The pork butcher is smoother than a pig butcher!

Chapter 241 Things have changed

Captain Gan's merits were once again being praised in the border army camp.

Although Gan Mingshou was a big fan of his sister, he still had many questions about Gan Minglan's actions this time.

"Sister, those trees were already sold at the dirt-cheap price you mentioned, why can't we split the profits 50/50 with the main camp?"

"I heard that the camp can only hold out for another half a month at most before running out of food again. The general is still hoping that the cattle and sheep he bought with 50,000 taels of silver can last a little longer! Your elder brother and brother-in-law are now military households. Do you want them to work on an empty stomach?"

"I...I just feel like you're getting the short end of the stick!"

"What did I lose? We didn't buy those trees, did we? The buyer was invited by the Marquis. I didn't do anything and I still got a ten percent profit. What more could I ask for?"

"That's not how it is! Without you, who would have thought of such a good idea as planting trees? King Atu is so cunning that no one else can command him! Besides, by letting those refugees plant trees to earn wages, you are also helping to lighten the burden on the camp."

“We don’t look at the process, we look at the result! Just look at how well the windbreak crops are grown! And what’s the price of Cistanche deserticola right now? Most importantly, isn’t my ranch the one that ultimately benefits from all of this?”

"Hehehe, sister! I asked the doctor at the clinic. Even the most ordinary quality dried Cistanche deserticola can sell for one to two taels of silver per catty, and the top quality can sell for more than ten taels of silver per catty. This is the price in a small place like the border town. If it were sent to a wealthy place like Jiangnan, it would be several times more expensive."

"So all the investment today is worthwhile! It's already pretty good that we can hire someone to help plant ten trees for one coin! The more trees we plant, the greater the returns will be in the future."

Gan Mingshou: Helping my sister with chores really broadens my horizons more than working at the mutton restaurant!

My sister's illness has gotten worse!
After that, he became more and more attentive to the work of the ranch's general manager, and even managed to keep those hundred or so young kids who had signed contracts running around like headless chickens.

Gan Minglan is already very skilled at using her supernatural abilities to grow Haloxylon ammodendron seedlings.

The transaction in Yulinwei was completed in one night.

While working, she also accelerated the growth of more than a dozen kinds of edible wild vegetables on Junma Mountain.

Fresh and tender bitter lettuce.

It's refreshing when mixed, helps cut through greasiness when stir-fried, and is also great for soups and porridge.

The locust flowers bloom one after the other.

Strings and clusters.

Grab a handful of wheat flour, steam it, and eat it—it's sweet and filling.

Wild onions and shepherd's purse are growing like crazy; you can easily gather a whole basketful by going up the mountain.
The elderly couldn't help but sigh:
"The solar terms this year are really strange! It's already the beginning of summer, but the wild vegetables in spring are still growing wildly in clumps!"

"Isn't it good to have vegetables to eat? Our wheat fields won't ripen for several more months! I think the wild vegetables this year taste terrible!"

"I heard that the grain stores in Huaiqing Prefecture haven't been open for months! Will we be unable to buy rice and flour on the market before the autumn harvest? The Ang family's flour bin is almost empty, what are we going to do?"

“We’re living the best we can ever be! We can eat wild vegetables from Junma Mountain as much as we want, and every three to five days we can get a rabbit from the camp. The fish in the Zhuohe River are at least a little bit of meat. If we ever run out of food, we can kill a sheep and survive for a month.”

"Compared to this, life seems barely bearable. I wonder what the situation is like inside the Great Wall now!"

What's the situation?
The crops in the fields were not ripe, but Emperor Beiwen's head was ripe.

The weather in Shangdu hasn't even entered the rainy season yet, but it can change in an instant!
The leader of the Jing Army, Grand Steward Nian, together with the Dragon Shadow Guard and the Imperial Guard, wiped out the entire royal bloodline overnight.

He also instructed Emperor Beiwen to pass the throne to his son, who was less than a year old, before his death.

The newly widowed Empress Dowager forcefully ascended the throne, holding the infant emperor in her arms.

The Grand Steward was also appointed Regent by the late Emperor.

Absurd! Utterly absurd!

How could the powerful and noble families allow the imperial harem and eunuchs to stand on their heads and defecate?

Although they previously acted independently, they were also connected by marriage and other relationships.

In order to bring down the young upstart, a bloody storm immediately swept through Shangdu.

There are rumors circulating today that Emperor Beiwen was murdered and that the new emperor's ascension to the throne was illegitimate.

Tomorrow, rumors will spread that a certain noble family harbors rebellious intentions and is a traitor who should be killed by all the people.

Various forces frequently came into contact with the refugees.

They offered these people enormous benefits to get them to charge into battle and become cannon fodder to die for their cause.

The entire imperial city was like a giant meat grinder.

The moat outside the city has seen countless lives lost these past few days.

The river water is red.

Human hearts are dark.

Those caught in the middle of the situation constantly try to drag those outside into the chaos.

As the defenses of the imperial guards within the palace became increasingly strained, the new emperor sent distress messages to all the important border towns.

At this very moment, Zhao Muyun received an imperial edict delivered by express messenger.

The national mourning period hasn't even started yet!
Whether the little emperor, who is less than a year old, can survive this chaos remains a big question mark.

The debate within the border town's camp about whether or not to obey the imperial decree was unusually heated.

A small number of military officers firmly stated: "How can we disobey an imperial edict? Do you think we can defy it?"

More military commanders opposed:

"What can a mere few months old emperor understand? And whose will does this imperial edict represent? I heard that the so-called regent was a spineless eunuch! Are we going to become knives in the hands of the eunuch faction and the harem?"

Those who support orthodoxy attempt to struggle:

"But the new emperor is, after all, the late emperor's only son, and he should rightfully be the heir to this empire! When the emperor commands his subject to die, the subject has no choice but to die!"

"But it's the eunuch faction sending you to your death! It's not that we don't want to go to Shangdu to save the young emperor! The border town is more than 3,000 li away from Shangdu. By the time we finally get there after all that trouble, it will be too late!"

"Let's get to the most practical issue right now: shouldn't the army's provisions be prioritized before setting out? Even if we take all the food from the main camp, it won't be enough to get us halfway there! What about the remaining garrison troops and their families? Are they even supposed to live?"

"Don't forget what our main task has been for generations of people guarding the border! Didn't the Northern Tatars attack us last time while we were out suppressing bandits?"

"Hmph! If you want to use a horse, you have to feed it some grass, right? When various factions are vying for promotions and wealth, it has nothing to do with us poor military households. But when chaos strikes, they wish they could make us fight for them with our bare hands! Where in the world is there such a good thing?"

“We eat the grain that the Marquis managed to obtain, and wear the clothes that the Marquis provided! Our military pay is also earned by following the Marquis to the battlefield! We have never received a single copper coin in military pay from the court, so why should we risk our lives for the court?”

"General Tian is right! Whether the armies from other important border towns go or not is none of our business. We only obey the Marquis's orders! If the Marquis tells us to chase dogs, we will definitely not go to catch chickens!"

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(End of this chapter)