Chapter 378 - Chapter 378: The Changed West City Shack
Chapter 378: The Changed West City Shack
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Li Yu looked at Zhou Jia and reached out to shake his hand. She said seriously, “Xiao Xi, if you’re tired of living like this, we’ll resign and go back. If you only have this thought because I’ve helped the military twice and made you worry about my safety, there’s no need. Because no matter what, I understand that I have you and Yang’er waiting for me at home. I won’t let myself fall into a desperate situation.”
Zhou Jia was silent for a moment when he heard that. He looked up at Li Yu. “You have to promise me that your safety is the most important no matter what. ”
“I promise you, but I have other opinions about the Qi army’s plans.” “Oh! Tell me about it.” Zhou Jia looked at Li Yu seriously.
“Think about it. You said that it takes more than two months to travel from
Yunzhou to Great Qi. Even if Great Qi’s supplies are immediately set off from Great Qi, it will be too late. What will the Qi army eat in these two months? Are they going to wait for a hundred thousand soldiers to starve to death? You estimate that there are still two days of rations in the Qi camp. Even if there are not enough arrows, there should still be other weapons. If Yang Huaiyi breaks out of his means of retreat and tells those soldiers that the rations have been destroyed, bewitching them that as long as they enter the city, they will have food to eat and won’t starve to death on the way back to Great Qi. If they win, they will also have military merits to confer titles to their wives and children. If that’s the case, Yunzhou will probably face a fierce battle.”
“That’s right! How could I have forgotten that under the pressure of ridicule, people will destroy and become evil demons in order to survive? No wonder Ouyang Xiong said that we have to strengthen our defenses. I was too optimistic. I’ll go back to the government office and ask them to tighten their defenses. When I come back, I have to go to West City. I’ll come back later to pick you up and take a look at West City. Are you going?”
“Alright, I’ll wait for you at home,” Li Yu replied with a smile. She watched as he and Ji Xiang strode away. She turned around and went back to look at the clothes Li Mei had made for her and Zhou Jia, as well as Yangyang’s small jacket, cotton pants, and cotton slippers. She then read Li Mei’s letter again. From the letter, she could feel Li Mei’s heartache when she faced Laidi. From anger to sadness and disappointment, to being powerless and letting it go. Now that Laidi had married Li Fengqi as she wished, she wondered if Laidi’s marriage was really as beautiful as she had imagined.
When Zhou Jia arrived at the east city wall, he saw that the commoners were carrying arrows and stones and some bamboo poles to the top of the city wall. When he climbed to the top of the city wall, he saw that the soldiers were all busy in an orderly manner. There was still no movement in the distant Qi camp. Zhou Jia was relieved and went home to pick Li Yu up to the west city.
When the carriage reached the entrance of the alley, Li Yu got out of the carriage and realized that the smelly puddles had already disappeared. The alley was paved with limestone roads. The residents on both sides of the alley also opened their doors. Some even set up stalls at the door to sell snacks. When they saw Zhou Jia’s carriage pass by, they stood up and bowed to the carriage.
From their actions and expressions, it could be seen that they respected Zhou Jia very much. Li Yu saw this and felt proud of Zhou Jia. She smiled and said to
Zhou Jia, “Lord Zhou is not bad!”
Zhou Jia looked at Li Yu with shining eyes. “Go in and take a look again. Are you satisfied?”
“Yes! I’ll take a good look when we go in,” Li Yu replied solemnly.
When they walked into West City’s shack, the originally smelly and dirty shack was gone. What appeared in front of them were rows of small courtyards with unified green brick and tile houses. The entrance was clean and tidy. There were also two wells in the corner. There were even sinks and limestone slabs beside the wells. When the people who came out of the houses to check heard the commotion, they hurriedly bowed when they saw the carriage. Liu Yi, who was patrolling this area, also went forward to greet Zhou Jia’s carriage when he saw it.
Zhou Jia pointed at the small courtyards. “There are a total of seven main rooms and rooms in a house. They’re separated into two small kitchens. The rooms are not as big as ours, but they’re still spacious and bright. Also, a toilet has been built at the head of every row of houses. According to your method on the farm at the foot of Mount Spindle, a man’s room and a woman’s room are separated into small rooms with water vats. Every family in the row of houses will take turns cleaning.”
Li Yu nodded in satisfaction. “Not bad. How many families live in this courtyard?”
Zhou Jia pointed at Liu Yi and said, “Old Liu, tell me.”
“Madam, now that the original families have been settled in this area, as well as the refugees of Linshan County and the citizens who entered the city after clearing the nearby towns and cities, there are three families living in a courtyard. The others are all living in the abandoned houses in the city. The Wei family’s shops, inns, and houses are all filled with people. Look, no one in our city lives under the eaves. Everything is clean.”
Liu Yi hesitated for a moment. “The only bad thing is the commoners who came from the mountains. Some of them are about to run out of food that they hurriedly brought out, and they don’t have the money to buy rice to eat. I heard that a few families only drink one meal of brown rice porridge a day. Although it’s called porridge, it can even reflect a person’s shadow.”
“I see!” Li Yu thought of the food in the cellar and space and said to Liu Yi, “Go and calculate the total population. After the statistics are done, hand it to Mr. Qian. I’ll go back and discuss a way with your master to inform you as soon as possible. ”
“Liu Yi thanks Madam on behalf of those commoners and I also thank Sir and Madam on behalf of the Han people. In the chaos of war, they even got someone to teach the children. Without that money, their lives would be difficult.” Liu Yi bowed gratefully.
Li Yu waved her hand. “You don’t have to be polite. After we discuss it, we’ll ask Mr. Qian to tell you the news.”
Liu Yi excitedly went to check with the families.
The two of them walked around inside. Seeing that it was orderly inside, they turned around and walked back. After getting into the carriage, Zhou Jia said to Li Yu, “Yu’er, we have to give the food to those soldiers first. I’m afraid there won’t be so much food to provide to those commoners for the entire winter.”
“Have you forgotten that we’ve just collected so much food? In addition, what Uncle Gu Yu gave us can also support some people.” Li Yu sat beside Zhou Jia and looked at him with a sly smile. “If it’s really not enough, have you forgotten that there’s still the Wang family and the big families that fled the Tian family!
Who knows where the food went in the chaos?”
Zhou Jia looked at Li Yu and smiled dotingly. “You! It’s all up to you. The Tian family has already been wiped out by Chu Sihai. In my opinion, we’ll use the Wang family’s food first and distribute it to the commoners who can’t afford to eat in the name of the government office.”
“Alright, use the Wang family’s first. Do you know where his cellar is?” Li Yu looked at Zhou Jia.
“The cellar is a small matter. We’ll know when Ruyi goes to those places tonight. My main consideration is that we can’t let those commoners take the food away just like that. That will develop a kind of inertia. I want them to help clean the streets. After the Qi army retreats, we have to reorganize the city wall and rebuild the families of those people who have been cleared.” Zhou Jia clapped his hands and smiled. “Yes, let them work. We’ll distribute the food according to the amount of work they do.”
Li Yu thought to herself, “Isn’t this similar to gaining relief from work in the future?”
“Your idea is not bad. We’ll do as you say. Let Ruyi investigate tonight and quietly get the food out.”
“Alright!” Zhou Jia sighed. “I wonder if we’ll survive tonight?”
After Li Yu heard Zhou Jia’s words, she also wanted to see how the soldiers of this era fought. She looked at Zhou Jia and whispered, “Xiao Xi, I want to go to the city wall to see if Yang Huaiyi will be desperate tonight..”