I support the army through farming and business.

Chapter 106 Things change and people change
Tang Zhao's preparations lasted until April.

During this period, Tang Zhao ordered Zhao Tian to lead people to deliver 30,000 kilograms of soybean oil to the army every month. Zhao Tian and others often returned to Changshou Village today and had to set off again the next day.

The cooks in the kitchen were very generous. They added plenty of oil and water to the two meals a day, and even the porridge we had in the morning had a drop of oil in it.

The soldiers of the three armies were greasy after eating and trained with great vigor.

His Royal Highness King Xuan expressed his satisfaction.

In the Bidan Courtyard, Ming was very reluctant to let her go. "Is my sister-in-law really going to Wuwei?"

Tang Zhao packed his small bag and said, "Yes, we'll leave tomorrow!"

"Wuwei is close to the border and not as prosperous as Lanzhou. The food and clothing expenses are even worse than those in the royal palace," Ming advised. "Why should my sister-in-law endure this hardship?"

Tang Zhao was not afraid of hardship, but he was afraid that if he failed to keep an eye on Gu Ci, he would die outside. The system would judge the mission as a failure, and his second life, which he had worked so hard to get, would be gone.

If she had to arrange her subordinates' industries and manpower, especially to guide Song Kai in cultivating potato seeds, she would have left long ago!

Tang Zhao sighed, "I'm so anxious that I can't see my husband. I can't eat or sleep."

Ming didn't know what to say. She took the remaining volumes of "The Return of the Condor Heroes" and the first twenty chapters of "Dream of the Red Chamber" and returned to Qingmo Hall, and asked someone to deliver three thousand taels of silver to Bidanyuan.

Tang Zhao happily ordered Dongmei to be carried into the car.

The next morning, Chao Yi led a hundred palace guards to escort the princess' carriage out of Lanzhou City.

In Wuwei City, the prefect of Wuwei, who received the news that the commander of Zhaoshan County was moving to Wuwei to live, personally hired people to clean the General Protector's Mansion and paid out of his own pocket to replace all the broken windows and floor tiles in the mansion.

Master Zhao was silently calculating, worrying about next month's wages.

Nanny Song took the initiative to buy a lot of things for the main courtyard. She hired someone to dredge the lotus pond again, spent a lot of money to buy a few red dragon fish for ornamental purposes, and also raised dozens of carp to fatten them up for eating.

Nanny Song looked at the empty training ground in front of the main courtyard and recalled the bustling scene when General Song was alive, and she couldn't help feeling melancholy.

"What a shame for such a good training ground. The target is still there."

Nanny Li comforted her, "What's the pity? Doesn't the princess practice archery too? In the past, I always complained that the Bidan Courtyard was too small for activities. Now that we have this training ground, whether it's archery, slingshot, swordplay, or horseback riding, we can all do it."

"That's right, elder sister," Nanny Song groaned, "I have to go buy some stone locks so that Miss and Dongmei won't be left without any."

Nanny Li looked at Nanny Song's excited back, then turned around and went back to continue cleaning the house.

It has been more than 20 years since she returned to Wuwei. When Nanny Song walked on the street, she felt both familiar and unfamiliar. The shops where she used to accompany the young lady to visit and eat were gone, replaced by new signs.

Nanny Song sighed. She didn't want to ask anyone for directions, as it would make her feel that the current Weiwu was no longer the Weiwu she remembered.

After walking along Wuwei Street for a while, and then passing through many alleys, I finally came to a green wooden door, but I didn't see the familiar stone millstone.

The shop owner saw Aunt Meng standing outside the door for a long time, and came out to ask, "Grandma, would you like to come in and have a bowl of ramen?"

"Ramen?" Nanny Song asked, "Wasn't this a stone shop before?"

"Oh, that was so many years ago!" the shop owner started talking. "My family moved to Wuwei City six years ago, and this yard is no longer a stone archway."

"I heard from the previous owner that the male owner of the stone archway was killed during the Turkic siege. Thanks to the timely rescue of the Northwest Army, the Turkic soldiers were driven out of the city again."

"But the surviving owner of the stone workshop didn't have the skills to grind stones, so she sold the yard and went to live with her daughter and son-in-law who had married far away."

"Oh, so that's how it is," Nanny Song said, lost in thought. Seeing Wuwei's current peace, she had almost forgotten it had been conquered by the Turks twelve years earlier. "Grandma, if you want to buy stone, go to Hanzhang Street. There's a stone shop there with excellent craftsmanship. Many wealthy families order millstones, stone locks, and other items there."

"Oh, okay, thank you, young man," Nanny Song responded and turned to point in the direction of the shop owner.

In the alley, a group of ragged children were running over and playing. Nanny Song dodged to the side, but was still bumped into by a child.

Nanny Song staggered after being knocked against the wall.

The child seemed not to see it and continued to run away while playing with other children.

Nanny Song stood up, rubbed her shoulder that was hurt by the collision, shook her head and was about to leave when she heard a boy's voice crying.

"Let me go, please let me go! Someone, there are beggars catching children!"

The people around heard the noise and rushed out. When they saw the child, they laughed and scolded him, "Little lecher, have you been caught stealing again?"

Looking at the muscular man, the people kindly reminded him, "You'd better return the money quickly. You're too small to be hit by a punch."

The child, who was lifted up by the strong man like a sack, shouted, "No, no, I really didn't steal it! Uncle Zhang, save me!"

Nanny Song turned around and saw that the child was the one who bumped into her just now. She quickly reached out to touch her waist, and then her face changed.

Her purse was empty.

Nanny Song came running over and said, "Child, give me back my purse."

The child screamed, "I didn't steal it, I didn't steal it! Someone, someone is wrongly accusing me!"

The masked man holding the child didn't waste any time and directly reached into the child's waist, but didn't touch anything.

The child immediately said confidently, "I told you I didn't steal! You're wrongly accusing me. No, you must compensate me, or I'll report you to the authorities! I'll have you thrown in jail and have you beaten!"

Nanny Song frowned. Could it be that this child really didn’t steal it?

The masked burly man sneered and turned his head to look towards the end of the alley.

A dozen masked men in black came quickly, each carrying a child in their hands.

The child who was originally shouting to call the police opened his mouth wide.

A masked man rummaged through the equally dirty child's arms for a while and pulled out a purse from the innermost part.

Nanny Song exclaimed, "My purse!"

The masked man handed the purse to Nanny Song. Nanny Meng checked it carefully and put it in her arms after making sure that all the money was there.

The masked man in black holding the child said, "Aren't you going to report to the police? Come on, I'll take you there myself."

The child struggled and begged for mercy, "Master, I was wrong. Please forgive me this time because I am young and ignorant!"

"Looking at the appearance of these neighbors, I'm afraid you are habitual criminals, right?" The masked man in black hated these sneaky and dishonest people the most. "You rely on your youth to steal and extort money. Do you think you can be considered men?"

The child muttered, "I am not a man to begin with. I am still eight years away from coming of age."

The masked man in black poked the child's head hard, "Hey!"

If this happened in the Northwest Army, he would have been beaten with a military stick long ago!