The pork butcher is smoother than a pig butcher!

Chapter 141 Are wives a scarce resource?!

With the Lunar New Year just around the corner, the border troops are eager to return home.

The weather is getting colder too.

Tian Jiu and the others rode their horses at the front of the procession, looking worriedly at the snow that was about a foot deep on the ground.

During breaks, I can't help but want to vent a few words.

"Damn it, this year's snow is really unusual. It's snowing so heavily here. Won't the Tatar grasslands be flooded with snow?"

"That's for sure! There's no shelter on the vast grasslands, and the livestock would probably freeze to death."

"Oh dear, let's not talk about those Tatars! If they have a hard time, we Han people will suffer!"

"Right, right! Let's not talk about those unfortunate things. By the way, the garrison commander of Jinzhou Pass is not bad! He actually shared most of the spoils of war with us."

"Tsk tsk, you stubborn fools who won't listen to my advice! You insist on taking all those good things to the pawnshops in Jinzhou City and pawning them to death. Who knows how long this cold winter will last!"

"Hey old man, didn't we all agree on this beforehand? It was mainly for the sake of those brothers who died, otherwise how could everyone get three taels of silver?"

"Exactly, we can't just bring these spoils of war directly to the families of our fallen brothers, can we? Are we going to make them see their enemy's clothes and be consumed by hatred every day, or force them to wear their enemy's clothes and shoes to keep warm?"

"When we return to the border town, the brothers' families will receive a pension from the General, and they won't have to worry about their families suffering in the afterlife."

"Not only them, but we can also make sure our parents and siblings have a good New Year!"

"."

The border soldiers had barely finished discussing a hundred ways to spend their three taels of silver when they encountered the quartermaster and others who had come from the border town.

When the quartermaster informed everyone that there were shortages of goods and supplies in Huaiqing Prefecture, they were shocked.

They were all pinching their thighs frantically, afraid of mishearing.

Listen to what the quartermaster is saying.
He said.

In Huaiqing Prefecture now, three taels of silver are only enough to buy fifty catties of the lowest grade of grains or eighty or ninety catties of charcoal!
Before this year, three taels of silver was enough to support a family of five in the border town for half a year!
What kind of outrageous prices are these?
Are they even letting ordinary people survive?!

Tian Jiu had someone call Zuo Wenkang over.

"According to the regulations, after you arrive in the border town, the men will generally work to repair the city walls or reclaim wasteland for farming. After each day's work, they can receive corresponding grain or remuneration."

But during the three months of winter in the border town, the land is frozen solid! These two heavy physical tasks cannot be done.

I was thinking of having you purchase some supplies to settle down in Huaiqing Prefecture, but now I'm afraid even with money, you won't be able to buy rice or grain.”

General Tian's meaning is very clear.

The border town did not provide free food and lodging for exiled prisoners.

Zuo Wenkang accepted his kind reminder and nodded repeatedly:

"General, please arrange for someone to purchase some necessities for us. Apart from some personal clothing, we need to buy everything on the spot. Could you let us discuss it and make a list?"

"No problem at all!" Tian Jiu agreed readily; he was there to do someone a favor.

Not only do the Zuo clan members need to purchase daily necessities.

The soldiers all took out their three taels of silver, which they hadn't even had a chance to warm up yet.

Before they left Jinzhou Pass, prices in Jinzhou City were still quite normal.

I'm really looking forward to seeing the purchasing power of this money in Jinzhou City.

Half an hour later.

The Zuo family's purchasing list and money were collected.

Seeing the densely packed categories and quantities listed above, Tian Jiu kept rubbing his forehead.

No wonder the military families used to say that any exiled criminal found in the border town was wealthier than their military households.

Actually, it's not entirely unexpected.

The She family was truly poor!

Xia Ge'er's teacher's wife lent her another ten taels of silver to settle down.

This debt is just piling up!

There were also seven or eight cousins ​​and nephews who were close to Zuo Wenkang, each of whom borrowed five taels. Charcoal and rice were purchased in large quantities by every household.

In the end, they had to separate most of the border troops and some of the wagons from the ranks and go to Jinzhou City with the quartermaster and others.

It's five days from here to the border town.

The Zuo family was both excited and somewhat apprehensive about the new map.

The border soldiers who knew them well noticed their expressions and offered words of comfort:
"Don't worry about anything that you're not used to. The houses in our border town all have heated brick beds (kang). As long as there's enough firewood, the houses are quite warm!"
As for food, we're used to eating noodles, and the mutton noodles from Biancheng are absolutely amazing! We also have hand-pulled mutton, braised mutton offal, stewed lamb trotters, and braised carp—all of them taste fantastic!

He was talking while slurping.

The men were so bored they could barely keep their mouths shut, but when they heard about all the different types of lamb dishes, they couldn't help but salivate.

Lamb is great!

People in Leyuan County also love to eat mutton.

Lamb is generally more expensive than pork and is only available in winter.

Even for a prestigious family like theirs, it's not something they can eat mutton every few days.

The men had already heard from Zuo Wenkang that once they arrived in the border town, they wouldn't need to immediately start building the city walls.

They can wait another two months and wait until next spring to get back to work.

There couldn't be better news!

However, the Zuo family women were restless and unable to eat or sleep.

None of them expected it.

Despite enduring the hardships of exile, including the riots of displaced people and the humiliation inflicted by the escorting officials, they managed to reach their destination unharmed.

Now, a new problem arises!

Men are lucky; they don't have to do physical labor.

Can the women escape being sent to become camp prostitutes?
They don't have the same fighting skills as the pork butcher!
Why should the border troops treat them differently?

Seventy percent of the young women came to Gan Minglan for help.
It's freezing cold.

When asked about Tian Jiu's hair, her palms were sweating.

He planned to return to the border town and give General Zhao a detailed report on such a powerful weapon as the Jade-Faced Rakshasa.

Such a talented person should not be treated unfairly!
As for the arrangements for the other women, he hadn't really considered them at the moment.

What embarrassed him most was that the red tent was indeed there.

Moreover, the vast majority of them were wives of exiled convicts.

They usually call these women "wives".

The fate of "wives" was even more tragic than that of girls in brothels.

Because they not only have to serve people at night, but also do a certain amount of physical labor during the day.

"Wives and wives" were the lowest social class in the border town, and their attrition rate was extremely high.

Tian Jiu couldn't utter a single word for a long time.

Gan Minglan calmly asked, "Can women be exempted from service by paying silver?"

She refused to believe that money couldn't solve everything!
Tian Jiu: "No one has been exempted from this before, so it might be difficult."

It's really not a matter of money!

The five guard posts, each with 100,000 border troops, had a large number of unmarried bachelors.

It is also a key military town.

General Zhao did not allow brothels and other establishments of mixed character to be opened in the border town.

and so.

In the border town, "wives" are a scarce resource!
(End of this chapter)