Three Kingdoms: A Million Soldiers Grown from the Fields

Chapter 213 Making a Living
The winter in Bingzhou is bitterly cold, chilling to the bone.

The newly established resettlement area for displaced people in Zhaoyuze North.

The shacks stretched out in rows, all with thick rammed earth foundations, sturdy pine beams and pillars, and thick thatched roofs that had been repeatedly patted with mud and straw, topped with windproof strips.

This is a winter shelter that Taiyuan Gongcao, a veteran of many refugee settlements, devised with the help of bricklayers. It is much warmer than a simple shelter made of wood and branches.

The shacks were left with wide enough passageways covered with compacted snow crusts to facilitate walking and prevent water from flowing through.

Every so often, there are public hearths with smoke channels built of bricks and stones. During the day, women, children and the elderly gather here to do handicrafts in the warmth, which also saves each household firewood.

As dawn broke, in a slightly larger shack deep within the camp, Liu Sansao had already nimbly gotten up.

Her husband, Liu San, was the Yellow Turban squad leader with a scar on his chest who had fought alongside General Tiangong in the Battle of Julu in Guangzong. He had joined the Anbei New Army a dozen days ago.

With no able-bodied men left in the family, the rations distributed by the camp wouldn't starve anyone, but if they wanted to eat well, they had to find their own way.

It was much warmer inside the shed than outside, but your breath still turned to frost.

Liu Sansao rubbed her hands, which were red from the cold, and carefully pushed aside a clay pot wrapped tightly in a tattered quilt in the corner.

A faint, slightly sour, rotten aroma of sauce wafted through the air.

This is a rare and precious soybean paste she made using soybeans distributed by the camp, following the method of a local old woman.

"Gouwa, Gouwa, wake up!" She gently nudged her son, who was fast asleep curled up on the straw mat.

Seven-year-old Gouwa rubbed his sleepy eyes, his little face a bit pale: "Mommy...cold..."

"Get up quickly and drink this bowl of hot porridge; it will warm you up."

Liu Sansao poured out a small bowl of grayish-brown paste from a small earthenware pot that was warming by the fire pit.

This is made by crushing the flatbread issued by the camp, mixing it with some soybean paste and snow water, and cooking it. It has a slightly salty taste and a bean aroma. It is Gouwa's breakfast.

Gouwa sniffed, holding the bowl and sipping his drink. His eyes brightened. "Mom, when is Dad coming back? He said that once he joins the army, he'll have enough to eat and he'll even bring me meat buns!"

Liu Sansao patted Gouwa's head: "It'll be soon. Your father will be back in the spring. He's joined the Anbei Army, which means he'll be officially employed and receive government rations! Your father is so capable, he might even earn some merit! When that happens, there will be plenty of meat buns, and even more white flour buns!"

She soothed her son while quickly tidying up.

Wrap the puppy up tightly, give him a hard, baked multigrain pancake from last night as a snack, and tell him to play in the snow near the shack and not to go far.

He then took two flatbreads and an empty burlap sack, preparing to go check out the workshop area outside the camp.

As soon as the thick straw curtain was lifted, a biting gust of cold wind mixed with snowflakes rushed in, choking Liu Sansao so much that she stumbled.

"Oh my, Third Sister-in-law, so early?"

The curtain of the shack next door was also lifted, revealing Granny Chen's wrinkled face.

She was wrapped in a thick, windproof gray cotton-padded coat, the kind that most refugees wear.

"Good morning, Grandma." Liu Sansao tightened the old headscarf on her head.

"Let's try our luck in the workshop area and see if we can find some work to exchange for some food coupons so we can save up to buy Gouwa a new pair of shoes for spring."

Grandma Chen coughed twice and sighed, "Your health is so poor... It's freezing cold. Oh well, there's nothing I can do. If my good-for-nothing son were even half as successful as your third son, I could have some peace of mind."

Just then, a clear, crisp sound of a copper bell came from afar.

Two young officials dressed in dark blue robes with red armbands were seen pushing a wheelbarrow with several large wooden barrels on it, moving from one shack area to another.

"Ginger soup is served! Ginger soup is served! It's to ward off the cold and warm the body, one bowl per person!" A clerk tapped a small copper gong in his hand, his voice clear and bright.

The other person deftly lifted the lid of the wooden bucket, and the steaming, spicy aroma of ginger instantly wafted out, especially enticing on this chilly morning.

"It's a patrol officer from the prefectural government!" Granny Chen's eyes lit up, and she quickly turned around to get the bowl.

Liu Sansao also turned back and took her own earthenware bowl. Hearing the commotion, the people in the camp all came out with their bowls.

Two young clerks skillfully scooped up the scalding ginger soup with long-handled wooden ladles and steadily poured it into the bowls that were handed to them.

The ginger soup was a rich yellow color, with floating ginger shreds and a few red dates, and steam rising from it.

"Auntie, be careful, it's hot," the clerk reminded Granny Chen with a smile as he ladled soup for her.

"Oh, oh, thank you, sir!" Granny Chen held the bowl, carefully blew on it, took a sip, and felt a warm current flow from her throat down to her stomach, making her frozen body feel a little more alive.

She couldn't help but exclaim, "How comforting... In this freezing weather, the government still remembers us poor souls and brings us hot soup..."

The clerk waved his hand and said, "Madam, please don't say that. The magistrate... oh, Lord Zhang has ordered that in the bitter winter, we must protect the people's health and safety. This ginger soup is brewed daily by the prefectural workshops and delivered to each camp on schedule. Please enjoy it. There will be more if you need more."

Liu Sansao also received a bowl. The hot ginger soup dispelled the chill of the early morning and made her feel much more at ease.

In Guangzong, no one cares if you starve or freeze to death, so why would an official brave the wind and snow to deliver hot soup early in the morning?
After drinking the ginger soup, Liu Sansao felt a little warm. She bid farewell to Granny Chen and trudged through the snow towards the workshop area on the outskirts of the camp.

The workshop area unfolds along a small river that is not yet completely frozen.

The huge waterwheel was propelled by the rushing water, producing a dull rumble, which drove the rows of wooden machinery on the shore to work incessantly. Because it was close to Zishi County, this place was planned as one of the textile factories in Bingzhou.

The air was filled with the smell of wool, cotton, and wood ash.

Women, teenagers, and even some elderly people who are still relatively nimble are all busy working under the open shed, wearing thick cotton-padded coats and fingerless gloves.

Liu Sansao walked familiarly to a shed with a wooden sign that read "Three Workshops for Combing Hair".

Inside, dozens of huge water-powered combing machines were roaring and running.

Huge wooden spinning wheels drive a dense array of spindles to spin, combing the raw wool, which has undergone initial cleaning, into yarn of varying thicknesses.

"Wang Fangtou! Wang Fangtou?" Liu Sansao called out to a middle-aged man inside who was wearing a leather apron and checking the operation of the machine.

The man turned around at the sound, saw Liu Sansao, and smiled: "Oh, Sansao is here! Perfect timing! A batch of cotton has just arrived, and we need to fluff it up and stuff it into winter clothes. It's an easy job, but it takes a lot of time. We'll pay with grain coupons based on the number of cotton clothes that are stuffed. Want to do it?"

"Let's do it! Let's do it!" Liu Sansao's eyes lit up and she nodded repeatedly.

The task of stuffing cotton-padded clothes can be done sitting in a sheltered shed, which is much easier than going out to chop firewood and cut timber.

Wang Fangtou led her to a shed piled high with snow-white cotton wadding, pointing to a strangely structured wooden instrument and a large wooden box.

"Look, this is a foot-operated cotton gin, which can remove the cotton seeds. This is a cotton carding bow, which can fluff the cotton. After the cotton is carded, spread it into the fabric interlayer over there, sew it up with large stitches and press it down. There is a pattern next to it, you can learn it after watching it a few times."

Liu Sansao looked at the cotton gin and cotton carding bow with curiosity.

I only saw cotton after I came to Bingzhou; it didn't exist in Jizhou at all.

She imitated an old woman next to her, sitting in front of the cotton gin, stepping on the pedal, and using both hands to feed the cotton bolls with cotton seeds into the machine.

With a few soft clicks, snow-white cotton fibers emerged from the front, while shiny black cotton seeds rolled down from a small groove below—it was indeed fast and clean! The cotton-carding bow was even more magical; striking the thick ox-tendon string with a wooden mallet produced a muffled thud, causing the cotton balls below to quickly become fluffy and soft.

Liu Sansao quickly got the hang of it.

She was quick and efficient; she could get a grain coupon of the smallest denomination by sewing three cotton-padded coats.

Grain coupons were something she had never seen before and only learned about after arriving in Bingzhou. They were stamped with the vermilion seal of the Taiyuan County Granary Office and had intricate anti-counterfeiting patterns, with words indicating the amount of millet or coarse cloth.

This stuff is precious; it can be exchanged for real grain, salt, cloth, and even needles and thread in any private or government-run shop in southern Bingzhou.

The shed was warm and filled with the fresh scent of new cotton.

The women sewed swiftly while chatting quietly about everyday matters, their conversations revolving around men and children, as well as their anticipation of dividing the land in the spring.

"I heard that after the land was distributed, we don't have to pay grain tax for the first two years!"

"Indeed! My lord... Lord Zhang is so benevolent! My wife sent word back from the Anbei army that we're getting enough to eat every day, and there's even meat!"

"Sigh, it's all because of being a soldier... I'm always uneasy about the Hu dogs coming in the spring..."

"What's there to be afraid of! General Gao Shun is training the troops! My husband says that General Gao may be fierce, but he's very capable! He trains them hard, but it's for our own good! We men will stand in front, and the children and fields will be behind us. If the barbarian dogs really come, this old woman will use her teeth and fingernails to scratch and bite those barbarian dogs to death!"

As Liu Sansao listened, her hands continued to sew, her mind churning.

The man joined the army, risking his life for his future. As his wife, she also had to support the family and raise Gouwa well.

As the sun rises higher, the workshop area becomes even more bustling.

The massive forging hammer, driven by the steam engine, made a rhythmic, loud noise in the ironworks, causing the ground to tremble slightly.

The water-powered looms were also making a lot of noise in the shed.

As noon approached, the clapperboard signaling the start of lunch was struck in the workers' shed.

Everyone put down their work, grabbed their bowls and chopsticks, and flocked to the large canteen in the center of the workshop area.

It was called a canteen, but it was really just a big thatched shed with long wooden tables and benches inside.

The steaming wooden bucket contained thick millet porridge, with chopped vegetable scraps and bits of fried oil visible inside.

Next to it was a bowl of dark, mushy pickled vegetables.

It's all-you-can-eat, unlimited, and while the taste isn't exactly delicious, it's salty and oily. Workers collect their food by showing their identification tags.

Liu Sansao filled a bowl with porridge, ate it with pickled vegetables, and found a stool in a corner to sit down.

She still had half a flatbread she had saved up that morning, which she broke into pieces and soaked in the porridge.

The pressed cakes soaked up the hot porridge, becoming soft and chewy, with the aroma of beans mixed with the caramelized fragrance of grains, making them much tastier than drinking porridge on their own.

"Third Sister-in-law, still eating flatbread? Save it for Gouwa, shall we?" A familiar woman came over and sat down, holding a bowl.

Liu Sansao smiled and said, "Gouwa has gruel from the camp, so he won't go hungry. This pancake will keep him full. He can have a bite while working to give him energy."

The woman sighed, "That's true. Anyway, it's much better than back in Jizhou. At least it's proper grain issued by the government. I heard that this pressed cake was made by Chief Clerk Han from the former General's mansion with his men? He's really a capable person!"

Just then, a small commotion broke out at the entrance of the cafeteria.

Several people dressed in more respectable dark official robes, with felt cloaks over them, walked in. The one in the lead had a handsome face and a gentle temperament. He was Xun Yu, the former Right Chief Secretary of the General's Office and the Prefect of Taiyuan!
He was followed by several subordinate officials, including the warehouse clerk and the work clerk.

The workshop manager hurriedly went to greet him and bowed to report.

Xun Yu nodded slightly, his gaze sweeping over the women, children, and craftsmen who were engrossed in drinking porridge at the long stone table, then looking at the porridge and pickled vegetables in the large wooden bucket, his brows furrowing almost imperceptibly.

He walked straight up to an old craftsman who was holding a bowl and drinking porridge, and asked gently, "Old man, is the porridge enough? How does it taste?"

The old craftsman was startled. When he saw the man's clothes, he became even more flustered and almost dropped the bowl: "Enough...enough! Plenty to fill you up! The taste...the taste is good!"

He clearly didn't dare to say anything bad.

Xun Yu smiled and didn't ask any further questions. He then looked at the porridge in the bowl of a thin, pale-faced boy next to him. It was indeed very thick.

He turned and whispered a few instructions to the warehouse clerk.

The warehouse clerk nodded repeatedly and quickly went out.

A short while later, several servants carried in a small basket of things and poured them into an empty wooden bucket.

Those were finely chopped, dried radish greens and turnip leaves.

The cook quickly stirred the porridge into the pot with a large ladle, and the originally grayish-yellow porridge immediately gained a touch of green.

"Add some dried vegetables to enhance the flavor and prevent mouth ulcers in winter."

Xun Yu spoke to the steward, his voice not loud, but it silenced the entire dining hall.

"Thank you for your consideration, Chief Secretary!" the steward said, bowing quickly.

Xun Yu then turned to the crowd: "You have all worked hard! The workshops are the backbone of Bingzhou, and they all depend on your efforts! The former general has ordered that all those who have worked in the workshops this winter will receive grain coupons and wages, and when the land is distributed in the spring, their work points will be calculated based on the amount of labor they have contributed, which can be used to offset the land reclamation labor! I hope you will all do your best!"

"Thank you for your kindness, General! Thank you, Chief Secretary!" After a brief silence, heartfelt cheers erupted in the canteen.

Work points that can be used to offset forced labor! This means that in the spring, we can do less heavy work and take better care of our own fields! It's a real benefit!

Liu Sansao clenched her fists excitedly, feeling that the porridge in the bowl tasted even better.

Looking at the refined and scholarly-looking Chief Secretary who was willing to add a handful of dried vegetables for them, she felt a warmth in her heart. She had never seen such an official in all her life.

In the afternoon, Liu Sansao, clutching the two smallest denomination grain coupons she had just received, went to another wool combing shop to have three cotton-padded coats made. She didn't return home until the sun was setting.

She deliberately went around to the small market set up on the edge of the camp.

It's called a city, but it's really just a row of simple sheds made of logs.

The goods were directly managed by the Taiyuan Prefectural Government. There weren't many, but they were all urgently needed items such as millet, coarse cloth, salt, needles and thread, inferior iron pots and farm tools, and a small amount of medicinal herbs.

Several minor officials dressed in their uniforms were busy behind the shed, while a conspicuous wooden sign stood in front of it, with the daily exchange rates for various goods and grain coupons written in vermilion.

There was also a small blackboard next to it, which read, "Today, there is enough millet, enough coarse cloth, and salt is subject to purchase restrictions."

Clutching the three grain coupons covered in cotton lint, Liu Sansao squeezed her way to the millet stall.

"Exchange for two jin of millet!" She handed over two small grain coupons marked with one jin of millet.

(End of this chapter)