rats isn't enough, we also have to boil clothes and bedding, fumigate the house, and now even the livestock enclosures need to be fumigate with herbs. Isn't that annoying!"

"If the Silifang has money, give us money! Giving us medicine packets is bad luck!"

But the village chiefs would yell, "Alright, shut up! Have you forgotten about the leg rations? So many people saw it. Those Eastern Desert people are just that vicious. If we don't put in our best effort to defend against them, are we just waiting to be killed by the Eastern Desert's rat plague?!"

This?
The issue of the military rations for calf injuries did indeed frighten the villagers, which is why they were willing to cooperate with the government's efforts.

If it weren't for this evidence that the enemy soldiers weren't human, the villagers could have turned their backs and been lazy, and would never have done these troublesome things.

As for the matter of the calf rations, Magistrate Kang recounted it in every town.

The villagers from other towns were terrified when they heard this, and only then did they take the matter of exterminating rats, preventing plagues, and fighting off enemies seriously.

Some people don't believe it.

Magistrate Kang then sent someone to the county government office to bring the calf to those who didn't believe him, and those people were so frightened that they fainted one after another.

The news spread quickly, and the villages and towns of Baofu County dared not slack off any longer. Out of fear, they did their best to exterminate the rats.

People from Linshan County, where Master Jia lived, also came to inquire and examined the calf. After returning, the entire Linshan County began to exterminate rats and prevent the plague.

The Jia family also donated a lot of medicinal herbs to the county government, which then distributed them to the villagers to fumigate their houses.

In addition, Master Jia ordered his servants to prepare ready-to-eat rations in preparation for war.

The so-called war rations consisted of roasted soybeans, rice, and flour, so that when the Eastern Desert people attacked, they could take these cooked rations with them and flee without having to stop to cook along the way.

Meanwhile, the families of Qin, Jiang, Xu, Qiao, and Guan were also preparing food supplies for war. "They stir-fried soybeans, flour, and rice with sugar, salt, and oil. Adding sugar, oil, and salt makes it more nourishing and gives people more strength."

"Buy plenty of sheepskin water bags, bamboo tubes, and gourds. When we're fleeing, fill them with water, and we'll have both water and food," Grandma Qin and Aunt Qin directed the families.

Uncle Qin then went to the Silifang office to find the clerk Guan and told him about the 50,000 catties of grain.

"Brother-in-law, let's roast these 50,000 catties of grain. It can be used as rations for the villagers to prepare for war, so that when the enemy comes, they won't rush to escape and this grain will be given to the enemy."

The army would sweep through, and the thought that the grain his niece had swindled would fall into enemy hands made him feel like he had suffered a huge loss!
The clerk remained silent, deep in thought.

Uncle Qin, annoyed by his indecisiveness, said, "Brother-in-law, are you even a man? Can't you just get it over with? This 50,000 jin of grain doesn't belong to the government; it was allocated to our Taifeng Town by the county office. We can handle it ourselves. Given the current situation, what are we waiting for if we don't deal with it quickly?!"

“In chaotic times, harsh measures are necessary; in urgent situations, expediency is required. Do you think you can just stick to dogma? No, I can’t say that. My niece will deduct my share of the profits because she is a young woman, but she’s much more decisive than you.”

“My second brother-in-law is right. It was I who was too stubborn.” Upon hearing this suggestion, Clerk Guan immediately ordered the soldiers to beat the gong and notify the village heads: “Village heads, hurry to the Sili Ward. The Sili Ward is distributing grain!”

"What? The Silifang is distributing grain? What kind of grain? The 50,000 catties of grain that the Xie family bought for their quota?"

Jie Dazongguan: "..."

Is this something that can't be resolved?
Next time, could you please stop saying "Jie family" and just use "sucker" instead? That way, people who don't know the situation won't laugh at the Jie family, but will only laugh at the nameless sucker!

"It must be the grain purchased by the distributors to fill the quotas, otherwise where would the Silifang get the grain to distribute to us?"

"Hey, stop dawdling! Hurry up and call the village chief and head of the neighborhood to collect the grain. If we're late, we might not get any!"

The villagers were thrilled and rushed back to their village to call for the village chief.

The following day, a long queue formed at the entrance of the town's grain storage warehouse.

Dangdang Dangdang!
"Grain was distributed per capita. The head of the household could use the household registration to collect grain on behalf of the entire family... One pound of grain per person in a bowl!"

"After you receive the rations, do not overeat them. Cook them thoroughly, pack them well, and prepare them for war! These are your life-saving rations during wartime, so don't eat them to death!"

Following the instructions of the clerk, the soldiers continuously banged gongs and shouted to remind the villagers.

The soldiers shouted with genuine emotion, truly fearing that the villagers would eat these reserve rations. In the future... when the army besieged the city and many people in the city ran out of food, a tragedy of cannibalism would occur.

However, this is the worst-case scenario; perhaps General Chi and his men from Tianmang Prefecture can win.

Meanwhile, clan chief Lü, village chief Zhou, village head Miao, village head Kong, and others went to learn how to make roasted food that could be preserved for a long time.

After learning, teach the village chief.

After the village chiefs learned it, they went back to their villages to teach the villagers, and they also kept an eye on the villagers: "No one is allowed to eat the fried war rations in advance! If anyone eats them, their family will not be taken away when we flee for our lives!"

These words were quite effective; even some unruly families, after hearing them, restrained their families and dared not eat the grain ahead of time.

But the villagers still couldn't help but say a few words: "After making such a big fuss and causing so much trouble, we still haven't seen the Eastern Desert army come to attack."

"If we go through all this trouble and the Eastern Desert army doesn't show up and nothing happens, wouldn't the whole of Wei laugh at us to death?"

"Then let's laugh at the Qin family. They're the ones who made up all that talk about rat plague and the invasion from the Eastern Desert."

"Speaking of the Qin family, it seems like we haven't seen Qin Dongjia for several days. She used to take the carriage to the herbal medicine shop every day, and would occasionally stop to yell at people, but we haven't seen her lately... Could she have abandoned us and run away?!"

"Why are you running away? Qin Dong's family is skilled in medicine. I heard she's been staying home lately writing some prescriptions... The herbal sachets we use to fumigate the house and kill fleas are based on a prescription she wrote."