Chapter 274: Chapter 274. Separation
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
The other elders were also invited to their seats by Ji Shuisheng. After everyone sat down, they all looked at Ji Shuisheng. He would not call everyone over for no reason. What could it be?
Ji Shuisheng calmly asked Xiaoying to pour a few bowls of tea for the old men to drink. He gave half to his grandfather and left half a packet. Su Qing had bought these tea leaves and drank them once on the way.
Those were first-class tea leaves. The tea was golden in color, and the tea fragrance was pleasant. After drinking it, the mouth was extremely sweet, and the aftertaste was endless.
He took it out and gave it to the elders to drink as a form of respect for them.
Old Master Qiu was pleased that Ji Shuisheng still respected his old friends. After all, he was the descendant of the famous old hero, General Xiao. He was someone who could do great things. How could ordinary people like us dare to trouble him?
He did not expect Ji Shuisheng to take them to heart as usual.
Ji Shuisheng waited for Xiaoying and Li Shuang’er to serve the tea to the elders before saying,
“It’s like this. According to Grandpa Qiu, everyone will stay in Mo City and not go to Jingshi Dao again. Therefore, I think our escape from famine will end here.”
The elders were sipping tea when they heard Ji Shuisheng’s words. It was over. This day had finally come.
“Tell me.”
Old Master Qiu put down the teacup with a solemn expression. This was the teacup used by the county magistrate. It was much more advanced than the coarse porcelain bowls they used. The tea in the cup seemed to be worth a lot.
“1 brought back a hundred fat sheep from the Tartan Kingdom this time. 1 plan to distribute them to each family. According to the number of people in each family, those with more will get more, and those with fewer will get less. It’s up to the master whether to kill or raise them. The same goes for food.”
After Ji Shuisheng finished speaking, he looked at the expressions of the few old men. His attitude was unyielding. He had to do this regardless of whether they agreed or not.
“Yes, that’s true.”
The elders looked at each other and knew this was the best way.
It was okay to raise two litters a year to raise a family. In particular, each family could get a fat sheep. Who had fat sheep in Peach Blossom Cove? Shuisheng had already done his best, so they could not ask for more.
Old Master Li and the elders of the other families had also considered it. Shuisheng did not owe them anything. It would have been difficult for them to make it here alive without him. Therefore, the elders expressed their stances one after another.
“Shuisheng, you’ve worked hard, leading everyone along the way. We’re all very grateful. We’ll do as you say.”
“Alright, since the few grandpas and uncles have no objections, let Yongkang register the number of people in each family and divide the sheep according to the number of people. Children are not counted, only adults.”
Seeing that no one had any objections, Ji Shuisheng let Qiu Yongkang do the calculations since he was in charge of logistics.
“Alright.”
Although the families with many children felt a little uncomfortable, this sheep was given to them by Shuisheng for free. If they said too much, they would seem to be ungrateful.
“We’ll have our last meal together tonight.”
Seeing that no one had objections, Ji Shuisheng said with a smile. Old Master Qiu and the others looked a little sad. Life together was too good. There was always meat to eat. Su Qing was the descendant of the royal chef. She cooked well and looked good. Escape was better than eating at home.
However, there was no other way. All good things must come to an end. If they continued to cling to Shuisheng and Su Qing, it would seem that everyone was too selfish.
There were 68 adults in Peach Blossom Cove and 18 children under 14. In other words, there were 68 fat sheep to be divided. Qiu Yongkang counted the number of people in each family and returned to report to Ji Shuisheng.
It was equivalent to taking out more than half of the sheep that Ji Shuisheng had brought back.
“How much food do we have left?”
Ji Shuisheng nodded to show he understood and asked about the remaining rations.
“There are still sixty stones of polished rice and one hundred and eighty-six stones of brown rice.”
Qiu Yong Kang kept accounts daily, and the food distributed to each family had to be weighed so that he would tell Shuisheng about it immediately.
Ji Shuisheng pondered momentarily, including the soldiers guarding the city and the food needed to feed a few hundred people. It was not much, but there were always more solutions than difficulties. He distributed the food first and said to Qiu Yongkang,
“The adults will each get two loads of grain, the children will get half a load of grain, each family will get ten taels of silver, and the cotton clothes will be distributed according to the number of people.”
The cotton-padded clothes were initially set according to the number of people. Although everyone had received the cotton-padded garments and leather jackets the Tartan soldiers wore, most of them did not fit. It was better to divide them. The 100 taels of gold earned from Tartan would be 1,600 taels of silver. After Yang Zhi settled the 60 taels of silver, there were still 1,540 taels on the account.
There were a total of 15 households in Peach Blossom Cove. Each family would receive ten taels of silver, totaling 150 taels. There would still be 1390 taels of silver left on the account.
It sounded like a lot, but Ji Shuisheng had to take care of the food and drink of the soldiers in the city. It wouldn’t take long for them and Uncle Qu to eat and drink.
Fortunately, he still had the six carts of leather. The leather sold well in the Great Xia Kingdom and could be sold for about 300 taels of silver. If he were to buy food, he could buy at least 150 stones of food at the highest price of two taels of silver per stone. After the winter passed, he could farm in the spring. At that time, his life would be better.
“Alright.”
Qiu Yongkang nodded. Shuisheng had done his best to treat the villagers of Peach Blossom Cove, but he didn’t even think of giving them a share of the silver.
It was already good enough to give them food and sheep!
“You brought back a hundred sheep this time, plus the five sheep you brought back before, a total of a hundred and five sheep. After dividing sixty-eight, there are still thirty-seven sheep and three cattle left.”
Qiu Yongkang opened the account book and showed it to Ji Shuisheng. He had also recorded the livestock in the account book.
“These 37 sheep will be raised in the backyard of the government office. They can supplement the nutrition of the soldiers. They are responsible for protecting the city. The three cattle are considered a group. When spring comes, everyone can use them to open up wasteland. Of course, we can’t just enjoy it without paying.”
Ji Shuisheng thought and decided to count the cattle as a large group. It was tough to feed them alone. Of course, he counted Su Qing as his family, but they were busy and could not divide their efforts, so this task was divided among the families.
“Alright, I’ll tell everyone when the time comes.”
Qiu Yongkang felt that Ji Shuisheng was very thoughtful. He had to do this. If they wanted to get something, they had to pay for it. Moreover, cattle were an essential help in clearing the land in spring.
Moreover, these three cows were earned by Shuisheng for everyone. Shouldn’t he put in some effort?
While Qiu Yongkang and Ji Shuisheng were talking, all the families gathered outside the government office to wait. When their elders came back to tell them about Ji Shuisheng’s decision, the villagers of Peach Blossom Cove were overjoyed. What day was it today? Why did all the good things come together? They had to split the sheep and food, and there would still be meat to eat later..
Visit freewe𝑏nove(l).𝐜𝐨𝗺 for the 𝑏est n𝘰vel reading experience